Notes and Editorial Reviews
FLANDERS & SWANN
Misalliance. The Gnu. The Sloth. Ill Wind. Friendly Duet. The Gasman Cometh. The Hippo. The Armadillo. Have Some Madeira, M’Dear.
COWARD
Someday I’ll Find You. A Bar on the Piccola Marina. World Weary. Uncle Harry. I Travel Alone. That is the End of the News. Bright Was the Day. Nina. If Love Were All. Mrs. Worthington
•
Paul Sperry (ten); Ian Hobson (pn)
•
ZEPHYR 142 (67:38)
Here we go again with a convoluted album title,
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except in this case I forgive the artist because the material is light in nature. But just in case you can’t find this disc under either Donald Swann’s or Noël Coward’s names, you might try the following:
“Someday I’ll Find You,” Said the Honeysuckle to the Bindweed: Songs of Love & Whimsy by Noël Coward & Flanders and Swann.
I kid you not!
But you have to love this disc. After all, it’s Paul Sperry—one of the most musical, literate, and articulate tenors in the world, an acknowledged master of songs and Lieder since the early 1970s—performing material he absolutely loves. Just listen to the way he sings
The Gnu, The Hippo, Nina
, or especially
Mrs. Worthington
—in which, as in Coward’s
Uncle Harry
and
Nina
, Sperry adds some racy verses that poor dear Noël wasn’t allowed to record on 78. Sperry always had a small, rather dry voice, and at age 77 it’s not only dry but has also picked up an unsteady beat on sustained notes. But who cares?
You
certainly won’t once you hear this disc. If you’re a real music lover, and not just a voice aficionado, you not only know who Sperry is, you adore this guy. And, as he proves on
If Love Were All
, he can still hit a soft high B? in head voice.
As for Ian Hobson … is there anything this man can’t play? Having raved about his solo Chopin discs and admired him for years in other venues, here he is as an accompanist, and he’s just as good as ever. If you like this material, this disc is a no-brainer.
FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley
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Works on This Recording
1.
Misalliance by Donald Swann
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: Contemporary
Length: 3 Minutes 33 Secs.
2.
The Gnu Song by Donald Swann
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: Modern
Length: 3 Minutes 1 Secs.
3.
The Sloth by Donald Swann
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: Modern
Length: 4 Minutes 0 Secs.
4.
Ill Wind (after Mozart) by Donald Swann
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: Contemporary
Length: 3 Minutes 7 Secs.
5.
Friendly Duet by Donald Swann
Performer:
Ian Hobson (Piano),
Paul Sperry ()
Period: Modern
Length: 1 Minutes 41 Secs.
6.
The Gas-Man Cometh by Donald Swann
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: Contemporary
Length: 2 Minutes 24 Secs.
7.
Hippo Encore by Donald Swann
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: Modern
Length: 4 Minutes 18 Secs.
8.
The Armadillo by Donald Swann
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: Modern
Length: 3 Minutes 49 Secs.
9.
Madeira M'Dear by Donald Swann
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: England
Length: 4 Minutes 5 Secs.
10.
Private Lives: Some Day I'll Find You by Noel Coward
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1930; England
Length: 2 Minutes 44 Secs.
11.
A Bar on the Piccola Marina by Noel Coward
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1954; England
Length: 4 Minutes 14 Secs.
12.
This Year of Grace: World Weary by Noel Coward
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1928; England
Length: 4 Minutes 4 Secs.
13.
Uncle Harry by Noel Coward
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: Modern
Length: 4 Minutes 35 Secs.
14.
I Travel Alone by Noel Coward
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1934; England
Length: 2 Minutes 51 Secs.
15.
That is the End of the News, song by Noel Coward
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: Modern
Length: 3 Minutes 30 Secs.
16.
Bright Was the Day by Noel Coward
Performer:
Ian Hobson (Piano),
Paul Sperry ()
Period: Modern
Length: 3 Minutes 19 Secs.
17.
Nina from Argentina by Noel Coward
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: England
Length: 4 Minutes 14 Secs.
18.
Bitter Sweet: If Love Were All by Noel Coward
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1929; England
Length: 4 Minutes 59 Secs.
19.
Mrs. Worthington by Noel Coward
Performer:
Paul Sperry (),
Ian Hobson (Piano)
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1935
Length: 3 Minutes 1 Secs.
Sound Samples
At the Drop of a Hat: Misalliance
At the Drop of a Hat: The Gnu
At the Drop of a Hat: The Sloth
At the Drop of a Hat: Ill Wind
At the Drop of a Hat: Friendly Duet
At the Drop of a Hat: The Gasman Cometh
At the Drop of a Hat: (Have Some) Madeira, M'Dear?
Private Lives: Some day I'll find you
A bar on the piccolo marina
This Year of Grace: World Weary
Sigh No More: That Is the End of the News
Pacific 1860: Bright Was the Day
Bitter-Sweet: Act II: If love were all
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