Threaded Order Chronological Order
| re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) | |
| Posted by: Delvino 08:57 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) - kdw111 06:57 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
|
|
|
| Ah, thank you. I've often thought it's just too beautiful for the end of an adaptation of Voltaire. Its heartfelt, earnest entreaty, the engendered emotion. The tears that it wrings from me -- are they part of the grand plan for this piece of musical theater? Maybe. I remain on the fence. | |
| reply to this message |
| re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) | |
| Posted by: WWriter 04:10 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) - Delvino 08:57 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
|
|
|
| I haven't read Voltaire's version in 40 years, so I can't really say how the ending matches his work. But I agree with others here that for the Bernstein-Hellman-Wilbur version, it's just right. It's such an uneven show, and I've always found the 2nd act to get a bit tedious, and I love that they actually learn something from all their adventures, which would otherwise be pointless. And it's so gorgeous, I wouldn't mind if it was the end of Billy Elliott or Two Gentlemen of Verona. I'm just grateful for its existence. |
|
| reply to this message |
| re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) | |
| Posted by: Snowysdad 11:24 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) - Delvino 08:57 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
|
|
|
| Yes it is the right ending for the show. All through it Candide, Cunegonde, and the others have gone through a tortuous series of cataclysmic events that FINALLY shows them the way forward which is to settle down, take care of each other and "Make Our Garden Grow." Also, if you study the score carefully, each of Candide's solos uses his motif and alters it just a little. Finally it comes into harmonic focus as the opening of Garden. BTW, part of this comes from appearing in the first NYC revival (1970) of the original version, but with much music restored and mostly conducted by Leonard Bernstein. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) | |
| Posted by: WWriter 04:17 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) - Snowysdad 11:24 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
|
|
|
| Thanks for this explanation. I'm close to musically illiterate, and I love when ATC people share this sort of insight. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 02:06 pm EDT 07/04/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) - Snowysdad 11:24 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
|
|
|
| Do you mean the 1968 New York Philharmonic concert in honor of Bernstein's 50th birthday, which was conducted by Maurice Peress? The cast was headed by Alan Arkin as Pangloss, Martin and the narrator, David Watson as Candide, Madeline Kahn as Cunegonde, Irra Petina as the Old Lady, and William Lewis as the Governor of Buenos Aires and a bunch of other roles. If not, I'm not sure which production you mean. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 09:27 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) - Delvino 08:57 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
|
|
|
| I think that, after all the craziness of Act II especially (even with Bernstein's music setting a wonderfully dignified tone throughout), "Garden" is exactly that big, lush, emotionally real moment that we all need. Voltaire be damned - that music really does represent the best of all possible endings. ;-) | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) | |
| Posted by: WWriter 04:12 pm EDT 07/05/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) - Chromolume 09:27 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
|
|
|
| I see what you did there! Nice! |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) | |
| Posted by: Delvino 09:30 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) - Chromolume 09:27 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
|
|
|
| I think you're right. Voltaire ultimately doesn't get the win, Leonard Bernstein does. In my book (too), he gets the last vote. Whenever I see the show, and I've seen every NYC iteration but the first (I was a child), I duly note the roof being taken off. Through my tears. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 09:36 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Make Our Garden Grow Is One of the Most Beautiful Pieces of Music Ever Written. Just Saying. (nm) - Delvino 09:30 pm EDT 07/03/17 | |
|
|
|
| Yup. And the thing is that it's not just the song itself (which is gorgeous) but it's that arrangement. When they get to the last refrain, and it becomes a cappella, you know something special is happening - all the way through that high C climax on "grow." And then, when the orchestra comes back in for the last line, it just amps the whole thing up even more. So perfect. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
Time to render: 0.028753 seconds.