Sunday, November 24, 2013

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II

Rodgers and Hammerstein's names are often seen together but, shockingly, they are not the same person. Each had lives and careers before they met each other and each had a different role in the musicals they collaborated on: Rodgers wrote the music and Hammerstein wrote the book and lyrics (except for The Sound of Music, for which Hammerstein wrote the lyrics only). Before meeting Rodgers, Hammerstein worked with Jerome Kern, most notably on Show Boat. Rodgers worked with Lorenz Hart on shows such as A Connecticut Yankee and Babes in Arms; after Hammerstein's death in 1960, Rodgers wrote a few more musicals, most notably Do I Hear a Waltz? with Stephen Sondheim. But together, Rodgers and Hammerstein were unstoppable, churning out the classics Oklahoma, Carousel, State Fair, South Pacific, The King and I, Cinderella, Flower Drum Song, and The Sound of Music. Even one unfamiliar with these musicals has almost certainly heard songs like "Oh What a Beautiful Morning," "Oklahoma," "Some Enchanted Evening," "I Whistle a Happy Tune," and "Shall We Dance?" Fans of the Liverpool football club (that's soccer to Americans like me) hold the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" near and dear to their hearts--but how many of them know that it's from Carousel, a musical that opened in 1945? Furthermore, how many of these hardcore fans know that the writers of that song also wrote "I Whistle a Happy Tune?" In any case, a football club with a Rodgers and Hammerstein song as its anthem is laudable, and can only add to Liverpool's merits.

Rodgers and Hammerstein's final collaboration was The Sound of Music, the film of which I must admit has a lot of nostalgia value for me. The exuberant songs "The Sound of Music," "Maria," "I Have Confidence," "Sixteen Going on Seventeen," "My Favorite Things," "Do-Re-Mi," "The Lonely Goatherd," and "So Long Farewell" are almost frighteningly catchy and irresistible. They are topped off with the stirring "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" and "Edelweiss," the former a transcendent anthem and the latter, which is an original song by Rodgers and Hammerstein and not based on any Austrian folk song, a moving ballad haunting in its subtly graceful simplicity. Okay, so Christopher Plummer didn't like "Edelweiss" because he thought it was too saccharine--as Jiminy Cricket says, "You can't please everybody." If there is one criticism that malcontents have leveled at Rodgers and Hammerstein's songs, it's that they are too syrupy and schmaltzy. I suppose they are guilty as charged, but sweetness and quality are two different things. I'm sure many would prefer a superb, sweet song to an atrocious, gloomy one, but I may be attributing certain people with too much common sense.  Rodgers wrote songs with indubitably exceptional melodies, and Hammerstein wrote the perfect lyrics to match them. Their legacy will be remembered not just by those who value phenomenal musicals, but also by everyday people who have been touched by the songs of these two great men.


The Sound of Music (Film)**

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Andrew Lloyd Webber is a titan of modern musical theater and a magician of melody. Although his works are not free from controversy, and some of his songs admittedly have suffered from overexposure (especially "Memory"), his hit parade of immensely popular musicals is admirable. He helps support and operate theatrical productions through his Really Useful Group (that's the name of the company; I'm not trying to be hyperbolic here), but it is his music that has touched the hearts and minds of millions. Outside of musical theater, Lloyd Webber's most famous work is his choral Requiem Mass. It includes the song "Pie Jesu," recorded by artists like Sarah Brightman, Sissel, and Marie Osmond; child prodigy Jackie Evancho astonished the world with her beatific interpretation of the already-gorgeous song in 2010. Of course, musical theater is where Lloyd Webber's passion lies: the songs of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, and Cats are all premier examples of quality music. But even they are eclipsed by The Phantom of the Opera; the semi-tragic romance is brimming with vivid, poignant, sweeping tunes. "Think of Me," "Angel of Music," "The Music of the Night," and "All I Ask of You" all elegantly portray different facets of passionate love with distinct, lush melodies. Of course, the title tune, "The Phantom of the Opera," depicts the heights of mystery and drama, never more so than in the overwhelmingly intense overture for colossal pipe organ and full orchestra. Lloyd Webber's output has slowed recently, but his complete body of work securely cements his place in the history of musical theater.

The Phantom of the Opera (Film)
The Phantom of the Opera (Stage)**

Friday, November 22, 2013

Richard and Robert Sherman

Call them classics or call them ear worms; the best songs of the Sherman Brothers will probably last for as long as people keep singing. Richard and Robert Sherman were the sons of songwriter Al Sherman, who wrote many Tin Pan Alley songs (but don't ask me to sing one he wrote because I don't know any). The brothers became closely associated with the Walt Disney Studios, and many have written that they essentially served as Walt's musical voice. They wrote songs and scores for films like The Parent Trap, The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and the original three Winnie the Pooh shorts as well as the non-Disney films Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Charlotte's Web. Mary Poppins is their magnum opus, containing classics like "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Jolly Holiday," "Superidontfeelliketypingthewholething," "Chim-Chim-Cher-ee," "Step In Time," and "Let's Go Fly A Kite." My own favorite song from that film is "Feed the Birds," an exquisite, almost heart-wrenching melody that contrasts with the upbeat, bouncy nature of many of the brothers' most popular songs. Speaking of upbeat and bouncy, many of the Sherman Brothers' well-known songs were written for Disneyland and various other Disney parks, where they play to this day. "There's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow," "One Little Spark," "All Aboard the Mine Train," and "The Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room" (yes, the title has three tikis despite the cast saying it five times in the song) all have catchy, delightful, sugary melodies. But their most notorious song is "It's A Small World (After All)," which is an admittedly nice melody when you hear it once. Unfortunately, as anyone who has gone on the ride knows, it plays nonstop for 15 minutes (in the Disneyland version at least; the pathetic Disney World version is shorter). I don't outright hate it as many others seem to, and even the Sherman Brothers themselves have a sense of humor about the song; in one interview (from the Musical History of Disneyland 50th Anniversary set), they quip that their doorbell is set to the song and that they have to pay each other every time they hear it. Robert passed away in 2012, but Richard wrote the song "Make Way For Tomorrow Today" for the film Iron Man 2, proving that he can still write buoyant tunes. Even if you think the Shermans' songs are cloying and saccharine, you still have to admire their talent for creating memorable melodies.

The Jungle Book (score by George Bruns)
Mary Poppins*
Tom Sawyer (with John Williams)

Steven Price

Steven Price was originally a music editor, most notably on the last two Lord of the Rings films (The Two Towers and The Return of the King). He did additional arrangements on Nigel Godrich's score for director Edgar Wright's film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and collaborated with Basement Jaxx on his first score for Attack the Block. Wright subsequently hired Price to score The World's End, the capper of the so-called "Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy" starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (the previous two being Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). Price's score is a mixture of trip hop-ish beats and standard orchestra, with extremely apt usage of a choir sample from "The Corrosion" by Sisters of Mercy, the favorite band of Pegg's character, Gary King (the actual song plays during the end credits). Price also wrote the score for Alfonso Cuaron's masterfully directed film Gravity; the music basically serves as the film's sound effects. Although it is necessarily abrasive or atmospheric for much of its run time, Price does write some triumphant tunes for the film's final 15 minutes based on tried and true chords that nevertheless prove effective in the film. It's hard to hear if Price has a distinct style, and indeed he is probably still finding his voice. Here's hoping that his music continues to develop and mature, especially if he keeps getting prestigious assignments.

Gravity
The Hunt
Suicide Squad

Jeremy Soule

Jeremy Soule is one of the most prominent and popular composers of video game music today. He got his start composing music for children's games from Humongous Entertainment, including some of the entries in the Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, and Pajama Sam series. Soule went on to write music for games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the Guild Wars series, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, and the first four Harry Potter video games. But his scores for the latest three Elder Scroll games to date (Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim) have raised his profile considerably. While his music for Skyrim doesn't use a full live orchestra (though it does use a real choir), Soule uses his samples effectively to create haunting soundscapes and suggestive melodies that perfectly evoke the Stygian mood of the game.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim