Welcome to the Palast Orchester and Comedian Harmonists Page
If you're interested in learning more about a group formed in 1986 that specializes in what one might term pre-Big Band or Roaring Twenties music, then read on. The sounds are the distinctly jazzy dance music that featured heavily in the bars, nightclubs and dance halls of 1920's and 30's Germany. This is joyous stuff and you can't help but tap your feet and imagine yourself in some swanky cabaret basking in the hedonism and decadence of the era. Did someone say "bathtub gin"?
The Palast Orchester with Max Raabe tours Europe on a continual basis and performs to sold-out houses everywhere they go.
"Krokodile und Andere Hausfreunde". Most recent PO recording including: "In Der Bar Zum Krokodile" (Comedian Harmonists fans rejoice!), and 16 other selections by Max and the band. From the sublime "Avalon" by Al Jolson, to the ridiculous (well, just a turn of phrase...) "We Are The Champions" by Freddy Mercury of "Queen" fame. Available through CD Europe for about $32 including shipping.
From this page you can visit:
The Official
Palast Orchester Homepage
You can also hear selections by Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester featured in the 1996 Orion Classics film "Maybe...Maybe not" by Sönke Wortmann and based on the comics "Der Bewegte Mann" and "Pretty Baby" by Ralf König. The soundtrack is available on the Varese Sarabande label in most larger music stores and online in the U.S.. Herr Raabe and the P.O. are seen in the opening moments of "Maybe...Maybe not".
If you would like more information about purchasing CDs by the Palast Orchester featuring Max Raabe, you may visit the only resource I know in the United States, CD Europe. Simply search on Palast Orchester from the main page to retrieve a listing of CDs and video available. CDE offers a secure server and email notification/confirmation service. With the exception of the CDs I have brought home from Germany, I have purchased all of the rest of my Palast Orchester collection from CDE. Most orders require six weeks for delivery but your credit card will not be charged until your order is shipped.
I would suggest that to start, you can get a nice mix of songs sung mostly in English and some German by purchasing the album entitled "Music, Maestro, Please!" and for a great sampler, the 1998 double CD "Die größten Erfolge" features 28 recordings from prior albums. If you need track listings for any of the CDs, I'd be happy to email them to you, just send me the title of the CD(s) you're interested in. I can do the same for some of the Comedian Harmonist CDs as well.
Amazom.com Music has several Palast Orchester CDs available for purchase. Check the shipping time for each as they vary from two to three days to weeks.
Miramax released the subtitled video of Joseph Vilsmaier's film "The Harmonists" on December 14, 1999. It is available now from Amazon.com in both VHS and DVD formats. Go to the video or dvd and search on Harmonists. Read Kenneth Turan's review in the Los Angeles Times (3/12/99) or in the LA Times Archives (for a fee...).Visit the Miramax website for a video clip (4.5 Mb .avi). While you're at Amazon, search on the same subject in the Music section and you'll find a good assortment of Comedian Harmonist CDs available for purchase. Email me for recommendations!
"A hypnotic film with superb performances!" - Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE
"Just hearing this infectious and inimitable music makes you smile." - Kenneth Turan, LA TIMES
You can hear and compare a sample of recordings by the Comedian Harmonists and The Revelers, the American close harmony group that inspired Harry Frommermann. (Requires an MP3 player such as Winamp.)
Click here to download mp3 clip of "When Yuba Plays The Rumba On The Tuba" - 1931 (802 Kb)
Click here to download mp3 clip of "Der Onkel Bumba Aus Kalumba Tanzt Nur Rumba" - 1932 (640 Kb)
You can also download two additional rare Comedian Harmonist recordings by visiting Wheezer the Geezer's homepage. Wheezer has also posted images of both 78 record labels on his site. This is a treat!
Comedian
Harmonists.net This is quite
simply the best and most complete collection of Comedian
Harmonists song lyrics and the most comprehensive CHs discography
available online. Outstanding site. Dirk Praetorius and friends have built and
expanded this site into the mother of all Comedian Harmonist web sites.
Rare
Lyrics.com A huge Australian collection of rare song lyrics including
several dozen of the Comedian Harmonists standards.
The Comedian Harmonist
Homepage by Simon Umbreit. His pages provide a good deal of
Comedian Harmonist history, images/portraits, sounds and
information about the recently released Joseph Vilsmaier film.
You can also visit the Swiss
Marktkreisel site for more images, sounds, song lyrics and
music samples. Both sites are German language only but don't let
that deter you from visiting.
NOA Golden Stars
Austrian Real Audio site. Five Comedian Harmonist selections in
Real Audio format.
Jim Lowe's "European
Jazz and Close Harmony Vocal Groups" site. Without a
doubt, the best English language site for information on the
Comedian Harmonists and links to images and audio clips. Highly
recommended for enthusiasts. Jim has several other great pages of
interest as well.
The Comedian Harmonists Desktop Theme for Windows 9x
Containing an exclusive collection of CH Windows event sounds as well as cursors, desktop icons and wallpaper.
Ja, Johanna, it's a free download, natürlich!
Check out the details in the 2 Kb readme file.
Click here to download the Comedian Harmonists Desktop Theme (891Kb zip file)
If you enjoy the Comedian Harmonists Desktop Theme, please email me and let me know!
I have established this page in a humble attempt to personally promote what I consider to be an extremely talented group of musicians. The images on this page are the property of Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester and are linked to their proprietary websites.
Thanks for visiting the Palast Orchester Links Page!
If you enjoy the works of the Palast Orchester and/or the Comedian Harmonists please email me and let me know, click on the quill below.
 Top of Page |
Home |
Copyright © 1998-2010 All rights reserved. Gary De Risio The Aesthete's Home Page