I Like Monday 19
This Monday, I like... Edouard Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole, the 5th movement:
Audio recording uploaded to YouTube here by UltimateViolin - this performance by Leonid Kogan (violinist), Kirill Kondrashin (conductor) and the London Philharmonia Orchestra, February 1959.
Otherwise known (to me, at least) as "The Happy Secretary Song", because the little 'ting!' at the end of each phrase reminds me of the bell of an old-fashioned typewriter when it reaches the end of a line. This typing pool sounds like the most upbeat in the world: slamming filing cabinets (pretty much every loud bang), scribbling signatures (at 2:19-2:32 and 5:51-6:03), spinning rollodexes (the plucking bit at 6:46-6:49), and speed-chugging coffee with glee. Even when the boss shows up at 3:00, he doesn't spoil things. He reminds me of Young Mr Grace from Are You Being Served? - not because he's old and decrepit (although he does move around very sedately), but he has that same cluelessly benevolent attitude - I can hear him saying, "You've all done very well," while benignly waving one hand in the same way the Queen does. And when he leaves, the gossip about him and the most senior personal secretary is enthusiastic but good-hearted (4:45 to 5:00).
I'd like to work there. People don't walk around the office; they skip, pirouette. Toes tap under the desks. The mailboy literally makes a song-and-dance out of distributing the post (6:56 to 7:05 - those bangs are files landing in in-trays). And always we come back to the Happy Secretary herself (first heard at 0:32), merrily typing away and smacking the return bar across with a satisfying clunk-ding!
***
I have heard this movement a number of times on Classic FM but always missed the title and name of the composer. So I sent a query at their playlist FAQ page, telling them about the typewriter bell thing blah blah and that I thought it had 'Espagnol' in the title. And they got it!! I couldn't believe it, they actually successfully ID'ed the piece from my crappy little written description!!! :DDDD I flatter myself that the Classic FM people now all know the Symphonie Espagnole as "The Happy Secretary" too. XD
The first, second, third and fourth movements of this performance can be found at the clicky-links if you want to hear the whole piece. None of them feature any more secretaries, though. :6
Click to viewAudio recording uploaded to YouTube here by UltimateViolin - this performance by Leonid Kogan (violinist), Kirill Kondrashin (conductor) and the London Philharmonia Orchestra, February 1959.
Otherwise known (to me, at least) as "The Happy Secretary Song", because the little 'ting!' at the end of each phrase reminds me of the bell of an old-fashioned typewriter when it reaches the end of a line. This typing pool sounds like the most upbeat in the world: slamming filing cabinets (pretty much every loud bang), scribbling signatures (at 2:19-2:32 and 5:51-6:03), spinning rollodexes (the plucking bit at 6:46-6:49), and speed-chugging coffee with glee. Even when the boss shows up at 3:00, he doesn't spoil things. He reminds me of Young Mr Grace from Are You Being Served? - not because he's old and decrepit (although he does move around very sedately), but he has that same cluelessly benevolent attitude - I can hear him saying, "You've all done very well," while benignly waving one hand in the same way the Queen does. And when he leaves, the gossip about him and the most senior personal secretary is enthusiastic but good-hearted (4:45 to 5:00).
I'd like to work there. People don't walk around the office; they skip, pirouette. Toes tap under the desks. The mailboy literally makes a song-and-dance out of distributing the post (6:56 to 7:05 - those bangs are files landing in in-trays). And always we come back to the Happy Secretary herself (first heard at 0:32), merrily typing away and smacking the return bar across with a satisfying clunk-ding!
***
I have heard this movement a number of times on Classic FM but always missed the title and name of the composer. So I sent a query at their playlist FAQ page, telling them about the typewriter bell thing blah blah and that I thought it had 'Espagnol' in the title. And they got it!! I couldn't believe it, they actually successfully ID'ed the piece from my crappy little written description!!! :DDDD I flatter myself that the Classic FM people now all know the Symphonie Espagnole as "The Happy Secretary" too. XD
The first, second, third and fourth movements of this performance can be found at the clicky-links if you want to hear the whole piece. None of them feature any more secretaries, though. :6