7.4- Mid Modern Music
Musical Theatre
[audio:musicaltheatreoverview.mp3]
The music of musical theatre was much lighter and uplifting than many of the more anxious sound of other compositions of the early and mid 20th century.
Broadway had become the center of popular theatrical music in America
Rodgers and Hammerstein 1902-1979 and 1895-1960 [audio:rodgersandhammerstein.mp3]
Carousel (optional video):
Carousel – 1956 If I Loved You Duet
Oklahoma (optional video):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrDVzbeDzRk&feature=related
Sound of Music – trailer (optional video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRPEpJHI9zg
Leonard Bernstein (American) 1918- 1990 [audio:bernstein.mp3]
- Conductor of the New York Philharmonic
- Tireless educator, introducing children to classical music
- Young People’s Guide to the Orchestra — a weekly TV show on CBS
- West Side Story
- Lyrics by Steven Sondheim
- Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
- Rival gangs the Jets and the Hispanic Sharks
- Presenting on stage the intercultural tensions from New York City’s West Side
Optional video – West Side Story Prologue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxoC5Oyf_ss
Andrew Lloyd Weber (British) 1948 – ? [audio:webber.mp3]
- Crossed the unspoken line and introduced religious stories into musical theatre — with Rock and Roll no less!
- Dramatized the life of Eva Peron, wife of Argentinean dictator Juan Domingo Peron with alter-ego Che Guevera
- Cats ran in London’s West End for 21 years
- Current owner of Drury Lane Theatre in London
Optional video links to excerpts from each show Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat:
Jesus Christ Super Star
Evita
Cats
Phantom of the Opera
Music Concrete — Electronic Music
[audio:electronicmusic.mp3]Going beyond the popular sounds of electronic instruments utilized in Rock and Roll, pioneers in electronic sounds strove to create a new soundscape.
Edgar Varese (French) 1883-1965 [audio:varese.mp3]
- Career in America
- Credited as the “Father of Electronic Music’
- Influential to cutting edge Rock and Roll performers i.e. Frank Zappa
- Popular work — Poem Electronique a collaboration with Le Corbusier and Xenakis
Optional video:
Karlheinz Stockhausen (German) 1928 — 2007 [audio:stockhausen.mp3]
- An extremely influential composer, whose ideas were transformed by other composers and musicians
- Cited by the Beattle as a major influence, and included on the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band Album
Example of work — Kontakte
Chance Music — Aleatory Music
John Cage 1912 -1992 [audio:cage.mp3]
- The Marcel Duchamp of music
- Worked at the Black Mountain College and collaborated with Merce Cunningham and Robert Rauschenberg
- A composer that worked with “found sounds’ noise and experimental instruments
- Altered traditional instruments to create new sounds
- 1952 — his groundbreaking, controversial work 4’33’ composed of silence. [audio:groundbreakingmusic.mp3]
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No. 1 — July 19th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Yay! I grew up watching and love most of the musicals that you have listed here!
No. 2 — September 12th, 2010 at 5:17 pm
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No. 3 — September 24th, 2013 at 6:57 am
First of all I would like to say fantastic blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask
if you don’t mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and
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No. 4 — November 8th, 2013 at 12:28 pm
In response to fotograf Å›lubny kraków, I usually begin with one idea. I start blurting whatever I can even if it doesn’t make sense or relate to the original idea. Then from those first few minutes of unstructured blurbs I formulate a new base idea, one that is expanded and more generalized so I can formulate subordinate ideas that support the original. From there I create a format that denotes examples that supports the main idea. From these examples I try to find a couple pieces of strong supportive evidence that pertains to that supportive example. All of this creates a bunch of choppy strings of ideas but the constant time spent writing and researching is a start that helps me get into the mindset of what I am writing about.
From here I scrap everything I just wrote, not by erasing it, but by beginning a new fresh page. I begin again with a new and even more generalized idea, hopefully working towards a more educated thesis statement. I find new more generalized supportive ideas and expand on those with supporting evidence. This process continues over and over again, scrapping the old and expanding, producing a more refined piece. I don’t think I will ever create the perfect piece because of time constraints. However, just putting in the time and effort gives me something I find acceptable.
As for my environment I write best when I have no surrounding distractions. This enables me to focus solely on what I am writing. No music, no tv, and no company (the exception being when you are collaborating with others that have similar writing goals or knowledge on your topic). I also like to be chemically in balance. Good sleep, nutrition, and lower stress levels promote my critical thinking skills. I hope this helped!