Oklahoma! with Panache and Pizzazz

John Wilson records Rogers and Hammerstein's musical

John Wilson conducting his Sinfonia of London at the Chandos sessions Picture by Chris Christodoulou

No recent CD release has given me more pleasure than this Chandos ‘world premiere’ of the complete score of Rogers and Hammerstein’s 1943 Broadway hit. Oklahoma! was the celebrated duo’s first collaboration: unforgettable tunes poured from Richard Rogers’s pen as he set Oscar Hammerstein’s catchy lyrics. It may not be strictly ‘classical’ music, but Oklahoma! is an undeniable classic. I have known and loved the music since childhood, when I saw the 1955 movie starring Gordon McCrae (Curly) Shirley Jones (Laurey) and Rod Steiger (Jud Fry).

In his new recording John Wilson approaches Robert Russell Bennett’s original orchestration with the zeal of a scholar, and his crack Sinfonia of London bathes it in arguably the most sumptuous sound - gloriously enhanced by Chandos’s recording engineers - since the movie soundtrack. Most of the SoL players have lived with the music of Broadway and Hollywood in their alternate guise as the best-selling John Wilson Orchestra, so Oklahoma! is their meat and drink. They play it with the pizzazz and panache they bring to the most demanding ‘classical’ scores.

Nathaniel Hackmann (Curly) at the sessions Picture by Chris Christodoulou

In a booklet interview with David Benedict - writer of the exemplary notes and a British authority on the Broadway musical - Wilson says he was inspired to make the recording by the comprehensive EMI version of Jerome Kern’s Showboat. However, Wilson doesn’t make that recording’s mistake of casting American opera singers in an idiom with which they are, at best, casually familiar. Sierra Boggess (Laurey) and Nathaniel Hackmann (Curly) are both names on Broadway, intimately familiar with the style: their amorous duet ‘People Will Say We’re in Love’ could hardly be more erotically charged or delectably sung. Hackmann’s diction in this and ‘The Surrey With the Fringe on Top’ could teach operatic baritones a few lessons in putting text across. His beautiful, well-schooled voice, capable of a wide range of nuance and colour, is the vocal linchpin of the set, apple-pie wholesome in ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’’. As his antagonist, UK bass baritone Rodney Earle Clarke offers contrast - a darker voice, appropriate for the villain of the piece - but hardly less trenchant diction, while co-principals Sandra Marvin, Jamie Parker and Louise Dearman are all experienced musical artistes.

Most collectible of all, however, is the extraordinary music for orchestra. Wilson builds the Dream Ballet and Entr’acte into the climax of Act 1, showcasing his dazzling players. With playing and singing as brilliant as this, I guarantee hours of toe-tapping delight!

Oklahoma! is on Chandos CHSA 5322 (2); with Nathaniel Hackmann, Sierra Boggess, Rodney Earle Clarke, Jamie Parker, Louise Dearman, Sandra Marvin, Nadim Naaman; Oklahoma! Ensemble (Alex Parker chorus-master) Sinfonia of London, conducted by John Wilson