berlin without walls
all this week wync (93.9 fm or wnyc.org) is are doing a series called BERLIN WITHOUT WALLS - exploring east and west berlin (obviously) through their programs. a few of the music programs are focusing (again: obviously) on the wonderful music that has, and is, coming out of berlin.
the ubertalented ute lemper (alliteration!) hosts Evening Music, delving into cabaret music, from Brecht and Weill to Jacques Brel and Lou Reed. Berlin Without Walls accompanies Carnegie Hall's 16-day festival Berlin in Lights. tonight she continues with more brecht -- 7pm - she is even going to play recordings of brecht being interrogated for being a communist. she also pointed out that she thinks brecht was the only marxist to drive a mercedes (or was it a bmw? either way it's amusing)
so last night, as i cleaned my bathroom i listened to all these amazing recordings of the fruits of collaborations between brecht and weill, something i was already extremely fond of, and i thought i would share some of my favorites.
probably one of the most amazing songs ever, ever, ever. from it's chilling story of hatred and revenge to that unbelievable piano vamp to the anger of ms. simone - this song is unstoppable. the use of this song for the story of the movie dogville is probably what made me appreciate that movie so. i mean: when nicole kidman's character is making the bed and suddenly looks up and says "none of you will sleep here tonight." i freaked out.
pirate jenny, lotte lenya
it would be ridiculous to post about brecht and weill and not share some lenya. lenya sang these songs in numerous productions over the course of many years -- even when she was way too old to play the role - and they would have to lower the songs for her. i love that.
pirate jenny, judy collins.
another reason to love judy collins. she sings brecht and weill. she doesn't have the intense controlled rage of ms. simone, but i enjoy it all the same.
i love pirate jenny so much i sang it in my singing class during my undergrad theatre studies years at BU and my teacher said "i can't tell if you're singing it as a man or as a woman." and i told her since i am, in fact, a man, i am singing it as A MAN. (i had already changed the pronouns). i have no patience for snarky-ness.
in the threepenny opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) mac sings the knocking shop tango with jenny. it's about the whore house they used to live in and how he used to pimp her out.
a new translation of threepenny premiered in london several years ago. the translation kicks ass.
here is the song from that recording:
knocking shop tango, Tom Hollander, Tara Hugo
another amazing song from threepenny is the barbara song. polly sings it to her parents when she tells them she is married to mac the knife. there is character in threepenny named barbara.
(but: brecht's daughter was named barbara and he also liked the name for it's relation to the word barbaric, he thought all humans were barbaric.)
barbara song, sharon small
bea arthur was the original polly peachum when threepenny opened on broadway. she shared a dressing room with lotte lenya. amazing. no?
they created so many wonderful songs -- here are a few other favorites:
from their show HAPPY END
surabaya johnny, lenya (it's german)
surabaya johnny, julie wilson (english!)
damn. is there a better subject for a brecht/weill song than a spurned lover? for artists into exploring the dark sides of human nature - a broken heart is a wellspring. their songs work best when sung by someone with a nontraditional voice (read: smokey, deep, harsh, old, "bad", etc). i mean - more often than not, you have to make some ugly sounds when you sing these songs. i love it.
this is also from HAPPY END. it's kind of like what's happening in williamsburg/greenpoint.
in case you don't know who julie wilson is CLICK HERE!
there was a revival on broadway of HAPPY END in 1977. with christopher lloyd and meryl streep. do we think she sang Surabaya Johnny? ugh. i would invent a time machine to see '77 meryl singing that song. time for a trip to the library for the performing arts, no?
from THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CITY OF MAHAGONNY
alabama song, georgia brown
(yes, the doors sang this, but it was a cover)
we need more talented artists to sing these songs in english -- so all of us non-german speaking people can fully appreciate them.
enjoy
g
