The Private Canon: "Le Roi D'Aquitaine"

This post is part of a series.

Sometimes it does just come down to the chords. I've written before about why the unique harmonic sound world of Kurt Weill is the reason he's my favorite composer. And among his many essential works, my favorite deep cut is "Le Roi D'Aquitaine," from his often overlooked French period. This gorgeous waltz from the operetta Marie Galante has doggerel lyrics by Jacques Deval about geese and princes, but oh the tune! The relatively simple harmonies take quite a turn in measures 19-26 (below), and in general I can't get enough of not just the recurrent major sixth chords but all the extended chords the melody forms over the simple Dm7-G7 progression (at measures 16, 31, 39-40).

I love it so much I may come up with my own lyrics; for now I just feel the need to share the music (this lead sheet is based on the score in this essential collection). The notes in red represent an instrumental part, the rest is the vocal. A PDF of this score can be found here. You're welcome!