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Heroes
he·ro [heer-oh] noun
1. A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.
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Recorded: August, 2006. © Hector Olivera.
Instrument: Roland Atelier
Audio mastering: Joe Bellamy, Peace in the Valley
Text: Lieve J. Olivera
Graphics/Prepress: Ray Britt, Press Arts, San Diego, CA
Roland Atelier® Floppy Disk
For the first time in Hector Olivera's CD recording history, he is offering the Roland® Atelier® files on a single floppy disk.
This floppy disk contains all the compositions of the new CD "Heroes". (However, these files will ONLY play on the Roland Atelier AT-90SL or AT-80SL instruments.)
While the CD's fidelity is tremendous, nothing comes close to listening to Hector Olivera play on your Roland Atelier AT-90SL/80SL in the comfort of your home or your music studio.
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| Track | Selection | |
| 1 |  |
Stephen Foster Medley |
| 2 | |
"Thee I Love" from Friendly Persuasion |
| 3 | |
Overture to HMS Pinafore |
| 4 | |
Looking at Heaven |
| 5 | |
A Bird in a Gilded Cage |
| 6 | |
The Magnificent Seven |
| 7 | |
Once Upon a Time in the West |
| 8 | |
High Noon |
| 9 | |
The Yield of the Accounts |
| 10 | |
For a Few Dollars More |
| 11 | |
When Johnny Comes Marching Home |
| 12 | |
Can I Have this Dance |
About the Recording
Stephen Foster's life (1826 - 1864) has become part of American legend. He died at age 37 with 38 cents in his pocket and a penciled scrap of paper that read, "dear friends and gentle hearts." This Foster Overture is a medley of songs containing Oh Susanna, My Old Kentucky Home, Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair, Old Folks at Home, Beautiful Dreamer and The Campton Races.
The song Thee I Love was written by Dimitri Tiomkin for the movie Friendly Persuasion, which is the story about a family of Quakers in Indiana in 1862. Their religion is strongly opposed to violence and war. When Southern troops pass through their area, trouble arises. Should they fight despite their peaceful beliefs?
HMS Pinafore opened in London on May 28, 1878. It ran for 571 performances and became a huge fad in America. HMS Pinafore is amongst the most popular Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
After the shootout near the OK Corral (October 26, 1881) Wyatt Earp yearned for a peaceful life and went to San Francisco to propose marriage to Josephine Marcus who was an actress/singer and, ironically, was performing the roll of Josephine in the comique opera “HMS Pinafore.” Looking at Heaven is the end credit music of the movie Tombstone. The photo on the cover of this CD is the famous Bird Cage Theater; it is at this theater where Wyatt Earp meets Josephine Marcus for the first time and where, in the early 1900’s, famous artists like Lillian Russel and Enrico Carusso performed. I personally had the privilege to spend two nights in the old hotel across the street from the Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone, Arizona. After I fully soaked in the atmosphere of the old western town and the theater’s history, I ‘became’ Wyatt Earp and was inspired to compose this CD.
It was this same Bird Cage Theater that also inspired Arthur J. Lamb to write the lyrics of the song A Bird in a Gilded Cage. Harry Von Tilzer wrote the music that made Lillian Russel famous.
The Magnificent Seven is an Americanization of the film ‘Shichinin no samurai’ or ‘The Seven Samurai’. Year after year, a bandit terrorizes a small Mexican farming village. The village elders send three of the farmers into the United States to search for gunmen to defend them. They end up with 7, each of whom comes for a different reason. They must prepare the town to repulse an army of over 100 bandits who will arrive wanting food.
Ennio Morricone wrote the score for the movie Once Upon a Time in the West. This frontier epic is the story of a mysterious stranger with his harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
The simple but haunting melody Do not Forsake Me Oh My Darling was written by Dimitri Tiomkin for the movie High Noon starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The movie tells the story of a retired lawman about to leave town with his new bride when an outlaw he put in prison returns with his gang to take revenge.
Two bounty hunters search for an outlaw named ‘Indio’. The Yield of the Accounts refers to the scene that takes place in an old Spanish church where Indio takes on the man who sent him to jail. When the music, seemingly coming from the pocket watch ends, the duel starts. Ennio Morricone composed the music for the movie For a Few Dollars More.
In my eyes, ‘Johnny,’ who goes to war as a young boy, fighting for the country he loves, is a true hero. And When Johnny Comes Marching Home, gratitude and joy are immense, an emotion still evoked by many who listen to this composition today. Morton Gould originally wrote the arrangement of this timeless piece, entitled American Salute.
The CD concludes with a short, yet poignant and significant reprisal from the movie Tombstone.
After proposing marriage, legendary Wyatt Earp gently asks Josephine:
”May I have this dance?
...And then, we’ll order room service...”