MY FAIR LADY - NEW RELEASE
Is there a classier American musical than ‘My Fair Lady’? Gorgeously scored in sumptuous Viennese style by Fred Loewe, the earworm melodies fit the Pygmalion-inspired storyline like a pair of the finest English kid gloves. Based on the play by Shaw, the lyrics and book are by Alan J Lerner, a wordsmith of genius. Lerner and Loewe were a perfect pairing for this Cockney tale of flower girl Eliza falling into the hands of posh Professor Henry Higgins who promises her a rise in social status once she has learned to speak ‘like a lady’. A bittersweet take on the English class system, Lerner’s version sticks closely to G. B’s concept thus you get a proper piece of drama combined with matchless songs which complement the action in a way that few other musicals can achieve.
Being a JAY complete recording, attention to the original 1956 production is paid with loving care. We get the full original scoring (powerful and lush) with dialogue and a cast of first-rate actor/singers. The great Shakespearean actor Alec McCowen plays Higgins with just the right mix of Saville Row style and unbuttoned Shavian punch. Unlike Rex Harrison, McCowen could sing and does a truly splendid job on ‘Why Can’t the English’. His powerful rendition of ‘I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face’ had me in tears. Here was a bombastic Higgins stripped of his public-school manly veneer.
Tinuke Olafimihan, the Nigerian/British lyric soprano was an inspired choice for Eliza. A believable cockney brogue and later a transformed RP accent – she can do them both as well as having a strong and pitch perfect voice. Her ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’ was thrillingly operatic without losing that elusive music theatre schtick. Her “Just You Wait Henry Higgins’ lacked a bit of spiteful fire but that is a small caveat to what was a fine performance.
For me the most delightful part of this music box of delights was to enjoy the late Bob Hoskins as Alfred P Doolittle. Oh, that raspy East End voice made to slice through the thickest of London fogs. His ‘Get Me to the Church on Time’ was sung with strength and total character. He is supported by an equally fine chorus. He was also wonderful in the dialogue parts – surely THE Dustman Doolittle of his generation. I so miss that punched up face and unique voice. JAY is to be thanked for capturing Hoskins’ great gravelly Bow Bells turn. This number, as others, does not shirk from giving you the full dance sequences usually cut from other recordings. Why should they be when they were written as integral parts of this musical art form? Would a recording cut the dance numbers in ‘The Nutcracker’? I hardly think so.
The complete recording is more than a collector’s item. The recording balance is spot on so that words, music and orchestration combine in perfect harmony. The National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Owen Edwards delivers an exciting and authentic recreation of the original orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett’s and Philip J. Lang. It was also a thrill to hear a song cut from the original; ‘Come to the Ball’ sung by Higgins, is in fine Noel Coward style with tumbling sinewy lyrics with a simple revue-style tune in the classic 30s mode. It actually reminded me of a Flanders and Swann song complete with piano accompaniment. Terribly clever.
It was the icing on a richly decorated cake. Recorded at Abbey Studios in the early 90s, the powerful remixing by JAY has delivered a work that sounds as if it were recorded yesterday. ‘My Fair Lady’ lives on as a perennial favourite – this version is a classic.
The newly remastered recording was released by JAY in July.
https://www.jayrecords.com/recording/my-fair-lady/
CDJAY2 1277
DIGITAL
SURROUND
RECORDING
DDD
CD1 : 54' 58"
CD2 : 45' 37"
