Two Gentlemen of Verona--Original Broadway Cast Album

I happened across the CD release of this show in a bin at the library and knowing absolutely nothing about it (except assuming the story was at least based on the Shakespeare of the same title) I thought I'd give it a whirl. I hadn't realized that Galt MacDermot had written another musical besides Hair, but he did and it is Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Well, this one is going back to the library as soon as possible. I have no desire to hear any of it again, nor to investigate the show or its score any further. I find it remarkable that this show beat out Sondheim's Follies for the Best Musical Tony Award for 1972. Well, Follies has been revived often, and Two Gentlemen, never (at least on Broadway), so I guess Sondheim has the last laugh.

There was only one song of the 34 on the CD that I wanted to listen closely to, or hear again; the funny and satirical "Bring All the Boys Back Home" is still surprisingly timely given that it was written almost 40 years ago. But then, world leaders have been hiding behind and capitalizing on war since the Greeks ransacked Troy.

I was sorry that none of the singing voices captured my attention, either. Clifton Davis has a pleasant enough voice, but doesn't sing any songs that really lets it shine. Raul Julia may have been a mega-wattage stage presence (as the very good liner notes to this recording say), but it is not obvious from the cast album.

My primary problem with the score is that it seems to lack the infectious fun of Hair, as well as the singability.

Two Gentlemen of Verona

Music by Galt MacDermot

Lyrics by John Guare

Book adapted from Shakespeare by John Guare and Mel Shapiro

Opened 1971

Cast: Raul Julia, Clifton Davis, Diana Davila, Jonelle Allen, John Bottoms

Ghost light Monday--Another Musical Mentor

Too few people knew Dan Tucker, a long-standing Chicago composer and newspaperman who passed away this weekend at the age of 84. That's not to say that Mr. Tucker was not well-known nor well-loved. He was both those things by many, many people. But if a larger majority of people had known Dan, I think the world would be a better place. A genteel, gracious, and charming man, Dan was a purveyor of good taste, better grammar, and great humor. Fortunately, for me I was the recipient of all of those things from Dan at one point in my life.

I met Dan in the early 2000s, after he had retired from a four-decades career in the newspaper business as editor and music critic. He was focusing on his own music-making in the form of composition, a calling which Dan had pursued all his professional life. A man of diverse interests and great intelligence, he had earned Bachelor and Master degrees from the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago when he was in his late twenties and already employed full time in the newspaper business.

His compositions, while not widely played, have been performed by such notable artists as Rostropovich, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and His Majesty's Clerks. Dan's compositions are known for their easy lyricism and sensitive word-setting. His choice of song texts shows his excellent tastes and diverse interests: Shakespeare, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Thomas Merton, Native American texts, Ogden Nash, and Lewis Carroll.

I must confess that I have heard very little of Dan's music first-hand. I will miss the man more than the music. He was a gentle soul that brimmed with the fire of creation. Something more of us should have.

Side by Side by Sondheim London Cast Album on CD

With all the Sondheim at 80 hoopla happening this month, I thought I would listen to yet another of the many revue versions of his work. Side by Side by Sondheim may have been one of the first such revues, and was created in 1976 when the composer was just entering his musical maturity. It is interesting to hear a revue created before many of the shows that I most readily name with Sondheim--Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods.

With these shows yet to be written, this revue has room for a deeper investigation of Sondheim's early shows. It was particularly interesting to hear songs for which Mr. Sondheim wrote the lyrics but not the music. "The Boy from..." charmed me again as it had done when I listened to a collection of songs composed by Mary Rodgers. The real find for me was "I Never do Anything Twice" which was written for a film. It's hysterical.

The cast of three performers are uniformly good and versatile, particularly David Kernan, who was involved in the creation of this revue. Millicent Martin sings "I'm Still Here" as well as anyone. As I learned when I looked up this production, the London version was created first and imported later to Broadway, with its British cast intact.

Side by Side by Sondheim

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Mary Rodgers, Richards Rodgers, Jule Styne, Leonard Bernstein

Opened in London in 1976

Cast: David Kernan, Millicent Martin, Julia McKenzie

I Dreamed a Dream, the debut CD from Susan Boyle

Yes, I succumbed to the hype and downloaded the first album from "Britain's Got Talent" sensation Susan Boyle. When the clip was making all the waves on YouTube, I have to confess I was honestly given chills by her singing. Being such a curmudgeon, that doesn't happen to me very often, so I was curious if it could happen again during this listening of this album.

The collection is a mix of styles and genres, which is not surprising for someone who is just finding their voice and seeking their viewpoint as a performer. There are several religious standards (I almost used the word "gospel" but that has too many connotations), including "Amazing Grace", "How Great Thou Art", and "Silent Night". The surprise tracks for me were the Madonna song "You'll See" and the Monkees' song "Daydream Believer".

There is nothing to dislike on this album; it is a strong freshman effort. Perhaps for me, the tracks are too over-produced and all tend into the power-ballad category--which is clearly the current most obvious strength of Ms. Boyle. Even what could be more upbeat songs are presented in arrangements that often seem to be in the same tempos, making them all sound a bit alike.

I was struck by the sound of Ms. Boyle's voice, which seems very different than I recall from the television appearance. Perhaps this is part of the over-produced nature of the album. Perhaps it is a versatile and talented singer searching for their true voice.

Regardless of the reasons for this, I hope there are future releases from Ms. Boyle so we can hear how see progresses.

Classical Monday--Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex live performance at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Have I been hibernating since my last posting on December 14? Well, I haven't seen any live performances since then, so I may have been sleeping.

This weekend I attended an all-Stravinsky concert by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with the largest piece on the program being the opera-oratorio Oedipus Rex. I had never heard of this work, so was very curious about it. It is scored for strings, winds, percussion, piano, male chorus, six soloists and a narrator.

The most recognizable name among the guest artists was Sir Patrick Stewart. He was an amenable and communicative narrator, as you would expect from and RSC-trained actor. I was told after the event that he was amplified; it was very subtly done, and I heard every word and nuance. There were three primary singers--tenor William Burden, mezzo Michelle DeYoung, and bass-baritone Ryan McKinny (pictured). I have heard Ms. DeYoung sing live at the Lyric Opera; Mr. Burden has sung there often as well. Mr. McKinny was a new name for he, but he's clearly an up-and-comer--an attractive and dark-voiced singer who is just entering his thirties. These soloists performed well, although at times I thought they were over-powered by the orchestra. At times even the male chorus of 100 was over-powered by the orchestra. Did no one sit in the house during rehearsals to check the balance? Perhaps these were choices by conductor Michael Tilson Thomas; if so they did a disservice to the soloists in particular and the work in general.

The first half of the concert was also works by Stavinsky--a three-part Ode that was written as a memorial to Serge Koussevitsky's wife, and the music from the ballet Apollon musagete. Only bits of either of these pieces had ever been programmed on a CSO concert before, except when Tilson Thomas had conducted the Apollon music back in the early 80s. The works don't deserve to be repeated even that often.

Perhaps I'm proving my bourgeois background, but I have never understood the programming of ballet music on a orchestra concert. Isn't that like showing a film on the radio? Certainly there are many ballets where the music deserves to be heard outside the dance world--many Stravinsky ballets in particular--but Apollon is not on that list.

Oedipus Rex

Music by Igor Stravinsky

Text in Latin by Stravinsky and Jean Cocteau

First performed in 1927

Soloists: Michelle DeYoung, Ryan McKinny, William Burden, Patrick Stewart, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas

Straight No Chaser live performance

Last night I went to a live performance of a men's a capella group called Straight No Chaser. The 10-voice group was formed at Indiana University about 14 years ago when its members were students there. When the group reconvened for their 10-year college reunion, a video of the group was posted on YouTube and received something like 6 million hits, leading to a record contract, multi-city tour, PBS broadcast, and lots of iTunes downloads. The Chicago concert last night was a bit of a homecoming as the founder (and I believe primary artistic force behind the group) Dan Ponce, is a Chicago native and for a while was a news reporter on the local ABC television affiliate.

The group is very musically polished, with a couple of good solo singers, and a strong overall balance--although in last night's performance I did think the bass voices were over-amplified compared to the lead and inner voices. That's a mixing issue, though, not a musical one.

The primary YouTube clip that has gotten attention is a take-off of the 12 Days of Christmas, which was performed toward the end of the group's second set last night. It is a creative and funny arrangement, playing off a lot of the other Christmas music the group had sung earlier that night.

My primary beef with the group is a petty one--they have the most ill-fitting suits on a doo-wop group ever. They are all black with white shirts and black or red ties. Simple enough. But none of the 10 had been well-fit into these off the rack garmets.

Okay, so you're straight. I get it. That doesn't mean you can't be dressed and fitted a little better by a gay man.

Eric Whitacre American composer

I went to a choral concert last night that included two works by contemporary American composer Eric Whitacre. Whitacre is a bit of the "it" choral composer of the moment--well really longer than of the moment. His popularity began after his "Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine" premiered at the National Choral Directors Association convention in 2001. The two Whitacre works on the program I heard last night were the "Leonardo" piece and Five Hebrew Love Songs to texts by Whitacre's then girlfriend now wife. This was not the first time I've encountered the work of Mr. Whitacre; I previously heard his "Cloudburst" written when he was still a student in the late 90s, I believe.

I am intrigued by Mr. Whitacre's compositional style. Descriptions of his works I've read have talked about a "Whitacre chord", primarily a major chord in the root position with an added second or fourth. Certainly he is not the first composer to incorporate these chords into choral pieces, but I guess the point is that Mr. Whitacre often uses them. I don't have a well-enough trained ear to identify these chords when I hear them, so I'm not qualified to speak on that.

What I will say is that Mr. Whitacre's work (as exemplified in the three works I've heard so far) has much to recommend it; it is tonally accessible without being cloying and often includes non-lyrical vocalisms--by that I mean the singers make percussive sounds at times during the pieces to illuminate the text or the story behind the text. An example of this would be the 'plips' and 'plops' of rain in "Cloudburst". Where I have difficulty with the pieces I've heard (particularly the two last night) is that they seem to lack a substantial climax or over-all structure to make them as effective as they might be. That of course could be due to the performance I heard, rather than pieces themselves, however.

The concert I attended was a one-night-only choral event by a local university's choral program, so you will need to seek other opportunities to hear Mr. Whitacre's compositions. If you do, or if you have, please let me know your thoughts about them.