by  Peter Cates

Elgar

String Quartet
played by Aeolian String Quartet; Violin Sonata, played by violinist Alan Loveday and pianist Leonard Cassini – Dover Publications HCR-ST-7011, 12-inch stereo vinyl LP, recorded early ‘60s.

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) was perhaps best known as the composer of Land of Hope and Glory, a very much sung World War I anthem, itself based on the First Pomp and Circumstance March, whose tune is still heard at graduation ceremonies and band concerts.

Starting in 1917 when the composer was 60 and at the height of his powers, Elgar wrote three works for chamber forces, which he had never attempted before. Two of them are contained on this LP – the Violin Sonata and the String Quartet, both of them having a quiet thoughtful reserve of both dignity and yet an intimacy of feeling, along with a special beauty.

The performances are superlative. Finally, there are 14 copies of the vinyl LP still available from Amazon vendors, starting at $7, along with other more recent recordings on CD.

The Mills Brothers

Great Hits
Dot DLP 25157, stereo vinyl LP, released 1958.

The Mills Brothers, consisting of Dad and two sons, began performing in 1922 and recorded a slew of best selling hits for Decca during the 78 era, later re-recording them for Dot records from the ‘50s into the ‘60s with greater success, not to mention the superior stereo sound; this 1958 LP has some of their classics – Paper Doll, Up a Lazy River, Glow Worm, the sweetly poignant You Always Hurt the One You Love, etc., performed with that utterly unassuming style of theirs that was endearing while concealing the years of careful rehearsing and discipline.

About Glow Worm – its composer, Johnny Mercer, recorded it, but with minimal sales. Within five years, the Mills did their own record and made millions.

Frank Froeba

Jazz Piano and Orchestra
Royale 1826; 10-inch vinyl LP, released 1954.

The jazz pianist and bandleader, Frank Froeba (1907-1981), founded his own group in the 1930s, which employed the likes of Bobby Hackett and Bunny Berrigan, and waxed a number of 78s for the Decca and Columbia labels. This LP contains such familiar tunes as The One I Love Belongs to Somebody Else, A Lover’s Lullaby, My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean and Where Has My Little Dog Gone?, the first two selections are admittedly incompatible as to style and content with the last two; it also has the aptly titled Bee Boogie, which is a boogieish reworking of Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Flight of the Bumble Bee. The entire program is very professionally and enthusiastically performed and makes for very pleasant listening.

Royale was one of several very cheaply priced labels which proliferated from the late ‘40s into the ‘50s and drew its material from both legitimate and questionable sources, often engaging in flagrant bootlegging. However, my copy of the above LP is in wonderful condition and has good sound. Highly recommended for interested listeners and still available on Ebay at a reasonable price under $15.

by  Peter Cates

Mahler Symphony No. 9

Carlo Maria Giulini conducting the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Weitblick- SSS0140-2, 2 CDs, from live concert of February 9, 1973.

I have already commented at length on the late great conductor Carlo Maria Giulini in this column. He displayed a very high level of power, beauty and clarity in most of the recordings that I have heard on my shelves and elsewhere, even with his sometimes overdone slow tempos.

This live broadcast of Mahler’s very accomplished and achingly beautiful 9th Symphony is very good without the annoying hyper intensity that often spoils other recordings.

The Weitblick label has also released a number of other live concerts by other great conductors of the past- names like Eugen Jochum, Georges Pretre, Sergiu Celibidache, Yevgeni Svetlanov, etc., every one of them synonymous with quality; these often reveal more excitement in the heat of the moment than the studio note – perfect records glutting online inventories and all too often selling at higher prices. Berkshire Record Outlet stocks a number of these and charges lower prices more frequently than Amazon and the other retailers in cyberspace. It has frequently been my main source because of its large stock of quality product and price.

Bobby Bare

Constant Sorrow

RCA Victor LPM-3395, mono edition, recorded 1965, 12-inch LP.

Now 81, country singer Bobby Bare has recorded almost 38 albums and giving superb performances of both his own and other people’s songs. Every record I own of him is a pleasure; this one is no exception and features his own Times Are Gettin’ Hard and I’m A Long Way from Home; Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind, Willie Nelson’s One Day at a Time, and several others. Chet Atkins provided the usual A-plus production while Anita Kerr worked up several exquisite arrangements.

Bing Crosby & Mary Martin

Lily of Laguna; Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie; Decca 18278, 10-inch shellac 78, recorded March 13, 1942.

The truly great Bing Crosby (1903-1977) is paired here with Broadway star Mary Martin (1913-1990).

Although Bing recorded with a large number of musical celebrities during his 50 years of more than 4,000 sides, I never knew of this coupling, as his assured, relaxed singing style with nearly perfect phrasing and timing and Martin’s elegantly poised, polished, refined and aloof vocal craft would seem to me totally incompatible and one major reason why her stage successes with South Pacific and Sound of Music could never translate to the movie screen.

They sang the above songs with their commendably professional best but left me cold ! However, other folks might respond differently