Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, finishing up listening to the Michel Legrand themes album with Mr. Legrand conducting the Phlegmish Radio Orchestra. Beautiful themes, every one of them, but then again, Mr. Legrand sure knew how to write a tune. I first became aware of Mr. Legrand not through his film music but a couple of easy listening albums he did for Columbia that I found in the ninety-nine-cent bin at my local market. I came to his film music the way most Americans did back in the day – The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which I saw on its opening day, March 17, 1965, at the Beverly Theater in Beverly Hills. It was an easy walk there from our house in Beverlywood after school that day. I had dinner at Ontra Cafeteria, then walked across the street to the theater for the first show at six-thirty. Well, I fell in love with the movie, I fell in love with the cast, I fell in love with the director, and, most of all, I fell in love with the musique. There weren’t that many of us for that first showing. It was more crowded for the eight-thirty show. I walked out of the theater and home floating on air. I already knew that I’d be back on Saturday for the first matinee showing (why they didn’t do matinees during the week I have no idea, since they’d done matinees there for years. Anyway, I was back for the first matinee on Saturday at two-thirty. I stayed for the four-thirty show, too, and as soon as it was over what did I do? I walked directly to Chesterfield Records, thankfully open from ten to midnight on Saturdays, to see if there was a soundtrack, and they’d just gotten it in – a two-CD set, the complete soundtrack, it said. I had just enough on me to buy it and home I went and into my room I went, and on my record player side one went. First and only disappointment – it wasn’t complete – it was missing my favorite piece of music from the movie – the main titles. But the rest had it all and not only that, it had both French and English lyrics in the fold-open jacket. I followed along, frequently singing the French lyrics as best I could, or singing the English lyrics that didn’t always fit the tune correctly. I played all four sides, then played them again, and then every day when I got home from school. I was at the Beverly regularly for the next month, seeing the film over and over again.
And when it left there, I followed it all over town and saw it whenever possible. Amazingly, they showed it repeatedly at the Encore Theater along with another favorite, Sundays and Cybele. Anyway, I was then a forever fan of Mr. Legrand. Ultimately, we even released his wonderful score for The Three Musketeers on a Bay Cities CD. Shortly thereafter, Nick Redman and I were at Tower Classical on Sunset, checking on our classical releases and who should be there? M. Legrand. We introduced ourselves and he could not have been nicer or more grateful that we’d released the Musketeers CD. Much later, I had Terry Trotter do a Michel Legrand CD and Legrand was so taken with it that he included a track from it on a compilation CD. And now, I’m listening to Jack Everly conduct volume one of Jule Styne overtures, which is a lot of fun.
I did manage to watch a motion picture yesterday entitled After the Hunt, a stupid title for a mundane and ultimately irritating movie, starring Julia Roberts, and directed by Luca Guadignino, who actually has the chutzpah to stick his name above the title in a possessory credit at the end. It’s a very talky, overloaded and overlong affair. I think they think it’s profound, but I found it profoundly boring. It’s advertised as a psychological thriller with twists and turns. That would be completely incorrect in every way. The actors are fine, but the material is so wishy-washy and even obtuse at times, they don’t have much to play with. I also watched some of One Battle after Another – almost three hours long, and from the approximately one hour that I saw, not much to my liking. I slept through over thirty minutes of it, so I’ll go back and watch what I missed and slog through the rest of it. I only got five hours of sleep (not enough), got up, answered a few e-mails, had a Jersey Mike’s Philly that wasn’t too good, took pills, watched the movie, decided I wasn’t going out, had some Cheetos (crunchy), then tried to watch One Battle after Another, had a fried shrimp basket later – it was pretty good – and that was pretty much it and here we are.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll eat something light and airy, rest, then shave and shower, mosey on over to the mail place then to rehearsal at six where I’m hoping we can get the long eighteen-page opening of act two scene done and blocked – we’ve already done four pages and it’s simple stuff and the musical numbers within it are also done. If we have the hour, I hope we have when we finish doing that, then we’ll put our missing actor into his big duet number so he can begin getting that in his bones. Then I’ll come home.
Tomorrow and all the way until next Tuesday is off – since the rain has abated, I’ll be doing Thanksgiving with the Wechters – long drive I’d rather not do, but I’ve turned them down for over five years, so I feel I have to go. I’ll make sure all singers have their music for the Kritzerland show and we’ll set the December first and third rehearsal schedule – should be easy as only three can come to those two rehearsals. They’ll have to be done no later than six so I can go to our play rehearsals.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, eat, rest, shave and shower, go to the mail place, have a rehearsal, and come home. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite themes or soundtracks of M. Legrand? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, always happy to think back on the umbrellas of Legrand.