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Mozart After Hours album cover

Album guide

Mozart After Hours

Gershon Kingsley

Composer
Mozart
Released
1964
Label
Vanguard
Forces
Vocal, Choir, Harpsichord
Personnel
Gershon Kingsley harpsichord and conductor, with Maureen Forrester contralto, the Vienna Akademie Choir, members of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and a Viennese jazz rhythm group

Long before the Moog and “Popcorn” became associated with Gershon Kingsley, he made this decidedly acoustic encounter with Mozart. The 1964 recording puts his arrangements and harpsichord alongside a Viennese choir, instrumental players, a jazz rhythm group and, unexpectedly, the contralto Maureen Forrester.

Titles such as “Samba Papageno” and “Swing A La Turca” announce the record’s sense of fun. Kingsley moves between swing, Latin rhythms and vocal play, ending with an Eine kleine Nachtmusik sequence that carries Mozart’s serenade into the album’s after-hours world.

Hear both

The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.

The originalsMozart · classical source works

Track 12 draws on both the Menuetto and Rondo from Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, so it has two classical recordings and the player carries thirteen for the album’s twelve tracks.

Jazzed upGershon Kingsley · 1964
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Source works

The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.

  1. Samba PapagenoDie Zauberflöte, K. 620: Papageno’s aria ‘Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja’
  2. Minuet In 4Divertimento No. 17 in D major, K. 334: III. Menuetto and Trio
  3. Swing A La TurcaPiano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331: III. Alla turca
  4. Lullaby For WolfgangPiano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331: I. Tema, Andante grazioso
  5. G-Minor ChachaSymphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550: I. Molto allegro
  6. Figaro FlipLe nozze di Figaro, K. 492: Figaro’s aria ‘Non più andrai’
  7. OvertureDie Zauberflöte, K. 620: Overture
  8. Hold My Hand, GiovanniDon Giovanni, K. 527: duet ‘Là ci darem la mano’
  9. Rockin’ DonDon Giovanni, K. 527: canzonetta ‘Deh, vieni alla finestra’
  10. A Little Night Jazz - AllegroSerenade No. 13 in G major, K. 525: I. Allegro
  11. A Little Night Jazz - RomanzeSerenade No. 13 in G major, K. 525: II. Romance
  12. A Little Night Jazz - Minuet And RondoSerenade No. 13 in G major, K. 525: III. Menuetto; Serenade No. 13 in G major, K. 525: IV. Rondo