by John L. Walters
For those of us who know our musicals from DVDs and
Christmas TV,John Wilson's Hollywood Prom delivered a pleasurable shock.
His orchestra, with its nine-piece percussion section and full-blown jazz big
band, blasted out a surround-sound version of music that is usually squeezed
through the tiny speakers of a telly.
Without
the tap dances, chorus girls and (often flimsy) plots, the music had to stand
up for itself. Wilson, who has brought a passion for authentic performance to
movie soundtracks, shone a glittering spotlight on arrangers such as Ray Heindorf, Conrad Salinger and Lloyd "Skip" Martin. They were Hollywood's invisible men, who toiled
behind the tinsel to stretch three-minute ditties into extended suites (This
Heart of Mine) or craft subtle tone poems that became huge hits (Secret Love,
sung beautifully by Clare Teal).
A
tag team of vocalists interpreted familiar songs from movies made between 1935
and 1969 – from Top Hat to Hello Dolly. The charmingMatthew Ford charmingly channelled both Fred Astaire and Gene
Kelly. Annalene Beechey did a pitch-perfect Julie Andrews (as Mary Poppins) on Jolly Holiday, in which Irwin Kostal's dense, relentlessly complex
score tipped a hat to composer Carl Stalling (of Warner Bros cartoon fame).
A
suite of Heindorf arrangements from the Judy Garland vehicle A Star Is Born let singer Caroline O'Connor shine on the
sultry, subtle The Man That
Got Away. Tenor Charles Castronovo interpreted two of the more classical tunes:
Serenade (The Student Prince) and One Hand One Heart (West Side Story) with
soprano Sarah Fox.
The
Maida Vale Singers sang lustily on showstoppers such as Sit Down You're Rockin'
the Boat and Put On Your Sunday Clothes. But the stars of the evening were the
(until now) unsung arrangers, whose work was reinvigorated by Wilson's
scholarship – and the musicians, who performed the demanding scores with
affection and exuberance.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/aug/30/prom-59-hooray-for-hollywood
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