Morton Gould and his Orchestra- The Two Worlds of Kurt Weill

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.

New York Shakespeare Festival Cast- Three Penny Opera

DSCN4664 (800x787)A friend of mine who used to work at Half Price Books knew this was a good record and recommended it to me.  Before hearing this, my only point of reference on Brecht’s Three Penny Opera was a cast recording from the 50’s featuring Kurt Weil’s wife Lotta Leyna who also performed in the original. 2884123_1399136425

Threepenny Opera, written by Bertolt Brecht with music by Kurt Weill, is a play with music and part of Brecht’s “epic theater”.  Adapted from John Gay’s 18th century Beggar’s Opera, Brecht tells the story of Macheath, one of the 20th century’s earliest anti-heroes, through a socialist perspective of capitalism.  Performed in Germany in 1928, it has been translated and performed throughout the world and is one of Brecht’s most popular works.DSCN4666 (800x795)

 

The first US production was in 1933 at the Empire Theater on Broadway.  Running two weeks at 12 performances, it was a disappointment.  Neither Weill or Brecht were involved in rehearsals. An off-Broadway version in 1955, translated by Marc Blitzstein and staring Weill’s widow Lotta Lenya as Low Dive Jenny, was a massive success, running 6-1/2 years and 2707 shows.  At the time, it beat out Oklahoma for consecutive performance of a musical. The album mentioned in the first paragraph was taken from this run.  In contrast, this album was taken from the next major US production, 1976’s New York Shakespeare Festival’ adaption, translated by Ralph Manheimm and John Willet.  It has been described as a “milestone in American Theater”. Some critics,however,  including Lenya were less enthused with the final result.  The production ran for 9 months and 307 performances.

Perhaps the most famous song from the play is the opening “Die Moritat” or simply “Mack the Knife”.  Oddly enough, this song was written as an after thought on the fly when the actor playing Macheath, Harald Paulsen, demanded an introductory song for his character.  It has become a jazz/pop  standard in the US thanks in part to Louis Armstrong and Bobby Darin.   When Armstrong recorded his version, Lotta Lenya was present in the studio.  Armstrong added her name to the song when  listing floozies in Macheath’s stable.  It should be noted though that traditionally, the song sounds more like the version below, which is done by Roger Daltery of the Who.

Webpage on all things Threepenny Opera

The second most famous song from the production would be “Seeraberjenny” or “Pirate Jenny”.  It is a revenge fantasy song sung by Low Dive Jenny in which she plots the overthrow of the customers who look down on her.  Lenya performed excellent versions of this song both in German and in English.  My favorite version of this song, however, was down by Nina Simone.

This album’s production made a star out of Raul Julia, who played Macheath.  It also starred Ellen Greene, of Little Shop of Horrors fame. Below is a clip of Julia in a 1989 movie adaptation that sticks closer to the Blitzstein version.  I should have noted this but this is also where the Daltrey clip comes from.

The translation on this album is the real star in my mind.  Whereas Blitzstein softened up the text for 1950’s America, this version is more gritty and more true to Brecht’s original vision. It also has mild profanity.  I know that is cheap thrills but I like it.  My favorite song on the album has to be “Jealousy Duet”, which is shown below in the 1950’s version as a point of comparison.  Note that this features Future Golden Girl, Bea Arthur.

For samples, I went with what I felt showcased the difference between the two translations.  First off is “The Cannon Song” also known as “The Army Song”.  It is a song between Macheath and his old army buddy Tiger Brown, who is now chief of police. I greatly prefer this version to the one shown above.  Also as a sample, I went with “Jealousy Duet” which is my favorite song on the album.  It is sung by Polly and Lucy outside Macheath’s cell. Again, compare the MP3 to the video clip above and tell me otherwise.  Please note that this MP3 does have mild profanity.  Finally, I went with “Ballad of Gracious Living” to showcase Julia’s talent.DSCN4665 (800x797)

This is a top rated album. I should give credit to the other performers on the MP3’s.  Tiger Brown is played by David Sabin.  Polly is played by Caroline Kava.  Lucy is played by Blair Brown.