Once again, legendary British conductor John Wilson has been on tour presenting some of the greatest hits of Hollywood, with renowned singers Kim Criswell, Matt Ford and Jamie Parker. The orchestra was Wilson’s own Sinfonia of London re-established by him in 2018.
The concert at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, opened with the MGM Jubilee Overture which was arranged in 1954 by the studio’s musical director, Johnny Green. This instrumental medley features numerous MGM numbers such as Singin’ in the Rain, I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Over the Rainbow and The Trolley Song. Having heard the original recording of it as well as John Wilson's recording, Wilson conducted a little bit faster in places on this occasion. In my opinion this does not ruin the piece. On the contrary I think it helps to drive it along and works remarkably well in concert.
Kim Criswell and Matt Ford flawlessly delivered Cole Porter’s Stereophonic Sound from 1957’s Silk Stockings. Having recently sung this song with a friend at Dartington summer school, back in August, I can confirm that it is not the easiest song to perform. Matt Ford then left the stage and Kim Criswell then gave us a haunting and very emotional solo performance of Secret Love, that was originally performed by Doris Day in Calamity Jane. The Heather on the Hill from Brigadoon is a great example, not only of fine music and lyrics going together, but also of great arranging. The song was written for the film by Lerner and Lowe and was arranged by Conrad Salinger. Actor and singer, Jamie Parker performed the vocal refrain. His performance was nice and gentle, this contrasted with the ballet music that Salinger had arranged.
Another instrumental piece, was the overture from High Society, arranged from Cole Porter’s songs for the film by Conrad Salinger and Lloyd ‘Skip’ Martin. John Wilson conducted lightly and with finesse and the orchestra gave the music the articulation and colour that it needed. For me the highlight of the first half, was Matt Ford's performance of Pure Imagination, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, in its original arrangement by Walter Scharf. As a fan of the film and its music I was paying particular attention to this performance, and I think it was electrifying.
Kim Criswell concluded the first half with I Got Rhythm from Girl Crazy. During the instrumental part, the audience applauded different sections of the orchestra as if they were jazz players, even the violins and violas, who stood up and gave us a spine-tingling virtuoso performance.
The second half began with the main title music from Singin’ in the Rain, this involved all three vocalists, who sang the first verse of the title song whilst walking across the stage. It was immediately followed by Good Morning. Both pieces were perfect representatives of such a film.
One rarity that was played, was the Jerry Herman ballad Love is Only Love written for the film version of Hello Dolly! and was originally performed by the star of the film, Barbra Streisand. Kim Criswell has an extraordinary ability to channel the great leading ladies of Hollywood and Broadway, including Streisand. Another glorious rarity was the original Irwin Kostal arrangement of Jolly Holiday from Mary Poppins, complete with members of the orchestra playing kazoos during the Penguin dance sequence.
Matt Ford gave a wonderful and moving performance of If ever I would leave you from Camelot and I think John Wilson was right to call it one of Frederick Lowe’s finest ballads. Jamie Parker’s rendition of I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face from My Fair Lady, may not have been an imitation of Rex Harrison, but he certainly was able to channel him. Learning all those words for such dramatic number must have been a huge challenge.
The penultimate piece of the evening was the unofficial Hollywood anthem That's Entertainment from 1953’s The Band Wagon. I could not help mouthing along to this number, knowing every word of it. The encore which brought the evening and the tour to an end was There's No Business Like Show Business, originally from Annie Get Your Gun. I am unfamiliar with the arrangement that was performed. But Kim, Matt and Jamie did splendidly with Kim taking the lead with here spot on Ethel Merman imitation.
I believe that this was a glorious performance as well as a wonderful end to a national tour. I sincerely hope that John Wilson and the team embark on another one next year. Also, I wonder if there’s any chance in the future of such a show returning to the proms.
50 years ago, on June 30th, 1971, the movie musical “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” was released. This is a movie that I have grown up with and I have never got bored with watching it or listening to the music.
The film was based on the book by
Roald Dahl called “Charlie and the chocolate factory”. It was directed by Mel
Stuart based on the screen play by Roald Dahl. Stuart had been introduced to
the book by his daughter. David Seltzer was brought in to adapt Dahl’s screen
play and bolster it with more drama and music. It has been said that Dahl did
not like the result because it did not stick to his original story. However,
Dahl did spend a lot of time on set during the filming, so it is not clear how
true his criticism of Seltzer’s adaptations was. Dahl did initially suggest
Spike Milligan as Willy Wonka because it fitted the image inside his head, but,
as we all know Gene Wilder fitted the role fantastically. The name of the film
differs from the book because it was actually made to promote a new product by Quaker
Oats. The company sponsored a lot of Wolper’s TV programmes and planned to make
and sell Wonka Bars, hence Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. However, this
backfired because the Wonka bars had a flaw that cause them to melt on the
sweet shop shelves. They were a flop! Surprisingly, the film also flopped at
the box office, but since then it has been shown over and over on TV and has
built up a massive fan-base.
During pre-production Stuart and
Wolper decided that the film should be a musical. Wolper drafted in his friends,
the songwriters Anthony Newly and Leslie Bricusse. Newly and Bricusse had
worked together before on numerous projects, such as the title song from
Goldfinger with music by John Barry and sung by Shirley Bassey. Walter Scharf
was enlisted to arrange and orchestrate the music the film - bringing together
the songs and creating pieces (e.g., incidental music) that resulted in a
holistic score. Scharf had previously worked with both Wolper and Stuart on
documentaries and films, such as The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, If
It’s Tuesday This Must Be Belgium and numerous TV programmes for the National
Geographic Society, but he had fallen out with Stuart and was reluctant to fly
out to Munich to join the rest of the cast. However, he did decide to go and
was impressed by the Munich-based orchestra that had been employed to work with
him.
(Anthony Newly and Leslie Bricusse)
(Walter Scharf)
The opening titles of the film roll
with the Overture which consists of two songs, Golden Ticket and Pure Imagination.
This is one of my favourite parts of the score, because of its orchestration
and the huge sound that it makes. This gives the impression that it is a big
budget film, even though it wasn’t. The music creates a sense of anticipation
at the wonderful story that is about to unfold, whilst the titles consist of a
montage of chocolate making which ramps-up the excitement. The footage for this
sequence was shot at the Toblerone factory in Switzerland.
(Overture, arranged by Scharf)
(Walter Scharf's arrangement of "The Candy Man" song)
Almost immediately after the opening titles we hear The Candy Man song, sung by veteran British stage performer Aubrey Woods, although it would be Sammy Davis Jr who would later make the song famous. Woods played Bill the sweet shop owner, who doesn’t seem interested in making any money because he’s just giving all his candy away during the number! The scene shows how important candies are to kids; confectioners like Wonka and Slugworth are like gods in their eyes. But, as the upbeat song tails off, Charlie Bucket is shown outside the shop looking in. He has the same desires as the other kids but is unable to access the wonderful treats on offer because he is poor. Here begins the story of the divide between the haves and the have not's.
The next song accentuates this
trope as it stands in binary opposition to The Candy Man. Cheer up, Charlie is
a downbeat ballad sung by Charlie’s mother after Charlie expresses his upset at
the unfairness of life after Wonka announces a competition to find 5 golden
tickets hidden in Wonka bars; the poverty of the Bucket family means he has virtually
no chance of finding a ticket as he can’t afford to buy the chocolate.
But Charlie finds a coin and is
able to buy another Wonka bar. At this point we hear a reprise of The Candy Man
music as he finds himself outside the sweet shop. As he leaves the shop we see
a commotion around the newsstand and a crowd gathering; ticket number five was a
fake! Charlie takes the unopened bar of chocolate from his pocket…..and we hear
a harp, tremoring strings, and, with a glint of gold, we hear a piccolo. Throughout
the film repetition of pieces of incidental music provide cues to the audience
for similar situations. Magical moments are often preceded by bells, chimes and
harps, accentuating the wondrousness about to happen.
Finding the golden ticket is
heralded by a trumpeting of I’ve Got a Golden Ticket and this plays out in an upbeat
and dramatic style as he runs home. This piece harks back to the overture, but
also provides us with a hint of the song Grandpa and Charlie are about to sing.
Suddenly, however, the music stops abruptly as the baddie, Slugworth, enters
the scene and the music switches to Slugworth’s leitmotif, which differs with
the child, but is always sinister in nature. Slugworth explains to Charlie that
he will make him rich, so he can buy “A new house for your family, and good
food and comfort for the rest of their lives”, but only if he steals an
everlasting gobstopper from Wonka. When Charlie arrives home at his tiny shack,
he reveals to his family that he has found the last ticket and wants Grandpa Joe
to go with him to the factory. The Golden Ticket duet song plays, with scenes
of slapstick and the mimicking of top hat and tails with his regular hat and
walking stick.
On the day of the factory visit, as
all the children gather outside the gates, the brass band plays what resembles
the Old Comrades March. It gives the feeling of a grand occasion, with all the pomp
and ceremony we come to expect with important and official events. This gives
the feeling that Wonka is seen as a very important man and the children are
very privileged to be allowed into his secretive world. As the guests enter The
Chocolate Room we hear the harp play as the door opens and it is revealed to the
audience. During the song Pure Imagination we hear ticking chimes, which seem
to signal the passing of time as if Wonka knows his time is running out to find
a child that he feels can be trusted and who is worthy of taking over his
factory. Later in the factory visit, Charlie and Grandpa Joe steal fizzy
lifting drink and float around, swimming in the bubbles. The music reminds me
of Scharf’s scores for Jacques Cousteau. I wonder if this this was written
solely by Scharf, rather than being an adaptation of Newley and Bricusse’s
music.
Apart from Charlie, Verruca Salt
is the only child with her own song. Just before she starts to sing, she demands
her father buy her a golden goose. When she is told by Wonka “They’re not for
sale” she kicks-off because Verruca is not used to being refused; she is a
total brat! During filming the actress, Julie Dawn Cole, was asked over and
over by Mel Stuart to be “nastier!”, and “even nastier!” Her song - I Want It Now
– is reminiscent of My Favourite Things from The Sound of Music....but nastier!
The Oopalumpa’s songs provide a link between all the children except Charlie.
These songs are sung after each child has broken the rules and the Oompalumpa’s
are asked by Wonka to deal the problem. The doleful rhymes tell of how the
naughty, greedy, and brattish behaviour of children leads to their downfall.
The original ending of the
screenplay had Wonka shouting “Yippee” when Charlie returned the everlasting
gobstopper and agrees to take over the factory. However, Stuart felt this was a
lame line and refused to end the film with his main character shouting “Yippee!”
He tracked down Seltzer, who had gone on vacation, to come up with a better
ending. Thinking on his feet, Seltzer came up with the wonderful line,
“Charlie, don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he
wanted. He lived happily ever after.” And, with that line, the music of Pure
Imagination swelled, the choir joined in telling us that if we wanted to view
Paradise all we had to do was look around us and we are convinced that the
world would really a better place if we could only see it as Willy and Charlie
do.
Every time I watch this film my
understanding of the contribution the music made to the narrative grows. Even
for a small child, the music, whether it be the songs of Newly and Bricusse, or
the orchestral colours of Scharf, works to create a sensation of wonder, hope
and confectionary. And those are three things I hope never to tire of.
Thank you to John Altman, who has provided me with some interesting anecdotes about Walter Scharf.
10 minute extract from 4K restoration of Willy Wonka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72vLikHT5OE
