Joan Morris and William Bolcom
Joan Morris is a mezzo-soprano specializing in popular music of the first half of this century. Her husband, William Bolcom, is a pianist and composer. Ms. Morris's voice and style is ideally suited to the material, for her singing is quite clear, and she handles both sentimentality and humor quite well. I had the opportunity to meet them, briefly, after a concert at the Irvine Barclay Theatre, in Irvine, CA. But one warning: Joan Morris doesn't compromise on lyrics. The results can be a bit amusing, as when she sings love songs written from a male point of view, or "politically incorrect," or even a bit risque (as in Tamara, Queen of the Nile, from her [out-of-print, I think] cabaret song album, Lime Jello), but they're always authentic, always delivered with a lovely voice and a sense of humor, and always serve the music well. They also have their own web site, http://www.bolcomandmorris.com, which gives information about the artists and their concerts and recordings.After the Ball
Original LP was Nonesuch H-71304; re-released on CD
This was the very first recording of Morris and Bolcom, and it still stands on its own, 25 years later. Among other things, this collection of turn-of-the-century popular songs includes the first commercially available recordings of its title song, and of A Bird in a Gilded Cage, in recent memory. The CD re-release also includes bonus tracks from the out-of-print Morris and Bolcom LP, Vaudeville.Silver Linings: Songs by Jerome Kern
Arabesque Z6515
What can I say, other than that Jerome Kern is delightful, and I've never heard anybody handle his songs better than Joan Morris and William Bolcom.Night and Day: The Cole Porter Album
Omega OCD 3002
Some might complain about the fact that Joan Morris sings everything too straight for Cole Porter, or that she seems too "nice" for Cole porter (whoever says that should hear her sing Tamara, Queen of the Nile, by Fred Block, Ernst Muller and Peter Winkler, which tells the story of a slightly loony woman who is a first-grade teacher by day, and an exotic dancer by night), but I like the way she lets the beauty and the humor of Cole Porter shine through. And unlike many, even today, she has the guts to sing I Get a Kick Out of You as written, with the "Some get a kick from cocaine" verse intact.Let's Do It: Bolcom & Morris at Aspen
Omega OCD 3004
This delighfully eclectic CD was recorded live at the Aspen Music Festival, on July 22, 1989. It includes what I believe to be the only other commercially available recording of A Bird in a Gilded Cage, and jumps around, hitting (among other things) some Rodgers and Hart, Hupfield's delightfully suggestive Let's Put Out the Lights, some Cole Porter, two piano solos (it's William Bolcom's custom to play piano solos after intermission, to give his wife a little extra time for her costume change), some Kern, and ends up with the concert's two encores, Von Tilzer'sWait 'til the Sun Shines, Nellie and Irving Berlin's Always Simply put, 64 minutes of delightful fun.Moonlight Bay: Songs As Is and Songs As Was
Albany TROY 318
After a quarter century, Joan Morris and William Bolcom return to their turn-of-the-century roots. A delightful album (but not for those obsessed with "political correctness") that includes The Road to Mandalay, Hello Ma Baby, Asleep in the Deep, and Daisy Bell ("A Bicycle Built for Two"), among its contents, all sung beautifully and authentically. Most of the turn-of-the-century songs Joan Morris sings are songs that are all but forgotten, or remembered but completely unavailable on recordings. And they're often far more musical than current popular music.The Belle Air Brass
This all woman brass quintet is quite good (and I liked them even before I knew that their regular trombonist was a friend of mine).Simply Struttin'
Wag Wecords BAB0001 (Available from the Belle Aire Brass web site)
The debut recording of the Belle Air Brass, featuring guest appearances by Faith Prince (vocals) and George Segal (banjo and vocals), in a collection of mostly dixieland jazz, often with tongue-in-cheek lyrics.The Music of Armand-Louis Couperin Jennifer S. Paul, Harpsichord
Klavier Records KCD 11041
Armand-Louis Couperin was probably the least known of his musical family; he wrote quite a bit of excellent harpsichord music, and Jennifer Paul carries it off with great sensitivity and feeling. (And I'd stillsay that even if I didn't know Maestra Paul!)Pancrace Royer: Pieces de Clavecin-- William Christie, Harpsichord
Harmonia Mundi HMA 1901037
Joseph-Nicolas-Pancrace Royer wrote a number of harpsichord pieces. Quite possibly the best known of them, which is the finale of this album, is La Marche des Scythes, a piece I first heard Jennifer Paul play as a solo encore to a concert with the Orange County Chamber Orchestra. She described it as being the hardest piece she knew how to play; I can only say that it's also (after the slightly silly main theme of the piece has returned a couple of times) one of the funniest. While I make no secret of the fact that I'd like to see Maestra Paul record the piece, there's certainly nothing wrong with William Christie's performance of it, or of any of the other thirteen pieces on this album.Tchaikovsky and Sibelius Violin Concertos-- Leila Josefowicz, Violin; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner, Cond.
Philips 446 131-2
This is the debut recording of one of the rising stars of the violin. I had the pleasure of hearing young Maestra Josefowicz live at Hollywood Bowl, in the summer of 1996; after the concert, I simply had to have an autographed copy of this CD. Maestra Josefowicz may be a child prodigy, but she's still also very much a teenage girl. But don't take that to mean she's at all immature. She accepts her talent and her fame with a maturity beyond her years, but she hasn't let it go to her head, or interfere with her youth. And she plays the two concertos on this album like she'll soon be quite capable of giving even Perlman a run for his money.Organ Music
But first check out my Christmas CD Reviews Page
Bach: Great Organ Favorites -- E. Power Biggs
CBS Masterworks MK 42644
When CDs first caught on, replacing LPs practically overnight in the record stores, the late E. Power Biggs was one of the victims. For years, his recordings, some of the most popular organ recordings in history, were unavailable at any price. Fortunately, due in part to funding from the Gordon Getty Foundation, this situation began to improve some years ago, with the release of several recordings culled from his enormous discography. This was one of the first, culled from his Bach Organ Favorites series (originally released on six LPs), recorded on the 1958 Flentrop organ at the Busch-Reisinger Museum, at Harvard University. I consider the recording of the Toccata and Fugue in d minor that leads off this collection to be, even close to forty years after it was recorded, the definitive recording against which all others must be compared (and often found wanting for much).The Biggs Bach Book
CBS Masterworks MK 30539
This delightful CD includes 14 selections from the Anna Magdalena Notebook, a gigue from the Little Clavier Book for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, and various well known chorale preludes.Handel: The 16 Organ Concertos-- E. Power Biggs
CBS Masterworks MB3K 45825
What more can be said? All 16 of Handel's organ concertos, including the most famous, No. 13 in F, "The Cuckoo and the Nightingale." Performed with the London Philharmonic, Sir Adrian Boult, Cond., using an organ Handel himself is said to have played.Pamela Decker Performs
Arkay AR6083
This was Dr. Pamela Decker's debut recording, initially on LP, and it holds up extremely well. Dr. Decker plays beautifully, and composes as well. In this recording, she plays the Bach "Great" Prelude and Fugue in D, BWV 532, the Krebs Chorale Prelude on "Zeuch ein zu deinen Toren", the Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue in d minor, Op. 37, No. 3, her own Passacaglia and three movements from Gaston Litaize's Douze Pieces, all on the Rieger organ at Pacific Union College Church. Her performance of the Bach, at a somewhat faster than usual tempo (to compensate for rather dead acoustics in the church) is delightfully effective in bringing out the inherent perkiness in the work.Toccata -- Pamela Decker
Arkay AR6091
This collection, Dr. Decker's second recording, features an exploration of the toccata, from the early Baroque period to today. Composers represented include Buxtehude, Bach, Frescobaldi, Vierne, Dagmar Holtz, and Dr. Decker herself. For this recording, Dr. Decker plays the 1965 Flentrop organ at St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle, WA. Her rendition of the BachToccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, BWV 564, is on a par with even the Biggs performance, (and in fact, I even prefer Dr. Decker's Adagio).Flights of Fancy -- Pamela Decker
Albany TROY 140
This is, to date, Dr. Decker's latest CD, featuring the debut recordings of Albright's Flights of Fancy: Ballet for Organ and Chasm, Herbert Bielawa's Undertones and Dr. Decker's own Nightsong and Ostinato Dances. While new music for organ is not usually regarded as the most accessible of musical genres, this CD is a very pleasant, if occasionally wild, "E-ticket ride." (NOTE: people with neck or back problems should exercise caution). In particular, the title work is extremely accessible, as most of its movements are either tongue-in-cheek, or breathtakingly beautiful, or often both. It also demonstrates just how effective a tracker-action cathedral organ (once again, the Flentrop at St. Mark's Cathedral, in the first recording made after its 1993 renovations) can be for works that might seem more at home on a theatre organ.Organ Works of Johann Ludwig Krebs -- Gwen Adams, organ; James Duncan, trumpet
Arkay AR6122
(Alas, out of print for many years!)A delightful cross-section of the works of a delightful composer (one of Bach's students), performed by a delightful organist (whom I've had the pleasure of meeting), on an instrument (the Flentrop at All Saints Episcopal Church of Palo Alto, CA) that I can only describe as absolutely scrumptious. (Think of the acoustic equivalent of still-warm-from-the-oven fresh-baked oatmeal cookies.)
Festal Music for Three Organs and Organ for Four Hands -- Hulliger, Swanton and Marcon
Koch Schwann 3-1047-2
(Alas, out of print for many years!)This delightful collection of obscure, often anonymous, Swiss music is played on the three organs of the Monastary Church in Mariastein, Switzerland. For the works requiring three organs, the three organs of the church (one in a separate building) were combined electronically, creating a sonic environment that is totally fictitious, yet totally convincing.
Orgelmusik aus St. Justinus -- Felix Hell, organ
IFO 021
Available from the OHS Catalog.When I first heard of the young German organist (only 13 when this CD was recorded!), I was always hearing of him in connection with performances on various huge instruments, and began to worry that perhaps here was another young organist prepared to go back to the pre-Orgelbewegung "bigger is better" ideology. In fact, I had absolutely nothing to worry about: not only is he equally comfortable with tracker organs of modest size, this CD was recorded on a 1988 Kuhn tracker organ, at the Church of St. Justinus, near Frankfurt.
To put it mildly,
THE KID IS GOOD!!!
His performance of the Toccata, Adagio and Fugue compares favorably with the best I've heard from Biggs or Decker. And he plays with a combination of power and sensitivity (not to mention agility) I've often found lacking in organists far more experienced than he.
I highly recommend this CD, and I also highly recommend that anybody with an opportunity to attend one of his concerts do so.
Great Organs of America: Modern Landmarks Volume 2 -- The 1998 Glatter Götz/Rosales, Claremont -- Diane Meredith Belcher, organ
JAV #115
(Currently out of print)When I played this CD for the first time, I reacted the same way I did the first time I heard Pamela Decker, or the first time I heard Felix Hell. Simply put, Diane Belcher is a superb musician, and as with Dr. Decker and the young Herr Maestro Hell, I immediately fell in love with her playing, and most especially with her ability to have fun, and to share that fun with her listeners. I would like nothing better than to be able to hear Maestra Belcher in person, someday (and if the 2000 tentative schedule for the Spreckels Organ Pavilion holds, I will soon get that opportunity. Incidentally, this CD, between Maestra Belcher's playing and the remarkable instrument, is of the sort (along with Felix Hell's debut CD and Pamela Decker's Flights of Fancy) that can potentially turn even the most post-horny of tibiaholics (and maybe even wheelheads, too!) into tracker-backers.
The CD features a rather eclectic program, beginning with the Tiento de Batalla
sobre la Balletto del Granduca, by Timothy Tikker. It continues with:
Bach: Trio Super: "Allein Gott in der Hoeh sei Ehr", BWV 664
Rheinberger: Passacaglia, from Sonata VIII, Op. 132
Dupre: Prelude and Fugue in f minor, Op. 7, No. 2
Alain: Litanies
Balbastre: Noel: Ou s'en vont ces gais bergers?
Bach: Prelude and Fugue in a minor, BWV 543
Franck: Piece Heroique, from Trois Pieces
Hoiby: Rock Valley Narrative, Op. 50
and Vierne: Final from Symphonie III, Op. 28
The Tikker (composed specifically for this organ) is a fitting opening work for the CD, and shows off the reed stops to great effect. (Indeed, I was not the least bit surprised when I noticed in the liner notes that it specifically calls for ONLY the reeds). Somebody tell Maestro Tikker that he's written a truly marvelous piece.
Cheek-by-jowl with the Tikker is the quiet little Bach trio, played in glittery (but NEVER shrieky!) registrations that show off the upperwork beautifully. This piece and the Tikker are of such extreme contrast as to set each other off perfectly.
Up until I first heard Maestra Belcher's performance, I'd always found Jehan Alain's Litanies rather boring and repetitive. Maestra Belcher's performance is probably the most exciting I've ever heard, and instantly changed my opinion of the piece.
Since this isn't intended to replace the copious liner notes, I'll only add that everything on the CD is accessible (I'd say that the Hoiby is probably the most challenging to the listener), and played beautifully (for some reason, the Balbastre reminds me vaguely of the Handel "Harmonious Blacksmith" variations). Regarding the organ itself, I can only say that if this is an example of what a Glatter-Goetz/Rosales collaboration sounds like, then the Disney Hall organ, outlandishly whimsical appearance notwithstanding, is most definitely in good hands.
In short, BUY THIS CD. I don't work for JAV Recordings, so I'm not being paid to say this. I just think you'll like it. Whether you're a militant tracker-backer or a post-horny tibiaholic (or even, dare I say, a wheelhead!), you'll enjoy this.
Everyone Dance -- Dr. Cherry Rhodes, organ
Pro Organo CD 7009
I'd seen "Everyone Dance" in the bins at Tower Records, some years ago (long before I'd become a full-blown organ geek, or heard of Dr. Rhodes, or heard of Visser-Rowland). I took one look at it, saw the title, saw Dr. Rhodes' almost-cheescake pose, in a one-shoulder dress (and high heels), and thought something along the line of "Harrumph. Probably some Left-foot Linda, playing theatrical stuff on something huge and un-subtle."How wrong I was!
A VERY belated BRAVA to Dr. Rhodes (and my deepest apologies for jumping to the wrong conclusions, and mis-judging her). And also a BRAVO to Pieter Visser: I think this is the first I've actually heard of his work. I highly recommend this CD. It's beautiful, exciting, and a lot of fun to listen to. The title (for those who haven't heard it) is a reference to the fifth of Calvin Hampton's "Five Dances" (the others being "The Primitives," "at the Ballet," "Those Americans" and "An Exalted Ritual"). One of the first things I noticed about "at the Ballet" was a certain "family resemblance" to Saint-Saens' "Swan." Not cribbed; not a variation, but definitely a resemblance. The CD is rounded out by Hampton's Prelude and Variations on "Old Hudredth." In this case, including three unpublished variations Hampton had written as a gift to Dr. Rhodes. The piece takes the familar Doxology melody all sorts of places. Sometimes, it's easy to recognize; other times, you might not hear it if you didn't know it was there. This CD is available from the OHS Catalog web site.
Last updated Thursday, November 19, 2015.
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