Is this the real Alpha Inn!. . . .

Probably not, but it is partially owned by an upcoming Holmes actor.

Ian Mckellen's Pub

SHIN - Does this work for you?

Story

Ian McKellan as Holmes

SHIN - The music of Holmes

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COLUMNS

EMILY S. WHITTEN: THE MUSIC OF SHERLOCK HOLMES

JANUARY 13, 2015 EMILY S. WHITTEN 2 COMMENTS

This past weekend, Sherlock Holmes fans from all over the world gathered in New York City to celebrate Holmes’ birthday at the annual BSI Weekend, hosted in main part by The Baker Street Irregulars, a Sherlockian literary society founded by Christopher Morley in 1934. As a longtime Holmes fan myself, this was my third year attending, and, as before, I had a great time with Sherlockian friends old and new, discussing and honoring the great detective, his faithful chronicler Dr. Watson, and the peripheral cast of characters (including the original BSI, Holmes’ group of street urchin informants) created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

I first attended the BSI Weekend in January 2012 after organizing aSherlock Holmes Night at The National Press Club and learning in the process about our local Sherlockian scion society, The Red Circle, and the BSI Weekend celebrations. And in honor of the BSI and Sherlock Holmes, today I figured I’d share something I put together while organizing that party – to wit, a little soundtrack of music that Holmes could conceivably have been listening to in the midst of his adventures, based on mentions in the canon of musicians and concerts he enjoyed.

I’ll be the first to admit that there are other fans around who are probably more serious Sherlockian scholars than I, and in fact, before I even realized that the BSI was out there as a Sherlockian society, I was using some of its work as a resource for compiling my little playlist (thank you, Baker Street Journal online archives). However, thanks to a little sleuthing and deduction of my own, despite there being more serious discussions of Holmes and music to be had, I am able to here provide a quick-and-easy list of compositions that are actually available and easily acquirable by anyone via, e.g., iTunes. So if scholarship is all well and good but what you’re really in the mood for is an efficient means of acquiring tunes that Holmes may have enjoyed as he processed clues while you snuggle up with your favorite bit of the canon on a snowy day, I can recommend the list below for your Sherlockian music needs.

• Violin Concerto No. 7 in e Minor, Op. 38: II. Adagio – Takako Nishizaki, Capella Istropolitana & Libor Pesek
• Song Without Words – Felix Mendelssohn
• Sonata in D Major, Op. 1 No. 13 (HWV 371): I. Affetuoso – Andrew Manze & Richard Egarr
• Sonata in D Major, Op. 1 No. 13 (HWV 371): II. Allegro – Andrew Manze & Richard Egarr
• Sonata in D Major, Op. 1 No. 13 (HWV 371): III. Larghetto – Andrew Manze & Richard Egarr
• Sonata in D Major, Op. 1 No. 13 (HWV 371): IV. Allegro – Andrew Manze & Richard Egarr
• Barcarolle from the Tales of Hoffmann (Act 2) – Jacques Offenbach
• Airs Ecossais, Op. 34 – Adele Anthony & Akira Eguchi
• String Quartet in C Major, Op. 29: I. Allegro Moderato – Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble
• String Quartet in C Major, Op. 29:II. Adagio molto Espressivo – Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble
• String Quartet in C Major, Op. 29:III. Scherzo: Allegro – Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble
• String Quartet in C Major, Op. 29:IV. Presto – Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble
• Nocturne No. 18 in E, Op. 62, No. 2 – Vladimir Ashkenazy
• 24 Caprices Op. 1 for Solo Violin: No., 18 in C – Nicolo Paganini
• Barcarolle in F Sharp Major, Op. 60 – Alwin Bär
• Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108: I. Allegro – Nikolaj Znaider & Yefim Bronfman
• Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100: II. Andante Tranquillo – Nikolaj Znaider & Yefim Bronfman
• Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100: III. Allegretto Grazioso (quasi Andante) – Nikolaj Znaider & Yefim Bronfman

Enjoy! And if you are of a more scholarly bent and are curious as to why these songs were chosen, here are a few of the resources I used in compiling them: Music, Musicians, and Composers in The Canon,The Avant-Garde Sherlock Holmes, and Sherlock Holmes and Music.

Until next time, the game’s afoot – so Servo Lectio!

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SHIN - Advance Review, . . . but not by me.

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Advance Review: In stores today!

SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. HARRY HOUDINI #3

Writer: Anthony del Col & Conor McCreery
Artist: Carlos Furuzono
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Reviewer: Lyzard

My relationship with Anthony del Col and Conor McCreery as a critic of theirs has been a rocky one. There are the times that I am praising their works, and then others when I am left shaking my head and crying “why, why” when things go ever so utterly wrong in their narratives. Then there is the snickering over Twitter when those two somehow take a story from a-okay to awesome. Our rapport is hardly consistent. Their work on SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. HARRY HOUDINI, however, is.

This comic hinges on the back and forth between the asshole detective and pompous magician. Though there is a mutual respect between the two men, it is their constant need to one-up the other, to be the smartest man in the room, to beat the other to the punch (sometimes literally) that drives this comic along. The series has potential far beyond the current mystery, but only because of how del Col and McCreery have written these two characters. While their artistic depictions are much too similar, their voices are keenly distinct. A line said by Houdini could not be mistaken for spoken by Holmes. Even though in issue #3 they spend the least amount of page time together, their contesting natures drive the story. They could be searching for a dognapper for all I care, I’d still read this comic.

But Holmes and Houdini have their sights set on someone more villainous than Cruella DeVille. After Houdini’s London premiere ended in a “suicide,” the two rationalists have been looking for the flesh and blood murderer who caused the incident and who has also threatened to create more chaos unless the American bows down to his awesome powers. Sound familiar? Perhaps I was so taken by the comic’s conceit that the similarity escaped me for the first two issues, but the climax of this book veered eerily close to the first Robert Downey Jr. SHERLOCK HOLMES flick. I am in no way accusing anyone of plagiarism. Parallels are bound to be found in material based on the same literary source. But if I were to find fault with the storytelling in this issue it would be how the plot felt more like del Col and McCreery’s other works, perhaps more “Killing Conan Doyle” rather than a clear focus on their original pairing of Houdini and Holmes, two jackass geniuses fighting against rather than with each other.

The artwork, same as the writing, has changed very little since the first issue. There is a lack of detail resulting in characters with nearly identical features. When Houdini and Holmes are on the same page there is enough to distinguish, but when both men go their separate ways to solve the crime, it can take a panel or two in order to decide whose footsteps we are following now. There was little in the way of action for the first book, so it is not inconsistent for the artwork to improve now that we get some punches being thrown. Much of the physical drama is drawn tight and up close, where Furuzono’s penciling improves in detail. It is when a panel has depth or scope that the over-simplification stands out.

SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. HARRY HOUDINI #3 does exactly what a midpoint issue should do. The stakes are raised ever so high, pushing the characters to their breaking points, and the reader to the edge of their chair in anticipation for what will happen next. I’ve learned my lesson in trying to predict what del Col and McCreery are trying to do, so I will leave the deduction to the experts. However, I doubt even Houdini or Holmes could guess how this story will end.

Lyzard is Lyz Reblin, a graduate student at the University of Texas pursuing a master's degree in Media Studies... which is just a fancy way of saying she plays a lot video games, watches far too many horror films, and then tries to pass it all off as "research."

I did not know this!

• General Motors Theatre presented a live telecast of Billy Budd in 1955, starring a young William Shatner as Billy Budd, with Douglas Campbell as Claggart, and Basil Rathbone as Captain Vere. Britten's "Four Sea Interludes" was included as background music.
• 
  

Holmes and Stapleton together again!

'Elementry' S3E9 - 'The Eternity Injection' - An eternity waiting for Holmes to appear

Once again Sherlock takes one of Watson's cases.
This one, a plea for help from one of Watson's co-workers, comes as a request to find a missing nurse who worked with Watson's friend.

Most of the evening once again resolved around Holmes' addiction and how he is dealing with it.

The case ends up revolving around and experimental drug that allows one to experience more life in a shorter period of time. . . . I think.
But it doesn't matter, once again the case really wasn't that important. Other than a slight similarity to CREE where both involve a drug that in some ways, mentally or physically gives one more energy.

Watson had very little to do, and Kitty even less. And although I like the fact that, other the the bugle blowing, most of the annoying habits of Holmes were nonexistent.
So, however, was any likeness to a Canonical Holmes.
For me this was the most police procedural of any of the tales so far.

Also, where last season we seemed to dwell most on Holmes relationship with Watson, this year so far it seems to be on his drug habit.

Where last week I found the show very good, and very Canonical, there was none of that this week.

I can only fairly give it;

mostly just because it wasn't bad.

I guess if he can spar with Bruce Lee. . . .

. . . he can write a book about Sherlock Holmes if he wants.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Publish a Novel About Sherlock Holmes’s Brother Mycroft

By ALEXANDRA ALTER

 JANUARY 8, 2015 4:12 PM January 8, 2015 4:12 pm

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s first novel, “Mycroft Holmes,” which stars Sherlock Holmes’ brainy older brother, will be published this fall by Titan Books.

Set in England and Trinidad, the story centers on Mycroft, a recent university graduate working for the British Secretary of State for War. Mycroft learns from his best friend of troubling events occurring in Trinidad — mysterious disappearances, dead children and strange, backward facing footprints in the sand. Mycroft goes to Trinidad to investigate and to follow his fiancée, Georgiana, who was raised on the island. Sherlock has a cameo as a King’s College student.

Mr. Abdul-Jabbar, a 19-time N.B.A. All-Star, began reading Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories more than 40 years ago, during his rookie season. “I was fascinated by Holmes’s ability to see clues where other people saw nothing,” he said in a statement released by his publisher. “Mycroft Holmes” was written with the screenwriter and producer Anna Waterhouse.

Mr. Abdul-Jabbar later read “Enter the Lion: A Posthumous Memoir of Mycroft Holmes,” a 1979 novel that was written by Michael P. Hodel and Sean M. Wright, and features Sherlock’s older brother. He was taken with the character, who appears in several of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories and works for the British government.

“I realized more could be done with this ‘older, smarter’ character and his window onto the highest levels of British government — at a time when Britain was the most powerful country in the world,” Mr. Abdul-Jabbar said in a statement.

Mr. Abdul-Jabbar, who has published an autobiography, as well as nonfiction and children’s books, will also release his third children’s book, “Streetball Crew – Stealing the Game,” in February.

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Seven Degrees of Sherlock Holmes #59 - Rod Taylor

Rod Taylor died today at the age of 84 (1930-2015) Just a couple days short of 85.

I will always remember him in 'The Birds' and 'The Time Machine'

He was also in a movie called 'Young Cassidy' 1965

Which also featured Sir Michael Redgrave (1908-1985)

Who was in 'The Browning Version" (1951)

Which also featured TV Sherlock Holmes Ronald Howard (1918-1996)

So, there you have it, there you are.

While we wait - our January reading list.

Well, 'Elementary' is on hiatus.
And 'Sherlock' is on an even longer hiatus
'A Slight Trick of the Mind' isn't due out for a while.
And RDJ and Jude Law still aren't sure when they will be at their third installment.

And till we get a report from the BSI weekend, we are left to our own devices.

So. . . until  'insert favorite Sherlock Holmes show here' comes back or  'Forever' changes it's name to 'Duncan Holmes, Highlander Sherlock Holmes' we will just have to make due with the Canon, or, of course, 'I hear of Sherlock Everywhere'. That doesn't sound so awful does it?

Here is our January reading list from the Canon, thanks to Baring-Gould and Brad.

REDC

VALL

ABBE

CHAR

BLAN

Put your feet up and enjoy.

For the Anglophile in all of us . . well, some more than others.

Top Ten Anniversaries

And, after all, it is always 1895 (120 years)