Mid-Century Music by Howard Swanson, Roger Goeb and Ben Weber

When I posted Howard Swanson's Short Symphony a few years ago, I promised to revisit his oeuvre for the blog, and now (after a little prodding) I am making good.

This particular American Recording Society disc also contains what I believe to be the first recordings of music by Roger Goeb and Ben Weber  - and fine pieces they are.

This release dates from 1950. The sessions were probably held in that year or possibly 1949.

I am indebted to musicologist Derek Katz for providing information about the provenance of these works. All three were presented in concerts of the Festival of Contemporary American Music at Columbia University's McMillan Theatre in 1947 and 1950. Details on each below.

Howard Swanson - Seven Songs

Howard Swanson

Swanson (1907-78) is perhaps best known for his vocal music, and among those pieces for his settings of the poetry of Langston Hughes. This collection includes three of his five settings of Hughes' verse, including the most famous, "The Negro Looks at Rivers." These are highly accomplished compositions, both subtle and evocative.

Helen Thigpen

Also in this collection are settings of Carl Sandburg, Vachel Lindsay and Edwin Markham. A detailed article on Swanson's song settings is in the download.

The artists presenting these selections are soprano Helen Thigpen and pianist David Allen. The versatile Thigpen was previously heard here in excerpts from Porgy and Bess. I haven't been able to turn up any information about David Allen.

Per Derek's research, the Swanson songs were performed by Thigpen and Allen at the opening concert of the 6th Festival of Contemporary American Music, on May 18, 1950. A New York Times review is in the download.

Roger Goeb - Prairie Songs for Woodwind Quintet

Roger Goeb

In common with all the works on this record, Goeb's Prairie Songs are both skillful and enjoyable. They are written in the then-common Americana style. The fluid performances are by the Five-Wind Ensemble.

The Goeb had been performed by that group at a Festival of Contemporary American Music concert on May 18, 1947. At the time, the then-new ensemble consisted of Ralph Eichar, flute, Lois Wann, oboe, Milton Shapiro, clarinet, David Manchester, bassoon, and John Barrows, horn. Derek has provided a Times review of the concert, which is in the download.

Goeb (1914-97) had been a pupil of Nadia Boulanger, Otto Luening and Herbert Elwell. At mid-century he was entering a productive phase that would have as a highlight the premiere and recording of his Symphony No. 3 by Leopold Stokowski.

The download also includes a Bruce Duffie interview with Goeb.

Ben Weber - Concert Aria after Solomon, Op. 29

Ben Weber by Roger Tréfousse

The largely self-taught Weber (1916-79) was one of the first American composers to adopt the twelve-tone method, although his music remained lyrical and accessible. This quality is well demonstrated in his Concert Aria after Solomon, a setting from the Song of Songs.

Bethany Beardslee

This performance is by soprano Bethany Beardslee, making the first of many appearances in recordings of contemporary music. Her complete command of this unfamiliar music is remarkable.

Although the players are unidentified on the LP, the performance at the 1950 Festival of American Contemporary Music included the Five-Wind Ensemble along with Broadus Erle and Claus Adam of the Fine Arts Quartet, so they perhaps are on this recording. The conductor here is Frank Brieff, rather than Saul Schechtmann, who led the Festival performance. Brieff was a former viola player under Toscanini in the NBC Symphony. He would become the music director of the New Haven Symphony in 1952.

The download includes reviews of the live performance from the Times and the Brooklyn Eagle. If you like this music, be sure to read the affectionate remembrance of the reclusive and eccentric Weber by his student, the composer Roger Tréfousse.

Thanks again to Derek for his help with this post.

Second LP cover

Another in RCA's "Show Time" Series

The latest installment in our slow-motion examination of RCA's "Show Time" series from 1953 is notable for documenting that year's revival of Porgy and Bess - but I particularly enjoyed the songs from Girl Crazy on the other side of the record.

Leslie Scott

This recording presents Cab Calloway, Leslie Scott and Helen Thigpen from the Broadway Porgy. Calloway is Sportin' Life, as he was in the 1953 production. Scott is Porgy, and he was one of the Porgys on Broadway. Thigpen is Bess, although she was Serena in the stage play.

Helen Thigpen with William Warfield

Calloway is vivid in this role, but as usual remarkable in the wrong way. Scott is a vulnerable Porgy, lighter voiced than such singers as Paul Robeson or even William Warfield. Thigpen is a shrill Bess. Jay Blackton conducts here; the music director for the stage was Alexander Smallens.

The LP was in effect a Gershwin double-feature, with songs from Girl Crazy on the other side.

Edie Adams and Rosalind Russell

Edith (Edie) Adams, a talented singer-comic actor, is delightful in "Embraceable You," complete with verse. She was in Wonderful Town with Rosalind Russell at the time of this recording. Also terrific are two then luminaries of Broadway, whom we have seen before in this series. Lisa Kirk does "But Not for Me" and Helen Gallagher "I Got Rhythm". Their previous appearances in the RCA series can be found here. Milton Rosenstock conducts.

RCA didn't bother much with documentation on these records. There is no identification of who sings what. "Bidin' My Time" is sung by a completely anonymous male quartet to close out the record. It's strange that the company was so off hand about such a well-produced, enjoyable series that shows what great talent there was on Broadway at the time.