I recently listened to a concert on the radio of songs
from the Great American Songbook, virtually all of which were show-tunes. I thought I would share with you three songs
from foreign musicals – all of which have become
popular standards. Unlike the American
songs, none of these would be generally recognised today as show-tunes. (Click on the song titles to go to a YouTube
link.)
Although
made famous in 1970 by Simon & Garfunkel and misidentified as an Andean
folksong, “El Condor Pasa” is in fact the title song from a 1913 Peruvian “Zarzuela” by Daniel Alomia Robles.
“Aquarela do Brasil” (“Watercolour of Brazil”, from Entra na Faixa) by Brazilian
composer Ary Barosso might have vanished into obscurity had it not been
featured in a 1942 Disney animated feature called Saludos
Amigos. It was later popularised by bandleader Xaviar
Cugat, and was the inspiration for Terry Gilliam’s 1985 film Brazil.
“Glow-worm” was originally written in 1902 by German composer Paul Lincke, a
protégé of Richard Strauss for his
operetta Lysistrata. Lincke’s work was eclipsed by the
modern jazz style – ironically his own song became
best known after being adapted into that style as a hit for the Ink Spots.
I hope
you enjoyed this bit of musical theatre trivia.
