Long Ago and Far Away

Selected Composition

Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin, "Long Ago and Far Away"

Program Notes

In previous posts, I introduced you to Michael Feinstein. I wrote: "With his ernest voice and his considerable talent, Feinstein dedicated his career to finding lost songs; he sings them, and by doing so, he brings them forward to a new generation: he gives them new life." My plan is to help Feinstein bring his songs forward by bringing them to you.

Tonight, we'll hear the song "Long Ago and Far Away." Jerome Kern (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) wrote this song for the 1944 movie Cover Girl, starring Gene Kelly and Rita Hayworth.  Jerome Kern (1885 - 1945) wrote over 700 songs in his life. Ira worked with his famous brother George on over a dozen Broadway shows, and continued to write songs after his brother's death. In Ira's last years, Michael Feinstein worked with him, helping him to organize his papers. They discovered twelve lost songs, which Feinstein went on to perform (and which we will hear as this year continues).

Here is a link to Michael Feinstein singing "Long Ago and Far Away," from his 2000 album Romance on Film, Romance on Broadway. Marian McPartland (1918 - 2013), the great jazz pianist, accompanies Feinstein on the piano:

Micheal Feinstein sings "Long Ago and Far Away"

I created "Alas for the Bright Cup," the image above, in 2006. It is based on Mandelbrot fractals. The title is from the tenth-century Old English poem "The Wanderer":
 

Where is the horse gone? Where the rider?
Where the giver of treasure?
Where are the seats at the feast?
Where are the revels in the hall?
Alas for the bright cup!
Alas for the mailed warrior!
Alas for the splendour of the prince!
How that time has passed away,
dark under the cover of night,
as if it had never been!