MUL2010 EXAM 3 (CH 10-12)
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Sweeney Todd - Answer-musical sets up story of multiple murders
-addresses revenge, obsession, greed, exploitation
-hero is not sympathetic, but psychologically complex
Dark turn due to:
-shifts in broadway musicals in the 1960s - strong women roles, social upheaval of
times, new music
Sweeney Todd Structure - Answer-1- Duet (Anthony/Todd)
2- Solo (Todd)
3- Solo (Mrs. Lovett)
4- solo - chorus scene (not singing)
Sweeney Todd musical characteristics - Answer-Darker music compared to Show Boat
-shifting meter
-repetition
-recall of material
-moderate to fast tempo
-moderate pitch
-mix of articulation
-mostly consonant with some dissonance
-homophonic
-timbre - voice, strings, woodwinds
Sweeney Todd entertainment culture - Answer-thrillers become popular in the 1950s
-Hitchcock popular in 1950s/1960s
-Horror films appear in late 1960s/1970s
Sweeney Todd earlier literary source - Answer-Serial story "The String of Pearls: A
Romance"
Sweeney Todd innovations to Broadway - Answer-Sondheim - pushes musical limits
(sounds/performance)
-angular, jagged : melodies take skill and stamina
Sweeney Todd romantic love/vexing issues - Answer--ideal love of Barker and Lucy
marriage ruined by Judge Turpin
-budding romance of Anthony and Johanna
-greed, desire, serial murderer
Justification: everyone deserves to die; rich punished for corruption, poor relieved from
misery
, West Side Story - Answer-Music by Leonard Bernstein
Choreography by Jerome Robbins
Play by Arthur Laurens
1957
-addresses different social issues than show boat/sweeney todd
-2 rival gangs: Jets (Caucasian) and Sharks (Puerto Ricans)
they hate each other, but share streets, playgrounds, gym
West Side Story Structure - Answer-Ensemble - chorus (dance) - unique to WSS
Solo - Jet/Riff, then Jets chorus
Texture - homophonic
Rhythm - moderate/fast tempo, duple meter
Timbre - voice, brass, woodwinds, percussion - big jazz band
Moderate to low pitch, louder dynamics
Mood - energetic, aggression
All 3 musicals - Answer--WSS and Sweeney Todd first singer is solo
-a lot of music underlies dialogue and action
-WSS and Show Boat music foreground, Sweeney Todd is in background
-Show Boat and WSS more upbeat and light, Sweeney Todd is dark and dull
-all homophonic in beginning
WSS earlier literary source - Answer-Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
feuding families: Motagues and Capulets
Retold in modern setting - NYC, 1950s
Tony is with Jets
Maria is with Sharks
WSS Changes - Answer-Initially East Side Story
-early conception (1949) in lower east side
-religious division, not ethnic
-Irish Catholic and Jewish
Why?
divisions of religion less potent by 1950s
more social tension palpable in 1950s
WSS Issues - Answer-1950s - recent influx of Puerto Rican immigrants
makes it more realistic in terms of modern issues - the vexing issue component
-Bernstein also has music advantage - puerto rican characters invite sounds of latin jazz
WSS Love - Answer-Tony broke free from Jets, returns as favor
Faithfulness to false ideals = his demise
Maria defies traditional story - does not die
She chooses to live, rise above hatred around her
Social statement too
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Sweeney Todd - Answer-musical sets up story of multiple murders
-addresses revenge, obsession, greed, exploitation
-hero is not sympathetic, but psychologically complex
Dark turn due to:
-shifts in broadway musicals in the 1960s - strong women roles, social upheaval of
times, new music
Sweeney Todd Structure - Answer-1- Duet (Anthony/Todd)
2- Solo (Todd)
3- Solo (Mrs. Lovett)
4- solo - chorus scene (not singing)
Sweeney Todd musical characteristics - Answer-Darker music compared to Show Boat
-shifting meter
-repetition
-recall of material
-moderate to fast tempo
-moderate pitch
-mix of articulation
-mostly consonant with some dissonance
-homophonic
-timbre - voice, strings, woodwinds
Sweeney Todd entertainment culture - Answer-thrillers become popular in the 1950s
-Hitchcock popular in 1950s/1960s
-Horror films appear in late 1960s/1970s
Sweeney Todd earlier literary source - Answer-Serial story "The String of Pearls: A
Romance"
Sweeney Todd innovations to Broadway - Answer-Sondheim - pushes musical limits
(sounds/performance)
-angular, jagged : melodies take skill and stamina
Sweeney Todd romantic love/vexing issues - Answer--ideal love of Barker and Lucy
marriage ruined by Judge Turpin
-budding romance of Anthony and Johanna
-greed, desire, serial murderer
Justification: everyone deserves to die; rich punished for corruption, poor relieved from
misery
, West Side Story - Answer-Music by Leonard Bernstein
Choreography by Jerome Robbins
Play by Arthur Laurens
1957
-addresses different social issues than show boat/sweeney todd
-2 rival gangs: Jets (Caucasian) and Sharks (Puerto Ricans)
they hate each other, but share streets, playgrounds, gym
West Side Story Structure - Answer-Ensemble - chorus (dance) - unique to WSS
Solo - Jet/Riff, then Jets chorus
Texture - homophonic
Rhythm - moderate/fast tempo, duple meter
Timbre - voice, brass, woodwinds, percussion - big jazz band
Moderate to low pitch, louder dynamics
Mood - energetic, aggression
All 3 musicals - Answer--WSS and Sweeney Todd first singer is solo
-a lot of music underlies dialogue and action
-WSS and Show Boat music foreground, Sweeney Todd is in background
-Show Boat and WSS more upbeat and light, Sweeney Todd is dark and dull
-all homophonic in beginning
WSS earlier literary source - Answer-Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
feuding families: Motagues and Capulets
Retold in modern setting - NYC, 1950s
Tony is with Jets
Maria is with Sharks
WSS Changes - Answer-Initially East Side Story
-early conception (1949) in lower east side
-religious division, not ethnic
-Irish Catholic and Jewish
Why?
divisions of religion less potent by 1950s
more social tension palpable in 1950s
WSS Issues - Answer-1950s - recent influx of Puerto Rican immigrants
makes it more realistic in terms of modern issues - the vexing issue component
-Bernstein also has music advantage - puerto rican characters invite sounds of latin jazz
WSS Love - Answer-Tony broke free from Jets, returns as favor
Faithfulness to false ideals = his demise
Maria defies traditional story - does not die
She chooses to live, rise above hatred around her
Social statement too
