Shakespeare On Vinyl, Continued

The world has grown mad and ugly, and I've been turning more and more to both music and the works of William Shakespeare for reminders of humanity. Those two collections of mine do at times overlap. On Saturday, I listened to a few of my Shakespeare records, and decided to continue today with the others that I hadn't yet enjoyed. 

Today I started with Hamlet, the John Gielgud production of 1964, with Richard Burton in the title role. I wasn't sure if this record would play. It's not in the best condition. Ordinarily, I would have not purchased a record in such condition, but it was only a dollar and I figured it was worth the risk. It's a famous Hamlet, and I wanted to own a piece of it. It begins with the first of the big soliloquies ("too, too solid flesh"), followed by Polonius' advice to Laertes. And, yes, the sound crackled throughout. It did skip twice on the first side, first during one of Polonius' speeches and again during one of Hamlet's speeches. The first side ends with "The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." The second side then begins with the most famous soliloque. The record skipped on this side too, at the end of the "How all occasions" speech. This record was released in 1964.

As on Saturday, the second record I listened to today was a Julius Caesar record. And actually, it turned out to be the same record, just a different pressing with a different cover. Apparently, this particular version was released in 1953, and, unlike the 1986 pressing, it does include liner notes on the back of the jacket, including a synopsis of the play. This record skipped too, three times on the first side, and twice on the second side. Oh well. I guess I need to be a bit more particular about the Shakespeare records I purchase. I'm glad I have a second copy of this record. Marlon Brando's delivery of Antony's most famous speech is excellent, by the way.

I then moved to Othello, listening to a record I recently purchased in Massachusetts, a record containing scenes from Verdi's Otello. This is another that I wasn't sure about, regarding sound quality, since there were some scratchs and even the record jacket was torn on one side, but it was only fifty cents, so well worth the risk. It did skip once near the end of side one, but what incredible, beautiful performances. The performances here were recorded in 1939, and the record was released in 1968.

From there, I went to The Taming Of The Shrew, with a record of Kiss Me, Kate, featuring the original Broadway cast, including Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang. The songs are by Cole Porter, so of course there is a certain amount of joy to this album. Take "We Open In Venice," for example. It's not exactly Shakespeare, though there are lines from Shrew, as in the song "I've Come To Wive It Wealthily In Padua," and there is the song "Brush Up On Your Shakespeare." But Shakespeare or not, I'm glad to have this record in my collection. The jacket contains liner notes by George Dale.

I wrapped things up today with a record that is not Shakespeare, but is related: An Evening Of Elizabethan Verse And Its Music. It is presented by W.H. Auden and the New York Pro Musica Antiqua, directed by Noah Greenberg. It features some excellent vocal work. And it includes liner notes by W.H. Auden. According to Discogs, this record was released in 1955. I was sad to find that this record also skipped a couple of times. The final track is particularly beautiful.