SEPTEMBER SONGS: THE MUSIC OF KURT WEILL (TV)

Summary

This arts documentary on the music of Kurt Weill interweaves an eclectic series of performances by contemporary artists in music video format with a history of Weill's career presented through the words of Weill, Bertolt Brecht, and Lotte Lenya (as spoken by actors), and comments by other notables of their period. A deserted industrial backdrop sets the scene for a program that opens to the sound of a 1930 archival recording of Brecht singing "Mack the Knife" in German, followed by a rendition in English by Nick Cave. The following individuals perform Weill's music in roughly chronological order: Stan Ridgway sings "Cannon Song" amidst reenactments of World War I violence; Mary Margaret O'Hara sings "Don't Be Afraid" to an instrumental jazz background; in a cafe setting, opera diva Teresa Stratas sings "Surabaya Johnny" in German to Weill's original orchestration; P.J. Harvey sings "Ballad of the Soldier's Wife" while sorting through some gifts from her dead husband; David Johansen, Ellen Shipley, Ralph Schuckett, and Bob Dorough sing "Alabama Song" in a beat-up old pickup truck in search of whiskey; writer William S. Burroughs recites "What Keeps Mankind Alive?"; the Persuasions sing a four-part harmony rendition of "Oh Heavenly Salvation"; Teresa Stratas sings "Youkali Tango" in French in a dance hall environment; Kathy Dalton performs "Aggie's Sewing Machine" as a Busby Berkeley movie musical number; Elvis Costello sings "Lost in the Stars" accompanied by the Brodsky String Quartet; Betty Carter sings "Lonely House" as a blues number; the Ghettoriginal Dance Company sing and dance to "Mandalay B-Boy Parlay," a rap adaptation of Weill's "The Song of Mandelay"; Lou Reed performs "September Song" in an atmosphere of fallen leaves; Charlie Haden plays the bass as accompaniment to a recording of Weill singing "Speak Low"; and the program closes with a recording of Lenya's singing the same song.

Details

• NETWORK: N/A
• DATE: 1994
• RUNNING TIME: 1:29:39
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: T:46569
• GENRE: Music; Arts documentaries
• SUBJECT HEADING: Biography; Documentaries; Music, popular (songs, etc.); Musical revues, comedies, etc. - Excerpts
• SERIES RUN: N/A
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Niv Fichman … Producer
• Larry Weinstein … Producer, Writer
• Daniel Iran … Co-Producer
• Helmut Rost … Co-Producer
• Barbara Willis Sweete … Associate Producer
• Michael Levine … Production (Misc.), Production Designer
• Marian Wihak … Production (Misc.), Associate Production Designer
• Arlene Hazzan Green … Production (Misc.), Line Producer/Production Manager
• Larry Weinstein … Director
• David Webb … Direction (Misc.), First Assistant Director
• David Martin … Writer
• Taina Tactics … Adapted by (for Mandalay B-Boy Parlay)
• Kurt Weill … Composer
• Bertolt Brecht … Librettist, Lyricist
• Ginette Laurin … Choreographer
• Janice Hladki … Choreographer
• Hal Willner … Music (Misc.), Music Supervisor
• Lou Reed … Singer, Instrumentalist, Guitarist
• Nick Cave … Singer
• Teresa Stratas … Singer
• Betty Carter … Singer
• Elvis Costello … Singer
• P.J. Harvey … Singer
• Mary Margaret O'Hara … Singer
• David Johansen … Singer
• Ellen Shipley … Singer
• Ralph Schuckett … Singer
• Kathy Dalton … Singer
• Stan Ridgway … Singer
• The Persuasions … Singers
• Ghettoriginal … Dancers
• Charlie Haden … Instrumentalist, Bassist
• William S. Burroughs … Performer
• Brodsky String Quartet, The … Performers
• Esprit Orchestra, The … Performers
• Cyrus Feya … Cast, Kurt Weill, Voice
• Marguerite Anderson … Cast, Lotte Lenya, Voice
• Eberhardt Gerlitz … Cast, Bertolt Brecht
• Benjamin Wilchfort … Cast, the Nazi Voice, Voice
• David Raddis … Cast, the Loudspeaker Voice, Voice
• Sylvia Ziegler … Cast, the Loudspeaker Voice, Voice
• Rosemarie Rabindranath … Cast, Rosemarie
• Billy Winston … Cast, an American, Voice
• Michael Levine … Cast, an American, Voice
• Brook Weslak … Cast, an American, Voice
• New David … Cast, an American, Voice
• Paul Amato … Cast, an American, Voice
• Dieter Engel … Cast, a German, Voice
• Jan Schwartz … Cast, a German, Voice
• Gunther Kunzelmann … Cast, a German, Voice
• Lawrence Weinstein … Cast, Radio Announcer, Voice
• Kurt Weill
• Lotte Lenya