Re: GG - My Foolish Heart

[Bradley P Lehman <bpl@umich.edu>]

On Sat, 6 Apr 1996, Josh Randall wrote:

> JeremyFrom: stephan@whoville.ucsd.edu asked:
> 
>         >> Does anyone know who is playing the piano in the "cafe" segment
>         >> of "The Quiet in the Land"...? There is no credit given in the
>         >> booklet other than that the peice is "My Foolish Heart".
> 
> I haven't heard _Quiet In The Land_ but, remembering that recently someone
> commented here on Gould's appreciation of the great jazz pianist Bill
> Evans, I wonder if it might be him. If you'd like to research further,
> check out _My Foolish Heart_, the first cut on the Bill Evans Trio's album
> _Waltz for Debby_. Original Jazz Classics CD 210-2, a re-issue of the
> original classic Riverside LP from 1961.

I'm pretty sure that that's not the recording Gould used; I have both, and
neither sounds familiar from hearing the other.  But I'll do an A/B
comparison to make sure.  Good idea. 

The Solitude Trilogy's booklet actually says:

"My Foolish Heart", composed by Ned Washington and Victor Young, Published
by Anne Rachel Music, released by Jamal Records.  (And it says the same in
French and German.)

Anybody know who recorded on Jamal Records?  Was it Washington and/or
Young themselves? 

The way Gould used this piece in the documentary, it sounds like a live
recording from a club.  Clinking glasses, somewhat distant sound.  But
that might be faked with electronic manipulation by Gould: filtering, or
overdubbing club background noise.  The playing doesn't sound like Evans'
style; it's more of a wallpaper-style instead of being as
interesting/intense as Evans.  (But that's a subjective evaluation.) I
doubt that it's Gould himself playing, because of the lack of intensity,
and because there are none of the telltale Gould articulations. 

The Janis Joplin "Mercedes Benz," by the way, is credited to the album
PEARL by JJ. 

The booklet doesn't credit who plays part of a Bach cello sarabande in the
opening segment.  And it doesn't credit either the performer or composer
for the part where the cello plays a Bach-like improvisational
countermelody to the "Just as I am" congregational hymn. (But I think the
composer there is likely Gould.) It also doesn't credit the
composition/publication of Britten's "A Ceremony of Carols," though it
does tell who the children's choir and director are.  The characters talk
about William Walton's "Belshazzar's Feast," but that music is not heard. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bradley Lehman, bpl@umich.edu       http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/