John:
I listened to the download of Barber's version of Summertime.
Creative, inventive and very much in the pops ideal that the singer
and instrumentalist complete the work done by Gershwin. I enjoyed it.
But, and I know this will cause an argument, it is not the Summertime
Gershwin wrote. Unlike many composers of American Standards,
Gershwin wrote this for his opera, Porgy and Bess. When it is alterd
as much as Barber does, and her altering is very little compared to
some versions, it is no longer the Summertime that Gershwin wrote.
As a completed stage work Gershwin wrote for a medium that normally
does not re-do or re-write the score. In other words there are
limits to the freedoms allowed.
Still I like what she did. It is just not better than the many
recordings done from the score by opera trained singers.
--
Lloyd W. Hanson
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