BRO's Album Draws Inspiration from THE SOUND OF MUSIC

The Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata's (BRO) first album, titled "The Hills Are Alive" borrows tunes from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The Sound of Music." The album mashes "Do Re Mi" with the Jackson Five's "ABC," rock-ifies "The Lonely Goatherd," and makes "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" sound R&B.

It may sound strange, especially with the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization's reputation for tightly controlling rights to the creatives' musical theater canon, according to Variety.com, but it isn't unheard of.

Doug Elkins' modern dance take on "Sound of Music," "Fraulein Maria," has been performed multiple times since it premiered in 2006. Also in 2996, Gwen Stefani included "Wind It Up," which samples "Goatherd."

"As long as people don't make fun of it, and do things like this with affection, the property can withstand it," Theodore S. Chapin, head of the R&H Org told Variety. "It's one way to keep the songs alive."

BRO founder Peter Kiesewalter, says the musical recontextualizations (which sometimes incorporate new melodies and added lyrics) are inspired by the themes of the songs and the ways they match music techniques introduced in the years since the musical was written.

"I'm just looking at the songs from another 50 years of music history," Kiesewalter says.

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