Singer Harry Coseman has just released a new version of Johann Strauss’ “Wine, Women and Song”. The track is part of an upcoming album, “The Voice of Strauss”, that will feature some of the Strauss family’s best-loved melodies reworked into modern versions.
This is the fourth track from the album to be released. Like the others, “Emilie, Emilie” has an interesting back-story. What many people do not know is that “Wine, Women and Song” was not originally written as an instrumental in 1869. “’Emilie’ is another classic Strauss waltz,” says Coseman. “It is a great melody to sing, maybe because it was originally intended to be sung by a choir.”
This makes it the second major Strauss melody that was written like this, as “The Blue Danube” was originally written and performed (once and unsuccessfully) for a Viennese male choir. Strauss later revived and re-arranged it as an orchestral piece for a show in Paris. This is the version that is still played.
In this new version, “Emilie, Emilie” is a song about two former lovers saying goodbye.
Strauss in Nevada
The video for “Emilie, Emilie” was shot in a ghost-town in the hills of Nevada, not far from Las Vegas. “Strauss is always associated with the 19th century,” says Coseman. “But we wanted to show that the melodies are still very much alive and can be adapted to today. Look at the various uses of Strauss in movies and TV. The appeal is still there, so why pretend this is the still 1800-something? The Strauss family were very modern for their time.”
Emilie, Emilie in concert
The other news is that Coseman is preparing for his first Strauss show with a 10-man orchestra, a concert that had been prepared before the covid crisis and put on hold. “It has been a long time coming,” he muses.
The show at the Europa Complex in Brakel (Belgium) on August 1 2021, will be the very first Strauss concert with a full band of 10 musicians. “We have been waiting for these shows for a long time – and the audience too! It’s time to get back to hearing some great melodies.” Another show is foreseen in December 2021 in Erpe-Mere, also in Belgium.
For ticket information and future concert bookings for Coseman, visit Dhollander Music.