Dame Edna RIP ... and Marcel Poot

[pjme]

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-13225944?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

Barry Humphries passed away...
"It took the Americans decades to get his particular brand of satirical humour..."     

Anyway, I'll quickly add some music to this obituary.

I briefly corresponded with Humphries a couple of years ago (ca 2010)  when I discovered in an article that he liked the (early, jazz-influenced) music of Belgian composer Marcel Poot. I was able to send him a few works that I used to have on tape.

ACO + Poot

Humphries is keen to introduce ACO audiences to the Belgian composer Marcel Poot's Jazz Music.

''Since my youth I've been interested in the influence of jazz in the '20s and '30s on European music,'' Humphries says. ''I corresponded with him late in his life when he was living in Brussels ? The piece is short and jazzy, and so we'll be hearing that.''
From The Sydney morning Herald in 2009.

[DavidW]

Why did you post this in a music room instead of the diner?  Please let me know.

[pjme]

Oh, I'm sorry, dear sir.
Let's quickly move it. or delete it. Marcel Poot is a composer, however....

[DavidW]

No problem, I'll move it now.  I wanted to be sure first.  The last time I acted hastily things didn't go too well...

[VonStupp]

Neat to hear about your correspondence, pjme! 

My children still ask to hear Peter and the Wolf, Babar, and Young Person's Guide on Naxos. Poulenc's Babar is narrated by Barry Humphries, while the Prokofiev and Britten are narrated by Dame Edna.

Rest in Peace.

The whole album can be found on YouTube:
Peter and the Wolf

[ritter]

Hello possums! 

I found Dame Edna hilarious. Rest in peace, Dame Edna / Barry Humphries. 

My sympathies to daughter Valmai, "homeopath" son Kenny and his "roommate" Clifford.   

[vandermolen]

Sad news. I was also a fan of Sir Les Patterson, the Australian Cultural Attaché to the Court of St James.
RIP Sir Les.

[Holden]

A sad day for Australians. Barry Humphrey encapsulated the way Aussie are prepared to make fun of and laugh at ourselves and all without malice. While Dame Edna was exceptional, my favourite Humphries character, like vandermolen, is Sir Les Patterson.

[Irons]

Dame Edna for me, a comic genius - "I'm approaching 70 but from the wrong direction". She spotted a lady in a colourful dress in the front row "What a lovely frock! Great idea to take the curtain rings out".