(Cast) Christopher Holligan Bar singer Quartet Counter Tenor Piano Cello Alto flute Hartley Newnham Nehama Patkin Megan Garner Patrick Nolan Choir Members of the Tudor Choristers Director: David Carolane Christoph Willbald Gluck - "Orpheus & Euridice" Berliner Symphoniker - Hermann Prey Conductor - Horst Stein EMI Hartley Newnham and The Melbourne Collegium Joseph Haydn - "Paukenmesse" Bayerischen Rundfuks Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Conductor Rafael Kubelik Polygram Ann Boyd "As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams" "Cycle of Love" Faber Music Ltd. Carl Orff - "Camina Burana" Czech Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus Conductor - Vaclev Smetacek Suprapron Renée Geyer "Hot Minutes" Mushroom Records, Australia Frans Süssmayr - "Grandfather's Birthday Celebration" Hungarian Radio Children's Chorus Budapest Symphony Orchestra Conductor Laszlo Csanyi
As the film is about a classical music composer, who also hosts a show on a radio station, there is an abundance of music scattered through the show. In one scene, there's a quartet attempting to practice a piece, Anne Boyd's Cycle of Love (she's credited in the film as "Ann"). John Hargreaves' character, "John", storms in to berate Jon Finlayson's "Bernard" for not telling him about his wife's affair, and then storms out, rudely shouting at him he can go fuck himself, silly cunt. In the background, the quartet valiantly attempts to continue their practice. Three of the quartet are given visual recognition. Patrick Nolan on alto flute, counter tenor Hartley Newnham, and in a three shot, Nehama Patkin on piano. Sadly, Megan Garner on cello is out of sight, but can be heard. Hartley Newnham would go on to become well known as a countertenor, performing not just works by Boyd, but compositions written for him by the likes of Ross Edwards and his own compositions. He is represented at Move, and is currently listed on that site here. (Below: Hartley Newnham later in his career). (Below: the recognisable members of the quartet as they appear in the film
- Patrick Nolan on the alto flute, Hartley Newnham singing, and Nehama Patkin at the piano with them).
There's also a post-modernist, post-reflexive moment in the film involving music. As Renée Geyer's hard rocking pop song "Hot Minutes" runs on the soundtrack over the bar scene, a drunken bar singer, played by Christopher Holligan, joins in:
The John Hargreaves character, "John", then drunkenly lurches up to the bar, and the barmaid, played by Renée Geyer, invites him to tell her his troubles about his wife. After she gets him a scotch on the rocks, this dialogue follows: John: Can you do something about that music? It's, er, getting to me Barmaid: What's wrong with it? John: Bloody awful. Makes deaf deaf deaf Barmaid: Well you can tell, I don't know much about music, but I know what I like. John: What do you like? Barmaid (gesturing to the source of the music): Well I like this. And I like it very much. And it's Australian! John: So's Vegemite you got any real music? Barmaid: What's real music? John: Ah doesn't Barmaid: Oh like Beethoven or something? John (nodding): Sure, sure, play a little bit of Ludwig. Barmaid: Right, Ludwig hey Barbra, come and meet Ludwig, he's a cutie (Barbra comes across behind the bar) Ludwig, this is Barbra (The dialogue fades under the bar room singer having another go). (Below: John Hargreaves, Renée Geyer, and Sabrina Lorenz as Barbra)
Renée Geyer, here valiantly defending her own song against Ludwig lovers, is a well known singer and occasional actor. She has a wiki here, and her own website, at time of writing, here. For other musical items, see this site's photo gallery. In thematic terms, the Gluck "Orpheus & Euridice" performed by the Berliner Symphoniker, with Hermann Prey and conductor Horst Stein is perhaps the most relevant, with some reviewers hooked by the reference early on when Hargreaves' "John" plays a piece on air. Reviewers love this sort of cultural clue and some then built on it an elaborate relationship between the character played by John Hargreaves and the plotting of Gluck's opera. The edition used in the film has been released by EMI in a number of formats:
The music web site here provides provides details of this release and a thumbnail review: Orpheus und Eurydike - highlights Hermann Prey (baritone) - Orpheus; Pilar Lorengar (soprano) - Eurydike; Erika Köth (soprano) - Amor; RIAS Kammerchor, Berliner Symphoniker/ Horst Stein rec. January 1962, Grünewaldkirche, Berlin-Grünewald Gluckʼs Orpheus und Euridike is in good stereo sound from 1962. The German texts jar a bit but one gets used to it. Hearing a baritone as Orpheus is also a bit weird - not to mention anachronistic. Hermann Prey sings beautifully, however, and as always he is expressive sometimes a bit too much. More restraint wouldnʼt have come amiss. Ach, ich habe sie verloren, better known as Che farò senza Euridice, is well sung. Erika Köth is a good Amor, singing charmingly with her characteristic quick vibrato. Pilar Lorengar is a warm Euridike. The choral music, so important in this opera, is extremely well sung by RIAS Kammerchor under their legendary director Günter Arndt.