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Amazon.co.uk Review
Rather than succumbing to what would have seemed a timely death, the increasingly "floppy" Martin Guerre was hurried out of London in the summer of 1998 and totally pulled apart, this time not by canine critics, but by the producers themselves. Among the creative risks--there were always the financial ones--was displacing the brand new cast in Leeds for months, exposing a startled ensemble to devising and improvisation work on an unprecedented scale. The music also suffered some serious weight loss--the Martin Guerre pit orchestra, once the largest in the West End, was trimmed till it fitted into a pair of medium flight cases--a handful of instrumentalists serving as icing for the staple portions of programmed keyboard arrangements. The rigorous exercise programme paid off. Emerging from the West Yorkshire "operating theatre" was a slim, but gripping story, powerful at its core and hard hitting in its bare form, with exceptionally strong ensemble singing as a prime characteristic. As usual Schönberg delivers in the field of orchestration, though Boubil's libretto is still riddled with the familiar clangers. Obviously the reformists never dared to stray far from the narrow path of rigorous rhyme schemes that repeatedly turn the deepest existential trauma into a mere platitude. Recorded partly in the studio, partly whilst on the road, this 1999 cast recording features a handful of strong, believable soloists and tight ensemble pieces sizzling with energy. --Yngvil V.G.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
After seeing the production in Leeds I bought the 1997 recording, which was great. Then this came & I think it's a great improvement. The orchestra has been greatly reduced, leaving a smaller, but more effective and medieval sound, which suits the atmosphere of the story better. Plus all the new songs are brilliant, especially "Without you as a friend" and the chorus numbers about the flood and the drought in which the villagers blame the misfortunes on Martin, and later, Bertrande. These make up for the seriously reduced "Working on the Land". My only complaint is the the amount of music that is missing off the CD, for example, Benoit's song with Louison is totally missing. Other than that, a joy to listen to!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It's not that this recording is bad. It's actually half decent... But if you've hread the original 1997 recording, you'll know what I mean. The instrumentation has been greatly reduced on this recording (down from about 50 to 5), meaning it loses a lot of depth the original score had. That's another this, as weel, the score is greatly changed from the original, and I think the original was far superior. If you want to listen to Martin Guerre, then I think you'll have to content yourself with this recording as the other is out of print... But if you see the original around anywhere, for God's sake buy it!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The first time I heard Martin Guerre was when I bought the tape of the original London Cast recording. Having played that to death, I then went in search of a CD version. The only one I could find was the Leeds cast recording - and what a shame.A lot of the stirring music from the London production had lost its oomph by the time it reached Leeds. Having said that, there is still plenty of rousing stuff to make it worth buying. The whole show does not seem to flow quite as well as either Les Mis or Miss Saigon; but for all that it is an energetic recording with plenty of strong solo and ensemble numbers.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Martin Guerre
We have never seen the play, but we know well the history of the story. We literally wore out a CD of the music and could not find a replacement here in the US, so we were pleased... Read more
Published 3 months ago by K. B. Hottle
MARTIN GUERRE
At the time of writing still my favourite musical alongside CHESS, Follies, Show Boat, Wicked and Seussical.
The tunes are brilliant and the lyrics expressive. Read more
The tunes are brilliant and the lyrics expressive. Read more
Published 9 months ago by D. A. Putley
martin guerre
Nearly everything I expected. A couple of songs missing, but that's my fault not the c.d. Everything on it just wonderful.
Published 19 months ago by snowflake
1997 cast far superior
Having heard clips from the 1997 London cast of this same production, I was very disappointed in listening to the 1999 cast recording. Read more
Published on 18 July 2000
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