I have always been a CALYPSO LOVER FIRST and a PAN MUSIC LOVER SECOND -- all my life. And from the early fifties i have measured the progress of STEELDRUM MUSIC based on its ability to deliver PURITY in rendering a CALYPSO. In these early times, most STEELBANDS FAILED my CALYPSO TEST.
But I continued to listen to the music and attended the first 4 PANORAMAS -- LIVE -- until I moved to GUYANA in 1967, and even then, I fought through the static and listened to it on THE RADIO. Like most PAN LOVERS, the arrangements got stuck in my head for life. But at that age, I knew nothing about music and what ever was served up, I lapped up like most PAN MUSIC LOVERS during that time.
In 1970, I left TRINIDAD. About two years later, I entered an elevator in a downtown office building in Washington DC, where I worked as a COMPUTER PROGRAMMER; and THE ELEVATOR MUSIC was on playing CLASSICAL MUSIC which I never ever listen to. And then, suddenly, I heard the opening musical lines of the DESPERADOES version of "MAMA DIS IS MAS" ... which I had memorized. I was SHOCKED that they had lifted that musical passage from CLASSICAL MUSIC and fooled "AMUSICAL" people like me and many others that they had composed that introduction. I don't think that I ever recovered from that AWAKENING. And from that day forward, I took everything I ever heard in a PANORAMA TUNE with a grain of salt.
Not to mention that in my PURE LOVE OF CALYPSO MUSIC, most of the arrangements sounded like some depressed child from LAVENTILLE trying to talk PROPER ENGLISH.
How could STEELBANDS corrupt MY CALYPSO MUSIC with such CLASSICAL NONSENSE? Of course, it is about MONEY. Winning PANORAMA where the judges are classically trained, there is a CULTURAL CONFUSION and LOSS OF SOUL to win THE PNM GOVERNMENT HANDOUT -- PANORAMA DOLLARS.
To me it is SHAMEFUL. I used to be friends with a VERY HIGH PROFILE PANORAMA ARRANGER and when I criticized him face to face on that FACADE, our friendship ended. Well, my life is not based on GETTING PANORAMA DOLLARS from the PNM GOVERNMENT -- so I have the freedom to express myself as I PLEASE.
At this point, I will turn "WHITE" and express how WHITE PEOPLE observe this appropriation of their culture into the STEELBAND PANORAMA. This is quite comical to me, because where I have lived in CALIFORNIA for the last 45 years, every time a WHITE PERSON is seen playing THE PAN, the local TRINIS -- a small community --have lost their minds and expressed their disgust with one line: "WHITE PEOPLE TIEFING WE CULTURE."
How BLINDED and IRONIC!!! Did we invent the PIANO or FLUTE or SAXOPHONE or TRUMPET? Yet we play those instruments, however crudely, thinking that we have mastered them.
Here we go with THE WHITE VIEW: In the context of steel drum music panorama, it is not uncommon for bands to incorporate classical music into their repertoire. The versatility of the steel drum allows musicians to reinterpret classical compositions and present them in a unique and captivating way. Here are some examples of how classical music is incorporated into steel drum music panorama performances:
Fusion and Medleys: Steel drum bands often incorporate classical music into fusion pieces or medleys into their PANORAMA ARRANGEMENTS. They might blend classical melodies with calypso, soca, or other Caribbean genres to create exciting and innovative musical experiences for the audience.
Themed Performances: In some cases, steel drum bands may choose to present a themed performance centered around classical music. They might focus on a particular composer, era, or style, using the steel drums to convey the emotions and intricacies of the classical pieces they perform during a PANORAMA COMPETITION.
It's essential to note that the repertoire and style of steel drum music panorama can vary greatly from band to band, and not all bands may include classical music in their performances. However, the incorporation of classical elements into the steel drum music panorama demonstrates the adaptability and artistic range of this unique musical tradition.
Well, I even disagree with them, because ALL THE PANORAMA STEELBANDS get caught up in THAT BULLSHIT.
Yuh see me -- I am a REAL TRINIDADIAN and a CALYPSO LOVER. And on a PANORAMA NIGHT, meh eh want no CLASSICAL MUSIC or WHITE PEOPLE MUSIC in MY CALYPSO ARRANGEMENTS. If yuh MILITANT, YUH MILITANT. If you claiming to be CULTURAL, YUH CULTURAL. As the YOUNG KILLER SANG decades ago: STICK TO YUH COLOR/DOH CARE HOW YUH BLACK/NOBODY IN THE WORLDA COULD JAIL YOU FOR THAT.
Well, if I was PRIME MINISTER of TRINIDAD and TOBAGO, I would jail all dem PANORAMA ARRANGERS for TIEFING WHITE PEOPLE MUSIC and EFFING UP my LISTENING AMUSEMENT on A PANORAMA NIGHT with all that NONSENSICAL CLASSICAL MUSIC confusing me when I am listening to MY CALYPSO MUSIC ON PAN.
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