Quote Originally Posted by BKratchmer View Post
I can see you introducing Marin Marais at the Sun King's court, Obie... Or perhaps you were a student of Lully? That would explain your excellent taste in music...
MY dear BKratchmer:

Ah, yes, what can I say? I kept telling Marin Marais to lay off all that glorious music for brass, all that trumpet stuff, but the guy wouldn't listen. I suppose just as well, because Marais wrote some lofty and courtly pieces for brass.

As for Lully, talk about the boss man. Lully was Italian, running all the musical activities in the Sun King's court. The frustration for the French was that the guy spoke their language with a lousy French accent — you know how the way the French feel about folks speaking French with a lousy foreign accent. I kept telling him, Jean-Babtiste, my friend, learn French the proper way, but do you the gentleman would listen? No, sir.

The thing with Lully was that he was so powerful, leading almost all the musical activities in Paris, that scores of his enemies were always trying to bump him off. Someone once even poisoned his tobacco, but old Jean- Babtiste got away with that one.

What eventually done him in is embarrassing for a man of that much power. In those days the conductors led the orchestra with a long staff. They kept time by tapping it on the floor. Well, one day old Jean-Babtiste Lully managed to stab his foot with the staff. Imagine that. That led to gangrene — and eventually killed him. That's an embarrassing way to get bumped off for such a powerful guy.

Oh, well, at least Lully had a personal barber and didn't have to worry about stropping or honing. I suppose he could have called Lynn for a first class honing on his straight razor.

Regards from the Sun King's court,

Obie