Edelwiess, Edelwiess.
Every morning you greet me.
Small and white, clean and bright.
You look happy to meet me.
Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever.
Edelwiess, Edelwiess,
Bless my Homeland Forever.
I am putting lots of movies of all varieties on my AZBox HDD, this one came up today. The Sound of Music. I had forgotten how well made this musical movie was until I revisited it tonight to ensure that the FTP process went over well.
I am not a fan of Musicals in general. However, I can list my favorites quite readily and easily. This one tops my list. The others are South Pacific, Paint Your Wagon and of course "Grease".
There is so much more to this movie than meets the eye. It is not merely a musical. It is a Love/Romance + Political/War + Human interest story into the pshychological throngs of people's emotions and internal religious battles.
No matter how much you might shun a musical, you have to watch this one. Guys, don't watch it with your buddies during a poker game! That doesn't work, but I gaurantee that if you are an open person who loves God, Family and Country... you will understand and be thrilled/moved by this movie.
Even if you don't think that you will like it, give it a try. I assure you that it is a great movie. It's a classic and most people have seen it before, but if you haven't seen it for a long time, it is a good idea to review it. If you have never seen it or just didn't think that you could sit through it before, try it again.
I thought enough of the movie many years ago that I desired to name my first daughter "Edelwiess Maria" or "Maria Edelwiess". I wasn't fortunate enough to father a daughter, but I still love the name. What do you think? You'll have to watch the movie to understand...
"Edelweiss" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is named after the edelweiss, a white flower found high in the Alps. It is sung by Captain Georg Ludwig von Trapp and his family during the concert near the end of Act II as a defiant statement of Austrian patriotism in the face of the pressure put upon him to join the navy of Nazi Germany. In the 1965 film adaptation, the song is also sung by the Captain earlier in the film as he rediscovers music and a love for his children.
While The Sound of Music was in tryouts in Boston, Richard Rodgers felt Captain von Trapp should have a song with which he would bid farewell to the Austria he knew and loved. He and Oscar Hammerstein II decided to write an extra song that Captain von Trapp would sing in the Kaltzberg Festival (Salzburg Festival in the film) concert sequence towards the end of the show. As they were writing it, they felt that this song could also utilise the guitar-playing and folk-singing talents of Theodore Bikel, who created the role of Captain von Trapp on Broadway. The Lindsay and Crouse script provides a metaphor of the edelweiss flower, as a symbol of the Austria that Captain von Trapp, Maria and their children knew would live on in their hearts despite the Nazi annexation of their homeland. As such, the metaphor of this song builds on an earlier scene when Gretl presents a bouquet of edelweiss flowers to Elsa Schraeder during her visit to the von Trapp household. Rodgers provided a haunting waltz-time melody based on the simple romantic Biedermeier era tunes like Hänschen klein and others, to the simple too Italian style ritornello lyric that Hammerstein wrote about the appearance of the Edelweiss flower. This song turned out to be one of the most beloved songs in the musical, and also one of the best-loved songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein.
This song was the last song that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote together; Hammerstein was suffering from stomach cancer,[1] which would take his life nine months after The Sound of Music opened on Broadway.
Although the stage production uses the song only during the concert sequence, Ernest Lehman's screenplay for the film adaptation uses the song twice. Lehman created a scene that makes extra use of the song. This scene, inspired by a line in the original script by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, calls for Captain von Trapp to sing this song with his children in their family drawing room and rediscover the love he felt for them. Lehman also expanded the scope of the song when it was sung in the Salzburg Festival concert scene so that Captain von Trapp and his family would call the crowds to join in the song with him, in defiance of the Nazi soldiers posted around the arena. It is interesting to note that one of the Nazi commandants is shown singing in a baritone, revealing that he cares more for Austria than for the Reich.
The great popularity of the song has led many of its audience to believe that it is an Austrian folk song or even the official national anthem.[2] The New York Times and The Guardian have both reported that Ronald Reagan had it performed for an emissary of Austria when he visited the United States, believing it to be their national anthem.[3] However, Austria's official anthem is "Land der Berge, Land am Strome" and the anthem used before the Anschluss was "Sei gesegnet ohne Ende". The edelweiss is a popular flower in Austria and was featured on the old 1 Schilling coin. It can also now be seen on the 2 cent Euro coin. The flower is protected in Austria and illegal to pick. An "edelweiss" is also worn as a cap device by certain Austrian Army and all German Gebirgsjäger [4] (Mountain Troopers, literal translation Mountain Hunters) Units.
There is similar confusion about another song co-authored by Hammerstein, "Ol' Man River" from the musical Showboat, which is widely misbelieved to be a Negro spiritual.[5] The similarity in misconception about the two songs has been noted by two writers, both of whom see it as tribute to Hammerstein's talents. Alyson McLamore in her book Musical theater: an appreciation writes "The last song to be written for the show was "Edelweiss," a tender little homage to a native flower of Austria that has the effect of authentic Austrian folksong, much as "Ol' Man River" struck listeners as a genuine African American spiritual"[6] Hugh Fordin in his biography of Oscar Hammerstein speaks of "the ability of the authors to simulate the quality of an authentic folk song..."Ol' Man River" had the ring of a black laborer's song...Thirty years later "Edelweiss was widely believed to be an old Austrian song, though Oscar...composed it for the Sound of Music."
Every morning you greet me.
Small and white, clean and bright.
You look happy to meet me.
Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever.
Edelwiess, Edelwiess,
Bless my Homeland Forever.
I am putting lots of movies of all varieties on my AZBox HDD, this one came up today. The Sound of Music. I had forgotten how well made this musical movie was until I revisited it tonight to ensure that the FTP process went over well.
I am not a fan of Musicals in general. However, I can list my favorites quite readily and easily. This one tops my list. The others are South Pacific, Paint Your Wagon and of course "Grease".
There is so much more to this movie than meets the eye. It is not merely a musical. It is a Love/Romance + Political/War + Human interest story into the pshychological throngs of people's emotions and internal religious battles.
No matter how much you might shun a musical, you have to watch this one. Guys, don't watch it with your buddies during a poker game! That doesn't work, but I gaurantee that if you are an open person who loves God, Family and Country... you will understand and be thrilled/moved by this movie.
Even if you don't think that you will like it, give it a try. I assure you that it is a great movie. It's a classic and most people have seen it before, but if you haven't seen it for a long time, it is a good idea to review it. If you have never seen it or just didn't think that you could sit through it before, try it again.
I thought enough of the movie many years ago that I desired to name my first daughter "Edelwiess Maria" or "Maria Edelwiess". I wasn't fortunate enough to father a daughter, but I still love the name. What do you think? You'll have to watch the movie to understand...
"Edelweiss" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. It is named after the edelweiss, a white flower found high in the Alps. It is sung by Captain Georg Ludwig von Trapp and his family during the concert near the end of Act II as a defiant statement of Austrian patriotism in the face of the pressure put upon him to join the navy of Nazi Germany. In the 1965 film adaptation, the song is also sung by the Captain earlier in the film as he rediscovers music and a love for his children.
While The Sound of Music was in tryouts in Boston, Richard Rodgers felt Captain von Trapp should have a song with which he would bid farewell to the Austria he knew and loved. He and Oscar Hammerstein II decided to write an extra song that Captain von Trapp would sing in the Kaltzberg Festival (Salzburg Festival in the film) concert sequence towards the end of the show. As they were writing it, they felt that this song could also utilise the guitar-playing and folk-singing talents of Theodore Bikel, who created the role of Captain von Trapp on Broadway. The Lindsay and Crouse script provides a metaphor of the edelweiss flower, as a symbol of the Austria that Captain von Trapp, Maria and their children knew would live on in their hearts despite the Nazi annexation of their homeland. As such, the metaphor of this song builds on an earlier scene when Gretl presents a bouquet of edelweiss flowers to Elsa Schraeder during her visit to the von Trapp household. Rodgers provided a haunting waltz-time melody based on the simple romantic Biedermeier era tunes like Hänschen klein and others, to the simple too Italian style ritornello lyric that Hammerstein wrote about the appearance of the Edelweiss flower. This song turned out to be one of the most beloved songs in the musical, and also one of the best-loved songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein.
This song was the last song that Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote together; Hammerstein was suffering from stomach cancer,[1] which would take his life nine months after The Sound of Music opened on Broadway.
Although the stage production uses the song only during the concert sequence, Ernest Lehman's screenplay for the film adaptation uses the song twice. Lehman created a scene that makes extra use of the song. This scene, inspired by a line in the original script by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, calls for Captain von Trapp to sing this song with his children in their family drawing room and rediscover the love he felt for them. Lehman also expanded the scope of the song when it was sung in the Salzburg Festival concert scene so that Captain von Trapp and his family would call the crowds to join in the song with him, in defiance of the Nazi soldiers posted around the arena. It is interesting to note that one of the Nazi commandants is shown singing in a baritone, revealing that he cares more for Austria than for the Reich.
The great popularity of the song has led many of its audience to believe that it is an Austrian folk song or even the official national anthem.[2] The New York Times and The Guardian have both reported that Ronald Reagan had it performed for an emissary of Austria when he visited the United States, believing it to be their national anthem.[3] However, Austria's official anthem is "Land der Berge, Land am Strome" and the anthem used before the Anschluss was "Sei gesegnet ohne Ende". The edelweiss is a popular flower in Austria and was featured on the old 1 Schilling coin. It can also now be seen on the 2 cent Euro coin. The flower is protected in Austria and illegal to pick. An "edelweiss" is also worn as a cap device by certain Austrian Army and all German Gebirgsjäger [4] (Mountain Troopers, literal translation Mountain Hunters) Units.
There is similar confusion about another song co-authored by Hammerstein, "Ol' Man River" from the musical Showboat, which is widely misbelieved to be a Negro spiritual.[5] The similarity in misconception about the two songs has been noted by two writers, both of whom see it as tribute to Hammerstein's talents. Alyson McLamore in her book Musical theater: an appreciation writes "The last song to be written for the show was "Edelweiss," a tender little homage to a native flower of Austria that has the effect of authentic Austrian folksong, much as "Ol' Man River" struck listeners as a genuine African American spiritual"[6] Hugh Fordin in his biography of Oscar Hammerstein speaks of "the ability of the authors to simulate the quality of an authentic folk song..."Ol' Man River" had the ring of a black laborer's song...Thirty years later "Edelweiss was widely believed to be an old Austrian song, though Oscar...composed it for the Sound of Music."
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Didn't mean to fill your head with Rodgers and Hammerstein musical numbers!
