The Songs of Michael Flanders & Donald Swann

Rating:
Summary: Gentle Musical Satire
Review: Their last hat dropped in 1968 and 9 years passed before the words and music of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann were finally published. Donald had never written down the music and played the shows extemporaneously from the lyrics; Michael thought the songs "wouldn't sound like much anyhow" taken out of the show's context, so the collection wasn't completed until two years after his death. It went out of print in the mid 1980's and was finally re-released in 1996. Forty years after the premier of "At the Drop of A Hat", the best comic songs of the 20th century are back in print.

In his forward, Donald claims some music is written exactly as he played it ("Misalliance," "The Armadillo," "The Sloth," and "The Whale"); some had "adaptations to make them easier"; and some are made "as accessible as possible for the clever-but-casual pianist . . . enabling even a learner pianist to have a go." However, even when simplified, Donald's harmonies, progressions, and key changes are still fresh and new, and pianists of all skill levels will be delighted.

Flanders and Swann fans will doubtless turn directly to "The Hippopotamus." As a piano player, I'm only a duffer with no formal training, and I suspect "The Hippopotamus" is one of those "made as accessible as possible." I was able to get a performance-ready version of it in a couple of hours. "Ill Wind" was also simplified, so the most technically difficult in the collection are probably "Misalliance" and "The Armadillo," both in the key of e-major (four sharps). For this "clever-but-casual pianist," they will take quite a while.

There are 41 songs in the book. All the songs from the Hats are here except "Je Suis Les Tenebreux," "Satellite Moon," "A Happy Song," "Kokoraki," "Too Many Cookers," "The Youth of the Heart," "Sounding Brass," "In the Desert," "First and Second Law," "Horoscope," "Friendly Duet," and "Sea Fever." Also, most of the Bestiary is included except the "Seahorse," "The Chameleon," "Dead Ducks," "The Duck Billed Platypus," "the Humming Bird," and "The Portuguese Man o' War."

Most of the songs are in the flat keys, but a surprising number are in the sharp keys including "The Gas Man Cometh," "Bedstead Men," "Madeira, M'dear," "The Wompom," and "The Hippopotamus." All songs are in the major except "The Spider" in c-minor.

The binding of the book will not hold up to heavy use on the music desk - the sheets will separate.

Rating:
Summary: Gentle Musical Satire
Review: Their last hat dropped in 1968 and 9 years passed before the words and music of Michael Flanders and Donald Swann were finally published. Donald had never written down the music and played the shows extemporaneously from the lyrics; Michael thought the songs "wouldn't sound like much anyhow" taken out of the show's context, so the collection wasn't completed until two years after his death. It went out of print in the mid 1980's and was finally re-released in 1996. Forty years after the premier of "At the Drop of A Hat", the best comic songs of the 20th century are back in print.

In his forward, Donald claims some music is written exactly as he played it ("Misalliance," "The Armadillo," "The Sloth," and "The Whale"); some had "adaptations to make them easier"; and some are made "as accessible as possible for the clever-but-casual pianist . . . enabling even a learner pianist to have a go." However, even when simplified, Donald's harmonies, progressions, and key changes are still fresh and new, and pianists of all skill levels will be delighted.

Flanders and Swann fans will doubtless turn directly to "The Hippopotamus." As a piano player, I'm only a duffer with no formal training, and I suspect "The Hippopotamus" is one of those "made as accessible as possible." I was able to get a performance-ready version of it in a couple of hours. "Ill Wind" was also simplified, so the most technically difficult in the collection are probably "Misalliance" and "The Armadillo," both in the key of e-major (four sharps). For this "clever-but-casual pianist," they will take quite a while.

There are 41 songs in the book. All the songs from the Hats are here except "Je Suis Les Tenebreux," "Satellite Moon," "A Happy Song," "Kokoraki," "Too Many Cookers," "The Youth of the Heart," "Sounding Brass," "In the Desert," "First and Second Law," "Horoscope," "Friendly Duet," and "Sea Fever." Also, most of the Bestiary is included except the "Seahorse," "The Chameleon," "Dead Ducks," "The Duck Billed Platypus," "the Humming Bird," and "The Portuguese Man o' War."

Most of the songs are in the flat keys, but a surprising number are in the sharp keys including "The Gas Man Cometh," "Bedstead Men," "Madeira, M'dear," "The Wompom," and "The Hippopotamus." All songs are in the major except "The Spider" in c-minor.

The binding of the book will not hold up to heavy use on the music desk - the sheets will separate.