Leonard Bernstein - Bernstein Conducts Bernstein: The Original Jacket Collection (10CD) (2008)

How much do you like Leonard Bernstein? Carnegie Hall is betting you like him a lot as it has collaborated with Sony to prepare this 10-CD set, The Original Jacket Collection: Bernstein Conducts Bernstein. It contains every album Bernstein made of his own music for CBS Records, beginning with his 1950 recording of the Symphony No. 2, "The Age of Anxiety" – predating his tenure with the New York Philharmonic by nearly a decade – to the ballet Dybbuk in 1974, recorded with the New York City Ballet Orchestra several years after his departure. This was Bernstein's peak period in terms of his popularity, fame, credibility, and celebrity, although once he started with the New York Philharmonic his work as a composer came to a screeching halt. Despite the date range indicated above, a heavy concentration of these recordings is centered in 1960 and 1963, indicating an effort in these years to schedule his work in large blocks amid the staggering number of recordings of works by other composers Bernstein made on his CBS contract.
This set is amazingly comprehensive; both mono and stereo versions of Serenade, The Age of Anxiety, and Fancy Free are included. While standard practices usually dictate a choice between alternate mono and stereo versions that invariably goes in favor of stereo, often mono recordings contain better performances, decidedly the case in Fancy Free; it's certainly best to have both when possible. Moreover, it is great to have access to Zino Francescatti's rendering of Serenade in addition to the more famous and oft reissued version with Isaac Stern. With The Age of Anxiety, in addition to a technological difference, there is an alternate version of the symphony itself, as it was revised by Bernstein in 1965 at pianist Philippe Entremont's request.
The discs themselves seem to correspond exactly with already issued entries in Sony's Bernstein Century series. Each individual disc is graced with miniature versions of vintage album covers that roughly correspond to the disc's content; "roughly," as each disc is maximized, save the two discs of Bernstein's Mass, appearing as originally programmed. The quality of repro on these little album covers is excellent, though to read the liner notes you will need a magnifying glass – the original liners are nevertheless legible except for the libretto to Trouble in Tahiti. Within the booklet, there are purported excerpts "from the original liner notes" throughout, but these are not original notes and were culled instead from CD reissues. However, Sony did finally manage to locate the original album art to Bernstein's Mass, for years believed lost in the CBS archives. The booklet could be organized a little better; there is no central track listing proper as notes and listings for individual discs are parsed throughout the booklet with a table of contents given, by disc and page number, at the front. Despite this feature, you can still spend quite some time thumbing back and forth through the booklet trying to figure out what is on which disc. Sound quality in Bernstein's Columbia recordings varies with the general fortunes of the CBS Masterworks division; in mono, the sound is inexplicably gritty and shrill and early stereo recordings sound terrific, though the later they are, the more this tends to decline. Some successful effort is made in terms of conveying the quadraphonic perspective of Bernstein's Mass in a conventional CD format.
How is the music? Well, that goes back to the question of "how much do you like Leonard Bernstein?" To some extent, Bernstein's Columbia recordings of his own work are compromised by hasty preparation and Bernstein's own inability to exploit what was best within his own work. There are two serenades and two "Anxieties," but only the overture from Candide and only the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Dybbuk isn't viewed in any quarter as being one of Bernstein's shining achievements, and just about everyone who has recorded Chichester Psalms – even Bernstein himself in 1977 for Deutsche Grammophon – has found a way to improve on the dismal 1965 effort included here. However, Trouble in Tahiti is a small miracle; an excellent recording of a work he didn't undertake very often, and one would have to lobby hard for a recording of Prelude, Fugue and Riffs that's superior to Bernstein's with Benny Goodman. With The Original Jacket Collection: Bernstein Conducts Bernstein, the whole is better than the sum of its parts; for purposes of study and appreciation of his recorded work in depth, having all of these selections in one package is invaluable. Likewise, for Carnegie Hall to have supported this project is a moving gesture to a man who essentially gave up his personal artistic pursuits to put butts in their seats, night after night, for 10 years running.
This package follows the design of the 2001 collection The Original Jacket Collection: Leonard Bernstein so closely that you might have to look twice to make sure you have the right set.

Track List:

CD 1:
01. Overture to Candide (1956) [4:13]
02. Symphonic dances from West Side Story (1957-1961) - Prologue - Allegro moderato [4:07]
03. Symphonic dances from West Side Story (1957-1961) - ''Somewhere'' - Adagio [Orch. Sid Ramin & Irwin Kostal] [3:52]
04. Symphonic dances from West Side Story (1957-1961) - Scherzo - Vivace leggiero [1:18]
05. Symphonic dances from West Side Story (1957-1961) - Mambo - Presto [2:15]
06. Symphonic dances from West Side Story (1957-1961) - Cha-Cha (''Maria'') - Andantino con grazia [0:54]
07. Symphonic dances from West Side Story (1957-1961) - Meeting Scene - Meno mosso [0:47]
08. Symphonic dances from West Side Story (1957-1961) - ''Cool'' Fugue - Allegretto [3:03]
09. Symphonic dances from West Side Story (1957-1961) - Rumble - Molto allegro [1:52]
10. Symphonic dances from West Side Story (1957-1961) - Finale - Adagio [2:50]
11. Symphonic Suite from the film on the Waterfront (1954-1955) - Andante (with dignity) [2:58]
12. Symphonic Suite from the film on the Waterfront (1954-1955) - Adagio-Allegro molto agitato-Alla breve (poco più mosso) [2:18]
13. Symphonic Suite from the film on the Waterfront (1954-1955) - Andante largamente-More flowing-Still more flowing [4:53]
14. Symphonic Suite from the film on the Waterfront (1954-1955) - Moving forward, with warmth - Largamente - A tempo [4:25]
15. Symphonic Suite from the film on the Waterfront (1954-1955) - Allegro non troppo, molto marcato-Poco più sostentuto [2:50]
16. Symphonic Suite from the film on the Waterfront (1954-1955) - A tempo [2:11]
17. Fancy Free (1944) - I. Enter three Sailors [2:50]
18. Fancy Free (1944) - II. Scene at the Bar [1:37]
19. Fancy Free (1944) - III. Enter two girls [2:11]
20. Fancy Free (1944) - IV. Pas de deux [3:22]
21. Fancy Free (1944) - V. Competition Scene [3:04]
22. Fancy Free (1944) - VI. Three dance variations I - Galop [1:22]
23. Fancy Free (1944) - VI. Three dance variations II - Waltz [2:24]
24. Fancy Free (1944) - VI. Three dance variations III - Danzon [2:36]
25. Fancy Free (1944) - VII. Finale [4:36]

Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra – The New York Philharmonic Orchestra


CD 2:
01. Symphony N°1 (Jeremiah) - I. Prophecy [Jennie Tourel, mezzo-soprano - New York Philharmonic] [7:37]
02. Symphony N°1 (Jeremiah) - II. Profanation [6:39]
03. Symphony N°1 (Jeremiah) - III. Lamentation [11:28]
04. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orchestra - Part I. a) The Prologue [Entremont, piano] [2:30]
05. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orchestra - Part I. b) The Seven Ages [9:08]
06. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orchestra - Part I. c) The Seven Stages [6:16]
07. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orchestra - Part II. a) The Dirge [6:06]
08. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orchestra - Part II. b) The Masque [4:34]
09. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orchestra - Part II. c) The Epilogue [8:17]
10. I Hate Music! A cycle of five kid songs for soprano - I. Moderato [Bernstein, piano] [0:56]
11. I Hate Music! A cycle of five kid songs for soprano - II. Allegretto vivace [1:20]
12. I Hate Music! A cycle of five kid songs for soprano - III. Sostenuto; Allegro molto [1:37]
13. I Hate Music! A cycle of five kid songs for soprano - IV. Con Brio [0:43]
14. I Hate Music! A cycle of five kid songs for soprano - V. Moderato, alla marcia; Andante [2:01]
15. La Bonne Cuisine - I. Plum Pudding [Jennie Tourel, mezzo-soprano - Bernstein, piano] [0:46]
16. La Bonne Cuisine - II. Queues de Boeuf (Ox-tails) [0:50]
17. La Bonne Cuisine - III. Taveuk Gueunksis [1:09]
18. La Bonne Cuisine - IV. Civet à Toute Vitesse (Rabbit at Top Speed) [1:14]

Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra – The New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Mezzo-soprano Vocals – Jennie Tourel
Piano – Philippe Entremont


CD 3:
01. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orch. - Part I. a) The Prologue [1949 - L.Foss, piano] [2:20]
02. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orch. - Part I. b) The Seven Ages (Variations I-VII) [8:23]
03. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orch. - Part I. c) The Seven Stages (Variations VIII-XIV) [5:52]
04. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orch. - Part II. a) The Dirge [5:38]
05. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orch. - Part II. b) The Masque [4:27]
06. Symphony N°2 (The age of anxiety) for piano & orch. - Part II. c) The Epilogue [5:28]
07. Serenate for soIo violin, strings, harp and percussion - I. Phaedrus; Pausanias [1954 - I.Stern, violin] [7:00]
08. Serenate for soIo violin, strings, harp and percussion - II. Aristophanes (Allegretto) [4:18]
09. Serenate for soIo violin, strings, harp and percussion - III. Eryximachus (Presto) [1:28]
10. Serenate for soIo violin, strings, harp and percussion - IV. Agathon (Adagio) [7:34]
11. Serenate for soIo violin, strings, harp and percussion - V. Socrates; Alcibiades (Molto tenuto; Allegro) [10:30]

Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra – Symphony Of The Air
Piano – Lukas Foss
Violin – Isaac Stern


CD 4:
01. Kaddish, Symphony N°3 - I. Invocation, Kaddish 1 (To the beloved memory of John F. Kennedy) [New York Ph.] [8:23]
02. Kaddish, Symphony N°3 - II. Din-Torah, Kaddish 2 [16:00]
03. Kaddish, Symphony N°3 - III. Scherzo, Kaddish 3, Finale [18:40]
04. Chichester Psalms for chorus and orchestra - I. Psalm 108 (verse 2) & Psalm 100 (complete) [New York Ph.] [3:34]
05. Chichester Psalms for chorus and orchestra - II. Psalm 23 (complete) & Psalm 2 (verses 1-4) [5:36]
06. Chichester Psalms for chorus and orchestra - III. Psalm 131 & Psalm 133 (verse 1) [9:14]

Choir – The Columbus Boychoir
Chorus – Camerata Singers
Chorus Master – Abraham Kaplan
Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein
Mezzo-soprano Vocals – Jennie Tourel
Orchestra – The New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Speech – Felicia Montealegre
Alto Vocals – John Paul Bogart


CD 5:
01. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for solo clarinet and Jazz Ensemble - I. Prelude for the Brass [Columbia Jazz Combo] [1:49]
02. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for solo clarinet and Jazz Ensemble - II. Fugue for the Saxes [Benny Goodman, 1963] [1:47]
03. Prelude, Fugue and Riffs for solo clarinet and Jazz Ensemble - III. Riffs for Everyone [4:15]
04. On the Town (Tree dance episodes) - I. The Great Lover [New York Philharmonic, 1963] [1:47]
05. On the Town (Tree dance episodes) - II. Lonly Town: Pas de deux [3:25]
06. On the Town (Tree dance episodes) - III. Time Square; 1944 [4:43]
07. Serenade for solo violin, string, harp and percussion - I. Phaedrus; Pausanias [New York Philharmonic, 1965] [7:03]
08. Serenade for solo violin, string, harp and percussion - II. Aristophanes [Zino Francescatti, violon] [4:08]
09. Serenade for solo violin, string, harp and percussion - III. Eryximachus [1:28]
10. Serenade for solo violin, string, harp and percussion - IV. Agathon [6:53]
11. Serenade for solo violin, string, harp and percussion - V. Socrates; Alcibiades [10:55]
12. Fancy Free - I. Enter Three Sailors [Clumbia Symphony Orchestra, 1956] [2:50]
13. Fancy Free - II. Scene at the Bar [1:40]
14. Fancy Free - III. Enter two Girls [2:59]
15. Fancy Free - IV. Pas de deux [3:27]
16. Fancy Free - V. Competition Scene [3:19]
17. Fancy Free - Three Dance Variations - VI. Variation 1 (Galop) [1:29]
18. Fancy Free - Three Dance Variations - VII. Variation 2 (Waltz) [2:39]
19. Fancy Free - Three Dance Variations - VIII. Variation 3 (Danzon) [2:46]
20. Fancy Free - IX. Finale [4:56]

Clarinet – Benny Goodman
Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein
Ensemble – Columbia Jazz Combo
Orchestra – The New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Violin – Zino Francescatti
Orchestra – Columbia Symphony Orchestra


CD 6:
01. Dybbuk (1974) - Part I. The Community (Complete Ballet) [New York City Orchestra, 1974] [4:47]
02. Dybbuk (1974) - Part I. The Fathers [3:55]
03. Dybbuk (1974) - Part I. Witnesses of Birth [2:12]
04. Dybbuk (1974) - Part I. The Children [5:07]
05. Dybbuk (1974) - Part II. Kabbalah: Six Variations [10:52]
06. Dybbuk (1974) - Part III. Witnesses of Death [1:38]
07. Dybbuk (1974) - Part III. Leah [2:59]
08. Dybbuk (1974) - Part III. Possession [8:08]
09. Dybbuk (1974) - Part III. Exorcism [3:13]
10. Dybbuk (1974) - Part III. The Community [5:14]

Baritone Vocals – David Johnson
Bass Vocals – John Ostendorf
Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein
Orchestra – New York City Ballet Orchestra


CD 7:
01. Trouble in Tahiti - Prelude - ''Daa/Doa Day - Mornin' sun'' [Columbia Wind Ensemble] [3:11]
02. Trouble in Tahiti - Scene I - ''How Could You Say'' [5:31]
03. Trouble in Tahiti - Scene II - ''Yes ¿ Oh Mister Partridge'' [3:03]
04. Trouble in Tahiti - Scene III - ''I was standing in the garden'' [4:34]
05. Trouble in Tahiti - Scene IIIa - ''Then desire took hold inside me'' [2:46]
06. Trouble in Tahiti - Scene IV - ''I'm on my way'' [6:28]
07. Trouble in Tahiti - Interlude - ''Skid a lit day'' [1:44]
08. Trouble in Tahiti - Scene V - ''There's a law'' [4:22]
09. Trouble in Tahiti - Svene VI - ''What a movie'' [4:39]
10. Trouble in Tahiti - Scene VIa - ''There's a law'' [0:38]
11. Trouble in Tahiti - Scene VII - ''Evenin' shadows'' [7:16]
12. Facsimile - Choreographic Essai for Orchestra - Part I; Molto adagio [New York Philharmonic, 1963] [9:45]
13. Facsimile - Choreographic Essai for Orchestra - Part II; Allegretto [8:57]

Baritone Vocals – Mark Brown
Bass Vocals – Julian Patrick
Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein
Ensemble – Columbia Wind Ensemble
Mezzo-soprano Vocals – Nancy Williams
Soprano Vocals – Antonia Butler
Tenor Vocals – Michael Clarke


CD 8:
01. On the Town - Opening; New York, New York [Betty Comden, Adolph Green, lyricists] [11:27]
02. On the Town - Come up to my Place [2:46]
03. On the Town - Carried Away [3:00]
04. On the Town - Lonely Town [6:45]
05. On the Town - Carnegie Hall (Do-Do-Re-Do) [2:36]
06. On the Town - I can Cook, too [2:30]
07. On the Town - Lucky to be Me [2:55]
08. On the Town - Dance; Times Square [4:03]
09. On the Town - Night Club Sequence - a) So Long Baby - b) I'm Blue - c) Ya got Me [4:51]
10. On the Town - I Understand [2:12]
11. On the Town - Ballet; The Imaginary Coney Island - a) Subway River - b) Dance of the Great Lover - c) Pas de deux [7:50]
12. On the Town - Some other Time [4:22]
13. On the Town - Dance; The Real Coney Island [5:36]
14. On the Town - Overture to the Town [4:03]

Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein
Vocals – Adolph Green, Betty Comden, Cris Alexander, John Reardon, Nancy Walker


CD 9:
01. Mass - I. Devotions Before Mass - 1. Antiphon: Kyrie eleison [1:58]
02. Mass - I. Devotions Before Mass - 2. Hymn and Psalm: A Simple Song [4:42]
03. Mass - I. Devotions Before Mass - 3. Responsory: Alleluia [1:07]
04. Mass - II. First Introit (Rondo) - 1. Prefatory Prayers [5:14]
05. Mass - II. First Introit (Rondo) - 2. Thrice-Triple Canon: Dominus vobiscum [0:36]
06. Mass - III. Second Introit - 1. In nomine Patris [2:00]
07. Mass - III. Second Introit - 2. Prayer for the Congregation (Chorale: Almighty Father) [1:30]
08. Mass - III. Second Introit - 3. Epiphany [0:53]
09. Mass - IV. Confession - 1. Confiteor [2:23]
10. Mass - IV. Confession - 2. Trope: I Don't Know [1:38]
11. Mass - IV. Confession - 3. Trope: Easy [5:20]
12. Mass - V. Meditation N°1: Orchestra alone [5:09]
13. Mass - VI. Gloria - 1. Gloria tibi [1:48]
14. Mass - VI. Gloria - 2. Gloria in excelsis [1:14]
15. Mass - VI. Gloria - 3. Trope: Half of the People [0:58]
16. Mass - VI. Gloria - 4. Trope: Thank You [2:56]
17. Mass - VII. Meditation N°2: Orchestra alone [3:56]
18. Mass - VIII. Epistle: The Word of the Lord [5:47]
19. Mass - IX. Gospel-Sermon: God Said [5:00]

Baritone Vocals – Alan Titus
Choir – The Berkshire Boys Choir
Chorus – The Norman Scribner Choir
Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein


CD 10:
01. Mass - X. Credo - 1. Credo in unum Deum [1:06]
02. Mass - X. Credo - 2. Trope; Non Credo [2:16]
03. Mass - X. Credo - 3. Trope; Hurry [1:19]
04. Mass - X. Credo - 4. Trope; World Without End [1:44]
05. Mass - X. Credo - 5. Trope; I Believe In God [2:00]
06. Mass - XI. Meditation N°3 (De profundis, part 1) [2:59]
07. Mass - XII. Offertory (De profundis, part 2) [2:04]
08. Mass - XIII. The Lord's Prayer - 1. Our Father [1:47]
09. Mass - XIII. The Lord's Prayer - 2. Trope; I Go One [2:34]
10. Mass - XIV. Sanctus [5:14]
11. Mass - XV. Agnus Dei [7:06]
12. Mass - XVI. Fraction; Things Get Broken [14:21]
13. Mass - XVII. Pax; Communion (Secret Songs) [9:50]

Baritone Vocals – Alan Titus
Choir – The Berkshire Boys Choir
Chorus – The Norman Scribner Choir
Composed By, Conductor – Leonard Bernstein