rigby@mail.ru
Главная Дискография Интервью Книги Журналы Аккорды Заметки Видео Фото Рок-посевы Викторина Новое

   CLUB SANDWICH 61

страницы


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

CARNEGIE CONQUERED (AGAIN)

Paul's manager, Richard Ogden, reports for Club Sandwich about the build-up to the grand US premiere of the Liverpool Oratorio

PHOTOGRAPHS: BILL BERNSTEIN

Club Sandwich 61

            Paul's return to Carnegie Hall after 27 years was certainly going to be different. Of course, there were similarities, like the astounding speed (11 hours!) with which the normally staid auditorium sold out of tickets when it was announced that Paul would be attending the premiere; and the astonishing scenes of adulation which greeted his entrance into his balcony box - ten minutes before the start - and his appearance on the podium with Carl at the end of the performance (which earned him the New York Times' "Ovation Of The Year" award at Christmas!).
            But the differences were more remarkable still -Paul wasn't on the stage, he was sitting in the audience, and there were 300 people performing his latest Meisterwork, not four.
            With typical McCartney thoroughness, he attended rehearsals for three whole days before the concert; because of this, the whole enterprise commenced early on Saturday morning, 16 November, as the McCartneys and the MPL team (Alan, Mary, John, me) assembled at Heathrow for the 10.30 Concorde, booked for its miraculous ability to deliver us in New York an hour before leaving London, in good time for the first rehearsal (for choirs and soloists only) at Carnegie Hall. It turned out to be a beautiful, warm morning in New York and, before you could say "Barbara Bonney", we were soon checked into the hotel and on our way out again to work.
            The Boys Choir Of Harlem were as wonderful as promised - one illustration of their sheer in-depth quality came when Carl Davis enquired of choirmaster Dr Walter Turnbull, "Which three boys will sing the solo part in the Second Movement?" Walter's response was a deadpan, "Which three would you like?" and, sure enough, the three selected were note-perfect. Paul had some fun with pronunciations - "You say tomato and I say tomayto" sums up the difficulties between our transatlantic common language, and it was interesting to think that some of the boys probably speak Spanish more often than they do English.
            New soprano soloist Barbara Bonney was a delight, being well prepared for the day's endeavours, striking up an instant rapport with Jerry Hadley, Paul and Carl, and stamping her role of Mary Dec with charm and sincerity from the off. Everything went remarkably well as a result and, after signing the usual flurry of autographs, Paul was in the car and away back to the hotel for a well-deserved, restful family evening.
            Sunday 17th dawned bright, beautiful and warm again for the second day of rehearsals, to take place this time with full orchestra, soloists and the Collegiate Chorale at the Manhattan Center Studios off-West 34th Street, perhaps mot one of New York's most salubrious locations!
            Manhattan Center turned out to be an extraordinary building, though, originally constructed as a full-scale opera house by Rodgers and Hammerstein in a - shall we say - "Ghostbusters Gothic" style. Now owned by New York's freemasonry, the main auditorium having fallen into decay, only the upper-floor ballroom is used as a rehearsal, private party and conference venue, reminiscent of the famous Roseland Ballroom a few blocks to the north.
            As we arrived so too did the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, trucking enough flight-cases full of instruments, music and paraphernalia to impress even veterans of The Paul McCartney World Tour like me and John Hammel. The Liverpool contingent were in fine form and buzzing with high excitement: this was about to be their American orchestral debut, and the instruments were unpacked with alacrity, music stands set up, chairs positioned and strings tuned ready for the first fall of Carl's baton.
            From the opening note it was obvious that the only way in which the RLPO had been affected by their long Liverpool-New York flight was to be suffused with excitement. So, what with the vivacity of the soloists and the enthusiasm of the Collegiate Choir, the first full rehearsal turned into a celebration of the power of the Oratorio. Backstage, meanwhile, there was a "gathering of the clans" as executives of Fabcr Music and Angel Records, artistes managers and relatives of choir members and friends of soloists dropped by, soaking up some of the atmosphere and welcoming Paul and Carl to the Big Apple.
            This rehearsal was a long one, stretching through the afternoon and into the evening and finally ending, as planned, at 9.00pm after the entire Oratorio had been played through, albeit out of its proper sequence. By this time word had spread on the New York streets that Paul was in town and quite a crowd had gathered not only outside the Manhattan Center to "see him out" but also back at the hotel to "see him in"! The anticipation was definitely building.
            Monday was a meetings day for me on a variety of MPL business matters so I missed this day's rehearsal, which took place at Carnegie Hall. What I didn't miss, however, was the deafening noise of screaming and shouting from the dozens of fans waiting outside Carnegie Hall as Paul arrived - which I heard and saw from the other side of West 57th Street during a meeting. Always concerned with the safety of Paul, Linda and their fans I started to anticipate the McCartneys' arrival at this evening's premiere with some tre'pidation - and I was not to be disappointed!
            Sure enough, by the time we arrived in convoy at the West 56th Street Carnegie Hall performers entrance a few hours later, the afternoon dozens had


Review from Chicago Tribune, 20 November 1991 by Howard Reich

            NEW YORK - It isn't often that the composer of an oratorio is greeted by a screaming crowd at the stage door and a shrieking throng inside the concert hall.
            But when the composer is a former Beatle, the crush of fans, camera operators, TV reporters and even a few music lovers probably is inevitable.
            Despite this spectacle, which at times threatened to overwhelm Monday's North American premiere of Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio, the music ultimately won out. Neither McCartney's celebrity nor his fans' hysteria could diminish the power of this score once the Carnegie Hall performance had begun and the crowd had been tamed.
            A deeply autobiographical piece, the Oratorio lucidly traces the course of a young man's life, from birth and troubled youth to imminent fatherhood. Though McCartney wisely omits anything to do with the Beatles (that tale is all too familiar), this is his story all the way.
            In other words, the twists of "plot" that don't mirror McCartney's life amount to a speculation on what might have been, if the Beatles hadn't conquered the world.
            Musically, the piece is fervently melodic, as befits a songwriter of McCartney's gifts. It is not difficult to hear the lyric tenderness of McCartney's 'Yesterday' or the rhythmic turbulence of his 'Eleanor Rigby' in this music, but the score goes well beyond these perfect miniatures.
            Throughout the Oratorio, McCartney spins long ribbons of melody, much of it evoking the bittersweet music of the great British composer Gerald Finzi. There are also hints of Leonard Bernstein in the bright, unabashedly sentimental harmonies, and even a Handelian passage or two, particularly in the regal chorus pieces.
            How is such sophistication possible from a composer who can neither read nor write musical notation? McCartney essentially dictated the piece to composer/conductor Carl Davis, who led this performance. Lest anyone think less of McCartney because of this, it's worth remembering he's hardly the first to compose this way.
            Irving Berlin, who could not read music, followed a similar tack, with Helmy Kresa putting the sublime music on paper. In classical music, Eric Fenby took musical direction from Frederick Delius after the composer became blind and partially paralysed.
            McCartney's oratorio, however, needs no apologies. It's a first-class work that speaks in distinctly hummable tunes.
            It was also blessed with an exemplary cast, largely the same as in last summer's world premiere in Liverpool. As in that performance, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra backed soloists Jerry Hadley, Willard White and Sally Burgess. Soprano Barbara Bonney sang in place of Kiri Te Kanawa.