Hugh Martin, Alec Wilder and Grandma Moses

In the aftermath of the Great Depression and World War II, there was a profound hunger for peace, normality and simple, homespun virtues in the US. In this environment, the naive, idealized, country paintings of octogenarian Anna Mary Robertson Moses became very popular.

Grandma Moses, as she became known, was "discovered" by an art collector who saw her work in a small town drug store window (or so the story goes). This was in 1938, and in only a few years Moses' paintings had become quite well known and began to be used for commercial purposes. (One obvious use was Christmas cards - see the 1948 Hallmark ad below.)

"Country Fair" - 1950

It didn't hurt that Moses was a good looking woman who was the very image of the idealized Grandma; nor that she was highly quotable. (It's hard to say at this remove whether she was truly a font of bon mots, or if reporters embellished to make a better story.)

Anna Mary Robertson Moses

As for her art, it displays a kind of rural transcendentalism, with the perspective usually that of an observer in a low-flying blimp. Not that I am against this kind of thing - it is undoubtedly charming and evocative, and I have to admit that there is a pretty good example of the genre in my basement.

Alec Wilder and Hugh Martin

"Charming and evocative" is also a apt description of the music on this disc, which dates from 1951. It contains music from a film documentary on Moses, composed by Hugh Martin, better known for Broadway and Hollywood musicals such as Best Foot Forward, Meet Me in St. Louis and Athena. Martin was primarily a vocal arranger, so he called on fellow composer Alec Wilder to "develop and orchestrate" his tunes. The result is firmly in the Americana genre - one I find irresistible. It's a nice tribute to two of my favorite composers. Daniel Saidenberg conducts; there are vocals by the excellent studio singer Sally Sweetland.

[Note (June 2023): These recordings have now been remastered in atmospheric ambient stereo.]

Completing the RCA "Show Time" Series

I have been shamefully neglectful of this blog lately, but will be doing my best to make amends.

When I have had little to offer in the past, my friends have bailed me out, and this is yet another time when that is the case. So Parchisi and MusicalGuy38 are the heroes of this particular post. Together they are helping us complete the run of recordings in RCA's "Show Time" Series of 1953, with that label's potted versions of one big hit (Show Boat), one lesser although worthy musical (The Cat and the Fiddle), both from Jerome Kern, and, of all things, one of Victor Herbert's lesser operettas, Mlle. Modiste.

We'll discuss these in order of popularity, and few musicals have been more popular than Show Boat (or Showboat as it is sometimes spelled). A few words about the singers who have not previously appeared here. William C. Smith was Joe in the 1948 revival of this show, and appeared in several other shows in the 1940s. (I couldn't find a photo of him.) John Tyers duets with (and was married to) Helena Bliss. He had been in Arms and the Girl and was to be seen in a revival of Die Fledermaus in 1954. Completing this excellent cast is the always superb Carol Bruce.

MusicalGuy38 insists that Show Boat was mastered a half-step sharp, and now that I have listened I have no doubt he is correct. So there are two versions of this file in the download - a lossless, restored version at the original pitch, from Parchisi as remastered by me, and a speed-adjusted mp3 version from MusicalGuy38.

Stephen Douglass

Patricia Neway

The Cat and the Fiddle features two fine but neglected artists of the time - Stephen Douglass and Patricia Neway. Douglass had been in Make a Wish and was to be in The Golden Apple in 1954. He was yet to experience his greatest role - Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees.

Edward Roecker

The excellent contralto Patricia Neway mostly appeared in opera, with many appearances in contemporary works, notably in Menotti's The Consul. She later won a Tony as the Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music.

Mlle. Modiste comes from 1905, and features Doretta Morrow and Felix Knight, who have appeared here before, as well as the relatively obscure Edward Roecker, who appeared in operetta and on radio.

Thanks again to MusicalGuy38 and Parchisi for their contributions, which have helped me complete the collection of this series that documents some of the notable talents on Broadway at mid-century.