Thomas Beckmann/violoncello -
Kayoko Matsushita/Piano

The Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra

Charlie Chaplins compositions in new perspective

The demands were high, the investments substantial: During the many years of lessons his daily practice was carried out conscientiously - a minimum of four hours and not seldom six hours. With the ability admired in vaudeville acts to overcome all sorts of problems without compromise, the left-hander had his cello and violin modified. His playing from the opposite side required the, already then, costly work of opening the instruments to reposition the bass bar and sound post as well as numerous other modifications. However, as in the case of the inventor of the theory of relativity, Albert Einstein, whose question about the quality of his violin-playing was answered by the cellist, Gregor Piatigorsky, with "relatively good", success as a stringed-instrument virtuoso also remained beyond the reach of the comedian. This, however, was not to keep him from establishing a music publishing firm in 1916, before his film success, printing the song composed by him, "Oh! That cello", and closing down the business carried out in a slapstick manner after publishing two additional songs.

CHAPLIN'S OWN WORDS: "Bert Clark, an excellent pianist, persuaded to become his partner in the music business. We rented a room, printed 2000 copies and "waited for customers. The enterprise ended on a rather sad note. I think we sold three copies, one to the American composer, Charles Cadman, and two to passers-by who came past our office on the way down." However, the film success which came later offered the allaround genius the opportunity of making use of his musical talents as a cellist and composer. He played his melodies for the arrangers who then worked on the music according to the occasion and their own,taste.

The three songs published in 1916 and a selection of film music songs, some of which later became famous all over the world, were recorded on this album as they might' ave sounded in the original Chaplin version: with cello and piano accompaniment. Included are, among others, "Limelight", the improvisational "Coffee and cakes", "Bonjour Madame", whose theme is remarkably similar to the cello sonatas of Richard Strauss, but also several other songs which have not yet appeared in print and which came into being through the complation of the handwritten notes after costly, worldwide research.

The title song, "Oh! That Cello", presented a special problem: its existence was not known to the musical experts of the Chaplin community of heirs; the original print, having the rarity value of the blue Mauritius, is, however, in the possession of the Chaplin archives of Wilhelm Staudinger in Frankfurt.

The final result is a recording with - for many perhaps surprising - often melancholy melodies full of longing and of moving simplicity (Spring Songf)

This first attempt undertaken in this direction appears even more remarkable in the light of Chaplin's following words on the subject: "I tried to compose elegant and romantic music in order to give my comedies a setting that contrasted with the character of the tramp. Elegant music provided an emotional dimension to my comedies. The musical arrangers seldom understood this. They wanted the music to be funny. However, I explained to them that I did not want competition but that the music was to be a counterpoint of grace and charm, that it should express feeling, without which, as Hazlitt said, a work of art remains incomplete.
Sometimes a musician would try to start a big discussion with me about the diminished intervals of the chromatic or diatonic scale, but then I would interrupt him like a layman: ,Whatever the music expresses, the rest is only accompaniment.'