Music for Stage and Screen Module 8

Music for Stage and Screen Module 8 Text book: Chapter 20 Musicals Musical or musical comedy incorporates acting and spoken dialogue with singing, dancing, and scenery -many similarities to to opera, but the musical has spoken dialog - Originally designed for stage presentation - Many musicals have been adapted for film. Development of the Musical - formed from operetta, vaudeville or comic opera Gilbert & Sullivan created many popular operettas such as The Mikado. - The golden era of American musical theater - 1920-1960 - Composers include - George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Frank Loesser. - Some musicals contain political/social statements. - Show Boat (1927) dealt with interracial romance - South Pacific (1949) dealt with racial prejudice - Westside Story (1957) addressed racial tensions/intolerance - Rent (1996) dealt with AIDS Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) • When the original conductor became ill, Bernstein conducted a live radio broadcast of the NY Philharmonic on short notice with no rehearsal. It launched his career. • composer, conductor, pianist, and author-lecturer • recognized as the first American born maestro . Listening Activity: Musical • Westside Story (1957) – Music by Leonard Bernstein – Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim - 20th century version of Romeo and Juliet set in the slums of New York. Instead of feuding families there are rival gangs (Jets—Americans and Sharks—Puerto Ricans). - Received a Tony Award for Best Choreography - The movie version won 10 Academy Awards. Tony and Maria Two scenes: – “America” - “Tonight” Ensemble à Refer to America in the M8 Web Links to watch a scene from this musical. à Refer to Tonight in the M8 Web Links to watch a scene from this musical. Rent • Modern version of La Bohème • Mimi and Roger are two of the main characters in the musical. • Music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson (died suddenly the night before the off-Broadway premiere) • Awarded the Pulitzer Prize • Received a Tony Award for Best Musical à Refer to Rent in the M8 Web Links to watch a scene from this musical. Hamilton: An American Musical • Tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, from an orphan to America’s first Secretary of the Treasury. • Music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda • Features hip-hop and rap • Received eleven Tony Awards, a Grammy for Best Musical Soundtrack and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama à Refer to Hamilton in the M8 Web Links to watch a scene from this musical. Functions of Music in Film and Television Early Film Music • Silent films (1890 - 1926) Music was provided for many of these first films by live musicians. Theaters hired pianists and organists, and sometimes small orchestras. • First Talking Film (1927) Al Jolson starred in The Jazz Singer. The sound was recorded on vinyl disks played at the same time as the movie was shown. By 1929 sound was recorded directly on the filmstrip. Function: To Reflect Emotion The Dark Crystal - Composer Trevor Jones • • Reflecting emotion is one of the most common functions of music in film and television. Music which is tonal and consonant is used to back up scenes in which good or happy events are taking place. Atonal and/or dissonant music is used for evil or sad situations. In the opening credits, the evil Skeckies are introduced with atonal and dissonant music in the background. The music for the good Mystics becomes tonal and consonant. This has become a common film cliché. à Refer to The Dark Crystal in the M8 Web Links to watch the opening credits. Function: To parallel or underscore the action Some Like it Hot - Composer Adolph Deutsch • • • Underscoring the action, along with reflecting emotion are the most common functions of music in film and television. In the scene where the characters are going to their various assignations after the show, the music is underscoring the frantic activity with a pastiche of famous sea songs woven together which reflects the urgency of their movements as well as that the action takes place at a seaside resort. The music even keeps time to the clicking of Marilyn Monroe s heels on the pavement. At one point Tony Curtis slides down a pole and the music makes a descending slide, cartoon style. When this comic imitation occurs, it is called "Micky Mousing." à Refer to Some Like It Hot in the M8 Web Links to watch this scene. Function: To intensify the pace of the film Psycho (1960) - composer Bernard Hermann • • • Hermann chose to use only strings in his music for the famous Alfred Hitchcock film, Psycho, as he reasoned it would be an aural representation of the black and white screen. In the famous shower scene, Hermann used violin glissandos. The first violins started on Eb - the seconds on E natural, creating a clashing dissonance which made the scene even more terrifying. This music was so effective, it has become another film cliché. When you have a stabbing, you will most likely hear violin glissandos in the background. (Example: the killing of the mother in Stephen King's Carrie) Herman uses this function again in the movie Vertigo in the “Tower Scene”. à Refer to Psycho in the M8 Web Links to watch the shower scene. Function: To relax the pace of the film Carrie - composer Pino Donnagio • • • After Carrie has used her telekinetic powers to kill her mother and burn her classmates alive at the school prom, the scene shifts to her friend bringing flowers to her grave. The flute solo brings a sense of relaxation after all the horror and destruction of the previous scenes. (This being a horror film, the sense of relaxation is only used so that you are more frightened when the hand comes out of the ground to grab her friend.) à Refer to Carrie in the M8 Web Links to watch this scene. Function: To create an atmosphere of time and place The Mission - composer Ennio Morricone • This film is placed in South America in the middle of the 18th Century, where the Catholic missionaries are trying to convert the natives to Christianity. • Morricone used sounds of the native drums and flutes to create a South American sound, combining these with chanting which resembled the music of a Catholic mass. • His famous Gabriel s Theme on the oboe is reminiscent of Baroque style, which reinforces the 18th Century time period of this film. à Refer to The Mission in the M8 Web Links to watch this scene. Function: To create comedy Oscar - composer Elmer Bernstein • Oscar was written in The Godfather era. It is important for the audience to know that it is not serious, but a comedy. • For the opening credits, Elmer Bernstein borrows Rossini s aria from the opera, The Barber of Seville. A stage is shown as a background for the opening credits while a puppet sings. The watcher knows immediately that this is a comedy about the Mafia. à Refer to Oscar in the M8 Web Links to watch the opening credits. Function: To provide coherence to the story line Jaws - composer John Williams • Creating a theme that is recognizable as belonging to a particular character in a film, provides coherence to a story on an aural level. • As Wagner did in 19th-century music drama (leitmotif), so John Williams is the master of this technique in film music. One of his first efforts was the film Jaws. Spielberg asked him to write a special theme for the killer shark and was disappointed at first to hear the two-note theme. It later proved to be the saving grace of the film. à Refer to Jaws in the M8 Web Links to watch the shark attack. Function: To provide coherence to the story line Raiders of the Lost Ark- composer John Williams Listening Outline: p. 404-405 • Creating themes such as Indy’s theme, provides coherence to the story. à Refer to Raiders of the Lost Ark in the M8 Web Links to watch this scene Function: To create "unspoken" thoughts Somewhere in Time - composer John Barry • Music often reflects emotion in a film but it can also project emotion. In the time travel film starring Christopher Reeve, he sees a portrait of a beautiful woman, whom we later find out he loved in a previous life. You see him staring at this picture and you know it s instant love even though no words are said. • The Rachmaninoff Paganini Variations for Piano and Orchestra expresses this intense love in a way that no words could possibly manage. à Refer to Somewhere in Time in the M8 Web Links to watch the portrait scene. Function: To play against the action Face Off - Composer John Powell • • Sometimes a composer writes music which opposes what is being seen on screen. In the film Face Off, there is a major shoot out. A little boy is present. They put head phones on him with Somewhere Over the Rainbow being sung. This lovely, peaceful song one hears while watching this violent scene is incredibly effective. à Refer to Face Off in the M8 Web Links to watch this scene. Function: To speed up scenes that are too slow • The Ten Commandments composer Elmer Bernstein • • • The famous Exodus of Moses and his people from the Pharaoh Ramses scene from The Ten Commandments illustrates how music is used to speed up a scene that is too slow. Cecile B. DeMille hired 25,000 extras for this scene and getting them to move fast enough was difficult. The first music Bernstein wrote for this scene was a quasi - Hebraic anthem. However, DeMille insisted on music with a faster tempo to create a sense of rejoicing, rather than lamenting. à Refer to The Ten Commandments in the M8 Web Links to watch this scene. Function: To slow down scenes that are too fast • One Flew over the Cuckoo s Nest - Composer Jack Nitzsche • Many scenes in a film are memorable even though they last a very short time. Such an instance in this film is when the inmates of a mental institution hijack a yacht, taking it out on the high seas. • When their captain becomes distracted by his girlfriend, putting a non-sailor at the wheel, the boat gains speed and spins in circles. The relaxed Hawaiian music in the background makes the scene feel much longer than it actually is. à Refer to One Flew over the Cuckoo s Nest in the M8 Web Links to watch this scene. Function: Source Music The Pope Must Die - composer Anne Dudley • The music usually supports the visual aspects of a film; however, sometimes you can see the music being performed and it is part of the actual plot. This is called source music. • In this spoof of the Catholic Church, Robbie Coltraine is a priest who fancies himself as a rock star and performs for the children in the orphanage, much to the consternation of the Mother Superior. à Refer to The Pope Must Die in the M8 Web Links to watch this scene. End of Module 8! • Please check the task list and due dates to make sure that you have completed all of the items on time before proceeding to Module 9.