George Gershwin/ Leontyne Price & William Warfiled- Great Scenes from Porgy and Bess

I bought this in mind for the reason I am posting it ( which will be revealed later). I paid $5 for this. I am sure by this point in the month, you are quite well aware that due to the fact that I burn out on post writing by month’s end, I decided to write this month’s posts from the end to the beginning. Thus, this would be the first post of the month, in terms of putting it done on screen. Still in the midst of COVID-19 lockdown while writing this Hopefully, society is still a thing when this comes out.

Here we are with a Dynagroove 1963 recording of excerpts from George Gershwin’s much maligned at the time, 1935 folk opera. The two main singers, Leontyne Price (Laurel, Miss 1927) and William Warfield (West Helena, Ark 1920-2002) ,both of which featured in a successful 1952 touring revival, which was one of the first of the period to perform behind the Iron Curtain. The tour returned to the US and ran until 1956. Coincidentally, Price and Warfield married before the tour, but were separated by 1967.

The record also features Skitch Henderson conducting the orchestra and Leonard de Paur directing the chorus as well as famed opera singer McHenry Boatwright as Crown and reprising his original role of Sportin’ Life, John W. Bubbles. This would mark the only recorded score of Bubbles performing this work.

Also, just because I have civic pride, a 1976 revival at none other than the Houston Grand Opera is largely credited with swinging popular opinion towards the work. It was the first time to be staged by a proper opera company as opposed to a Broadway troupe. According to Wikipedia, the production won a Grammy as well as a Tony, thus becoming the only opera to receive one.

Putting the stereotypes aside, the work really has some great music. And the performances on this record are quite wonderful. Overall, a pretty good record. I actually think this is the first time I heard this from proper opera singers.

There were a lot of great songs on here. However, I bought this due to the very ill thought idea of presentign a month of nothing but “Summertime”. Luckilly, I pulled away from this idea. However, I felt that it would make a perfect bookend as I started the summer with the song , and thus here I am ending it with a combo of “Summertime/ A Woman is a Sometime Thing”.

I feel funny starting writing these posts and saying see you next month, but. see you next month. Satisfactory record by the way.

summertime/ a woman is a sometime thing

Pedro Harras-Hecho En Venezuela / Musica Para Exportar

This was another international pickup from the hot spot of used international records, Half Price Books of Sugar Land.  This was $4.

There is no really any other way a putting it than Venezuela these days is a real messed up place.  Three weeks ago, there were anti-Maduro out over by the Galleria area.  Not going to really delve too deep into the subject being a full hemisphere over, nor being in a spot to lecture anyone as to how democracy works.  

So in regards to this album, this is a collection of songs from Venezuelan artists.  According to the back cover, the orchestra and choir is by Pedro Harras.  Songs are from such famous Venezuelans as Luis Felipe Ramon y Rivera, Rafael Gonzalez, and Jose La Riva Contreras.  I have heard from one source that this came out in the 60’s.  From another, I have heard 1973.  It was apparently made for export purposes, according to the title.

In fact most of the information I got on this record came from a Google translation from a fellow music blogger which I offer here:

“The disks of the seal BASF and POLYDOR have the defect of not indicating the year of production. Despite this, we occupy this place in the 1970s,

Once again, we have seen the need to edit the content to correct errors or omissions in copyright, which is a constant in MADE IN VENEZUELA discs.

We seem very good musical arrangements – with some resemblance to those of RAY CONNIFF – that this production offers us.”

Link to original blog post

For a sample, I went with a tune co-written by Juan Vicente Torrealba entitled “Campesina”.  Good little number.

Anyway, decent little album of Venezuelan tunes which seems to have its own unique sound as compared to its neighbors.  I liked this record.  It seemed to share some characteristics with Northern Brazilian and Colombian music, yet it had its own flavor as well. Satisfactory.