Identifying the Piano and Victrola themes in Colonel's Bequest

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Alderem
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Identifying the Piano and Victrola themes in Colonel's Bequest

Post by Alderem »

At least some of the themes in the Colonel's Bequest are classic/ragtime themes. I'd like to have them all identified, but I don't know all of them.

UPDATE: Thanks to goatmeal1 and jaffa225man for early correct guesses, and most of all to Spikey for reaching out to Ken Allen - we now have complete answers!
  • Fifi's Victrola 1 - Gymnopédie No.1, by Erik Satie, 1888
  • Fifi's Victrola 2 - Original composition in French folk style, by Ken Allen, 1989
  • Fifi's Victrola 3 - Boléro, by Maurice Ravel, 1928 ... an anachronism in the game's set time of 1925
  • Player Piano 1 - Camptown Races, by Stephen Foster, 1850
  • Player Piano 2 - The Entertainer, by Scott Joplin, 1902
  • Player Piano 3 - Maple Leaf Rag, by Scott Joplin, 1899
  • Player Piano 4 - Bethena, by Scott Joplin, 1905
  • Player Piano 5 - A Breeze From Alabama, by Scott Joplin, 1902
  • Victrola Theme 1 - Original composition in Gershwin style, by Ken Allen, 1989
  • Victrola Theme 2 - Original composition based on flapper music and "Smile" by Count Basie, by Ken Allen, 1989
  • Victrola Theme 3 - Original composition in college fight song style, by Ken Allen, 1989
  • Victrola Theme 4 - Gymnopédie No.3, by Erik Satie, 1888
Last edited by Alderem on Wed Aug 05, 2020 11:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.
goatmeal1
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Re: Identifying the Piano and Victrola themes in Colonel's Bequest

Post by goatmeal1 »

Marten wrote: Thu Jul 23, 2020 1:26 am
  • Fifi's Victrola 1
Gymnopédie No.1, by Erik Satie, 1888

As for the others, Ken Allen is still around on the Internet. Perhaps he can help?
jaffa225man
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Re: Identifying the Piano and Victrola themes in Colonel's Bequest

Post by jaffa225man »

Marten wrote: Thu Jul 23, 2020 1:26 am
  • Player Piano 4
  • Player Piano 5
These two, I think I can identify as:
  • Player Piano 4 - Bethena, by Scott Joplin, 1905
  • Player Piano 5 - A Breeze From Alabama, by Scott Joplin, 1902
These and more can be found (well, right now it doesn't seem to be working, so the link is to archive.org) at www.mutopiaproject.org: https://web.archive.org/web/20080628174 ... er=JoplinS

Others seem familiar enough, although I do listen to the soundtrack to Colonel's Bequest enough too. If I can detect anymore I'll let you know.
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Re: Identifying the Piano and Victrola themes in Colonel's Bequest

Post by Spikey »

I would suggest Victrola Theme 1-4 are all originals by Ken Allen (messaged him to confirm, haven't heard back yet). My violinist girlfriend assures me Fifi Victrola #2 is Ken Allen and not classical, too. (In her words, it's "made up" classical.)

Funnily enough, a design document for CB was uncovered recently and I had been working on some CB music, that's a story for another time, though.
The document is interesting, although it was finished before any music was worked on. You can see Roberta has a few ideas for what might be included- classics Varsity Daze and Sugar Blues.

https://www.sierragamers.com/wp-content ... /CB2V3.pdf
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Re: Identifying the Piano and Victrola themes in Colonel's Bequest

Post by Spikey »

From Ken Allen tonight:

"Fifi's Victrola Theme 1 is one of the Gymnopédies by Satie
Fifi's Victrola Theme 2 is an original piece in a French folk style motif because Fifi is French
Fifi's Victrola Theme 3 is an abbreviated version of Ravel's Bolero
Billiard Room Victrola #1 is original and based on Gershwin's style (this game is set in an era where Gershwin was in his heyday)
Billiard Room Victrola #2 is original and based on flapper music but also on Count Basie's "Smile"
Billiard Room Victrola #3 is original and intended to be reminiscent of a college fight song
Billiard Room Victrola #4 is another of Satie's Gymnopedies pieces"
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Alderem
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Re: Identifying the Piano and Victrola themes in Colonel's Bequest

Post by Alderem »

Sweet! Now can we figure out which of the Gymnopedies is used for Billiard Victrola #4?

EDIT: Done, there were only 3 Gymnopedies, so the correct answer was obvious upon listening. It is #3.
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