Midterm Flashcards
European Operetta
- irreverent
- social satire
- a contrast to grand opera
- frenzy
American Operetta
- irreverent
- exotic
- sentimentality
- high moral values
- marriage/duty
- waltzes
Orphée (European Operetta example)
irreverence with Public Opinion character, frenzy, characters go to hell, making fun of the sanctity of marriage, reference to Gluck opera
Naughty Marietta (American Operetta example)
fragments of song haunt her
very French New Orleans
big ending gesture for the chorus
romantic
assonance (almost rhymes)
words that sound almost alike after the identical accented vowel. (Main, game, reins; hate, shape, played.)
consonance (off rhymes)
all consonants and vowels after the accented vowel are the same, but the initial accented vowel is different. (Worry, bury; withered, gathered.)
Alliteration (consonant rhyme)
the repeated sound is the initial consonant
feminine rhymes
involve two syllables: one accented, one not (ocean, motion, devotion; satin, flat in; Quentin, went in)
masculine rhymes
only one accented syllable (flee, sea, apostrophe)
triple rhymes
involve three syllables (sailable, mailable; lyrical, miracle)
AABX chorus form (32 bars)
AAB (usually A); spotlight in the last A section to emphasize the cadence
ABAC chorus form (32 bars)
parallel period; relaunch into A after B; spotlight in the last A and then maximum harmonic tension in C leading to the final cadence
Variety shows
-Raunchy, not family-friendly
-Show-off for the performer
-Sketch comedy
-The Bowery in New York
-Tony Pastor cleaned up variety shows and renamed it Vaudeville, making it more family-friendly.
Revue
Revue is centered around a single thing or has a plot, but otherwise it is very similar to variety shows.
Example: Ziegfield’s Follies
Tin Pan Alley Musical Characteristics
- distinctly New York flavor
- speak-singing
-slang - strong rhythmic profile (ragtime)
- sentimental, upright songs
George M. Cohan
- American patriotism
- lots of slang
- speak-singing
- interpolating other songs from the past
- melodramatic and cliché
- Little Johnny Boy is super patriotic
Irving Berlin
- wide emotional range
- valued brightness, electricity, provoking an emotional response
- “White Christmas”
Princess musicals
-Princess musicals came before until the end of ww1
-Goofy, friendly
-Lyrics had meaning; sophisticated lyrics, rhymes
-Songs were related to the plot
-Princess Theatre
-Witty banter among the wealthy, upper-crust group
-Always a mistaken identity of some kind
Jazz age musicals
-New woman, sexually liberated woman, gold digger vibe
-Cinderella musicals
-Lots of irony, slang, raunchy, salacious
-Lots of little rhymes, internal rhymes, frenzied character; so many rhymes
-Overtly political
-Sentimentality is gone
-Sophisticated
-Different singing, aka the style of belting -> Al Jolson, Ethel Mermon
-Speak-singing style
Oh Lady! Lady! (Princess musical example)
witty, British style with american twist
Cinderella musicals (Jazz Age example)
a poor working girl who ends up marrying into wealth; a fantasy of glorification for the working woman; most famous plot and archetype of Jazz Age
Cole Porter
- dazzingly clever lyrics
- always make sense, rarely strained word order, witty, brilliant timing with words
- was known as “the Jazz Age”
Rodgers and Hart
-flamboyant wordplay, clever rhymes
- rat a tat effect
- Garrick Gaieties was where they got their start while making fun of the Theater Guild
Gershwins
- lyrics that brush away idealism and use slang
- zip effect -> short sprays of rhymed words
- syncopated; jazz-inflected
- clever and fun
- modal mixture essentially
Porgy and Bess -> serious work, sophisticated, folky, popular music, modern
Commercial musicals (political)
lighthearted and a little more capitalist friendly, gently political spoofs, not partisan; stayed jazz age style: sophisticated, smart, etc.; Gershwins had a little bit of operetta style along with their jazz age stuff
Government-sponsored (political)
“what’re you going to do about this problem” to the audience, partisan, explicitly political, questioning the functions of the songs; the songs are supposed to be user-friendly, different from what you might hear elsewhere (not bourgeois like pop/classical), no substance; forms and tones just all over the place to prevent you from falling into your normal habits; you’re supposed to critique those habits; the government ended up inadvertently helping people to convert other people to communism.
