£10.95
This arrangement by Carlo Martelli, of one of Gershwin’s early songs, perfectly captures the spirit of mid 1920’s America and the atmosphere of the then popular speakeasies. The skilful use of the string quartet medium achieves a richness and complexity unequalled by other arrangers in this genre.
Piece Description
This arrangement by Carlo Martelli, of one of Gershwin’s early songs, perfectly captures the spirit of mid 1920’s America and the atmosphere of the then popular speakeasies. The skilful use of the string quartet medium achieves a richness and complexity unequalled by other arrangers in this genre.
Additional information
| Media | |
|---|---|
| Composer | |
| Arranger | |
| Instrumentation | |
| Difficulty | |
| Series |
Biography
Biography
Martelli, Carlo
Carlo Martelli was born on the 12th December 1935 in London to an Italian father and an English mother. By the age of eleven Carlo had developed a passion for the symphony orchestra. Just before his twelfth birthday he started taking regular violin lessons and very soon began writing elaborate orchestral scores achieving a mastery in this field by the age of sixteen, by which time he had obtained a County Scholarship to attend the Royal College of Music in London, studying composition and viola. By the time he was 21 he had written a string quartet and had already had a great deal of success with several large scale serious symphonic compositions, notably his Second Symphony, which had many performances and broadcasts by several major orchestras in the few years after its completion. In the 1960's he turned to film music to make a living, and also worked steadily as a freelance viola player. His arrangements for string quartet, trio and other combinations number well over 250 and are played by hundreds of groups all over the world.
Related products
Gershwin, George
Gershwin arr. Martelli – That Certain Feeling (String Quartet)
One of Gershwin's earlier songs, arranged by Carlo Martelli here to reflect the characteristic style in which they were sung and played in the mid 1920's.
Gershwin, George
Gershwin arr. Thorp – A Foggy Day In London Town (String Quartet)
This song, sung by Fred Astaire in A Damsel in Distress (1937) was originally marked "with a scholarly air" by the arranger Bill Thorp, prompted by the celebrated couplet from Ira Gershwin's lyric "I viewed the morning with alarm, The British Museum had lost its charm". There is also a reference to 'Summertime' at the point in the song with the words "and through foggy London Town the sun was shining everywhere". **** Not for sale in the USA ****
Gershwin, George
The arranger Carlo Martelli is up to his old tricks of giving symphonic treatment to one of the evergreens of the Great American Songbook, with his skilful use of the string quartet medium achieving a richness and complexity unequalled by other arrangers in this genre.
Gershwin, George
According to his brother (and lyricist) Ira, this was the last song that George Gershwin worked on before his untimely death at the age of 38; it became even more popular after being featured in the 1951 film An American in Paris. It is marked 'Solid Rock Feel' by the arranger Bill Thorp, apparently due to the culminating lines of Ira's apocalyptic lyric "In time the Rockies may crumble, Gibraltar may tumble, They're only made of clay, But our love is here to stay". **** Not for sale in the USA ****
Gershwin, George
The irresistible 'S Wonderful' featured in the 1927 Broadway show Funny Face, starring Fred Astaire and his sister Adele. (Astonishingly, Fred also starred in the Paramount film of Funny Face, made 30 years later, though this time with a young Audrey Hepburn). The arranger Bill Thorp originally marked his version "natalitially", a piece of whimsy suggested by the song's opening line "Life has just begun", which seems to have induced in him a somewhat Messianic train of thought.
Here with an introduction that looks like a (slightly rickety) staircase, this song was included in George White's Scandals of 1922 at the Globe Theatre, New York, conducted by Paul Whiteman, for whom Gershwin was two years later to write Rhapsody in Blue. The song's dancing theme prompted the arranger Bill Thorp to dedicate his version to Fred Astaire; he also originally marked it to be played "horticulturally", an exotic instruction whose only justification seems to be a line from the song's second verse, wherein appears the exhortation "Get busy .... Lizzy", though it has been suggested that the chorus lyric "I've got the blues" originally read "I've got the pinks". The "fair" mentioned in the following line is thought to be the celebrated one held at the Paradise Gardens, Berghald, Switzerland.