Peter and the Commissar
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
Peter and the Commissar is a musical comedy album by Allan Sherman, with Arthur Fiedler conducting the Boston Pops Orchestra with 5 guest jazz musicians. It was recorded live on July 22, 1964. Originally released on RCA Red Seal, the album later saw its CD debut on Collectors' Choice Music in 2004.
The title track pokes fun at communism in the Soviet Union, and is a spoof of Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev, with Prokofiev's music, and original spoken rhymed verse by Allan Sherman. Peter creates a new melody (the familiar Peter's theme from the original work) and must have it approved by the commissars of music. In the story the commissars have no musical taste or talent, and modify Peter's theme by changing a few notes here and there, then turn it into a Bossa Nova. Examples are played of other pieces "improved" by the commissars. Beethoven's Fifth Cha-Cha-Cha, Brahms Lullaby Rock-n-Roll, Pete Tchaikovsky's Blues (from Swan Lake), and Verdi's Aida in Dixieland. Peter's melody is rejected by the commissar, being stamped "NOT APPROVED", and the head commissar sentences Peter to a labor camp to think. While he is imprisoned, he stated that while he is confined, that his song is still free. One day, a recording manager hers his melody from outside the prison walls, and has Peter's piece recorded, which results in getting Peter out of prison to lead his own parade, featuring the commissar, stating that they would never have changed a single note of it. Peter's piece becomes a hit all over the world. Peter does triumph over the commissar.
The second track is "Variations on How Dry I Am". In this work the first few notes of "How Dry I Am" are found in numerous well known pieces of popular and classical music, and blended together with each piece ending with the familiar notes, and them being the beginning of the next piece. Other than some introductory spoken comedy by Sherman and a solo hiccup by Fiedler, this track is completely instrumental.
The last track is "The End of a Symphony". In this one Sherman again provides original spoken verse, denigrating the lengthy endings of symphonies, as these endings are attached to simple songs such as "Yankee Doodle" "Old MC Donald", and "Shave and a Haircut".