Henri René Returns

Just the other day I reuploaded an early Henri René instrumental LP, and now here comes our friend Ernie with another one of René's lush creations, and in stereo!

Henri René

This one has the antiquated title Music for the Weaker Sex, with the cover model seemingly all aflutter at the sight of René's sheet music scattered at her knees.

Well, it's not a concept that would pass inspection these days, 60 years later. Nor is the music anything that would be written today. René has concocted 12 originals, titling them for the male musical idols of the time. The composer used only their first names, so a key might be helpful for those of you who, unlike me, weren't around when this record was issued. In order, we have tributes to Perry Como, Frank ("Frankie") Sinatra, Harry Belafonte, Tab Hunter (not sure how he got in the mix), Eddie Fisher, Mario Lanza, Pat Boone, Dean ("Dino") Martin, Nat Cole, Johnny Mathis, Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley.

Don't expect portraits in sound. The numbers are indistinguishable, except for the "Harry" and "Elvis" tunes. Presley's tribute is the sort of sedate rock-n-roll that big band leaders used to introduce by saying, "Now here's something for the younger set." Belafonte is represented by a cha-cha-cha, a dance that came from Cuba. Belafonte himself came from Jamaica (or his parents did), and he was famous for popularizing the island's calypsos. A calypso ain't a cha-cha. But since the islands are near to one another, René must have figured that was close enough.

Benny Carter

I have to say that I enjoyed this LP immensely, despite the gauche title and clumsy theme. René was a gifted composer of easy listening music, and the record's attractions are heightened greatly by the presence of Benny Carter's alto sax on most cuts. Carter, a distinguished instrumentalist, arranger and bandleader, plays beautifully. Using great jazz players as soloists on easy listening records was a trend at the time, one made popular by the solo trumpet of Bobby Hackett on many of Jackie Gleason's records.

I should mention that Ernie recently offered another set of Henri René compositions on his own blog via an LP called Passion in Paint. Ernie likes it even better that the Weaker Sex album, so be sure to look into it if you like this one.

Thanks once again, Ernie!

Lambert Conducts Bliss and Adam Ballets

From time to time, I have been exploring the recorded legacy of composer-conductor-orchestrator Constant Lambert. Today we return to his activities as the music director of the Sadler's Wells Ballet.

This present 10-inch LP derives from two productions in the 1946 season, the ballet's first in residence at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Arthur Bliss and Constant Lambert during a 1944 rehearsal

The first side has music from Miracle in the Gorbals, written by Lambert's friend Arthur Bliss and premiered by the company in 1944. This recording was made on the same day as the opening of the 1946 revival, June 14.

Shearer and Rassine as the lovers

"The Gorbals" was and is a sector in Glasgow that had become a notorious slum by the time of the the 1944 production, which had a scenario by Michael Benthall and choreography by Robert Helpmann. The heavily symbolic action elicited strikingly fine music from Bliss, well conveyed in Lambert's authoritative performance. Bliss himself, among other conductors, later recorded more extensive versions of the music.

The second side of the LP presents a suite from Adolphe Adam's music for Giselle, one of the most popular ballets of all time. In this recording, Lambert performs the dual role of conductor and orchestrator. Although the music was written in 1841, Adam's orchestration was not published until the 20th century. Rather than licensing that version, ballet companies such as Sadler's Wells found it less expensive to commission their own orchestrations - and of course that company had a highly skilled arranger on staff in the person of Lambert.

Margot Fonteyn as Giselle

The Giselle recording session came two days after the March 16, 1946 opening of the ballet, a revival of a 1934 staging.

The sound is good on these recordings. The download includes the contemporary Gramophone review, plus additional production ephemera.

In addition to Miracle in the Gorbals and Giselle, Lambert was also in the studios to record three other ballets from the 1946 season - The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia and Gavin Gordon's music for The Rake's Progress. I plan to transfer all at a later date.

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Hugo Friedhofer's 'Boy on a Dolphin' Score

Here by request by reader woolfnotes is Hugo Friedhofer's score for the 1957 film Boy on a Dolphin.

Hugo Friedhofer

This the first Friedhofer LP to appear here. He was known for his skill as an orchestrator, making his name in that realm before composing film scores in his own right. Friedhofer was prolific - Boy on a Dolphin was one of three films he scored in 1957 alone. The others were An Affair to Remember and The Sun Also Rises.

Although it is Friedhofer's score, he based the main musical cue on a melody by the Greek composer Takis Morakis, who is barely noted on the cover. Add Paul Francis Webster's lyrics, and you have a attractive pop song featured over the opening and closing titles.

Mary Kaye

Here things get a little murky. On the LP, the song is handled (and very well) by Decca vocalist Mary Kaye, previously featured here on this blog. She does not appear, however, on the soundtrack itself, where the singer is an uncredited Julie London.

Why the change? Most likely because London was contracted to Liberty Records, which did put out her rendition as a single. It's not the soundtrack version; on the 45, the singer is backed by a solo guitar played by Howard Roberts. Decca belatedly came out with a competing version from Kaye. Neither were particularly successful, although both are excellent. I've added the London single to the download as a bonus.

Apparently co-star Sophia Loren also sings the tune in the film, but I don't have that one. That's Loren on the cover,  looking distracted as Alan Ladd bends over to either kiss her shoulder or sniff her armpit. This is one of a long line of awful Decca covers from the period.

Friedhofer's music for the film is atmospheric and very enjoyable, making effective use of Marni Nixon's wordless vocals at times. The orchestrations are by Edward B. Powell, and Lionel Newman conducts the band. The sound is very good.

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Kern's 'Roberta' with Alfred Drake

Jerome Kern's Roberta is not one of his best-known musicals, but it has been the subject of at least three recordings and two film versions.

This present LP, dating from 1944, was the first recording, and in common with all versions since the original show save the most recent, it is much altered from what was seen on Broadway in 1933.

Alfred Drake

My own interest in it flows from two sources: the presence of the great Alfred Drake and Kern's underrated score.

Roberta was legendarily troubled in its gestation, with Kern himself replaced as director during tryouts. The story is that its eventual commercial success relied on the popularity of one song, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." That strikes me as unlikely, but regardless, the show achieved enough renown that it was made into a film in 1935. Only four of its songs survived in that version, with two added - "I Won't Dance" and "Lovely to Look At." The latter, written for the film, is included on the LP at hand.

Perhaps reflecting the influence of librettist and lyricist Otto Harbach, an operetta veteran, the score for Roberta comes across on this record as a way station between operetta and musicals. Drake, who had a background in operetta, switches between the two approaches depending on the song. For "You're Devastating" and "The Touch of Your Hand" he adopts a "legit" voice. For "Don't Ask Me Not to Sing," he is more conversational. Either way, he is admirable.

Kathryn Meisle

Drake's confusion may be because he is singing songs associated with three characters. "Don't Ask Me Not to Sing," for example, was introduced by Bob Hope, fresh from vaudeville. Hope interpolated a number of musical impressions (e.g., Bing Crosby), missing here. "You're Devastating," in contrast, was the big song for Ray Middleton, a baritone with operatic experience.

Two other members of the Decca cast had backgrounds in opera or operetta - contralto Kathryn Meisle handles "Yesterdays," the song associated with the title character. Meisle had stretches with the San Francisco and Chicago Operas and at the Met.

Kitty Carlisle

Soprano Kitty Carlisle duets with Drake in "The Touch of Your Hand," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" and "Lovely to Look At." She had been on Broadway in operettas and musicals, and in a few films (notably A Night at the Opera). She later was a panelist on the U.S. television show To Tell the Truth for 22 years.

The other singer in this performance is Paula Lawrence, who was on Broadway in One Touch of Venus when this was recorded. She had a long career and was much on television in later years.

Paula Lawrence

At the time of the recording, Drake himself was either nearing the end of his run in Oklahoma! or was preparing for Sing Out, Sweet Land, which opened at the end of the year.

I've expressed my admiration for Drake several times on this blog, featuring him in the Sing Out, Sweet Land original cast LP, a rare set of Brigadoon songs made for a small label, a promo record for a televised version of The Yeoman of the Guard and the original recording of Kurt Weill's last work, Down in the Valley. Those transfers can be found via this link.

I mentioned my belief that the score is underrated. It's not because of my fondness for "Yesterdays," beloved of every cabaret singer who ever cracked a note. Nor is it because of the score's big hit, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes." I had my fill of that tune at a young age due to the hit rendition by the Platters' histrionic lead singer, Tony Williams. It's due to the other songs, notably "The Touch of Your Hand" and "You're Devastating," which to my ears are two of Kern's finest melodies.

The LP does not provide a credit for the orchestrations. They are not the original charts, which were by Robert Russell Bennett, although they are good. Harry Sosnik leads the band, and Jeff Alexander the well-drilled chorus. This version of Roberta was first issued on 78s (cover below). My transfer is from the 1949 LP.

English Songs from Wilfred Brown

The English tenor Wilfred Brown (1921-71) is best known for his recording of Gerald Finzi's "Dies Natalis," which I have cited here before as one of my favorite records.

To my knowledge, Brown did not make other records of similar repertoire. That's why I was so excited to learn of this rare recording, uploaded to another site by my friend David (aka "dances"). It presents Brown in a recital of songs by 20th century English composers, and it is a treasure to those who, like me, love this material.

David, a reader of this site, graciously offered to let me present the record here. I am very grateful for the opportunity.

Wilfred Brown

As noted, Brown is best known for his recording of "Dies Natalis"; he was a friend and associate of the composer, who appears here with three of his settings of Thomas Hardy. Brown was a member of the Deller Consort for some years. He also appeared on recordings of Handel, Purcell, Bach and Haydn, one duo recital with guitarist John Williams and a few other LPs for small labels.

This recital was made for the Jupiter label in 1962. That imprint was apparently started by the business executive T. Wallace Southam, a part-time composer who is represented by two songs on the compilation. One, a setting of "Nemea" by Southam's friend Lawrence Durrell, is quite good.

Beside Finzi and Southam, the other composers represented are Peter Warlock, George Butterworth, W. Denis Browne, Lennox Berkeley, Ivor Gurney and William Walton. Browne, like George Butterworth, perished in World War I. His setting of Richard Lovelace's "To Gratiana singing and dancing" is a high point of the program.

Several of the songs represented have appeared on this blog in other performances. Warlock's "Sleep" can also be found in the Warlock collection from Alexander Young. Butterworth's "Loveliest of Trees," the first song in his first group of Housman settings, "Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad," has appeared here before in the recording by Roy Henderson.

The Walton works comprise his "Three Songs" of 1932. In that group, Walton reset some of the many Façade pieces he composed with Edith Sitwell. These are sung, rather than recited versions that make an interesting contrast to the earlier items, two of which have appeared here before. "Through Gilded Trellises" is contained in the Sitwell-Prausnitz recording of 1949. "Old Sir Faulk" can be heard in the 1929 recording by Constant Lambert and Walton, as well as in a 1950 instrumental version conducted by Lambert, both available via this post.

Accompanying Brown is the excellent Margaret McNamee, who apparently was the singer's regular pianist.

Included in the download are texts of all songs and translations of the two Berkeley items, compiled from web sources, along with a front cover cleaned up from a web source. Good mono sound; David says there doesn't appear to have been a stereo version.

Thanks once again to David for allowing me to make this available here!

Wanda Wiłkomirska Plays Mieczysław Karłowicz

This post is a tribute to the recently deceased Polish violinist Wanda Wiłkomirska, an artist of great taste and sensitivity who made too few recordings.

Wanda Wiłkomirska

Here she is heard in the Violin Concerto of her compatriot Mieczysław Karłowicz. Wiłkomirska championed the piece, even taking it on tour to the US in the 1960s.

It's a composition fully worthy of her advocacy. Karłowicz wrote in the late Romantic idiom, and this is one of the great under-appreciated works of the period. The unfortunate composer lived only to age 32, perishing in an avalanche while on a ski trip in 1909.

Wiłkomirska is flawless in this 1962 reading, where she is backed by the Warsaw National Philharmonic Symphony, conducted by Witold Rowicki.

Mieczysław Karłowicz

The LP also contains a good performance of Karłowicz's brooding symphonic poem "The Sorrowful Tale." The composition evidently is intended to depict a suicidal interlude, and the composer at one time contemplated including a fateful gunshot sound-effect, mercifully not included here. The piece's doleful mood comes as a surprise following the sunny Violin Concerto. The performance is led by Stanisław Wisłocki.

The sound on this 1962 Polskie Nagrania Muza album lacked bass (basically, there wasn't any). It also had a right-channel bias. I've adjusted things and the sound is now reasonably vivid, with Wiłkomirska's violin coming through well.

I also have Wiłkomirska's recordings of violin concertos by Szymanowski and Wieniawski and can transfer them if there is interest.

The J's with Jamie Return, Plus Reups

Several years ago I posted a promo LP put out by the vocal group the J's with Jamie, half commercials and half songs from their two Columbia LPs. Now here is a nice stereo copy of their second Columbia album, The Remarkable J's with Jamie, from 1963.

As you can read in the previous post, the J's with Jamie made their living singing on commercials, but also had a repertoire of pop songs. The group's lead voice was Jamie Silvia, who often sang solo, but the other vocalists - Joe Silvia, Len Dresslar and Marshall Gill - were talented as well.

Jamie Silvia, an extraordinary singer, had previously been a member of the Mello-Larks and Jamie, who also have made an appearance on this blog.

1963 trade ad

The repertoire on this LP includes some elements of what might have been the group's club set list, including a tricky version of Stuart Hamblen's "This Ole House" and the maudlin "Little Boy Blue." in truth, neither are to my taste, but things brighten when they turn to contemporary show tunes - "the Sound of Money" from I Can Get It for You Wholesale, and "Love Come Take Me Again" and the title tune from Here's Love. The standouts are "My Cigarette and I" and "Ya Turned Me On, Baby," the latter of which apparently came from an American Airlines promotional film.

It was a group that truly could sing anything - I'd advise you to check out their LP that includes their commercial work, which is dazzling in its own way. I've reupped it along with a Schlitz Beer promotional EP that featured Jamie and Nelson Riddle.

Reups

Speaking of reups, here are a few remastered LPs that readers have recently requested. The links below lead to the original posts.

Henri René - Listen to Henri René. A compilation of 1949-52 singles from one of the unsung masters of American easy listening music. The craftsmanship and musicianship on display are striking, and the sound is excellent.

Miklós Rózsa - The Red House (EP). Rózsa made a suite from the music he wrote for the 1947 Edward G. Robinson potboiler The Red House, and recorded it for release on Capitol 78s and then this EP in 1951. I've now corrected the seriously off-pitch originals.