(PBS Primetime, 1971 - 1986;
PBS Primetime, 1991 - present)
[An group of mini-series produced originally by the BBC
began in this series which became one of the finest venues
of literate theatre performances, such as "The Forsyte Saga",
"The First Churchills", "Madame Bovary", "Edward & Mrs. Simpson",
"Jewel In The Crown", "The Tale of Beatrix Potter",
"The Citadel" and the most famous, "Upstairs/Downstairs";
Allistair Cooke, a British gentleman who was known in the
U.S. for his hosting of the Ford Foundation's "Omnibus"
arts anthology series on CBS, ABC & NBC, was the host of
this series until his death in March, 2004;
At times the broadcasts were underwritten by Mobil Oil
Company so it had alternate titles as follows:
aka: "Mobil Masterpiece Theatre";
aka: "Exxon-Mobil Masterpiece Theatre"]
[aka: "Sinfonies De Fanfares (Premiere Suite, 1st movement)"]
[Jean-Joseph Mouret (1682 - 1738) was described as a fancy dresser who
loved good food and wine; He was a writer of ballet, opera and incidental
music for the stage.
At one point in his career he was employed by the Duchesse du Maine,
whose celebrated "Grandes Nuits de Sceaux" at her chateau near Paris
were famous parties which included theatrical events and concerts;
The Rondeau -- sometimes spelled Rondo -- is a dance form which
he composed as the first movement of his First Symphonic Suite;
The Rondeau is sometimes called "Fanfare" from "The First
Symphonic Suite";
The Suite was written by Mouret for the court of Louis XIV, the
famous "Sun King" of France, as part of his "Symphonies and
Fanfares for the King's Supper";
The French royalty and aristocracy would have been amazed to
know that nearly 300 years later, their courtly dinner music
would still be heard around the world to herald dramatic
theatrical Masterpieces seen on two continents...]
Composer: Jean-Joseph Mouret (predates ASCAP)
Original Publisher:
Composition Date:
Copyright Date:
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[aka: "Sinfonies De Fanfares (Premiere Suite, 1st movement)";
This was mostly a re-sizing of the longer work by Mouret, to fit the
needs of a THEME for the weekly PBS TV series, with its varied fare
of plays and dramatic works.
The LP below on Sine Qua Non records includes THEMEs from several
PBS mini-series including the Main Theme for Masterpiece Theatre
used on the air, which was recorded in 1954 by the Collegium Musicum
of Paris conducted by Roland Duatte released originally on
Vogue Records]]
Adapter/Arranger: Paul Parnes
1978 Publisher: [in the Public Domain]
2001 Publisher: [in the Public Domain]
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings:
LP: "Themes from Masterpiece Theatre" (1985)
Volumes I and II (2-LP set)
produced by the WGBH Educational Foundation
Sine Qua Non Records (1954)-- SQN 5057-1
CD: "Public Television's Greatest Hits" (1990)
The United Kingdom Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Harry Rabinowitz, M. B. E.
BMG Records 60470-2-RC
[This piece was a sub-theme used beginning in 1991 and revised
in a longer version in 1999, for plays by American authors...]
Composer: John Towner Williams (ASCAP/BMI)
2001 Publishers: Warner Publishing Company (BMI)
c/o Warner-Chappell Pub. Corp.
of Los Angeles, CA; and
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Co. (BMI)
c/o Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recordings: