Appreciation by Ron Mitchell

It was refreshing for the second month in a row to listen to a presentation on the lighter side of music, although, as John Florance repeatedly made clear, this did not mean that at its best the contents of The Great American Songbook were not to be taken seriously as productions of considerable artistry and talent.

He structured his most interesting and entertaining talk as outlined in the handout distributed to those present:

1. What is the Great American Songbook?
2. 'Let's face the music and dance': Irving Berlin
3. Singing the song
4. 'The words are true / the song is you': Jerome Kern
5. 'Don't fence me in': Cole Porter
6. 'It ain't necessarily so': George Gershwin
7. Conclusion

Unfortunately your correspondent was caught behind a long traffic accident delay on his way in from Coventry to Leicester, and he missed part 1 and most of part 2 of the above. So he heard only John's account of the sad tail end of Irving Berlin's long career, when the advent of the likes of the Beatles and Elvis meant that he could no longer write songs. Of course, as long as Advent itself persists, Berlin's immortal 'White Christmas' will still be heard.

John went on to discuss how the technique of the Songbook singers differs from that of classical singers, whose excursions into the Songbook repertoire had often not gone well: witness Kiri Te Kanewa in 'West Side Story'. The 'trained' voice often just does not work. What is needed is a 'head' rather than a 'chest' voice, and skilful use of the microphone as by the master of that art, Frank Sinatra. But there were exceptions, and John played a successful rendition of 'Climb Every Mountain' by the possessor of a 'formidable, trained' voice, whose name I unfortunately did not catch.

On to Jerome Kern, whose songs could have 'great melodic beauty'. Indeed John Barbirolli, when asked for his favourite tune, replied 'Smoke Gets In Your Eyes'. Although I myself can never get out of my head the words of the old TV paraffin commercial:

They asked me how I knew, it was Esso Blue? 
I of course replies, 
With lower grades one buys, 
Smoke gets in your eyes.

I suppose Kern's estate may have made lots of money out of it.

Kern's 1927 'Showboat' was an important milestone. It was the first musical with a coherent, serious story and the first to have a racially integrated cast. The lyrics were by Oscar Hammerstein II, except for the poignant 'Bill', a reworking of a 1917 song written in collaboration with P. G. Wodehouse. Another fine lyricist who worked with Kern and others was the prolific Dorothy Fields, who wrote over 400 songs, including 'The Way You Look Tonight'.

Next Cole Porter, who wrote his own witty, urbane, lyrics, including 'list songs' reminiscent of Gilbert and Sullivan, which perhaps sometimes went on too long. Some were rather risqué, like 'Miss Otis Regrets' and 'Love For Sale'. Porter's final years were unhappy: a serious riding accident in 1947 left him crippled and in pain. It led to the loss of a leg in 1958, after which he could no longer write songs. The 1946 biopic of Porter's life, 'Night And Day', was felt by John to be 'ridiculous', but he played the wonderful song of that title.

Finally George Gershwin, whose short life (he died at 38) produced so many great songs, many with lyrics by his brother Ira. He was much respected by classical composers. Maurice Ravel, on being asked what he would like for his 53rd birthday, replied that he would like to meet Gershwin and hear him play. But he refused Gershwin's request for lessons, saying 'Why become a second-rate Ravel when you are already a first-rate Gershwin?'.

We heard 'A Foggy Day In London Town', then, from Gerswhin's opera 'Porgy And Bess' the beautiful 'Summertime'. Michael Tippet called Summertime 'the great melody of the 20th century', and Hans Keller rated Porgy 'the great opera of the 20th century'.

After the meeting I asked John whether he had heard the suggestion (he had) that the melody of the opening line of Summertime may have been influenced by the Ukrainian lullaby 'Oy Khodit Son Kolo Vikon' (Ой ходить сон, коло вікон), 'The Dream Passes By The Window'. Gershwin, whose parents had emigrated from Odesa in Ukraine before his birth, had attended a performance by the Ukrainian National Choir in Carnegie Hall.

John closed with the last song that Gershwin wrote, appropriately entitled 'Love Is Here To Stay'. It was a fitting end to an evening of insight and wonder into perhaps the great musical art form of the 20th century, almost certainly the most widely appreciated one.

There are one or two missing singers in the playlist below. If you know who they are, please get in touch: ron@ronmitchell.co.uk.