by Will Gottlieb
Coastal Journal staff

Music movies are their own special little genre. That is, "music movies," as opposed to musicals: movies about musicians and the music biz, like "The Gene Krupa Story," "Almost Famous," "Nashville," etc. "Crazy Heart," the directorial debut of Scott Cooper (who also wrote and produced the film), starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Robert Duvall, has a lot in common with "Nashville." The actors actually sing and play, for one thing, and the featured musical genre is country.

But unlike "Nashville," the music in "Crazy Heart" is in fact country, and not some gutless Hollywood take on the genre—country with all its generational factions, schools, strengths and weaknesses. And unlike "Nashville," the music (written by T-Bone Burnett musical director for the Coen brothers' "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") is good stuff, well worth having on your iPod.

BRUNSWICK -- On Saturday, February 27, the Oratorio Chorale ventured into the wonderful world of opera at the Frontier Gallery. In addition to the Chorale, Christina Astrachan and Danielle Vayenas, both sopranos, Douglas Barley, and Timothy Neill Johnson, both tenors, and John D. Adams, bass, sang solos and ensembles, and joined the Chorale for choruses from some of the world's greatest operas.

The program was delightfully diverse, and everyone was in fine voice, but the venue at the Frontier was difficult to view for most of the audience, and seating, for such an extensive program, was a little uncomfortable. Mary Hunter, who provided program commentary, was also difficult to hear, and this was probably a function of the acoustics of the room.
Even so, the program was wonderful. Music ranged from the early classical period, with music from Mozart, through the romantic golden age of opera, with music by Beethoven, Verdi, and Puccini, to the sublime impressionism of Saint-Saens and Massenet, to the comic genius of Gilbert and Sullivan.