Virtually just in time for Jerome Moross’ 102nd birthday anniversary (which is today), I received a new, 2-CD set – the first complete recording – of the composer’s ebullient Broadway show, “The Golden Apple.”
Moross, of course, wrote one of the great, big screen western scores, that for “The Big Country” (1958). Prior to that, he was a protégé of Aaron Copland and a friend of Bernard Herrmann (with whom he used to sneak into rehearsals of the New York Philharmonic.)
“The Golden Apple” (1954) is a witty mash-up of Americana and Greek mythology, the scenario loosely based on elements from Homer’s “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.” The marriage of libretto and music nimbly expands the boundaries of popular entertainment, prefiguring by several decades through-composed musical theater hits like “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Les Miserables.”
The music is quintessential Moross. There is a touch of “The Big Country” in just about everything he wrote, and if you are a fan of that score, you will likely find much to enjoy in “The Golden Apple.” The composer stitches together an infectious crazy quilt of ballads, cakewalks, marches and music hall-type numbers. Philadelphia-born Hershy Kay expertly assists with the lush orchestrations.
While it was met with critical acclaim at the time of its opening, the musical failed to find the audience it deserved. Instead, crowds flocked to “The Pajama Game.” Despite the show’s unjust neglect, one of the numbers in particular quickly became a popular standard, the bluesy ballad “Lazy Afternoon” – though others, like “It’s the Going Home Together” and “Windflowers,” are equally deserving.
The new recording, from PS Classics, is taken from a 2014 production mounted by Lyric Stage of Irving, TX, featuring a 38-piece orchestra and a 43-member cast. The texts are well-enunciated by the singers – essential for comprehension of the plot, certainly, but also a joy in itself for the wit of John Latouche’s lyrics, which tickle both the funny bone and the brain – and the recorded balance of voice and music is well-judged. Even so, the booklet contains a luxury so often sadly missing in these days of no-frills packaging: a full libretto.
A superb recording featuring the original cast was issued in 1954, but only a fraction of the show’s numbers were represented, and many of those in truncated form. Also, the sound on compact disc reissue is beginning to show its age, tinny and a tad harsh.
At last “The Golden Apple” can be heard and enjoyed as it was originally intended, with almost 90 minutes of previously unrecorded material. The release is very reasonably priced, essentially two discs for the price of one. There are periodic outbursts of applause revealing the recording’s live origins. However, these are few and largely unobtrusive. If you are a fan of Moross’ music and can tolerate musical theater, I encourage you to give it a shot.
You can find a few sound clips here:
http://www.psclassics.com/cd_goldenapple.html
“Lazy Afternoon,” sung by Kaye Ballard from the 1954 original cast recording:
