So that music is March of the Gladiators by Fucik (as Arnold the Aardvark told me a while back)…
I just have this vision of 2 heavily armed gladiators marching up to stand before the Emperor. They strike their breast plates, raise their clenched fists in salute and solemnly declare, “Those who are about to die, salute you.” Dit dit diddle iddle dit dit da da, dit dit diddle iddle dit dit da da…
Was there ever less appropriate mood music?
(Dear administrator, I’m not spamming, I’m just re-posting to threads that fit this topic…) 
I am seriously pistoff to learn that, after years of grueling training (involving some rather heavy permanent scarring) and conditioning to acquire the lightning-fast reflexes, brute strength, high tolerance to pain, and killer-instinct that I now possess, … ARRRrrrrrgh!!!
Excuse me.
OK… It just bothers me that a composition which, by its very title belongs solely to my brothers in arms and me, should, well, for some unfathomable reason have come to be associated with, with, … pardon me very much… a bunch of guys riding around on one-wheeled horseless chariots! It’s just not fair !!!
If any of you are thinking of riding those things anywhere near the Colosseum, well, … you’ve been warned!
Re: March of the gladioli
> So that music is March of the Gladiators by Fucik (as Arnold the
> Aardvark told me a while back)…
It’s actually:
Entry Of The Gladiators (a.k.a. Thunder and Blazes)
by Julius Fucik (1872-1916)
written in 1897
When kids attempt this tune, I just roll my eyes at the
very poor quality of rendition. I asked ClassicFM to
play it in their request slot some time back, mentioning the
unicycling of course, but didn’t get to hear whether they did.
They’ve played Sousa’s ‘Thunderer’ more than once, after all…
Arnold the Aardvark
RE: March of the gladioli
> I just have this vision of 2 heavily armed gladiators marching up to
> stand before the Emperor. They strike their breast plates,
> raise their
> clenched fists in salute and solemnly declare, “Those who are about to
> die, salute you.” Dit dit diddle iddle dit dit da da, dit dit diddle
> iddle dit dit da da…
>
> Was there ever less appropriate mood music?
I thought the title was Entry of the Gladiators or Entrance of the
Gladiators. But clearly it was written at a much later date than the time of
“bread and circuses” in Rome. Picture the chariot race scene from Ben Hur.
It starts with all the teams doing a display lap on the track or something,
with some appropriately big fanfare music playing. Similar, but not the
same.
Now picture Ringling Bros., or some other large circus, when they do their
charivari/parade thing. This is where all the performers, animals,
showgirls, etc., come out and do a lap around the “hippodrome track” as
Ringling still calls it. THAT’S what I think that music was written for.
And one guy on a unicycle, riding downt the street, is not that.
JF
So, … therefore, without meaning to, those people are flattering us! I’m not being sarcastic here. Did it ever occur to y’all, that deep down, the average schmo on the street really wishes that they could do what you’re doing, and that they should be pitied for the fact that their insecurity only allows them to make wisecracks instead of laudations? When they whistle/hum/sing Entry of the Gladiators, hold your head high and salute them!