When one thinks of
Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht one immediately
thinks of cigarette smoke infested nightclubs
lit by gaslight so prevalent in pre-war
Berlin. The music and lyrics that these
two men created epitomize that cabaret
scene. They continually explore the
darkness of man’s nature, the despair
and the corruption of politicians, authorities,
and individuals that seemed to surround
and confront them at every turn. Alternatively,
Marianne Faithfull is best known as
a folk-rock singer from the idealized
and idyllic London scene of the late
1960s. While at first glance it may
seem an odd pairing, it very quickly
becomes evident that Faithfull is perfectly
suited to perform Weill’s works. Her
life and career, even in her youth,
struck a chord with the music’s melancholy.
Her very first recorded words were "This
is the evening of the day. I sit and
watch the children play, smiling faces
I can see but not for me, I sit and
watch as tears go by." By the age
of 21 she was a drug addict who had
nearly killed herself through barbiturates
overdose. Throughout the 1970s she lived
on the fringes of humanity until finally
she was able to rehabilitate herself
in the late 1980s. She participated
in the rebirth of "The Three Penny
Opera" in 1992, and evidently found
a voice kindred to her own.
These selections in
translation, are all examples of the
dark humor and severe disillusionment
that Faithfull obviously understands
so well. The Seven Deadly Sins was
originally commissioned in 1933 as a
dance work with choreography by George
Balanchine. Weill’s works had been dismissed
as "degenerate" by the Nazis
so he was working in Paris. Brecht agreed
to write the words for Weill on condition
that he was allowed to expose the corruption
of the individual in a capitalist society.
The resulting music is among the most
darkly satirical ever written. It depicts
the story of a young woman who goes
to America in order to earn money for
her family to build a house. The irony
is largely derived from how she decides
to accomplish her goals. As Anna travels
from city to city men are seduced, blackmailed,
robbed, and driven to suicide. Thus,
in the end, the deadliest of sins is
capitalist ambition from which even
the most virtuous of goals can be subverted
and from which all other sins can be
derived. However, in capitalist society,
these sins are rewarded with success.
Additional irony is
also exemplified through the disparate
nature of the critical texts and the
light music. This tends to emphasize
Anna’s conflicted human frailties and
troubled psyche. One can see that this
is also a reason for the continued success
of these pieces. It is difficult to
imagine a more effective way to criticize
so effectively as to coat the bitter
pill in sugar-sweet pop hooks.
The other selections
are all songs which similarly celebrate
the failures of humanity. Alabama
Song is probably most well known
as it was performed by Jim Morrison
and The Doors. As the singer travels
from one whisky bar to another, they
celebrate their own imminent death and
the futility of their own existence.
The Ballade of Sexual Dependency
explains how Mack the Knife is able
to be arrested, not once but twice,
and still get away with spitting in
the eyes of the rich. Bilbao Song
is a disparate juxtaposition of idyllic
nostalgia and alcohol-soaked proletariat
misery. Pirate Jenny is simply
a celebration of money-lust, depravity
and mayhem.
Stylistically these
works reflect that uniquely German version
of cabaret jazz so indicative of 1930s
Berlin. There are elements of the great
German traditions of earlier periods
intermingled with the American sounds
of jazz that were being imported at
the time. In portions of The Seven
Deadly Sins, the cabaret disappears
completely and we are in the realm of
the operetta. At other times, we are
listening to a small jazz combo. There
are moments when Anna disappears and
the chorus (here sung by members of
Hudson Shad) takes over. This intentionally
takes on the nature of a glee-club ensemble.
Again, the texts are rich with caustic
criticism of capitalism and dark humor.
It also must be noted
that in the 1956 recording of The
Seven Deadly Sins, which is the
most well known, Lotte Lenya had the
music transposed a fourth below the
original key. Such a change could not
help but dramatically alter the character
of the piece. However, as the Sins
had been written for her originally,
this became the definitive recording.
Since then it became very rare to hear
the character of the original arrangements.
On this recording, Marianne Faithfull
took the authentic Parisian scores as
her point of departure, but sings the
melodies a full octave below the original.
This returns the instrumental and chorus
material to character, but retains the
more familiar flavor of Anna’s vocals.
The other songs have
been arranged to seamlessly follow The
Seven Deadly Sins. The works are
not dramatically altered, and the caustic
quality of the texts fits perfectly.
The only noticeable difference is that
there ceases to be any interspersion
of vocal material aside Ms Faithfull.
If one is only familiar
with Faithfull’s early works, the edgy,
hoarse, almost harsh voice that comes
across will be surprising. It is perfect
for this music and conveys the world-weariness
and hard-earned knowledge the lyrics
describe. When sung in German, these
songs have an special abrasion in timbre
derived from the language. As much of
the sonic edge is removed when translated
to English, the difference between her
voice and Lotte Lenya’s quavery soprano
or Ute Lemper’s icy alto is welcome.
Faithfull’s interpretations sharpen
the razor edge of these texts.
The most impressive
thing about these recordings is the
realization that Brecht’s translated
texts paired with Weill’s cabaret sensibilities
could be passed through a pop singer
with such success. There is no Bobby
Darin cheekiness here. Marianne Faithfull
performs these works as if they were
written for her. She is able to convey
the disdain and antagonism of the texts
perfectly. This album crosses boundaries
and can easily be recommended to fans
of rock sensibilities, jazz tonalities
or musical theatre and operetta.
Patrick Gary
Marianne Faithfull, voice