This week on “Picture Perfect,” it’s William Shakespeare’s birthday (observed).
No one knows for sure when the Bard was born – his baptismal date was April 26, 1564 – but since he died on April 23, 1616, the tradition has been to keep it tidy. So, like Mark Twain, who “came in” with Halley’s comet and “went out” upon its return, we feel it as a matter of poetic satisfaction that Shakespeare’s death date must also be his birth date.
All’s well that ends well! I’ll celebrate Shakespeare on both of my show’s this weekend (following up tomorrow night on “The Lost Chord” with some Shakespeare-inspired concert works at 10:00 EDT), beginning today with two complementary versions of “Henry V.”
William Walton composed his now-classic score for Laurence Olivier in 1944. We’ll hear selections from a recording that hews closer to the film’s original orchestrations than does the sanctioned concert suite by Muir Mathieson and restores the parts for chorus. In addition, Olivier himself will declaim two of Henry’s rousing speeches, in a separate release conducted by the composer.
Then Patrick Doyle will be the baritone that initiates the choral showpiece “Non nobis Domine” that caps his own acclaimed score for Kenneth Branagh’s directorial debut in 1989.
Olivier’s “Henry V” was nominated for four Academy Awards: those for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Art Direction, and Best Score. It didn’t win in the competitive categories, but Olivier was honored with a special award “for his outstanding achievement as an actor, producer and director in bringing ‘Henry V’ to the screen.”
To go toe-to-toe with the 20th century’s most renowned Shakespearean interpreter was a bold gamble, but at 29 Branagh did just that. Amazingly, when his version galloped into theaters 45 years later, comparisons were not unfavorable. The film and Branagh’s performance would also be nominated (along with the film’s Costume Design). But despite its enthusiastic reception, Doyle’s music would be overlooked by the Academy. The soundtrack, however, received a lot of exposure on classical radio at the time, and the score remains popular.
It’s instructive to view the two directors’ takes on “Henry V” in the context of the times in which they were filmed. When Olivier brought Harry the King to the big screen, England was in throes of the Second World War and his “Henry” bubbles over with patriotic zeal.
Branagh, on the other hand, offers a grittier, post-Vietnam “Henry,” with his charismatic, ambitious king plunging his country into a war that is both costly and messy. Fortunately, as history tells us, the long-bow saves the day, and Branagh’s Henry makes us forget his cold rejection of old friendships with a hair-raising rendition of the St. Crispin’s Day speech that would drive anyone who hears it to want to fight the French, consequences be damned.
Judge for yourself, from these two contrasting interpretations of the St. Crispin’s pep talk from “Henry V.”
Olivier, a powerful and patriotic – if somewhat theatrical – symbol for the beleaguered British during World War II:
And Branagh, a cinematic, very human Henry for today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRj01LShXN8
Once more unto the breach, dear friends! I hope you’ll join me for “Henry V” times two, on “Picture Perfect,” music for the movies, this Saturday at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
