Search - Jerome Kern, John McGlinn, National Philharmonic Orchestra :: Jerome Kern: Overtures & Music From The Film Swing Time

Another John McGill treasure

William S. Oser | Florida, USA | 07/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When someone stubbed their toe on a box of old manuscript in Secaucus NJ, a whole new world of Musical comedy was opened for us. Now we can know with some certainty what all the classic 1930's and very early '40s musicals sounded like, because we have manuscripts of these shows to guide us. I love Jerome Kern. I learned to love his songs at about age 20. Now, I adore them even more because we can hear them as he wanted us to, in correct period style. In case anyone thinks that these old musicals are going to be dinausors, they have a sparkle and zip that we stripped away as we brought them into a modern age. My favorite overture is The Cat and the Fiddle. After some opening chords to get our attention, we are treated to a song from the score that I am not familiar with, cute but not a masterpiece. Then one piano introduces "She didn't Say Yes", one of Kerns most bouncy tunes. Then a second piano takes over as the first supports him, and then a THIRD PIANO chimes in while the others just have a field day underneath and around him. I always loved the 2 piano sound that was prevalent in the pits in those days, especially at the hands of the late Hans Spialak, the only man who can compare with the greatest of the great, Robert Russell Bennett (Spialak taught Bennett). You can hear the two piano sound in such great shows as Babes in Arms and some of the Gershwin shows. This whole album is a joy from start to finish, the overtures are just so full of life. I am lucky enough to have recently acquired a very bootleg CD of a live performance of Roberta with original orchestrations. The two pianos rippling through the whole thing make Roberta sound much different than we would expect from any of the more modern recordings. Swingtime, the motion picture with Astaire and Rodgers may possibly be Kerns ultimate masterpiece. He won an oscar for Just the Way you Look tonight, but Pick Yourself Up and A Fine Romance are equally worthy, and I personally adore Bojangles of Harlem. What a treat to hear the dance music in all its glory. This is a fabulous album. what a shame that John McGlinn is not turning out more wonderful recordins like this one. Get this and "A Jerome Kern Treasury" for a solid inroduction to Jerome Kern."