April is rolling on out with some frequent favorites of the blog. Here is this piece which I bought for just one dollar. Nice. As a side note, since I saw Julie Andrew’s Star! (the bio pic of Gertrude Lawrence) over the Christmas Holiday, I have been trying like heck to get a copy of any version I can find of Veill’s Lady In The Dark. Well, to this point, I have been unlucky. However, I am still trying. This record does contain “My Ship” but it the rest of the work that really intrigues me.
Kurt Veill ( 1900-1950) and his music have two distinct periods, his early work in Germany (most notably with Bertolt Brecht) and his later years in New York. This album, makes note of these periods, devoting one side to New York and another side to Berlin. Veill married the star of his German works, Lotta Lenya. After his death, Lenya became the loyal torch bearer of his his legacy.
The pieces are performed under the conduction of Morton Gould (1913-1996). Born in Richmond Hill. NY, Gould began his career playing piano at the movies for silent pictures. From here, he grew his career to include radio, recordings,film, Broadway, and television, as a songwriter, conductor and arranger. He worked with all of the major orchestras in the US as well as many international units. He died in Orlando, FL at age 82. At the time, we was the first resident guest composer/conductor for the Disney Institute.
This album is pretty good despite no lyrics. But in this respect, Veill’s music is put at the forefront. It really showcases his genius. In terms of the New York side, you would not know if by listening to the songs, but I was impressed with the scope of writers Veill collaborated with during this period. This list included such luminaries as Langston Hughes and Ira Gershwin. Anyway, good little album. Both periods are well represented. Veill’s most famous work, “Mack The Knife” is given both a New York and Berlin treatment.
For a sample, I was really taken aback with “Train to Johannesburg ” from Lost In The Stars, a 1949 piece from his New York years with book and lyrics written by Maxwell Anderson.
I also went with the Berlin version of “Mack The Knife” from Threepenny Opera. An excellent version from the 1970’s New York Shakespeare In The Park production is on this blog if you can find it. It should be noted that Lenya hated that version although I think it is excellent.
Good little record. Satisfactory.