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SOUND AND SMOKE: The Music of the Berlin Cabaret Era is the only existing modern recording featuring completely authentic arrangements of songs from the glorious Berlin Cabaret era, from 1918 to 1933. Presented in quality performances by such critically-lauded artists as Solveig Slettahjell, Morten Gunnar Larsen, Karin Krog, Anne Grete Preus, Henriette Myhre, Anne Baahino, Ståle Ytterli, Marika Enstad and the Ophelia Orchestra, this recording is the first of its kind – to truly re-create the aura and ambience of the Weimar Berlin cabaret era authentically with researched arrangements or transcriptions from recorded archival material. In doing so, SOUND ANAD SMOKE pays tribute to many of the performers and composers of that period. | ||||||||
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O P H E L I A O R C H E S T R A “Sound and Smoke” (taken from the actual Berlin cabaret “Schall und Rauch”) is an attempt to provide the listener with a sense of what it might have been like to be in a cabaret or revue audience during the Weimar years. When available, we have used actual arrangements for small orchestra, found in our research in the archives and libraries of Berlin (Akademie der Künst, Staatsbibliothek), New York (The Kurt Weill Institute), Denmark, Sweden and Norway. When needed arrangements were not to be found anywhere, we have created these ourselves, although either transcribed from actual recordings from the period or through applying the style to new arrangements. The recording maintains the spontaneity and energy which you might have found if you wandered into a Berlin cabaret or revue. We wanted the listener to have a more “live” experience of the recording, with all the variability this includes – and above all, to be vibrant and exciting. |
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| PRESS REVIEWS:
“An immediate favorite is Solveig Slettahjell with “Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünchen Dürfte”, but the pearls lie closely together on this string. Anne Grete Preus opens the show with the classic “Einmal Kommt Die Liebe”, while Marika Enstad sings the Hollaender song “Jonny”, which was originally sung by Marlene Dietrich. Seen from a musical historical perspective, “Sound and Smoke” is an important recording, because it helps maintain interest in this special and vital period in European musical life. That a Norwegian production goes so deeply and respectfully into the material is, by the way, nothing short of a sensation, and the music’s inherent explosive energy is suitable for a large audience. In other words, if you have even a hint of interest for the music of the Weimar republic, then this is the CD you need to get.” Mode Steinkjer, DAGSAVISEN “A LOVING TRIBUTE TO AN ERA. A massive musical portrait from the period between the wars in seductive Berlin. Master pianist Morten Gunnar Larsen, together with producer Tom Garretson, and the fantastic orchestra Ophelia with a selection of talented vocalists have recreated the epoch’s music as authentically as possible can. For the modern listener, this may seem a little strange to begin with, but if you enter into this musical universe the winning gains are huge. If you aren’t familiar with this music, you’re helped by the knowledgeable and thoroughly-researched booklet and liner notes to each song.” Svein Andersen, AFTENPOSTEN “You are sucked into a type of music that promises entertainment of the most darkened and cigarette-smoke-cellar kind. Close your eyes while you listen, and you soon find yourself in a nightclub in Berlin ca. the first part of the last century, filled with clanking bottles and glasses, cigar smoke, blue angels and gentlemen with moustaches. With the master pianist Morten Gunnar Larsen in the foreground, the Norwegian musicians and singers give a completely convincing version of this unusual and bizarre mixture of tango, march, and cabaret.” Fredrik Wandrup, DAGBLADET |
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TRACK LISTING FOR SOUND AND SMOKE CD:1. Einmal Kommt die Liebe (2:54) Anne Grete Preus
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| FEATURING THE MUSIC OF RUDOLF NELSON, FRIEDRICH HOLLAENDER, SIEGWART EHRLICH, HALL HALLER, MISCHA SPOLIANSKY, AUSTIN EGEN, KURT WEILL, WILLY HAGEN and more! | |||||||||
| RAVE REVIEW FROM AN EXPERT IN THE FIELD!
"SOUND AND SMOKE, with its stunning singers and musical arrangements, perfectly evokes the spirit and the sound of the 1920s. While the amazing variety of voices captures the different moods of the songs, the inspired and versatile musicians play with the tunes in a way that brings to life the joyful dance crazes of that era. Both the singers and the instrumentalists captured the spirit and the sound of the time better than anyone I have ever heard---and I have heard a lot!" |
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