OT: Whistle in Gods & Generals

Stonewall · Post by **Stonewall** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 8:26 pm

I haven't posted in a while but I thought I'd break my silence with this little bit of whistle info...

I recently purchased the soundtrack to Gods & Generals (the prequel to Gettysburg) and was pleasantly surprised to find that Paddy Maloney was one of the guest performers. He plays in two tracks, using his pipes for one and his whistle for the other.

From what I heard the movie will include scenes involving many of the Irish regiments that were involved in the war. So the music will be reflecting that. I hope its as good as the music makes it sound.

Stonewall

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Stonewall on 2003-02-07 21:27 ]</font>

energy · Post by **energy** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 8:12 pm

Hey Stonewall, I assume your nick is a reference to the great general?

Going on, what do you think of the soundtrack? From what I've heard, the movie is supposed to be terrible, which is really too bad. It could have been so cool.

Stonewall · Post by **Stonewall** » Sun Feb 09, 2003 10:44 am

energy, you're right about the nick. Stonewall Jackson has been one of my personal heroes since I read James A. Roberston's biography on him a couple of years ago.

Regarding the soundtrack, it is beautiful, I think the reviewer at Filmtracks.com put it best when he said, "The score functions...as a lengthy, symphonic concert suite to the Civil War, the likes of which has not been recorded before." Along with Paddy Maloney the other guest artists include Mark O'Connor, Mary Fahl, and Bob Dylan.

One of my favorite tracks is where Maloney plays his pipes against O'Connor's fiddle. The instruments weave back and forth sometimes even playing in unison where you can't distinguish between the two. It is amazing.

I also share your concerns about the film (after seeing some of the initial reviews). Oh well, even if the movie flops at least the soundtrack is a fitting tribute to the men who fought and died during this terrible war.

Stonewall

Chuck_Clark · Post by **Chuck_Clark** » Wed Feb 26, 2003 6:15 pm

Just thought I'd bring this thread back instead of starting a new one.

I enjoyed the movie, but I'm both an ACW buff and a great fan of Jeff Shaara. Both historically and true to the book, but it was long 3:49 and tended to drag in spots.

As for the whistle or lack thereof, I couldn't tell when it was supposed to be playing. Every whistle-like scene in fact was a fife or fifes, though I suppose that's not what was necessarily playing the music on the score.

computer-mom · Post by **computer-mom** » Wed Feb 26, 2003 6:59 pm

I think the whistle was playing in the background when the Southern lady was telling how, in 1847, the field where the battle (of Fredricksburg) was fought had raised the finest crop of corn they'd ever seen, that most of that crop had been donated to feed the starving Irish, and how she thought that some of the Irish soldiers who had just died in that field had been fed by the corn it raised.

Isilwen · Post by **Isilwen** » Wed Feb 26, 2003 7:38 pm

My step-grandpa is distantly related to Stonewall Jackson... *wonders if this is even remotely relevant*

H.

jim_mc · Post by **jim_mc** » Wed Feb 26, 2003 10:12 pm

Lots of fifers and drummers were involved in the movie, and many of them actually appear in the film and are not just on the soundtrack.

A bunch of my CW buff friends went to see it, but I can't sit for (nearly) four hours in a theatre. I'll have to wait for the DVD. For what it's worth, they all thought it was accurate, educational, and packed with information. No one called it compelling, though, and they all seemed a little bleary eyed just talking about it.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 9:42 am

I've been a ACW buff for decades and I can't bring myself to spend an entire Saturday afternoon at the theater. I might wait for it to come out on DVD.

Stonewall · Post by **Stonewall** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 12:00 pm

On 2003-02-26 19:15, Chuck_Clark wrote:
As for the whistle or lack thereof, I couldn't tell when it was supposed to be playing. Every whistle-like scene in fact was a fife or fifes, though I suppose that's not what was necessarily playing the music on the score.

I agree, Paddy Maloney's whistle was a little hard to catch. I would have probably missed it if I didn't already own the soundtrack.

Speaking of the soundtrack, it came with an extra disc that contained some deleted scenes from the film. One was of a Confederate Irishman singing one of their songs of rebellion. The other was of a small celtic band (from the Irish Brigade that charged at Fredericksburg) with whistles and bodhran.

I was not as dissapointed with "Gods and Generals" as I thought I might be. A lot of this is probably due to the amazingly accurate depiction of Jackson in the film. Its a great film for ACW and history buffs.

Stonewall
PS: For you gaelic speakers: What were the Confederate Irish shouting after the unsuccessful charge of their Union brothers?

brownja · Post by **brownja** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 1:29 pm

Our local I-trad star, John Whelan, is in the movie. He plays both a confederate and union solder. In a newspaper interview, he said that was because they wanted to shoot the accordian player twice.
Cheers,
jb

Stonewall · Post by **Stonewall** » Thu Feb 27, 2003 5:57 pm

On 2003-02-27 14:29, brownja wrote:
Our local I-trad star, John Whelan, is in the movie. He plays both a confederate and union solder. In a newspaper interview, he said that was because they wanted to shoot the accordian player twice.

The aforementioned clip of the celtic band (from the Irish Brigade) had one accordion player. Also the song done in the CSA camp was the "Song of the Rebel Irish."

Stonewall