Lionel Monckton: The Arcadians
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Music Reviews of Lionel Monckton: The Arcadians
Music Review: Of great historical interest and a musical delight
Rating: 5 Stars
How does one rave about a recording without seeming to force the issue? During the first decade of the 20th century (it might be too late to say "this century"), Lionel Monckton set to music a libretto called <The Arcadians,> a tale of a London gentlemen whose plane crashes in Arcadia and who is changed into a younger man named Simplicitas. Unable to lie (which, as he comments, makes him unfit for any sort of business in the city), he returns with the Arcadians to reform all of London. The cause is hopeless, but he is reunited with his wife! So much for plot. The moral is spoken by the nymph (in the classical sense) Sombra: "I see now that you people cannot understand the truth nor accept what is simple without making a show of it." For once outside of Gilbert & Sullivan we have a plot that is really amusing, dialogue that is not too corny although filled with puns (a reformer is one who spreads "properganda"), and tunes that while they do not rival Sullivan at his best are at least far better than most musicals of its time--and miles better than the tuneless, mirthless musicals being inflated by technology today. Every song and situation will remind you of something else. The Arcadians coming to London is a mixture of "Thespis" and "Orpheus in the Underworld." The scene at the racetrack anticipates 'My Fair Lady" by four decades or so. The Arcadian restaurant in Act III recalls the last act of "La Vie Parisienne." Eileen gets a "Brogue" song to sing that reminds us of Victor Herbert's--er--"Eileen" and Sullivan's "The Emerald Isle." The men get a song and dance that sounds a wee bit like "Women, women" from "The Merry Widow." And so on. So to cut to the chase, this gem is now available on a Newport Classic boxed set (NPD 85665/2) and features the by now much recorded Ohio Light Opera under the baton of J. Lynn Thompson. The voices are not superb but quite serviceable for this score and the dialogue sounds a lot more natural than it does in the less intelligent libretti in their other recordings. There is a live audience that must have been told not to applaud after the numbers, but in Act III they cannot contain themselves. There is however no annoying audience noises during the performance at all. So be sure to get a copy for yourself and another one for any one you know who likes G&S, light opera, musical comedies, or just plain enjoyable music and good clean fun. In a decade when musicals are being written about brain operations, inter-ethnic tensions in housing projects, and the deaths of hundreds when a certain ship went down, this is going to be a welcome breath of delightful listening.Music Review: Pure delight
Rating: 5 Stars
I have long wished for a complete recording of The Arcadians, so I was absolutely delighted to find this one. Afer years of having to make do with an unsatisfactory 'highlights' album, it is a realy joy to have the complete musical, with its charmingly catchy songs, witty dialogue, and delightfully improbable plot.
Admittedly, some of the accents sound, to English ears, a little odd, but what of it? I daresay an English production of 'Oklahoma' would sound just as peculiar to American ears. Just to be able to listen to the complete musical, after all these years, is such a pleasure.
Music Review: The "My Fair Lady" of 1909
Rating: 5 Stars
This set is quite a delight. I have known some of the music from earlier recordings, but this is the first complete recording. All the "missing" bits are well worth it running to 2 CD's. Part Gilbert & Sullivan, part Edwardian Music Hall, this show still sparkles. This recording does it entire justice, and it isn't hard to understand how it was the rage of London in 1909. This is a must have for anyone who loves historic music theater.