The buskers were two fascinating British guys named Michael Copley and Dag Ingram. Michael was the wind player (flute, recorders, crumhorns); Dag played accordion. What's a crumhorn? It's an instrument popular in the Renaissance. You blow through a wind cap to activate the double reed. It sounds like a bee buzzing.
These were two very capable classical players and they used to play on the platforms in the tube stations in England during the early 1980s. {They are sort of like the people in New York City who are members of Music under New York.} Their career supposedly started one evening when they were at Blackfriars station without enough fare to get home. They whipped out their axes and started playing The Entertainer. Soon they had the money. Being the bright British blokes they are, they embarked upon a career. They played in England for years, then got a fairly decent record deal which allowed them to go on world tours to promote their abilities. Alas it seems that Dag has left the group and been replaced by a man named Ian Moore. Here is one of their most ingenious numbers where they take you on a whirlwind tour of the nine Beethoven symphonies in a little more than three minutes. Listen!
Another of their crackerjack arrangements is this exploration of the 6 Brandenburg Concertos by Bach in under two minutes’ time. Listen!
Now if you don’t know all the themes to Bach's Brandenburgs or Beethoven's symphonies, this should light a fire under you so you can come back and figure out which themes they used.
These were two very capable classical players and they used to play on the platforms in the tube stations in England during the early 1980s. {They are sort of like the people in New York City who are members of Music under New York.} Their career supposedly started one evening when they were at Blackfriars station without enough fare to get home. They whipped out their axes and started playing The Entertainer. Soon they had the money. Being the bright British blokes they are, they embarked upon a career. They played in England for years, then got a fairly decent record deal which allowed them to go on world tours to promote their abilities. Alas it seems that Dag has left the group and been replaced by a man named Ian Moore. Here is one of their most ingenious numbers where they take you on a whirlwind tour of the nine Beethoven symphonies in a little more than three minutes. Listen!