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Cabaret Pete: Schickele in concert.
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Neo-Classical
By
Kathryn Ceceri
Peter
Schickele
WAMC Performing Arts Center, March 18
Peter
Schickele is not your typical Juilliard-trained classical
composer. Best known as the “discoverer” of previously unknown
works by PDQ Bach, Johann Sebastian’s fictional forgotten
offspring, he also was co-creator of the seminal ’60s nudie
musical Oh! Calcutta!, and scored the sci-fi sleeper
Silent Running, among other films. In more than 175
episodes of his Public Radio International program Schickele
Mix (no longer being produced, but still heard in reruns
on WAMC and elsewhere), he would use vintage recordings ranging
from Eastern European folk songs to the Beatles to explain
such concepts as 5/4 time or glissando in a way that made
even the musically illiterate feel smart. (The show’s motto,
as Duke Ellington put it, is “If it sounds good, it is good.”)
But Schickele has several other incarnations as well. As a
composer of (straight) classical works, he’s written everything
from chamber pieces for the likes of Yo Yo Ma to full orchestral
symphonies. And, as he demonstrated at the WAMC Performing
Arts Studio last week, this arranger for folk icons including
Joan Baez has spent decades privately turning out pop ballads
of surprising sentiment, given the sometimes madcap nature
of his work. While his Cabaret Act (just one of the shows
he tours around the country to perform) was nowhere near as
frenzied and free-form as the radio show, which makes liberal
use of ringing phones, slamming doors and rambling sidebars
cut short by the irrelevancy buzzer, it did hit some comedic
heights in its own low-key way, provide several quite listenable
melodies, and even threw in a little lesson on songwriting
in the process.
Mounting the small stage in a rumpled gray suit and comfortable
shoes, the 68-year-old Schickele, sporting his trademark wiry
beard and silver-tinged mane, was greeted with anticipation
by the mostly mature audience. The bulk of the evening’s repertoire,
accompanied by the composer at the grand piano and, for one
number, by a couple of coffee cans, was made up of songs written
to celebrate birthdays and other momentous occasions of friends,
family, pets and fans. (Another of his touring programs, Condition
of My Heart, reflects on his long marriage to poet Susan
Sindall.) Other songs, like “Moon Over Woodstock,” which takes
the point of view of dairy cows near his Hudson Valley home,
were the musings of an artist who’s at once highly romantic
and a little twisted. In “Uncle Pootie Sugars Off,” inspired
by a photo of a maple-sugar farmer in a Walla Walla newspaper,
he proclaimed in his rough but serviceable voice, “The Lord
is offering us all a little sweetness in our life.” Likewise,
the Philip Glass-esque “Feel Free to Walk Across My Lawn”
implored the listener to litter his yard with love.
Most of Schickele’s songs have a sort of bluegrassy, early
rock & roll feel. He describes his style of songwriting
as “Schubert meets the Everly Brothers.” And all of his works,
no matter how seemingly simple and off-the-cuff, contain at
least a touch of musical complexity. To help do justice to
the fullness of the works (and to lend a hand in the numerous
rounds), he brought along David Düsing, tenor, and soprano
Michèle Eaton. While the petite dark-haired Eaton and Dusing,
a big guy with a blond ponytail, presented quite a contrast
visually, they shared an easy manner and crisp, clear delivery
that brought out the humor and subtleties of each song.
For the Schickele Mix fans in the audience, the highlight
of the evening came with “If Love Is Real,” which after a
few verses dealing with the subject veered off into a discussion
of whether the title should also be the refrain—in this case
the less poetic “Oh my, oh me.” Its didactic humor perfectly
embodied the radio program’s appeal. On the other hand, the
sweet-sounding songs dedicated to his family, which also includes
son Matthew and daughter Karla, both now singer-songwriters
for alternative rock groups, couldn’t help but make you wish
that every milestone in your life would bring a song from
one of the most inventive, playful and erudite musicians of
the 18th and 21st centuries.
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