SEND IN THE CLOWNS-MEMORABLE STEPHAN SONDHEIM SONG

classicamericanpopularsong.blogspot.comSend In The Clowns-Memorable Stephan Sondheim song:  Stephan Sondheim, composer and lyricist, has been creating innovative musical theatre music since the late 1950's. His first appearance on Broadway came when he provided the lyrics for Leonard Bernstein's music for" West Side Story" and lyrics for Jule Styne's music for " Gypsy." Beginning in 1962, he has written both music and words for an impressive number of innovative musical theatre presentations such as " A funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum"  " Company" " Follies" " Merrily We Roll Along" "Pacific Overtures" "Passion" " Anyone Can Whistle" " Sweeney Todd " " Sunday In The Park With George" and " Into The Woods". In 1973, Sondheim introduced " A Little Night Music" to appreciative Broadway audiences. Based on Ingmar Bergman's " Smiles of A Summer Night" it is almost a classic operetta filled with romantic musical interludes throughout the show.  Send in the Clowns , was written for the English actress Glynis Johns who is expressing confusion about her feelings for a former lover who has once again resurfaced in her life.
It is the only Sondheim song to became a popular hit , quite independent of the show itself. Frank Sinatra and Judy Collins had great success with this rueful and reflective song and it has achieved the status of a minor "standard" appealing to a more adult and literate audience.

Barbra Streisand performs the song for a live audience exercising the appropriate restraint called for in the music and the lyrics, something she also displays when performing songs by Harold Arlen one of her favourite composers. After repeating the lyrics calling to" Send in The Clowns" several times throughout the song, she concludes on a wistful note by singing " Don't Bother they're Here " , a comment on both leading characters in the show and their muddled emotional dilemma.


LINK: http://youtu.be/ghd5weu5Mpg

THE SHADOW OF YOUR SMILE-ANOTHER JOHNNY MANDEL CLASSIC

The Shadow of Your Smile-Another Johnny Mandel Classic:  Like" Emily" from the  1964 film The Americanization of Emily, " The Shadow of Your Smile" was written for the 1965 film  The Sandpiper.
Mandel has consistently proven that he has marvellous melodic and harmonic gifts and this song is no exception. Mandel has also written independent songs like " Where Do You Start" and  " You Are There", both of which are featured in earlier posts on this blog.
The Sandpiper features excellent lyrics  by Paul Francis Webster who has made a major career of writing lyrics for movie themes written initially without lyrics. The verse or introductory segment sets the stage for the story of the film which ultimately suggests that the memory of the smile may last longer than doomed love affair between the characters played by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Tony Bennett sings ever so eloquently and evokes the feeling of sadness inherent in both the music and lyrics. The arrangement was fashioned by Johnny Mandel himself, yet another one of his superb musical talents.

LINK: http://youtu.be/fdtcItLjPPU

WILLOW WEEP FOR ME-ONLY GREAT SONG BY ANN RONNELL

Willow Weep For Me- Only Great Song By Ann Ronnell: In 1932, Ann Ronnell wrote both the words and music for " Willow Weep For Me." Although, she co wrote " Whose Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" and other songs for Holywood films, her major reognition is based on the blue-inflected Willow Weep For Me.
Alec Wilder. musicologist and passionate student of classic American popular song has remarked that " It
is an exceptional song, on a par with Hoagy Carmichael's ( jazz-influenced) experiments and a truly fascinating song."  At the time, Ann Ronnell ( Rosenblatt) was romantically involved with George Gershwin and there is an undocumented Tin Pan Alley rumour that Gershwin wrote the music and credited Ann with the composer's credit. Nonetheless, her rigorous musical training and significant film writing experience suggest she was more than capable of writing "Willow Weep For Me."
The song has a number of vertical leaps in its melodic line in the main chorus but in the release or mid-section, it follows a meandering and more restrained  vocal line before returning to a repeat of the main theme, ending with the plaintive plea  " Bend O' Willow and Weep For Me"

In the now legendary 1958 Sinatra album " Only The Lonely" , Sinatra sings a number of  songs  like " Willow Weep For Me" as well as " Blues in the Night" One For My Baby ( And One More For the Road") " Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out To Dry"  and the title song.
Nelson Riddle, the arranger has stated that this was his favourite Sinatra album because he had more time than usual ( one week I believe) in which to carefully arrange and orchestrate the songs , working . as always, in close collaboration with Sinatra . The singer always had the last word on any of his Capitol and subsequent recordings and this album is one of Frank Sinatra's most restrained and respectful musical undertakings.

LINK:  http://youtu.be/SSUnOei0msk

NIGHT AND DAY- COLE PORTER CLASSIC : 2 QUITE DIFFERENT VERSIONS

Night and Day-Cole Porter Classic: 2  Quite Different Versions:  In 1932, Porter introduced this remarkable song in the musical " Gay Divorce." It is a dramatic showpiece with repeated notes also emphasizing the repeated words in the verse or opening section. " Like the beat, beat beat ( of the tom tom) like the tick,tick,tock (of the stately clock as it stands against the wall) These devices introduce rising tension of the song before it breaks into the main section beginning with " Night and Day, You are the One........."

The first version features Sinatra in a swinging, big band version arranged by Nelson Riddle. This version omits the powerful verse or introductory section with it's compelling repetition of notes and rhyming lyrics. It is in Frank's finger-popping,Vegas style which he might himself describe as " Having a Mothery ? ball !" From time to time, Sinatra can become more casual by injecting new words like " cuckoo" " chicks or broads", terms that tend to also reduce the overall impact of such performances. Sinatra is capable of a great many moods in his performances and this is Frank , the very confident singer, knowing what some customers want. He has a particular affinity with Cole Porter songs because Porter also liked to shock and amuse with his clever lyrics and naughty innuendo.


 The Second version features Frank Sinatra in a more restrained 1961 version with a lush string arrangement by Don Costa. It is quite different than his 1957 version of a rousing, big band arrangement by Nelson Riddle, a classic Sinatra " swinger", typical of that period. He also does sing the verse here without which the contrast between the opening verse and the main refrain would be missing. He is obviously committed to demonstrating the strong romantic nature of the music and lyrics and pays respectful homage to the Porter's  imaginative creation.It brings back memories of Sinatra's earlier singing with the sensitive string arrangements of Axel Stordahl, a very successful earlier collaboration.

LINK   SINATRA 1957-RIDDLE  
http://youtu.be/qn_cfbK9M14

LINK SINATRA  1961 -COSTA  http://youtu.be/1ZizY2OuVMI

I WISH IT SO- A SONG OF GREAT YEARNING

I Wish It So- A Song Of Great Yearning: One of the distinguishing features of the Great American Songbook is the ability to listen to the innermost feelings of individuals, things that we normally don't discuss with others but, somehow, are acceptable when we hear them in song. " I Wish It So" was written by Marc Bliztein, a highly educated contemporary of Leonard Bernstein, both as collaborator and rival. It is from " Juno"  a 1959 musical  based on Sean O'Casey's " Juno and the Paycock." Blitzstein wrote his own lyrics for both popular songs and concert or art songs. The lyrics are plain and heartfelt with a verse that underscores the internal uncertainty of the singer.As the chorus begins, the singer laments that " I Wish it So, What I wish I still don't know..." I would like to directly quote Janness & Velsey from their important book "
" Classic American Popular Song -The Second Half-Century  1950-2000" They have stated that " "Blitzstein's songs seem even more personal, more authentic, than the far more successful songs of Bernstein's later songwriting career.In subtle ways they prefigure some aspects of Sondheim's approach to song writing. When the balance is perfectly struck between musical venturesomeness and acccessibility Blitzstein's songs deserve to be far more famous than they are."  Strong praise indeed.

Dawn Upshaw is a classiclly trained singer who has also mastered the subtle refinements of popular song performance. She has championed the works of more advanced composers like Vernon Duke, Marc Blitzstein, Kurt Weill as well as some of Sondheim's lesser known works. The sincerity and emotional frankness in this performance is quite compelling. Both the music and the words demand complete concentration if one wants to receive full benefit of the artistry involved.

LINK http://youtu.be/VDpNJgu7aWE

YOU ARE THERE:--POIGNANT JOHNNY MANDEL SONG

You Are There--Poignant Johnny Mandel Song.  I have already posted two Johnny Mandel songs earlier in this blog. " Emily" and " Where Do You Start." All Mandel songs have the sophistication and harmonic sensibility we usually associate with older writers like Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter, George Geshwin , Vernon Duke and Harold Arlen. His work compares quite well with the " Master" as heretical as that may be for some listeners.
" You are There" with lyrics by Dave Frishberg, a composer and pianist himself is a tender, reflective song in which the singer imagines that someone now departed is suddenly in the house " When the kettles on for tea and an old familiar feeling settles over  me, and it's your face I see, and I believe that you are there." The very emotional nature of these thoughts gradually rise in intensity only to subside and then rise again. The song ends with " There's Just One Thing to do---pretend the dream is true.....and tell myself that you are there."
Jenness and Velsey in"  The American Popular Song" The Second Half-Century" believe that " It is one of the greatest endings we know; the song as a whole is, we dare to say "  sublime."

Stacy Kent, a highly regraded American cabaret singer performs the song with just a piano accompaniment in just the way you would hear it sung ina small cabaret setting with an attentive and knowledgeable audience.
The essence of many songs can be best experienced in such an intimate setting where the singer explores the lyrics with great attention to diction and phrasing and a minimum of diva-like grandeur.

LINK   http://youtu.be/AIC27jrqs3Q

I'VE GOT A CRUSH ON YOU - A GERSHWIN ROMANTIC TRUIMPH

 I've Got A Crush On You--A Gershwin Romantic Triumph:  In 1930's musical "Strike Up The Band "  George and Ira Gershwin wrote perhaps their most poignant love song which speaks to every one who ever pined after an adored one, often without success. The lengthy verse or introductory section mentions that the allure of the object of such affection was " So persistent, it wore down my resistance, I fell  and it was swell" and then the main refrain begins " I've Got A Crush On You, Sweety Pie, All the day and night time hear me cry etc." The words and the melody are so wistful and yet life affirming that it is hard to resist being swept away on the wings of such a song, no matter how many times one has listened to its seductive charms.
The Gershwin's wrote separate versions for both male and female voices.Who better than Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald to demonstrate the charms of these different approaches. Fortunately, Nelson Riddle, the master arranger and orchestrator supplies the sensitive arrangements for both artists.

In a mere 2 minutes and 15 seconds, Sinatra captures the essence of the song and by changing several of the notes as originally written,he introduces even more variety to his performace.
Sinatra Link      http://youtu.be/Q2N1Fg0tJoA

Ella Fitzgeral does equal jusrice to the melody and the lyrics supported by a lush string section supporting her sublime voice and totally natural style of singing.
Note: In the video, the man on Ella's left is Dizzy Gillespie. The man behind her right shoulder is Ray Brown, the bassist for Oscar Peterson and a former husband of Miss Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald link:    http://youtu.be/5A0sKlXCkA0














                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

LAST NIGHT WHEN WE WERE YOUNG- AN ARLEN CONCERT SONG WITHOUT ARTIFICE

last Night When We Were Yong- -An Arlen Concert Song Without Artifice. There is a long held belief that there are popular songs aimed at the mass audience and there are concert  songs   presented on a concert stage and with some of the usual formality reserved for opera arias or Shubert lieder. There is  an implicit assumption that somehow these songs are more " serious" and worthy of a higher aesthetic evaluation than songs sung in a dimly lit nightclub or jazz joint. Nothing could be farther from the truth. All The Things You Are by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein Jr. is every bit as serious and complex as a Puccini aria and reflects musical skills normally associated with classical compositions.
In 1932. Harold Arlen and lyricist E.Y.Harburg wrote Last Night When Were Young  for Lawrence Tibbett, an opera singer. The song was cut from Tibbett's 1935 film" Metropolitan" but was performed as instrumental music along with the film credits.
Alec Wilder, Author of " American Popular Song   The Great Innovators" has described it as  " A most remarkable and beautiful song, It is one which goes far beyond the boundaries of popular song." For Wilder, " It is a concert song ( and all that entails) without a trace of trying to be.. It hasn't any artiness about it or pretense."   The point I am trying to make is that some so-called popular songs can achieve  concert song intensity and  artistry without the sanctified formalism that often places a distinct barrier between the "artiste" as performer and the audience expected to listen most attentively.

When you listen to Sinatra singing " Last Night When We Were Young"  he is every bit as serious as any opera or concert singer because the music and the lyrics demand that degree of artistry. The way he stretches out the word s " Ages Ago   , is an example of how an accomplished a singer of popular songs can introduce new notes or phrasing that adds to the written notes in a way no opera or concert singer would dare to do. Just as there are innovators who created the Great American songbook, there are innovative performers who burnish songs with their unique interpretive artistry. Sinatra,Ella Fitzgerald, Dawn Upshaw, Audra McDonald , Tony Bennett, Barbara Cook & Mel Torme are just some of these uniquely  gifted performers of the classic American popular songbook.


LINK . http://youtu.be/6rUMiCmYWao

HELLO YOUNG LOVERS-ANOTHER WALTZ TRIUMPH FROM RICHARD RODGERS

Hello Young Lovers--Another Waltz triumph  from Richard Rodgers. In the 1951 Broadway musical, " The King and I" , Rodgers & Hammerstein told the story of Anna and The King Of Siam, an English governess brought to Siam by an autocratic ruler to teach the many children of the many wives of the King.
In this scene, the widowed governess  while telling young people in the King's court that she understands the raptures of young love and " Knows how it feels to have wings on your heels and to fly down the street in a trance", she also reveals that she knows all about the emotional upheaval of youthful romance because " I've Had A Love of My Own" sung on an ever rising crescendo at the end of the song.
Other posts have noted Richard Rodgers mastery of the waltz idiom and " Hello Young Lovers" is very much in that sweeping melodic tradition.
This version is a live performance by lovely Rebecca Luker, a leading Broadway singing actress whose performance shines with sincerity and conviction, especially in the closing section ending literally and figuratively on a high note. The verse which introduces the main section of song sets the scene for the touching revelations of Anna and her own happy marriage.

 LINK: http://youtu.be/QmAu_EzaRhA

S" WONDERFUL-THAT'S GERSWHIN AND THAT'S DIANNE REEVES

S'Wonderful -That's Gershwin and That's Diane Reeves:  George and Ira Gershwin combined to write this delightful song that uses the letter " S' to introduce a number of adjectives like Wonderful. Marvellous and Exceptional rather than saying " It's Wonderful. It's marvellous etc. Not only does it indicate the playfulness with lyrics that are one hallmark of American songwriting, it works much better with the music George provided. For example if the song had started with " It Is Wonderful", it might have sounded like a German marching band tune, all stiff and unswinging.
This performance features Diane Reeves, a powerful and elegant singer who was influenced by the great Sara Vaughan but who manages to avoid some of Sara Vaughan's mannerisms that often bordered on the baroque. Sara also did a number of all Gershwin concerts with symphony orchestras conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas that showcased the Gershwin songs, masterful arrangements and Sara in full sway.
The Great American Songbook flourished with the landmark performances of its greatest advocates like Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald , Tony Bennett ,Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Cook and Mel Torme plus may other too numerous to mention.
But if this great cultural phenomenon  is to be continued and enriched, it needs contemporary performances and new approaches.
This is one example: You have a classic Gershwin song, sung by a singer who is the equal of the great pop and jazz divas of yesteryear in an arrangement by a new talent Vince Mendoza. Mendoza pays homage to Nelson Riddle in his introductory swinging flute passage while fashioning a unique style and sound of his own The concert is conducted sympathetically by Simon Ratlle , a British born conductor who demonstrates a natural affinity for the  uniquely American music and words of the Gershwins.
The Great American Songbook is in good hands when there are singers and arrangers like the ones showcased in S'Wonderful. Yes- " The Beat Goes On !"
Please listen to Reeves instrumental humming in the middle adding another voice to the orchestra just before there is a switch to a waltz tempo that echoes memories of a Viennese cafe setting.

PS  Gershwin's also wrote a song extolling Viennese music called " By Strauss" which was featured in MGM's " An American in Paris.'
LINK:  http://youtu.be/fmUE9CzQiD8

HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON-A GERSHWIN CLASSIC

How Long Has This Been Going On- A Gershwin Classic.  We need to remember that when we refer to a Gershwin song, don't forget shy and retiring  Ira who wrote most of the lyrics for the more flamboyant brother George. George Gerswhin never hesitated to go right to any piano to play his latest songs and who ever would object. Oscar Levant, the witty pianist and friend of Gershwin was once quoted as saying "   "George-If you had to do all over again, would you still fall in love with yourself ? "
We are all familiar withs ome of the more aggressive and assertive Gershwin songs like " Fascinating Rhythm" " i Got Rhythm"  " Clap Yo Hands" and " Swanee".
This song is a gentle and reflective song that requires greater sublety since the singer is speculating about the development of a love affair and how it all started. There is a lovely verse that precedes the main refrain which in this version features the adorable Audrey Hepburn in the movie " Funny Face" co starring  Fred Astaire.
In addition to Hepburn's delightful performance, the film segment amply demonstrates her graceful movements since she started out as a dancer. Cole Porter's lyric " On Gossamer Wings" beautifully describes the ethereal quality of Audrey Hepburn. It is always a bonus when one can see how a song was designed to show a specific human situation. That is not as easily done in a recording studio where the sound may be perfect but it lacks a specifIc  context. We can only enjoy the music and the words and conjure up for ourselves a situation that could mirror the intent of the song.

LINK:  http://youtu.be/5Bko-Sz8HV0

WHY WAS I BORN -JEROME KERN STANDARD

Why Was I Born-Jerome Kern  standard.  In 1929, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein Jr. launched the musical " Sweet Adeline" which told the story about an ordinary girl who suddenly became a star on Broadway. The singer poses a number of questions to herself only to end without andadequate answer." Why Was I Born, Why am I living" and concludes with" Why was I born to Love You " Helen Morgan first sprang into prominence in " Showboat" playing Julie Laverne, a showgirl who gradually succumbed to alcohol as did Helen Morgan in real life. In " Sweet Adeline". Helen Morgan introduced " Don't Ever Leave Me" as well as " Why Was I Born", both sings that made her the quintessential torch singer, draped around a grand piano singing songs of love and despair.
Nonetheless, it is a well made song that allows female singers to demonstrate their capacity for expressive " torch" singing especially in night club or cabaret performances where the audience is close enough to witness the angst poured into the sing.
In the 1957 movie " The Helen Morgan Story", Ann Blyth portrayed the role of Helen Morgan in which her alcoholism was  clearly displayed. But The singer actually heard on screen was Gogi Grant, a popular sing of the 1950's, most famous for the song " The Wayward Wind.'
Gogi Grant had a much stronger and richer voice than Helen Morgan and she conveys much more emotional strength than Helen Morgan had in her own life.
Despite some of the historical inconsistencies in the movie and the depiction of musical numbers, the song demonstrates a way in which popular songs were performed in the 1950's and Grant does perform in a very dramatic and convincing manner.

LINK:  http://youtu.be/ROXCaNSkJWc