The Dresden Soul Symphony

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dresden Soul Symphony
Live album by MDR-Sinfonieorchester feat. Joy Denalane , Bilal , Tweet , Dwele

Publication
(s)

2008

Label (s) Four Music , Sony Music Entertainment

Format (s)

CD

Genre (s)

soul

Title (number)

26th

The Dresden Soul Symphony is a live album from 2008. The soul singers Joy Denalane , Bilal , Tweet and Dwele performed at the crossover concert of the same name, accompanied by the MDR symphony orchestra .

History of origin

The idea for the The Dresden Soul Symphony project goes back to Reinhard Bärenz , the music director of the radio station MDR Sputnik , and Joy Denalane. Bärenz, who had played the violin professionally in an orchestra in the 1980s, had been thinking for a long time of "taking a trip into the pop genre with a symphony orchestra". Joy Denalane initiated the connection with Soul in 2007 after giving a concert in the MDR Sputnik broadcasting studio.

Bärenz asked the MDR radio director Johann Michael Möller for support. He was impressed by the idea and signed the MDR symphony orchestra. Then Bärenz began to contact other musicians. After Joy Denalane, the American soul musicians Bilal, Dwele and Tweet joined the ensemble. In August 2007 Bärenz was able to win over the former cellist of MFSB Larry Gold , and Gold's son-in-law, the composer Daniel Felsenfeld , for the project.

Both conceived the Dresden Soul Symphony within six months. They put together 20 different soul classics, which they divided into four movements. Gold spoke in an interview about her way of working: “Daniel is the symphony and I am the soul. He embedded the songs in a symphonic structure, I made the song selection and arranged the orchestra. Many of these songs had no orchestral arrangements at all before, they were created especially for the occasion. "

The show took place on April 26th and 27th, 2008 in the old slaughterhouse in Dresden, two days before all artists had rehearsed together for the first time. During the concert, Joy Denalane , Bilal , Tweet and Dwele were accompanied by the 130-strong MDR symphony orchestra under the direction of Jun Märkl . Other actors were the MDR - children's choir , four background singers and four soloists who did not belong to the orchestra.

The recording was made during the concerts of the same name on April 26 and 27, 2008 in Dresden. The radio stations MDR Sputnik and MDR Figaro broadcast the concert live on April 27th. The show was a one-time event. On October 24, 2008, the recording was released as a live CD by Four Music . At the same time, the concert was also released on DVD.

Track list

In total, the artists sang 20 different soul classics from the 1960s and 1970s, which were held together by the symphonic framework created by Gold and Felsenfeld. The soul symphony was divided into the sections Movement I: Sonata-Allegro (titles 1–8), Movement II: Adagio (titles 9–15), Movement III: Scherzo (titles 16–19) and Movement IV: Finale ( Titles 20-26).

  1. Prelude - 3:38
  2. Midnight Train to Georgia - 3:57
  3. I Thank You - 2:16
  4. Take Me to the River - 2:53
  5. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - 3:07
  6. I Got a Woman - 2:32
  7. Lovin 'You - 3:50
  8. Midnight Train to Georgia (reprise) - 1:14
  9. I'm coming out - 1:39
  10. A Song for You - 2:33
  11. You're All I Need to Get By - 3:17
  12. Let's Stay Together - 2:22
  13. It's a Man's Man's Man's World - 2:08
  14. Me and Mrs. Jones - 3:11
  15. Betcha by Golly, Wow! - 3:47
  16. I'll Take You There - 2:46
  17. ABC - 2:30
  18. Sir Duke - 2:43
  19. Everything Is Everything - 3:00
  20. Prelude Reprise - 2:28
  21. Master Blaster - 2:55
  22. Love's Theme - 2:11
  23. TSOP - 1:53
  24. Love Train - 2:29
  25. Ain't No Stoppin 'Us Now - 3:16
  26. Midnight Train to Georgia (Final) - 2:52

reception

The Berliner Kurier wrote on the occasion of the CD release: “Dresden and Soul? Songs by Marvin Gaye or James Brown and a large orchestra? At first sight, that sounds like an overdose of lard. The 100-member MDR Symphony Orchestra has recorded classics like 'A natural woman' or 'Love train' with soul stars like Joy Denalane (D), Bilal, Dwele and Tweet (all USA). And? Surprise: Dresden has soul! "

The Dresden Latest News found: “For the MDR orchestra it was a departure to new shores [...]. The [Dresden Soul Symphony] is now available on CD and DVD and puts you in a good mood. The symphonic ambition remains limited. The strong voices are in the foreground, a fat electric bass is playing in the background, and 26 tracks are straightforward. "

“All in all, 180 participants ensure an atmospheric soul-meets-classic sound that comes across perfectly, sometimes almost too perfect. Larry Gold and Daniel Felsenfeld have welded 22 original songs by Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Curtis Mayfield, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and others into a soul symphony - not always in favor of previously existing musical ideas, but still effective ”, according to the Ostthüringer Zeitung .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Kai Kollenberg: MDR Symphony Orchestra plays soul songs from the 60s and 70s with a band . In: Leipziger-Volkszeitung ::, April 25, 2008, p. 11.
  2. ↑ Cf. mdr.de: "The Dresden Soul Symphony" ( Memento from January 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Re. Larry Gold . In: taz , April 25, 2008, p. 15.
  4. ↑ Julian Weber: "There is truth in soul". The producer and cellist Larry Gold arranged the “Dresden Soul Symphony” together with his brother-in-law Daniel Felsenfeld and put it into an orchestral version . Interview. In: taz , April 25, 2008, p. 15.
  5. ↑ Biography on sonymusic.de: MDR Symphony Orchestra feat. Joy Denalane, Bilal, Dwele & Tweet ( Memento from September 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  6. ↑ Tom Vörös: In the intoxication of two worlds . In: Sächsische Zeitung , April 28, 2008, p. 25.
  7. ↑ Releases on sonymusic.de: MDR Symphony Orchestra feat. Joy Denalane, Bilal, Dwele & Tweet - The Dresden Soul Symphony ( Memento from September 10, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  8. ↑ STH: Does Dresden have soul? In: Berliner Kurier , No. 292, October 23, 2008, p. 20.
  9. ↑ Soul Symphony on CD, DVD and on TV . In: Dresdner Latest News , December 11, 2008, p. 10.
  10. ↑ Tatjana Mehner: CD review: Effective and perfect . In: Ostthüringer Zeitung , March 30, 2009.