Because
Derek McGovern
August 1950 and June 1951. I've loved this song ever since I first
heard Mario's exquisitely phrased rendition in The Great Caruso, and
it's that recording that remains my favourite version by any singer to
this day. As usual, he makes it all sound so easy, but any tenor who's
ever struggled on "And I am led through tears and joy to thee/Because
you speak to me" will tell you how very tricky this song actually is.
By far the best-known Lanza renditions are this take and the 1951
commercial recording. But the take-no-prisoners Coke version - not
available on mainstream BMG releases until Mannering's Definitive
Collection in 2004 - is now out there, leaving only a rejected RCA
take still to see the light of day.
Here they all are in chronological order:
1/ 9 August 1950 (The Great Caruso soundtrack), Peter Herman Adler, cond.
2/ 26 August 1950 (rejected RCA take), Ray Sinatra, cond.
3/ 19 February 1951 (RCA), Constantine Callinicos, cond.
4/ 8 June 1951 (Coca-Cola Radio Show), Ray Sinatra, cond.
The rejected take can be heard here:
http://mariolanza.4shared.com/
It'll be interesting to know which version(s) everyone likes,
especially since Lanza sings them all quite differently. But for me,
there's no question about it: the Great Caruso rendition is in a class
of its own!
BECAUSE (1902): music by Guy d'Hardelot (real name: Helen Rhodes);
lyrics by Edward Teschemacher
Because you come to me with naught save love,
And hold my hand and lift mine eyes above,
A wider world of hope and joy I see,
Because you come to me.
Because you speak to me in accents sweet,
I find the roses waking round my feet,
And I am led through tears and joy to thee,
Because you speak to me.
Because God made thee mine,
I'll cherish thee,
Through light and darkness,
Through all time to be,
And pray His love
Will make our love divine,
Because God made thee mine.
Vince Di Placido
wouldn't change a thing about it & it is one of my favourite Mario
recordings. It is up there with his best phrasing performances, he's
understanding the piece beautifully. BUT my oh my how Mario could blow
it on his off days & I'm afraid the other recordings are just a bit
too erratic & lack a bit of focus, tenderness & polish.
I actually listened to them all twice as I only listen to The Great
Caruso rendition normally & I had to reacquaint myself with them. The
discarded take had some interesting touches, actually I hadn't
listened to this recording before (by the way I love that I am still
hearing "new" recordings from Mario-thank you Derek!)
When Mario was on top of his game he was untouchable & nobody could
match or even come close to his Caruso Because. I also love the
acoustic recording session images that accompany the song, it always
fascinated me as a child watching the big horn & the needle carving
out the wax, great stuff oh! the look on Fucito's face leaning on the
gramophone completely lost in Mario's voice is an endearing image for
me.
Savage
is a perfect recording. Second best is the one in the Rense
collection, which I suspect is the Coke version. The way he hits the
phrase "tears and joy" has a very special impact. In all other
respects the Great Caruso recording is superior.
David
On Jan 11, 5:23 pm, Vince Di Placido <vincent.diplac...@gmail.com>
wrote:
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Joe Fagan
Yet, having said that, I must admit the unbridled joy and spirit that comes
through in the Coke version gives me Goosebumps~~ While it may be imperfect,
I think it is the most exciting of the group!
Muriel
for many years (along with a few of my essays for enhancement
purposes). By coincidence, the question came back to me, "Why didn't
you write about Because and Without A Song?". As Derek has highlighted
Because just now, I've had to stop to ponder this question.
Years ago, Because was sung at every wedding I attended, and I came to
the conclusion that it was a required part of the wedding ceremony. I
thought it was old-fashioned and didn't pay particular attention to
the lyrics or music. Even, as a youngster, seeing The Great Caruso in
the movie theater, I don't recall Because being a highlight, as there
was so much operatic material to digest, along with the amazingly
handsome Mario to distract me. It was only after repeatedly seeing the
video tape of the film that I fell in love with his rendition of
Because. It came during a poignant part in the film and I was hooked
for good!
Along with a few others here, I never listen to other recordings, but
I did today. My goodness, what a diverse list! The rejected song is
much too soppy, especially at the end of the first verse, "Because you
come to me", and the beginning of the last verse, "Because God made
you mine, etc....." and his "Because you speak to me" sounds like
shouting. The commercial one is better, but not remarkable.
Yes, the one on the Rense CD is the CC recording - as usual. I do
believe Mr. Rense and Mr. Mannering consider the Coca Cola songs as
their Bible when they compile CDs. It is typical CC stuff - give the
radio audience a most thrilling performance to remember. These were
considered once and done, right? Oops, wrong! Well, if I had heard
this at my wedding, I'd have been tempted to turn around and run out
of the church! Thrilling, it might be, but it is much too loud and
lacking in finesse. BTW, it wasn't played at my wedding, but if I had
chosen it, Mario's Great Caruso would have been the one.
Here Mario sings the song as it was intended to be heard - he makes it
an affirmation of the love of one person to another. You immediately
know when you hear his first word, "Because", is that here is a person
with a genuine message. All throughout the song, Mario articulates the
words precisely - for example, "Because you speak to me", and you must
pay attention. The lines that Derek quoted, "And I am led through
tears and joy to thee, because (breath) you speak to me" are difficult
because of the number of words he has to sing quickly to get them all
in and going up the scale as well - and have them understood at the
same time. Mario sings them all flawlessly! Yes, this is the
definitive one to me....
And - why didn't I write about it and Without A Song? Why, if I had my
way, I'd write about at least fifty of Mario's songs......and they
would create the loveliest times of my years.........Ciao, Muriel
am...@ruc.dk
"Because" is one of my favorites too. I wasn't aware, though, he did 4
versions of it. Thank you, Derek!
The TGC version is with out any doubt the best take. Here he sounds
genuine, like Muriel said, and as if he is in heaven - pure romance!
My favorite line is "Because God made thee mine, I'll cherish thee",
he does this so beautiful. The tenderness on 'mine' and 'thee' is
awesome. And, it is a great scene in the movie too. Like Vince pointed
out, the facial expression on man by the gramophone is priceless. For
me it really sums up the way Mario's gorgeous singing makes me feel.
Hearing all 4 takes, it is quite interesting to hear *how* differently
he interprets this song. In the rejected RCA take, he sounds down
right tragic, as if in torment by an unfulfilled love - quite the
opposite of the TGC take.
The Coke version, *is* kind of exiting, but a bit too much here and
there, like on the 5th "Because God ...", and I think he dwells a bit
too long on the word 'tears' in "I am led through tears and joy to
thee", which is absolutely perfect in TGC.
The RCA '51 is ok, but I think it lacks the tenderness and sincerity
of the TGC rendition.
I've also listened to other great tenors' rendition of this song.
However, neither Björling, Domingo, Carreras, Caruso nor our great
Danish pride and joy Lauritz Melchior ;-)) can match Mario's TGC
version. To me this is, and will probably always be, the definitive
rendition of this song.
Ann-Mai
Vince Di Placido
You are so right about Mario sounding uneccessarily melodramatic & yes
even a little tragic at times in the other takes BUT in the Caruso
take his approach is perfect & it is a celebration of a great love.
I love the line, "A wider world of hope & joy I see, Because you come
to me" & Mario's flashing eyes when he acts this line to the recording
horn in The Great Caruso. Mario was that rare Tenor in that he was as
exciting visually as he was audibly.
Derek McGovern
running out of the church at the sound of the Coke Because!
It's interesting that every member who's posted so far prefers the
Great Caruso version. I feel it's a great example of what Lanza could
achieve with the right conductor (Adler) and the right approach. As
Muriel notes, it should be sung as an affirmation of love from one
person to another; it's not a melodramatic piece like Vesti la Giubba!
But, unfortunately, "melodramatic" sums up Mario's approach on the
rejected take. Still, it has a few nice touches, including the odd
moment of tenderness, that we don't hear on the rather graceless
commercial version. As for the Coke version, well, it's exciting but
that's about it. I smiled when I heard the announcer (Bill Baldwin)
introduce it, saying: "The song is poignant and tender", since what we
hear next is anything but! It's a shame that Mario sang it so roughly,
given that it was his first Coke Show.
Aside from the wonderful poetry of Lanza's Great Caruso version,
there's a remarkable purity in his voice here that we don't hear on
the other versions of Because. What a terrific recording.
On Jan 13, 7:09 am, Vince Di Placido <vincent.diplac...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Vince Di Placido
Great Caruso.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03LoO5GR04Y
Jan Hodges
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It is nice to be back. I have had computer problems.
The only Because I have really ever listened to was the Great Caruso one and I absolutely adore it.
When I heard the unreleased version Derek so kindly uploaded for us my thoughts were thank goodness it is unreleased. I hope it stays that way. I never thought I would ever say this about a recording of Mario's but..... "yuck!!". It probably has some redeeming features but I was so put off by my overall impression I couldn't be bothered trying to find any..
Sorry Mario.. Into the delete bin for that one.
Regards Jan | |||
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Savage
to go hand and hand with a wedding celebration. Instead of running out
of the church she might have been swept off her feet like Zerlina in
Don Giovanni and gone running off with Mario, leaving the groom in the
lurch.
David
am...@ruc.dk
Oh yes! The flashing eye moment is great, and the line to go with it
too. You are *so* right: Mario is just as enjoyable to watch, as he is
to listen to.
Ann-Mai
On 12 Jan., 23:18, Vince Di Placido <vincent.diplac...@gmail.com>
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Muriel
Giovanni in November! Poor Zerlina! She was so confused by the
charming Don. I can picture Mario in a role like that (I know it's for
a baritone voice), but the tenor in this opera is rather bland, alas.
We get a hint of this debonair character when Mario sang La Donna e
Mobile in TGC. Notice how he tossed an impish glance at Jarmila and
she seemed to be under his spell? The little devil....
If Mario had shown up at the church, all bets would have been off!!!
Ciao for now, M.
Jana
Some time ago I saw a docu about Jarmila Novotna (her 100th birthday)
and the documentarian was mentioning the fact that she never appeared
in a Hollywood movie, except TGC. He was poking fun at it a little,
but he said: "Only Mario Lanza could make her appear in a Hollywood
film." :-) So I guess you are quite right :-)
Not to get too far away from the topic song (so that Derek doesn't
close this thread for us), I'm afraid I was again a victim of the CD
compilators choosing the wrong renditions. Grrr. I agree with you that
next to all the arias in TGC, this song was a bit the Cinderella, so I
didn't pay much attention to it, and when I was listening to the CD, I
didn't pay attention to it again, because it was the "worse", RCA
version, so it didn't capture me. However, the "worse" three
renditions, luckily enough, are not entirely disastrous (compared to
the English La Donna E Mobile, for example), are they? So there's not
*so* much damage the compilators can do. (I do hope there is the word
"compilator", what else can you call people who make CD compilations?
I mean generally, not the people who compiled certain Mario's CDs...)
Do you think the quality of the TGC recording is rather thanks to
Mario's "good day" or the conductor?
Nevertheless, thanks to "Mr. Cocozza", I have now *exactly* 250
Mario's recordings! Meaning I'm only 308 short...
Best regards, Jana
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Derek McGovern
you've realized from my Open Letter to BMG/Sony, I'm not happy with
the majority of Lanza compilations out there! A lot of substandard
recordings have been issued in the last decade or so - often replacing
much superior performances - simply because they were previously
unreleased. So now we have the unfortunate situation whereby the
unsuspecting newcomer to Lanza buys a CD called Mario Lanza: The
Definitive Collection, and naturally assumes from the title and the
credentials of its compiler that it contains the tenor's best versions
of certain songs and arias. But what do they find?! Mario's *worst*
performances of Granada, Loveliest Night of the Year, O Sole Mio and
Torna a Surriento, La Donna e' Mobile (the English version), and
Because!! All of these performances, not surprisingly, are the Coke
versions - and their commercial release was never authorized by Lanza.
You can imagine these first-timers thinking, "Well, what's so great
about Mario Lanza? Domingo sounds much better on Granada!", etc. And
who can blame them for not realizing that Mario actually recorded far
greater versions on other occasions? After all, few people have the
time or patience (or money!) to seek out these other superior
recordings. So why not make things easy for the poor consumer in the
first place and only release the *best* of Lanza on collections that
purport to be that very thing?!
It's the same problem with the only all-operatic CD that BMG has
released of Mario (the grammatically challenged title of which is
"Opera Arias and Duets"): four or five great recordings sitting
alongside a larger bunch of decidedly mediocre and even downright bad
performances. This could so easily have been a chance to show Lanza
off at his best in this art form, but no - we had to have *unreleased
but inferior* versions (eg, the Coke Amor Ti Vieta and Celeste Aida)
instead of clearly superior performances. Its compiler Derek Mannering
even justified this practice on the basis that BMG wanted Lanza's
Nessun Dorma to be on the CD because it would help to sell the disc,
so if we felt that the performance that was chosen (ie, the 1955
Serenade film version) didn't represent Mario at his best, then we
should not blame him (Mannering) or BMG, we should blame only
*Lanza*!!!!
Ever since then, Derek Mannering has often alluded to my criticisms of
this CD by publicly referring to "misguided" aficionados who believe
that one fine Lanza operatic CD would change the minds of anti-Lanza
critics.
Well, a consistently great all-operatic Lanza CD might not change some
critics' minds, but it's worth a shot! Besides, it's not the critics
I'm really trying to reach, it's the ordinary, *intelligent* music
lover, who is certainly capable of telling good singing from bad, and
who couldn't give a toss if the recording was previously unreleased;
they just want the *best* version by Lanza of a given title!
Anyway, to answer your other question (!), I think the Great Caruso
Because is superior to all other versions for a number of reasons:
firstly, the movie was very important to Lanza, so he gave it his
absolute best shot; secondly, yes, he was in great voice that day; and
thirdly, because in Adler he found a musical soulmate and mentor who
was able to guide him appropriately. Adler wasn't afraid to correct
him. I doubt that the other two conductors, aside from not being in
Adler' s class as musicians, would not have been willing to do this.
Derek McGovern
two conductors, aside from not being in Adler' s class as musicians,