Re: The movie "De-lovely".  My question involves only one specific
issue - the musical line of "Begin the Beguine".  The version used in
the movie is one I have never heard before.  As I hear it, the tune as
sung in the film seems to simply shift the "mode" by using minor
intervals where you expect the major intervals of the usually heard
versions (including Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw etc) Can someone tell me
if there is indeed an acceptd alternate version of the song, where and
how it came about and anything else that can clear up my concern?

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 27 Dec 2004 10:33 PST

finler --

I have neither seen "De-Lovely" nor heard the soudtrack, but I am very
familiar with "Begin the Beguine" and have the music with its
Porter-written harmony in front of me as I write this.

I doubt very much that an "alternative version" of the song in the
sense you describe was used in the film or exists, although the
arrangement of the song may have given that impression, especially if
its mood and tempo contrasts with what I recall to be the "swinging,"
upbeat arrangements of the song played by Goodman and Shaw.

In its original version, "Begin the Beguine" does include significant
passages passages that use minor chords.  For example, the "bridge"
(middle section) of the song is largely in the minor mode. That
section begins with the phrase "To live it again. . . and ends 16
measures later with the phrase "never, never to part."  The effect of
the "bridge" on the listener is one of going from the peaceful
romantic mood of the initial section to the dramatic mood of the
bridge and back again to the major mode of the second statement of the
main theme.

Also, in the dramatic last section of the song, which begins with the
phrase "So don't let them begin the beguine," Porter uses minor chords
in various melodic phrases that employ major chords in the earlier
statements of that theme.

If you remember specific examples in the arrangement of "Begin the
Beguine" that is used in the film that strike you as sounding
different from other arrangements you have heard, I would be happy to
give you my reactions.  I am pretty sure that I have recordings of
both the Goodman and Shaw versions, and I would be happy to dig them
out and re-listen to them as part of that process.


markj-ga

---

Clarification of Question by finler-ga on 27 Dec 2004 11:13 PST

To answer my question you will have to see/hear the film.  However -
the slip in "modes" from the usual version to the one sung in the film
is immediately obvious  when you listen to it.  Assuming you are in
the key of C Major and the tune starts on C - the first word - WHEN -
then the second note is D - YOU- the third and fourth are E and G
BE-Gin and the next syllables on E, D AND E(THE BE-GUINE. However the
singer sneaks in E flats - changing the mode.  And so it goes all
through the song - changes in "mode" although the pattern of notes is
generally the same.  My quest is who/how monkeyed with the music and
on what authority or precedent?  If the film's was the original how
did the current version come to surface?

finler --

Now that I have recovered from the shock of learning that Sheryl Crow
transformed "Begin the Beguine" into a dirge, I can report that the
arrangement was created for the film at the direction of director
Irwin Winkler, presumably with the participation of music director
Robert Ziegler.

Here's what Winkler himself had to say in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter:

"I had Sheryl Crow sing "Begin the Beguine" but in a wholly different
way that you've probably never heard before. Everybody is used to that
Artie Shaw swing version, but I had (music arranger) Stephen Endelman
and Sheryl do it in a minor key."

Hollywood Reporter: Dialogue With Irwin Winkler (1/3 down the page)
http://209.11.49.186/thr/crafts/feature_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000517650


In the spirit of fairness and balance, here are pro and con
journalistic opinions regarding this new arrangement:

"Winkler has chosen pop stars to do the honors: Alanis Morissette,
Robbie Williams, Sheryl Crow, Diana Krall, Vivian Green, Lara Fabian,
Mario Frangoulis, Mick Hucknall, Natalie Cole and Elvis Costello. I am
happy to report that all are up to the task. Listen for musical
director Robert Ziegler's rearrangement of "Begin the Beguine" into a
minor key and slower tempo, sung by Crow."

San Diego Metropolitan: "'De-Lovely'- It's about the music," by Jean Lowerison
http://metro.sandiegometro.com/reel/index.php?reelID=705


"Two dozen Porter songs are glossed by contemporary singers like Elvis
Costello (''Let's Misbehave''), Alanis Morissette (''Let's Do It,
Let's Fall in Love''), Sheryl Crow (a weird minor-key version of
''Begin the Beguine'') and Diana Krall (''Just One of Those Things'').
If they're not awful, these labored, self-conscious interpretations
are undercut by flimsy period arrangements."

Nw York Times: Jazz Age Gaiety With Misery Below the Gloss, by Stephen Holden
http://movies2.nytimes.com/mem/movies/review.html?oref=login&title1=De-Lovely+(Movie)


Additional Information:

You will find by perusing the results of this focused Google search
that the preponderance of online opinion about the "Begin the Beguine"
arrangement is negative:

"sheryl crow" "begin the beguine" "minor key"
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLB,GGLB:1969-53,GGLB:en&q=%22sheryl+crow%22+%22begin+the+beguine%22+%22minor+key%22



Search Strategy:

After you set me straight with your clarification (I just couldn't
believe that the song would be altered in this way), I went to
Amazon.com and found the Sheryl Crow audio clip.  I then used various
Google searches to find the information about the arrangement and to
confirm (unsurpringly) that there is  no contrary online information
about the preexistence of this arrangement,  I identified one of those
searches above, and here are two more of the increasingly focused
searches:

"de-lovely" "sheryl crow" "begin the beguine"
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLB,GGLB:1969-53,GGLB:en&q=%22de%2Dlovely%22+%22sheryl+crow%22+%22begin+the+beguine%22

de-lovely OR delovely "sheryl crow" "begin the beguine" minor
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLB,GGLB:1969-53,GGLB:en&q=%22de%2Dlovely%22+OR+delovely+%22sheryl+crow%22+%
22begin+the+beguine%22+minor


I am confident that this is the information you are seeking.  If
anything is unclear, please ask for clarification before rating the
answer.


markj-ga

Zero for not believing me the first time around but very damn good
once you were convinced I knew major from minor - or at least what is
meant by "mode".  I did not expect nor do I invite a discussion of
musical taste.  The answer is worth a ten buck bonus - if only to
smooth my upset.  Thanks - and happy New Year - sdf

finler --

Hmmmm. I have now listened to a clip of the soundtrack at Amazon.com
(which I should have done at the outset), and you are, of course,
right that the usual harmony of the song has been altered in the
Sheryl Crow arrangement.  Indeed, so has the melody.  In the key of C,
she sings the following notes for the phrase ("I'm with you once more,
under the stars") -- A A B C A, C B A C -- using on A minor chord
throughout. Here is a link to the audio clip:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00023GGHQ/qid%3D1104177331/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-7245599-1374367

I will see what I can find out about the arrangement.


markj-ga

finler --

Thanks for the tip.

markj-ga

A few years ago, I was invited, along with a bunch of other
journalists, to go on the set of DE-LOVELY while they were shooting. 
At that time the movie was called JUST ONE OF THOSE THINGS.  Irwin
Winkler, the director, played for us about 20 minutes of "Dailies,"
including the infamous "Begin the Beguine."  We all looked at each
other and shook our heads.  Winkler's explanation, when he saw the
lack of enthusiasm coming from the crowd, was to say that "This occurs
as a kind of nightmare sequence.  Cole is looking back, he's
disturbed."
I'll say!