NationStates Jolt Archive

'Sup guys,

Here's a rather strange request. It's been bugging me for a long, long time....I'm trying to think of the name/find an example of that famous war/battle music used in a lot of TV commercials, at least in the not-too-distant past. It was *really* good setting the tone for the commercials it accompanied, which usually involved massive charging armies and/or Vikings.

Gah, it's hard to describe...I think the one word that would best describe it is "epic." And it sounded fairly classical; orchestra + chorus combined in a very tense way.......yeah, I know this is totally descriptive and helpful. But does anyone know what I'm talking about?

(I don't think it was actually classical music though. And the chorus was like, "Hoh Hoh Hoh Hoh! Hoh Hoh Hoh Hoh! Hoh Hoh Hoh Hooooooooooohooooooohooooh. <modulate up, repeat.>") Um...very epic war movie ish?

So yeah, that was a pretty awful description. But come on, somebody has to know what I'm talking about? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! :-P

Carmina Burana (http://odeo.com/audio/4571293/view) by Carl Orff?

O Fortuna O Fortune,
velut luna like the moon
statu variabilis, you are changeable,
semper crescis ever waxing
aut decrescis; and waning;
vita detestabilis hateful life
nunc obdurat first oppresses
et tunc curat and then soothes
ludo mentis aciem, as fancy takes it;
egestatem, poverty
potestatem and power
dissolvit ut glaciem. it melts them like ice.

What product was it for? Ballpark?

Carmina Burana (http://odeo.com/audio/4571293/view) by Carl Orff?

O Fortuna O Fortune,
velut luna like the moon
statu variabilis, you are changeable,
semper crescis ever waxing
aut decrescis; and waning;
vita detestabilis hateful life
nunc obdurat first oppresses
et tunc curat and then soothes
ludo mentis aciem, as fancy takes it;
egestatem, poverty
potestatem and power
dissolvit ut glaciem. it melts them like ice.


YES! Thank you! :-D Man...I spent the longest time searching for that song. I seem to remember it from Capital One commercials, but I could be wrong. Anyways, thanks a lot! Haha, wow, I had no idea that was in Latin.

Carmina Burana (http://odeo.com/audio/4571293/view) by Carl Orff?


That's the first one I thought of too. Didn't know the name though. :p

YES! Thank you! :-D Man...I spent the longest time searching for that song. I seem to remember it from Capital One commercials, but I could be wrong. Anyways, thanks a lot! Haha, wow, I had no idea that was in Latin.

No problem, we all go through it until someone tells us the name of that piece.

I thought about the Viking song, I forgot the name of it.

I thought about the Viking song, I forgot the name of it.

Ride of the Valkyrie?

Ride of the Valkyrie?

That's it. It's 1:45 AM, I'm too tired to think lol.

That's it. It's 1:45 AM, I'm too tired to think lol.

Wagner's the King. :cool:

YES! Thank you! :-D Man...I spent the longest time searching for that song. I seem to remember it from Capital One commercials, but I could be wrong. Anyways, thanks a lot! Haha, wow, I had no idea that was in Latin.

10 Minutes from question to answer... How's that for service?!

Carmina Burana (http://odeo.com/audio/4571293/view) by Carl Orff?

O Fortuna O Fortune,
velut luna like the moon
statu variabilis, you are changeable,
semper crescis ever waxing
aut decrescis; and waning;
vita detestabilis hateful life
nunc obdurat first oppresses
et tunc curat and then soothes
ludo mentis aciem, as fancy takes it;
egestatem, poverty
potestatem and power
dissolvit ut glaciem. it melts them like ice.

Technically that's O Fortuna. Carmina Burana in full is about 20 times longer.

10 Minutes from question to answer... How's that for service?!

I'd have been faster but my intertubes where clogged...I thought for sure someone else would have beat me to the punch.

Technically that's O Fortuna. Carmina Burana in full is about 20 times longer.

Well, no. That's still Carmina Burana, O Fortuna is the first movement of it (and the only movement people care about), but it's still Carmina Burana.

Anyone watching Mythbusters right now? :p

They're bombing a hillside, trying to stimulate an avalanche, from a helicopter. And of course, Wagner's playing. :) Coincidence?

Anyone watching Mythbusters right now? :p

They're bombing a hillside, trying to stimulate an avalanche, from a helicopter. And of course, Wagner's playing. :) Coincidence?

If I was a french horn player it might be my favorite thing to play, you get to do those cool rips at the beginning...

Anyone watching Mythbusters right now? :p

They're bombing a hillside, trying to stimulate an avalanche, from a helicopter. And of course, Wagner's playing. :) Coincidence?

lol, I saw that earlier, that was awesome. I love the MythBusters.

If I was a french horn player it might be my favorite thing to play, you get to do those cool rips at the beginning...

French Horn is pretty badass. Better than playing Second Saxophone for far too many years. :rolleyes: Although I think I once had a 30-measure B-to-B-Flat trill that was quite interesting, especially given the squeaky B-Flat alternate key on my old jalopy of a horn. :p

lol, I saw that earlier, that was awesome. I love the MythBusters.

I think Wagner is basically obligatory for any helicopter-related destruction, ever since Apocalypse Now. :)

Well, no. That's still Carmina Burana, O Fortuna is the first movement of it (and the only movement people care about), but it's still Carmina Burana.

Yes but if you don't specify which part of Carmina Burana you're talking about people will get confused. See I prefer Fortune Plango Vulnera to O Fortuna and that's what I think of when I think of O Fortuna, also Veni Veni Venias is good too but any my point is that with something like this giving the generalised name isn't a good idea.

10 Minutes from question to answer... How's that for service?!

I know...haha, that was pretty awesome. Ride of the Valkyries is also pretty scary stuff.

French Horn is pretty badass. Better than playing Second Saxophone for far too many years. :rolleyes: Although I think I once had a 30-measure B-to-B-Flat trill that was quite interesting, especially given the squeaky B-Flat alternate key on my old jalopy of a horn. :p
That's why you needed to move to flavor country, the baritone sax.
Yes but if you don't specify which part of Carmina Burana you're talking about people will get confused. See I prefer Fortune Plango Vulnera to O Fortuna and that's what I think of when I think of O Fortuna, also Veni Veni Venias is good too but any my point is that with something like this giving the generalised name isn't a good idea.
Yeah, except no one was confused. Maybe you, but if you're really really honest, you weren't confused either. Especially when it's the first movement. It's not like we're talking about the Ode To Joy in the 9th symphony where you're not going to get to it for like 40 minutes.

Tell ya what, we'll all pat you on the head for being an informed listener and then move on. Cool?

That's why you needed to move to flavor country, the baritone sax.


Heh. They're E-flat instruments ordinarily, I think, so it wouldn't be much of a feat to adapt. Affording one, on the other hand... :p

Heh. They're E-flat instruments ordinarily, I think, so it wouldn't be much of a feat to adapt. Affording one, on the other hand... :p

The fingerings on all the saxophones (well, the keyless and slide saxophones not so much, but we're not talking novelty horns) are the same. Each member is a major 5th/4th (depending on which direction you want to count) away from each other so it works out to B flat for the soprano, E flat for the alto, B flat for the Tenor, E flat for the Baritone. It keeps going from there, but finding a place for the bass and contra bass saxes is a touch more difficult. But the fingerings will be the same, but if you've memorized something you'll have to transpose it. Or just play it in another key.

The fingerings on all the saxophones (well, the keyless and slide saxophones not so much, but we're not talking novelty horns) are the same. Each member is a major 5th/4th (depending on which direction you want to count) away from each other so it works out to B flat for the soprano, E flat for the alto, B flat for the Tenor, E flat for the Baritone. It keeps going from there, but finding a place for the bass and contra bass saxes is a touch more difficult. But the fingerings will be the same, but if you've memorized something you'll have to transpose it. Or just play it in another key.

Neat - I didn't know that. :) The old music shop where I bought my alto had a ton of pictures on the wall of their store during the 30's and 40's, contra-bases and all, lined up in a row. Craziness. :p

Neat - I didn't know that. :) The old music shop where I bought my alto had a ton of pictures on the wall of their store during the 30's and 40's, contra-bases and all, lined up in a row. Craziness. :p
I have a recording of the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra playing Sunrise from Thus Spoke Zarathustra (that thing from 2001: A Space Odyssey...I could have just said Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but I don't want to confuse anyone...) with a contra bass saxophone playing the timpani parts.

I want a contra bass saxophone. I live on an island, I could use it for a part time job as a fog horn...

I have a recording of the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra playing Sunrise from Thus Spoke Zarathustra (that thing from 2001: A Space Odyssey...I could have just said Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but I don't want to confuse anyone...) with a contra bass saxophone playing the timpani parts.

I want a contra bass saxophone. I live on an island, I could use it for a part time job as a fog horn...

I've never seen one in person, but it sounds pretty badass. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time - 70 years ago, I could've waltzed right in to a shop and messed around with all variety of odd instruments. Maybe it'll be cyclical. :)

I've never seen one in person, but it sounds pretty badass. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time - 70 years ago, I could've waltzed right in to a shop and messed around with all variety of odd instruments. Maybe it'll be cyclical. :)

You get into a good enough program or a nice enough shop (like maybe The House of Woodwinds (http://www.houseofwoodwinds.com/) in the Bay Area, though I don't know if they do have one or not, it's been a while since I've been) you can find one. Every now and then I see one on eBay and then curse myself for looking because I don't have the money to buy one. There's a short story I read a long time ago about an Austrian kid taking this big ass trek to play one during Nazi rule. (a bass saxophone, not the contra bass)

EDIT: And last time I was in Disneyland there was a sax quintet that had a bass and a contra bass in it.

You get into a good enough program or a nice enough shop (like maybe The House of Woodwinds (http://www.houseofwoodwinds.com/) in the Bay Area, though I don't know if they do have one or not, it's been a while since I've been) you can find one. Every now and then I see one on eBay and then curse myself for looking because I don't have the money to buy one. There's a short story I read a long time ago about an Austrian kid taking this big ass trek to play one during Nazi rule. (a bass saxophone, not the contra bass)

EDIT: And last time I was in Disneyland there was a sax quintet that had a bass and a contra bass in it.

Neat! :) Something to keep in mind. Coincidentally, I once bought a piano off the Disneyland roving-piano-on-wheels guy. Nice old lady, his mother. :p

I have a recording of the Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra playing Sunrise from Thus Spoke Zarathustra (that thing from 2001: A Space Odyssey...I could have just said Thus Spoke Zarathustra, but I don't want to confuse anyone...) with a contra bass saxophone playing the timpani parts.

I want a contra bass saxophone. I live on an island, I could use it for a part time job as a fog horn...

A contrabass saxophone? There are maybe 20 in the world in current use, and foghorn? Shit, you could live in it.

A contrabass saxophone? There are maybe 20 in the world in current use, and foghorn? Shit, you could live in it.

They're pretty big, but there's got to be thousands out there, just from the heydey of jazz. It's not like the melt old horns down - some are prized, even. I always felt sorry for the kids who played baritone during marching band season though, I can't imagine having to transport a contrabass. :p

Yes but if you don't specify which part of Carmina Burana you're talking about people will get confused. See I prefer Fortune Plango Vulnera to O Fortuna and that's what I think of when I think of O Fortuna, also Veni Veni Venias is good too but any my point is that with something like this giving the generalised name isn't a good idea.

"O Fortuna" gets used a lot, but the weirdest use was "In Taberna" in the drugstore shootout scene from Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers.

A contrabass saxophone? There are maybe 20 in the world in current use, and foghorn? Shit, you could live in it.

When you want to go, go big-
http://www.nuclearwhales.com/Meet%20the%20Nuclear%20Whales%20Saxophone%20Orchestra%21_files/frontphoto.jpg
The Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra (http://www.nuclearwhales.com/)

They're pretty big, but there's got to be thousands out there, just from the heydey of jazz. It's not like the melt old horns down - some are prized, even. I always felt sorry for the kids who played baritone during marching band season though, I can't imagine having to transport a contrabass. :p

The contra bass wasn't used that much in jazz(I don't know of any personally), and composers largely rejected the saxophone as a novelty (keep in mind that it wasn't invented until the mid 1850s).

They're pretty big, but there's got to be thousands out there, just from the heydey of jazz. It's not like the melt old horns down - some are prized, even. I always felt sorry for the kids who played baritone during marching band season though, I can't imagine having to transport a contrabass. :p

Not even close -- the bass and contrabass sax were almost never seen in jazz because of their size and expense. Lowest you'd see would be baritone, and that was relegated to roots and bass lines and novelty solos until guys like Gerry Mulligan helped legitimize it as a solo instrument.

Early jazz was played by largely by Blacks without much disposable income. A bass or contrabass sax would be way out of their price range. Even when jazz got hijacked and made popular, baritone was the most common low end reed by an order of magnitude.

Not even close -- the bass and contrabass sax were almost never seen in jazz because of their size and expense. Lowest you'd see would be baritone, and that was relegated to roots and bass lines and novelty solos until guys like Gerry Mulligan helped legitimize it as a solo instrument.

Early jazz was played by largely by Blacks without much disposable income. A bass or contrabass sax would be way out of their price range. Even when jazz got hijacked and made popular, baritone was the most common low end reed by an order of magnitude.

You're probably right - I just assumed from the old pictured I'd seen in the sax shop I bought mine from that they were big at some point. There were quite a number on sale back then, even novelty double-basses the height of the storefront if I remember right, though that was probably a gimmick. :p

Not even close -- the bass and contrabass sax were almost never seen in jazz because of their size and expense. Lowest you'd see would be baritone, and that was relegated to roots and bass lines and novelty solos until guys like Gerry Mulligan helped legitimize it as a solo instrument.

Early jazz was played by largely by Blacks without much disposable income. A bass or contrabass sax would be way out of their price range. Even when jazz got hijacked and made popular, baritone was the most common low end reed by an order of magnitude.

To be pointlessly music nerdy, early jazz music didn't have saxophones and was largely played on marching instruments r. The saxophone didn't come into common use until Sydney Bechett came back from France with the soprano and suddenly clarinet players weren't as drowned out. From there it went on to be the iconic jazz instrument, but very few soloists used the bari, but there where people like you said, Gerry Mulligan, before that there was Pepper Adams. And then theres Serge...crap...you know, I think that guys CD is on the other side of the couch but I'm not going to lean over to look...

The contra bass wasn't used that much in jazz(I don't know of any personally), and composers largely rejected the saxophone as a novelty (keep in mind that it wasn't invented until the mid 1850s).

Not bad! Invented by Belgian Adophe Sax in 1841, showcased with the help of composer Hector Berlioz in 1844, patented in 1847. You know your history.

Check this out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZslkC4y2qY) for a certain beer brand's interpretation of the piece. :)

A parody of the sort of ads British Airways used to do I guess.

Not bad! Invented by Belgian Adophe Sax in 1841, showcased with the help of composer Hector Berlioz in 1844, patented in 1847. You know your history.

I spent the first half of my life as a saxophonist, my first attempt at college was as a music major and hold a AA in music.

You're probably right - I just assumed from the old pictured I'd seen in the sax shop I bought mine from that they were big at some point. There were quite a number on sale back then, even novelty double-basses the height of the storefront if I remember right, though that was probably a gimmick. :p

Yeah, it's that two-story double-bass sax I'm thinking of that you could use as a metal bivouac. Still, the bass and contra were decidedly uncommon.

Yeah, it's that two-story double-bass sax I'm thinking of that you could use as a metal bivouac. Still, the bass and contra were decidedly uncommon.

Ah, probably. Good to know some history at least. :)

Carmina Burana is decent piece, I'd suggest people do listen to the whole of it. The first movement is rather overused, I find Orff rather simplistic and repetitive at times.

Serge Charloff!!!

I was just about to go to bed and I remembered his name. Yay, now I can sleep.

Check this out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZslkC4y2qY) for a certain beer brand's interpretation of the piece. :)

A parody of the sort of ads British Airways used to do I guess.

Carlton Draft usually have really good ads. I personally prefer the canoe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-zIeJ01oJU) one.