The PhilHallmonic Society Presents

Swingin’ on a Star: A Tribute to the Music of the 1940’s (their apostrophe, not mine)

Phil Hall (music director and accompanist) along with bass and drums/percussion (some very nice metallophone flourishes) provided the background for the nine Ladies presented. I wanted to like this more than I did. Some of the staging was a little slow; some of the singers had a few pitch problems; some of the performers were weaker than others; and some of the acting/presentation was a little bit lacking. Still, it was an interesting afternoon’s entertainment, presented by nine Ladies. (To a sold-out, freebie crowd.)

Hearing (snippets of) 30+ songs from the ’40s is a treat in and of itself. Most were known to me (I’m a ’50s baby with an old soul), but a few were new to me. And I heard some “new-to-me” lyrics, as well.

Where to start? “Take the A-Train,” “It’s a Good Day,” and “Tangerine” started us off pretty well. A strong performance of “Daddy” was unfortunately followed throughout the afternoon with same-old, same-old interpretations later on by the performer. “Besame Mucho,” “Since I Fell for You,” and “La Vie en Rose,” were mood changers, though not particularly strong numbers.

Now to the high points, “I’m Gonna Wash That Man …” was fun, staged well, and all-around enjoyable. “Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’” was sung by a baritone—a whiskey baritone (a gal with a very low voice)—but it was quite effective. I also liked “Too Darn Hot” (Cole Porter, from Kiss Me Kate) with pitch the woo and a reference to Kinsey in the lyrics. “So In Love” was also very strong.

“Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” fell under the aforementioned acting/presentation concern—a little one-dimensional. Still. It’s a fun song. “Moonshine Lullaby” (Annie Get Your Gun) was a great way to hear backup singers in close harmony. Also a big plus was the (female) duet “Anything You Can Do.”

New-to-me songs included “But Beautiful” (Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Burke) and “Billy-A-Dick,” a close-harmony Andrews Sisters–style number (Hoagy Carmichael/Paul Francis Webster). The finale of “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” (there’s that harmony again) also cheered my heart.

I’m not a big fan of audience interaction, but the Lady—oh, hell, let’s call a dame a dame—who worked the crowd (well, the male portion!) in “A-Tisket, A-Tasket,” was on the money.

I’m looking back at the program and realizing that there were other songs I really liked—“Laura,” “As Time Goes By,” “Blues in the Night,” and “You’ll Never Know.”

So there was a lot to like; it just wasn’t a home run.

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A World-Class Concert

Yes, siree, bob, I live in a great city. The opening concert of the 107th annual Naumburg Orchestral Concerts season was Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Free. Central Park. And, no, I have not been there for all 107 years!

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (conductor-less) presented:

Overture: Il Signor Bruschino (1813), Giaochino (boy, I’m surprised at that spelling) Rossini (1792–1868)
Holberg Suite, Opus 40 (1884), Edvard Grieg (1843–1907)
Symphony No. 29 in A Major. K 201 (1774), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
Romanian Folk Dances (1917), Béla Bartók (1881–1945).

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is a truly grand New York orchestra. No conductor; small (strings, woodwinds lite, two horns, for this concert); different folks acting as leader for different works. No ConcertMaster (I think I fainted a little!).

This concert was just plain fun. The Rossini overture was bright and it even included percussion. Percussion, you might ask? Yes, indeed. Written into the score is “tap-tap-tap-tap-tap”—yep, the string players tap their bows on their music stands—actually in the score. Well, the Rossini was fun, if a little bit on the light side (not a problem for me).

The Holberg Suite (strings only) reminded me of the string serenades of Tchaikovsky and Dvořák. Five sweet movements with a good opening; a slightly odd ending to movement number two; a Gavotte, that picked up on themes from the first movement; followed by two movements that included tension, fading away, and banjo- fiddle-like writing, in the last movement.

After the intermission, we had the four-movement Mozart Symphony. My notes include “bright, mellow, bright,” “gently rollicking,” “little phrases bounced back and forth,” and “more vigorous.” I’m not a big Mozart fan.

I’ve stolen some web stuff for the Bartók. These were the exact listings in my printed program, so I don’t mind stealing them:

“Please note that the original Hungarian title will be in the first place, the most commonly known title in Romanian will be in the second place and the translation into English will be in parentheses:

I. Bot tánc / Jocul cu bâtă (Stick Dance)
II. Brâul (Sash Dance)
III. Topogó / Pe loc (In One Spot)
IV. Bucsumí tánc / Buciumeana (Dance from Bucsum)
V. Román polka / Poarga Românească (Romanian Polka)
VI. Aprózó / Mărunțel (Fast Dance)”

Pretty cool stuff, eh? Here are my notes: I. was built on a repeating drone–bagpipe-like;
II. winds featured more; the rest: solo violin melody, then tutti, little gems, creating a whole.

These pieces were so brief that if you didn’t know where each left off, you didn’t really know when the work was over. Still, we figured it out, and knew that we’d heard world-class playing.

There will be three more Naumburg concerts this summer. Prepare for three more ConcertMeister entries, weather permitting!

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Jacqueline Jonée—My Favorite Things

Ms. Jonée is billed as the world’s premier concert pianist drag diva. Her concert on Monday night, with the JouJou Jacquettes Philharmonic Orchestra, was a sight to behold.

As was Ms. Jonée. She made her entrance from the back of the house in a long white gown, wearing a Brunnhilde breastplate and horned headpiece, while carrying rainbow-hued helium balloons! She said, “Instead of a Ring cycle, it’ll be a BLING! cycle.”

And we were off.

A “Favorite Things” parody followed (with lyrics from a hand-held list–tsk! tsk!). After that was a combination of Victor Borge meets JoAnne Castle (via Lawrence Welk) meets Liberace. This girl can play that piano! We heard a Chopin Impromptu, a piano/violin Granados tune, and three Debussy movements (piano four-hands, with orchestra, thank-you-very-much!). I must stop here. In between the second and third movements of the Debussy (the third was “Ballet”), Ms Jonée did a (relatively) quick costume change. In the third movement, she played her two (of four) hands while wearing a tutu (granted, a soft demi-tutu, not one of those stiff-as-a-board, poke-your eye-out thingies).

What followed was a quick addition of feathers to the new wig (have I mentioned the “man-of-all-work” Euphoria? assisting with every costume change along the way?) adding an ooh-la-la intro to Cole Porter’s Can-Can. Really, if an English dapper Dan can and an Irish Callahan can–maybe you can Can-Can, too! Followed by Offenbach’s Can-Can theme. And she even attempted a high kick!

A Gershwin medley (the Jacquettes included violin; flute /slide whistle; French horn; flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn and bassoon, and orchestra arrangements! (all one person); and string bass) followed, that took snippets of Gershwin classical fare plus “The Man I Love” and “Fascinatin’ Rhythm.”

On a quieter note, Ms. Jonée included a tribute to those who have been lost to this horror called AIDS. “My Buddy” included the lyrics–

Miss your voice, the touch of your hand,
Just long to know that you understand,
My Buddy, my Buddy,
Your Buddy – misses – you.

Sorry, I cried there a little.

Ms. .Jonée also included what I believe is a set piece (and if so, it’s well worthwhile). It’s a combo of “I Am What I Am”/”Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Not bad ideas by any means.

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The Sixties: On Broadway

This was an ambitious program with Jenny Lynn Stewart (soprano), William Lewis (piano), Skip Ward (bass), and Scott Morehouse (drums). Maybe too ambitious.

We got 26 songs from 20 Broadway musicals, so not every song (or musical) will get the full ConcertMeister treatment. Ms. Stewart has a powerful soprano voice. To me, her less-than-powerful singing was a somewhat less successful—sometimes the wistful quality worked, but sometimes it didn’t. Par for the course in a one-woman show, there were too many “shoot-for-the-high-note” endings for some of the songs.

That said, there were introductions to musicals and songs I was peripherally aware of—What a Night This Is Going to Be (Baker Street, 1965); Beautiful Candy (Carnival, 1961); Other Side of the Tracks (Little Me, 1962); and Rich Is Better (How Now, Dow Jones, 1967). On a personal note, of the 20 musicals represented, I have been in productions of six of them [list available upon request].

Highlights included Love Makes the World Go Round (Carnival)—a very sweet rendition; As Long as He Needs Me (Oliver, 1963), with a very nice build up; Sunrise, Sunset (Fiddler on the Roof, 1964*), pretty sentiment; and If He Walked into My Life (Mame, 1966), sentiment expanded. Those were the highlights in the first half!

The second half included Hymn for a Sunday Evening (Bye Bye Birdie, 1960); Hey Look Me Over (Wildcat, 1960); Hello Dolly (Hello Dolly, 1964); and The Impossible Dream (Man of La Mancha, 1965). Most effective in the second half was Aldonza (La Mancha). Here,
Ms. Stewart was earthy, forthright and not trying to impress us as a soprano.

There were some less successful moments, as well. Twice, Ms. Stewart made forays off the stage and into the audience (Dirty Old Man, from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962); Air/Let the Sunshine In, from Hair (1968)). Neither was particularly effective, and Ms. Stewart trying to navigate the steps back up onto the stage was worrisome.

The afternoon wasn’t quite a one-woman show; Mr. Lewis duetted on Sunrise, Sunset, and he and Mr. Ward did back-up-boy duty on Let the Sunshine In. Unfortunately, even rock lite is not Ms. Stewart’s forte—ending the first half of the concert with this was a bit of a miscue.

I’m glad I heard some of these ’60s classics and I’m glad I was exposed to some lesser-known works/songs. I’m not certain I’d seek out another of this woman’s one-woman shows.

In rechecking my notes, I see that I was impressed enough with Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics to Do I Hear a Waltz? (from 1965) to jot down “roses are dancing with peonies.” It’s nice to explore these little gems.

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*The first Broadway musical I ever saw—the actress playing Tzeitel at the time was Bette Midler!

Amelia (a play)

Why, yes, I do have broader horizons than just concerts. This was a 90-minute, Civil War–era, one-act play performed (appropriately enough) in the underground powder magazine of a fort on Governors Island.

Two actors, portraying multiple characters. Amelia (Shirleyann Kaladjian) is a headstrong, and smart, dairy farm worker/manager on her family’s farm in Pennsylvania. Ethan (Alex Webb—also the playwright) is her eventual husband. (Production note: Mr. Webb portrays Amelia’s husband, and father, and mother, and—oh, heck, and every character who is not Amelia. This takes a bit of time to settle in to, but once it does, it works like a charm.)

Amelia (see headstrong and smart, above) doesn’t seem to have many prospects in the romance department, and doesn’t seem too concerned about it, to the chagrin of her mother. Well, it seems that Ethan (new in town) is the kind of fellow who appreciates a smart woman and winds up marrying her just before enlisting in the Pennsylvania 20th Volunteers. Before leaving, right after they are married, he assures her that it’ll only be three months. In hindsight, we know that this will not be the case.

The letters flow back and forth—then suddenly stop. After two years of waiting, Amelia decides that she needs to go and find Ethan. She sets out with a chestnut mare and starts heading south. She is aided along the way; then things become less easy and more frightening. She persists into the south, always trying to glean as much information about the Penna. 20th. She works a stint as a nurse (the doctor, Mr. Webb, of course, simply assumes that she’s there to help, so she helps), she’s helped by farmers, she’s shunned by farmers, she’s aided by a black slave who is part of the underground railway, and she eventually hears that the bulk of the Penna. 20th who haven’t been killed are POWs in Andersonville Ga.

She finally, after a horse-thievin’ Rebel (Mr. Webb) forces her to search on foot, realizes that the only way she can continue is to assume the role of a Yankee soldier; she sees a slain young boy and becomes “Private Miller.” Amelia is no more.

Through various travails, Miller makes it to Andersonville as a captured POW, and insists on being sent in even though he is given a chance to stay out. But Miller is on a mission—a nigh-onto-three-year mission, by now—and is sent in, and then befriended by a fellow who eventually reunites her (she has revealed who she is and that she is searching for her husband) with Ethan.

Ethan has a gangrenous leg and is not long for this world. Amelia has been banged up quite a bit as well, and is not likely (as a POW) to get the medical treatment she needs, especially if they find out that he's a she. Ethan asks her to repeat a favorite story of his, about herself, as he is resting his head in her lap. She does … as the lights … fade.

Both the story (apparently based on a true story) and the dialogue were somewhat melodramatic—but that’s not really a bad thing, concerning the tone, era, and personalities of the drama. Both actors were top-notch; I was almost tired just from watching them. All in all, well worth my time in a Revolutionary War fort on a Sunday afternoon. I’m glad I got to meet Amelia and Ethan (and all the others that Mr. Webb threw our way along the way).

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A Day Late … and

… well really a day short of a week late. Confused yet?

Here’s the deal. On Sunday, June 3, I went to temple. Temple Emanu-El, at Fifth Avenue and 65th Street, for an organ concert. As an interesting side note, the building is an “almost twin” to the Church of the Heavenly Rest at Fifth and 90th, where I sang in the choir for many years. On the outside, at least. The interiors are somewhat different.

So, back to the temple. The organist was Dr. Andrew E. Henderson, who I heard and commented on in my blog post of the 50th Anniversary organ concert at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church. Is everybody singing “It’s a Small World, After All” yet?

Here’s Sunday’s program:
Carillon de Westminster (from Pièce de Fantaisie, Op. 54, No. 6 – Louis Vierne (1870–1937)
Sheep May Safely Graze (from Cantata 208) – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750); arr. E. Power Biggs (1906–1977)
‘Little’ Fugue in G minor, BWV 578 – J.S. Bach
Master Tallis’s Testament (1940) – Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
Choral No. 1 in E major (1890) – César Franck (1822–1890)
From Six Preludes for Organ (1949) – Ernest Bloch (1880–1959);
2. Poco Lento, 3. Andante, 6. Processional (Moderato)
Adagio for Strings, Op. 11 – Samuel Barber (1910–1981); arr. William Strickland (1914–1991)
Prelude & Fugue in B major, Op. 7, No. 1 – Marcel Dupré (1886–1971)

The first three works were relatively brief, with the first being a pseudo-riff on those famous chimes. A friend of mine always used to define French organ music by its “creepy-crawly” chords, and there were some on display here. The first Bach piece was straightforward (and very pretty) with surprisingly little in the way of ornamentation. The ‘Little’ Fugue introduced plenty of ornamentation in a nicely played performance of this classic. It's hard to describe the theme but I bet a lot of you would recognize it.

The Howells had a subdued beginning, a nice build in sound and power, with a subdued ending. This piece made use of the Echo rank of pipes in the rear of the sanctuary, so that we were surrounded by sound. The Franck was a more extensive piece that provided an excellent example of a French-romantic organ sound and composition, with interweaving themes and a display of the full range of the pipe organ. The Bloch pieces were brief, with each showcasing a distinct quality – mystical, rocking, and slightly expansive grandeur.

Barber’s Adagio was presented in a very effective arrangement, especially as the sound is borne on the wind through the pipes.

The Dupré was true virtuosic writing (and playing in Dr. Henderson’s hands and feet) – my notes include “the real razzle-dazzle aspect of the organ.” This was a great visual and aural example of the technique involved in classical organ playing. The Fugue included some very nice shifting rhythms.

Of note, there was an “organ cam” since the console itself (nor the pipes, for that matter) was not on view. We could see how the machine is a truly integral part of the concert. The organ has four manuals (keyboards for the hands) and a pedal board (not seen, but trust me, I know it’s there!).The combinations of sounds are prepared ahead of time with pre-set pistons, but you have to know/remember which piston is used where and when. Additionally, there are two types of pedal functions – one for playing notes and one for controlling volume. Meanwhile, you're playing all those keyboards. Too much information?

Even though it sounds like you’d need to be a contortionist, Dr. Henderson seemed cool as a cucumber throughout. A really great performance on an organ I was hearing for the first time.

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The Sounds of Silence … Again

The last installment of The Silent Clowns series was Saturday, 6/2, and brought forth the silent films Fluttering Hearts (1927) and The Night Club (1925). Both were very entertaining, and the piano accompaniment by Ben Model was just great (more on that later).

Fluttering Hearts starred Charley Chase (not Chevy) and Martha Sleeper (touted as the “ultimate flapper”). It also had a very funny Oliver Hardy in a supporting role. The plot: Our flapper rushes off to a sale (bed linens at 89¢—with a caveat of only three to a customer). She enlists the help of the beau who followed her and the cop who wanted to give her a speeding ticket (did I mention that this was a comedy?) and mayhem ensues at the shopping spree.

Meanwhile, Flapper’s father needs to retrieve a compromising letter—if he doesn’t pay $10,000 it’ll be made public and ruin him. Our hero, Charley Chase, convinces dad to dress in drag to allow them entry into a speakeasy. Mayhem ensues, dad is chased by the cops, hero gets a female doll (literally) and even attaches its feet to his shoes in a very funny dance sequence (a precursor to “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and countless drag show routines).

Oliver Hardy has the letter. Our hero eventually gets it—then loses it—then our flapper replaces the female doll, with the letter down her bodice and all ends well! Did I mention that this was a comedy?

In The Night Club (title seems to have nothing to do with the movie) our hero (Raymond Griffith) is at the altar. The service is interrupted and his bride leaves him, well, at the altar. As a result, he decides he’ll have nothing to do with women.

Then his uncle dies, he inherits a valet, and he inherits the possibility of $1 million—if he marries. His valet, Gerly (I’m not making this up, you know) explains it all to him. He decides to go for it. As it turns out, the girl that he loves learns about marriage for money and turns against him. He tries to kill himself, but that negates the money (no payout if it’s a suicide). He tries to hire someone to kill him, but that backfires as well.

In the end, true love wins out, he’s at the altar again, and someone shouts out (well, on a title card—this is a silent film, remember?), “Stop!” As Gerly is escorting the interloper out, the interloper says, “Oh, wrong church.”

Here’s the thing. In both films, the title/dialogue cards were much more sophisticated than in earlier silents. I felt that one could really sense the approach of “talkies.” You actually saw the actors mouthing the words you had just read. And the writing in the title cards was really funny; likewise, the acting brought out genuine hearty laughter from the audience.

And, most telling for me, I realized after the fact that I was almost completely unaware of Mr. Model’s accompaniment. Yes, there was some of the usual chase scene writing, and some “vamp until ready” sequences, but there was also seamless support that made a huge impact without making a huge impact, if that makes any sense.

I’m not going to run out and join the Silent Film Society, but I’ll certainly enjoy future performances and share the news!

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