Porgy and Bess (Selections): Original Cast and Other Early Recordings (Recorded 1935–1942)
~ Release by Gershwin; Anne Brown, Todd Duncan, Avon Long, Paul Robeson, Lawrence Tibbett, Jascha Heifetz (see all versions of this release, 1 available)
Annotation
1.1–1.17: recordings by members of the original cast with Decca Symphony Orchestra (1940, 1942)
1.18–1.25: recordings by members of the original cast with Leo Reisman’s Orchestra (1935, 1942)
2.1–2.20: first contemporary recordings (1935–1945)
Tracklist
| || 1CD: Original Cast Recordings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Artist | Rating | Length |
| 1 | Porgy and Bess: Act I, Scene 1. Overture
| Decca Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Smallens | 1:08 | |
| 2 | Porgy and Bess: Act I, Scene 1. Summertime
| Anne Brown | 2:26 | |
| 3 | Porgy and Bess: Act I, Scene 1. Summertime and Crap Game
| Harriet Jackson & Eva Jessye Choir | 1:04 | |
| 4 | Porgy and Bess: Act I, Scene 1. A Woman Is a Sometime Thing
| Edward Matthews | 1:40 | |
| 5 | Porgy and Bess: Act I, Scene 2. My Man’s Gone Now
| Anne Brown & Eva Jessye Choir | 3:53 | |
| 6 | Porgy and Bess: Act II, Scene 1. It Takes a Long Pull to Get There
| Edward Matthews & Male Chorus | 2:07 | |
| 7 | Porgy and Bess: Act II, Scene 1. I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’
| Todd Duncan & Eva Jessye Choir | 2:41 | |
| 8 | Porgy and Bess: Act II, Scene 1. Buzzard Song
| Todd Duncan & Eva Jessye Choir | 3:41 | |
| 9 | Porgy and Bess: Act II, Scene 1. Bess, You Is My Woman Now
| Todd Duncan & Anne Brown | 4:29 | |
| 10 | Porgy and Bess: Act II, Scene 2. It Ain’t Necessarily So
| Todd Duncan & Eva Jessye Choir | 2:45 | |
| 11 | Porgy and Bess: Act II, Scene 2. What You Want Wid’ Bess
| Anne Brown & Todd Duncan | 2:58 | |
| 12 | Porgy and Bess: Act II, Scene 3. Street Cries: Strawberry Woman’s Call / Crab Man’s Call
| Helen Dowdy & Gladys Goode | 3:04 | |
| 13 | Porgy and Bess: Act II, Scene 3. I Loves You, Porgy
| Anne Brown & Todd Duncan | 3:21 | |
| 14 | Porgy and Bess: Act III, Scene 1. The Requiem
| Eva Jessye Choir | 3:52 | |
| 15 | Porgy and Bess: Act III, Scene 2. There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York
| Avon Long & Anne Brown | 3:00 | |
| 16 | Porgy and Bess: Act III, Scene 3. Porgy’s Lament (Where Is My Bess?)
| Todd Duncan | 1:56 | |
| 17 | Porgy and Bess: Act III, Scene 3. Finale (I’m on My Way)
| Todd Duncan & Eva Jessye Choir | 1:21 | |
| 18 | It Ain’t Necessarily So
| Avon Long | 2:42 | |
| 19 | A Woman Is a Sometime Thing
| Avon Long | 2:35 | |
| 20 | Summertime
| Helen Dowdy | 2:35 | |
| 21 | There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York
| Avon Long | 2:45 | |
| 22 | I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’
| Avon Long | 2:34 | |
| 23 | Bess, You Is My Woman
| Avon Long & Helen Dowdy | 3:12 | |
| 24 | I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’
| Edward Matthews | 2:56 | |
| 25 | It Ain’t Necessarily So
| Edward Matthews | 2:52 | |
| 2CD: First Contemporary Recordings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Title | Artist | Rating | Length |
| 1 | Lullaby: Summertime / Livin’s Easy
| Helen Jepson & Chorus | 2:28 | |
| 2 | Summertime and Crap Game
| Helen Jepson, Lawrence Tibbett & Chorus | 1:15 | |
| 3 | A Woman Is a Sometime Thing
| Lawrence Tibbett & Chorus | 2:01 | |
| 4 | My Man’s Gone Now
| Helen Jepson & Chorus | 4:08 | |
| 5 | I Got Plenty o’ Nuttin’
| Lawrence Tibbett & Chorus | 3:05 | |
| 6 | Buzzard Song
| Lawrence Tibbett & Chorus | 3:48 | |
| 7 | Bess, You Is My Woman Now
| Lawrence Tibbett & Helen Jepson | 4:55 | |
| 8 | It Ain’t Necessarily So
| Lawrence Tibbett & Chorus | 3:00 | |
| 9 | Where Is My Bess?
| Lawrence Tibbett | 3:04 | |
| 10 | Lullaby: Summertime / Livin’s Easy
| Paul Robeson, Orchestra conducted by Clifford Greenwood | 2:34 | |
| 11 | A Woman Is a Sometime Thing
| Paul Robeson, Orchestra conducted by Clifford Greenwood | 2:18 | |
| 12 | It Takes a Long Pull to Get There
| Paul Robeson, Orchestra conducted by Clifford Greenwood | 3:00 | |
| 13 | It Ain’t Necessarily So
| Paul Robeson, Orchestra conducted by Clifford Greenwood | 2:30 | |
| 14 | Summertime
| Jascha Heifetz with Emmanuel Bay | 1:45 | |
| 15 | A Woman Is a Sometime Thing
| Jascha Heifetz with Emmanuel Bay | 1:48 | |
| 16 | My Man’s Gone Now
| Jascha Heifetz with Emmanuel Bay | 3:50 | |
| 17 | It Ain’t Necessarily So
| Jascha Heifetz with Emmanuel Bay | 2:28 | |
| 18 | Bess, You Is My Woman Now
| Jascha Heifetz with Emmanuel Bay | 3:02 | |
| 19 | Tempo di Blues: There’s a Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon for New York
| Jascha Heifetz with Emmanuel Bay | 2:51 | |
| 20 | Porgy and Bess: A Symphonic Picture
| The Philharmonic Orchestra of Los Angeles, Alfred Wallenstein | 15:48 | |
Credits
Release
| additional liner notes: | Keith Anderson (Naxos related liner notes writer) |
|---|
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