Serious Fun!

Lord Berners; Jeremy Nicholas; David Baker; Bruce Montgomery; Vernon Duke; Donald Swann; William Bolcom; Tom Lehrer; Frederick Silver; Wolseley Charles; Sheldon Harnick; Stephen Sondheim; Peter Winkler; Marc-Andre Hamelin (Composer), Jody Karin Applebaum (soprano); Marc-Andre Hamelin (piano) (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Jody Karin Applebaum (soprano); Marc-Andre Hamelin (piano)
• Composer: Lord Berners; Jeremy Nicholas; David Baker; Bruce Montgomery; Vernon Duke; Donald Swann; William Bolcom; Tom Lehrer; Frederick Silver; Wolseley Charles; Sheldon Harnick; Stephen Sondheim; Peter Winkler; Marc-Andre Hamelin
• Audio CD (June 1, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Albany Records
• ASIN: B0009OPMTQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,687 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Come on Algernon

2. Maternity

3. Usherette's Blues

4. Musical Chairs

5. Pretty Plain

6. Someone is Sending Me Flowers

7. Christian Dior

8. Summer is A-Comin' In

9. Madeira, M'Dear

10. Ill Wind

11. A Word on My Ear

12. A Farmer's Boy

13. I'm Spending Hanukkah in Santa Monica

14. The Masochism Tango

15. The twelve Days After Christmas

16. The Green-Eyed Dragon

17. Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise

18. The Shape of Things

19. I Never Do Anything Twice

20. Tamara, Queen of the Nile

Editorial Reviews

Jeremy Nicholas writes: “Phrases that chill the heart: ‘I want a volunteer from the audience.’ ‘Is this your car, sir?’ ‘Have we shown you our holiday snaps?’ Or how about “Tonight’s lecture is on the art of writing comedy.” Go to that seminar and one thing you know for sure in advance is that you are consigning yourself to an evening devoid of any humor. Dissecting comedy, analyzing jokes or, in this case, comic songs, has all the allure of pulling off the wings of a butterfly to see how it flies. Setting off writing a comic song is rather like being your own crossword compiler, designing the grid, filling in all the squares, setting your own clues. No, it’s not, really. It’s more like taking a pile of kid’s building bricks and making a spectacular skyscraper from them. No, that’s not it either. But there are elements of both that are pertinent (a good word for seminars).” In other words, comedy (and comic songwriting) is hard work. Think of the last time you told a joke and it didn’t come off. The material was right but maybe the delivery was off. But remember the joy when the response was perfect: not only did they laugh, but you sensed the anticipation: this is going to be funny. And for this album, the anticipation certainly pays off. Anyone who grew up in the 1950’s and 1960’s will recall the wonderful humor of the works of Tom Lehrer, the classic HMV (Angel in this country) LP’s of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann. More recently we’ve seen how Stephen Sondheim and William Bolcom can easily move back and forth between the serious and the humorous. And just to prove that comedy can be serious business, we have the participation of Marc-Andre Hamelin, one of the most highly regarded concert and recital pianists as accompanist and composer, joined by his wife Jody Karin Applebaum. Her resume includes performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and St. Matthew Passion, Handel’s Messiah, to contemporary works by Stephen Albert, Heitor Villa-Lobos and Gorecki. Together they have performed in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Canada, England and the Middle East. Together they have recorded music of Britten, Schoenberg, Bolcom, Wolpe, Weill, Satie and Poulenc. Here both they and you have some fun for a change!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Trancendental Sense of Humor!!!!!!, July 13, 2005

By 

Darin Tysdal (Bloomington, MN 55420) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Serious Fun! (Audio CD)

As an amateur pianist, I know how it is to play music of different styles for different occasions. I also have a slightly skewered sense of humor as well as a love of serious classical music. So on my shelves I have Dr. Demento as well as Mahler, Broadway Shows as well as Shostakovich. Marc-Andre Hamelin, one of the best pianist nowadays because he makes the most hardest piece of music sound easy, is married to Jody Karin Applebaum, a wonderful singer. They have recorded the Cabaret songs of Bolcom, Britten and Fredrich Hollaender and now turn their attention to comedy songs from many eras. Much of this repertoire is taken from Sarah Walker's Cd on Hyperion. Applebaum's diction is very clear and every song has a different mood and different voices and accents when needed. Comparisons between William Bolcom and Joan Morris are inevitable. Bolcom's "Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise" is also included. The program notes are written by Jeremy Nicholas, who has provided us with very informative program notes for Hyperion CD's, and who has written some wonderful songs such as "Usherette's Blues" and "Place Settings". Tom Lehrer's classic "Masochism Tango" makes an appearance (which is also on one of Dr. Demento's greatest hits CD's).Hamelin's recordings and performances have one thing that many pianist's do not have-HUMOR (when it's needed, of course). Here, he gets to put it to good use, and you can tell that they're having fun. This is a live recording, so there is much laughing from the audience, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Hamelin keeps suprising me with his CD's and repertoire choices, and this is no exception. Let's have some more, please!!! (maybe Dave Frishberg, more Flanders and Swann?).

5.0 out of 5 stars Great fun, April 12, 2009

By 

Anny Jj - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Serious Fun! (Audio CD)

This wonderful collection is fun for anyone but especially for those who have taken "serious" music classes and love satire.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing, July 12, 2008

By 

Richard A. Nardi - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Serious Fun! (Audio CD)

I really wanted to like this. Live audio quality is poor and operatic style of singing doesn't lend itself to delivering punch lines. You have to really listen just to understand what is being sung. I suppose this is considered risque and naughty down at the monastery or an Amish farm.