A YouTube friend wants to know...

[ISNorden]

After I commented on the Fairy Alphabet clip, I got a message from another viewer who had questions about the music:

In your comment, you suggest that the music which was used in this clip was "an original tune". By that do you mean that the music being used was an actual piece of music, or was it just something composed by SS for the sole purpose of the animation?

On one hand, Sesame Street has used some public-domain music unchanged, including classical pieces. For example, two episodes have written new lyrics to the "Toreador Chorus": one version had Muppets and humans praising the letter L in a grand-opera setting, and the other taught the names of differently-sized musical groups. (I don't recall all those lyrics, but the lines "when there are three, oh/you have a trio" have stuck in my mind somehow).

On the other hand, I have never heard a composition similar to the one used in the "Fairy Alphabet" cartoon (and I'm 37 years old, with a decent knowledge of classical music). It may have been written specifically for Sesame Street, although I personally can't confirm that.

Because "Fairy Alphabet" first aired in the mid-70's, I'm unlikely to reach anybody who was involved in putting it together; they're either dead or retired by now. I'll ask on the "Muppet Central" forum, though: a few members there have talked about visiting the studio "way back when", so they might know more. Here's hoping that someone else can help...*crosses her fingers*