Original Soundtrack - Gershwin: Porgy & Bess [With Members of the Original Cast]

Disappointed

It was not as good as I remember the movie, but I love the music. July 31, 2007

A thing of great beauty and power

Porgy and Bess is kind of special to me. I grew up in the Charleston SC area (where it is based) and I know some of the relatives of Samuel Smalls (the crippled Black man who inspired Porgy in the 1920s).

That aside, this CD is a thing of great beauty. Ann Brown and Todd Duncan really do P&B justice, as well as the Eva Jessye choir in providing meaningful and moving backup. If you can listen to Miss Brown and Mr. Duncan sing that section that goes "morning time and evening time-wintertime and summertime" from "Bess You Is My Woman Now" with dry eyes-then something is really wrong with you! (In a recent PBS documentary on P&B, the now elderly Miss Brown and Mr. Duncan broke out in tears at listening to this section of that wonderful song some 60 years later).

Avon Long has the right amount of subtlety and rascalishness (if there is such a word) as Sportin' Life, but I wish they had him singing "It Aint Necessarily So" here instead of Todd Duncan, as he did in the original opera. But that's a minor complaint and doesn't detract form this CD.

For the record, this wasn't the first African-American oriented opera. Scott Joplin's "Treemonisha" was first in 1915. But that was not performed widely in public until the 1970s. Cd's of both operas are worth a listen and are interesting to compare.

Enough said. Just BUY it. It's great. July 6, 2007

Slower And Lower Than It Was.

This has always been a wonderful collection with (mostly) the original cast. The confusion with who sings what is due to the fact that it is a compilation of two 78 rpm sets- a 1940 Decca set with Anne Brown singing the roles of Bess, Clara and Serena with Todd Duncan singing the roles of Porgy, Crown and Sportin' Life, interspersed with a second Decca collection from 1942 with members of the Cheryl Crawford revival doing the additional existing tracks. Still and all, a wonderful compilation.

Where this CD release errs, however, is in the fact that the selections have been remastered a half-tone or so lower than the original recordings, making it tough to listen to. Also, the single bonus track is from a six-side Decca collection by Avon Long and Helen Dowdy, all of which could have easily fitted on this CD. Happily, Naxos(UK) has seen to this omission. The source material for their release is from original 78's and the remastering may not sound as clean as the MCA remaster, but it is at the correct speed, and their 2CD release contains all six sides from the Long/Dowdy set, along with many other early PORGY sides. For obvious reasons, it's only available through UK outlets like Naxos UK or Amazon UK, but well worth the investment. June 26, 2007

Porgy and Bess

I have the original record soundtrack of the play starring Dorothy Dandridge, etc. This was NOT an original soundtrack. I liked about half the songs; the remainder did not come close to the original, and several important songs were left out (Picnic Day). February 25, 2007

Porgy & Bess original soundtrack

It was awful! The reproduction of the music was grainy, scratchy and virtually impossible to listen to. January 4, 2007

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