Customer Reviews for Rodgers And Hart - A Musical Anthology
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Warren Rodgers
Location: from France
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate/advanced
December 13, 2008
essential anthology from the Masters
Richard Rodgers is my favorite songwriter, and the most modern of the Tin Pan Greats - see the minimalism of the original arrangement of "My Funny Valentine" (to John Shibley: Rodgers was one of the rare songwriters whose harmonies needed no "enhancement" from jazz musicians, they were rich enough from the start IMO). He teamed with another genius -Lorenz Hart - which makes his oeuvre even more outstanding. Even at their worst(?), there's always a bar or two in a Rodgers & Hart song that'll make my jaw drop. This collection and the "Rediscovered Rodgers & Hart" are essential purchases...until the real thing, the much-deserved Complete Rodgers & Hart Collection comes! I have the sheet music for more than 150 R&H songs, and even the lesser-known "unsung" ones are gems! Even though this anthology omits essential verses here or there (among them "Glad To Be Unhappy", "Quiet Night", "It's Got To Be Love", all from the On Your Toes score), this is essential.
32 of 50 people found this review helpful.
Maria Jette
Location: from Minneapolis
Difficulty Level:
Intermediate
February 29, 2008
original harmonies, as written by RR!
I fear the previous reviewer is looking for harmonies which have grown up around these songs in the years since their composition. He may not care for Rodgers' original version of VALENTINE, but that doesn't matter-- this anthology isn't a "real book" designed for jazz players, it's piano/vocal reduction of the original pieces, as written for shows. As such, it's exactly right. Nothing's stopping anyone from re-harmonizing any of these pieces themselves-- but how can you RE-harmonize, if you don't know the original harmonies? If the melody's good enough for you, why not give the composer's harmony a shot?
27 of 45 people found this review helpful.
John Shibley
Location: from Philadelphia
Difficulty Level:
Beginner
November 7, 2007
Get the Real Book
Just awful. Song after song suggests chords that are too simple or just plain wrong. And really, amd book that butchers "My Funny Valentine" deserves burning.
25 of 46 people found this review helpful.