Victor Herbert: Babes in Toyland; The Red Mill

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Few works seem to encapsulate the turn-of-the-century mood as well as Victor Herbert's indestructible Babes in Toyland of 1903, a vaudeville-like musical stage play. The music is sweetly nostalgic and was famously incorporated in the 1934 movie with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. This suite from the stage play is performed rather well, highlighting the more universal romantic elements Herbert invested in the music. Included are the famous "Toyland" and "March of the Toys." But also here is the "Prelude" that Herbert couldn't use in the original staging (it was too long for the era). The Red Mill (1906) is in much the same vein as Babes, with sparkling marches and lilting melodies, and it at times resembles the fin-de-siècle works of Albert Ketelbay. --Paul Cook

Tracks:

Opening - From Babes in Toyland (Herbert & MacDonough) with Kenny Baker and Karen Kemple
Toyland
Floretta
Never Mind Bo-Peep, We Will Find Your Sheep
March of the Toys
I Can't Do the Sum
Go To Sleep, Slumber Deep
Song of the Poet
The Military Ball
Hail to Christmas
Finale: He Won't Be Happy Till He Gets It and March of the Toys
When You're Pretty and the World Is Fair - From The Red Mill (Blossom & Herbert) with Wilbur Evans, Eileen Farrell, and Felix Knight
Moonbeams
In the Isle of Our Dreams
Because You're You
Every Day is Ladies' Day With me
The Streets of New York

Customer Reviews:

The Most Beautiful Recorded Tenor Voice?.......2005-06-22

Is any recorded, tenor, singing voice as lovely as Kenny Baker's? As a child, I often heard him during the 1930s on the Jack Benny show, but have scarcely thought of him since. Amazon.com offers him on four CDs: BABES IN TOYLAND, LOVE WALKED IN, THE STARLIT HOUR and WEILL FROM BERLIN TO BROADWAY. Over the years, I have heard the recorded voices of many tenors, mostly operatic. Their fine voices were excellently trained, often to a wider range and more difficult music. But note for note, their sound as recorded is not I think as sheerly beautiful as Kenny Baker's. A splendid, unspoiled, unstrained, natural gift, put to disciplined and tasteful use! His enunciation is remarkably clear, and his musical line, perfectly smooth. He makes each song a different story, as in the six pieces here from BABES IN TOYLAND.

My claim is easy to test. This website has CDs with excerpts for listening to the best tenors of the 20th century, including Enrico Caruso, John McCormack, Giovanni Martinelli, Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa, Richard Tauber, Richard Crooks, Jussi Bjoerling, Morton Downey, Mario Lanza, Giuseppe di Stefano, Nicolai Gedda, Jan Peerce, Leopold Simoneau, Fritz Wunderlich, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. Of course, the earlier the career, the greater the damage to the recorded voice from primitive technology. Heard live, who knows which voice was most beautiful? But at least we have what earlier centuries could only imagine: lasting copies of live performances. Listen to Kenny Baker's voice on tracks 2 and 8 of BABES IN TOYLAND, and then compare.

The numbers from THE RED MILL will make you want to hear more. This operetta, also composed by Victor Herbert, was first produced in 1906, three years after BABES IN TOYLAND. "Moonbeams" (well sung by Eileen Farrell) is lovely; "Because You're You" (a duet between Farrell and Felix Knight) is quite simple but surprisingly affecting. The last two are the best: "Every Day Is Ladies' Day with Me," and "In Old New York." They are patter songs, perhaps inspired by, and surely as deft, as the ones that Gilbert and Sullivan were writing two decades earlier. Both are sung by Wilbur Evans, in a rich baritone, with perfect enunciation and marvelous comic flair. Great fun!

The selections on this CD were recorded in 1944 and 1945, then released in 1946 on both 78s and 10" LPs. For this CD, they were remastered from wartime lacquered-glass originals. Baker and Evans emerge in radiant form, surely much closer to live sound than reached our family radio via AM transmission 65 years ago. The orchestral and choral sound is less attractive. Poorly miked?

Very, very truncated........2002-12-09

The scores of Victor Herbert's "Babes in Toyland" and "The Red Mill" are lovely classics, but the incomplete scores represented by this Decca Broadway remastering of its antiquated 78s are not the best reprentation. My advice: wait for the John McGlinn "Babes in Toyland" to be released. As for "The Red Mill", you'd do better to pick up the Ohio Light Opera's double-CD from Albany Records.

incomplete pleasure.......2002-11-09

Two terrible mistakes keep this from 5 stars.. BABES IN TOYLAND is not complete as they are missing the delightful IN THE TOYMAKER'S WORKSHOP. Why? In THE RED MILL they use a butchered take of EVERY DAY IS LADIES DAY WITH ME. Again, why?
John McGlinn will be out with a complete BABES soon - and there is a lot of music in it - so you may want to wait.

Finally available on CD!.......2002-08-01

Decca's 1946 album of selections from Victor Herbert's celebrated musical was a welcome addition to record libraries, covering most of the major songs plus some of the delightful dance music. The album was reissued as a ten-inch Lp in 1949. A later reissue in 1957 dropped 4 songs to fit the score on one side of a twelve-inch Lp backed by six selections from Herbert's THE RED MILL. That pairing is reproduced here but the CD contains the complete BABES IN TOYLAND program! It's nice to have it back too! Nice of Decca to give us this early Christmas present this year. But BABES IN TOYLAND is a score that enchants all year round. How strange that no other complete recording exists.

Tracks:

Ah! Sweet Mystery of Life
Spanish Serenade
Dream Girl
Because You're You!
Toyland
March of the Toys
Gypsy Love Song and Romany Life
Kiss in the Dark
I Want What I Want When I Want It
When You're Away
Cuban Serenade
Indian Summer
Every Day Is Ladies' Day with Me
Kiss Me Again
Habanera
To the Land of My Own Romance
Dagger Dance
Italian Street Song
Sweethearts
Yesterthoughts
Streets of New York
I'm Falling in Love With Someone
Thine Alone

Album Description

Percy Faith was the master of distilling the best of melodies and in this collection from 1958, Percy rescues us from the images that Victor Herbert melodies tend to evoke - the operetta, and the "erstwhile lady singing (belting out?) Herbert tunes at the piano." With this in mind, Percy's early stereo spectacular brings us the best of the Victor Herbert tunes - with the grand voice of the orchestra to bring out the beauty of each song - twenty-three Victor Herbert songs in this collection! (Bill Halvorsen)

Album Description

Full Title - The Columbia Album Of Victor Herbert/And His Orchestra. Pianist Percy Faith, a pioneer of the Easy Listening genre, had a successful and lengthy career as the in-house conductor and arranger for Columbia Records. Faith was renowned for his musical interpretations of Broadway and motion picture music. These 2 albums on 1 CD were originally released in 1958. 23 tracks. 2003 Collectables reissue.

Customer Reviews:

Inauthentic Herbert/authentic Percy Faith.......2006-09-03

If you love the Percy Faith orchestral style, you will certainly
enjoy this typical example. The disc is full and the selections are numerous and varied, including characteristic pieces, operetta
excerpts, and even a couple of excerpts from one of Herbert's
grand operas.
BUT - if you're primarily interested in the music of Victor Herbert, then the advice has to be to avoid this seemingly tempting item. The combination of anachronistic arrangements, altered harmonies, and orchestrations foreign to anything Herbert would have imagined or countenanced ends by falsifying the charm and character of Herbert's music. In essence it's more like "1950's Fantasies Loosely Based on Certain Herbert Themes."

disappointment.......2006-08-14

This is a very poor rendering of the music of Victor Herbert. I am very disappointed in it and would not have ordered it if I realized that there were no vocals.

"music giants come together ~ Herbert & Faith".......2004-02-09

Now we have something that only Percy Faith could tackle "The Columbia Album of Victor Herbert", composer Victor Herbert has all the elements that Mr. Faith was looking for, and what a workout the award winning Percy Faith Orchestra has in store for them, look at the result...pure satisfaction and then some ~ "TOYLAND" is one of the most beautiful songs ever written, Percy's arrangement comes from the heart and weaves a magic spell over the listener ~ "MARCH OF THE TOYS", once again the signature arrangement comes to the surface of each cue that Mr. Faith records, very stimulating performance ~ listen to this cue and visualize the toys coming to life ~ "A KISS IN THE DARK" and "KISS ME AGAIN", once again the magic prevails with soft and sweeping strings, The Percy Faith Touch comes to the forefront ~ and Percy was always there to record the music whenever the time presented itself, and it is here and now.

Two great giants in the music world Victor Herbert (1859-1924) and Percy Faith (1908-1976), brought together by Columbia Records and originally released in 1958 (C2S-801), received wonderful reviews from the music critics. This is an historic event for Faith fans, a double LP that has all the ingredients is now released on one single compact disc ~ with all the sonic clarity you could ask for.

Great job to all who were involved in bringing this to listeners of fine music ~ very impressive with all original liner notes and recording cues intact. This has to be in the top five of Faith's re-issues, keep them coming, cause there is an audience out there crying and craving more of the same...gotta love it!

Total Time: 73:46 on 23 Tracks ~ Collectables 7565 ~ (9/16/2003)

Herbert in good hands with Faith renditions.......2003-10-08

Percy Faith, the easy listening music arranger and conductor, pays homage to composer Victor Herbert (1859-1924) and in doing so offers us a remarkable recording of Herbert's oft-forgotten music. Faith interprets Herbert's music with his signature lush strings and sound orchestral arrangements that provide a light buoyancy to the compositions. Especially good are Indian Summer, Spanish Serenade and Gypsy Love Song. But all tracks are impressive and offer good testimony to Herbert's compositions and Faith's tuneful arranging. This is one of the better Faith re-releases from Collectables to date.

Percy Faith-Columbia Album Of Victor Herbert.......2003-09-18

This is one of Percy Faith's most beautiful albums and it is finally on cd.Most of this album is beautiful and lush but there is a few songs that are brassy,2 Christmas songs and 1 Semi classical song.Here is the song list.

The Columbia Album Of Victor Herbert-1958(Liner Notes Included)
1)Ah Sweet Mystery Of Life-Lush
2)Spanish Life-Brassy
3)Dream Girl-Lush
4)Because Your You're You-Lush
5)Toyland-Lush Christmas This is the most beautiful version of toyland I have ever heard although Johnny Mathis has a pretty good version too.You should play Percy's version during the Christmas season off of this cd.
6)March Of The Toys-Brassy Christmas with Drums interspursed.Percy's version of this song is great and should also get a lot of play during the holiday season.
7)Gypsy Love Song and Romany Life-Semi Classical
8)A Kiss In The Dark-Lush
9)I Want What I Want When I Want It-Brassy
10)When You're Away-Lush
11)Cuban Love Song-Light Strings
12)Indian Summer-Lush
13)Every Day Is Ladies Day With Me-Brassy
14)Kiss Me Again-Lush
15)Habanera-Brassy
16)To The Land Of My Own Romance-Lush
17)Dagger Dance-Brassy
18)Italian Street Song-Brassy
19)Sweethearts-Lush
20)Yesterthoughts-Lush
21)Streets Of New York-Lush
22)I'm Falling In Love With Someone-Light Strings
23)Thine Alone-Lush

Tracks:

Babes In Toyland: Selections
Babes In Toyland: Prelude
Babes In Toyland: Military Ball
Babes In Toyland: Act II: Finale
Babes In Toyland: Toymaker & Workshop
Babes In Toyland: Hang March
Babes In Toyland: Eccentric Dance (Gavotte)
Babes In Toyland: Birth Of A Butterfly
Babes In Toyland: March Of The Toys
The Red Mill: Selections

Amazon.com

Few works seem to encapsulate the turn-of-the-century mood as well as Victor Herbert's indestructible Babes in Toyland of 1903, a vaudeville-like musical stage play. The music is sweetly nostalgic and was famously incorporated in the 1934 movie with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. This suite from the stage play is performed rather well, highlighting the more universal romantic elements Herbert invested in the music. Included are the famous "Toyland" and "March of the Toys." But also here is the "Prelude" that Herbert couldn't use in the original staging (it was too long for the era). The Red Mill (1906) is in much the same vein as Babes, with sparkling marches and lilting melodies, and it at times resembles the fin-de-siècle works of Albert Ketelbay. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews:

incomplete.......2005-07-03

This short cd is incomplete and thus a disappointment. The wonderful spider/forest music is missing among others - this can be heard all through the Laurel and Hardy and March of the Wooden Soldiers - and The Red Mill selection is a poor filler. Why the Red Mill? Since Mr. Brion showcased Babes so why not excerpts from Little Nemo or Wonderland? The OLO Red Mill is wonderful. These excerpts are unnecessary. The Decca Red Mill/Babes in Toyland is a better choice of these two shows if it can be found. Of Brion's three Herbert CDs, only the third - Columbus Suite, etc. - is good and that is disfigured by the choice of selections. Will John McGlinn's Magic Knight, Babes or Lady of the Slipper ever be released? And why no Richard Bonynge Mlle Modiste or Fortune Teller? Or anything Herbert?

The Irish-American Massenet!.......2004-03-05

"Babes in Toyland" was composed just a few years after Jules Massenet produced his ultimate children's extravaganza (1899) for the Paris opera stage, "Cendrillon". It also strived to emulate Frank L Baum's and native American composer Paul Tietjens's popular Broadway spectacle of 1903, "The Wizard of Oz". I mention this because it is evident from this collection of instrumentals that Herbert's symphonic colouring owes a lot to the European tradition of Massenet's orchestral works while adding to it a decidedly American idiom in the form of lilting Irish melodies tinged with syncopation. As this music is almost never performed in its original arrangements, this record is a revelation that has launched me into further exploration of this mysterious musical period sandwiched between Europe's grand Romantic tradition and the talking movie's first film scores. It is a must-own for any serious student of classical and popular music. Mercifully, it has almost nothing to do with the bland hodge-podge the Disney studio wrang out of this material in the early sixties for its film of the same name. This disc features an orchestral "Prelude" that is truly symphonic in scope and highly evocative. I can only presume it was meant to accompany the hero and heroine's shipwreck at the beginning of the play and their subsequent rescue. But whatever it was supposed to describe, it certainly keeps the listener "seeing things". The same goes for every selection of this wonderful recording, including the "Red Mill" medley. And a lot of the musical set-pieces are reminiscent of a somewhat relaxed or jazzed-up Tchaikovsky ballet score. Very highly recommended!

Beautiful and highly-nostalgic music........2002-08-02

Given what passes for music in our modern era, it's regretably understandable that the beautiful music of Victor Herbert has almost -- but, thankfully, not quite -- been forgotten. Victor Herbert was one of the truly great operetta composers and Babes in Toyland and the Red Mill were two of his finest works. If you have any memory of the great operetta music of the last quarter of the 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th century you will probably feel yourself transported back in time if you hear this CD. You may not remember the names of the songs but they will almost certainly invoke a delicious nostalgia in you when you hear them. Also I think that you will wish that this CD would never end and that music of this caliber would return to our lives -- not as just one special CD -- but as a daily part of our lives. Please treat yourself to this gem of a recording while it's still available.

Leaves you wanting more.......1999-11-09

I just want to say I completely endorse the opinions expressed by the other two reviewers thus far. This recording is a revelation. To think that music of this quality was written for what was essentially a Broadway musical for children!

The opening Prelude (basically, a tone poem) was removed from the show during its long pre-Broadway tour. Thanks to Naxos, we can hear this again after nearly a hundred years! It raises my already high estimation of Victor Herbert up several notches.

One of the reviewers wondered if this recording includes all of the instrumental music from the score. Oddly enough, it doesn't, for there is a major piece in Act One (involving the children being terrorized by a giant spider!) which was omitted from the recording. I hope it's not because the original full score has been lost. I can't figure out why the "spider" music -- which sounds like it might be a highlight of the score -- was skipped over.

About the "Birth of a Butterfly" ballet -- what higher compliment can I pay it than to call it Tchaikovskian? As soon as it ends, I want to hear it again.

In a better world, there would be a complete recording of Babes in Toyland -- and all the other Herbert masterpieces -- not to mention complete recordings of works by Romberg, Friml, Kern, Gershwin, Rodgers, Porter, etc, etc. I only wish this music were more popular. Of course, if I may say what I truly think -- if it were more popular, then it wouldn't be as good as it is, if you know what I mean.

Now, I've noticed on the Naxos website that they claim there's a Victor Herbert Vol. 2 on the marketplace now, but if you're familiar with their website, there's a big gap between what appears there and what exists in the real world. But, if any of you at Naxos are reading this, I personally would appreciate many more volumes of Victor Herbert -- for real, not just to make an impressive looking website.

Music you think you know, but have never heard..........1999-09-03

Keith Brion has done the cause of American theatre music a huge favor by recording a large portion of instrumental music from Victor Herbert's original 1903 "Babes in Toyland" a show largely known through 4 film adaptations, each of which played fast and loose with Herbert's score. Chief among the delights of this CD is the world premiere recording of the original Prelude/Prologue, an expansive tone poem which harks to Wagner and anticipates Copland in its 15 minutes. This marks the beginning of a suite covering instrumental pieces from the 3 acts, including a ravishing "Birth of a Butterfly" ballet piece.

Also included are "Selections" (contemporary potpourri pieces) from Babes in Toyland and Herbert's smash hit "The Red Mill", all conducted with an obvious love for the music. On the budget Naxos label, this surely is the best deal of the year in theatre music, and represents work of a quality in the same league as John McGlinn's Kern, Gershwin and Porter overture collections, if not better. I sincerely hope Brion will keep revisiting Herbert in the future, and perhaps be the one to give "Babes in Toyland" its first complete recording.

Tracks:

Grand Canyon Suite: Sunrise
Grand Canyon Suite: Painted Desert
Grand Canyon Suite: On The Trail
Grand Canyon Suite: Sunset
Grand Canyon Suite: Cloudburst
Hero And Leander, A Symphonic Poem, Op. 33: Part I - Molto tranquillo
Hero And Leander, A Symphonic Poem, Op. 33: Part II - Love Scene. Andante espressivo
Babes In Toyland: March Of The Toys
It Happened In Nordland: Absinthe Frappe
The Red Mill: Because You're You
The Only Girl: When You're Away
Babes In Toyland: I Can't Do The Sum
Naughty Marietta: I'm Falling In Love With Some One
The Fortune Teller: Gypsy Love Song
Naughty Marietta: Italian Street Song
Mlle. Modiste: Kiss Me Again
Eileen: The Irish Have A Great Day To-Night

Customer Reviews:

American Music.......2005-10-17

Ferde Grofe's best known Grand Canyon Suite is presented here with a host of Victor Herbert music, both serious and light.

The five-movement suite takes a picturesque tour through the typical day in the southwest American desert. While not a difinitive rendition, this recording holds up well against "classic" recordings of yore, with even better sonics.

The Victor Herbert symphonic poem Hero and Leander, is also music which guides the listener through a story. This performance comes off pretty well; the music isn't terribly memorable, but it has its exciting moments and it is interesting to hear some little-known, turn-of-the-century, highly Romantic American music.

Also on the CD is a medley of Herbert's greatest show tunes, including probably his most famous March of the Toys from Babes in Toyland. This medley gives 10 hits from various shows, all charming in their own right, and showing early influences of Leroy Anderson and Henry Mancini even.

While the performances here are very good, and the music is keen to listen to, nothing really blew me away. Especially since Naxos has released some excellent all-Grofe CD's of his suites at a budget price. If you really want the Herbert, don't hesitate to buy this CD, but if you only want the Grofe, I suggest you look somewhere else.

The Recording Technician should be shot!.......2000-12-21

This was played very well, but why do I have to listen to Trucks driving by outside the auditorium? With about a week of waveform editing this has become the best recording of this material I have ever heard. I record professionally and I feel that it is as much an art as the musicians performace. It could have at least had some post editing. 10 stars for the preformace and a minus 7 stars for the pre and post production work not done.

melodies for nostalgy.......1999-10-18

It was a long time ago, in Spain, I heard from a cassete this work of Grofé. The music struck me til now as something imponderable, sweet and romantic, nostalgic and strong, feeling me with the smells of the desert, but with a remarkable quality. It was 30 yers ago. I tried several times to find the music but unsucessfully. It was like to walk back in time, in a kingdom of peace and love. I am amazed to find it in Amazon.

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