Classic Rockers Go For Baroque

From Stratocaster To Stradavarius

Who'd have thought we'd live to see the day when two rock stars would duke it out over a classical music award? Paul McCartney and Sting were both in contention for Classical Brit Awards in 2007. In ceremonies at London's Albert Hall -- scene of many a rollicking rock concert -- McCartney beat out Sting and eight other contenders.

When David Bowie got together with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1978 to record Peter and the Wolf, any doubt about the synergy between rock and classical music should have disappeared.

It’s well established that Progressive Rock was heavily influenced by classical. Just listen to the Renaissance baroque of Jethro Tull or the frequent quotations of classical composers in the music of Emerson Lake and Palmer, Deep Purple or Moody Blues. But except on rare occasions (Tull’s "Bourée" for example) rockers weren’t actually doing full performances of classical classics. In recent years, however, a growing number of classic rockers have taken to both composing and performing classical music.

Elvis Costello

In 2004, the eclectic Englishman composed Il Sogno, based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for an Italian ballet company. In its review, New York magazine said, "The wide-ranging eclecticism that characterizes Costello’s songwriting style—punk, rhythm and blues, soul, jazz, folk, funk, bluegrass—can be detected in his classical persona as well."

Roger Waters
Just how far is it from Pink Floyd to a three-act opera about the French Revolution? Apparently not so far, as Roger Waters reached #1 on the Billboard Top Classical Chart with 2005’s Ça Ira. While Waters toured the world in 2006 performing the classic Pink Floyd album Dark Side Of the Moon in its entirety, a full public performance of Ça Ira was taking place in Poland.

Peter Frampton

Best known as an Arena Rock vocalist, Peter Frampton has been more often found in recent years playing guitar with symphony orchestras. Frampton says he eventually hopes to compose a classical symphonic work.

Ian Anderson

Ian Anderson's flute is largely responsible for Jethro Tull's distinctive sound. Like Frampton, Anderson can often be found performing with various symphony orchestras. He includes a smattering of classical numbers along with his repertoire of Tull classics.

Sting

Recently dipping his toe into classical waters was Sting: bassist, lead singer and principal composer for The Police. His 2006 album, Songs Form The Labyrinth is at the opposite musical pole from where he began. "The album is voice and lute," Sting explains. "There are a few four part harmonies that I sing and it's all music from the 16th century."

Paul McCartney

Macca's most recent classical composition is Ecce Cor Meum, which translates to Behold My Heart if memory of my high school Latin classes serves. The orchestral/choral work took eight years to to write, rehearse and revise. "If it had been a Beatles song I would have known how to do it," McCartney said when he announced the project, "but this was a completely different ball game."

Perhaps this intermingling of unlike genres isn’t as odd as it seems at first glance, considering that a good number of rock artists were classically trained. Frampton, Billy Joel, Neal Schon (Journey), Keith Emerson (Emerson Lake & Palmer), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple, Rainbow) and John Ford Coley (England Dan’s erstwhile partner) come to mind immediately. While not all have pursued classical music, the influence is often evident in their music.

Over the years, several prominent classic rock groups have experimented with rock operas, notably The Who (Tommy and Quadrophenia), Pink Floyd (The Wall), Genesis (The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway) and Rush (2112) to name a few.

I doubt that anyone will confuse Tommy with Rigoletto or Pete Townshend with Giuseppe Verdi, but you may find that there’s more classical in classic rock than you first thought.

^{Credits:
Elvis Costello - Photo by Tim Kent/courtesy of Warner Bros./Reprise Records
Roger Waters - PRNewsFoto/Sony BMG
Peter Frampton - Courtesy William Morris Agency
Sting - Jeff Vinnick / Getty Images
Paul McCartney - Dave Hogan / Getty Images
Pete Townshend - Photo by TBC, © 2005 Live 8
Giuseppe Verde - public domain}