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Noel and Cole: The Sophisticates
Born an ocean apart--one in Peru, Indiana, to great wealth, the other in Teddington, England, to an itinerant piano salesman--Cole Porter and Noel Coward have come to represent the ultimate in sophistication and urbanity. "You Do Something to Me," Gay Divorce , "I Get a Kick Out of You," "Just
One of Those Things," Anything Goes , "Begin the Beguine," Private Lives , "Night and Day," Blithe Spirit , "Let's Do It," Hay Fever , "It's De-Lovely"--the list of witty and irreverent songs and plays goes on and on. It is a body of work that was tremendously exciting when it first appeared and remains
remarkably popular today.
Based on access to previously unpublished manuscripts, lyrics, scores and letters, plus dozens of interviews, Noel and Cole presents a fresh and often surprising portrait of these two geniuses and their work, packed with numerous photographs, some of which have never been published before.
Stephen Citron interweaves the biographical strands with consummate skill, providing insight into both men's private lives--including a frank discussion of their homosexuality--while illuminating their musical achievements. Indeed Citron, a composer and lyricist himself, excels at musical analysis,
and throughout the volume he sheds considerable light on Porter's and Coward's art. He tells us, for instance, that in composing the melody of "Night and Day," Cole Porter restricted himself to mid-range notes, with hardly any vocal leaps that would betray a breathless dancer, especially as the
dancer was Fred Astaire, who had never studied singing seriously, and was just launching his solo career. (Citron also tells us that Astaire wanted "Night and Day" dropped from the show, because he feared that with its long-held notes, especially on the word "day," his voice would crack.) Citron
also shows how fast a worker Noel Coward could Coward wrote Hay Fever in three days, for instance, and his finest play, Private Lives , took him four days (while he was laid low with a bout of influenza in Shanghai).
Packed with information, including a quintuple chronology and a fifty-page section devoted to the analysis of selected songs, Noel and Cole will be an essential reference as well as a fascinating dual biography of two men who brought style and dazzle to the art of popular entertainment.
One of Those Things," Anything Goes , "Begin the Beguine," Private Lives , "Night and Day," Blithe Spirit , "Let's Do It," Hay Fever , "It's De-Lovely"--the list of witty and irreverent songs and plays goes on and on. It is a body of work that was tremendously exciting when it first appeared and remains
remarkably popular today.
Based on access to previously unpublished manuscripts, lyrics, scores and letters, plus dozens of interviews, Noel and Cole presents a fresh and often surprising portrait of these two geniuses and their work, packed with numerous photographs, some of which have never been published before.
Stephen Citron interweaves the biographical strands with consummate skill, providing insight into both men's private lives--including a frank discussion of their homosexuality--while illuminating their musical achievements. Indeed Citron, a composer and lyricist himself, excels at musical analysis,
and throughout the volume he sheds considerable light on Porter's and Coward's art. He tells us, for instance, that in composing the melody of "Night and Day," Cole Porter restricted himself to mid-range notes, with hardly any vocal leaps that would betray a breathless dancer, especially as the
dancer was Fred Astaire, who had never studied singing seriously, and was just launching his solo career. (Citron also tells us that Astaire wanted "Night and Day" dropped from the show, because he feared that with its long-held notes, especially on the word "day," his voice would crack.) Citron
also shows how fast a worker Noel Coward could Coward wrote Hay Fever in three days, for instance, and his finest play, Private Lives , took him four days (while he was laid low with a bout of influenza in Shanghai).
Packed with information, including a quintuple chronology and a fifty-page section devoted to the analysis of selected songs, Noel and Cole will be an essential reference as well as a fascinating dual biography of two men who brought style and dazzle to the art of popular entertainment.
- GenresNonfictionBiography
368 pages, Hardcover
First published June 29, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 11, 2018
DNF @ 24%
Enough.
This is not a great biography of either of its subjects. It's not even a good or tolerable biography... I weep for the trees that had to die for this waste of paper.
I should have stopped after the introduction which included the following clanger:
"Kate Porter and Violet Coward steered their young sons early into creative and performing lives. Kate did so because she was a frustrated singer and Violet because she hoped to rise above the penny-pinching boarding-house-keeper life she had been born into. Because of this interdependence, each youth was to revere his mother, have night terrors about losing her while writing off his milquetoast father who left breadwinning and discipline to the distaff side. Coming from such a classically twisted psychological situation it is not surprising that both Noel and Cole were homosexual. With their raising of women, especially strong, determined and opinionated women, to such an exalted pedestal, perhaps bisexual would be a more apt description of their libidinous behaviour."
The author clearly has issues.
And yet, I hoped he may have something insightful to say about the work of either of his subjects. Unfortunately, of the part of the book I managed to read, I believe I have learned more about the author's personality (and his many, many issues) from his gossipy, presumptive, speculative, condescending statements than I learned anything of impact about about Coward or Porter.
I finally drew the line when reading this about Coward's The Vortex:
"The idea for the play, whose controversial theme was one of the main reasons for the queues at the box office, came to Noel when he was invited to a party by his friend Stewart Foster. Across the room he glimpsed Stewart's beautiful and seductive mother, Grace, sharing a banquette with a young admirer. As soon as the party was seated one of the young girls blurted out, "Look at that old hag over there with the young man in tow; she's old enough to be his mother."
The Freudian Oedipus complex, the Hamlet-Gertrude relationship and perhaps Stewart Forster's own attentions to his seductive mother at the soiree immediately propelled Coward's dramaturgical mind into the concept of weaving the plot of a play wherein both a son and her young lover would vie for the love of the mother."
It's a good thing for the author that you can't libel the dead. Did I mention that there are little to no references to sources in this book?
I should have DNF'd this at the introduction.
On the plus side, it's another one off Mt. TBR.
I'm going to put on some Cole and make another cup of coffee.
Enough.
This is not a great biography of either of its subjects. It's not even a good or tolerable biography... I weep for the trees that had to die for this waste of paper.
I should have stopped after the introduction which included the following clanger:
"Kate Porter and Violet Coward steered their young sons early into creative and performing lives. Kate did so because she was a frustrated singer and Violet because she hoped to rise above the penny-pinching boarding-house-keeper life she had been born into. Because of this interdependence, each youth was to revere his mother, have night terrors about losing her while writing off his milquetoast father who left breadwinning and discipline to the distaff side. Coming from such a classically twisted psychological situation it is not surprising that both Noel and Cole were homosexual. With their raising of women, especially strong, determined and opinionated women, to such an exalted pedestal, perhaps bisexual would be a more apt description of their libidinous behaviour."
The author clearly has issues.
And yet, I hoped he may have something insightful to say about the work of either of his subjects. Unfortunately, of the part of the book I managed to read, I believe I have learned more about the author's personality (and his many, many issues) from his gossipy, presumptive, speculative, condescending statements than I learned anything of impact about about Coward or Porter.
I finally drew the line when reading this about Coward's The Vortex:
"The idea for the play, whose controversial theme was one of the main reasons for the queues at the box office, came to Noel when he was invited to a party by his friend Stewart Foster. Across the room he glimpsed Stewart's beautiful and seductive mother, Grace, sharing a banquette with a young admirer. As soon as the party was seated one of the young girls blurted out, "Look at that old hag over there with the young man in tow; she's old enough to be his mother."
The Freudian Oedipus complex, the Hamlet-Gertrude relationship and perhaps Stewart Forster's own attentions to his seductive mother at the soiree immediately propelled Coward's dramaturgical mind into the concept of weaving the plot of a play wherein both a son and her young lover would vie for the love of the mother."
It's a good thing for the author that you can't libel the dead. Did I mention that there are little to no references to sources in this book?
I should have DNF'd this at the introduction.
On the plus side, it's another one off Mt. TBR.
I'm going to put on some Cole and make another cup of coffee.
April 5, 2017
When I tell you that this book is comprised of biographies of two of the finest Broadway composers of the 20th century, Noel Coward and Cole Porter, I just know that you will anticipate one of my over the top reviews. Somehow I can't control my passions enough to write like a human being when it comes to that topic. Surprisingly, however, while I am glad to have read this book, I am not nearly as enthused about it as I thought I would be. And I'm not 100 per cent sure just why.
In alternating chapters, Citron lays out the lives of these 20th century luminaries. The book is well researched and his sources are clearly annotated. The coverage is thorough and the writing is clear. I knew much more about Porter than Coward; so the chapters devoted to Noel were more interesting to me than those dealing with Cole. Citron is a musician himself and so his musical analysis is interesting, though at times more technical than I could follow. At the back of the book is an appendix in which the author provides commentary on many of the incredible songs these two geniuses gave us which is fun to explore.
Somehow, though, I never really felt like I got to know either of these men through the book. It felt sort of flat to me. I wish I could be more specific than that, but I really can't. I am well aware that that renders this review just about useless, but I am hoping that others who read the book will share their perceptions. I will also say that I was hoping that Citron would spend more time connecting the work of the two subjects; he didn't really do that which left me wondering why he didn't simply write two separate books.
I don't look at reviews of books until I finish reading them myself. (I know that may seem a little backwards, but that's the way I like to do business.) So it will be interesting to see what others had to say about this well researched volume.
In alternating chapters, Citron lays out the lives of these 20th century luminaries. The book is well researched and his sources are clearly annotated. The coverage is thorough and the writing is clear. I knew much more about Porter than Coward; so the chapters devoted to Noel were more interesting to me than those dealing with Cole. Citron is a musician himself and so his musical analysis is interesting, though at times more technical than I could follow. At the back of the book is an appendix in which the author provides commentary on many of the incredible songs these two geniuses gave us which is fun to explore.
Somehow, though, I never really felt like I got to know either of these men through the book. It felt sort of flat to me. I wish I could be more specific than that, but I really can't. I am well aware that that renders this review just about useless, but I am hoping that others who read the book will share their perceptions. I will also say that I was hoping that Citron would spend more time connecting the work of the two subjects; he didn't really do that which left me wondering why he didn't simply write two separate books.
I don't look at reviews of books until I finish reading them myself. (I know that may seem a little backwards, but that's the way I like to do business.) So it will be interesting to see what others had to say about this well researched volume.
April 28, 2024
DNF. Terrible editing. Poorly written. Awful typography.
March 17, 2013
Some of his insights into their private lives are a little haphazard, but he is very interesting on the actual music they produced, with sharp insights into their influences.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews