Shadow Puppet Storyteller

Drops Into the Public Domain

The Soundtrack of my Life

Recently re-watched the Disney Fantasia film of my childhood, and by the time I had kids, that early version was on VHS tape. Fantasia was attempted again by Disney, and I only saw it once, specifically in a movie theater. Everything in the Fantasia 2000 release was forgettable, for me, except the concluding piece of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Truth is, I do not think I had heard the full musical piece before, except in a snippet here or there. Since many of the recordings on You Tube do highlight the entire musical piece, running almost eighteen minutes. Easy to find other versions, I just decided to give the short one for this.

Because Gershwin's piano masterpiece has a rush-rush feel to it, the pulse of New York city, even an early Twentieth Century New York seem so true to the playfulness inherent. The concept behind both Fantasia films was to give the animators something to equate visually to classic music. The astonishing thing, Rhapsody In Blue is now a piece in the Public Domain. [An ever-growing catalog of the artistic pieces that no longer require the collection of royalties for the creators' estates] It used to run about seventy years, but Disney is one of those entities that has used its legal and financial power to extend the length of time an artwork stays out of public domain. Quite beneficial to keep selling related merchandise, you see.


George Gershwin Rhapsody In Blue ( a small portion, as utilized in Fantasia 2000)