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Songs from Musicals

Songs from Musicals. Popular Song in Context part 4 This presentation summarises the information which can be found in the Student’s Guide to GCSE Music (Rhinegold). The Musical – what is it?. A theatrical work in which music plays a central function.

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Songs from Musicals

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  1. Songs from Musicals Popular Song in Context part 4 This presentation summarises the information which can be found in the Student’s Guide to GCSE Music (Rhinegold)

  2. The Musical – what is it? • A theatrical work in which music plays a central function. • Music is usually in a popular style – jazz/rock etc • Structures and devices are borrowed from opera • Music has to tell a dramatic story and create convincing characters

  3. …. • A musical will have: • Solo songs • Duets • Choruses • Ensembles • Recitative • All of the above is usually separated by sections of dialogue.

  4. Sources of musicals • Usually books, plays, could be the Bible … or original storylines. • Can you name the musicals from which these are the sources?....

  5. A Charles Dickens novel?

  6. A Victor Hugo Novel?

  7. Shakespeare plays?

  8. A TS Eliot collection of poetry?

  9. The book of Exodus?

  10. The story of a President’s wife?

  11. Background • Started in America – one of the first successes was Show Boat (1927) by Jerome Kern. • Rodgers (music) and Hammerstein (words) was one of the great collaborations in the 1940s and 50s

  12. Rodgers and Hammerstein

  13. 1950s • The musical declined a bit in popularity in the 50s and 60s – probably because of the onset of rock and pop music • However Bernstein’s West Side Story was one exception – and one of the greatest musicals ever written. We will be looking at it later.

  14. Lloyd Webber and Rice • Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) and Tim Rice (words) were another famous partnership of the 1960s and 70s, though ‘Joseph’ (1968) was originally written for a school.

  15. Lloyd Webber and others!

  16. Other hit shows • Lionel Bart had one major hit show – Oliver! • Grease and Saturday Night Fever were major shows of the 70s, though they started out as films • Anderson and Ulvaeus – the guys from Abba – had a hit in the 80s with Chess

  17. Schonberg and Boublil • A major partnership in the 80s and 90s

  18. The musical today • Some new musicals are being written, but the major hits are either revamps of older musicals – such as The Producers – or musicals which are collated from songs with a loose (often very dodgy!) storyline written around them – see over for examples…

  19. ‘Hotch potch’ musicals

  20. Case study – West Side Story • Up to date version of Romeo and Juliet set in 1950s New York’s violent West Side. • The ‘two households both alike in dignity’ become two rival street gangs – the Jets (locals) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican immigrants). • Tony becomes Romeo and Maria becomes Juliet. • The masked ball becomes a gym dance, and the balcony scene is played out on a rusty fire escape (‘Tonight’). • The theme remains the same – love across the racial divide. The story – as in the play – ends in tragedy.

  21. Types of ‘number’ in WSS • Solo/duet character number (‘Maria’, ‘I have a love’ – solos; ‘Tonight’, ‘One hand, one heart’, ‘Somewhere’, ‘A boy like that’ – duets) • Action song – ‘Something’s coming’, ‘Tonight’ (quintet) • Chorus – ‘Jet song’, ‘Officer Krupkie’, ‘America’ – lots of dancing • All these types of song have been borrowed from opera – Bernstein was essentially a ‘classical’ composer

  22. Two more songs from musicals • ‘Consider Yourself’ (Oliver) • ‘Cabaret’ (Cabaret)

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