Monday, May 22, 2023

Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif – CKCU – Tuesday May 30, 2023: Songs of Bertolt Brecht


Stranger Songs with Mike Regenstreif finds connections and develops themes in various genres. The show is broadcast on CKCU in Ottawa on Tuesdays from 3:30 until 5 pm (Eastern time) and is also available 24/7 for on-demand streaming.

CKCU can be heard live at 93.1 FM in Ottawa and https://www.ckcufm.com/ on the web. 

This episode of Stranger Songs was recorded and can already be streamed on-demand by clicking on “Listen Now” at … https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/595/60634.html

Theme: Songs of Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956).


Bertolt Brecht
, who died in 1956 at age 58, was a German playwright and poet who believed in the power of the arts to advance progressive causes. One of his most famous quotations is, “Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.”

Brecht collaborated worked with a number of composers – including Kurt Weill, Hans Eisler and others – to put his words to music.

Songs from The Threepenny Opera (1928). Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, music by Kurt Weill.

Dave Van Ronk- Mack the Knife
Let No One Deceive You: Songs of Bertolt Brecht (Flying Fish)

Judy Collins- Pirate Jenny
Forever: An Anthology (Elektra)
The Fowler Brothers & Stan Ridgway- Cannon Song
Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill (A&M)
Beatrice Arthur- Barbara Song
The Threepenny Opera – 1954 Off Broadway Cast Recording (Decca)
William S. Burroughs- What Keeps Mankind Alive?
September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill (Sony Classical)
Lotte Lenya- Solomon Song
The Threepenny Opera – 1954 Off Broadway Cast Recording (Decca)
Dave Van Ronk & Frankie Armstrong- Tango Ballad
Let No One Deceive You: Songs of Bertolt Brecht (Flying Fish)

Bertolt Brecht- Moritat von Mackie Messer (Mack the Knife)
September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill (Sony Classical)

Songs from Happy End (1929). Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, music by Kurt Weill.

Martha Schlamme- The Bilbao Song
A Kurt Weill Cabaret (MGM)
Lotte Lenya- Sailor’s Tango
Lotte Lenya Singt Kurt Weill (Philips)
Will Holt- Mandalay Song
A Kurt Weill Cabaret (MGM)
Bette Midler- Surabaya Johnny
Bette Midler (Atlantic)

Songs from The Caucasian Chalk Circle (1944). Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht.

The songs from The Caucasian Chalk Circle have been set to music by many composers – with many productions of the play commissioning unique settings. These settings were composed by Dave Holt for a 1970s production by The Camp Meeker Players in Sonoma County, California. These unreleased recordings were recorded seven or eight years ago at a reunion of the cast. Thanks to Mitch Greenhill for sending the recordings and securing permission to use them on this program.

Carol BurlesonMitch Greenhill & Dave Holt- Song of the Adoption
The Caucasian Chalk Circle (unreleased recording – used with permission)
Carol BurlesonMitch Greenhill & Dave Holt- Song of the Child
The Caucasian Chalk Circle (unreleased recording – used with permission)
Carol BurlesonMitch Greenhill & Dave Holt- Song of the Return
The Caucasian Chalk Circle (unreleased recording – used with permission)

Songs from The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1927). Lyrics by Bertolt Brecht, music by Kurt Weill..

Dave Van Ronk- We All Make the Bed That We Lie In
Let No One Deceive You: Songs of Bertolt Brecht (Flying Fish)
Marianne Faithfull- Alabama Song
20th Century Blues (RCA)
The Persuasions- Oh Heavenly Salvation
September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill (Sony Classical)

Songs with words by Bertolt Brecht and music by Hans Eisler.

Pirate Jenny Trio- To the Little Radio
Cabaret Blues (Pirate Jenny Trio)
Frankie Armstrong- The Love Market
Let No One Deceive You: Songs of Bertolt Brecht (Flying Fish)
Pirate Jenny Trio- Ballad of the Soldier’s Wife
Cabaret Blues (Pirate Jenny Trio)
Frankie Armstrong- The Song of the Little Wind
Let No One Deceive You: Songs of Bertolt Brecht (Flying Fish)
Pirate Jenny Trio- Song of a German Mother
Cabaret Blues (Pirate Jenny Trio)

The program ends with an instrumental version of the song we started with.

Oscar Peterson & Itzhak Pearlman- Mack the Knife
Side By Side (Telarc)

Next week: Songs of Leonard Cohen – The Later Years.

Find me on Facebook. facebook.com/mikeregenstreif

--Mike Regenstreif

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