Tribute to Irving Berlin - Irving Berlin (1888-1989), arr. Bruce Healey (b. 1950)

Civic Orchestra of Jacksonville - Rhapsody in Blue - May 5, 2019 - Jacksonville Jewish Center
Conductor Marguerite Bradford Richardson
civicorchestra...
A Tribute to Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin (1888-1989), arr. Bruce Healey (b. 1950)
Since 1986, American composer, arranger, and orchestrator Bruce Healey has been the Music Director for Walt Disney Attractions, responsible
for all musical productions by The Disneyland Entertainment Division.
So, it is almost certain that we all have heard many of the joyful
works Healey has created for performance by live symphony orchestras
in the tradition of the Boston Pops. Healey is a master at crafting a
medley-a series of familiar tunes, each flowing into the next, to form
a single, continuous piece. A Tribute to Irving Berlin is an excellent example.
Arrangements like this make it possible for orchestra audiences
to be kept in touch with great melodies written for shows in a previous
era. Irving Berlin-composer of more than 1000 tunes-truly was one
of America’s greatest songwriters! Berlin contributed to many Broadway
musicals and wrote the complete score for seventeen. He provided
the musical score for some dozen movies. Songs by Berlin have been
incorporated into many more.
For A Tribute to Irving Berlin, Healey threads together seven longtime
audience-pleasers. First up is “There’s No Business Like Show
Business” from the stage production of Annie Get Your Gun, which is
followed by another upbeat piece: “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” from
the movie of the same name. Listen for a trumpet solo, followed by
a trumpet-and-clarinet duet. Changing the mood, meter, and tempo
is “Always,” which Berlin composed in 1924 as a wedding gift for his
bride. All royalties generated by it were directed to her-which made it
quite a gift, since it has been recorded by numerous famous artists over
the years. Listen for solos by the horn. In fact, a dramatic horn cadenza
marks the transition from this dreamy waltz to the energetic “Anything
You Can Do, I Can Do Better”-another favorite from the stage production
of Annie Get Your Gun. The melody is tossed around the orchestra. Listen for the moment when the piccolo and bassoon play it together. Such whimsy is followed by a few bars of the wistful “How Deep Is the Ocean, How High Is the Sky” a stand-alone song Berlin wrote in 1932-which, like
“Always,” has been recorded dozens of times by
well-known performers. After that teaser, Healey
gives us “Blue Skies,” an addition to the Rodgers
and Hammerstein musical Betsy that Berlin wrote
for them at the last possible minute. On opening
night, Berlin’s song stole Rodgers and Hammerstein’s
show! The audience went crazy over it, insisting on
twenty-four repetitions of it before the action could
continue. Hardly anyone remembers Betsy; but
“Blue Skies” has been unforgettable! In Healey’s
arrangement, a walking bass line keeps the beat;
various sections of the orchestra take a turn with the
expansive melody.
Finally, it’s time for “Puttin’ On the Ritz,” a standalone
song Berlin wrote in 1927, but delayed
publishing until 1929. In 1930, it became the basis
of a musical movie of the same name. It has been
incorporated into several other movies since. Fred
Astaire tap-danced as he sang it. We hope our
performance sets your toes to tapping, too! Notice
that, as if our hands and fingers were not busy
enough playing our instruments, the score calls for
all of us in the orchestra to stomp our feet! Healey’s
medley finishes as it began, with strains of Berlin’s
“There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Now
“Let’s go on with the show!”
Concert Program Notes
by Lucinda Mosher, Th.D.