"a wonderful voice"
   – MARVIN HAMLISCH
   

Michael Hope Swings Into Cole Porter In Fine Style

Friday May 16, 1997 
Bob Blakey, The Calgary Herald 


The CPO’s Michael Hope made an excellent choice in the songs of Cole Porter for his return to the local concert stage as a singer, so all he had to do was live up to the music.

And that he did Thursday in the first of three nights in front of the orchestra in which he’s usually a musician. Hope’s pleasant baritone and obvious love of music filled out an entertaining evening, backed by an often-swinging Calgary Philharmonic.

In his banter Hope expressed his opinion that Porter was the greatest popular composer of the 20th century. He’s not alone in that view and the selections supported the case. Certainly, Porter’s ability to write music and lyrics alone among the top composers of the era, except for Irving Berlin, is nothing short of amazing when we hear the witty and clever words of such classics as I Get A Kick Out Of You and Miss Otis Regrets.

Beginning the performance with Night And Day, written in 1932, and followed by What Is This thing Called Love? (1929) Hope brought his musicians’ sense of timing (he’s the CPO’s assistant principal bassoonist) yet he had the confidence to play around with the phrasing and put his own musical stamp on material much recorded by others.

Every time We Say Goodbye (1944) probably Porter’s saddest song was done with just the right sensitivity.

The singer chose to restore the verse to many of these standards so familiar to fans of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett and Lena Horne. Those great artists usually skipped the verse and went straight to the chorus partly because that was the fashion of the 1940’s, their formative years and possibly because the 78 rpm discs of the era couldn’t handle much beyond three minutes in length.

Hope’s renderings of the full songs were sometimes a treat, but in some instances – the monotonous verse of Night And Day comes to mind- that throw-away part of the songs was often best left thrown away.

My favorite performance was Begin The Beguine, done at precisely the right tempo. Sinatra’s 1946 recording (those 78s again) had to be done at breakneck speed just to fit. Hope took more than four minutes and it was a fine delivery.

Though he’s a valuable bassoonist, Michael Hope proves once again that he could probably give up his day job if he really wanted.

                                         Michael