A friendly collision in 1922 between a horse-drawn carriage from 1820s Vienna and an open-topped automobile in 1920s New York. The old world meets the new for a tipsy foxtrot in prohibition era America. A pre-echo of Kurt Weill who will soon bring his classical sensibilities to the sound-world of American dance bands and then – mirrors in mirrors – bring Europe with him in his suitcase to invigorate the American musical.
The career of Arthur Lange (1889-1956) – arranger and band leader here – tells the story of 20th-century popular entertainment culture in the USA, from live vaudeville shows, song publishing in Tin Pan Alley to Oscar nominated film scores in Holywood’s golden age. He wrote several guides to orchestration and his mastery of the wind-heavy dance band, with characteristic muted trombone, agile tuba bass line, and rhythmic banjo continuo, can be heard here.
The brass and reeds cut through with surgical precision in the tutti sections and the saxophone solos smoke their way around the contours of Schubert’s melodies: first a vibrant alto and then a deliciously husky tenor convince us for a moment that this theme from Schubert’s 8th Symphony could have been written with this yet-to-be-invented instrument in mind.
Though presumably written as a humorous number to flirt with a sophisticated audience who would know the original pieces, the overall impression is affectionate, rather than parodic and, with its subtle transitions between duple and triple time, it is maybe a record to be listened to instead of danced to.
As the name of the ensemble suggests, Lange’s Symphonic Dance Orchestra was part of the genre-bending, culturally mobile, don’t care what they say, petri dish of the early twenties.
[Moment Musical, Intro. “Unfinished Symphony” Fox Trot Paraphrase (Arr. Arthur Lange), Lange’s Symphonic Dance Orchestra. Recorded New York around October 12, 1922.]
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