Showtunes

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Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Showtunes highlights work Merritt composed for three plays directed by the acclaimed Chen Shi-Zheng: The Orphan of Zhao, Peach Blossom Fan, and My Life As a Fairy Tale. The compilation, noted Pitchfork, “features several of the same vocalists Merritt recruited for 69 Love Songs, and the strongest melodies Merritt has penned since that album’s release.”

Description

“The Orphan of Zhao may signal the start of an important partnership for the musical theater.” —New York Times

Stephin Merritt’s Showtunes features a selection of songs he composed for three plays directed by acclaimed Chinese theater director Chen Shi-Zheng, The Orphan of Zhao, Peach Blossom Fan, and My Life As a Fairy Tale. The 26 songs include members of the original casts and ensembles. (A special digital-only release of the entire scores of the three shows was made available for purchase at all major digital retailers.)

Chen Shi-Zheng first collaborated with Merritt on the 13th-century black comedy The Orphan of Zhao, at the 2003 Lincoln Center Festival. The traditional Chinese opera was directed by Chen in two different interpretations for the Festival: a Chinese language version and a modernized English language version, the latter featuring Merritt’s music, which was described by the New York Times as “country and eastern.”

 

The Orphan of Zhao score supplements the legendary narrative of the Zhao family massacre and retribution. Using instruments like the Chinese jinghu, a two-string fiddle, a pipa, a lute, and an autoharp, it fuses musical elements from the Chinese and Western cultures. “Stephin has written songs that draw on disparate traditions yet remain recognizably his,” says Chen. “I admire his ability to assimilate a lot of American popular music, and to find his own voice in it.”

In 2004, Merritt and Chen joined forces again with the debut of a western-adapted Chinese Opera, Peach Blossom Fan at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in Los Angeles. The 17th-century opera is famous in China, but is virtually unknown in the United States. The story is based on a poet and courtesan’s tragic love in the last days of the corrupt Ming dynasty. With a small orchestra of a marimba, yangqin, double bass, and steel drums, and a lyric operatic cast, Merritt’s score emphasizes the comedy and culture of the production. The Los Angeles Times said “Merritt’s facile and often funny rhymes and breezy Broadway melodic style have an easy, natural flow that Chen then makes complex through his use of florid operatic movements.”

 

The duo most recently collaborated on the 2005 Lincoln Center Festival production of My Life As a Fairy Tale, based on the life and stories of the famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. The play was conceived and directed by Chen, with Merritt writing the music and designing the sound for the production.

The score is played by an unconventional quartet of bassoon, accordion, Stroh violin, and trilling electric pipa, with Merritt’s music creating, as the New York Times says, “the hypnotic quality of bedtime storytelling.” The play uses Merritt’s songs, sung by a cast that included Fiona Shaw and Blair Brown, to tell the story of Andersen’s tormented life, growing up a poor, ugly outcast. The Village Voice called the My Life As a Fairy Tale songs, “strophic and jauntily rhymed … the most interesting part of the occasion.”

In 1999, the Magnetic Fields’ three-CD collection 69 Love Songs established Stephin Merritt as one of this generation’s most talented songwriters. i, the band’s critically acclaimed seventh album was released in 2004. Between Magnetic Fields releases, Merritt has released albums with his other bands, Future Bible Heroes, Gothic Archies and the 6ths, as well as soundtracks to the films Eban and Charlie and Pieces of April.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Musical Director: Kimberly Grigsby
Recording Engineers: Scott Lehrer at Sear Sound, Charles Newman, Van Portsche, Tom Rogers at Mother West, Mick Mahan, Ray McNamara, Andy Hay
Mixed by Charles Newman at Mother West
Mastering: Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, ME

All songs by Stephin Merritt

Design by Evan Gaffney
Cover photo by Marcelo Krasilcic
Costume: Jamie Guan
Costume Stylist: Jing He

Nonesuch Selection Number

79899

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
ns_album_artistid
226
ns_album_id
603
ns_album_releasedate
ns_genre_1
0
ns_genre_2
0
Album Status
Artist Name
Stephin Merritt
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Ernest Adzentoivich, bass (18)
Jenny Bacon, vocals (1)
LD Beghtol, vocals (11)
Zachary Behrens, marimba (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
Fran Bennett, vocals (2, 22)
Blair Brown, vocals (16, 19, 25)
Rob Campbell, vocals (15)
Lillian Chen, yangqin (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
Jon DeRosa, vocals (11, 14, 17)
Chris Dionaldo, vocals (9, 17)
Brittany Dunn, vocals (9, 17)
Molly Frieri, vocals (9, 17)
Charles Giordano, accordion (3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24)
Claudia Gonson, vocals (9, 11, 17)
Brian Hall, vocals (9, 17)
Anne Harris, vocals (11)
Kelly Hrehovcik, vocals (9, 17)
Ivan Johnson, bass (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
David Patrick Kelly, vocals (4, 7)
Dudley Klute, vocals, (18)
Larry Krone, vocals (11)
Benjamin Lerman, vocals (11)
Michael Liscio, vocals (9, 17)
Mia Maestro, vocals (5, 10, 16)
Sydney Maresca, vocals (11)
Cory McAbee, autoharp (1, 4, 12, 14, 19, 22)
Kendall Jane Meade, vocals (11)
David Murgittroyd, vocals (9, 17)
Carla Murray, vocals (11)
Jon Natchez, vocals (11)
Jenna Pasqua, vocals (9, 17)
Richard Pepenella, vocals (9, 17)
Douglas Quint, bassoon (3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24)
Mary Lou Rosato, vocals (5, 8, 16, 19, 25)
Daniel Savell, steel drums, bass drum (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
Rob Scherzer, vocals (9, 17)
Fiona Shaw, vocals (3, 5, 21)
Shirley Simms, vocals (7, 14, 17, 22)
Matthew Steiner, vocals (6, 24)
Pinky Weitzman, Stroh violin (3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24)
Rachel Witmer, vocals (9, 17)
Min Xiao-Fen, pipa (1, 4, 12, 14, 19, 22), electric pipa (3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24)
William Yeomans, vocals (20)
Michael Yesenosky, choral director (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
Stephen Yesenosky, vocals (9, 17)
Qian Yi, vocals (3, 13, 21)
Wei Guo Yong, jinghu (1, 4, 12, 14, 19, 22)

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
CD+MP3
Price
0.00
UPC
075597989922BUN
Label
MP3
Price
12.00
UPC
075597989960
  • 79899

News & Reviews

  • The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt is on BBC World Service’s Music Life with Beirut's Zach Condon and Blondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein. They discuss artistic self-expression, the influence of location on songwriting, and what unexpected musical genres have inspired them. You can hear it here. The Magnetic Fields, who just completed a European tour, will tour the US with songs from 69 Love Songs next year for the album's 25th anniversary. Their 2004 Nonesuch debut album, i, was released on vinyl for the first time this past spring.

  • The Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt is on the new Talkhouse podcast series Listening. On the show, curated by Elia Einhorn, artists are invited to share their perspective on how they listen to the world and how that informs the music they make. They also create a new composition for the episode and discuss the creative process behind it. “Witty, guarded, cynical, loving, heartsick, and tender—this is Stephin Merritt, or at least what we hear in the songs he pens for his acclaimed band The Magnetic Fields,” says Einhorn. You can hear their conversation and the song Merritt wrote for the show here. The Magnetic Fields kick off the next leg of their UK and European tour on August 31.

Buy Now

  • About This Album

    “The Orphan of Zhao may signal the start of an important partnership for the musical theater.” —New York Times

    Stephin Merritt’s Showtunes features a selection of songs he composed for three plays directed by acclaimed Chinese theater director Chen Shi-Zheng, The Orphan of Zhao, Peach Blossom Fan, and My Life As a Fairy Tale. The 26 songs include members of the original casts and ensembles. (A special digital-only release of the entire scores of the three shows was made available for purchase at all major digital retailers.)

    Chen Shi-Zheng first collaborated with Merritt on the 13th-century black comedy The Orphan of Zhao, at the 2003 Lincoln Center Festival. The traditional Chinese opera was directed by Chen in two different interpretations for the Festival: a Chinese language version and a modernized English language version, the latter featuring Merritt’s music, which was described by the New York Times as “country and eastern.”

     

    The Orphan of Zhao score supplements the legendary narrative of the Zhao family massacre and retribution. Using instruments like the Chinese jinghu, a two-string fiddle, a pipa, a lute, and an autoharp, it fuses musical elements from the Chinese and Western cultures. “Stephin has written songs that draw on disparate traditions yet remain recognizably his,” says Chen. “I admire his ability to assimilate a lot of American popular music, and to find his own voice in it.”

    In 2004, Merritt and Chen joined forces again with the debut of a western-adapted Chinese Opera, Peach Blossom Fan at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT) in Los Angeles. The 17th-century opera is famous in China, but is virtually unknown in the United States. The story is based on a poet and courtesan’s tragic love in the last days of the corrupt Ming dynasty. With a small orchestra of a marimba, yangqin, double bass, and steel drums, and a lyric operatic cast, Merritt’s score emphasizes the comedy and culture of the production. The Los Angeles Times said “Merritt’s facile and often funny rhymes and breezy Broadway melodic style have an easy, natural flow that Chen then makes complex through his use of florid operatic movements.”

     

    The duo most recently collaborated on the 2005 Lincoln Center Festival production of My Life As a Fairy Tale, based on the life and stories of the famous Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. The play was conceived and directed by Chen, with Merritt writing the music and designing the sound for the production.

    The score is played by an unconventional quartet of bassoon, accordion, Stroh violin, and trilling electric pipa, with Merritt’s music creating, as the New York Times says, “the hypnotic quality of bedtime storytelling.” The play uses Merritt’s songs, sung by a cast that included Fiona Shaw and Blair Brown, to tell the story of Andersen’s tormented life, growing up a poor, ugly outcast. The Village Voice called the My Life As a Fairy Tale songs, “strophic and jauntily rhymed … the most interesting part of the occasion.”

    In 1999, the Magnetic Fields’ three-CD collection 69 Love Songs established Stephin Merritt as one of this generation’s most talented songwriters. i, the band’s critically acclaimed seventh album was released in 2004. Between Magnetic Fields releases, Merritt has released albums with his other bands, Future Bible Heroes, Gothic Archies and the 6ths, as well as soundtracks to the films Eban and Charlie and Pieces of April.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Ernest Adzentoivich, bass (18)
    Jenny Bacon, vocals (1)
    LD Beghtol, vocals (11)
    Zachary Behrens, marimba (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
    Fran Bennett, vocals (2, 22)
    Blair Brown, vocals (16, 19, 25)
    Rob Campbell, vocals (15)
    Lillian Chen, yangqin (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
    Jon DeRosa, vocals (11, 14, 17)
    Chris Dionaldo, vocals (9, 17)
    Brittany Dunn, vocals (9, 17)
    Molly Frieri, vocals (9, 17)
    Charles Giordano, accordion (3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24)
    Claudia Gonson, vocals (9, 11, 17)
    Brian Hall, vocals (9, 17)
    Anne Harris, vocals (11)
    Kelly Hrehovcik, vocals (9, 17)
    Ivan Johnson, bass (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
    David Patrick Kelly, vocals (4, 7)
    Dudley Klute, vocals, (18)
    Larry Krone, vocals (11)
    Benjamin Lerman, vocals (11)
    Michael Liscio, vocals (9, 17)
    Mia Maestro, vocals (5, 10, 16)
    Sydney Maresca, vocals (11)
    Cory McAbee, autoharp (1, 4, 12, 14, 19, 22)
    Kendall Jane Meade, vocals (11)
    David Murgittroyd, vocals (9, 17)
    Carla Murray, vocals (11)
    Jon Natchez, vocals (11)
    Jenna Pasqua, vocals (9, 17)
    Richard Pepenella, vocals (9, 17)
    Douglas Quint, bassoon (3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24)
    Mary Lou Rosato, vocals (5, 8, 16, 19, 25)
    Daniel Savell, steel drums, bass drum (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
    Rob Scherzer, vocals (9, 17)
    Fiona Shaw, vocals (3, 5, 21)
    Shirley Simms, vocals (7, 14, 17, 22)
    Matthew Steiner, vocals (6, 24)
    Pinky Weitzman, Stroh violin (3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24)
    Rachel Witmer, vocals (9, 17)
    Min Xiao-Fen, pipa (1, 4, 12, 14, 19, 22), electric pipa (3, 5, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 24)
    William Yeomans, vocals (20)
    Michael Yesenosky, choral director (2, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 17, 21, 23, 25)
    Stephen Yesenosky, vocals (9, 17)
    Qian Yi, vocals (3, 13, 21)
    Wei Guo Yong, jinghu (1, 4, 12, 14, 19, 22)

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Musical Director: Kimberly Grigsby
    Recording Engineers: Scott Lehrer at Sear Sound, Charles Newman, Van Portsche, Tom Rogers at Mother West, Mick Mahan, Ray McNamara, Andy Hay
    Mixed by Charles Newman at Mother West
    Mastering: Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios, Portland, ME

    All songs by Stephin Merritt

    Design by Evan Gaffney
    Cover photo by Marcelo Krasilcic
    Costume: Jamie Guan
    Costume Stylist: Jing He