Mad about that tune. "When two lovers meet in Mayfair, so the legend tells..." Do those nightingales still sing in Berkeley Square, I wonder, and can they be heard above the ceaseless roar of traffic? Not that it really matters, when that song inspires a pretty watercolour by RW.
Mr. Worthington, why wouldn't I think of you when I played that tune? I hope you approved of the Nat King Cole cover ( despite the ghastly visual aids) or is there a more definitive version? I could have chosen Vera Lynn but somehow I didn't...
Since you've asked, I'd say that the definitive version of that song was done by Leslie A Hutchinson, aka "Hutch". Which is to say, it's easy to imagine the atmosphere of a smart London nightclub with Hutch at the piano, a stone's through from where those nightingales allegedly sang. Rosemary Clooney did a fine rendition as well.
I was going to send you a link to a performance of Le Rossignol, but the "ghastly visual aids" were overwhelming. It requires some serious effort to ruin the effect of a nice Stravinsky piece, but damn if they didn't succeed.
You get a sense of that bird's pleasure in it's life. That's good draughtsmanship.
rurritable, you're right. I could only just bring myself to put up that you tube clip but forgot to tell people to wear a blindfold. And thank you for the compliment.
Mad about that tune.
ReplyDelete"When two lovers meet in Mayfair, so the legend tells..."
Do those nightingales still sing in Berkeley Square, I wonder,
and can they be heard above the ceaseless roar of traffic?
Not that it really matters, when that song inspires a pretty
watercolour by RW.
Mr. Worthington, why wouldn't I think of you when I played that tune? I hope you approved of the Nat King Cole cover ( despite the ghastly visual aids) or is there a more definitive version? I could have chosen Vera Lynn but somehow I didn't...
ReplyDeleteSince you've asked, I'd say that the definitive version of that song
ReplyDeletewas done by Leslie A Hutchinson, aka "Hutch". Which is to say,
it's easy to imagine the atmosphere of a smart London nightclub
with Hutch at the piano, a stone's through from where those nightingales
allegedly sang. Rosemary Clooney did a fine rendition as well.
I was going to send you a link to a performance of Le Rossignol, but the "ghastly visual aids" were overwhelming. It requires some serious effort to ruin the effect of a nice Stravinsky piece, but damn if they didn't succeed.
ReplyDeleteYou get a sense of that bird's pleasure in it's life. That's good draughtsmanship.
rurritable, you're right. I could only just bring myself to put up that you tube clip but forgot to tell people to wear a blindfold. And thank you for the compliment.
ReplyDelete