#1
Posted: 8/11/10 at 4:06am
I just finished playing Sony/Arkiv's new reissue of SONG OF NORWAY. Now this is a show rarely (if ever) mentioned on BWW, but in the mid 1940's it was a huge hit and Decca's cast album sold almost as well as OKLAHOMA! (In those days adults bought the music and prized anything with a Classical connection. Hammerstein's CARMEN JONES also sold well.)
Decca's album came out on CD a few years ago, and there is a note-complete 2 CD set from JAY/TER, but I grew up with a mono copy of this 1958 Jones Beach cast (and have never found the stereo pressing!) Hearing it again - and finally in stereo - is like meeting an old friend. The score is very well sung and even if a few minor trims have been made here and there, you get a good theatrical version of the score (although Decca's set has more dialogue - much of it cut from their LP release but restored on the CD.)
What a great cast on this album: Brenda Lewis (REGINA) and John Reardon (of Columbia's ON THE TOWN album) have the operatic voices needed for this score, and Sig Arno recreates his original Broadway role singing "Bon Vivant."
Best of all is the finale - 6-minute abridgment of Grieg's A-minor concerto that in the Jones Beach production was accompanied by an elaborate skating ballet. I have never been to Jones Beach but would love to see this fascinating outdoor theatre, even if it is not longer configured the way it was when SONG OF NORWAY, A NIGHT IN VENICE and ARABIAN NIGHTS played there in the 1950s.
The way Wright and Forrest adapted Grieg's melodies is ingenious. "Strange Music" was the show's big hit but I always favoured "Bon Vivant" and "Freddy and his Fiddle."
If you are not familiar with this show Arkiv's reissue is a must-have. Yes, it is a creaky operetta and the book is more fiction than fact - Grieg aside from writing a lot of music, didn't have a very interesting life - but it is a glorious score and this version has a rich full-bodied sound that eclipses the flat, tinny sound of the Decca set.
Avoid at all costs the 1970 movie called SONG OF NORWAY unless you need help getting to sleep.
Decca's album came out on CD a few years ago, and there is a note-complete 2 CD set from JAY/TER, but I grew up with a mono copy of this 1958 Jones Beach cast (and have never found the stereo pressing!) Hearing it again - and finally in stereo - is like meeting an old friend. The score is very well sung and even if a few minor trims have been made here and there, you get a good theatrical version of the score (although Decca's set has more dialogue - much of it cut from their LP release but restored on the CD.)
What a great cast on this album: Brenda Lewis (REGINA) and John Reardon (of Columbia's ON THE TOWN album) have the operatic voices needed for this score, and Sig Arno recreates his original Broadway role singing "Bon Vivant."
Best of all is the finale - 6-minute abridgment of Grieg's A-minor concerto that in the Jones Beach production was accompanied by an elaborate skating ballet. I have never been to Jones Beach but would love to see this fascinating outdoor theatre, even if it is not longer configured the way it was when SONG OF NORWAY, A NIGHT IN VENICE and ARABIAN NIGHTS played there in the 1950s.
The way Wright and Forrest adapted Grieg's melodies is ingenious. "Strange Music" was the show's big hit but I always favoured "Bon Vivant" and "Freddy and his Fiddle."
If you are not familiar with this show Arkiv's reissue is a must-have. Yes, it is a creaky operetta and the book is more fiction than fact - Grieg aside from writing a lot of music, didn't have a very interesting life - but it is a glorious score and this version has a rich full-bodied sound that eclipses the flat, tinny sound of the Decca set.
Avoid at all costs the 1970 movie called SONG OF NORWAY unless you need help getting to sleep.
Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!
I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com
