Short Description: Sheet music as a note-for-note transcription of the three vocal parts and as a piano arrangement of Bei mir bist du shein, also called Bei mir bist du schön (Means That You're Grand), for soprano, mezzo-soprano and alto or for three-part choir and piano accompaniment in the interpretation of The Andrew Sisters, including score and individual parts. The original recording is the YouTube video The Andrew Sisters - Bei Mir Bist Du Shein, acoustically identical to the audio of the album Sing, Sing, Sing.
Licensed Territory: Europe excluding Cyprus, Ireland and Great Britain. These notes may not be purchased outside this area!
Instrumentation: Soprano, mezzo-soprano and alto or three-part choir + piano, including lyrics and chord symbols
Interpreters: The Andrew Sisters
Music by: Sholum Secunda
Words by: Jacob Jacobs, Saul Chaplin und Sammy Cahn
Level: 3 (of 5)
Pages: 18 (9 score + 9 parts: 5 choir, 4 piano)
Order No. 101-375-8003d
Guarantee: yes
Video: Please click on the video icon above!
Songfacts:
The vocal score of Bei mir bist du shein, a signature song of the Andrews Sisters and recorded by them multiple times, is transcribed note-for-note: soprano (sung by LaVerne Andrew), mezzo-prano (Paddy), and alto (Mexene). It can also be sung by a three-part female choir (or a three-part male choir). The piano arrangement closely follows the original recording (band with wind instruments). Chord symbols and lyrics are also included. The song originally came from a Yiddish musical titled "Bei mir bistu shein," which roughly translates to "I find you pretty." The musical was composed by Sholom Secunda with lyrics by Jacob Jacobs. It premiered at the Rolland Theatre in New York in 1932. Sammy Cahn and Saul Chaplin acquired the rights and rewrote the piece extensively, notably translating the lyrics into English. The first commercially released recording was by the then-unknown vocal trio The Andrew Sisters, who recorded the song in 1937 with Vic Schoen's orchestra. Initially considered commercially unsuccessful, the song was relegated to the B-side of a single. However, radio broadcasts quickly popularized the track, propelling it to number one on the Billboard charts in 1938, where it remained for five weeks. This success catapulted the Andrew Sisters to fame and made it their signature song. It has since been frequently covered, including by Lionel Hampten, Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller, Max Raabe, Bette Midler, Isaac & Nora, and many others. The song was even performed in Nazi Germany, notably by Teddy Stauffer. Zarah Leander's 1938 Swedish rendition has also become famous.
The Andrew Sisters, a vocal trio consisting of sisters LaVerne (1911-1967), Maxene (1916-1995), and Patty (1919-2013), were formed in 1925 when Patty was only seven years old. Their Norwegian-born mother encouraged their singing. Their Greek-born father ran a small restaurant in Minneapolis. The three sisters sang in close register, so their voices blended into a unified sound. Patty usually sang the lead in the middle register. Maxene contributed the warm lower voice and LaVerne the clear and extremely fine and pure intoned, rather inconspicuous upper voice, which gave the overall sound the characteristic brilliance of the trio. The accompanying piano part closely follows the original recording with the characteristic wind instruments and is quite easy to play, especially when only the upper notes played in the right hand during the solo passages (and the other nots are omitted), which is quite possible and still sounds good.
Transposition:
We can transpose this tune for you. This is how it works:
1. Order it in the original version.
2. Order our article Transposition B.
3. Send an informal email to info@jazzinotes.com (subject:“Transposition”). In the email please indicate the title of the original as well as the key desired.
You’ll receive the transposition within a couple of days as a pdf file you can open using your password for the original version.