Beauty and the Beast - James Galway

To start out the week I am posting a soothing cover of the love ballad from Beauty and the Beast by professional flautist SIR JAMES GALWAY which he recorded for his 1993 album AT THE MOVIES.

Galway has been a professional flute player since the early 50s when he played with the Philharmonic Orchestra. He quickly rose to popularity as a solo flautist and is now one of the most well known flute players in the world.

While most of his work is in the classical world, Galway does branch out to the world of pop and showtunes and has two Disney covers, this one and Can You Feel the Love Tonight.

If you think you haven't heard Sir James before, have you seen Lord of the Rings? He was a featured flautist throughout the Howard Shore score.

Beauty and the Beast James Galway 1993

Be Our Guest/Belle - Jakarta

Last year, the JAKARTA INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY CHOIR recorded their first album, called THE VERY 1ST ALBUM. This choir from Jakarta, Indonesia takes their work very seriously, recording music and playing televised concerts several times a year.

The quality of this community choir is quite good because it is not made up of volunteers you have to pay a monthly fee of 150,000 rupiahs, which is a very reasonable 16.14 USD. Their album includes several songs from Beauty and the Beast including this medley of Be Our Guest and Belle

Be Our Guest/Belle Jakarta International Community Choir 2007

Gaston - Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra

We continue on with Villains Week with a cover of Gaston, the beer-drinking song about the greatness of Beauty and the Beast's lead villain. Gaston's ego is as big as his biceps but his brain is as big as his tact. He is not very smart and is played mostly for comedic effect.

Gaston's major goal in the film is to marry Belle, but when the Beast gets in the way he becomes a very jealous man. So is that what makes him a villain? Jealousy? Many of the Disney villains try to defeat the hero because of jealousy: Cinderella's Step-sisters, Scar, the Queen from Snow White, but Gaston doesn't have as much to gain as all of these villains. He won't be marrying into royalty or inheriting a kingdom. He just wants the girl of his dreams and is being a baby becuase she said no. Whereas Scar is a great, evil villain, Gaston just come off as a hurt little boy who got pushed out of the sandbox.

This cover is performed by the CINCINNATI POPS ORCHESTRA under the direction of ERICH KUNZEL. This song is on the second of three Disney albums that Erich Kunzel has released. THE MAGICAL MSUIC OF DISNEY features all the songs from Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, Aladdin and the Lion King.

Gaston Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra 1995

Beauty and the Beast - Diamond Rio

Walt Disney Animation's 30th animated feature film, Beauty and the Beast, is 16 years old today! Let's celebrate the classic by playing a cover of the titular song.

Today's cover is by modern country group DIAMOND RIO. The group, who formed in 1984, was the first country act to have their debut single hit number one on the Billboard country charts. Five albums later, the group is stronger than ever and their single One More Day, which was released early 2001, made it huge in radio rotation as a tribute song for those lost in the 9/11 tragedy.

This is the second track I've posted from THE BEST OF COUNTRY SING THE BEST OF DISNEY. It is not one of the best on the disc but it is certainly worth listening to. What are your thoughts on this cover?

Beauty and the Beast Diamond Rio 1996

Beauty and the Beast - English Chamber Orchestra with Carol Rosenberger

Everybody give a big "Happy Birthday" to ANGELA LANSBURY who turns 82 today! Angela is a stage and screen veteran, having been in the movie, television and theatre business since 1944 acting in such memorable project like The Picture of Dorian Gray, the Manchurian Candidate, Murder, She Wrote and Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks! My favourite film of Angela's is Beauty and the Beast.

So, to commemorate Angela Lansbury's birthday, I am posting a cover of the song she sang as Mrs. Potts, Beauty and the Beast. This particular recording was composed by Donald Fraser and is performed by the ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA with CAROL ROSENBERGER on the piano.

As with all the tracks on HEIGH-HO MOZART, this piece was re-written in the style of a great classical composer. In this case it is SERGEI RACHMANINOFF, a Russian composer and pianist whose work was influential in the Romantic era of classical music. He is known for his flowing melodies and beautiful piano scores. One of his most famous works, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is a standard in the classical world and is also used frequently in film.

This interpretation of Beauty and the Beast is modeled after one of his piano concertos. Rachmaninov had really big hands, allowing he to play thirteenths on the piano. You can hear this being mimicked in this track.

Beauty and the Beast English Chamber Orchestra 1995