Tea For Two


Composer:	Miscellaneous	Suppliers:	(5525676)
Editor:	Heidi Brunner	Quartet	D/A/T/B
Publisher:	Universal Edition	Publication:	UE 30489

"Happy Days Are Here Again/Tea For Two", is an album which I purchased in September 1997 intended to be played by Blue Tuesday. It contains as you have already guessed from the title just two pieces namely:
Happy Days Are Here Again and Tea For Two.
Happy Days Are Here Again composed by Ager (1893-1979),
Quartet: D/A/T/B
"Happy Days Are Here Again" (or " Wochenend und Sonnenschein" as it is known in German) is indeed a happy arrangement but was sadly not that popular with the Blue Tuesday consort. It requires a disciplined approach (many sections in all voices not being on the beat) and consequently even experienced players find themselves in difficulties when playing in consort. At the same time, the "happy" sound has to be maintained.
With this piece, my recorder and folk-music worlds overlap as I have played (concertina) and sang Happy days are here again quite a lot.
Tea For Two composed by Youmans (1898-1946), arr.: Heidi Brunner
Quartet: D/A/T/B
I have always known "Tea for Two" either from my parents or radio in early childhood. What really got me nuts about it was seeing and hearing Anita O'Day singing it on that famous film "Jazz on a Summer's Day" in a Fareham cinema sometime in 1959, I guess. She did some marvellous skat singing.
This arrangement for recorder is somewhat staid by comparison but nevertheless it has a certain charm and can readily be played by beginners. In the hands of experienced players however, it becomes a thing of beauty as demonstrated by The Bremen Recorder Touring Company when they performed it during Ceilidh 2000.

The Bremen Recorder Touring Company Recorder Ceilidh 2000, BRTC