Joshua Rifkin – The Baroque Beatles Book

This is a very clever set of charts by the then-in-his-early-20s Joshua Rifkin--if one weren't listening closely, one could easily mistake a lot of this for Händel, a knock-off Händel, or C.P.E Bach. The baroque transformation is done straight-faced, which makes it even funnier. The performance is also good. However, the recording is odd, and the mastering was also slipshod, so this is not a very good sounding Lp. I have it in mono and in stereo, and the mono is especially shrill, like a weaker Vox recording from c. 1955. The stereo is moderately better, with slightly better dynamics, and the EQ has rolled-off bass and a weird spike around 2k Hz. But perhaps the problem is not just the EQ, but the mic and/or mastering quality? Both of my pressings are early; I can't vouch for later ones, but I would be surprised if magic corrections appeared in the later issues. However, if you re-EQ this at home, it's still fun.

It's not so sad, just one of those things...but I'd say there's no one born in the last thirty years who could do what Joshua Rifkin did here. It's one thing to orchestrate a classicalised arrangement of Beatles songs but quite another ENTIRELY to replicate the authenticity of Baroque music using all its hallmarks...the constantly unravelling contrapuntal texture, the use of imitation with the new phrases entering a fifth above, the countermelodies, the ornamentation, the cadences, the theme and variation form, etc. etc. This is a disappearing art. What's more, the man responsible for it was only TWENTY years old. What does the equivalent academic do now? Computer game music and sequencing?

Next thing. This is often hilarious. The ingenuity and sobriety of it coupled with those Lennon-McCartney themes we know so well. The compilation of the album is so well judged. Side One beginning with 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' (probably the most significant early tune as far as the USA is concerned, here in the UK we had several before it)...and it's immediately brilliant, on point and very very funny. Funny, but then the Baroque style is captured so perfectly it could only be done by someone who knows its rules and tropes down to minute detail.
The rest of Side One continues to amuse.
Side Two, however, by this point the amusement is less as a genuine appreciation takes over. The orchestration is even thicker and denser with the added appearance of a choir and solo voice. By the time we notice that we've been listening seriously for the past ten minutes though, the tenor's performance of Help! brings back the hilarity.

This is 1964-65. Pre-Monty Python....though of course, we had Peter Ustinov and Dudley Moore who used high-brow musical references combined with a mischievous, rebellious, counter-culture slant to very funny effect. Despite that, it's still remarkably ahead lf its time comedically. The back cover features such a dry, deadpan mock 'letter' from the composer, a 'humble servant' to his Lord , detailing the whole exercise as if it was the 17th Century and Lennon-McCartney were from that time. The titles are hilarious too. Again, so Pythonesque.
Had Joshua been in the vicinity of Cleese, Chapman, Idle, Palin, Jomes and Gilliam he could've easily been the classical music genius of the group. In fact, right now I'm hearing the choir from the Summarising Proust Contest in my head. There was potential for more. Joshua could've done it with aplomb.

Lastly, this record is crying out for a serious study on how the Baroque textures and orchestrations of Beatles tunes have been made. In fact what a lovely way to learn how to do it!!

And definitely last of all, I'd say only 1 out of every 5 Beatle fans will be interested in this (Side Two of my copy, an original press, was obviously never played by the previous owner)...and even fewer than that (1 out of 10?), very few Baroque music connoisseurs would genuinely appreciate the Beatle references which is at least half the benefit of this.
This one's strictly for the hybrids who love music across a span of several centuries from Bach to Beatles.

Incidentally...
Mine is definitely this copy (11-65) same label with the bold thin stereo font, and the same etched runouts...nothing else EXCEPT there is a stamped N on the runout of Side 2 (like the repress that has 12-65 in the etching).

So mine must be an "inbetween" November and December 1965 press but almost everything nearer (near as dammit!) to the first press than the second.
Talk about a fine hair!! Ha ha.