CD 1
1. Love Me A Little Today
2. Ein Freunde, Ein Guter Freund
3. Liebling, Mein Hertz Lässt Dich Grüssen
4. Wochenend Und Sonnenschein
5. Over The Blue
6. Marie, Marie
7. Was Schenkst Du Mir Dann
8. Leichte Kavallerie
9. The Way With Every Sailor
10. Maria, Mari!
11. Mein Lieber Schatz, Bist Du Aus Spanien?
12. Heute Nacht Oder Nie
13. Einmal Schafft’s Jeder
14. Irgendwo Auf Der Welt
15. Muss I Denn, Muss I Denn Zum Städtle
Hinaus
16. Night And Day
17. Tarantella Sincera
18. Creole Love Call
19. Die Dorfmusik
20. Schlafe, Mein Prinzchen, Schlaf Ein
21. Ein Neuer Frühling Wird In Die Heimat
Kommen
22. Liebeslied
23. Spanische Moritat
24. Komm’ In Traum
25. Jetzt Trinken Wir Noch Eins
26. Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear
CD 2
1. ‘Blume Von Hawaii’ Potpourri
2. Ach, Wie Ist’s Möglich Dann
3. Perpetuum Mobile
4. An Der Schönen Blauen Donau
5. Tea For Two
6. Kannst Du Pfeifen, Johanna?
7. Humoreske
8. Ein Bisschen Leichstinn Kann Nicht Schaden
9. Whispering
10. Barcarolle from ‘The Tales Of Hoffman’
11. Wenn Die Sonja Russisch Tanzt
12. Guitarren Spielt Auf
13. Das Alte Spinnrad
14. Hungarian Dance No.5
15. Sous Le Ciel D’Afrique
16. Espabilate
17. Solitude
18. Overture ‘The Barber Of Seville’
19. Congo Lullaby
20. In A Persian Market
21. The Donkey Serenade
22. Ti-pi-tin
23. Whistle While You Work
24. Dwarf’s Yodel Song
Long
before the Beatles sang that "All You
Need is Love", a group of German singers
was declaring that "The world is waiting
for love today" in the first song on
this collection. Naturally such a message
didn’t appeal to the Nazis, and the group
was driven out of Germany in 1934, although
they regrouped and continued performing in
Europe and the USA until 1941.
The
Comedian Harmonists was a vocal quintet formed
in Berlin in the late 1920s by Harry Frommermann
(also known as Frohman). Its style was based
on close harmony singing, with elements that
might remind you of the King’s Singers as
well as the Mills Brothers. In fact they employed
the technique also used by the Mills Brothers
of imitating musical instruments with their
voices, providing much of their own accompaniment
(with help from a pianist).
This
generous double CD provides an idea of their
wide range: embracing such tender songs as
Love Me a Little Today, jazz standards
like Tea for Two and Night and Day,
and light classical numbers like In a Persian
Market and Brahms’ Hungarian Dance
No. 5. There are also many German songs,
some of which turn out to be well-known to
British listeners. For example, Wochenend
Und Sonnenschein is what we know as Happy
Days are Here Again. Sous Le Ciel D’Afrique
and Espabilate offer the bonus of Josephine
Baker, the toast of Paris, joining the ensemble.
The
Comedian Harmonists were never an out-and-out
jazz group but their version of Creole
Love Call (done completely with wordless
vocalising) captures the spirit of Duke Ellington.
Above all, their precision is superb and their
humour is infectious. Just listen to the way
their voices reproduce the Overture to The
Barber of Seville as if they are a whole
orchestra. If you haven’t encountered this
quintet before, take the opportunity of buying
this album, which is obtainable at a very
reasonable price.
Tony Augarde
CD Reviews
Avid AVC 810
