"Dust and Ashes" from The Great Comet audio or lyrics?

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/26/16 at 6:25pm

Has anyone listened to "Dust and Ashes" from the Great Comet? I just learned from another thread that it was specifically written for Pierre to sing as a ballad when the Great Comet was performed at ART. I only got to see this show at the Kazino tent in midtown Manhattan 2 years ago so I sadly did not hear it. 

I was just wondering whether there is an audio of Scott Stangland (who starred as Pierre when Great Comet was at ART) singing it out there in the web. 

Updated On: 6/26/16 at 06:25 PM

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/26/16 at 6:30pm

I don't see it on iTunes unfortunately

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/26/16 at 6:59pm

gypsy101 said: "I don't see it on iTunes unfortunately"

it's not part of the off-broadway cast recording since it was never performed off-bway either :/ I wasn't sure if Scott Stangland maybe sang it at a bar or maybe one of the ART promos had it. 

 

[aimeric]

Posted: 6/26/16 at 9:13pm

Sure, I've heard it...but only the two times I saw the show at ART.  I could sing snatches of it for you, but I doubt that's very helpful.     Sorry, I don't think I've run across any "unofficial" recordings of it yet, though IIRC the show's twitter account has made it clear that the cast has already been in the recording studio to record the song with Josh Groban's vocals, so there exists that recording, not yet released (made for promotional purposes, maybe?).

[buhbuhbilly]

Posted: 6/27/16 at 4:32pm

You don't recall that correctly, i'm afraid - though there will be a new cast recording with this song and other new material

[gypsy101]

Posted: 6/27/16 at 10:02pm

Is this how I die? Ridiculed and laughed at, wearing clown shoes
Is this how I die? Furious and reckless, sick with booze
How did I live? I taste every wasted minute
Every time I turned away from the things that might have healed me
How long have I been sleeping?

Is this how I die? Frightened like a child, lazy and numb
Is this how I die? Pretending and preposterous and dumb
How did I live? Was I kind enough and good enough? Did I love enough?
Did I ever look up and see the moon and the stars and the sky?
Oh, why have I been sleeping?

They say we are asleep until we fall in love
We are children of dust and ashes
When we fall in love, we wake up and we are a god, and angels weep
But if I die here tonight, I die in my sleep

All of my life I spent searching the words of poets and saints and prophets and kings
And now at the end, all I know that that I’ve learned is that all that I know is I don’t know a thing
So easy to close off, place the blame outside
Hiding in my room at night, so terrified
All the things I could have been but I never had the nerve; life and love I don’t deserve

So alright, alright, I’ve had my time
Close my eyes, let the death bells chime
Bury me or forget me, I just don’t care
Nothing's left, I’ve looked everywhere

Is this how I die? Was there ever any other way my life could be?
Is this how I die? Such a storm of feelings inside of me
And why am I screaming? Why am I shaking?
Oh, God, was there something that I missed?
Have I squandered my divinity, was happiness within me the whole time?

They say we are asleep until we fall in love
We are children of dust and ashes
When we fall in love, we wake up and we are a god, and angels weep
But if I die here tonight, I die in my sleep

They say we are asleep until we fall in love...
And I’m so ready to wake up now, I’ll wake up
Don’t let me down like this
I wanna wake up, God, don’t let me down like this
Please let me wake up now, don’t let me down like this
I’m ready, I’m ready to wake up

[Wick3]

Posted: 6/28/16 at 4:14pm

Thanks for this gypsy!!!!

Wow he wears clown shoes?!? Either way, I look forward seeing Groban sing this ballad this fall! :)

[mtchairs]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 5:11am

Now available to buy on iTunes and to listen here on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTyFbJBcL5c 

[tazber]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 6:06am

Thanks for that link!!

 

 

ETA: that is a great song.

 

I can't wait to see this again!

 

Updated On: 7/15/16 at 06:06 AM

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 6:17am

yeah, thanks for that! I still hope they release a new album with Groban and Benton -- even if they just do it in the way Fun Home did, where they just had Emily Skeggs replacing Alex Socha (being that the rest of the Great Comet's cast is basically identical, it would make sense).

I also hear that they changed a lyric, Groban now says something about "bury me in burgundy"

Updated On: 7/15/16 at 06:17 AM

[KCW]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 6:48am

You can tell right away who wrote that, and as always, Malloy is amazing.

[willep]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 7:56am

gypsy101 said: "yeah, thanks for that! I still hope they release a new album with Groban and Benton -- even if they just do it in the way Fun Home did, where they just had Emily Skeggs replacing Alex Socha (being that the rest of the Great Comet's cast is basically identical, it would make sense)."

 

As has been mentioned before, the Fun Home method wouldn't really make sense as Pierre and/or Natasha sing on virtually every track.

[icecreambenjamin]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 1:29pm

Sounds fantastic.  Let's hope that we get a full recording that's as lush as that one track.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 2:02pm

Aren't modern recordings done in such a way that the audio tracks of Soo and whoever played Pierre (forgive my ignorance) could just be replaced by new ones? 

It's all done in isolation from each other, the orchestra and each player?

[Kad]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 2:11pm

There have also been substantial lyrical/musical changes to many sections of the score- not to mention an expansion of the ensemble and band.

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 2:22pm

The cast isn't virtually the same. Denée Benton, Josh Groban, Gelsey Bell, Paul Pinto, Sumayya Ali, Courtney Basset, Erica Dorfler, Daniel Edmond, Ashley Pérez Flanagan, Nick Gaswirth, Billy Joe Kiessling, Pearl Rhein, and Heath Saunders are the new cast memebers that did not appear on the Off-Broadway recording. It would make more sense to record a new album all together. And it will sell extremely well, thanks to Groban. Also, I adore this song. I didn't think I'd like Josh very much, but he hit the emotion so well, and his voice is pristine. And those lush orchestrations. It's on repeat.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 2:22pm

from what I heard of the score at ART, it seemed mostly the same with the exception of the pronunciation of the word Moscow (to be more accurate to the true pronunciation) but I know there were some changes (notably to the interlude Sunday Morning). I think Dust and Ashes is the only completely new song, so my hope is they aren't just releasing this single and calling it a day.

Nowack, the original Pierre was the composer Dave Malloy!

Cinders, Gelsey and Paul both appeared on the original recording (as Mary and Balaga, I know she was also doing some strange "experimental" vocals during the opera that are very specific to her)

Updated On: 7/15/16 at 02:22 PM

[CindersGolightly]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 2:29pm

Oh no, you're right! My bad! But even without them, that's still a ton of new cast members, even if most of them are ensemble.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 2:36pm

Dear God this song is so good. I cannot get enough of this beautiful orchestra, and Groban's voice is top notch. Very much looking forward to this production.

[willep]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 2:37pm

Yeah, the best thing to do is to release a new recording. It may be just me, but the quality of the original isn't very good. I listen to it a lot and still love it, but I would love to have a recording as lovely and lush as this single.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 3:05pm

Ohhh I wasn't thinking about changes that have been made!

Very embarrassed I did not know it was the composer on the CD oops...

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 4:36pm

Thanks for this!

[amaklo]

Posted: 7/15/16 at 7:52pm

I saw the show at Kazino and couldn't understand why Groban wanted to play Pierre. Despite the title he seemed a secondary character.  Now I know. What a great song and performance! I may have to make a trip to NY to see this!

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 10:31am

Finally listened to this the other day- what a gorgeous song. Groban also sounds very good on it- I know that it was written for the ART run, but it fits his voice perfectly. 

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 7/17/16 at 12:41pm

Would Lili Cooper be joining the company again since spongebob doesn't look like it's coming in for another year? Or has she already been replaced?