''Ars Longa Vita Brevis'' is the second
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the English
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
group
the Nice
The Nice were an English progressive rock band active in the late 1960s. They blended rock, jazz and classical music and were keyboardist Keith Emerson's first commercially successful band.
The group was formed in 1967 by Emerson, Lee Jack ...
.
Recording
Guitarist
David O'List
David O'List (born 13 December 1948) is an English rock guitarist, vocalist and trumpeter.
He has played with The Attack, The Nice, Roxy Music (before being replaced by Phil Manzanera), and Jet (replaced by Ian Macleod). He also briefly deputi ...
left the band during the recording of the album, leaving the remaining three members to complete it. After flirting briefly with replacement guitarists (including
Steve Howe
Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to l ...
, later to join
Yes
Yes or YES may refer to:
* An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no
Education
* YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US
* YES (Your Extraordinary Saturday), a learning program from the Minnesota Institute for Talente ...
), the Nice decided to carry on as a keyboard-led trio. The title is an
aphorism
An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...
attributed to
Hippocrates
Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...
usually rendered as "
Art is long, life is short";
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...
's interpretation of this can be gauged from his sleevenote:
Newton
Newton most commonly refers to:
* Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist
* Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton
Newton may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film
* Newton ( ...
's first law of motion states a body will remain at rest or continue with uniform motion in a straight line unless acted on by a force. This time the force happened to come from a European source. Ours is an extension of the original Allegro from Brandenburg Concerto
The ''Brandenburg Concertos'' by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1046–1051), are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, MacDonogh, Giles. ''Frederick the Great: A Life in Dee ...
No. 3. Yesterday I met someone who changed my life, today we put down a sound that made our aim accurate. Tomorrow is yesterday's history and art will still be there, even if life terminates.
Structurally the album started where its predecessor left off – shortish songs and extended work-outs based on classical themes – but a step forward was taken with the addition of an orchestra and the extended length of ''Ars Longa Vita Brevis'' itself, foreshadowing the later
Five Bridges
The "Five Bridges Suite" is a modern piece of music, written in the 1960s, combining classical music and jazz. Written about the UK city of Newcastle upon Tyne, it was released as an album by the Nice as ''Five Bridges'', which achieved the nu ...
Suite. Furthermore, this album contains some songs in which Keith Emerson sings lead vocals: he shares the singing with Lee Jackson in "Daddy, Where Did I Come From", sings all lead vocals on "Happy Freuds" and sings the bridge in "Little Arabella".
Guest guitarist Malcolm Langstaff died in 2007.
Reception
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's
Bruce Eder described the album as "a genuinely groundbreaking effort".
Track listing
All songs written by
Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...
and
Lee Jackson, except where noted.
Side one
# "Daddy, Where Did I Come From" – 3:44
# "Little Arabella" – 4:18
# "Happy Freuds" – 3:25
# "Intermezzo from the
Karelia Suite
''Karelia Suite'', Op. 11 is a subset of pieces from the longer ''Karelia Music'' (named after the region of Karelia) written by Jean Sibelius in 1893 for the Viipuri Students' Association and premiered, with Sibelius conducting, at the Imper ...
"
(Sibelius
Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...
) – 8:57
# "Don Edito el Gruva"
(Emerson, Jackson, Brian Davison) – 0:13
Side two
#
"Ars Longa Vita Brevis" – 19:20
::* "Prelude" (Emerson) – 1:49
::* "1st Movement – Awakening" (Davison) – 4:01
::* "2nd Movement – Realisation" (Jackson, David O'List
David O'List (born 13 December 1948) is an English rock guitarist, vocalist and trumpeter.
He has played with The Attack, The Nice, Roxy Music (before being replaced by Phil Manzanera), and Jet (replaced by Ian Macleod). He also briefly deputi ...
, Emerson) – 4:54
::* "3rd Movement – Acceptance "Brandenburger"" (J.S.Bach, Davison, Emerson, Jackson) – 4:23
::* "4th Movement – Denial" (Davison, Emerson, Jackson) – 3:23
::* "Coda – Extension to the Big Note" (Emerson) – 0:46
;Bonus tracks on the 1973 Columbia release
# "America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
" (Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
and Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
)
# "2nd Amendment" (Davison, Jackson)[
Added to side one (tracks 1 and 2) on the ]Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
release via their Columbia Special Products subsidiary.
Personnel
;The Nice
* Keith Emerson
Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...
– keyboards, backing and lead (1, 2, 3) vocals
* Lee Jackson – bass guitar, lead vocals (all but 4)
* Brian Davison – drums
* David O'List
David O'List (born 13 December 1948) is an English rock guitarist, vocalist and trumpeter.
He has played with The Attack, The Nice, Roxy Music (before being replaced by Phil Manzanera), and Jet (replaced by Ian Macleod). He also briefly deputi ...
– Guitar on 1973 Columbia bonus tracks "America" and "Second Amendment"
with:
* Malcolm Langstaff – guitar (6b)
* Robert Stewart – orchestral arranger, conductor
;Technical
* Don Brewer – engineer/consultant
* Gered Mankowitz
Gered Mankowitz (born 3 August 1946) is an English photographer who focused his career in the music industry. He has worked with a range of artists from The Rolling Stones to Jimi Hendrix, and in other divisions of the photography industry, i ...
– cover photograph and X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
s of The Nice[Although it is clear from examination of the cover that the three X-rays are identical]
References
{{Authority control
1968 albums
The Nice albums
Immediate Records albums
Castle Communications albums
Repertoire Records albums
Albums produced by Keith Emerson
Albums produced by Brian Davison (drummer)
Albums produced by Lee Jackson (bassist)