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Finian's Rainbow Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Finian's Rainbow Jr. is not available for licensing at this time. MTI and the authors are refurbishing the materials, please check back for updates. Credits Lyrics by Yip Harburg Book by Fred Saidy and Yip Harburg Adaptation by Deena R. Harburg Overview / Synopsis On a spring day in Rainbow Valley, the Sheriff is about to auction off a parcel of land for non-payment of taxes. Property owner Susan Mahoney, who was born silent, delays the auction until her brother Woody can arrive ("This Time of the Year"). Susan heads off to meet Woddy's train as Finian and his daughter Sharon arrive from Ireland ("How Are Things in Glocca Morra?). Finian reveals that he has "borrowed" a leprechaun's gold and plans to bury it so it will grow into more money. Finally Woody arrives (Woody's Entrance) and, with a little help from Sharon, pays off the debt. To show his thanks for the help, Woody gives Sharon and Finian a share of the land. Finian now has a place to bury his gold. Sharon tells the people of Rainbow Valley about her home ("Look to the Rainbow") and soon she and her father are welcomed in like old friends. That evening Og, the leprechaun, shows up demanding that Finian return his stolen gold. Og is scared away when Sharon and Woody arrive looking for Finian ("Old Devil Moon"). The next morning, knowing that gold has been found in Rainbow Valley, the Senator tries to buy the land now owned by Finian, but Finian will not sell. Before leaving, the Senator disparages the workers on the land for "looking different" than him. Sharon is washing clothes ("How Are Things In Glocca Morra? - Reprise") when she is approached by Og, who is quite smitten with her (Something Sort of Grandish). Og hides as Woody approaches. The lovers begin to quarrel, but they are interrupted by the arrival of friends. Finian has hatched a plan to get Woody betrothed to his daughter ("We're Havin' a Party", "Sharon's Getting Betrothed", "Woody's Getting Betrothed"). Woody and Sharon tries to buy the land again, he makes bigoted comments about the "rainbow-colored" Sharecroppers. Sharon is not happy and wishes the Senator looked just like the Sharecroppers and, because she is standing over the buried gold, the wish comes true. A Sharecropper announces that gold has been found in Rainbow Valley ("That Great Come-And-Get-It Day"). Finian and Woody convince the Sharecroppers not to dig for it, but once Susan is alone, she discovers Finian's gold and moves it ("Dance of the Golden Crock"). A few weeks later, the people of Rainbow Valley are rejoicing ("When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich"), and Finian has convinced Sharon and Woody to marry. The Sheriff enters and threatens a murder charge on Susan if the Senator, who has not returned since Sharon "changed" him, is not found by Tuesday. In the woods, Og encounters the transformed Senator and realizes that what he really needs is a new inside ("Fiddle-Faddle"), not outside. The "cured" Senator is happy again and is soon welcomed as a member of the Passion Pilgrim Gospeleers ("The Begat"). Just before the deadline, Finian finds Og and pleads with him to change the Senator back. Og doesn't know where the gold is, but when he mistakes SUsan for Sharon ("When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love") he falls in love with her. As Og searches for his gold, he wishes Susan could speak as she might know where the gold is hidden. His wish comes true, and Og realizes where his gold is buried. Og decides to stay mortal so he can be with Susan, and uses the last wish to change the Senator back. Sharon and Woody are saved and the Senator returns a changed man. Finian sets off to keep hope alive throughout the world ("Look to the Rainbow (Reprise)", "Finale Ultimo/How Are Things in Glocca Morra?", "Curtain Act II/That Great Come-And-Get It Day"). Audio Sampler - HL00102724 $10.00 ShowKit - HL09971486 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Actor's Scripts Piano/Vocal Score Director's Guide 2 Performance/Accompaniment CDs Choreography DVD Media Disc 30 Family Matters Booklets 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 00102717 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00102716 - Director's Guide $100.00 00102718 - Actor's Script $10.00 00102719 - Actor's Script 10 Pak $75.00 09971610 - Performance/Accompaniment CD $75.00 00102722 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00102720 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00102721 - Student Rehearsal CD 20 Pak $100.00 00102723 - Media Disc $10.00 00102724 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Finian's Rainbow Jr. is not available for licensing at this time. MTI and the authors are refurbishing the materials, please check back for updates. Hear A Sample This Time of the Year [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] How Are Things in Glocca Morra? [Sharon] Look to the Rainbow [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] Old Devil Moon [Woody, Sharon] Necessity [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers, Henrietta, Howard] How Are Things in Glocca Morra? (Reprise) [Sharon] Something Sort of Grandish [Og, Sharon] We're Havin' a Party [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] Sharon's Getting Betrothed [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] Woody's Getting Betrothed [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] If This Isn't Love [Woody, Sharon, The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] That Great Come-And-Get-It Day [Lucy, Howard, Henrietta, The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] Dance of the Golden Crock [Susan] When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] Fiddle-Faddle [Og] The Begat [Company, Gospeleers, Senator] When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love [Og] Look to the Rainbow (Reprise) [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] Finale Ultimo / How Are Things in Glocca Morra? [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] Curtain Act II / That Great Come-And-Get-It Day [The Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers] Finian's Rainbow Jr. is not available for licensing at this time. MTI and the authors are refurbishing the materials, please check back for updates. Ensemble Workers 1 and 2, Geologist, Gospeleers and Rainbow Valley Sharecroppers FINIAN MCLONERGAN An Irishman hoping to make his dreams come true in America. He has a big personality and a plan for everything, including getting his daughter married. Gender: Male Range: Ab3 - Db5 GOSPELEER 1 One of three spokespeople for a group of traveling singers. They are larger than life as they spread joy throughout Rainbow Valley with their songs. Gender: Both Range: C4 - F5 GOSPELEER 2 One of three spokespeople for a group of traveling singers. They are larger than life as they spread joy throughout Rainbow Valley with their songs. Gender: Both Range: C4 - C5 GOSPELEER 3 One of three spokespeople for a group of traveling singers. They are larger than life as they spread joy throughout Rainbow Valley with their songs. Gender: Both Range: Bb3 - Eb5 HARRIET A formidable, opinionated woman. She's a Sharecropper and Henrietta's mother. Gender: Female Range: C4 - Bb4 HENRIETTA A happy child who has befriended everyone in Rainbow Valley. Gender: Female Range: Eb4 - F5 HOWARD A Sharecropper who bids his time until he can go away to college. He has a quiet strength. Gender: Male Range: G3 - Eb5 LUCY A dreamer looking forward to the day when the Sharecroppers' lives will be better. Gender: Female Range: Ab3 - Db5 NARRATOR A Sharecropper who keeps the audience up-to-speed on what is happening. Gender: Both OG A leprechaun who's desperate to retrieve his stolen gold because without the gold, he will turn into a human. Og's emotions and thoughts are always transparent, and he can be overly dramatic. Gender: Both Range: B3 - F#5 ROSA Lucy and Harriet's friend. Gender: Female SENATOR RAWKINS A self-righteous politician who openly dislikes anyone different than himself. He pretends to be kind and gracious to get what he wants, but quickly drops that pretense once he achieves his goal. During the show, the Senator magically changes into a different man (on the outside), and by the end of the show, even though his appearance changes back to his original form, the Senator learns to be a kind and caring person. Gender: Both Range: Eb4 - D5 SHARON MCLONERGAN Finian's daughter. A strong woman who is generous of heart. While she is homesick for her beautiful Ireland, she believes that she will build a happy life in America. Sharon stands up for her beliefs and is willing to fight for what is right. Gender: Female Range: Ab3 - E5 SHERIFF The Senator's right hand man and as closed minded as his boss. Gender: Both SUSAN MAHONEY Woody's mute sister. She is well liked by everyone and communicates through "foot-talk" instead of typical American sign language. Gender: Female WOODY MAHONEY The charming leading man of the story. Woody is a landowner in Rainbow Valley who does everything he can to take care of his freinds and neighbors. Gender: Male Range: C4 - G5

Kim André Arnesen Arnesen's music is lovely and worth hearing… Sacred and secular, there is much to admire.– American Record Guide Kim André Arnesen Born in 1980, Kim André Arnesen is one of the most frequently performed composers from Norway today. He grew up in Trondheim where he was a chorister in the Nidaros Cathedral Boys’ Choir, later being educated at the Music Conservatory in Trondheim. With an interest in baroque music, contemporary classical music, and popular music, Kim could have taken many roads, but choral music became his greatest passion. As a composer, he had his first performance at the age of 18 with the boys’ choir. Since then he has written music that has been performed and recorded by choirs all over the world. In 2015–16, Kim was Composer-in-residence for the Denver-based choral ensemble Kantorei and Artistic Director Joel Rinsema. The residency concluded with the recording of Kim’s second CD album released in early 2018 on Naxos Records. He continues to enjoy a busy international schedule of commissions. Kim André Arnesen Born in 1980, Kim André Arnesen is one of the most frequently performed composers from Norway today. He grew up in Trondheim where he was a chorister in the Nidaros Cathedral Boys’ Choir, later being educated at the Music Conservatory in Trondheim. With an interest in baroque music, contemporary classical music, and popular music, Kim could have taken many roads, but choral music became his greatest passion. As a composer, he had his first performance at the age of 18 with the boys’ choir. Since then he has written music that has been performed and recorded by choirs all over the world. In 2015–16, Kim was Composer-in-residence for the Denver-based choral ensemble Kantorei and Artistic Director Joel Rinsema. The residency concluded with the recording of Kim’s second CD album released in early 2018 on Naxos Records. He continues to enjoy a busy international schedule of commissions. I denna ljuva sommartid (In this sweet summertime) SSAA (with divisi) a cappella Duration: c5 minutes 48024604 $2.50 More Info Commissioned by Kvindelige Studenters Sangforening, Oslo, Norway, and Marit Tøndel Bodsberg Weyde, conductor Commissioned by Kvindelige Studenters Sangforening, Oslo, Norway, and Marit Tøndel Bodsberg Weyde, conductor I denna ljuva sommartid (In this sweet summertime) is a well-known traditional summer psalm in Sweden. The text is of German origin, written in 1653 by Paul Gerhardt (1607-76) with the title Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud and also called Sommerlied. The Swedish version is sung with different melodies, including one that is part of the Swedish Hymnal Songbook and sung in schools before the summer holidays. In this arrangement, I’ve used a traditional melody from Malung in Sweden and three of the eight verses of the psalm, which describe summer as a gift from God. As a composer, arranging songs that can be regarded as a national treasure in another country is something that is done with great respect. But also, working with another country’s traditional music, music that is not in one’s own blood, can hopefully result in a fresh and new take on the original. Arranger's note Arranger's note I denna ljuva sommartid (In this sweet summertime) is a well-known traditional summer psalm in Sweden. The text is of German origin, written in 1653 by Paul Gerhardt (1607-76) with the title Geh aus, mein Herz, und suche Freud and also called Sommerlied. The Swedish version is sung with different melodies, including one that is part of the Swedish Hymnal Songbook and sung in schools before the summer holidays. In this arrangement, I’ve used a traditional melody from Malung in Sweden and three of the eight verses of the psalm, which describe summer as a gift from God. As a composer, arranging songs that can be regarded as a national treasure in another country is something that is done with great respect. But also, working with another country’s traditional music, music that is not in one’s own blood, can hopefully result in a fresh and new take on the original. Falling into Mercy SATB (with divisi) & optional piano (maximum divisi SSAATTBB) Text by Euan Tait Duration: 4 minutes 48024608 $2.50 More Info Commissioned by the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy of the Oregon Bach Festival, in honor of the Academy’s 20th Anniversary; and St. Olaf College and Anton Armstrong, Professor of Music and Conductor of the St. Olaf Choir Commissioned by the Stangeland Family Youth Choral Academy of the Oregon Bach Festival, in honor of the Academy’s 20th Anniversary; and St. Olaf College and Anton Armstrong, Professor of Music and Conductor of the St. Olaf Choir This work comes from amazement – that the encounter with divine love, our relationship with the sacred, is to be constantly astonished by the endlessness of the depths of love. Love's persistence, again and again, whatever our failures to be people of love, is our reassurance of our precious and limitless value in the eyes of our Creator. And this mercy, this depthless mercy, frees us to become ourselves most fully, uncertain, but tenacious pilgrims. The music should be driven forward with particular attention to phrases and the detailed dynamics. For a piece like this, the various possible dynamic choices are endless and, as long as they substantiate the text and the performance remains fervent, the dynamics may be altered at the discretion of the conductor. As a composer, I always try to give each work its own identity, and this piece is characterized by first inversion chords. It is fascinating how nothing is really changed, and yet everything has changed. If one tries to move the bass to the root note it is a completely different work; the first inversion chords give a feeling of something endless, and from a musical image echoing the text, “to keep falling, endlessly.” Notes from the Poet and Composer Notes from the Poet and Composer This work comes from amazement – that the encounter with divine love, our relationship with the sacred, is to be constantly astonished by the endlessness of the depths of love. Love's persistence, again and again, whatever our failures to be people of love, is our reassurance of our precious and limitless value in the eyes of our Creator. And this mercy, this depthless mercy, frees us to become ourselves most fully, uncertain, but tenacious pilgrims. The music should be driven forward with particular attention to phrases and the detailed dynamics. For a piece like this, the various possible dynamic choices are endless and, as long as they substantiate the text and the performance remains fervent, the dynamics may be altered at the discretion of the conductor. As a composer, I always try to give each work its own identity, and this piece is characterized by first inversion chords. It is fascinating how nothing is really changed, and yet everything has changed. If one tries to move the bass to the root note it is a completely different work; the first inversion chords give a feeling of something endless, and from a musical image echoing the text, “to keep falling, endlessly.” The Gift to Sing SATB (with divisi) & piano (maximum divisi SSAATBB) Text by James Weldon Johnson Duration: 4:30 48024607 $2.50 More Info Commissioned in honor of Dr. H. Morris Stevens Jr., music educator, conductor, church musician and founder of the St. Edward’s University Masterworks Singers Commissioned in honor of Dr. H. Morris Stevens Jr., music educator, conductor, church musician and founder of the St. Edward’s University Masterworks Singers If there is one thing anyone who has sung in a choir (or other context) knows, it is how singing can “turn the gloom to a cheerful day,” as James Weldon Johnson writes in his poem. We know it from our own experience, but it is even scientifically proven. There are many reasons to sing, and one of them is to bring light into our surroundings powered by our very own voices. And if someone does not think of themselves as a singer, I feel quite confident that Johnson’s poem will make them want to sing at the top of their voice! Composer’s note Composer’s note If there is one thing anyone who has sung in a choir (or other context) knows, it is how singing can “turn the gloom to a cheerful day,” as James Weldon Johnson writes in his poem. We know it from our own experience, but it is even scientifically proven. There are many reasons to sing, and one of them is to bring light into our surroundings powered by our very own voices. And if someone does not think of themselves as a singer, I feel quite confident that Johnson’s poem will make them want to sing at the top of their voice! The Holy Spirit Mass Mixed Voices with Organ or Strings and Piano Vocal Score 48024610 $19.95 Release date in the US: May 2019 Composed to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, The Holy Spirit Mass interweaves the familiar Mass texts with English translations of the 9th-century Veni Creator Spiritus (‘Come Creator Spirit’) and Martin Luther’s hymn Come Holy Ghost, God and Lord. This major new choral work encourages unity and reconciliation in the world and celebrates hope for its future. Arnesen’s characteristic rich harmonies and memorable melodic lines combine to create an inspirational and uplifting work suitable for concert performance. This vocal score, which includes accompaniment for organ, can also be used for performing the versions of The Holy Spirit Mass with orchestral accompaniment available on rental from Boosey & Hawkes. Composed to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, The Holy Spirit Mass interweaves the familiar Mass texts with English translations of the 9th-century Veni Creator Spiritus (‘Come Creator Spirit’) and Martin Luther’s hymn Come Holy Ghost, God and Lord. This major new choral work encourages unity and reconciliation in the world and celebrates hope for its future. Arnesen’s characteristic rich harmonies and memorable melodic lines combine to create an inspirational and uplifting work suitable for concert performance. This vocal score, which includes accompaniment for organ, can also be used for performing the versions of The Holy Spirit Mass with orchestral accompaniment available on rental from Boosey & Hawkes. I will light candles this Christmas SATB (with divisi) & piano (maximum divisi SSAATTBB) Text by Howard Thurman Duration: c4 minutes 48024571 $2.95 More Info Commissioned by Celia Ellington through LutheranArts in honor of Gary Aamodt’s 80th birthday, and dedicated to the annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival. Commissioned by Celia Ellington through LutheranArts in honor of Gary Aamodt’s 80th birthday, and dedicated to the annual St. Olaf Christmas Festival. Advent and Christmas are times of excitement and celebration. However, it is difficult not to see the darkness of the world. Where the treetops glisten and behind the toys and goodies it can be cold and unsafe. And it is in darkness that we need light. The candle can light our hope and remind us that we are much more than what is darkest in our lives. Therefore this time of the year can be one of light over darkness. I hope the message in this carol can guide us to become carriers of a light that brings joy, hope, courage, peace, grace, and love, now and when the star dims. “Let your light shine before others.” (The Sermon on the Mount) Composer’s note Composer’s note Advent and Christmas are times of excitement and celebration. However, it is difficult not to see the darkness of the world. Where the treetops glisten and behind the toys and goodies it can be cold and unsafe. And it is in darkness that we need light. The candle can light our hope and remind us that we are much more than what is darkest in our lives. Therefore this time of the year can be one of light over darkness. I hope the message in this carol can guide us to become carriers of a light that brings joy, hope, courage, peace, grace, and love, now and when the star dims. “Let your light shine before others.” (The Sermon on the Mount) My flame the song SATB (with divisi) & piano (maximum divisi SSATBB) Text by Euan Tait Duration: 5 minutes 48024605 $2.95 More Info Commissioned in honor of Dr. H. Morris Stevens Jr., music educator, conductor, church musician and founder of the St. Edward’s University Masterworks Singers Commissioned in honor of Dr. H. Morris Stevens Jr., music educator, conductor, church musician and founder of the St. Edward’s University Masterworks Singers We share a fierce, impassioned singing of the life of love. We sing in the lives we lead, by the way we respond to the cry in the human heart. Our lives unfold the powerful potential of love that lives in each one of us, as friends, parents, siblings, partners, colleagues. In making music, singing together lights an extraordinary process in us: we connect from the depths of our beings with each other, with this shared spiritual flame within us, we connect to those we have lost, to those who have sung the same music, we connect to the eternal singing of that vast eternal chord of being human. In performing this work, you will pass on the flame to others. You become its music, its words: your spirit cries out, here. Composer’s note Composer’s note We share a fierce, impassioned singing of the life of love. We sing in the lives we lead, by the way we respond to the cry in the human heart. Our lives unfold the powerful potential of love that lives in each one of us, as friends, parents, siblings, partners, colleagues. In making music, singing together lights an extraordinary process in us: we connect from the depths of our beings with each other, with this shared spiritual flame within us, we connect to those we have lost, to those who have sung the same music, we connect to the eternal singing of that vast eternal chord of being human. In performing this work, you will pass on the flame to others. You become its music, its words: your spirit cries out, here. Ubi caritas et amor Duration: 4 minutes Release date in the US: March 2019 SATB (divisi) a cappella (maximum divisi SSAATTBB) 48024606 $2.50 More Info SSAA a cappella 48024609 $2.50 More Info Commissioned by the Athens Master Chorale, Athens, Georgia, for Joseph S. Napoli, founder and conductor, in honor of his 50 years of loving devotion to the art of choral music. Commissioned by the Athens Master Chorale, Athens, Georgia, for Joseph S. Napoli, founder and conductor, in honor of his 50 years of loving devotion to the art of choral music. The actual origin of the text Ubi caritas et amor is unknown, but it has been dated to some point between 300 and 1100 AD. The text is typically sung during the Washing of the Feet at the Mass of the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday). The word “caritas” has many shades of meaning, and there are some nuances that seem to be lost in its translation. While the word “charity” is mostly used about voluntarily giving, the word “caritas” also means honesty, heartfeltness, dearness and tolerance. In a world with a lot of tension and disunity I wanted to write a piece that sings about the commandments to love one another. As ever, choirs performing this work should aim for a good balance between the voice parts, and the music should always be flowing but never hurried. Composer’s note Composer’s note The actual origin of the text Ubi caritas et amor is unknown, but it has been dated to some point between 300 and 1100 AD. The text is typically sung during the Washing of the Feet at the Mass of the Last Supper on Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday). The word “caritas” has many shades of meaning, and there are some nuances that seem to be lost in its translation. While the word “charity” is mostly used about voluntarily giving, the word “caritas” also means honesty, heartfeltness, dearness and tolerance. In a world with a lot of tension and disunity I wanted to write a piece that sings about the commandments to love one another. As ever, choirs performing this work should aim for a good balance between the voice parts, and the music should always be flowing but never hurried.

Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Words and Music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley Adapted for the Stage by Leslie Bricusse and Timothy A McDonald Based on the Book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory By Roald Dahl Overview / Synopsis Roald Dahl's timeless story of the world-famous candy man and his quest to find an heir comes to life in this stage adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. With a flexible cast size, a tour-de-force role for the title character, songs from the film classic and some clever new additions, Willy Wonka Junior runs 60-70 minutes and will delight performers and audiences alike! Songs include: Pure Imagination; Golden Age of Chocolate; The Candy Man; I Eat More; Think Positive; I See It All On TV; Cheer Up, Charlie; (I've Got a) Golden Ticket; At The Gates; In This Room Here; Oompa-Loompa-Doompadee-Doo; There's No Knowing; Chew It; I Want It Now!; Finale; and more! Audio Sampler - HL00255623 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00255629 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Libretto/Vocal Books Piano/Vocal Score Director's Script 2 Performance/Accompaniment CDs Choreography DVD 30 Family Matters Booklets Production Handbook Cross-Curricular Book 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 00255611 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00255609 - Director's Guide $100.00 00255612 - Libretto/Vocal Book $10.00 00255613 - Libretto/Vocal Book 10 Pak $75.00 00190461 - Performance/Accompaniment CD $75.00 00255619 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00255620 - Media Disk $10.00 00255615 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00255617 - Student Rehearsal CDs 20 Pak $100.00 00255623 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample Prologue Pure Imagination [Wonka] Golden Age of Chocolate [Oompas, Wonka, All] SCENE 2 The Candy Man [Candy Man, James, Charlie, Matilda] SCENE 5 I Eat More [Mrs. Gloop, Augustus, Phineous] SCENE 7 Think Positive [Charlie, Mrs. Bucket, Mr. Bucket] SCENE 10 I See It All on TV [Mike, Ms. Teavee] SCENE 11 Cheer Up, Charlie [Grandpa Joe, Mrs.Bucket, Mr. Bucket] SCENE 12 Think Positive (Reprise) [Charlie] (I've Got a) Golden Ticket [Charlie, Grandpa Joe, Mr. Bucket, Golden Ticket Winners] SCENE 13 At the Gates [Wonka] In this Room Here [All] Factory Reveal Sequence [Wonka, Kids & Parents] SCENE 14 Oompa-Loompa 1 [Oompas, Augustus, All] SCENE 15 There's No Knowing [Wonka, Mr. Salt, Mrs. Beauregarde, Grandpa Joe] SCENE 16 Chew It [Violet, Mike, Veruca, Charlie, All] Oompa-Loompa 2 [Oompas, Augustus, Violet, All] SCENE 17 Flying [Charlie, Grandpa Joe] Burping Song [Charlie, Grandpa Joe] SCENE 18 I Want It Now [Veruca] Oompa-Loompa 3 [Oompas, Veruca, All] SCENE 19 Oompa-Loompa 4 [All, Mike] SCENE 20 Finale [All] Willy Wonka Willy Wonka is an enigmatic character; at once mysterious and mischievous but also charismatic. There are a number of directions to take with Wonka, ranging from Gene Wilder's version in the original film, Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, to Johnny Depp's portrayal in the recent film, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, and everything in between. Pick a young man (or a young woman) who is charismatic, engaging and has a great voice (in the case of a young man, preferably a changed voice). The actor should be able to be funny and serious and change between the two on a dime. It is preferred that Wonka double as the Candy Man, as it helps reinforce that Wonka has staged the Golden Ticket competition and is somewhat controlling this contest along the way. Charlie Bucket The role of Charlie Bucket is the emotional heart and soul of the musical. The actor performing Charlie should have an unchanged voice and lots of pluck and enthusiasm. Think a male "Annie." Charlie is in nearly every scene, so make sure you select an actor who can handle the demands of a sizable role. Grandpa Joe Grandpa Joe is the grandfather we all wish we had when we were Charlie's age. He is caring, patient, sweet and always reminds Charlie to remain cheerful. Cast an actor who can be kind and funny. The role sings a bit, but the singing is secondary. Mr. and Mrs. Bucket Mr. and Mrs. Bucket are great roles for young people who have nice voices, and are natural nurturers. Both sing solos; Mr. Bucket performs the number "Think Positive" with Charlie and Mrs. Bucket sings "Cheer Up, Charlie" with Mr. Bucket and Grandpa Joe. Mr. and Mrs. Bucket can double as Oompa-Loompas in the second half of the show. Phineous Trout Phineous Trout is the reporter who announces the winners of the Golden Ticket contest throughout the show. The role requires some singing, and can be doubled by Wonka or played by another actor. In addition, either a boy or a girl can play the role. The Oompa-Loompa Chorus The Oompa-Loompa Chorus can be as small as a handful of performers or as large as your stage and theater can accommodate. Consider casting your youngest performers as Oompa-Loompas (like the sixth grade chorus) and augment them with a handful of older students who can take the lead and serve as Oompa-Loompa wranglers. Augustus Gloop Augustus Gloop is the overachieving eater who represents the evils of eating too much. Be extremely sensitive in casting this role as it is tempting to cast an overweight young person and that can be scarring-especially if the child struggles with this issue. Consider casting a thin child and creating the illusion of size via the costume. Either a boy or a girl acting like a boy can play Augustus. Augustus sings "I Eat More!" along with his mother and Phineous Trout. The song is on the difficult side, but does not need to be sung with a polished pretty voice, in fact, the more character the better. Mrs. Gloop Mrs. Gloop is Augustus' mother who has overindulged her son with food. She accompanies Augustus on the tour of the factory, and sings "I Eat More!" which is one of the more difficult songs in the score for young people. The role requires a character actress who isn't afraid to take positive risks both in her acting and her singing. Mike Teavee For this adaptation Mike Teavee is not just a TV junky. He is also addicted to video games, the Internet and any other mindnumbing technological device. Mike is bratty, loud and obnoxious. He does not know the word "no." Mike and Ms. Teavee sing "I See It All On TV" so he should be a reasonable singer, but does not need to be phenomenal. Mike could also be portrayed by a girl playing a boy, but generally works best with a male actor. Ms. Teavee Ms. Teavee is a take on all television moms of the distant past. Think June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) or Marion Cunningham (Happy Days) or even Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch). She's perfectly put together and a bit vacant. She sings "I See It All On TV" but does not require a polished voice. Violet Beauregarde Gum chewer extraordinaire, Violet Beauregarde hails from Snellville, Georgia, so it's nice if she has a Southern American accent, but not necessary. Violet should stand in stark contrast to Veruca Salt. Veruca is a wealthy refined brat; Violet is more of a bluecollar, middle class brat. She sings "Chew It" along with Willy Wonka. The song is a tour-de-force for the right voice, so cast a young lady with strong voice. Veruca Salt Veruca Salt is the wealthy, class-conscious, spoiled brat. She is often portrayed with a high British accent that is by no means required (brats come in all nationalities). Veruca's solo number "I Want It Now" is deceptively tricky and comes late in the show, so select a young woman with a strong voice. Veruca should contrast sharply with Violet Beauregarde in terms of look and physical type. Grandma Josephina, Grandma Georgina and Grandpa George Charlie's three grandparents are mainly non-singing character roles. Cast performers that are innately interesting, who have good comic timing and are solid actors. These actors can double as Oompa-Loompas in the second half of the show. James James is Charlie's friend from school. He has a few lines and sings the introduction of "The Candy Man" along with Matilda and Charlie. Matilda Matilda is also a schoolmate of Charlie's, but she's a bit of bully. Matilda has a few lines and sings the introduction of "The Candy Man" along with James and Charlie. The Candy Man The Candy Man Kids sing "The Candy Man" and their numbers may be expanded as you see fit and your program will allow. The names of the characters have been drawn from other Roald Dahl books. Feel free to assign additional names to match the number of performers you cast. (All students like to go home and exclaim "I'm playing Alfie in Willy Wonka JR." versus "I'm just Kid 2 in 'The Candy Man.'") You may also cast a single class (say the sixth grade chorus) to perform these roles, as they appear only in this number unless you choose to double them as Cooks and Oompa-Loompas. Mrs. Beauregarde Mrs. Beauregarde is a teacher of geography and has invested a great deal of hard-earned money on therapy for her orally fixated daughter, with less than stellar results. The role is virtually non-singing. Her accent should match Violet's. Mr. Salt Mr. Salt's solution to most problems is to buy his way out. He is upper class, and usually portrayed with a high British accent. (But this accent is not necessary-just make sure Veruca and Mr. Salt sound like they hail from the same place.) He sings very little. A female actress playing male may also play the role. Chorus of Cooks Chorus of Cooks is an optional chorus. The Cooks appear during "I Eat More!" presenting Augustus with a smorgasbord of food choices. (Check out the Director's Guide note in the song for more information.) Double the Candy Man Kids Chorus and Oompa-Loompa Chorus or cast a single class of kids to perform this section. (For example, Mrs. Ripley's third grade class.) The Squirrels The Squirrels are non-speaking, non-singing roles and you can cast as many as necessary. This is a great part for beginning actors.

Shrek Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Music by Jeanine Tesori Book and Lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire DreamWorks Animation Motion Picture and the book by William Steig Overview / Synopsis One Act, Book Musical, Rated G Everyone's favorite ogre is back in the hilarious stage spectacle based on the Oscar-winning smash hit film. (60-MINUTE VERSION FOR YOUNG PERFORMERS) It's a "big bright beautiful world" for everyone's favorite ogre in Shrek The Musical JR., based on the Oscar-winning DreamWorks Animation film. Adapted for young performers and featuring a host of over-the-top roles for an expandable cast, there's a part for everyone in this dazzling adventure story. In a faraway kingdom, the green ogre Shrek finds his swamp invaded by banished fairytale misfits, runaways who've been cast off by Lord Farquaad, a tiny terror with big ambitions. When Shrek sets off with a wise-cracking donkey to confront Farquaad, he's handed a task - if he rescues feisty Princess Fiona from the Dragon-guarded tower, his swamp will be returned to him. But, a fairy tale wouldn't be complete without unexpected twists and turns along the way. Part romance and part twisted fairy tale, Shrek JR. is an irreverently fun show for the whole family. With abundant opportunities for imaginative sets and costumes and familiar characters that prove that beauty is in the eye of the ogre, Shrek JR. is a great choice for young performers. The curtain opens on a trio of Storytellers sharing the tale of a little ogre named Shrek. Papa and Mama Ogre sit Shrek down and have a coming-of-age talk with their son, telling him that since he is now seven years old, it is time for him to make his own place in the world, and he must leave home ("Big Bright Beautiful World"). As the years pass, Shrek transforms into an adult and finds contentment living alone in a swamp on the edge of the kingdom of Duloc. Suddenly, the Captain of the Guards appears, leading a large group of Fairy Tale Creatures into the swamp, including Pinocchio, the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, the Wicked Witch, Peter Pan, the Ugly Duckling, and the Three Bears. The characters have been exiled from the kingdom of Duloc and banished to live in the swamp ("Story Of My Life"). Shrek returns home to find his once private swamp now teeming with the new inhabitants and angrily sets off to confront the leader of Duloc about the injustice. As Shrek makes his way through a dense forest, he encounters a screaming Donkey under pursuit by more Guards from Duloc. Shrek scares off the guards, and, having lost his way, reluctantly agrees to let Donkey be his guide, despite his better judgment. Meanwhile, in Duloc, the Guards sing of the "gentrification" of the kingdom ("What's Up, Duloc? - Part 1"). Lord Farquadd appears, questioning the captive Gingy as to the whereabouts of an available princess that Farquaad could marry in order to become king and justly gain control of all of Duloc. Threatened with torture, Gingy relinquishes the information - there is a princess in a tower guarded by a dragon and surrounded by boiling-hot lava. Just as Farquaad and the residents of Duloc begin to celebrate their future queen ("What's Up, Duloc? - Part 2"), Shrek and Donkey arrive. Shrek demands the swamp be rightfully returned to him, and seizing an opportunity, Farquaad agrees to find a new home for the Fairy Tale Creatures if Shrek retrieves the princess for him. High in her tower, Young Fiona dreams of being rescued by a handsome prince and living the idyllic fairy tale dream ("I Know It's Today"). The years pass, and Fiona grows more anxious day after day, nervous that the stories she's read have misled her. Despite her frustrations, she remains hopeful. Meanwhile, Donkey passes time on the long journey by singing ("Travel Song"). Shrek and Donkey arrive at the castle, and, donning a knight's helmet he finds in the castle for protection, Shrek tells Donkey to wait while he rescues the princess. Shrek climbs Fiona's tower while she excitedly prepares for the arrival of her prince. The meeting doesn't go quite as Fiona had planned, and she mistakes Shrek for a brave knight due to his helmet. Shrek doesn't have time to correct this oversight, as Donkey is now being pursued by the Dragon. Cornered in the dungeon, four imprisoned Knights warn Donkey that he may wind up like them. The Dragon, frustrated that no one ever pursues her, sings of her loneliness ("Forever"). Falling madly in love with Donkey, the Dragon spares his life, but attacks Shrek when she sees he's freed Fiona. The two battle, and Fiona finally gets her storybook adventure ("This Is How A Dream Comes True"). Having escaped the dragon, the group sets off for Duloc. Shrek reveals to Fiona that he is actually an ogre and has rescued her for Lord Farquaad. As the sun sets, Fiona demands to set up camp and disappears into a cave for the duration of the night. The Storytellers reveal that Fiona has been placed under a curse causing her to live "by day one way, by night another." The next morning, Fiona is chipper and highly caffeinated ("Morning Person"). She greets the woodland creatures, including the Pied Piper and his disorderly Rats, with cheerful optimism. The group continues their journey and Shrek and Fiona bond over their horrible lives thus far ("I Think I Got You Beat"). The song ends in a gassy display of bravado, and the two become friends. Donkey is convinced that their relationship is actually a budding romance ("Make A Move"). Having reached Duloc, Fiona postpones meeting Lord Farquaad for one more night, and retires to a nearby barn to sleep as the sun sets. That night, Donkey stumbles into the barn and discovers Fiona's secret - she has transformed into an ogress. Fiona explains that she has been cursed to live by day as a human and by night as an ogre, and sees Lord Farquaad as her only chance for happiness because no one could ever love an ugly ogre. Shrek, who has worked up the courage to tell Fiona how he feels about her, overhears only the last part of Fiona's conversation with Donkey from outside the barn, and thinks she is talking about him. The next morning, Shrek admits to Fiona the he heard everything she said. Fiona now thinks that he knows her secret and is unable to love her because of it. Just then, Lord Farquaad arrives to claim Fiona. He hands over the deed to Shrek's swamp, and makes plans to marry Fiona that night. Hurt, Fiona accepts and leaves with him. The Fairy Tale Creatures drudge on, having been evicted from the swamp. Donkey pleads with Shrek to try to win back Fiona, and the Fairy Tale Creatures agree that he must be proud of who he is rather than ashamed by it ("Freak Flag"). With a sense of empowerment and a plan of action, the group decides to return to Duloc. Just as the Bishop is about to marry Fiona and Lord Farquaad, Shrek and the Fairy Tale Creatures burst in. Shrek professes his love for Fiona ("Big Bright Beautiful World - Reprise"), and the Fairy Tale Creatures reveal Lord Farquaad's father - a grumpy Dwarf. The discovery that Farquaad is actually a "freak" like the Fairy Tale Creatures he condemned shocks and surprises everyone. During this, the sun has gone down and Fiona has transformed into an ogress. Disgusted, Lord Farquaad claims that the marriage is binding - he is now king and shall lock Fiona back in the tower forever and rule Duloc himself. Just then, the Dragon crashes through the castle wall and heaves a fiery breath at Farquaad. Afterward, all that's left of him is his scorched crown. Shrek and Fiona finally share "true love's kiss," and although the spell is broken, Fiona doesn't turn back into a human. Shrek convinces her that she is beautiful just as she is, and everyone celebrates their individuality ("Finale"). Audio Sampler - HL00127656 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00127646 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Actor's Books Choreography DVD Director's Guide 30 Family Matters Booklets Media Disk 2 Performance/Accompaniment CDs Piano/Vocal Score 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 00127647 - Director's Guide $100.00 00127648 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00127649 - Actor's Script $10.00 00127650 - Actor's Script 10-Pak $75.00 00127651 - Rehearsal/Accompaniment CD $75.00 00127652 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00127653 - Student Rehearsal CD 20-Pak $100.00 00127654 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00127655 - Media Disc $10.00 00127656 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample Big Bright Beautiful World Story of My Life What's Up, Duloc (Part 1) What's Up, Duloc (Part 2) What's Up, Duloc (Reprise) I Know It's Today Travel Song Dragon Roar Forever This Is How A Dream Comes True Morning Person (Reprise) Freak Flag Big Bright Beautiful World (Reprise) Finale I'm A Believer Cast Size Large (over 20), Flexible Cast Type Ensemble Cast - Many featured roles, Star Vehicle - Female, Star Vehicle - Male, Strong/Large Chorus Dance Requirement Standard (Musical Staging/Some Dance/Optional) DONKEY A talking donkey who joins Shrek on the run from Farquaad's guards. Quite the chatterbox, he is not deterred by Shrek's looks and practically forces himself into his good graces. Easily frightened and pushy, but also an optimistic with heart. DRAGON A dragon that has been charged with guarding Princess Fiona in her isolated castle. She eventually falls in love with Donkey and attempts to keep him there forever. Imposing and flirtatious, but tired of her job as the glorified baby-sitter. ENSEMBLE Fairytale Creatures(Big Bad Wolf, Three Little Pigs, White Rabbit, Fairy Godmother, Peter Pan, Wicked Witch, Ugly Duckling, Three Bears, Mad Hatter, Humpty Dumpty, Elf, Dwarf, Three Blind Mice); Angry Mob; Happy People; Guards; Knights; Rats FIONA The beautiful princess of Far Far Away, she transforms into an ogre every night when the sun sets. Rescued by Shrek and eventually falls in love with him. Quirky, blunt, and multitalented, she is not an ordinary princess. GINGY A gingerbread man initially kidnapped by Lord Farquaad. His wit and resolution help him both avoid trouble and inspire the rest of the fairytale creatures. Puppet. Can be operated by actress appearing as Sugar Plum Fairy. LORD FARQUAAD The comically short, ruthless ruler of Duloc. He is in search of a princes to marry so that he can become king. Has an intensely unfair bias against fairytale creatures that stems from a resentment of his father. Self-absorbed, lonely, and cruel. PINOCCHIO The leader of the fairytale creatures. He is an animated puppet whose nose grows every time he lies. Plenty of sass with a penchant for lying. SHREK Our story's title character. A big, green, terrifying ogre who lives alone on a swamp. He embarks on a journey to rid his land of fairytale creatures and, along the way, falls in love with Fiona. Begins as a grumpy hermit, but reveals his layers and eventually becomes the hero.

Hairspray Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Hairspray Jr. is not available for licensing at this time. MTI and the authors are refurbishing the materials, please check back for updates. Credits Book by Mark O'Donnell & Thomas Meehan Music by Marc Shaiman Lyrics by Scott Wittman & Marc Shaiman Based on the New Line Cinema film written and directed by John Waters Overview / Synopsis One Act, Book Musical, Rated G Broadway Junior Version You can't stop the beat in this big and bold musical about one girl's inspiring dream to dance. (60-MINUTE VERSION FOR YOUNG PERFORMERS) The 1950s are out and change is in the air! HAIRSPRAY JR. the family-friendly musical piled bouffant high with laughter, romance, and deliriously tuneful songs is adapted from the Original Broadway Version which won 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical. It's 1962, and spunky plus-size teen Tracy Turnblad has one big dream -- to dance on the popular Corny Collins Show. When she finally gets her shot, she's transformed from social outcast to sudden star. In balancing her new-found power with her desire for justice, Tracy fights to dethrone the reigning Miss Teen Hairspray, Amber von Tussle, and integrate a TV network in the process. With the help of her outsized mom, Edna, and guest DJ Motormouth Maybelle, the rhythm of Tracy's new beat just might prove unstoppable. HAIRSPRAY JR. is filled with a host of parts for a wide cross-section of students and an abundance of energetic production numbers. HAIRSPRAY JR. is a show that will celebrate your students' diversity and bring audiences to their feet with its positive message and uproarious sense of humor. - See more HERE. Early on a Monday morning in early June, 1962, Tracy Turnblad wakes up to face another day, full of hope and big dreams (Good Morning Baltimore). After school, Tracy and her best friend Penny Pingleton race home to watch "The Corny Collins Show," a local teenage music and dance show on TV (The Nicest Kids in Town). On the show, teen idol Link Larkin pledges his love to Amber Von Tussle by giving her his Council Member ring, and Corny Collins announces auditions for new Council Members. Seeing her chance at stardom, Tracy plans to cut school and audition for the show, but her mother Edna Turnblad does not approve. Elsewhere, Penny and Amber also argue with their mothers (Mama I'm a Big Girl Now). Tracy goes to the audition, but is ridiculed by the girls on the show and sent away by Amber's mother and show producer, Velma Von Tussle. Sitting in detention, a frustrated Tracy learns some new dance moves from Seaweed J Stubbs, a black student whose mother is Motormouth Maybelle - the DJ who hosts the monthly Negro Day on "The Corny Collins Show." The next evening there is a school dance and there, Tracy is able to impress Corny with the new moves she picked up in detention, earning her a spot on "The Corny Collins Show." During her debut, Link Larkin sings a song just for Tracy (It Takes Two). Now a local star, Tracy gets an offer to be the spokes-girl for Mr. Pinky's The Hefty Hideaway, a clothing store, gets her mother out of the house for the first time in years as the duo heads to the store to update their wardrobes (Welcome to the Sixties). At school, Tracy continues to be teased by Amber and becomes the target in a dodgeball game. After the game, Link, Penny, and Seaweed stay behind to help Tracy, and there Seaweed invites them to join him at his mother's record shop (Run and Tell That). The Von Tussles barge in and spoil the party with their bigotry, however, this gives Tracy the idea to integrate "The Corny Collins Show" by having Motormouth and her daughter, Little Inez, crash Mother/Daughter Day on the show. Fears of police and jail don't stop Tracy from moving forward with the plan. Unfortunately, the plan for integration lands all of the mothers and daughters in jail (The Big Dollhouse). Everyone gets out, except Tracy who is denied bail (Baltimore - Reprise). Link comes to the rescue and professes his love for Tracy, while elsewhere Seaweed and Penny reveal their feelings for each other too (Without Love). The kids hatch a plan to get Tracy on the nationwide Miss Teenage Hairspray broadcast, and bring the news to Motormouth, who expresses that she will never stop fighting for equality (I Know Where I've Been). Corny Collins begins his nationwide broadcast ((It's) Hairspray) and introduces Amber for her dance (Cooties). Just before Amber is crowned Miss Teenage Hairspray, Tracy and her friends storm in and take over the show (You Can't Stop the Beat - Part 1). Corny declares Tracy as the new Miss Teenage Hairspray 1962, and Tracy declares that "The Corny Collins Show" is officially integrated. Edna makes a grand entrance, and even the Von Tussles can't resist the celebration (You Can't Stop the Beat - Part 2). Audio Sampler - HL00123343 $10.00 ShowKit - HL09971731 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Actor's Books Choreography DVD Director's Guide 30 Family Matters Booklets Media Disk 2 Performance/Accompaniment CDs 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 09971732 - Director's Guide $100.00 09971733 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 09971734 - Actor's Script $10.00 00123341 - Actor's Script 10-Pak $75.00 09971735 - Rehearsal/Accompaniment CD $75.00 09971737 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00123342 - Student Rehearsal CD 20-Pak $100.00 09971736 - Choreography DVD $50.00 09971738 - Media Disc $10.00 00123343 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hairspray Jr. is not available for licensing at this time. MTI and the authors are refurbishing the materials, please check back for updates. Hear A Sample Good Morning Baltimore The Nicest Kids In Town Mama, I'm A Big Girl Now The Nicest Kids (Reprise) It Takes Two Welcome To The Sixties Run and Tell That The Big Dollhouse Baltimore (Reprise) Without Love I Know Where I've Been (It's) Hairspray Cooties You Can't Stop The Beat (Part 1) You Can't Stop The Beat (Part 2) Hairspray Jr. is not available for licensing at this time. MTI and the authors are refurbishing the materials, please check back for updates. AMBER VONTUSSLE A prom queen nightmare! She is definitely "The Corny Collins Show" favorite, but she is competitive and has a bad attitude. Range: C4-E5 CORNY COLLINS The host of "The Corny Collins Show," and a Baltimore celebrity. Foremost, Corny is a charmer. Range: C3-G4 COUNCIL MEMBERS- BRAD, TAMMY, FENDER, SKETCH, SHELLEY, IQ, BRENDA and LOU ANN The famed teenage performers on "The Corney Collins Show." EDNA TURNBLAD Tracy's loving mother who doesn't spend much time outside the house. She works days and nights as a laundress in her home, and her lack of social interaction has made her a bundle of nerves. Range: Bb3-Eb5 LINK LARKIN Baltimore's biggest heartthrob, and Tracy's dream guy. Link is considered the best performer in town. Think of any teenage idol who is able to reduce girls to tears - there's your guy! Range: G2-A4 LITTLE INEZ STUBBS Seaweed's little sister and a great breakout role for a black actress. Range: Bb3-E5 MOTORMOUTH MAYBELLE MOTORMOUTH MAYBELLE is the face of the Civil Rights Movement and sings the beautiful anthem, "I Know Where I've Been." Range: F3-F5 MR. PINKY Owner of a ladies' clothing shop and is a salesperson inside and out - he is always the first to give a compliment. Range: C3-C4 PENNY PINGLETON Tracy's fun and sheltered sidekick. She is a young lady caught between her mother's very strict rules and her own wants and desires to be just another teenage girl. Range: C4-E5 PRUDY PINGLETON Penny's eccentric but loving mother, who wants the best for her daughter but is extreme in her means. SEAWEED J. STUBBS The object of Penny's affections, and together, they are determined to defy the segregation laws of the 1960s. Range: Gb2-Bb3 THE DUNAMITES (JUDINE, KAMILAH & SHAYNA) A dynamic musical trio, iconic of the Motown era and the 1960s. Think the Supremes. Range: E4-A5 TRACY TURNBLAD A young lady with big hair and an even bigger personality! She is the hero of our story and she is sweet but also strong in her convictions. She is bigger in size than the other girls, but she isn't shy about it - she can still dance with the best of them! Range: G3-C#5 VELMA VON TUSSLE A carbon copy of Amber - just twenty years older and meaner! She is most concerned with making sure her daughter wins Miss Teenage Baltimore. Range: C4-E5 WILBUR TURNBLAD Edna's loving husband and Tracy's supportive father who just wants the best for his girls.

Into The Woods Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Book by James Lapine Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapine Overview / Synopsis Into the Woods JR.* is the authorized young performer's edition of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's cock-eyed view of everyone's favorite fairytale characters in this hysterical take on the Brothers Grimm. Into the Woods JR. is an engaging and funny musical comedy that twists familiar fairy tales into a brand new story. When a Baker and his Wife learn they've been cursed with childlessness by the Witch next door, they embark on a quest for the special objects required to break the spell; swindling, deceiving and stealing from Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack (the one who climbed the beanstalk)! Equally at home in large or intimate spaces, Into the Woods Junior is a funny and engaging way to get young people to think about the stories with which they've grown up, and the ethical issues raised therein. The Broadway Junior Collection now offers this Stephen Sondheim score in an adapted format perfect for young performers! Bring the world of theatre to your very own backyard with Into the Woods Junior. Audio Sampler - HL00147557 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00147593 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Libretto/Vocal Books Director's Script Piano/Vocal Score Production Handbook Cross-Curricular Activities and Enrichment 2 Performance/Accompaniment CDs Choreography DVD 30 Family Matters Booklets 60-Minute JR. Request * Into the Woods JR. does not have a chorus or chorus parts Individual Components 00147552 - Director's Guide $100.00 00147553 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00147554 - Actor's Script $10.00 00147555 - Actor's Script 10-Pak $75.00 00127835 - Rehearsal/Accompaniment CDs $75.00 00146065 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00146066 - Student Rehearsal CD 20-Pak $100.00 00147556 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00146067 - Media Disc $10.00 00147557 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample Scene 1 Opening - Part I [Narrator, Cinderella, Jack, Baker, Baker's Wife, Stepmother, Florinda, Lucinda] Opening - Part II [Baker, Baker's Wife, Little Red Ridinghood] Opening - Part III [Narrator, Jack, Jack's Mother] Opening - Part IV [Spoken] [Narrator, Baker, Baker's Wife, Witch] Opening - Part V [Spoken] [Baker, Baker's Wife, Witch] Opening - Part VI [Spoken] [Narrator, Witch] Opening - Part VII [Stepmother, Cinderella, Cinderella's Father] Opening - Part VIII [Baker's Wife, Baker, Cinderella] Opening - Part IX [Ensemble] Scene 2 Cinderella at the Grave [Cinderella, Cinderella's Mother] Hello, Little Girl [Wolf, Little Red Ridinghood] After "Hello, Little Girl" [Rapunzel, Baker's Wife] I Guess This is Goodbye/Maybe They're Magic [Jack, Baker, Baker's Wife] Rapunzel [Rapunzel] Baker's Reprise [Baker] I Know Things Now [Little Red Ridinghood] A Very Nice Prince [Baker's Wife, Cinderella] Scene 3 Giants in the Sky [Jack] Agony [Rapunzel's Prince, Cinderella's Prince] Rapunzel (Reprise) [Rapunzel] It Takes Two [Baker, Baker's Wife] Scene 4 Stay With Me [Witch] On the Steps of the Palace [Cinderella] Scene 5 Finale - Part II [Florinda, Stepmother] Finale - Part III [Steward] Finale - Part IV [Lucinda, Stepmother] Finale - Part VII [Narrator, Company] Curtain Music [Company] The Baker The Baker is an innocent but stubborn husband. This is a large role that has some challenging singing. The audience should never doubt he is a good-hearted person, trying to do what is right. The Baker's Wife The Baker's Wife is strong, determined and patient. The role requires excellent singing AND acting, plus a good sense of comic timing. Cinderella Cinderella is at once beautiful and surprisingly clumsy and awkward. Cinderella has very little dialogue. Cinderella's Family Cinderella's Stepmother, her stepsisters Florinda and Lucinda, and her Father are great comedic roles. Cinderella's Mother Cinderella's Mother is a one-scene wonder. The voice should be strong and pleasant. A collection of remembered mannerisms and sayings. Jack Jack has a lot of dialogue, and is responsible for singing two of the best-loved songs: "I Guess This Is Goodbye" and "Giants in the Sky." This is a role that could conceivably be played by a young woman, however, you will want to make sure she plays it as a boy and doesn't change the gender of the character. Jack's Mother Jack's Mother is described physically as "not quite pretty." She should be comfortable playing frazzled and frumpy. This is mainly an acting role and therefore requires an actress with an easily projected, authoritative speaking voice. Little Red Ridinghood Little Red Ridinghood is pushy, bratty, over-fed and spoiled. Her journey teaches her some very important lessons. A wonderfully fun role for the right girl. The Narrator / Mysterious Man The Narrator / Mysterious Man tells the story to the audience. While he doesn't sing much, he does have the most lines to memorize, being the largest role in the show. The Narrator is frequently cast as the Mysterious Man as well. Rapunzel Rapunzel must stand up to her mother and eventually leave her for the world. This role requires an excellent soprano voice. Rapunzel's Prince and Cinderella's Prince Rapunzel's Prince and Cinderella's Prince are pompous, conceited and self-absorbed brothers. They should be able to carry themselves with confidence. Both should be good singers. The Witch The Witch is the ultimate character role. Originally played by Bernadette Peters on Broadway, it requires a good singer/actor who can deliver the drama of the script. Mysterious and mischievous. FEATURED ENSEMBLE: The Wolf The Wolf should be properly slimy and a bit creepy. The Steward The Steward is a great role to gain experience. Granny Granny may be doubled by Cinderella's mother. Milky White was played on Broadway by a prop, but you may choose to cast this non-singing role.

Guys & Dolls Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Book by Abe Burrows & Jo Swerling Music & Lyrics by Frank Loesser Originally Directed on Broadway by George S. Kaufman Overview / Synopsis One of Broadway's most hilarious shows, Guys and Dolls has been described as the perfect musical comedy. It is primarily based on Damon Runyon's short story "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown," which describes the unlikely romance between a pure at heart urban missionary and a slick Broadway gambler. The show's second romantic storyline involves Nathan Detroit and Miss Adelaide, who have been engaged for fourteen years. Nathan organizes "the oldest established, permanent floating craps game in New York," and Adelaide is the main attraction at the Hot Box nightclub. Guys and Dolls opened on Broadway on November 24, 1950. Producers Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin assembled an exceptional team to bring Runyon's hard-shelled, but basically softhearted characters to the stage. The team, which included composer/lyricist Frank Loesser, co-book writer Abe Burrows, director George S. Kaufman, and choreographer Michael Kidd, created an instant hit, praised by reviewers as one of the most well constructed book musicals in Broadway history. Guys and Dolls has had several successful Broadway revivals and tours, and is one of the most produced shows worldwide. The Broadway Junior version has the approval of the author's estate and was first produced in 1998. Audio Sampler - HL08754784 $10.00 ShowKit - HL09971718 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Actor's Scripts Piano/Vocal Score Director's Guide 2 Performance/Accompaniment CDs Choreography DVD Media Disc 30 Family Matters Booklets 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 09971714 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 09971713 - Director's Guide $100.00 09971717 - Actor's Script $10.00 09971742 - Actor's Script 10 Pak $75.00 09971715 - Performance/Accompaniment CD $75.00 09971716 - Choreography DVD $50.00 09971720 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 09971743 - Student Rehearsal CD 20 Pak $100.00 09971719 - Media Disc $10.00 08754784 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample Scene 1 Fugue for Tinhorns [Nicely, Benny, Rusty Charlie, opt. Ensemble] Follow the Fold [Sarah and the Mission Band] The Oldest Established [Nicely, Benny, Nathan and Crapshooters] Scene 2 I'll Know [Sarah and Sky] Scene 3 A Bushel and a Peck [Adelaide and Dolls] Adelaide's Lament [Adelaide] Scene 4 Guys and Dolls [Nicely, Benny, opt. Ensemble] Scene 7 If I Were a Bell [Sarah] Scene 8 I've Never Been in Love Before [Sarah and Sky] Scene 9 Adelaide's Second Lament [Adelaide] Scene 11 Luck Be a Lady [Sky, Crapshooters] Scene 13 Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat [Nicely, Ensemble] Scene 14 Marry the Man Today [Adelaide, Sarah] Scene 15 The Happy Ending [The Company] Nathan Detroit Nathan Detroit needn't be a great singer, but should be a good actor with excellent comic timing. Adelaide Adelaide needn't be a great singer, but must have a strong character voice and a good sense of pitch. She needs to be able to do a New York accent and have good comic timing. Sky Masterson Sky Masterson is the quintessential, smooth as velvet Broadway gambler. He needn't be a great singer, but MUST be able to own the stage in "Luck Be a Lady." Sarah Brown Sarah Brown is the girl next door with a more adventurous side that's waiting to get out. She must be an excellent singer and a good actor. Arvide Abernathy Arvide Abernathy is Sarah's grandfather. May also be cast as a girl, changing to Sarah's grandmother. Benny Southstreet Benny Southstreet is a gambler. Rusty Charlie Rusty Charlie is a gambler. Harry the Horse Harry the Horse is a gambler. Lt. Brannigan Lt. Brannigan is a New York City cop. General Cartwright General Cartwright is head of the Save-a-Soul mission. Big Jule Big Jule is a very tough, gun-toting gangster from Chicago. Mimi Mimi is a doll. Angie the Ox Angie the Ox is a gambler. Guys Guys - The rest of your male ensemble (except for the mission band) can be cast as "guys." They are the crapshooters, gamblers, workers, New York City folks of all types. Dolls Dolls - The Dolls are your Hot Box girls and other ensemble females. You will want to designate your Hot Box girls as your preferred singers and dancers. Frequently, you will have many more girls than boys audition, so you may want to cast some of your girls as "guys." Mission Band Mission Band includes Agatha and Calvin. You can fill out the ensemble of your production by adding as many members of the Mission Band as your stage can accommodate.

Disney's My Son Pinocchio Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz Book by David Stern Overview / Synopsis My Son Pinocchio: Geppetto's Musical Tale is a light-hearted spin on the classic Pinocchio story. Once the Blue Fairy grants Geppetto his wish for a new son, the new father finds his parenting skills are a bit rough. With a book by David Stern, Academy Award®-winning composer Stephen Schwartz creates an original score expanded from Disney's Geppetto, the live-action TV movie starring Drew Carey, and paired with much loved songs from Disney's animated feature Pinocchio. Audio Sampler - HL00112989 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00113001 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Actor's Scripts Piano/Vocal Score Director's Guide 2 Performance/Accompaniment CDs Choreography DVD Media Disc 30 Family Matters Booklets 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 00112980 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00112979 - Director's Script $100.00 00112981 - Actor's Script $10.00 00112982 - Actor's Script 10 Pak $75.00 00112984 - Performance/Accompaniment CD $50.00 00112987 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00112985 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00112986 - Student Rehearsal CD 20 Pak $100.00 00112988 - Media Disc $10.00 00112989 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample When You Wish Upon A Star (Part 1) [Rosa, Viola, Arancia, Sue, The Blue Fairy] When You Wish Upon A Star (Part 2) [Rosa, Viola, Arancia, Sue, The Blue Fairy] Toys [Geppetto, Town Children, Town Mothers, Town Fathers] Empty Heart [Geppetto] Rise and Shine (Part 1) [Rosa, Viola, Arancia, Sue] Geppetto and Son (Part 1) [Geppetto, Pinocchio] Geppetto and Son (Part 2) [Geppetto] Rise and Shine (Part 2) [Rosa, Viola, Arancia, Sue] Geppetto and Son (Part 3) [Geppetto, Pinocchio] Rise and Shine (Part 3) [Rosa, Viola, Arancia, Sue] Geppetto and Son (Part 4) [Geppetto] When You Wish Upon A Star (Reprise) [Pinocchio] Geppetto's Music Box [Geppetto] I've Got No Strings [Pinocchio, Marionettes] Bravo Stromboli [Stromboli, Marionettes] Just Because It's Magic [The Blue Fairy, Rosa, Viola, Arancia, Sue] Satisfaction Guaranteed (Part 1) [Talia, Maria, Professore Buonragazzo] Satisfaction Guaranteed (Part 2) [Boy 1] Satisfaction Guaranteed (Part 3) [Boy 2, Junior, Professore Buonragazzo, Company] Bravo Stromboli (Reprise) [Stomboli, Marionettes] Pleasure Island (Part 1) [Ringleader, Roustabouts] Pleasure Island (Part 2) [Ringleader] Geppetto and Son (Whale Reprise) [Geppetto, Pinocchio] Since I Gave My Heart Away (Part 1) [Geppetto,Fairies in Training] Since I Gave My Heart Away (Part 2) [Geppetto,The Blue Fairy, Company] Bows [Company] ANIMALS Animals (Pig, Foxes, Horse) serve as voices of reason for Geppetto's journey. Performers cast in these roles do not have to sing; however, comic timing and deadpan delivery are essential. These performers should be comfortable inhabiting the mismatched animals they portray. BERNARDO & MARIA Bernardo & Maria are married residents of Idyllia who are looking to purchase a "perfect" daughter from Professore Buonragazzo. These roles require group singing only. These performers can become part of the ensemble in other group numbers. THE BLUE FAIRY The Blue Fairy is convinced of her own perfection and does not like having it called into question. The performer you cast should have good comedic instincts and a solid singing voice. This role does not require excessive dancing. Range: G3 - E5 BOY 1 Boy 1 is one of three spokespeople for a group of traveling singers. They are larger than life as they spread joy throughout Rainbow Valley with their songs.Boy 1 is the first replacement for Pinocchio, created by Professore Buonragazzo's machine. Find an actor who can mimic a comedic version of the famous puppet. Range: C3 - C4 BOY 2 Boy 2 is the second replacement for Pinocchio. He should be even more wooden than Boy 1. Range: C3 - C4 CHILDREN OF IDYLLIA Children of Idyllia (Amelia, Salvatore, Carla, Lucia, Giuseppe, Boy 1, Boy 2) are the perfect children created by Professore Buonragazzo. Performers cast in these roles should be able to sing in groups, with featured speaking lines. There are great opportunities for movement and dance. DELINQUENTS Delinquents (Malvolio, Brutto, Sporco, others) can expand to include more performers and are great roles for non-singers. Also, they must be comfortable turning into donkeys. GEPPETTO Geppetto A Sharecropper who bids his time until he can go away to college. He has a quiet strength.Geppetto is a lonely toymaker who longs to be a father. Look for a mature performer who feels comfortable playing a parent to Pinocchio and isn't afraid of showing emotion. Cast a strong singer, as Geppetto has several solos. Range: Bb3 - F5 JUNIOR Junior is Professore Buonragazzo's mirrorimage assistant, created using the child-making machine. The performer in this role will need to work closely with the performer playing the Professor to mimic his movements. A short solo is required, but it can be spoken if necessary. Range: Bb3 - C#5 MARIONETTES Marionettes are the stringed puppets in Stromboli's show. There are solos available for marionettes, if you choose to separate their voices from Stromboli. Marionettes can be added as need to the ensemble. Range: Bb3 - E5 PINOCCHIO Pinocchio is a wooden puppet who doesn't know where he belongs. Look for a performer who can handle the lively personality of a little boy while also capturing tender moments. Although Pinocchio is a boy, the role can be played by a boy or girl. Pinocchio has a few solos, but a strong character actor can easily act through them. Range: G3 - E5 PROFESSORE BUONGRAZZO Professore Buongrazzo is a passionate, mad scientist obsessed with building perfect children. While some solos are required, character work is most important for this role. Range: Bb3 - C#4 THE RINGLEADER The Ringleader runs Pleasure Island. The performer playing this role should have a real sense of showmanship. This role requires some singing and is a great opportunity to showcase a dancer. The Ringleader can be played by a boy or a girl, but be sure to cast a performer who can commit to the character's mischievous ways. Range: A3 - E5 ROSA, VIOLA & ARANCIA Rosa, Viola & Arancia, fairies in training, are sweet and kind. The performers in these roles should be expressive observers since they often oversee the action occurring onstage during flashbacks. They sing as a group, often alongside the Blue Fairy. Their individual distinctions from one another can be discovered during rehearsal. ROUSTABOUTS Roustabouts are the sidekicks to Pleasure Island's Ringleader. When performing these roles, personality is key. Group singing is required. SIGNORA GIOVANNI Signora Giovaani is Pinocchio's teacher. The role can be a great opportunity to feature a performer who doesn't sing. If needed, this performer can become part of the ensemble in other group numbers. STROMBOLI Stromboli is a bumbling, loud, incompetent puppeteer who has at least a few screws loose. Cast a versatile performer who can create silly voices to take this character and his marionettes over-the-top. Stromboli's songs are challenging, so look for someone who is comfortable with his solos and doesn't shy away from silliness. Range: Bb3 - F5 SUE Sue is a fairy in training who marches to the beat of her own drum. She isn't your typical fairy, as sweetness isn't in her nature. The performer in this role can be brooding or brash, but certainly a contrast to Rosa, Viola and Arancia, although vocally she should blend in. TALIA Talia is the "perfect child" created for Maria and Bernardo by Professore Buonragazzo's machine. Talia sings and dances to impress her parents, so this is a great role to feature a dancer. Range: C3 - C4 THE TOWN CHILDREN The Town Children (Dante, Agata, Fiorello, Francesca, Adriana, Luigi, Gina, Lia, Rico) love the toys in Geppetto's shop. The performers cast in these roles should be able to create individual personalities for their characters. There are opportunities for solos, but performers can sing in groups. TOWN PARENTS Town Parents (Signora Lisi, Signore Fucito, Signora Mancini, Signor Alcamo, Signora Sommelia, Signora Contrastana, Signora Rosati, Signore Proto, Signore Marino) are the beleaguered mothers and judgmental fathers of the town children. The performers cast in these roles should be able to create individual personalities for their characters. There are opportunities for solos, but performers can sing in groups.

Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka Kids - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Words and Music by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley Adapted for the Stage by Leslie Bricusse and Timothy A. McDonald Based on the book: "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" By Roald Dahl Overview / Synopsis The delicious adventures experienced by Charlie Bucket on his visit to Willy Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory light up the stage in this captivating adaptation of Roald Dahl's fantastical tale. Featuring the enchanting songs from the 1971 film starring Gene Wilder, in addition to a host of fun new songs, Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka KIDS is a scrumdidilyumptious musical guaranteed to delight everyone's sweet tooth. Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka KIDS follows enigmatic candy manufacturer Willy Wonka as he stages a contest by hiding golden tickets in five of his scrumptious candy bars. Whomever comes up with these tickets will win a free tour of the Wonka factory, as well as a lifetime supply of candy. Four of the five winning children are insufferable brats, but the fifth is a likeable young lad named Charlie Bucket, who takes the tour in the company of his equally amiable grandfather. The children must learn to follow Mr. Wonka's rules in the factory - or suffer the consequences. Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka KIDS has a flexible cast size with many featured and ensemble roles, including the singing and dancing Oompa-Loompas. Audio Sampler - HL01149056 $10.00 ShowKit - HL01149057 $545.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Student Scripts Piano/Vocal Score Director's Script Rehearsal/Accompaniment CD Choreography DVD 30 Family Matters Booklets 30-Minute KIDS Request Individual Components 01149053 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 01149052 - Director's Guide $100.00 01149054 - Libretto/Vocal Score $10.00 01149055 - Libretto/Vocal Score 10-Pak $75.00 01146056 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample The Candy Man Golden Age of Chocolate At the Gates (Pure Imagination) Factory Reveal Sequence Oompa-Loompa 2 Oompa-Loompa 3 Burping Song Oompa-Loompa 4 (I've Got a) Golden Ticket Oompa-Loompa 1 I Want It Now! Bows Cast of Characters Cast Size: Medium (11 to 20 performers) Cast Type: Children Dance Requirements: Standard Grandma Josephina Charlie's three grandparents are mainly non-singing character roles. Cast performers that are innately interesting, who have good comic timing and are solid actors. These actors can double as Oompa-Loompas in the second half of the show. Gender: Female Grandma Georgina Charlie's three grandparents are mainly non-singing character roles. Cast performers that are innately interesting, who have good comic timing and are solid actors. These actors can double as Oompa-Loompas in the second half of the show. Gender: Female Grandpa George Charlie's three grandparents are mainly non-singing character roles. Cast performers that are innately interesting, who have good comic timing and are solid actors. These actors can double as Oompa-Loompas in the second half of the show. Gender: Male The Candy Man Kids Sophie, Danny, Alfie, Billie and additional kids as needed are The Candy Man Kids. These kids sing "The Candy Man" and their numbers may be expanded as you see fit and your program will allow. The names of the characters have been drawn from other Roald Dahl books. Feel free to assign additional names to match the number of performers you cast. All students like to go home and exclaim "I'm playing Alfie" versus "I'm just Kid 2 in 'The Candy Man.'") You may also cast a single class (say the sixth grade chorus) to perform these roles, as they appear only in this number unless you choose to double them as Cooks and Oompa-Loompas. Gender: Any Oompa-Loompa Chorus The Oompa-Loompa Chorus can be as small as a handful of performers or as large as your stage and theater can accommodate. Consider casting your youngest performers as Oompa-Loompas and augment them with a handful of older students who can take the lead and serve as Oompa-Loompa wranglers. Gender: Any Willy Wonka / Candy Man Willy Wonka is an enigmatic character; at once mysterious and mischievous but also charismatic. There are a number of directions to take with Wonka, ranging from Gene Wilder's version in the original film, Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, to Johnny Depp's portrayal in the recent film, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and everything in between. Pick a young man (or a young woman) who is charismatic, engaging and has a great voice (in the case of a young man, preferably a changed voice). The actor should be able to be funny and serious and change between the two on a dime. It is preferred that Wonka double as the Candy Man, as it helps reinforce that Wonka has staged the Golden Ticket competition and is somewhat controlling this contest along the way. Gender: Male Vocal range top: E5 Vocal range bottom: G3 Phineous Trout Phineous is the reporter who announces the winners of the Golden Ticket contest throughout the show. The role requires some singing, and can be played by either a boy or a girl. If played by a girl, be sure to change the pronouns appropriately. Gender: Any Mrs. Gloop Mrs. Gloop is Augustus' mother who has overindulged her son with food. The role requires a character actress who isn't afraid to take positive risks both in her acting and her singing. Gender: Female Violet Beauregarde Gum chewer extraordinaire, Violet hails from Snellville, Georgia, so it's nice if she has a Southern American accent, but not necessary. Violet should stand in stark contrast to Veruca Salt. Veruca is a wealthy refined brat; Violet is more of a blue-collar, middle-class brat. Gender: Female Vocal range top: Db5 Vocal range bottom: C4 Matilda Matilda is also a schoolmate of Charlie's, but she's a bit of bully. Matilda has a few lines and sings the introduction of "The Candy Man" along with James and Charlie. Gender: Female Vocal range top: B4 Vocal range bottom: C#4 Candy Man The Candy Man goes from neighborhood to neighborhood selling candy, much like an ice cream truck. He should be pleasant, charismatic, and friendly. It's possible for a girl to play this role, but she should play the role as male, otherwise, the title of the song may not make sense. Gender: Male Vocal range top: E5 Vocal range bottom: G3 Mr. Bucket These are great roles for young people who have nice voices, and are natural nurturers. Mr. and Mrs. Bucket can double as Oompa-Loompas in the second half of the show. Gender: Male Mike Teavee For this adaptation Mike is not just a TV junky. He is also addicted to video games, the Internet and any other mindnumbing technological device. Mike is bratty, loud and obnoxious. He does not know the word "no." Mike could also be portrayed by a girl playing a boy, but generally works best with a male actor. Gender: Male Vocal range top: Db5 Vocal range bottom: Db4 Squirrels The squirrels are non-speaking, non-singing roles and you can cast as many as necessary. This is a great part for beginning actors. Gender: Any Charlie Bucket The role of Charlie Bucket is the emotional heart and soul of the musical. The actor performing Charlie should have an unchanged voice and lots of pluck and enthusiasm. Think a male "Annie." Charlie is in nearly every scene, so make sure you select an actor who can handle the demands of a sizable role. Gender: Male Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: A3 Mrs. Bucket These are great roles for young people who have nice voices, and are natural nurturers. Mr. and Mrs. Bucket can double as Oompa-Loompas in the second half of the show. Gender: Female Augustus Gloop Augustus is the overachieving eater who represents the evils of eating too much. Be extremely sensitive in casting this role as it is tempting to cast an overweight young person and that can be scarring-especially if the child struggles with this issue. Consider casting a thin child and creating the illusion of size via the costume. Either a boy or a girl acting like a boy can play Augustus. Gender: Male Vocal range top: Db5 Vocal range bottom: Eb4 Ms. Teavee Ms. Teavee is a take on all television moms of the distant past. Think June Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) or Marion Cunningham (Happy Days) or Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch). She's perfectly put together and a bit vacant. Gender: Female Veruca Salt Veruca is the wealthy, class-conscious, spoiled brat. She is often portrayed with a high British accent that is by no means required (brats come in all nationalities). Veruca's solo number "I Want It Now" is deceptively tricky and comes late in the show, so select a young woman with a strong voice. Veruca should contrast sharply with Violet Beauregarde in terms of look and physical type. Gender: Female Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: A3 James James is Charlie's friend from school. He has a few lines and sings the introduction of "The Candy Man" along with Matilda and Charlie. Gender: Male Vocal range top: A4 Vocal range bottom: A3 Mrs. Beauregarde Mrs. Beauregard is a teacher of geography and has invested a great deal of hard-earned money on therapy for her orally fixated daughter, with less than stellar results. The role is virtually non-singing. Her accent should match Violet's. Gender: Female Grandpa Joe Grandpa Joe is the grandfather we all wish we had when we were Charlie's age. He is caring, patient, sweet and always reminds Charlie to remain cheerful. Cast an actor who can be kind and funny. Gender: Male Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: C4 Chorus Of Cooks Please note this is an optional chorus. The Cooks appear during "I Eat More!" presenting Augustus with a smorgasbord of food choices. (Check out the Director's Guide note in the song for more information.) Double the Candy Man Kids Chorus and Oompa-Loompa Chorus or cast a single class of kids to perform this section. (For example, Mrs. Ripley's third grade class.) Gender: Any Mr. Salt Mr. Salt's solution to most problems is to buy his way out. He is upper class, and usually portrayed with a high British accent. (But this accent is not necessary-just make sure Veruca and Mr. Salt sound like they hail from the same place.) He sings very little. A female actress playing male may also play the role. Gender: Male

Sister Act Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Music by Alan Menken Lyrics by Glenn Slater Book by Bill & Cheri Steinkellner Additional Book Material by Douglas Carter Beane Overview / Synopsis It's Christmas Eve in 1977 Philadelphia, and Deloris is in the middle of a high- energy audition with her backup singers ("Take Me To Heaven (Nightclub)"). She and the girls are performing for Curtis, Deloris's boyfriend, and his thugs, Joey, TJ, Pablo, and Ernie. Despite praise from the thugs, Curtis doesn't believe Deloris and her singers are ready to perform in his club. After this rejection and a disappointing Christmas gift, Deloris decides that she deserves better, walking away from Curtis and his club with confidence ("Fabulous, Baby!"). However, Deloris is unwillingly drawn back in when she accidentally witnesses Curtis murdering Ernie for being a police informant. Curtis confronts her, but she flees. Deloris goes straight to the police station where Officer Eddie Souther takes an interest in what she has to say. Immediately recognizing the officer as "Sweaty Eddie," a boy who had a crush on her in high school, Deloris puts her faith in Eddie, trusting him to find her a place to hide from her dangerous boyfriend. Eddie thinks of "the perfect place," Queen of Angels Cathedral in South Philadelphia. Mother Superior hesitates to take in the "wayward woman" Monsignor O'Hara describes, but upon his insistence, she agrees. Both Deloris and Mother Superior are shocked when they discover Deloris will be hiding there for a month. Mother Superior is especially distressed to discover that Deloris is not religious. She describes Deloris's new environment to her, handing her a nun's habit to wear ("Here Within These Walls"). Mother Superior introduces Deloris to the nuns, referring to her as Sister Mary Clarence "from a more progressive order." The nuns say a prayer and begin to eat dinner, but when Deloris complains about the food, Mother Superior proposes a fast. While Deloris complains, the nuns enthusiastically share all the reasons why they love being nuns ("It's Good To Be A Nun"). Mother Superior and Deloris are left alone, and Mother Superior has a proposition: would Deloris like to join the choir? The singer quickly says she will. The next morning, Deloris arrives at choir practice and is immediately shocked at how terrible the choir sounds. The nuns, however, are amazed at Deloris's musical talent. Taking the musical baton from choir leader Mary Lazarus, Deloris reminds the nuns that they are "rejoicing" and "singing to the Lord." She encourages the nuns to sing louder, to sing on key, and to blend with each other. By the end of the rehearsal, the choir sounds incredible ("Raise Your Voice"). The choir continues to impress at the next church service, where they draw crowds the church hasn't had for a long time ("Take Me To Heaven (Nun Choir Version)"). But not everyone is impressed by the choir's new sound - Mother Superior calls Eddie to the church, asking him to take Deloris away. Eddie relays this command to Deloris, who is frustrated and concerned that Curtis will find her. She is disappointed with Eddie, and Eddie wishes desperately that he could be her knight in shining armor ("I Could Be That Guy"). Deloris approaches Mother Superior about the choir, trying to get her to understand their performances could be beneficial to the church. Mother Superior disagrees... until Monsignor O'Hara reports that the church is receiving a large number of donations. Mother Superior agrees to keep Deloris in the choir, and the next church service is even more energetic than the previous one ("Sunday Morning Fever - Part 2"). Positive publicity flows in, and the choir is even invited to perform for the pope! The nuns are ecstatic. However, all the publicity has a price - Curtis and his thugs recognize Deloris on TV. They hatch a plot to get into the convent and steal her away ("Lady In The Long Black Dress"). Right before their performance for the pope, the nuns nervously gather in Deloris's room. They ask her to lead them in a blessing, and she does ("Bless Our Show"). Suddenly, Mother Superior bursts into the room, telling Deloris she is in danger and must leave. The nuns are confused - who is Deloris? The musician reveals her true identity and the reason she has been staying in the convent. Though the nuns are shocked and saddened by the news, sweet young postulant Mary Robert approaches Deloris and asks to go with her. The young woman is beginning to doubt being a nun is her true calling ("The Life I Never Led"). Deloris tells her she can't make Mary Robert's decision for her; she must figure that out herself. Mary Robert leaves Deloris her rosary, and Deloris expresses her wish to stay with her sisters ("Sister Act"). The nuns are rehearsing for their performance for the pope when Deloris walks into the room. She has chosen to perform with them, and the nuns are overjoyed. But their joy is quickly interrupted when they hear the sound of a window breaking. Curtis has come for Deloris! The nuns scatter, attempting to hide their sister. After a few minutes of antics, Curtis corners Mary Robert, and Deloris steps in to protect her. With her sisters behind her and Curtis coming for her, Deloris kneels and prays ("Sister Act (Reprise)"). Curtis crosses to Deloris, ready to strike, when Eddie jumps out from the middle of the nuns, surprising the thug. The cops handcuff Curtis and take him away, and Deloris rewards Eddie with a kiss. Mother Superior asks if Deloris will come back to the church to visit, and Deloris says she will be back often to sing. The sisters end the show with a rousing performance for the pope ("Spread The Love Around"). Audio Sampler - HL00294768 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00294771 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Actor's Scripts Piano/Vocal Score Director's Script Performance/Accompaniment & Guide Vocal Audio (Digital Only) Choreography Videos (Digital Only) Downloadable Media Resources (Digital Only) Digital Delivery Update Now you can receive digital access to many of the ShowKit components you know and love. Look forward to easily distributing these crucial components to your cast and creative team: Performance Accompaniment Tracks and Guide Vocal Tracks (Formerly Accompaniment CD & Rehearsal CD, respectively) will now be delivered together as a digital download and easily shared with your entire team, cast, and crew Choreography Videos (formerly the Choreography DVD) will be available to stream directly from mtishows.com. Now not only your choreographer but the entire cast will have access to fantastic step-by-step instruction for every Broadway Junior title! Downloadable Resources (formerly the Resources (or Media) Disc), including Audition Materials, a customizable press release, program and other helpful templates, and more can all be accessed with a click of a button 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 00294756 - Director's Guide $100.00 00294757 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00294758 - Actor's Script $10.00 00294759 - Actor's Script 10-pak $75.00 00294768 - Audio Sampler $10.00 MUSICAL NUMBERS TAKE ME TO HEAVEN (NIGHTCLUB) FABULOUS, BABY! THE PERFECT PLACE HERE WITHIN THESE WALLS IT'S GOOD TO BE A NUN RAISE YOUR VOICE TAKE ME TO HEAVEN (NUN CHOIR VERSION) I COULD BE THAT GUY SUNDAY MORNING FEVER TAKE ME TO HEAVEN (NEWSCAST) LADY IN THE LONG BLACK DRESS BLESS OUR SHOW THE LIFE I NEVER LED SISTER ACT SISTER ACT (REPRISE) SPREAD THE LOVE AROUND Deloris Van Cartier A strong, street- wise aspiring singer who gets caught up with the wrong crowd. When she witnesses a crime involving her ex-boyfriend, she is put in witness protection - as a nun! Deloris is reluctant at first, but the more time she spends at the convent, the more she realizes that time with the sisters is exactly what she needed. Cast a great actress and wonderful singer in this powerhouse role. Tina One of Deloris's backup singers. These featured roles are perfect for enthusiastic performers who may not be quite ready to take on a larger role. Cast solid, good singers who are comfortable with speaking lines in this fun girl group! (And feel free to add these actors to your nun ensemble later in the show.) Nina One of Deloris's backup singers. These featured roles are perfect for enthusiastic performers who may not be quite ready to take on a larger role. Cast solid, good singers who are comfortable with speaking lines in this fun girl group! (And feel free to add these actors to your nun ensemble later in the show.) Elle One of Deloris's backup singers. These featured roles are perfect for enthusiastic performers who may not be quite ready to take on a larger role. Cast solid, good singers who are comfortable with speaking lines in this fun girl group! (And feel free to add these actors to your nun ensemble later in the show.) Michelle One of Deloris's backup singers. These featured roles are perfect for enthusiastic performers who may not be quite ready to take on a larger role. Cast solid, good singers who are comfortable with speaking lines in this fun girl group! (And feel free to add these actors to your nun ensemble later in the show.) Curtis Jackson To put it frankly, a complete jerk. He's not only mean and dishonest, he's also dangerous - and he's got Deloris on his radar. Curtis does not sing a solo, so cast a fantastic actor in this role who can make the most out of playing the bad guy. Joey The wise guy of Curtis's group. He's an upbeat charmer who is always ready with a joke - even though he's one of Curtis's criminals. Cast a charismatic, funny actor with a great singing voice in this role. TJ Not the brightest bulb in the bunch, and the audience is meant to have a few laughs at his expense. Cast a solid comedic actor who has great chemistry onstage with Joey and Pablo. Pablo The strong, silent type who definitely leans into his role as the muscle of the group. He has a few lines and sings some, but most importantly, he should make a great third member of the trio with Joey and TJ. Ernie One of Curtis's thugs and, unfortunately, takes the fall for being a police informant. This is a featured role for a good actor! Feel free to double Ernie as an Altar Boy or the Monsignor O'Hara later in the show if your program is short on male actors - just make sure that the audience won't confuse the characters if they are played by the same person. Cop The first person to talk to Deloris about Ernie's murder. This is a featured role for a performer who may be new to the stage. Eddie Souther The quintessential good guy with a heart of gold. Though Eddie was overlooked by Deloris in high school, he never quite got over his crush on her, which results in a few awkwardly endearing moments throughout the show. Cast an excellent actor, singer, and dancer who can portray this hardworking, sweet, dependable cop. Mother Superior Devoted leader of the convent. Her church and her sisters come before all else - and she's not afraid to voice her opinion. Mother Superior means well and eventually comes around regarding Deloris. Mother Superior is a major role, so look for an excellent singer and actress who can portray this strong, independent woman. Monsignor O'Hara The charming spiritual leader of the Queen of Angels Cathedral. His bottom line is to save their church, and he will do anything to support the bottom line - including forcing Mother Superior to house Deloris. Monsignor O'Hara should have a good stage presence and a sense of comic timing. He does not sing a solo in the show, so cast an actor with charisma who can take over the stage! Mary Patrick A nun in the convent. She is an upbeat, over-the-top, enthusiastic person who is always looking on the bright side. She has a number of solos within songs, so cast a good singer and actor in this fun role. Mary Robert A postulant and the youngest of the abbey's inhabitants. Shy, soft- spoken, and a bit of a wallflower, she enjoys being a nun, but her friendship with Deloris lets her truly find her voice. Cast a powerhouse singer and a great actor in this role. Mary Lazarus One of the older nuns at the convent, and she leads the choir. She is rather deadpan and not particularly welcoming to Deloris at first, though Deloris's love of music eventually wins her over. Cast a great character actor with a sense of comic timing who is comfortable with character singing. Mary Martin-Of-Tours A nun who definitely exists in her own world, so cast a good actor in this role that can make strong character choices. This nun has some wonderful stand-out moments, which include delivering an excellent karate chop, but she does not sing a solo, so cast someone who is a stronger actor than singer for this memorable role. Mary Celeste Mary Celeste and Mary Irene are the convent's cooks. They have a few featured solos, so cast confident singers in these roles. Mary Irene Mary Celeste and Mary Irene are the convent's cooks. They have a few featured solos, so cast confident singers in these roles. Mary Stephen A nun in the convent with a fantastic singing voice. She's supportive of Deloris's music from the start. Cast a great singer. Mary Theresa The oldest nun in the convent. She has a few featured lines and a small solo. This role is a great opportunity for someone new to the stage, so cast a good actor in this role who is comfortable singing in a group. Nuns The Nuns (including Nun 1, Nun 2, and Nun 3) help fill out of the world of the convent. Nun 1, Nun 2, and Nun 3 have featured solos, so be sure to cast actors in these roles that are ready for their moment in the spotlight. Ensemble Roles include: additional Nuns, Altar Boys, Street People, Angry Street Person, and Members of the Congregation

Matilda Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Music & Lyrics by Tim Minchin Book by Dennis Kelly Overview / Synopsis Rebellion is nigh in Matilda JR., a gleefully witty ode to the the anarchy of childhood and the power of imagination! This story of a girl who dreams of a better life and the children she inspires will have audiences rooting for the "revolting children" who are out to teach the grown-ups a lesson. Matilda has astonishing wit, intelligence... and special powers! She's unloved by her cruel parents but impresses her schoolteacher, the highly loveable Miss Honey. Matilda's school life isn't completely smooth sailing, however - the school's mean headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, hates children and just loves thinking up new punishments for those who don't abide by her rules. But Matilda has courage and cleverness in equal amounts, and could be the school pupils' saving grace! Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, Matilda JR. is a joyous girl power romp. Children and adults alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination. Audio Sampler - HL00300117 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00300118 $645.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Actor's Scripts Piano/Vocal Score Director's Script Performance/Accompaniment & Guide Vocal Audio (Digital Only) Choreography Videos (Digital Only) Downloadable Media Resources (Digital Only) Digital Delivery Update Now you can receive digital access to many of the ShowKit components you know and love. Look forward to easily distributing these crucial components to your cast and creative team: Performance Accompaniment Tracks and Guide Vocal Tracks (Formerly Accompaniment CD & Rehearsal CD, respectively) will now be delivered together as a digital download and easily shared with your entire team, cast, and crew Choreography Videos (formerly the Choreography DVD) will be available to stream directly from mtishows.com. Now not only your choreographer but the entire cast will have access to fantastic step-by-step instruction for every Broadway Junior title! Downloadable Resources (formerly the Resources (or Media) Disc), including Audition Materials, a customizable press release, program and other helpful templates, and more can all be accessed with a click of a button 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 00300108 - Director's Guide $100.00 00300109 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00300110 - Actor's Script $10.00 00300111 - Actor's Script 10-pak $75.00 00300117 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Miracle Naughty Acrobat Story (Part 1) School Song The Hammer Naughty - Superglue (Part 2) The Chokey Chant This Little Girl Bruce (Part 1) When I Grow Up The Smell of Rebellion Quiet Revolting Children Matilda Wormwood The hero of the show. She's brilliant, resilient, creative, and kind, despite growing up in difficult circumstances. Her parents treat her poorly, but Matilda escapes into a world of books, which puts her reading level far above the other children in her class, and she develops a bit of magical power in an effort to defeat Trunchbull. Cast a fantastic singer and great actress in this role who can embody both Matilda's cleverness and her kindness. Gender: Female Range: D5 - Bb5 Eric A student at school with Matilda. He has the very first solo line of the entire show, so make sure to cast a good singer in this role. He also has some featured moments as one of Matilda's schoolmates, so it's helpful if Eric is also an expressive actor. Gender: Male Range: Eb4 - C3 Amanda A student at school with Matilda. She has a few solos and lines, but her most featured moment is when Trunchbull throws her through the air using her pigtails. Cast a good singer and mover in this role. Gender: Female Range: Eb5 - C4 Bruce One of Matilda's schoolmates. He has the bad luck to get caught after eating Trunchbull's cake. Bruce goes through quite a transformation throughout the show and has some important solos, so cast an excellent singer and actor. Keep in mind that just because Bruce eats the cake, it doesn't mean he has to be physically larger than the other children - just cast an actor who can portray Bruce's journey throughout the show. Gender: Male Range: F#4 - C3 Hortensia Alice, Hortensia, and Tommy are classmates of Matilda who each sing solos, and Hortensia has a few lines. These roles are great for good singers and movers who may be newer to the stage. Gender: Female Range: D5 - C4 Alice Alice, Hortensia, and Tommy are classmates of Matilda who each sing solos. These roles are great for good singers and movers who may be newer to the stage. Gender: Female Range: D5 - C4 Tommy Alice, Hortensia, and Tommy are classmates of Matilda who each sing solos. These roles are great for good singers and movers who may be newer to the stage. Gender: Male Range: Eb4 - C3 Lavender One of the kids at school with Matilda. She is kind and bright (though not as brilliant as Matilda) and quickly decides that Matilda is her best friend. Cast an actress in this role who can portray Lavender's likability and friendliness. Gender: Female Range: D5 - C4 Nigel One of the kids at school with Matilda. He is enthusiastic, sweet, and always in a bit of a panic. Nigel has a few solos and some great featured moments in the show, so cast a strong actor and singer in this great supporting role. Gender: Male Range: D4 - C3 Mr. Wormwood Matilda's father. He is egotistical, rude, and not very bright, not to mention a liar. Though Mr. Wormwood is not a good person and he is mean to Matilda, his harebrained schemes can be hilariously funny, so cast a fantastic character actor in this role who can really land the comedy and isn't afraid to play an unlikeable character. It's helpful if Mr. Wormwood reads as older onstage and makes a dynamic pair with Mrs. Wormwood. Gender: Male Mrs. Wormwood Matilda's mother. Like her husband, she dislikes Matilda and does not understand why her daughter loves to read. Mrs. Wormwood is selfish, obsessed with her own appearance, and believes everything she sees on TV. Her dancing lessons with Rudolpho are the most important part of her day. Cast a great actress who can portray Mrs. Wormwood's nastiness but also play up her ridiculousness and lean into the comedy. Gender: Female Michael Matilda's brother. He is not very bright, though he is the apple of his father's eye. This is a hilarious supporting role for a younger actor with comedic timing, as Michael's contributions to the scene usually function as deadpan one-liners. Gender: Male Mrs. Phelps The kindly librarian who loves hearing Matilda's stories. This is a great featured role for a stronger actress who reads as older than Matilda onstage. Gender: Female Escapologist A character of Matilda's creation. Everything this character does is grand and exaggerated - he's performing for the cheap seats! Cast a solid actor and mover in this fun featured role. Gender: Male Range: F3 - E3 Acrobat A product of Matilda's imagination. Cast an actor in this featured role that can give their all! Gender: Female Range: A4 - D4 Miss Honey A teacher at Matilda's school. She is kind, is generous, and really cares about the children despite her own desperate circumstances. Cast an excellent actress and singer who can portray Miss Honey's sweetness and her strength. It's helpful if the actress reads as older than the kids from onstage. Gender: Female Range: D5 - Bb3 Agatha Trunchbull The quintessential terrifying tyrant. As headmistress, she runs her school like a dictator, making up arbitrary rules to suit her every whim and dreaming up creative punishments. The Trunchbull can be played by a male or female (though the character is female). It's helpful if Trunchbull is physically larger than the actors playing children. Cast a fantastic character actor and singer who can command the stage and embody Trunchbull's larger-than-life villainy. Gender: Female Range: F#5 - C4 Rudolpho Mrs. Wormwood's self-obsessed dance teacher. This is a hilarious featured role for a comedic performer who moves well. Gender: Male Sergei A custoner swindled by Mr. Wormwood. Though he shows up looking for payback, Matilda has had quite enough of revenge, and Sergei lets the Wormwoods escape. This is a great featured role for an actor who can embody Sergei's intimidating presence. Gender: Male Ensemble Ensemble roles include Russians, Little Kids, Big Kids (including Big Kid 1, Big Kid 2, and Big Kid 3), Kids, Mums, Dads, the Cook, and the Mechanic.

20th Century French Art Songs | Hal Leonard Hal Leonard Online - French Art Songs 20th CENTURY FRENCH ART SONGS Mélodies française du XXe siècle Edited by Carol Kimball Published by Éditions Durand DF 16250/HL 50565798 High Voice edition DF 16251/HL 50565799 Medium/Low Voice edition Distributed in Europe and Asia by Hal Leonard MGB Distributed in North and South America by Hal Leonard Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Hal Leonard Australia Download & Print Introductory Notes Complete Online Introductory Notes, Unabridged copyright © 2015 Editions Durand An abridged version of editor Carol Kimball’s “Introduction” appears in the High Voice and Medium/Low Voice publications. Her complete length “Introduction” appears below. See the publications for the poetry texts in French and translations in English. GEORGES AURIC CLAUDE DEBUSSY HENRI DUTILLEUX GABRIEL FAURÉ REYNALDO HAHN ARTHUR HONEGGER JACQUES LEGUERNEY OLIVIER MESSIAEN DARIUS MILHAUD FRANCIS POULENC MAURICE RAVEL ALBERT ROUSSEL ERIK SATIE DÉODAT DE SÉVERAC GEORGES AURIC (1899-1983) George Auric was something of a child prodigy, performing a piano recital at the Musicale Indépendante at the age of fourteen. The following year, the Société Nationale de Musique performed several songs he had composed. He studied composition at the Paris Conservatoire with Georges Caussade, and later with Vincent d’Indy and Albert Roussel at the Schola Cantorum de Paris. Before he was twenty, Auric had orchestrated and written incidental music for several stage productions and ballets. He composed a significant amount of avant-garde music during the years between 1910-20. Around 1914, he widened his acquaintances to include members of Les Six, a group of composers informally associated with Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau, and became a part of their group. Auric and Francis Poulenc became fast friends and remained so for life. Music criticism was an important part of Auric’s career; his writing focused on promoting the ideals of Les Six and Cocteau. He was also especially known for his film scores, which are consistently imaginative. He forged a major career in the English movies of the 1940s and ’50s. Among his most well-known scores is the music for the film Moulin Rouge. Other popular film titles with scores by Auric include The Lavender Hill Mob, Roman Holiday, Beauty and the Beast, and Bonjour Tristesse. In 1962 he became the director of the Opéra National de Paris and later, chairman of SACEM, the French Performing Rights Society. Auric continued to write classical chamber music until his death. Le Jeune sanguine (1940) from Trois Poèmes de Louise de Vilmorin poem by Louise de Vilmorin (1902-1969) This mélodie is the second song in Auric’s cycle titled Trois poèmes de Louise de Vilmorin. Vilmorin’s poetry reverberates with sensitivity to affairs of the heart. She was one of Poulenc’s preferred poets; he set her poetry when writing specifically for the female voice, such as in Fiançailles pour rire. A sort of veiled humor is at the heart of this text that describes a young hussy whose lover departs early with the dawn’s first light, leaving her weeping disconsolately. Auric provides a prelude and postlude for formal balance as the miserable young woman mourns her loss. He also inserts several unexpected and amusing measures of a tango as the young man arches his back and leaves the sound of her sobbing. For his three Vilmorin songs, Auric used the style of a chansonette, or more popular song. Printemps (1935) Poem by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) Auric composed this lilting waltz song for a play by Edouard Bourdet titled La Reine Margot (1935). The celebrated musical theatre actress-singer Yvonne Printemps created the role of Queen Margot of Navarre at Théâtre de la Michodière. Auric and Francis Poulenc collaborated on the incidental music for this play; Poulenc took the second act, Auric the first. Poulenc composed the Suite française and the song “A sa guitare”; Auric’s contribution was “Printemps.” Yvonne Printemps sang both songs in the play. Both composers used texts by Pierre de Ronsard, and the musical style of each is reminiscent of the Renaissance. Ronsard’s original poem had twenty-three stanzas. Auric set only the first three. BACK TO TOP CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Claude Debussy wrote expertly for the voice and was acutely responsive to transforming poetic nuance into musical expression. Possibly no other French composer was as attuned to blending poetry and music. His literary taste was highly refined and he maintained a visible and active role in the literary and artistic circles of his time. He chose to set poetry of his contemporaries, notably Verlaine and Mallarmé. Verlaine’s verse with its inherent musical qualities, provided Debussy with poetry for numerous works. For Debussy, poetry as poetry was the paramount determinant of the musical texture. His ability to detect the essence of a poem and perfectly transform it into musical expression makes his mélodies unique in the history of French song. Le promenoir des deux amants (1904, 1910) poems by Tristan l’Hermite (c. 1601-1656) “Auprès de cette grotte sombre,” the first song, made its first appearance with the title “La Grotte,” song two of Trois chansons de France of 1904. In 1910, it was retitled and combined with two other poems by Tristan l’Hermite (“Crois mon conseil, chère Climène” and “Je tremble en voyant ton visage”) to form the miniature cycle Le Promenoir de deux amants, which has been called the finest of all Debussy’s works for voice and piano. It is also the least-often performed. Debussy chose the texts from Les Amours de Tristan, a collection by the seventeenth-century poet Tristan l’Hermite. The poems are set close to a grotto, secluded and silent. The transparent, barely stirring waters mingle with the silence of the cloistered spot, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. Debussy establishes an intimate, tender mood immediately and maintains this fragile mix of sound and color throughout the three mélodies. The interplay of resonance and texture in voice and piano results in an exquisite blend of light and shade, perfectly complementing l’Hermite’s poetic images. Subtly inflected vocal phrases are key to recreating the infinite calm and Pelléas-like atmosphere of the poetry, a perfect fusion of stillness and sensuality. Fêtes galantes II (1904) poems by Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) Debussy’s fascination with the work of the French Symbolist poet Paul Verlaine resulted in his setting to music no fewer than seventeen of Verlaine’s texts. He composed two sets of three songs each, both titled Fêtes galantes, the first in 1892, and the second in 1904. Fêtes galantes II, Debussy’s last setting of Verlaine, closely following the composition of his opera Pélleas et Mélisande, is representative of the composer’s mature vocal works. It is marked by sparser textures, freer tonalities and a more concentrated compositional style than the first set; but like the first set, Fêtes galantes II presents three unrelated songs. None of the Watteau-like scenes are found here; rather, these three poems are filled with mystery, and are without sentimentality. The theme of time appears in each of the poems: the first, sentimental youthful remembrances; the second, inexorable fleeting time; and finally in the last song, time never to be reclaimed. “Les Ingénus” recalls the first awakenings of sexual attraction, and deals with the breathless awe with which a group of unsophisticated young men of the mid-nineteenth century view their similarly naïve female companions. The scene unfolds in a highly chromatic texture, skillfully balanced to preserve the delicate, poignant images in Verlaine’s verse. Debussy’s free-floating harmonies are carefully contrived to complement the uncertain emotions and repressed sensations of the youths in the poem. “Le Faune” begins with a prelude; time unravels in an inflexible dance featuring a rhythmic, hypnotic figure in the piano, imaging the traditional reed pipe and “tambourin,” a small drum played with a stick. The old terra-cotta statue in Verlaine’s poem is probably the woodland god Pan, playing a monotonous rhythm that is both sensual and slightly menacing, matching the mood of the two mélancolique pélerins. Mesmerized by the repetitive rhythms of drum and reed flute, the dejected travelers are caught in the whirlpool of passing time, which spins past as they watch helplessly. “Colloque sentimental.” Colloquial (colloque) refers to ordinary speech or conversation. This disturbing poem is the touchstone of one of Debussy’s great mélodies. It is the last poem in Verlaine’s collection titled Fêtes galantes, and provides a chilling climax. It blends themes of despair, death and disillusion. In this extraordinary song, the ghosts of two lovers meet in a wintry park. As they speak of their former love, their words match the setting: glacial and detached from feeling. Throughout the song their wintry words are enhanced by Debussy’s simple and subtle vocal treatment: one voice urgent and persistent, the other stonily indifferent. Debussy’s manipulation of musical texture between voice and piano is masterful. The sparse vocal lines are almost speech-like, and the piano figures mirror the frozen landscape in which this conversation–equally cold–takes place. The song’s kinship to Debussy’s opera Pélleas et Mélisande is unmistakable. The listener becomes one with the poem’s narrator, straining to see and hear the couple’s conversation in the icy cold of the deserted, frozen park. Debussy reaches back to “En sourdine” (the first mélodie of Fêtes galantes I), takes the wistful song of the nightingale, and inserts it into this song at various points. The nightingale’s melody (“voix de nôtre dessespoir, le rossignol chantera”) provides a touching and melancholy association, linking the two sets of Fêtes galantes together symbolically and musically, foreshadowing the disenchantment of love hinted at in “En sourdine” with the lovers’ conversation in “Colloque sentimental,” and unifying the two sets by a subtle musical component. This panel of three mélodies was Debussy’s last setting of the poetry of Paul Verlaine. Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus de maisons (1915) poem by the composer This is Debussy’s last song, written to his own text, a Christmas carol for children made homeless by World War I. Its intensity comes from its simple sincerity. Debussy composed it on the eve of his first operation for the cancer that would end his life two years later. It was his personal protest against the invasion of northern France by the German armies. When asked for permission to orchestrate the song, Debussy refused, saying, “I want this piece to be sung with the most discreet accompaniment. Not a word of the text must be lost, inspired as it is by the rapacity of our enemies. It is the only way I have to fight the war.” Originally composed in 1915 for piano and voice, Debussy also created a version for children’s chorus, and in 1916, a version for piano and two sopranos. BACK TO TOP HENRI DUTILLEUX (1916-2013) Henri Dutilleux studied at the Paris Conservatory with Maurice Emmanuel. He received the Prix de Rome in 1938 at age twenty-two, and went on to work at the Paris Opéra and the French Radio. France’s musical institutions defined his career: in 1961, he joined the faculty at the école Normale de Musique, teaching composition. In 1970, he taught at the Paris Conservatoire. He destroyed many of his early works, considering them derivative of Ravel, the preeminent composer in France during his youth. His music that had been published avoided demolition. After World War II, Dutilleux concentrated almost exclusively on instrumental and orchestral music, much of which has been widely programmed and recorded. His songs are not well known. In the chronological catalogue of his compositions, beginning in 1929, the Quatre mélodies for mezzo soprano or baritone is only the eleventh entry. It also exists in an orchestral version. The collection is dedicated to the French baritone Charles Panzéra and his wife, pianist Magdeleine Panzéra-Baillot, prominent interpreters of French song in the interwar years. Gabriel Fauré dedicated his last cycle, L’horizon chimérique, to Panzéra. Quatre mélodies (1942) uses poems by four different poets and presents a delightful collection of moods, although it must be admitted that the level of the poetry is not uniformly high: “Féérie au clair de lune” (poem by Raymond Genty), a graceful scherzo of dancing fairies that evokes Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; “Pour une amie perdue” (Edmond Borsent); “Regards sur l’infini” (Anna de Noailles); and “Fantasio” (André Bellessort). The last mélodie is the most successful of the set and is one of two songs from the set (the other being “Pour une amie perdue”) that Dutilleux acknowledged. He wanted to exclude the first and third songs because their poetry was relatively mediocre. Fantasio (1942) from Quatre Mélodies poem by André Bellessort (1866-1942) “Fantasio” (the original title of Bellessort’s poem is “Les funérailles de Fantasio”) is a colorful poem that chronicles the funeral of the titled character, who has expired before the text begins. The poem, set in Venice during Carnival, is full of glittering and compelling imagery that changes quickly, following the pace of the Carnival. Musical textures are skillfully handled and exhibit some of Dutilleux’s developing style. “Pauvre Fantasio,” is heard several times during the text, acting as both a funereal chant that unifies the proceedings and perhaps as well, keeping the mourners’ footsteps marching together. BACK TO TOP GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845-1924) Gabriel Fauré was one of the great composers of French song who, with Duparc and Debussy, perfected the mélodie as a true art song form. He composed about a hundred songs, all original in conception, constantly developing in style, and pointing the way to future works. His songs express a broad range of emotion and a great variety of musical textures, extending the musical parameters of the genre and inspiring new techniques of song compositions. His songs are often divided into three compositional periods for purposes of study and definition. Fauré has been characterized as a skillful watchmaker; with great precision his songs, which overflow with subtle nuances and delicate detail. His approach is in keeping with the French musical aesthetic: elegant and rational, dealing with sentiment rather than literal sensation. He was able to capture the entire poetic mood of each poem he set and to create an aura around it with his musical setting. Dans la fôret de septembre, Op. 85, No. 1 (1902) poem by Catulle Mendès (1841-1909) This touching poem symbolizes the onset of old age. Mendès was among the founders of a literary magazine, La Revue fantaisiste, which published many poems of the Parnassian poets. Fauré’s musical style perfectly suited this style of poetry: elegance of style, richness of rhyme, regularity and symmetry of rhythm. The Parnassians avoided the excessively romantic and aimed for “art-for-art’s sake.” Fauré was nearly sixty years old when he composed this mélodie, and his reaction to this poem is beautifully poignant. The words describe the poet’s reflective walk through a quiet, somber forest, capturing the chill of mortality and the overall mood of the turning point of life. The ancient forest, sensing a kindred spirit, provides the walker with a sign of friendship and understanding. Fauré set this contemplative poem in a rich harmonic musical texture with a vocal line that borders on quasi-recitative-like shapes. The solemn thoughts of old age call forth a melancholy, but it is a subtle melancholy. It is almost hymn-like in the fusion of words, emotions, and musical texture. This mélodie may be considered as marking the threshold to the final period of Fauré’s compositions. Accompagnement, Op. 85, No. 3 (1902) poem by Albert Victor Samain (1858-1900) This mélodie is a beautiful barcarolle–a nighttime scene, silvery and hazy, alluring but unreal. The image of the poet rowing on the lake is reflected in the musical texture. Fauré had a lifelong fascination with water imagery in music; this poem offers a little reel of unfolding pictures of a moonlight journey a dark lake. The words “dans le rêve” tell us that this is all a dream. This is a rarely sung Fauré mélodie that yields great rewards for the performer. Chanson, Op. 94 (1906) poem by Henri di Régnier (1864-1936) This poem has a gentle charm and a calm simplicity. It is the last of Fauré’s madrigals that include delicate love songs such as “Lydia,” and “Clair de lune.” It has a wonderful fluidity that is a perfect foil for the poetic images The text is a simple set of variations on one theme: nothing on earth has any meaning unless the beloved somehow touches it. Fauré’s reaction to the words called forth a musical setting of delicate transparency and limited range. It is not well known; like “Le Don silencieux,” “Chanson” was published as a single song and therefore not widely disseminated. It is an example of exquisitely planned musical economy, and definitely belongs in Fauré’s third period of musical compositions. Le Don silencieux, Op. 92 (1906) poem by Marie Closset (1875-1952), under the pseudonym Jean Dominique Here is another little known Fauré song, a rarity because it was published separately and was never included in any of the Fauré recueils. The poem has a gentle melancholy–the plea of a timid lover, a mixture of hope and imagined disappointment. The words are tender and flowing, but the overall mood is one of unrelieved sadness. This song marks the beginning of Fauré’s third compositional period, which includes the cycles La Chanson d’Eve, Le Jardin clos, Mirages, and L’Horizon chimérique. Writing of this mélodie in a letter to his wife, Fauré said, It does not in the least resemble any of my previous works, nor anything that I am aware of; I am very pleased about this...It translates the words gradually as they unfold themselves; it begins, opens out, and finishes, nothing more, nevertheless it is unified. 1 NOTES: Quoted in Graham Johnson, Gabriel Fauré: The Songs and their Poets (London: Guildhall School of Music and Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2009), 291. Quotation from Jean-Michel Nectoux, Gabriel Fauré: A Musical Life, trans. Roger Nichols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 304. This is a translation of Fauré’s letter to his wife of 17 August 1906. BACK TO TOP REYNALDO HAHN (1875-1947) Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan by birth, came to Paris with his family at age four and made a brilliant career. In addition to his career as a composer and singer, he was director of the Paris Opéra, music critic for the newspaper Figaro, and conductor of the Salzburg Festival. He was enough of a scholar to edit some of the works of Rameau. He maintained close friendships throughout his life with actress Sarah Bernhardt and writer Marcel Proust. During the Belle époque, French mélodie was at the height of its development. Hahn was a habitué of the most fashionable salons, where he was in demand as a performer. On these occasions, he usually sang and played his own accompaniment, often with a cigarette dangling from his lips. The art of singing was one of his major passions, and he wrote three books on singing (Du chant, Thèmes varies, and L’oreille au guet), as well as a memoir of Sarah Bernhardt. Hahn’s songs are models of French restraint–devoid of overt display, with beautiful melodies in a modest vocal range. They reflect the style of his teacher, Jules Massenet. Hahn composed approximately ninety-five works for solo voice: eighty-four mélodies, five English songs to texts of Robert Louis Stevenson, and six Italian songs in the Venetian dialect. After 1912, Hahn composed in larger forms: opera, operetta, and film music. Perhaps his most famous work is his operetta Ciboulette (1923), which is still performed. À Chloris (1916) poem by Théophile de Viau (1590-1626) “À Chloris” is No. 14 in Deuxième volume de vingt mélodies, the last major publication of Hahn’s songs during his lifetime. In many of his later songs, he turned to a deliberately archaic style. “À Chloris” features an elegant vocal line above a piano texture that features Baroque musical characteristics; it is its own piece, with ornamented melody and chaconne-like bass. Vocal line and piano piece are woven into a musical tapestry that is both declarative and intimate. Poet Théophile de Viau was considered one of the most influential libertin poets during Louis XIII’s reign. The libertins’ verses had a unique charm that is instantly appealing, but somewhat artificial. Despite this, de Viau’s love poetry is not bland, but full of suggestive passion and elegant wit. BACK TO TOP ARTHUR HONEGGER (1892-1955) Arthur Honegger composed over forty mélodies for voice and piano. Taken as a whole, they are diverse and imaginative. For his texts, he favored contemporary poets such as Jean Cocteau, Guillaume Apollinaire, Paul Claudel, and Paul Fort. He also chose to set unrelated poems by a single poet, such as his Poesies (Cocteau) and Alcools (Apollinaire). Poetry with strong imagery appealed to the dramatist in his personality. For Honegger, as for most successful mélodie composers, the word provides the starting place. He is quoted as saying: For me, the music a song is always dependent upon the poetic model. It must join so closely with the poetry, that they become inseparable and one can picture the poem in wholly musical terms. This is not to say that the music becomes subservient. It must be so crafted that it can stand on its own merits, playable without the text, logical and complete. 1 Born of Swiss parents in Le Havre, France, Arthur Honegger initially studied for two years at the Zurich Conservatory, but enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire from 1911 to 1918, studying with Charles-Marie Widor and Vincent d’Indy. Some of his more familiar large vocal works include the dramatic psalm Le roi David (King David), composed in 1921 and still in the choral repertoire; and his dramatic oratorio of 1935, Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher (Joan of Arc at the stake), with text by Paul Claudel, considered to be one of his finest works. Between the world wars, he composed nine ballets and three vocal stage works, among works in other genres. His total compositional catalog is an impressive list of music: orchestral works, chamber music, concertos, ballets, operas, operettas, and oratorios. Widely known as a train enthusiast, he was passionately interested in locomotives, to which he attributed almost human characteristics. His “mouvement symphonique,” Pacific 231, gained him early acclaim in 1923. Honegger’s musical style is a fascinating mixture of impressionistic effects peppered with penetrating dissonances. He had a fondness for mixing tonalities and using modality. His compositions for the voice display an eclectic focus of coloristic harmonies and architectural clarity. He was a member of Les Six, but unlike most of that group, did not share their overwhelming reaction against German romanticism. Honegger’s musical style is fuller and more serious than his colleagues. He and Darius Milhaud were close friends. Honegger’s generous body of song has proved of enduring interest to contemporary performers. His was a distinctive voice in the vocal music of the twentieth-century French mélodie. Trois Psaumes (1940-41) from the Huguenot Psalter Psaumes XXXIV and CXL translated by Théodore de Bèze (1519-1605) Psaume CXXXVIII translated by Clément Marot (1496-1544) The spirit of Bach shines in the first psaume, “Psalm 34,” in which a chant-like vocal line alternates with a gently moving episodic keyboard part. This call and response continues until the last three vocal phrases, when the vocal line merges with the instrumental texture in a psalm of praise. The second song is “Psalm 140,” “ô Dieu donne-moi la déliverance de cet homme pernicieux” (O God, deliver me from this evil man). Honegger’s biographer, Harry Halbreich, suggests that the “evil man” who was oppressing Europe in those last days of 1940 might be the reason for Honegger’s text choice. This piece was composed before the first and third songs. Its emotional mood peaks with the chorale tune “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” 2 The last song in the set, “Psalm 138,” has the Latin title “Confiteor tibi, Domine” (I thank thee, O Lord) and is a paraphrase by Clément Marot, one of the greatest of the French Renaissance poets. It contains a familiar chorale tune, which is used in canon between voice and piano. NOTES: Arthur Canter and Rachel Joselson, Liner notes, The Songs of Arthur Honegger and Jacques Leguerney. Rachel Joselson, Réne Lecuona , piano. Albany Records, TROY691, 2004. Harry Halbreich, trans. Roger Nichols, Arthur Honegger (Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1999), 165. BACK TO TOP JACQUES LEGUERNEY (1906-1997) Most of Jacques Leguerney’s sixty-eight mélodies were composed and published from 1940 to 1964. Many were commissioned and premiered by French baritone Gérard Souzay, his sister, soprano Geneviève Touraine, and pianist Jacqueline Bonneau. Early songs are comparable in mood and style with Ravel or Roussel (who encouraged Leguerney’s composition); later songs have been compared to those of his contemporary, Poulenc. Leguerney writes virtuoso piano parts–often dramatic, and with such an individual sense of harmonic style and color that Pierre Bernac reportedly described them as “mélodies de pianist.” 1 When asked about Leguerney’s songs, Gérard Souzay wrote, “How does one describe this music which is, at the same time, classic and modern? It is pure, but colorfully nuanced; it speaks to the heart as well as the mind–at times calm at times witty–wise, yet sensual...” 2 Many of Leguerney’s songs deal with themes of love and nature, expressing a huge range of emotions from deeply felt meditation to wild, ribald humor. Leguerney stopped composing in 1964, and his songs became neglected. The quality of Leguerney’s text setting, lyrical beauty, and harmonic innovations all call for his songs to be better known and more widely performed. Jacques Leguerney was drawn to the work of Renaissance poets, notably Ronsard. There are eight collections titled Poèmes de la Pléaide, representing settings of sixteenth and seventeenth-century French poetry and totaling thirty-two songs. Additionally, there are cycles and other collections [for a complete listing of Leguerney’s songs, see Dibbern, Kimball, and Choukroun, Interpreting the Songs of Jacques Leguerney]. 3 They may be thought of as the last in the great mainstream of twentieth-century French song. La Caverne d’écho (1954) from Poèmes de la Pléiade, Volume 7 poem by Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant (1594-1661) Dedication: Josiane and Jean Cier. First performance: Bernard Kruysen, baritone; Jean-Charles Richard, pianist. 29 May 1965, Radio France Culture. Marc-Antoine Girard, sieur de Saint-Amant, wrote poetry of great descriptive power, and his use of language set him apart from the other seventeenth-century poets. He was also an adept musician and skillful lute player, writing verses that often describe musical sounds linked to visual images. The poem takes place in a dark cave, home of the nymph, Echo; it is a charmed place, absolutely still and peaceful. The poet’s lute resounds inside the cavern as he tries to soothe the inconsolable Echo, who mourns for her lover Narcissus. Leguerney creates the grotto’s mysterious resonance with bitonality. Piano figures illustrate the strumming of the lute. The text contains many sounds with the consonant “r.” The rolling quality of this speech sonority re-creates the cavern’s resonance. The closing measures of the mélodie produce a striking effect as the singer’s voice echoes eerily in the cavern, blending with the piano’s resonance and creating a remarkably realistic echo. À son page (1944) from Poèmes de la Pléiade, Volume 2 poem by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) Dedicated to Gérard Souzay. First performance: Gérard Souzay, baritone; Jacqueline Robin (Bonneau). 3 May 1945, Salle Gaveau, Paris. This is a lusty scene with four characters: a nobleman tipsy from drink, his page, and two women, Jeanne and Barbe. Carpe diem is the theme here. The singer philosophizes on this idea while enjoying his wine and the tender companionship of the two beautiful women. Leguerney evokes the crackling staccato of a stylized harpsichord with rhythmic accents in the piano. The text is brilliantly set with jagged vocal lines and driving rhythms that illustrate the singer’s intoxication. It ends with Leguerney’s repetition of the last poetic line and the addition of nonsense syllables which fit beautifully into the imagery and mood of Ronsard’s colorful characters. Je me lamente (1943) from Poèmes de la Pléiade, Volume 1 poem by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) Dedicated to Geneviève Touraine. First performance: Paul Derenne, tenor; Jeanne Blancard, pianist. 29 March 1944, Salle de l’Ecole Normale de Musique, Paris. This is one of Leguerney’s most beautiful songs, setting Pierre de Ronsard’s text from his collection of love poems for Marie Dupin, a country girl from a small village in southern France. She was half his age and probably represented the youth he constantly pursued. It has been suggested that the Marie in question was probably Marie de Clèves, passionately adored by Henri III. 4 Leguerney called this mélodie a constant crescendo from beginning to end. 5 Ronsard’s anguish is captured with a texture of stark chords, crowned by a regal and sustained vocal line. As the song progresses, the poet’s anguish is embodied in a more expansive texture, bidding Marie a happy resting place near God or in the Elysian fields. NOTES: Liner notes by Mary Dibbern. Mélodies sur poèmes de la Renaissance (Jacques Leguerney).Harmonia Mundi France. LP recording HMC 1171. Letter to the author. Quoted in Mary Dibbern, Carol Kimball, and Patrick Choukroun. Interpreting the Songs of Jacques Leguerney (Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2001), 3. Ibid., 289-295. Ibid., 69. See note 20. Ibid., 70. BACK TO TOP OLIVIER MESSIAEN (1908-1992) Olivier Messiaen was born in 1908 in Avignon, France, into a literary family. He grew up around words and absorbed their shapes, colors and sounds naturally. His father, Pierre Messiaen, was a well-known translator of Shakespeare, and his mother, Cécile Sauvage, was a poet. As a youngster, before beginning to compose music, he had an especially perceptive ear attuned to the unique prosody of the French language. Early in his compositional career, he published a book titled Technique de mon langage musical (1944). About his musical setting of words, Jane Manning observes: ...the syllables themselves create a glittering mosaic of sonorities and subtle resonances, in addition to their actual meaning (many of the poems do not translate at all satisfactorily). The composer’s awareness of the minutiae of verbal enunciations and articulations is miraculous. Each vocal sound can be precisely placed as intended, all dynamics are scrupulously plotted, and the performer’s involvement and intimate connection to the music is enhanced by the sensual nature of words projection... 1 He often used stained glass to explain his music. When viewed from a distance, the myriad details blend into a single entity, whose purpose is to dazzle the listener. Understanding is not necessary, feeling is the prime requisite. The music of Olivier Messiaen is a skillfully designed and unique language, with meaning and form kept separate. Its meaning is unchangeable, harkening back to Gregorian chant, culminating in instruments that are able to prolong sound (organ, strings, or the ondes Martenot). Messiaen’s musical language is defined by its rhythms and tone colors. His uncanny instinct for associating sound with color produced works unique in their concept of the combination of sounds. He said that when he heard or read music, his mind’s eye saw colors that move with the music; he sensed these colors, and at times he precisely indicated their arrangements in his scores. His fascination with birdsong was lifelong; he referred to himself as an ornithologist and tracked birds and their songs all over the world. He considered their resonances as songs and not merely sounds. He notated these on manuscript paper and they found their way into his music. Trois mélodies (1930) poems by Olivier Messiaen, Cécile Sauvage (1883-1927) This little cycle of songs is Messiaen’s first recognized work for voice and piano. The songs are modest in length and not typical of Messiaen’s later style, but show influences of late Fauré and Duparc in the overall musical texture. There is only one song in his vocal compositions in which Messiaen set the poetry of another poet. It is found in this cycle, which uses the text of his mother, the poet Cécile Sauvage, who died three years before the composition of this work. The three movements form a warm and delicate little triptych. Two of Messiaen’s own poems stand on either side of the poem by Cécile Sauvage, throwing that charming little poem into high relief. “Pourquoi?” introduces a litany of the pleasures of nature: birdsong, the unfolding seasons, and water images. The poet becomes emotional, asking why all these bring him no joy. “La Sourire,” the shortest song of the set, is a beautiful microcosm of intimate and spiritual understanding between two people. It is a delicate example of musical economy and word setting in a quasi-recitative style. The last song, “La fiancée perdue,” offers fleeting hints of Messiaen’s cycle to come, Poèmes pour Mi–most specifically, the final song. Here, the poet prays for divine blessing on the soul of the “fiancée” in the title. The fervent incantation illuminates and affirms man’s connection to a higher authority. Examining the poetic content of the three texts, we are struck by the images that underlie the words: the emotional outburst “pourquoi,” (why?), perhaps questioning the death of Cécile, followed by Cécile’s tender affirmation of love, and finally, the prayer asking for Divine grace and the blessing of the soul of the departed. NOTES: Jane Manning, “The Songs and Song Cycles,” in The Messiaen Companion, ed. Peter Hill (Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1995), 107. BACK TO TOP DARIUS MILHAUD (1892-1974) Darius Milhaud was probably the most prolific composer of the group known as Les Six (Francis Poulenc, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Germaine Tailleferre, Georges Auric, and Milhaud). The group was unified by friendship rather than a single musical style. Championed by influential writer Jean Cocteau and composer Erik Satie, Les Six often presented their works at the same concerts and met with great regularity–often at Milhaud’s house–to make music and exchange ideas. Louis Durey observed that it was the wide diversity in their personalities and musical styles that gave the group its rich depth and permitted its development. Embodied in the credo of their musical thought was relative sparseness of texture and clarity. Turn-of-the-century France offered popular entertainments that drew the French to an environment of merry-go-rounds, shooting galleries, outdoor concerts, circuses, and a jumble of excitement. Milhaud was fascinated by Parisian street life, and could hear the sounds of the Montmartre fair from his apartment. Often on their group outings, Les Six went together to the Cirque de Médrano to see the Fratellinis, a famous family of clowns of that day. Milhaud observed that their acts were worthy of the Commedia dell’arte. 1 Trois Poèmes de Jean Cocteau, Op. 59 (1920) poems by Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) Trois poèmes de Jean Cocteau is like lyric fragments. The small-range vocal lines have a sparse lyricism–one of emotional mood rather than overt melody. The little mélodies are skillful studies in brevity. These match Cocteau’s rather enigmatic poems that exemplify the style termed dépouillé (stripped to the essentials), his aesthetic creed. Milhaud dedicated the songs to Satie. The three miniatures are a colorful kaleidoscope of the circus and the outdoor fairs that entranced the French during this period. “Fumée” describes the equestrienne of the Cirque Médrano atop a horse, jumping through hoops, captured in Toulouse-Lautrec’s familiar painting titled “L’écuyère au Cirque Fernando (1888); “Fête de Bordeaux” is a description of the merry-go-round at the Bordeaux fair; and “Fête de Montmartre” evokes the nighttime boats and sailors, possibly having to do with a game involving camouflaged ships found at the Montmartre fair. Milhaud infuses stylistic and melodic elements of folk songs and children’s tunes into the tiny pieces, tying the innate excitement of these popular destinations to simple, childlike reactions. NOTES: Laurence Davies, The Gallic Muse (New York: A.S. Barnes and Co., 1967), 164. BACK TO TOP FRANCIS POULENC (1899-1963) Francis Poulenc’s 150 mélodies form the largest body of songs to be added to French vocal literature in the twentieth century. Poulenc’s flair for the dramatic, combined with his superb skill in mixing poetry and music, produced songs that singers find immensely gratifying, not only for their musical value, but for their heightened sense of drama. Poulenc’s mélodies reflect concern and feeling for declamation, inflection, breathing, and above all, show extraordinary warmth of feeling for the human voice. He was fond of saying, “J’aime la voix humaine!” The sophistication of Poulenc’s songs spring from their poetic inspirations. Poulenc was quite knowledgeable about poetry, and chose his texts carefully. His gift of divining the inner life of the texts he set produced songs that do more than merely illustrate the poems. His gift for melody is at the very heart of all his songs and seems to assert itself naturally in shaping the color, weight, and meaning of the texts he set. Ce doux petit visage (1938) poem by Paul éluard (1895-1952) Paul Eluard was one of Poulenc’s three main poets. This is a beautiful introduction to Eluard’s poetry, lyrical and passionately intense. The simplicity of Poulenc’s setting allows the poem to shine. It is one of Poulenc’s tiny gems, and he admitted his partiality to the short song. Eluard’s skill at evoking nostalgia and melancholy are seen here, linked to lost youth. The mélodie is dedicated to the memory of Raymonde Linossier, Poulenc’s most intimate childhood friend, who influenced his literary taste and musical tendencies. He said: “I have a great liking for this short song. Raymonde Linossier was my best advisor for the music of my youth. How many times, during the years since her death, I would have liked to have had her opinion on this or the other of my works.” 1 La Grenouillère (1938) poem by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) “La Grenouillère” is an outstanding example of Poulenc’s romantic lyricism. This is a text by Guillaume Apollinaire describing the Ile de Croissy, an island in the Seine on the outskirts of Paris, frequented by artists and their models, and celebrated in paintings by Monet, Manet, and Renoir. “The Froggery” was a restaurant on the island. The overall images of happy days that cannot be relived can be seen in Pierre Auguste Renoir’s paintings Les Déjeuner des canotiers (The Boatman’s Luncheon), or La Grenouillère. In this lament for boating parties on the Seine, vocal phrases are sustained and languid, floating over a slowly rocking piano accompaniment. The lazy piano figures mirror the empty tethered boats rocking on the water, bumping against each other, and give expression to the sweet melancholy of the poet’s words. Montparnasse (1945) poem by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) Apollinaire’s poem is dated 1912. Poulenc writes in his journal of songs that it took him four years to complete “Montparnasse,” almost phrase by phrase, and that he had no regrets about the length of time it took because “it is one of my best songs.” 2 It is a sentimental and heartfelt tribute to Paris. Both Apollinaire and Poulenc loved the city and it played a continuing role in their work. “Montparnasse” is about the idyllic artistic existence lived at the edge of Paris. Poulenc wrote in his diary: “Let us imagine this Montparnasse all at once discovered by Picasso, Braque, Modigliani, Apollinaire.” 3 The mélodie has a carefree nonchalance about it; it is not sad, but thoughtful– a beautiful blend of poetic and musical lyricism. Poulenc’s vocal and harmonic textures are full of surprising harmonic details that bind this song–which he composed in fragments–together into a touching and expressive picture of Paris in the early years of the twentieth century. Bleuet (1939) poem by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) Guillaume Apollinaire was one of Poulenc’s preferred poets. This is a wartime poem that Apollinaire penned in 1917 in Paris in convalescence after a head injury; both Apollinaire and Poulenc served in World War II. There are several word plays at work here. “Bleuet” was the nickname for French soldiers in World War I, because their uniforms were blue, like the color of a little cornflower, which is a “bleuet.” Also, “Un bleu” was the term used for a raw recruit. “Bleuet” is one of Poulenc’s most moving songs– agonizing in its emotional content yet noble in its message. It is a quiet and private moment in which a twenty-year-old boy who does not yet know all that life can be, is characterized–and addressed–by the poet in a sweetly serious speech. Poulenc wrote that for him, the key to the poem were the words, “It is five o’clock and you would know how to die.” 4 This song is simple, intimate, and poignant. Les Chemins de l’amour (1940) poem by Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) Poulenc composed this valse chantée as incidental music for Léocadia, a play by Jean Anouilh. Within the play, the song was described as a pseudo Viennese waltz, and functioned as a leitmotiv in the plot. Sung by Yvonne Printemps, one of France’s most celebrated musical theatre stars, “Les Chemins de l’amour” became a popular success. It embodies the relaxed elegance of a self-styled Viennese waltz style, encased in one of Poulenc’s haunting melodies. Banalités (1940) poems by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) Banalités is not a cycle, but a group of five songs. The poems have no connection with each other; however, their order provides a well-constructed recital group. They may be performed separately. The work is one of Poulenc’s most popular vocal works, and deservedly so. Poulenc chose contrasting poems, placing them so that the collection begins briskly and ends with lyrical gravity. “Chanson d’Orkenise” is Poulenc’s title for the poem contained in the strange mixture of prose and poetry that Apollinaire called Onirocritique. Orkenise is a road in Autun leading to the Roman gate of the same name. The musical setting has the feeling of a popular folk song. The narrator sings of a tramp leaving the city and a carter who is entering it - one leaving his heart there, one bringing his heart to be married. There is a word in the poem with a double meaning: “grise” can be translated as “gray” or “tipsy.” The merry quality of the song opens the set with gaiety, but both Apollinaire and Poulenc offer a little food for thought. “Hôtel” is a poem that immediately represented for Poulenc a hotel room in Montparnassse, where the idle poet wants only to bask in the sun’s warmth and smoke. Pierre Bernac referred to it as “the laziest song ever written.” 5 The piano figures are fashioned of Poulenc’s luxuriant chromatic harmonies, stacked as if to cushion the lethargy of the singer. “Fagnes de Wallonie” is set in the gloomy, desolate uplands of the Ardennes with a terrain of vast heaths, twisted trees, and peat bogs, swept by winds of considerable force. Its gloomy setting complements the melancholy mood of the poet. Poulenc’s spiky musical setting is a whirlwind that sweeps from beginning to end in a turbulent texture that demands precise articulation from singer and pianist. Sandwiched between Songs 3 and 5 is a tiny bonbon, “Voyage à Paris.” It resembles a little commercial jingle about Paris–“which one day love must have created”–an invitation to the pleasures of that beautiful city, away from “the dreary countryside.” Poulenc sprinkles his quicksilver setting–a valse-musette–with indications of “amiable” and “avec charme.” The composer referred to it as having “deliciously stupid lines...Anything that concerns Paris I approach with tears in my eyes and my head full of music.” 6 The cycle concludes with “Sanglots”, one of Apollinaire’s finest poems about the universality of lost love, a theme that Poulenc matches with exquisite modulations in a setting that embodies the essence of the words. The vocal lines are eloquently lyrical. The poem is difficult to understand because of the juxtaposition of the main narrative and the interior “asides,” that in effect form a poem within a poem. 7 The song has an elegant serenity that culminates in a stunning climactic point at the words: “Est mort d’amour ou c’est tout comme/ Est mort d’amour et le voici.” The ending lines of the song sustain the profoundly calm mood, bringing Banalités to its close. La Courte Paille (1960) poems by Maurice Carême (1899-1978) The last song cycle Poulenc composed was La Courte paille, on seven poems of Belgian poet Maurice Carême. Poulenc composed the songs for soprano Denise Duval, creator of leading roles in his three operas, hoping that she would sing them to her young son. Poulenc considered the mélodies very poetic and whimsical; unfortunately, Duval disliked the music and never did sing the cycle. Poulenc asked Carême to provide an overall title for the work and requested permission to change the titles of several selected poems: the original title of “Quelle aventure!” is “Une puce et l’éléphant”; “Le Reine de cœur” is “Vitres de lune”; “Le carafon” is “La carafe et le carafon.” For the cycle’s title, Carême chose La Courte Paille (The Short Straw), referring to drawing lots by the method of a short straw. Poulenc was delighted, saying the title symbolized his little musical game exactly. He also wrote in his diary, “They must be sung tenderly; that is the surest way to touch the heart of a child.” 8 The cycle is full of child-like innocence, whimsy and imagination, with a few shadowy undertones. The first song, “Le Sommeil,” is a beautiful lullaby to a restless child who cannot go to sleep, tossing and turning in his small bed. He seems ill, crying and perspiring, but hopefully will finally surrender to slumber. In “Quelle aventure!” the child describes an absurd happening: he saw a flea driving a carriage with a small elephant in it. The story grows more bizarre but the rhythmic pace never wavers, careening to the end of the song when the child wonders how on earth he’ll ever be able to persuade “Mama” that it really happened. The verses are witty, yet the shrieks of “Mon Dieu!” are laced with a feeling of childish terror. “La Reine du cœur” is a beautiful, languid melody that paints a picture of the mysterious Queen of Hearts, beckoning to visitors from her frosty castle, where she reigns over a court of lovers, including the young dead. In “Ba, Be, Bi, Bo, Bu...,” the child is chided “on all sides” about studying. The title of the song presents the French vowels, and the text contains words that make their plural with an “x” (“pou, chou, genou, hibou”). The formidable cat of the poem’s opening lines is none other than that tricky feline Puss-in-Boots! The entire song is a little tongue-twister, an exercise in diction and accuracy. “Les anges musiciens” are none other than the school children staying home on Thursday, the half-day school holiday in France in Poulenc’s time, practicing Mozart on their harps, just like good little angel musicians should do. “Le carafon” is a crazy little story of a carafe that longs for a baby carafe (carafon) just like the giraffe at the zoo, who has a girafon. This is a ridiculous rhyming game like those that children love to play. The text is full of whimsical characters: the carafe, a giraffe, a sorcerer astride a phonograph, Merlin, and finally, a carafon. “Lune d’Avril” is another lullaby, very slow and otherworldly, which serves as an epilogue. Bound together in a musical texture that features a syncopated pedal point, it is filled with enchanted images the child wishes to dream about: a land of joy, light, and flowers where all guns are silent. The ending leaves the listener suspended in a mood of unfinished magic. La Courte Paille is the last vocal music Poulenc composed. NOTES: Quoted in Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc: The Man and his Songs (New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1977), 125. Francis Poulenc, Journal de mes mélodies, trans. Winifred Radford (London: Victor Gollancz, 1985), 75. Ibid., 75. Ibid., 57. Bernac, 72. Poulenc, 67. The English translation of “Sanglots” has parentheses that delineate the “asides” so that both “poems” may be seen. These may be found in Pierre Bernac’s books Francis Poulenc: The Man and his Songs, page 75, or The Interpretation of French Song, pages 284-85 Poulenc, 109. BACK TO TOP MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937) The songs of Maurice Ravel represent a transition between the mature mélodies of Debussy and the vocal literature that followed, notably the songs of Les Six. Debussy dominated the French musical scene from the turn of the century until his death in 1918. It was Ravel who was regarded as the leading musical spokesman for France following World War I. He was a skillful craftsman and his songs have a sense of evenness of rhythmic structure and flow that call for scrupulous execution. The fusion of music and text into a logical whole was of utmost importance to him. He composed elegant and subtle mélodies, using classical phrase structure. His melodic phrases often tend toward modality. His songs range from those with a folk-like style to more to those that are more speech-like, and those that encompass a melodic romanticism. He was precise in his thought and his scoring, and scrupulous in his musical execution. His music encompassed some of the fascinating influences of the post-Wagnerian era. Ravel’s musical contributions were of utmost importance to this exciting and new era in French cultural history. He made notable contributions to musical literature for the piano, the French art song, opera, chamber music, orchestral literature, and the ballet. Sur l’herbe (1907) poem by Paul Verlaine (1833-1896) This mélodie is Ravel’s only setting of Verlaine. It has often been suggested that this poem was probably inspired by Watteau’s painting L’île enchantée. There is also a reference to a famous eighteenth-century dancer, Marie-Anne Cuppi, known as (La) Camargo, who was immortalized on canvas by the painter Nicolas Lancret. The scene is an outside gathering, elegant and artificial. A number of people are there, chief among them, a licentious abbé, slightly tipsy from a bit too much Cyprian wine. He exchanges a few disconnected gallantries with the ladies–innocent conversations on the surface, but sensuous in undertone. The conversation is disconnected; we do not know exactly who is speaking. Ravel shapes very flexible vocal phrases, in keeping with the abbé’s intoxicated state, underscored with graceful piano figures that evoke an eighteenth-century dance. In a letter to Jean-Aubrey, Ravel commented on “Sur l’herbe”: “In this piece, as in the Histoires naturelles, the impression must be given that one is almost not singing. A bit of preciosity is found there which is indicated moreover by the text and the music.” 1 Noël des jouets (1905) poem by the composer This is the only solo song for which Ravel wrote the text. It describes a Christmas manger scene, replete with the Virgin and Christ-child, animals, and angels. It embodies Ravel’s delight with tiny mechanical toys and figures, and his fascination with the unspoiled world of child-like experience. His genius for text painting is displayed in the delightful mélodie. The mechanical toys come to life in the piano figures. Ravel’s charming text creates the images around and over the crèche, with not a word wasted. Ravel commented that the music is “clear and plain, like the mechanical toys of the poem.” 2 This little song foreshadows other Ravel settings of make-believe, beginning with the song cycle Histoires naturelles and culminating with his opera L’Enfant et les sortilèges. The music of menacing dog Belzébuth foreshadows the music of the Beast in the Mother Goose Suite (Ma Mère lOye). Rêves (1927) poem by Léon-Paul Fargue (1876-1947) The poetry of Léon-Paul Fargue has been described as reflecting the union of dream and memory. This mélodie has a tender lyricism within a sparse musical texture. The text is fashioned of a series of miniature images that pass by rather quickly, unrelated, like the images found in dreams. For all their differences, they have a simplicity about them that seems timeless, existing together, as the poet says, “in a vague countryside.” When the dreamer finally awakens, the little fleeting pictures “die quietly.” The piano postlude perpetuates the dream state, creating an ethereal little microcosm that continues to draw the dreamer to it. Ronsard à son âme (1924) poem by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) In his Abrégé de l’art poétique français (1565) Pierre de Ronsard advocated the union of poetry and music, and Renaissance composers frequently set his poems. 3 In this strikingly simple mélodie, Ronsard speaks to his soul, calling it by a series of diminutives: little soul, dainty little one, sweet little one. Ravel uses a series of parallel fifths in the piano figures to invoke a Renaissance mood. This is Ronsard’s last poem, and Ravel’s last adaptation of Renaissance poetry. Ravel’s setting recalls the elegance of his early mélodie, “D’Anne qui me jecta de la neige,” to a poem of Clément Marot. Manteau de fleurs (1903) poem by Paul Barthélemy Jeulin (1863-1936) The poem notes everything in the garden that is pink–all the flowers that will become a beautiful cloak to complement the beauty of the lady of the poem. Ravel usually had very sophisticated taste in choosing texts; this particular poem is an unusual choice. It is a simple text, somewhat banal, but Ravel’s shimmering musical texture imparts a dramatic character for each flower in the poem. The overall piano texture suggests orchestral colors. The last section of the mélodie changes course slightly, with the piano harmonies creating a slightly wistful mood. Clearly, Ravel lavished a beautiful musical setting on a rather ordinary set of words. Don Quichotte à Dulcinée (1932-33) [Medium/Low Voice edition only] poems by Paul Morand (1888-1976) This miniature cycle was Ravel’s last vocal work. His musical portrait of the noble Spanish knight, Don Quixote, is embodied in three mélodies, all based on characteristic Spanish or Basque dance rhythms: (1) the guajira, alternating 6/8 and 3/4 meter; (2) the zorzica, a Basque dance in quintuple meter; and (3) the jota, a lively triple-metered Spanish dance. “Chanson Romanesque” presents the chivalrous idealist Don Quixote, confidently promising to rearrange everything in nature to his lady Dulcinea’s liking in order to win her favor. Dulcinea is in reality a poor farm girl, but the Don’s illusion will not be shaken. He remains authoritative and focused in his quest for her love. “Chanson épique” is Quixote’s reverent prayer to Saint Michael and Saint George, beseeching them to bless his sword and his Lady. Ravel creates a beautifully sustained and prayerful vocal line over a simple accompaniment. “Chanson à boire” is a exuberant drinking song. Although the Don’s tippling has made him overly boisterous, he never oversteps the bounds of his noble bearing. His robust laughter is heard in the piano figures and even a hiccup intrudes between “lorsque j’ai” and “lorsque j’ai bu.” NOTES: Maurice Ravel, in a letter to Jean-Aubrey written in September, 1907. Quoted in Arbie Orenstein, Ravel: Man and Musician (New York: Dover Publications, 1991), 165-66. Quoted in Orenstein, 161. Orenstein, 192. BACK TO TOP ALBERT ROUSSEL (1869-1937) In 1894 Albert Roussel left a highly successful career as a naval officer to pursue music. After completing his studies, he became professor of counterpoint at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. Satie and Varèse were among his students. Roussel was one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. He composed almost forty mélodies as well as chamber music, ballets, and operas. His style is eclectic but highly individual. Early works show the influence of Vincent d’Indy, works dating from 1910 to 1920 exhibit influences of Debussy and Ravel, but he turned to neoclassicism in his later compositions. His love for the sea was almost a spiritual attraction and continued to influence his music throughout his career. He had a fascination for distant places; his extended tour of Southeast Asia in 1909 had a tremendous influence on his composition. “Sarabande” and “Cœur en peril” are mélodies to texts of René Chalupt, a close friend. They are found in op. 20 and 50, respectively. Roussel’s overall musical catalogue is not extensive, but its quality is of an extremely high level, and his vocal writing in particular contains some mélodies of great delicacy and style, squarely in the French tradition. For Roussel, the word held primacy in his mélodies, being both transformed by its musical setting and merging with it to create a perfect union. Commenting on the quality of Roussel’s songs, composer Charles Koechlin is quoted as saying: “The sense of austerity pervading them, stemming simply from the composer’s natural reserve, heightens their expressiveness and further embellishes them; in language and content they are absolutely personal. This collection of songs is one which will last because its essence is undying sensitivity.” 1 Sarabande (1919) from Deux mélodies, Op. 20, No. 2 poem by René Chalupt This is surely one of Roussel’s most delicate and magical creations. His writing for the piano is particularly outstanding, placing Chalupt’s poem in an overall texture of elegance and veiled sensuality. There is an Oriental delicacy in Roussel’s musical evocation of the fluttering doves, feathers drifting into a pool, and the gentle drift of chestnut blossoms onto bare flesh. Cœur en péril (1933-34) from Deux mélodies, Op. 50, No. 1 poem by René Chalupt This mélodie is much different in mood–witty and flirtatious. It is the narrative of a young man eager to convince his ladylove of his fidelity. Vocal phrases are tuneful, with a spirited piano texture of Iberian flavor. NOTES: Liner notes, Dom Angelico Surchamp, trans. Elisabeth Carroll, Roussel Mélodies, Colette Alliot-Lugaz, Mady Mesplé, Kurt Ollmann, José Van Dam; Dalton Baldwin, Patrick Gallois. EMI Digital. CDS 7492712, 1987 BACK TO TOP ERIK SATIE (1866-1925) Erik Satie wrote very few songs and most of them date from late in his life. The eccentric father figure of the French avant-garde of the twentieth century had a wildly independent spirit that found its way into his musical compositions. Throughout his life, he kept a great deal of childlike inquisitiveness and innocence. He was a curious personality of unconventional habits whose sense of the absurd and whimsy permeated both his life and his music. Quintessential Satie compositions are laconic and witty. It was Satie who named Les Nouveaux Jeunes, soon known as Les Six, and influenced the early development of the group. La Statue de bronze (1916) from Trois Mélodies poem by Léon-Paul Fargue (1876-1947) This is Satie’s first setting of the poetry of Léon-Paul Fargue, the “Bohemian poet of Paris.” Satie used Fargue’s witty verses again for Ludions. The scene is a garden game–the jeu de tonneau. A bronze frog, perched atop a cabinet with numbered chambers, grows impatient of being the target of the game where metal disks are tossed into her mouth. She dreams of being freed from her pedestal and being able to use her wide-open mouth to utter “LE MOT.” 1 She wants to be free to join the other frogs gathered near the rust-colored washhouse “blowing musical bubbles from the soapy moonlight.” But the game continues, the disks rattle through her mouth into numbered compartments and at night, insects sleep in her mouth. This mélodie can be linked musically to “La Grenouille américaine,” found in Ludions. Both songs share piano figures derived from the café-concert chanson. Ludions (1923) poems by Léon-Paul Fargue (1876-1947) Ludions is the last of Satie’s purely vocal works, composed two years before his death, and is perhaps his finest set of songs. It epitomizes his lifelong quest for musical simplicity and his irreverence for the intricate compositional techniques and overactive emotions of the Impressionists. Ludions is translated as “bottle imps” (a ludion is a little figure suspended in a hollow ball, which descends or rises in a vase filled with water when one presses down on the elastic membrane covering the mouth of the vase). The cycle is a kaleidoscopic set of musical miniatures, riddled with puns and illogical phrases. Fargue’s nonsensical verse complements Satie’s musical aesthetic, and the two friends’ personalities closely matched one another. All the mélodies in Ludions are short, like tiny cameos. They are colorful, saucy, fantastic, and defy translation. “Air du rat,” “La Grenouille américaine,” and “Chanson du chat” are right out of the music hall, and Satie uses with a mock-serious “tongue-in-cheek” treatment for “Spleen” and “Air du poète.” Je te veux (1902) poem by Henry Pacory (1873-?) The valse chantée, or sung waltz was a favorite of the café concerts, for which Satie composed a number of works. Café concerts were a form of Parisian popular entertainment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The all-musical programs were held outside; French popular singers presented repertoire that catered to lower and middle-class audiences who came to talk, eat, drink, and observe the long informal programs, for which there was no admission charge. “Je te veux” was composed for Paulette Darty, dubbed “the Queen of the slow waltz.” It was one of her signature musical presentations for the caf’conc (café concerts), and one that Darty remained associated with throughout her career. A statuesque blonde with an ample figure, Darty was a commanding performer who kept the most boisterous of the Saturday night audiences enthralled. Lyricist Henry Pacory’s rather explicit poem was watered down at Satie’s request before the song was published. La Diva de l’Empire (1904) poem by Charles Bessat, named Numa Blès (1871-1917) The “Diva de l’Empire,” 2 one of Satie’s café-concert songs, was another work written for and performed by Paulette Darty. It was composed for a Bonnaud-Blès music-hall revue called Dévidons la Bobine (Let’s Unwind the Bobbin) that toured several seaside resort towns. The British “diva” is a femme fatale performer who enchants all who see her. The song is a syncopated cakewalk describing her seductive beauty as she struts her stuff “showing the wiggling of her legs and some pretty frilly underwear.” Interspersed at points along the way with English words: Greenaway, baby, little girl, etc. The piano provides a jaunty ragtime rhythm throughout that melds perfectly with the suggestive text. NOTES: ”Le mot” has a double meaning. It was the title of a broadsheet published by Jean Cocteau between 1914-15 and is short for “le mot de Cambronne,” a polite way of saying “merde.” Cambronne was a famous French general who replied “Merde!” when asked to surrender. In Steven Moore Whiting, Satie the Bohemian: From Cabaret to Concert Hall. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 43. Empire refers to the Empire Theatre of Varieties, Leicester Square, London. BACK TO TOP DÉODAT DE SÉVERAC (1872-1921) Déodat de Séverac, of aristocratic lineage, was born in the Languedoc region of southwest France in Saint-Félix-Caraman (now Saint-Félix Lauragais), near Toulouse. After studies in Paris with Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum, he returned home and remained there. He was a contemporary of Fauré, Debussy and Ravel, but was considered a petit maître in their company, possibly because of his return to Languedoc at the completion of his musical studies. Séverac composed piano and orchestral music, operas and songs. The culture of his native Languedoc figured prominently in his music, which is highly descriptive. He often wrote parts for regional folk music in his scores. Many considered him provincial and unsophisticated, but his music displays his skill in integrating folk elements–and often, regional folk instruments–of his native Languedoc into his works. He often referred to himself as “the peasant musician.” Influences of Debussy, Mussorgsky, and Bizet may be found in his mélodies. Although his music is rather conservative in style, Séverac fused folk elements with the musical styles of the day in a unique and individual manner. Ma poupée chérie (1914) poem by the composer Composed in 1914 (and published in 1916) for his daughter Magali and dedicated to her, this little cradlesong is probably de Séverac’s best loved and most performed mélodie. Séverac’s fresh musical setting contains just the right combination of simplicity and delightful childlike honesty. Despite the subject matter, the composer’s heartfelt poem avoids an overly cloying atmosphere. BACK TO TOP OTHER SOURCES CONSULTED: Jane Bathori, On the Interpretation of the Mélodies of Claude Debussy, transl. and with an introduction by Linda Laurent (Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1998). Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc: The Man and his Songs, transl. by Winifred Radford (New York: W.W. Norton, 1977). Pierre Bernac, The Interpretation of French Song, transl. by Winifred Radford(New York: W.W. Norton, 1978). Elaine Brody, Paris: The Musical Kaleidoscope 1870-1925 (New York: George Braziller, 1987). Mary Dibbern, Carol Kimball, and Patrick Choukroun, Interpreting the Songs of Jacques Leguerney (Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2001) Alan M. Gillmor, Erik Satie (New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1992). James Harding, The Ox on the Roof: Scenes from musical life in Paris in the Twenties (New York: Da Capo Press, 1986). Peter Hill, ed., The Messiaen Companion (Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1995). Graham Johnson, Gabriel Fauré: The Songs and their Poets (London: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 2009) Graham Johnson and Richard Stokes, A French Song Companion (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp., 2005). Carol Kimball and Richard Walters, eds., The French Song Anthology (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp., 2001). Timothy LeVan, Masters of the French Art Song (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1991). Barbara Meister, Nineteenth-Century French Song (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1980). Wilfrid Mellers, Francis Poulenc (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993). Arbie Orenstein, Ravel: Man and Musician (New York: Columbia University Press, 1975). Nancy Perloff, Art and the Everyday: Popular Entertainment in the Circle of Erik Satie(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991) Caroline Potter, Henri Dutilleux: His Life and Works (Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 1997). Francis Poulenc, Moi et mes amis: Confidences recueilles par Stéphane Audel (Paris: La Palatine, 1963). Francis Poulenc, Diary of my Songs [Journal de mes mélodies] transl. by Winifred Radford (London: Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1985) Marie-Claire Rohinsky, ed., The Singer’s Debussy (New York: Pelion Press, 1987) Roger Shattuck, The Banquet Years (New York: Vintage Books, 1968). 20TH CENTURY FRENCH ART SONGS Mélodies française du XXe siècle Edited by Carol Kimball Published by Éditions Durand DF 16250/HL 50565798 High Voice edition DF 16251/HL 50565799 Medium/Low Voice edition Distributed in Europe and Asia by Hal Leonard MGB Distributed in North and South America by Hal Leonard Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Hal Leonard Australia Download & Print Introductory Notes Complete Online Introductory Notes, Unabridged copyright © 2015 Editions Durand An abridged version of editor Carol Kimball’s “Introduction” appears in the High Voice and Medium/Low Voice publications. Her complete length “Introduction” appears below. See the publications for the poetry texts in French and translations in English. GEORGES AURIC CLAUDE DEBUSSY HENRI DUTILLEUX GABRIEL FAURÉ REYNALDO HAHN ARTHUR HONEGGER JACQUES LEGUERNEY OLIVIER MESSIAEN DARIUS MILHAUD FRANCIS POULENC MAURICE RAVEL ALBERT ROUSSEL ERIK SATIE DÉODAT DE SÉVERAC GEORGES AURIC (1899-1983) George Auric was something of a child prodigy, performing a piano recital at the Musicale Indépendante at the age of fourteen. The following year, the Société Nationale de Musique performed several songs he had composed. He studied composition at the Paris Conservatoire with Georges Caussade, and later with Vincent d’Indy and Albert Roussel at the Schola Cantorum de Paris. Before he was twenty, Auric had orchestrated and written incidental music for several stage productions and ballets. He composed a significant amount of avant-garde music during the years between 1910-20. Around 1914, he widened his acquaintances to include members of Les Six, a group of composers informally associated with Erik Satie and Jean Cocteau, and became a part of their group. Auric and Francis Poulenc became fast friends and remained so for life. Music criticism was an important part of Auric’s career; his writing focused on promoting the ideals of Les Six and Cocteau. He was also especially known for his film scores, which are consistently imaginative. He forged a major career in the English movies of the 1940s and ’50s. Among his most well-known scores is the music for the film Moulin Rouge. Other popular film titles with scores by Auric include The Lavender Hill Mob, Roman Holiday, Beauty and the Beast, and Bonjour Tristesse. In 1962 he became the director of the Opéra National de Paris and later, chairman of SACEM, the French Performing Rights Society. Auric continued to write classical chamber music until his death. Le Jeune sanguine (1940) from Trois Poèmes de Louise de Vilmorin poem by Louise de Vilmorin (1902-1969) This mélodie is the second song in Auric’s cycle titled Trois poèmes de Louise de Vilmorin. Vilmorin’s poetry reverberates with sensitivity to affairs of the heart. She was one of Poulenc’s preferred poets; he set her poetry when writing specifically for the female voice, such as in Fiançailles pour rire. A sort of veiled humor is at the heart of this text that describes a young hussy whose lover departs early with the dawn’s first light, leaving her weeping disconsolately. Auric provides a prelude and postlude for formal balance as the miserable young woman mourns her loss. He also inserts several unexpected and amusing measures of a tango as the young man arches his back and leaves the sound of her sobbing. For his three Vilmorin songs, Auric used the style of a chansonette, or more popular song. Printemps (1935) Poem by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) Auric composed this lilting waltz song for a play by Edouard Bourdet titled La Reine Margot (1935). The celebrated musical theatre actress-singer Yvonne Printemps created the role of Queen Margot of Navarre at Théâtre de la Michodière. Auric and Francis Poulenc collaborated on the incidental music for this play; Poulenc took the second act, Auric the first. Poulenc composed the Suite française and the song “A sa guitare”; Auric’s contribution was “Printemps.” Yvonne Printemps sang both songs in the play. Both composers used texts by Pierre de Ronsard, and the musical style of each is reminiscent of the Renaissance. Ronsard’s original poem had twenty-three stanzas. Auric set only the first three. BACK TO TOP CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Claude Debussy wrote expertly for the voice and was acutely responsive to transforming poetic nuance into musical expression. Possibly no other French composer was as attuned to blending poetry and music. His literary taste was highly refined and he maintained a visible and active role in the literary and artistic circles of his time. He chose to set poetry of his contemporaries, notably Verlaine and Mallarmé. Verlaine’s verse with its inherent musical qualities, provided Debussy with poetry for numerous works. For Debussy, poetry as poetry was the paramount determinant of the musical texture. His ability to detect the essence of a poem and perfectly transform it into musical expression makes his mélodies unique in the history of French song. Le promenoir des deux amants (1904, 1910) poems by Tristan l’Hermite (c. 1601-1656) “Auprès de cette grotte sombre,” the first song, made its first appearance with the title “La Grotte,” song two of Trois chansons de France of 1904. In 1910, it was retitled and combined with two other poems by Tristan l’Hermite (“Crois mon conseil, chère Climène” and “Je tremble en voyant ton visage”) to form the miniature cycle Le Promenoir de deux amants, which has been called the finest of all Debussy’s works for voice and piano. It is also the least-often performed. Debussy chose the texts from Les Amours de Tristan, a collection by the seventeenth-century poet Tristan l’Hermite. The poems are set close to a grotto, secluded and silent. The transparent, barely stirring waters mingle with the silence of the cloistered spot, creating a dreamlike atmosphere. Debussy establishes an intimate, tender mood immediately and maintains this fragile mix of sound and color throughout the three mélodies. The interplay of resonance and texture in voice and piano results in an exquisite blend of light and shade, perfectly complementing l’Hermite’s poetic images. Subtly inflected vocal phrases are key to recreating the infinite calm and Pelléas-like atmosphere of the poetry, a perfect fusion of stillness and sensuality. Fêtes galantes II (1904) poems by Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) Debussy’s fascination with the work of the French Symbolist poet Paul Verlaine resulted in his setting to music no fewer than seventeen of Verlaine’s texts. He composed two sets of three songs each, both titled Fêtes galantes, the first in 1892, and the second in 1904. Fêtes galantes II, Debussy’s last setting of Verlaine, closely following the composition of his opera Pélleas et Mélisande, is representative of the composer’s mature vocal works. It is marked by sparser textures, freer tonalities and a more concentrated compositional style than the first set; but like the first set, Fêtes galantes II presents three unrelated songs. None of the Watteau-like scenes are found here; rather, these three poems are filled with mystery, and are without sentimentality. The theme of time appears in each of the poems: the first, sentimental youthful remembrances; the second, inexorable fleeting time; and finally in the last song, time never to be reclaimed. “Les Ingénus” recalls the first awakenings of sexual attraction, and deals with the breathless awe with which a group of unsophisticated young men of the mid-nineteenth century view their similarly naïve female companions. The scene unfolds in a highly chromatic texture, skillfully balanced to preserve the delicate, poignant images in Verlaine’s verse. Debussy’s free-floating harmonies are carefully contrived to complement the uncertain emotions and repressed sensations of the youths in the poem. “Le Faune” begins with a prelude; time unravels in an inflexible dance featuring a rhythmic, hypnotic figure in the piano, imaging the traditional reed pipe and “tambourin,” a small drum played with a stick. The old terra-cotta statue in Verlaine’s poem is probably the woodland god Pan, playing a monotonous rhythm that is both sensual and slightly menacing, matching the mood of the two mélancolique pélerins. Mesmerized by the repetitive rhythms of drum and reed flute, the dejected travelers are caught in the whirlpool of passing time, which spins past as they watch helplessly. “Colloque sentimental.” Colloquial (colloque) refers to ordinary speech or conversation. This disturbing poem is the touchstone of one of Debussy’s great mélodies. It is the last poem in Verlaine’s collection titled Fêtes galantes, and provides a chilling climax. It blends themes of despair, death and disillusion. In this extraordinary song, the ghosts of two lovers meet in a wintry park. As they speak of their former love, their words match the setting: glacial and detached from feeling. Throughout the song their wintry words are enhanced by Debussy’s simple and subtle vocal treatment: one voice urgent and persistent, the other stonily indifferent. Debussy’s manipulation of musical texture between voice and piano is masterful. The sparse vocal lines are almost speech-like, and the piano figures mirror the frozen landscape in which this conversation–equally cold–takes place. The song’s kinship to Debussy’s opera Pélleas et Mélisande is unmistakable. The listener becomes one with the poem’s narrator, straining to see and hear the couple’s conversation in the icy cold of the deserted, frozen park. Debussy reaches back to “En sourdine” (the first mélodie of Fêtes galantes I), takes the wistful song of the nightingale, and inserts it into this song at various points. The nightingale’s melody (“voix de nôtre dessespoir, le rossignol chantera”) provides a touching and melancholy association, linking the two sets of Fêtes galantes together symbolically and musically, foreshadowing the disenchantment of love hinted at in “En sourdine” with the lovers’ conversation in “Colloque sentimental,” and unifying the two sets by a subtle musical component. This panel of three mélodies was Debussy’s last setting of the poetry of Paul Verlaine. Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus de maisons (1915) poem by the composer This is Debussy’s last song, written to his own text, a Christmas carol for children made homeless by World War I. Its intensity comes from its simple sincerity. Debussy composed it on the eve of his first operation for the cancer that would end his life two years later. It was his personal protest against the invasion of northern France by the German armies. When asked for permission to orchestrate the song, Debussy refused, saying, “I want this piece to be sung with the most discreet accompaniment. Not a word of the text must be lost, inspired as it is by the rapacity of our enemies. It is the only way I have to fight the war.” Originally composed in 1915 for piano and voice, Debussy also created a version for children’s chorus, and in 1916, a version for piano and two sopranos. BACK TO TOP HENRI DUTILLEUX (1916-2013) Henri Dutilleux studied at the Paris Conservatory with Maurice Emmanuel. He received the Prix de Rome in 1938 at age twenty-two, and went on to work at the Paris Opéra and the French Radio. France’s musical institutions defined his career: in 1961, he joined the faculty at the école Normale de Musique, teaching composition. In 1970, he taught at the Paris Conservatoire. He destroyed many of his early works, considering them derivative of Ravel, the preeminent composer in France during his youth. His music that had been published avoided demolition. After World War II, Dutilleux concentrated almost exclusively on instrumental and orchestral music, much of which has been widely programmed and recorded. His songs are not well known. In the chronological catalogue of his compositions, beginning in 1929, the Quatre mélodies for mezzo soprano or baritone is only the eleventh entry. It also exists in an orchestral version. The collection is dedicated to the French baritone Charles Panzéra and his wife, pianist Magdeleine Panzéra-Baillot, prominent interpreters of French song in the interwar years. Gabriel Fauré dedicated his last cycle, L’horizon chimérique, to Panzéra. Quatre mélodies (1942) uses poems by four different poets and presents a delightful collection of moods, although it must be admitted that the level of the poetry is not uniformly high: “Féérie au clair de lune” (poem by Raymond Genty), a graceful scherzo of dancing fairies that evokes Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; “Pour une amie perdue” (Edmond Borsent); “Regards sur l’infini” (Anna de Noailles); and “Fantasio” (André Bellessort). The last mélodie is the most successful of the set and is one of two songs from the set (the other being “Pour une amie perdue”) that Dutilleux acknowledged. He wanted to exclude the first and third songs because their poetry was relatively mediocre. Fantasio (1942) from Quatre Mélodies poem by André Bellessort (1866-1942) “Fantasio” (the original title of Bellessort’s poem is “Les funérailles de Fantasio”) is a colorful poem that chronicles the funeral of the titled character, who has expired before the text begins. The poem, set in Venice during Carnival, is full of glittering and compelling imagery that changes quickly, following the pace of the Carnival. Musical textures are skillfully handled and exhibit some of Dutilleux’s developing style. “Pauvre Fantasio,” is heard several times during the text, acting as both a funereal chant that unifies the proceedings and perhaps as well, keeping the mourners’ footsteps marching together. BACK TO TOP GABRIEL FAURÉ (1845-1924) Gabriel Fauré was one of the great composers of French song who, with Duparc and Debussy, perfected the mélodie as a true art song form. He composed about a hundred songs, all original in conception, constantly developing in style, and pointing the way to future works. His songs express a broad range of emotion and a great variety of musical textures, extending the musical parameters of the genre and inspiring new techniques of song compositions. His songs are often divided into three compositional periods for purposes of study and definition. Fauré has been characterized as a skillful watchmaker; with great precision his songs, which overflow with subtle nuances and delicate detail. His approach is in keeping with the French musical aesthetic: elegant and rational, dealing with sentiment rather than literal sensation. He was able to capture the entire poetic mood of each poem he set and to create an aura around it with his musical setting. Dans la fôret de septembre, Op. 85, No. 1 (1902) poem by Catulle Mendès (1841-1909) This touching poem symbolizes the onset of old age. Mendès was among the founders of a literary magazine, La Revue fantaisiste, which published many poems of the Parnassian poets. Fauré’s musical style perfectly suited this style of poetry: elegance of style, richness of rhyme, regularity and symmetry of rhythm. The Parnassians avoided the excessively romantic and aimed for “art-for-art’s sake.” Fauré was nearly sixty years old when he composed this mélodie, and his reaction to this poem is beautifully poignant. The words describe the poet’s reflective walk through a quiet, somber forest, capturing the chill of mortality and the overall mood of the turning point of life. The ancient forest, sensing a kindred spirit, provides the walker with a sign of friendship and understanding. Fauré set this contemplative poem in a rich harmonic musical texture with a vocal line that borders on quasi-recitative-like shapes. The solemn thoughts of old age call forth a melancholy, but it is a subtle melancholy. It is almost hymn-like in the fusion of words, emotions, and musical texture. This mélodie may be considered as marking the threshold to the final period of Fauré’s compositions. Accompagnement, Op. 85, No. 3 (1902) poem by Albert Victor Samain (1858-1900) This mélodie is a beautiful barcarolle–a nighttime scene, silvery and hazy, alluring but unreal. The image of the poet rowing on the lake is reflected in the musical texture. Fauré had a lifelong fascination with water imagery in music; this poem offers a little reel of unfolding pictures of a moonlight journey a dark lake. The words “dans le rêve” tell us that this is all a dream. This is a rarely sung Fauré mélodie that yields great rewards for the performer. Chanson, Op. 94 (1906) poem by Henri di Régnier (1864-1936) This poem has a gentle charm and a calm simplicity. It is the last of Fauré’s madrigals that include delicate love songs such as “Lydia,” and “Clair de lune.” It has a wonderful fluidity that is a perfect foil for the poetic images The text is a simple set of variations on one theme: nothing on earth has any meaning unless the beloved somehow touches it. Fauré’s reaction to the words called forth a musical setting of delicate transparency and limited range. It is not well known; like “Le Don silencieux,” “Chanson” was published as a single song and therefore not widely disseminated. It is an example of exquisitely planned musical economy, and definitely belongs in Fauré’s third period of musical compositions. Le Don silencieux, Op. 92 (1906) poem by Marie Closset (1875-1952), under the pseudonym Jean Dominique Here is another little known Fauré song, a rarity because it was published separately and was never included in any of the Fauré recueils. The poem has a gentle melancholy–the plea of a timid lover, a mixture of hope and imagined disappointment. The words are tender and flowing, but the overall mood is one of unrelieved sadness. This song marks the beginning of Fauré’s third compositional period, which includes the cycles La Chanson d’Eve, Le Jardin clos, Mirages, and L’Horizon chimérique. Writing of this mélodie in a letter to his wife, Fauré said, It does not in the least resemble any of my previous works, nor anything that I am aware of; I am very pleased about this...It translates the words gradually as they unfold themselves; it begins, opens out, and finishes, nothing more, nevertheless it is unified. 1 NOTES: Quoted in Graham Johnson, Gabriel Fauré: The Songs and their Poets (London: Guildhall School of Music and Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2009), 291. Quotation from Jean-Michel Nectoux, Gabriel Fauré: A Musical Life, trans. Roger Nichols (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 304. This is a translation of Fauré’s letter to his wife of 17 August 1906. BACK TO TOP REYNALDO HAHN (1875-1947) Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan by birth, came to Paris with his family at age four and made a brilliant career. In addition to his career as a composer and singer, he was director of the Paris Opéra, music critic for the newspaper Figaro, and conductor of the Salzburg Festival. He was enough of a scholar to edit some of the works of Rameau. He maintained close friendships throughout his life with actress Sarah Bernhardt and writer Marcel Proust. During the Belle époque, French mélodie was at the height of its development. Hahn was a habitué of the most fashionable salons, where he was in demand as a performer. On these occasions, he usually sang and played his own accompaniment, often with a cigarette dangling from his lips. The art of singing was one of his major passions, and he wrote three books on singing (Du chant, Thèmes varies, and L’oreille au guet), as well as a memoir of Sarah Bernhardt. Hahn’s songs are models of French restraint–devoid of overt display, with beautiful melodies in a modest vocal range. They reflect the style of his teacher, Jules Massenet. Hahn composed approximately ninety-five works for solo voice: eighty-four mélodies, five English songs to texts of Robert Louis Stevenson, and six Italian songs in the Venetian dialect. After 1912, Hahn composed in larger forms: opera, operetta, and film music. Perhaps his most famous work is his operetta Ciboulette (1923), which is still performed. À Chloris (1916) poem by Théophile de Viau (1590-1626) “À Chloris” is No. 14 in Deuxième volume de vingt mélodies, the last major publication of Hahn’s songs during his lifetime. In many of his later songs, he turned to a deliberately archaic style. “À Chloris” features an elegant vocal line above a piano texture that features Baroque musical characteristics; it is its own piece, with ornamented melody and chaconne-like bass. Vocal line and piano piece are woven into a musical tapestry that is both declarative and intimate. Poet Théophile de Viau was considered one of the most influential libertin poets during Louis XIII’s reign. The libertins’ verses had a unique charm that is instantly appealing, but somewhat artificial. Despite this, de Viau’s love poetry is not bland, but full of suggestive passion and elegant wit. BACK TO TOP ARTHUR HONEGGER (1892-1955) Arthur Honegger composed over forty mélodies for voice and piano. Taken as a whole, they are diverse and imaginative. For his texts, he favored contemporary poets such as Jean Cocteau, Guillaume Apollinaire, Paul Claudel, and Paul Fort. He also chose to set unrelated poems by a single poet, such as his Poesies (Cocteau) and Alcools (Apollinaire). Poetry with strong imagery appealed to the dramatist in his personality. For Honegger, as for most successful mélodie composers, the word provides the starting place. He is quoted as saying: For me, the music a song is always dependent upon the poetic model. It must join so closely with the poetry, that they become inseparable and one can picture the poem in wholly musical terms. This is not to say that the music becomes subservient. It must be so crafted that it can stand on its own merits, playable without the text, logical and complete. 1 Born of Swiss parents in Le Havre, France, Arthur Honegger initially studied for two years at the Zurich Conservatory, but enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire from 1911 to 1918, studying with Charles-Marie Widor and Vincent d’Indy. Some of his more familiar large vocal works include the dramatic psalm Le roi David (King David), composed in 1921 and still in the choral repertoire; and his dramatic oratorio of 1935, Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher (Joan of Arc at the stake), with text by Paul Claudel, considered to be one of his finest works. Between the world wars, he composed nine ballets and three vocal stage works, among works in other genres. His total compositional catalog is an impressive list of music: orchestral works, chamber music, concertos, ballets, operas, operettas, and oratorios. Widely known as a train enthusiast, he was passionately interested in locomotives, to which he attributed almost human characteristics. His “mouvement symphonique,” Pacific 231, gained him early acclaim in 1923. Honegger’s musical style is a fascinating mixture of impressionistic effects peppered with penetrating dissonances. He had a fondness for mixing tonalities and using modality. His compositions for the voice display an eclectic focus of coloristic harmonies and architectural clarity. He was a member of Les Six, but unlike most of that group, did not share their overwhelming reaction against German romanticism. Honegger’s musical style is fuller and more serious than his colleagues. He and Darius Milhaud were close friends. Honegger’s generous body of song has proved of enduring interest to contemporary performers. His was a distinctive voice in the vocal music of the twentieth-century French mélodie. Trois Psaumes (1940-41) from the Huguenot Psalter Psaumes XXXIV and CXL translated by Théodore de Bèze (1519-1605) Psaume CXXXVIII translated by Clément Marot (1496-1544) The spirit of Bach shines in the first psaume, “Psalm 34,” in which a chant-like vocal line alternates with a gently moving episodic keyboard part. This call and response continues until the last three vocal phrases, when the vocal line merges with the instrumental texture in a psalm of praise. The second song is “Psalm 140,” “ô Dieu donne-moi la déliverance de cet homme pernicieux” (O God, deliver me from this evil man). Honegger’s biographer, Harry Halbreich, suggests that the “evil man” who was oppressing Europe in those last days of 1940 might be the reason for Honegger’s text choice. This piece was composed before the first and third songs. Its emotional mood peaks with the chorale tune “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” 2 The last song in the set, “Psalm 138,” has the Latin title “Confiteor tibi, Domine” (I thank thee, O Lord) and is a paraphrase by Clément Marot, one of the greatest of the French Renaissance poets. It contains a familiar chorale tune, which is used in canon between voice and piano. NOTES: Arthur Canter and Rachel Joselson, Liner notes, The Songs of Arthur Honegger and Jacques Leguerney. Rachel Joselson, Réne Lecuona , piano. Albany Records, TROY691, 2004. Harry Halbreich, trans. Roger Nichols, Arthur Honegger (Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1999), 165. BACK TO TOP JACQUES LEGUERNEY (1906-1997) Most of Jacques Leguerney’s sixty-eight mélodies were composed and published from 1940 to 1964. Many were commissioned and premiered by French baritone Gérard Souzay, his sister, soprano Geneviève Touraine, and pianist Jacqueline Bonneau. Early songs are comparable in mood and style with Ravel or Roussel (who encouraged Leguerney’s composition); later songs have been compared to those of his contemporary, Poulenc. Leguerney writes virtuoso piano parts–often dramatic, and with such an individual sense of harmonic style and color that Pierre Bernac reportedly described them as “mélodies de pianist.” 1 When asked about Leguerney’s songs, Gérard Souzay wrote, “How does one describe this music which is, at the same time, classic and modern? It is pure, but colorfully nuanced; it speaks to the heart as well as the mind–at times calm at times witty–wise, yet sensual...” 2 Many of Leguerney’s songs deal with themes of love and nature, expressing a huge range of emotions from deeply felt meditation to wild, ribald humor. Leguerney stopped composing in 1964, and his songs became neglected. The quality of Leguerney’s text setting, lyrical beauty, and harmonic innovations all call for his songs to be better known and more widely performed. Jacques Leguerney was drawn to the work of Renaissance poets, notably Ronsard. There are eight collections titled Poèmes de la Pléaide, representing settings of sixteenth and seventeenth-century French poetry and totaling thirty-two songs. Additionally, there are cycles and other collections [for a complete listing of Leguerney’s songs, see Dibbern, Kimball, and Choukroun, Interpreting the Songs of Jacques Leguerney]. 3 They may be thought of as the last in the great mainstream of twentieth-century French song. La Caverne d’écho (1954) from Poèmes de la Pléiade, Volume 7 poem by Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant (1594-1661) Dedication: Josiane and Jean Cier. First performance: Bernard Kruysen, baritone; Jean-Charles Richard, pianist. 29 May 1965, Radio France Culture. Marc-Antoine Girard, sieur de Saint-Amant, wrote poetry of great descriptive power, and his use of language set him apart from the other seventeenth-century poets. He was also an adept musician and skillful lute player, writing verses that often describe musical sounds linked to visual images. The poem takes place in a dark cave, home of the nymph, Echo; it is a charmed place, absolutely still and peaceful. The poet’s lute resounds inside the cavern as he tries to soothe the inconsolable Echo, who mourns for her lover Narcissus. Leguerney creates the grotto’s mysterious resonance with bitonality. Piano figures illustrate the strumming of the lute. The text contains many sounds with the consonant “r.” The rolling quality of this speech sonority re-creates the cavern’s resonance. The closing measures of the mélodie produce a striking effect as the singer’s voice echoes eerily in the cavern, blending with the piano’s resonance and creating a remarkably realistic echo. À son page (1944) from Poèmes de la Pléiade, Volume 2 poem by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) Dedicated to Gérard Souzay. First performance: Gérard Souzay, baritone; Jacqueline Robin (Bonneau). 3 May 1945, Salle Gaveau, Paris. This is a lusty scene with four characters: a nobleman tipsy from drink, his page, and two women, Jeanne and Barbe. Carpe diem is the theme here. The singer philosophizes on this idea while enjoying his wine and the tender companionship of the two beautiful women. Leguerney evokes the crackling staccato of a stylized harpsichord with rhythmic accents in the piano. The text is brilliantly set with jagged vocal lines and driving rhythms that illustrate the singer’s intoxication. It ends with Leguerney’s repetition of the last poetic line and the addition of nonsense syllables which fit beautifully into the imagery and mood of Ronsard’s colorful characters. Je me lamente (1943) from Poèmes de la Pléiade, Volume 1 poem by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) Dedicated to Geneviève Touraine. First performance: Paul Derenne, tenor; Jeanne Blancard, pianist. 29 March 1944, Salle de l’Ecole Normale de Musique, Paris. This is one of Leguerney’s most beautiful songs, setting Pierre de Ronsard’s text from his collection of love poems for Marie Dupin, a country girl from a small village in southern France. She was half his age and probably represented the youth he constantly pursued. It has been suggested that the Marie in question was probably Marie de Clèves, passionately adored by Henri III. 4 Leguerney called this mélodie a constant crescendo from beginning to end. 5 Ronsard’s anguish is captured with a texture of stark chords, crowned by a regal and sustained vocal line. As the song progresses, the poet’s anguish is embodied in a more expansive texture, bidding Marie a happy resting place near God or in the Elysian fields. NOTES: Liner notes by Mary Dibbern. Mélodies sur poèmes de la Renaissance (Jacques Leguerney).Harmonia Mundi France. LP recording HMC 1171. Letter to the author. Quoted in Mary Dibbern, Carol Kimball, and Patrick Choukroun. Interpreting the Songs of Jacques Leguerney (Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2001), 3. Ibid., 289-295. Ibid., 69. See note 20. Ibid., 70. BACK TO TOP OLIVIER MESSIAEN (1908-1992) Olivier Messiaen was born in 1908 in Avignon, France, into a literary family. He grew up around words and absorbed their shapes, colors and sounds naturally. His father, Pierre Messiaen, was a well-known translator of Shakespeare, and his mother, Cécile Sauvage, was a poet. As a youngster, before beginning to compose music, he had an especially perceptive ear attuned to the unique prosody of the French language. Early in his compositional career, he published a book titled Technique de mon langage musical (1944). About his musical setting of words, Jane Manning observes: ...the syllables themselves create a glittering mosaic of sonorities and subtle resonances, in addition to their actual meaning (many of the poems do not translate at all satisfactorily). The composer’s awareness of the minutiae of verbal enunciations and articulations is miraculous. Each vocal sound can be precisely placed as intended, all dynamics are scrupulously plotted, and the performer’s involvement and intimate connection to the music is enhanced by the sensual nature of words projection... 1 He often used stained glass to explain his music. When viewed from a distance, the myriad details blend into a single entity, whose purpose is to dazzle the listener. Understanding is not necessary, feeling is the prime requisite. The music of Olivier Messiaen is a skillfully designed and unique language, with meaning and form kept separate. Its meaning is unchangeable, harkening back to Gregorian chant, culminating in instruments that are able to prolong sound (organ, strings, or the ondes Martenot). Messiaen’s musical language is defined by its rhythms and tone colors. His uncanny instinct for associating sound with color produced works unique in their concept of the combination of sounds. He said that when he heard or read music, his mind’s eye saw colors that move with the music; he sensed these colors, and at times he precisely indicated their arrangements in his scores. His fascination with birdsong was lifelong; he referred to himself as an ornithologist and tracked birds and their songs all over the world. He considered their resonances as songs and not merely sounds. He notated these on manuscript paper and they found their way into his music. Trois mélodies (1930) poems by Olivier Messiaen, Cécile Sauvage (1883-1927) This little cycle of songs is Messiaen’s first recognized work for voice and piano. The songs are modest in length and not typical of Messiaen’s later style, but show influences of late Fauré and Duparc in the overall musical texture. There is only one song in his vocal compositions in which Messiaen set the poetry of another poet. It is found in this cycle, which uses the text of his mother, the poet Cécile Sauvage, who died three years before the composition of this work. The three movements form a warm and delicate little triptych. Two of Messiaen’s own poems stand on either side of the poem by Cécile Sauvage, throwing that charming little poem into high relief. “Pourquoi?” introduces a litany of the pleasures of nature: birdsong, the unfolding seasons, and water images. The poet becomes emotional, asking why all these bring him no joy. “La Sourire,” the shortest song of the set, is a beautiful microcosm of intimate and spiritual understanding between two people. It is a delicate example of musical economy and word setting in a quasi-recitative style. The last song, “La fiancée perdue,” offers fleeting hints of Messiaen’s cycle to come, Poèmes pour Mi–most specifically, the final song. Here, the poet prays for divine blessing on the soul of the “fiancée” in the title. The fervent incantation illuminates and affirms man’s connection to a higher authority. Examining the poetic content of the three texts, we are struck by the images that underlie the words: the emotional outburst “pourquoi,” (why?), perhaps questioning the death of Cécile, followed by Cécile’s tender affirmation of love, and finally, the prayer asking for Divine grace and the blessing of the soul of the departed. NOTES: Jane Manning, “The Songs and Song Cycles,” in The Messiaen Companion, ed. Peter Hill (Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1995), 107. BACK TO TOP DARIUS MILHAUD (1892-1974) Darius Milhaud was probably the most prolific composer of the group known as Les Six (Francis Poulenc, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Germaine Tailleferre, Georges Auric, and Milhaud). The group was unified by friendship rather than a single musical style. Championed by influential writer Jean Cocteau and composer Erik Satie, Les Six often presented their works at the same concerts and met with great regularity–often at Milhaud’s house–to make music and exchange ideas. Louis Durey observed that it was the wide diversity in their personalities and musical styles that gave the group its rich depth and permitted its development. Embodied in the credo of their musical thought was relative sparseness of texture and clarity. Turn-of-the-century France offered popular entertainments that drew the French to an environment of merry-go-rounds, shooting galleries, outdoor concerts, circuses, and a jumble of excitement. Milhaud was fascinated by Parisian street life, and could hear the sounds of the Montmartre fair from his apartment. Often on their group outings, Les Six went together to the Cirque de Médrano to see the Fratellinis, a famous family of clowns of that day. Milhaud observed that their acts were worthy of the Commedia dell’arte. 1 Trois Poèmes de Jean Cocteau, Op. 59 (1920) poems by Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) Trois poèmes de Jean Cocteau is like lyric fragments. The small-range vocal lines have a sparse lyricism–one of emotional mood rather than overt melody. The little mélodies are skillful studies in brevity. These match Cocteau’s rather enigmatic poems that exemplify the style termed dépouillé (stripped to the essentials), his aesthetic creed. Milhaud dedicated the songs to Satie. The three miniatures are a colorful kaleidoscope of the circus and the outdoor fairs that entranced the French during this period. “Fumée” describes the equestrienne of the Cirque Médrano atop a horse, jumping through hoops, captured in Toulouse-Lautrec’s familiar painting titled “L’écuyère au Cirque Fernando (1888); “Fête de Bordeaux” is a description of the merry-go-round at the Bordeaux fair; and “Fête de Montmartre” evokes the nighttime boats and sailors, possibly having to do with a game involving camouflaged ships found at the Montmartre fair. Milhaud infuses stylistic and melodic elements of folk songs and children’s tunes into the tiny pieces, tying the innate excitement of these popular destinations to simple, childlike reactions. NOTES: Laurence Davies, The Gallic Muse (New York: A.S. Barnes and Co., 1967), 164. BACK TO TOP FRANCIS POULENC (1899-1963) Francis Poulenc’s 150 mélodies form the largest body of songs to be added to French vocal literature in the twentieth century. Poulenc’s flair for the dramatic, combined with his superb skill in mixing poetry and music, produced songs that singers find immensely gratifying, not only for their musical value, but for their heightened sense of drama. Poulenc’s mélodies reflect concern and feeling for declamation, inflection, breathing, and above all, show extraordinary warmth of feeling for the human voice. He was fond of saying, “J’aime la voix humaine!” The sophistication of Poulenc’s songs spring from their poetic inspirations. Poulenc was quite knowledgeable about poetry, and chose his texts carefully. His gift of divining the inner life of the texts he set produced songs that do more than merely illustrate the poems. His gift for melody is at the very heart of all his songs and seems to assert itself naturally in shaping the color, weight, and meaning of the texts he set. Ce doux petit visage (1938) poem by Paul éluard (1895-1952) Paul Eluard was one of Poulenc’s three main poets. This is a beautiful introduction to Eluard’s poetry, lyrical and passionately intense. The simplicity of Poulenc’s setting allows the poem to shine. It is one of Poulenc’s tiny gems, and he admitted his partiality to the short song. Eluard’s skill at evoking nostalgia and melancholy are seen here, linked to lost youth. The mélodie is dedicated to the memory of Raymonde Linossier, Poulenc’s most intimate childhood friend, who influenced his literary taste and musical tendencies. He said: “I have a great liking for this short song. Raymonde Linossier was my best advisor for the music of my youth. How many times, during the years since her death, I would have liked to have had her opinion on this or the other of my works.” 1 La Grenouillère (1938) poem by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) “La Grenouillère” is an outstanding example of Poulenc’s romantic lyricism. This is a text by Guillaume Apollinaire describing the Ile de Croissy, an island in the Seine on the outskirts of Paris, frequented by artists and their models, and celebrated in paintings by Monet, Manet, and Renoir. “The Froggery” was a restaurant on the island. The overall images of happy days that cannot be relived can be seen in Pierre Auguste Renoir’s paintings Les Déjeuner des canotiers (The Boatman’s Luncheon), or La Grenouillère. In this lament for boating parties on the Seine, vocal phrases are sustained and languid, floating over a slowly rocking piano accompaniment. The lazy piano figures mirror the empty tethered boats rocking on the water, bumping against each other, and give expression to the sweet melancholy of the poet’s words. Montparnasse (1945) poem by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) Apollinaire’s poem is dated 1912. Poulenc writes in his journal of songs that it took him four years to complete “Montparnasse,” almost phrase by phrase, and that he had no regrets about the length of time it took because “it is one of my best songs.” 2 It is a sentimental and heartfelt tribute to Paris. Both Apollinaire and Poulenc loved the city and it played a continuing role in their work. “Montparnasse” is about the idyllic artistic existence lived at the edge of Paris. Poulenc wrote in his diary: “Let us imagine this Montparnasse all at once discovered by Picasso, Braque, Modigliani, Apollinaire.” 3 The mélodie has a carefree nonchalance about it; it is not sad, but thoughtful– a beautiful blend of poetic and musical lyricism. Poulenc’s vocal and harmonic textures are full of surprising harmonic details that bind this song–which he composed in fragments–together into a touching and expressive picture of Paris in the early years of the twentieth century. Bleuet (1939) poem by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) Guillaume Apollinaire was one of Poulenc’s preferred poets. This is a wartime poem that Apollinaire penned in 1917 in Paris in convalescence after a head injury; both Apollinaire and Poulenc served in World War II. There are several word plays at work here. “Bleuet” was the nickname for French soldiers in World War I, because their uniforms were blue, like the color of a little cornflower, which is a “bleuet.” Also, “Un bleu” was the term used for a raw recruit. “Bleuet” is one of Poulenc’s most moving songs– agonizing in its emotional content yet noble in its message. It is a quiet and private moment in which a twenty-year-old boy who does not yet know all that life can be, is characterized–and addressed–by the poet in a sweetly serious speech. Poulenc wrote that for him, the key to the poem were the words, “It is five o’clock and you would know how to die.” 4 This song is simple, intimate, and poignant. Les Chemins de l’amour (1940) poem by Jean Anouilh (1910-1987) Poulenc composed this valse chantée as incidental music for Léocadia, a play by Jean Anouilh. Within the play, the song was described as a pseudo Viennese waltz, and functioned as a leitmotiv in the plot. Sung by Yvonne Printemps, one of France’s most celebrated musical theatre stars, “Les Chemins de l’amour” became a popular success. It embodies the relaxed elegance of a self-styled Viennese waltz style, encased in one of Poulenc’s haunting melodies. Banalités (1940) poems by Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) Banalités is not a cycle, but a group of five songs. The poems have no connection with each other; however, their order provides a well-constructed recital group. They may be performed separately. The work is one of Poulenc’s most popular vocal works, and deservedly so. Poulenc chose contrasting poems, placing them so that the collection begins briskly and ends with lyrical gravity. “Chanson d’Orkenise” is Poulenc’s title for the poem contained in the strange mixture of prose and poetry that Apollinaire called Onirocritique. Orkenise is a road in Autun leading to the Roman gate of the same name. The musical setting has the feeling of a popular folk song. The narrator sings of a tramp leaving the city and a carter who is entering it - one leaving his heart there, one bringing his heart to be married. There is a word in the poem with a double meaning: “grise” can be translated as “gray” or “tipsy.” The merry quality of the song opens the set with gaiety, but both Apollinaire and Poulenc offer a little food for thought. “Hôtel” is a poem that immediately represented for Poulenc a hotel room in Montparnassse, where the idle poet wants only to bask in the sun’s warmth and smoke. Pierre Bernac referred to it as “the laziest song ever written.” 5 The piano figures are fashioned of Poulenc’s luxuriant chromatic harmonies, stacked as if to cushion the lethargy of the singer. “Fagnes de Wallonie” is set in the gloomy, desolate uplands of the Ardennes with a terrain of vast heaths, twisted trees, and peat bogs, swept by winds of considerable force. Its gloomy setting complements the melancholy mood of the poet. Poulenc’s spiky musical setting is a whirlwind that sweeps from beginning to end in a turbulent texture that demands precise articulation from singer and pianist. Sandwiched between Songs 3 and 5 is a tiny bonbon, “Voyage à Paris.” It resembles a little commercial jingle about Paris–“which one day love must have created”–an invitation to the pleasures of that beautiful city, away from “the dreary countryside.” Poulenc sprinkles his quicksilver setting–a valse-musette–with indications of “amiable” and “avec charme.” The composer referred to it as having “deliciously stupid lines...Anything that concerns Paris I approach with tears in my eyes and my head full of music.” 6 The cycle concludes with “Sanglots”, one of Apollinaire’s finest poems about the universality of lost love, a theme that Poulenc matches with exquisite modulations in a setting that embodies the essence of the words. The vocal lines are eloquently lyrical. The poem is difficult to understand because of the juxtaposition of the main narrative and the interior “asides,” that in effect form a poem within a poem. 7 The song has an elegant serenity that culminates in a stunning climactic point at the words: “Est mort d’amour ou c’est tout comme/ Est mort d’amour et le voici.” The ending lines of the song sustain the profoundly calm mood, bringing Banalités to its close. La Courte Paille (1960) poems by Maurice Carême (1899-1978) The last song cycle Poulenc composed was La Courte paille, on seven poems of Belgian poet Maurice Carême. Poulenc composed the songs for soprano Denise Duval, creator of leading roles in his three operas, hoping that she would sing them to her young son. Poulenc considered the mélodies very poetic and whimsical; unfortunately, Duval disliked the music and never did sing the cycle. Poulenc asked Carême to provide an overall title for the work and requested permission to change the titles of several selected poems: the original title of “Quelle aventure!” is “Une puce et l’éléphant”; “Le Reine de cœur” is “Vitres de lune”; “Le carafon” is “La carafe et le carafon.” For the cycle’s title, Carême chose La Courte Paille (The Short Straw), referring to drawing lots by the method of a short straw. Poulenc was delighted, saying the title symbolized his little musical game exactly. He also wrote in his diary, “They must be sung tenderly; that is the surest way to touch the heart of a child.” 8 The cycle is full of child-like innocence, whimsy and imagination, with a few shadowy undertones. The first song, “Le Sommeil,” is a beautiful lullaby to a restless child who cannot go to sleep, tossing and turning in his small bed. He seems ill, crying and perspiring, but hopefully will finally surrender to slumber. In “Quelle aventure!” the child describes an absurd happening: he saw a flea driving a carriage with a small elephant in it. The story grows more bizarre but the rhythmic pace never wavers, careening to the end of the song when the child wonders how on earth he’ll ever be able to persuade “Mama” that it really happened. The verses are witty, yet the shrieks of “Mon Dieu!” are laced with a feeling of childish terror. “La Reine du cœur” is a beautiful, languid melody that paints a picture of the mysterious Queen of Hearts, beckoning to visitors from her frosty castle, where she reigns over a court of lovers, including the young dead. In “Ba, Be, Bi, Bo, Bu...,” the child is chided “on all sides” about studying. The title of the song presents the French vowels, and the text contains words that make their plural with an “x” (“pou, chou, genou, hibou”). The formidable cat of the poem’s opening lines is none other than that tricky feline Puss-in-Boots! The entire song is a little tongue-twister, an exercise in diction and accuracy. “Les anges musiciens” are none other than the school children staying home on Thursday, the half-day school holiday in France in Poulenc’s time, practicing Mozart on their harps, just like good little angel musicians should do. “Le carafon” is a crazy little story of a carafe that longs for a baby carafe (carafon) just like the giraffe at the zoo, who has a girafon. This is a ridiculous rhyming game like those that children love to play. The text is full of whimsical characters: the carafe, a giraffe, a sorcerer astride a phonograph, Merlin, and finally, a carafon. “Lune d’Avril” is another lullaby, very slow and otherworldly, which serves as an epilogue. Bound together in a musical texture that features a syncopated pedal point, it is filled with enchanted images the child wishes to dream about: a land of joy, light, and flowers where all guns are silent. The ending leaves the listener suspended in a mood of unfinished magic. La Courte Paille is the last vocal music Poulenc composed. NOTES: Quoted in Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc: The Man and his Songs (New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1977), 125. Francis Poulenc, Journal de mes mélodies, trans. Winifred Radford (London: Victor Gollancz, 1985), 75. Ibid., 75. Ibid., 57. Bernac, 72. Poulenc, 67. The English translation of “Sanglots” has parentheses that delineate the “asides” so that both “poems” may be seen. These may be found in Pierre Bernac’s books Francis Poulenc: The Man and his Songs, page 75, or The Interpretation of French Song, pages 284-85 Poulenc, 109. BACK TO TOP MAURICE RAVEL (1875-1937) The songs of Maurice Ravel represent a transition between the mature mélodies of Debussy and the vocal literature that followed, notably the songs of Les Six. Debussy dominated the French musical scene from the turn of the century until his death in 1918. It was Ravel who was regarded as the leading musical spokesman for France following World War I. He was a skillful craftsman and his songs have a sense of evenness of rhythmic structure and flow that call for scrupulous execution. The fusion of music and text into a logical whole was of utmost importance to him. He composed elegant and subtle mélodies, using classical phrase structure. His melodic phrases often tend toward modality. His songs range from those with a folk-like style to more to those that are more speech-like, and those that encompass a melodic romanticism. He was precise in his thought and his scoring, and scrupulous in his musical execution. His music encompassed some of the fascinating influences of the post-Wagnerian era. Ravel’s musical contributions were of utmost importance to this exciting and new era in French cultural history. He made notable contributions to musical literature for the piano, the French art song, opera, chamber music, orchestral literature, and the ballet. Sur l’herbe (1907) poem by Paul Verlaine (1833-1896) This mélodie is Ravel’s only setting of Verlaine. It has often been suggested that this poem was probably inspired by Watteau’s painting L’île enchantée. There is also a reference to a famous eighteenth-century dancer, Marie-Anne Cuppi, known as (La) Camargo, who was immortalized on canvas by the painter Nicolas Lancret. The scene is an outside gathering, elegant and artificial. A number of people are there, chief among them, a licentious abbé, slightly tipsy from a bit too much Cyprian wine. He exchanges a few disconnected gallantries with the ladies–innocent conversations on the surface, but sensuous in undertone. The conversation is disconnected; we do not know exactly who is speaking. Ravel shapes very flexible vocal phrases, in keeping with the abbé’s intoxicated state, underscored with graceful piano figures that evoke an eighteenth-century dance. In a letter to Jean-Aubrey, Ravel commented on “Sur l’herbe”: “In this piece, as in the Histoires naturelles, the impression must be given that one is almost not singing. A bit of preciosity is found there which is indicated moreover by the text and the music.” 1 Noël des jouets (1905) poem by the composer This is the only solo song for which Ravel wrote the text. It describes a Christmas manger scene, replete with the Virgin and Christ-child, animals, and angels. It embodies Ravel’s delight with tiny mechanical toys and figures, and his fascination with the unspoiled world of child-like experience. His genius for text painting is displayed in the delightful mélodie. The mechanical toys come to life in the piano figures. Ravel’s charming text creates the images around and over the crèche, with not a word wasted. Ravel commented that the music is “clear and plain, like the mechanical toys of the poem.” 2 This little song foreshadows other Ravel settings of make-believe, beginning with the song cycle Histoires naturelles and culminating with his opera L’Enfant et les sortilèges. The music of menacing dog Belzébuth foreshadows the music of the Beast in the Mother Goose Suite (Ma Mère lOye). Rêves (1927) poem by Léon-Paul Fargue (1876-1947) The poetry of Léon-Paul Fargue has been described as reflecting the union of dream and memory. This mélodie has a tender lyricism within a sparse musical texture. The text is fashioned of a series of miniature images that pass by rather quickly, unrelated, like the images found in dreams. For all their differences, they have a simplicity about them that seems timeless, existing together, as the poet says, “in a vague countryside.” When the dreamer finally awakens, the little fleeting pictures “die quietly.” The piano postlude perpetuates the dream state, creating an ethereal little microcosm that continues to draw the dreamer to it. Ronsard à son âme (1924) poem by Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585) In his Abrégé de l’art poétique français (1565) Pierre de Ronsard advocated the union of poetry and music, and Renaissance composers frequently set his poems. 3 In this strikingly simple mélodie, Ronsard speaks to his soul, calling it by a series of diminutives: little soul, dainty little one, sweet little one. Ravel uses a series of parallel fifths in the piano figures to invoke a Renaissance mood. This is Ronsard’s last poem, and Ravel’s last adaptation of Renaissance poetry. Ravel’s setting recalls the elegance of his early mélodie, “D’Anne qui me jecta de la neige,” to a poem of Clément Marot. Manteau de fleurs (1903) poem by Paul Barthélemy Jeulin (1863-1936) The poem notes everything in the garden that is pink–all the flowers that will become a beautiful cloak to complement the beauty of the lady of the poem. Ravel usually had very sophisticated taste in choosing texts; this particular poem is an unusual choice. It is a simple text, somewhat banal, but Ravel’s shimmering musical texture imparts a dramatic character for each flower in the poem. The overall piano texture suggests orchestral colors. The last section of the mélodie changes course slightly, with the piano harmonies creating a slightly wistful mood. Clearly, Ravel lavished a beautiful musical setting on a rather ordinary set of words. Don Quichotte à Dulcinée (1932-33) [Medium/Low Voice edition only] poems by Paul Morand (1888-1976) This miniature cycle was Ravel’s last vocal work. His musical portrait of the noble Spanish knight, Don Quixote, is embodied in three mélodies, all based on characteristic Spanish or Basque dance rhythms: (1) the guajira, alternating 6/8 and 3/4 meter; (2) the zorzica, a Basque dance in quintuple meter; and (3) the jota, a lively triple-metered Spanish dance. “Chanson Romanesque” presents the chivalrous idealist Don Quixote, confidently promising to rearrange everything in nature to his lady Dulcinea’s liking in order to win her favor. Dulcinea is in reality a poor farm girl, but the Don’s illusion will not be shaken. He remains authoritative and focused in his quest for her love. “Chanson épique” is Quixote’s reverent prayer to Saint Michael and Saint George, beseeching them to bless his sword and his Lady. Ravel creates a beautifully sustained and prayerful vocal line over a simple accompaniment. “Chanson à boire” is a exuberant drinking song. Although the Don’s tippling has made him overly boisterous, he never oversteps the bounds of his noble bearing. His robust laughter is heard in the piano figures and even a hiccup intrudes between “lorsque j’ai” and “lorsque j’ai bu.” NOTES: Maurice Ravel, in a letter to Jean-Aubrey written in September, 1907. Quoted in Arbie Orenstein, Ravel: Man and Musician (New York: Dover Publications, 1991), 165-66. Quoted in Orenstein, 161. Orenstein, 192. BACK TO TOP ALBERT ROUSSEL (1869-1937) In 1894 Albert Roussel left a highly successful career as a naval officer to pursue music. After completing his studies, he became professor of counterpoint at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. Satie and Varèse were among his students. Roussel was one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. He composed almost forty mélodies as well as chamber music, ballets, and operas. His style is eclectic but highly individual. Early works show the influence of Vincent d’Indy, works dating from 1910 to 1920 exhibit influences of Debussy and Ravel, but he turned to neoclassicism in his later compositions. His love for the sea was almost a spiritual attraction and continued to influence his music throughout his career. He had a fascination for distant places; his extended tour of Southeast Asia in 1909 had a tremendous influence on his composition. “Sarabande” and “Cœur en peril” are mélodies to texts of René Chalupt, a close friend. They are found in op. 20 and 50, respectively. Roussel’s overall musical catalogue is not extensive, but its quality is of an extremely high level, and his vocal writing in particular contains some mélodies of great delicacy and style, squarely in the French tradition. For Roussel, the word held primacy in his mélodies, being both transformed by its musical setting and merging with it to create a perfect union. Commenting on the quality of Roussel’s songs, composer Charles Koechlin is quoted as saying: “The sense of austerity pervading them, stemming simply from the composer’s natural reserve, heightens their expressiveness and further embellishes them; in language and content they are absolutely personal. This collection of songs is one which will last because its essence is undying sensitivity.” 1 Sarabande (1919) from Deux mélodies, Op. 20, No. 2 poem by René Chalupt This is surely one of Roussel’s most delicate and magical creations. His writing for the piano is particularly outstanding, placing Chalupt’s poem in an overall texture of elegance and veiled sensuality. There is an Oriental delicacy in Roussel’s musical evocation of the fluttering doves, feathers drifting into a pool, and the gentle drift of chestnut blossoms onto bare flesh. Cœur en péril (1933-34) from Deux mélodies, Op. 50, No. 1 poem by René Chalupt This mélodie is much different in mood–witty and flirtatious. It is the narrative of a young man eager to convince his ladylove of his fidelity. Vocal phrases are tuneful, with a spirited piano texture of Iberian flavor. NOTES: Liner notes, Dom Angelico Surchamp, trans. Elisabeth Carroll, Roussel Mélodies, Colette Alliot-Lugaz, Mady Mesplé, Kurt Ollmann, José Van Dam; Dalton Baldwin, Patrick Gallois. EMI Digital. CDS 7492712, 1987 BACK TO TOP ERIK SATIE (1866-1925) Erik Satie wrote very few songs and most of them date from late in his life. The eccentric father figure of the French avant-garde of the twentieth century had a wildly independent spirit that found its way into his musical compositions. Throughout his life, he kept a great deal of childlike inquisitiveness and innocence. He was a curious personality of unconventional habits whose sense of the absurd and whimsy permeated both his life and his music. Quintessential Satie compositions are laconic and witty. It was Satie who named Les Nouveaux Jeunes, soon known as Les Six, and influenced the early development of the group. La Statue de bronze (1916) from Trois Mélodies poem by Léon-Paul Fargue (1876-1947) This is Satie’s first setting of the poetry of Léon-Paul Fargue, the “Bohemian poet of Paris.” Satie used Fargue’s witty verses again for Ludions. The scene is a garden game–the jeu de tonneau. A bronze frog, perched atop a cabinet with numbered chambers, grows impatient of being the target of the game where metal disks are tossed into her mouth. She dreams of being freed from her pedestal and being able to use her wide-open mouth to utter “LE MOT.” 1 She wants to be free to join the other frogs gathered near the rust-colored washhouse “blowing musical bubbles from the soapy moonlight.” But the game continues, the disks rattle through her mouth into numbered compartments and at night, insects sleep in her mouth. This mélodie can be linked musically to “La Grenouille américaine,” found in Ludions. Both songs share piano figures derived from the café-concert chanson. Ludions (1923) poems by Léon-Paul Fargue (1876-1947) Ludions is the last of Satie’s purely vocal works, composed two years before his death, and is perhaps his finest set of songs. It epitomizes his lifelong quest for musical simplicity and his irreverence for the intricate compositional techniques and overactive emotions of the Impressionists. Ludions is translated as “bottle imps” (a ludion is a little figure suspended in a hollow ball, which descends or rises in a vase filled with water when one presses down on the elastic membrane covering the mouth of the vase). The cycle is a kaleidoscopic set of musical miniatures, riddled with puns and illogical phrases. Fargue’s nonsensical verse complements Satie’s musical aesthetic, and the two friends’ personalities closely matched one another. All the mélodies in Ludions are short, like tiny cameos. They are colorful, saucy, fantastic, and defy translation. “Air du rat,” “La Grenouille américaine,” and “Chanson du chat” are right out of the music hall, and Satie uses with a mock-serious “tongue-in-cheek” treatment for “Spleen” and “Air du poète.” Je te veux (1902) poem by Henry Pacory (1873-?) The valse chantée, or sung waltz was a favorite of the café concerts, for which Satie composed a number of works. Café concerts were a form of Parisian popular entertainment in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The all-musical programs were held outside; French popular singers presented repertoire that catered to lower and middle-class audiences who came to talk, eat, drink, and observe the long informal programs, for which there was no admission charge. “Je te veux” was composed for Paulette Darty, dubbed “the Queen of the slow waltz.” It was one of her signature musical presentations for the caf’conc (café concerts), and one that Darty remained associated with throughout her career. A statuesque blonde with an ample figure, Darty was a commanding performer who kept the most boisterous of the Saturday night audiences enthralled. Lyricist Henry Pacory’s rather explicit poem was watered down at Satie’s request before the song was published. La Diva de l’Empire (1904) poem by Charles Bessat, named Numa Blès (1871-1917) The “Diva de l’Empire,” 2 one of Satie’s café-concert songs, was another work written for and performed by Paulette Darty. It was composed for a Bonnaud-Blès music-hall revue called Dévidons la Bobine (Let’s Unwind the Bobbin) that toured several seaside resort towns. The British “diva” is a femme fatale performer who enchants all who see her. The song is a syncopated cakewalk describing her seductive beauty as she struts her stuff “showing the wiggling of her legs and some pretty frilly underwear.” Interspersed at points along the way with English words: Greenaway, baby, little girl, etc. The piano provides a jaunty ragtime rhythm throughout that melds perfectly with the suggestive text. NOTES: ”Le mot” has a double meaning. It was the title of a broadsheet published by Jean Cocteau between 1914-15 and is short for “le mot de Cambronne,” a polite way of saying “merde.” Cambronne was a famous French general who replied “Merde!” when asked to surrender. In Steven Moore Whiting, Satie the Bohemian: From Cabaret to Concert Hall. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 43. Empire refers to the Empire Theatre of Varieties, Leicester Square, London. BACK TO TOP DÉODAT DE SÉVERAC (1872-1921) Déodat de Séverac, of aristocratic lineage, was born in the Languedoc region of southwest France in Saint-Félix-Caraman (now Saint-Félix Lauragais), near Toulouse. After studies in Paris with Vincent d’Indy at the Schola Cantorum, he returned home and remained there. He was a contemporary of Fauré, Debussy and Ravel, but was considered a petit maître in their company, possibly because of his return to Languedoc at the completion of his musical studies. Séverac composed piano and orchestral music, operas and songs. The culture of his native Languedoc figured prominently in his music, which is highly descriptive. He often wrote parts for regional folk music in his scores. Many considered him provincial and unsophisticated, but his music displays his skill in integrating folk elements–and often, regional folk instruments–of his native Languedoc into his works. He often referred to himself as “the peasant musician.” Influences of Debussy, Mussorgsky, and Bizet may be found in his mélodies. Although his music is rather conservative in style, Séverac fused folk elements with the musical styles of the day in a unique and individual manner. Ma poupée chérie (1914) poem by the composer Composed in 1914 (and published in 1916) for his daughter Magali and dedicated to her, this little cradlesong is probably de Séverac’s best loved and most performed mélodie. Séverac’s fresh musical setting contains just the right combination of simplicity and delightful childlike honesty. Despite the subject matter, the composer’s heartfelt poem avoids an overly cloying atmosphere. BACK TO TOP OTHER SOURCES CONSULTED: Jane Bathori, On the Interpretation of the Mélodies of Claude Debussy, transl. and with an introduction by Linda Laurent (Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1998). Pierre Bernac, Francis Poulenc: The Man and his Songs, transl. by Winifred Radford (New York: W.W. Norton, 1977). Pierre Bernac, The Interpretation of French Song, transl. by Winifred Radford(New York: W.W. Norton, 1978). Elaine Brody, Paris: The Musical Kaleidoscope 1870-1925 (New York: George Braziller, 1987). Mary Dibbern, Carol Kimball, and Patrick Choukroun, Interpreting the Songs of Jacques Leguerney (Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 2001) Alan M. Gillmor, Erik Satie (New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1992). James Harding, The Ox on the Roof: Scenes from musical life in Paris in the Twenties (New York: Da Capo Press, 1986). Peter Hill, ed., The Messiaen Companion (Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 1995). Graham Johnson, Gabriel Fauré: The Songs and their Poets (London: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, 2009) Graham Johnson and Richard Stokes, A French Song Companion (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp., 2005). Carol Kimball and Richard Walters, eds., The French Song Anthology (Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp., 2001). Timothy LeVan, Masters of the French Art Song (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1991). Barbara Meister, Nineteenth-Century French Song (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1980). Wilfrid Mellers, Francis Poulenc (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993). Arbie Orenstein, Ravel: Man and Musician (New York: Columbia University Press, 1975). Nancy Perloff, Art and the Everyday: Popular Entertainment in the Circle of Erik Satie(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991) Caroline Potter, Henri Dutilleux: His Life and Works (Brookfield, VT: Ashgate Publishing Co., 1997). Francis Poulenc, Moi et mes amis: Confidences recueilles par Stéphane Audel (Paris: La Palatine, 1963). Francis Poulenc, Diary of my Songs [Journal de mes mélodies] transl. by Winifred Radford (London: Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1985) Marie-Claire Rohinsky, ed., The Singer’s Debussy (New York: Pelion Press, 1987) Roger Shattuck, The Banquet Years (New York: Vintage Books, 1968).

Music Man Kids - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Book by Meredith Willson Music and Lyrics by Meredith Willson Based on a story by Meredith Willson and Franklin Lacey. Overview / Synopsis Based on Meredith Willson's six-time-Tony-Award-winning musical comedy, The Music Man KIDS features some of musical theatre's most iconic songs and a story filled with wit, warmth and good old-fashioned romance. The Music Man KIDS is family entertainment at its best ï¿½ a bold, brassy show that will have the whole town atwitter! Master showman Harold Hill is in town and he's got "seventy-six trombones" in tow. Can upright, uptight Marian, the town librarian, resist his powerful allure? The story follows fast-talking traveling salesman, Harold Hill, as he cons the people of River City, Iowa, into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys' band he vows to organize. The catch? He doesn't know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian, whose belief in Harold's power just might help him succeed in the end in spite of himself. The Music Man KIDS is the perfect vehicle for your young cast, a toe-tapping crowd-pleaser, featuring a soaring soprano ingï¿½nue part and a leading role for a charismatic actor, as well as plenty of roles for kids of every level. Audio Sampler - HL00118347 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00118337 $545.00 This ShowKit includes: 1 - Accompaniment and Guide Vocal CD 1 - Choreography DVD 1 - Director's Guide 1 - Media Disk 1 - Piano Vocal Score 30 - Student Books 30-Minute KIDS Request Individual Components 00118338 - Director's Guide $100.00 00118339 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00118340 - Actor's Script $10.00 00118341 - Actor's Script 10-pak $75.00 00118342 - Perf/Accomp CD pack $75.00 00118343 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00118344 - Student Rehearsal CD 20-pak $100.00 00118345 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00118346 - Media Disc $10.00 Hear A Sample Rock Island [Salesmen, Charlie] Iowa Stubborn [Townspeople] Ya Got Trouble (Part 1) [Harold, Townspeople] Ya Got Trouble (Part 2) [Harold, Townspeople] Piano Lesson [Marian, Mrs. Paroo, Amaryllis] Goodnight, My Someone [Marian, Mrs. Paroo, Amaryllis] Seventy-Six Trombones [Harold, Townspeople] Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little [Alma, Ethel, Maud, Mrs. Squires, Eulalie] The Wells Fargo Wagon [Townspeople, Winthrop] Shipoopi [Marcellus, Kids] Gary, Indiana [Winthrop, Mrs. Paroo, Marian] Bows [Cast] Harold Hill Harold Hill is a huge role and the essence of The Music Man KIDS. Cast an actor who has charisma and charm and is not afraid to take a positive risk onstage. He should be a good singer and mover and also have excellent acting chops. It is ideal if he has an excellent sense of rhythm. Your harold should pair up well with Marian, and the two together should exude a spark of excitement. Gender: Male Vocal Range: B3-G5 Marian Paroo Marian Paroo begins as an uptight librarian and transforms into a beautiful, trusting young woman. Marian should be a strong singer and actor, and also be able to move well. She must have an air of cofidence that draws Harold to her. Take some time during auditions to try different pairs of Harolds and Marians together until you reach the perfect combination. Gender: Female Vocal Range: G3-G5 Charlie Cowell Charlie Cowell is a Traveling Salesman, and is one of the premium acting-only roles in The Music Man KIDS. If you decide to have the actor playing Charlie also perform in the ensemble, take note to make sure he is not playing Charlie in those scenes. Cast a strong actor with a loud voice. Charlie should have a sense of confidence and love being onstage! Gender: Male Mayor Shinn Mayor Shinn should be able to perform his role as proud politician very seriously, yet have a sense of comic timing. This actor does not have to sung or dance, but is responsible for a great deal of pacing and line pick-ups in the show. Don't be afraid to cast a physically small acotr in this role, provided he can authoritative - it can bring down the house! Gender: Male Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn is a great role for a comic actress! If Eulalie takes herself seriously your audience will find her hysterical. She does have some singing and some moving, but creating a "larger than life" character that works with your Mayor Shinn is essential. Consider contrasting your physically small Mayor Shinn with a tall Eulalie for even more comic brilliance. Gender: Female Vocal Range: D4-D5 Marcellus Washburn Marcellus Washburn is the classic sidekick to Harold. His big number is "Shipoopi," so he should be a good singer, a great actor and be able to dance. Cast a kid who is natually funny and you will have a terrific Marcellus. Gender: Male Vocal Range: E4-D#5 Mrs. Paroo Mrs. Paroo is a good mother, stands up for what she beieves and gently pushes Marian to think of her future. The role requires an actress who can sing and act. However, she deosnt need to have a polished voice - the more character the better! Take into consideration your actress's ability to look maternal with Winthrop and Marian. Gender: Female Vocal Range: Ab3-Eb5 Winthrop Paroo Winthrop Paroo is Marian's shy younger brother who hardly talks because of his pronounced lisp. This is a great role for a young performer who is a good actor. Winthrop transforms from shy to outspoken, and not only sings but dances! Gender: Male Vocal Range: C4-Eb5 Amaryllis Amaryllis is Marian's slightly bratty, young piano student who has a crush on Winthrop. This is a great place to feature a young actor who is not quite ready for a large part, or who doesn't have a strong singing voice. Cast a girl who is a good actor and similar in size to Winthrop and Gracie. Gender: Female Tommy Djilas Tommy Djilas is the teen heartthrob in the show and a non-singing role. Cast a boy that can dance and create a strong character. Tommy's love interest is Zaneeta, so make sure the two characters have chemistry between them. Gender: Male Zaneeta Shinn Zaneeta Shinn is the oldest and slightly daffy daughter of the Mayor and Eulalie. Cast a girl who is a strong dancer. Although this is a non-singing role, a well-ast Zaneeta will gain mileage out of her classic "Ye gads!" line. Gender: Female Gracie Shinn Gracie Shinn is Zaneeta's little sister and the youngest daughter of the Mayor and Eulalie. The actor has few lines of dialogue, and if she is a good singer, she would be a fine choice to sing the first solo in "The Wells Fargo Wagon." Gender: Female Vocal Range: B3-Eb5 Ethel Toffelmier Ethel Toffelmier is Marcellus's girlfriend. She's described by Marcellus as "a nice comfortable girl and the bosses' niece." Ethel has some acting, some singing, and some dancing. Ethel is also one of the solo Pick-a-Little ladies. Make sure she and Marcellus look good together, think Ethel and Fred from I Love Lucy! Gender: Female Vocal Range: D4-D5 Pick-a-little Ladies Pick-a-little Ladies Alma Hix, Maud Dunlop and Mrs. Squires are the gossip queens of River City. These characters need to act, sing and move well. Cast girls with strong voices and a good sense of cominc timing. The supplemental Pick-A-Little ladies are ideal parts for your abundance of girls. Gender: Female Conductor The Conductor has the first line in The Music Man KIDS. This is a non-singing role and perfect for an actor that can be loud and energetic but is not quite ready for a larger part. Gender: Both Constable Locke Constable Locke is River City's chief law enforcement officer. He is a quiet, wise man who sees through Harold, yet doesn't seem to take Harold's antics too seriously. No singing or dancing is required for this role. Gender: Both Townspeople The River City Townspeople are the heart and soul of The Music Man KIDS. The story is about a community of people so assigning your cast into family units is key. Ask each grouping to create a family history, including details of their lives. This will create an ensemble that is engaged and energized. Plan on separating your cast into three groups: aduts, teens and kids. You will immediately recognize that some actors clearly "read" as adults onstage. Try to separate your groups into categories to create a realistic town. Gender: Both Traveling Salesmen The Traveling Salesmen are non-singing roles suited for performers that have a strong rhythmic sense. "Rock Island" is te rap of its time! If you find you need to cast girls as Traveling Salesmen, make sure they play the roles as men. These actors can ouble as ault members of the River City Townspeople. You will need a minimum of five salesmen in addition to Charlie. Gender: Both Wan Tan Ye Girls The Wan Tan Ye Girls are featured during Eulalie's "Spectacle" in Scene 4 prior to "76 Trombones." Cast students who aren't afraid of acting silly. Gender: Female Boys' Band All of your little boys can be in the Boys' Band if you have enough uniforms. If you need to fill out this Boys' Band ensemble with girls, be sure they appear as boys in uniform. Gender: Both

The Music Man Jr. - Broadway Junior | Hal Leonard Menu LEARN MORE About Broadway Junior What Comes With the Showkit®? How to License a Broadway Junior Musical Order an Audio Sampler Frequently Asked Questions 60-Min.ute Musicals [JR.] 60-Minute Musicals 13 Jr. Aladdin Jr. (Disney) Annie Jr. Beauty and the Beast Jr. (Disney) The Big One-Oh! Jr. Bugsy Malone Jr. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr. Dear Edwina Jr. Doctor Dolittle Jr. Dot & The Kangaroo Jr. The Drowsy Chaperone Jr. Elf The Musical Jr. Fame Jr. Fiddler on the Roof Jr. Finding Nemo Jr. (Disney) Finian's Rainbow Jr. Flat Stanley Jr. Frozen Jr. (Disney) A Ghost Tale for Mr. Dickens Jr. (Magic Tree House) Godspell Jr. Guys and Dolls Jr. Hairspray Jr. High School Musical Jr. (Disney) Honk! Jr. Into the Woods Jr. James and the Giant Peach Jr. (Roald Dahl) Junie B. Jones Jr. Legally Blonde Jr. The Lion King Jr. (Disney) The Little Mermaid Jr. (Disney) Madagascar - A Musical Adventure Jr. Mary Poppins Jr. (Disney/Cameron Mackintosh) Matilda Jr. (Roald Dahl) Mean Girls Jr. Moana Jr. (Disney) The Music Man Jr. My Son Pinocchio Jr. (Disney) Newsies Jr. (Disney) Oliver! Jr. Once on This Island Jr. Peter Pan Jr. (Broadway) The Phantom Tollbooth Jr. The Pirates of Penzance Jr. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Jr. Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. Seussical Jr. Shrek Jr. Singin' In The Rain Jr. Sister Act Jr. Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr. Willy Wonka Jr. (Roald Dahl) Xanadu Jr. 30-Min.ute Musicals [KIDS] 30-Minute Musicals 101 Dalmatians KIDS (Disney) Aladdin KIDS (Disney) Annie KIDS Aristocats KIDS (Disney) Dinosaurs Before Dark KIDS (Magic Tree House) Finding Nemo KIDS (Disney) Frozen KIDS (Disney) The Jungle Book KIDS (Disney) The Knight at Dawn KIDS (Magic Tree House) The Lion King KIDS (Disney) The Music Man KIDS Pirates Past Noon KIDS (Magic Tree House) Seussical KIDS Willy Wonka KIDS (Roald Dahl) Winnie the Pooh KIDS (Disney) A Year with Frog and Toad KIDS Product Information Musical Numbers Cast of Characters Credits Book by Meredith Willson Music & Lyrics by Meredith Willson Based on a story by Meredith Willson and Fraklin Lacey Overview / Synopsis Based on Meredith Wilson's six-time, Tony Award-winning musical comedy, The Music Man JR. features some of musical theatre's most iconic songs and a story filled with wit, warmth, and good old-fashioned romance. The Music Man JR. is family entertainment at its best - a bold, brassy show that will have the whole town atwitter! Master showman Harold Hill is in town, and he's got "seventy-six trombones" in tow. Can upright, uptight Marian, the town librarian, resist his powerful allure? The story follows fast-talking traveling salesman Harold Hill as he cons the people of River City, Iowa into buying instruments and uniforms for a boys' band he vows to organize. The catch? He doesn't know a trombone from a treble clef. His plans to skip town with the cash are foiled when he falls for Marian, whose belief in Harold's power just might help him succeed in the end in spite of himself. The Music Man JR. is the perfect vehicle for your young cast, a toe-tapping crowd-pleaser featuring a soaring soprano ingï¿½nue part and a leading role for a charismatic actor, as well as plenty of roles for kids of every level. Audio Sampler - HL00151879 $10.00 ShowKit - HL09971792 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: Production Guide Director's Guide P/V Vocal Score 30 Actor Scripts 2 Rehearsal CDs 2 Accompaniment CDs Media Disc Choreographic DVD Cross-curricular Guide 30 Family Matters Booklets 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 09971793 - Director's Guide $100.00 09971794 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 09971795 - Actor's Script $10.00 09971796 - Actor's Script 10-pak $75.00 09971797 - Perf/Accomp CD pack $75.00 09971798 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 09971799 - Student Rehearsal CD 20-pak $100.00 09971800 - Choreography DVD $50.00 09971801 - Media Disc $10.00 00151879 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample SCENE 1 Rock Island [Salesmen, Newspaper Readers, Charlie] SCENE 2 Iowa Stubborn [Townspeople, Farmer, Farmer's Wife] Ya Got Trouble [Harold, Townspeople] SCENE 4 Piano Lesson / If You Don't Mind My Saying So [Marian, Mrs. Paroo] Goodnight, My Someone [Marian] SCENE 5 Columbia, Gem of the Ocean [Townspeople] Seventy-Six Trombones [Harold, Townspeople] Ice Cream/Sincere [Harold, Olin, Oliver, Jacey, Ewart] SCENE 6 Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little (Part 1) [Alma, Ethel, Maud, Eulalie, Ladies, Harold] Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little (Part 2) [Alma, Eulalie, Maud,d Ethel, Mrs. Squires, Ladies, Harold] SCENE 8 The Wells Fargo Wagon [Townspeople, Winthrop] Shipoopi [Marcellus, Boys, Girls] Pick-a-Little, Talk-a-Little (Reprise) [Ladies, Ethel, Alma, Maud, Ethel, Mrs. Squires, Eulalie] SCENE 9 Gary, Indiana [Winthrop, Mrs. Paroo, Marian] SCENE 10 Till There Was You [Marian, Harold] Bows [Cast] Harold Hill Harold Hill is a great role for a young person to play. Select a boy with charisma and charm, who is comfortable on stage. He should be a great actor, an average singer, and an average mover. You'll also want to cast a boy with a changed voice. For your sanity, make sure you cast someone who memorizes lines easily and has a good sense of musical rhythm. Your Harold should look good with your Marian and the two together should exude a spark of excitement. Gender: Male Vocal Range: G5 - B3 Marian Paroo The role of Marian is a different twist on the traditional leading lady. The character progresses greatly during the show, starting as an uptight librarian and transforming into a beautiful and trusting young woman. Your Marian must have an amazing voice, be an excellent actor, and be able to move well. She must also have an air of confidence that draws Harold and your audience to her. She will also need to be comfortable kissing two boys-Harold and Charlie Cowell, which requires a certain amount of emotional maturity. Finally, take some time during auditions to try different pairs of Harolds and Marians until you reach the perfect match. Vocal Range: G5 - G3 Charlie Cowell Charlie Cowell is one of the premium acting-only roles. Consider having the actor playing Charlie perform in the ensemble or as a teen dancer or townsperson-just make sure it's clear he's NOT playing Charlie Cowell in those scenes. Cast a strong actor with a good loud voice who is a bit of a ham and likes being on the stage. He has to be comfortable kissing Marian, and should have a good sense of comic timing. Charlie is a good choice for an understudy to Harold Hill. Gender: Male Mayor Shinn You may be tempted to cast an "over-the-top" actor as Mayor Shinn, but resist and heed the warning of Meredith Willson. The actor playing Mayor Shinn certainly needs a good sense of comic timing, but should be able to perform the role very seriously. This is elemental in creating the humor of The Music Man JR., which is based in reality. Mayor Shinn does not have to sing or dance, but he is responsible for a great deal of the pacing and line pick up in the show. Make sure your actor can memorize long monologues. Gender: Male Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn Everybody wants to play Eulalie. It's a great role for a great comic actress. Again heed Mr. Willson's warning and avoid casting an actress who is over the top. If Eulalie takes herself seriously your audience will find her hysterical. Eulalie does have some singing and some dancing, or at least posing. Make sure your Eulalie works with your Mayor Shinn. Gender: Female Vocal Range: D5 - D4 Marcellus Washburn This classic sidekick to Harold has been immortalized by comedic greats like Buddy Hacket. Marcellus' big number is "Shipoopi" so the character has to act well, sing reasonably well (although a character voice is best) and be able to dance. Cast the kid who is just funny all the time and you'll have a great Marcellus. Gender: Male Vocal Range: D#5 - E4 Ethel Toffelmier Ethel is Marcellus's girlfriend. She's described by Marcellus as "a nice comfortable girl and the bosses' niece." Ethel has some acting, some singing, and some dancing. Ethel is also one of the solo Pick-a-Little ladies. Make sure she and Marcellus look good together, think Ethel and Fred from I Love Lucy! Gender: Female Vocal Range: D5 - D4 Mrs. Paroo Mrs. Paroo is the conscience of River City. She is a great mother, stands up for what she believes in, and gently pushes Marian to think of her future. The role requires an actress who can do a good Irish Brogue, and who can sing and act. She should also look right with Marian and Winthrop. Gender: Female Vocal Range: Eb5 - Ab3 Winthrop Paroo Winthrop should appear to be young, his voice must be unchanged and he should be a good actor. Winthrop also needs to be able to affect a believable lisp. Winthrop has to transform from a shy child to an outspoken child who not only sings but dances! Gender: Male Vocal Range: Eb5 - C4 Amaryllis Amaryllis is the slightly bratty girl who studies piano with Marian. Amaryllis should be a good actor, and roughly the same size as Winthrop and Gracie. Just who are Amaryllis' parents is one of the great mysteries of The Music Man JR. and something for you to decide. Gender: Female Ewart Dunlop Ewart is one of the four quartet members with the second highest voice or tenor. He is married to Maud Dunlop. Cast singers who can hold their own vocal parts strongly and worry about the acting later. Gender: Male Vocal Range: F#5 - E4 Oliver Hix Oliver is one of the four quartet members with the second lowest voice or baritone. He is married to Alma Hix. Cast singers who can hold their own vocal parts strongly and worry about the acting later. Gender: Male Vocal Range: F#5 - E4 Jacey Squires Jacey is one of the four quartet members with the highest voice or tenor. He is married to Mrs. Squires. Cast singers who can hold their own vocal parts strongly and worry about the acting later. Gender: Male Vocal Range: A5 - B3 Olin Britt Olin is one of the four quartet members with the lowest voice or bass. Cast singers who can hold their own vocal parts strongly and worry about the acting later. Gender: Male Vocal Range: D5 - A3 Tommy Djilas Tommy is the teen heartthrob in the show. Cast the best looking kid you have; with any luck he'll also be able to act and dance. Tommy's love interest is Zaneeta so make sure the two characters have chemistry between them. Gender: Male Zaneeta Shinn Zaneeta should be your best female dancer. The role is often given dance features in both "76 trombones" and "Shipoopi". Zaneeta also should look like she belongs in the Shinn Family, although this is not necessary. Zaneeta gets to deliver the classic "Ye gads" line! Gender: Female Gracie Shinn Gracie is Zaneeta's little sister. This role has one or two lines of dialogue and traditionally is the first soloist in "Wells Fargo Wagon." Gracie can also understudy Amaryllis in case of an emergency. Gender: Female Vocal Range: Eb5 - B3 Alma Hix One of the core members of the Pick-a-little ladies, requiring girls with strong voices and a good sense of comedy. Alma is married to Oliver. You can also add additional Pick-a-little ladies. Gender: Female Vocal Range: D5 - D4 Maud Dunlop One of the core members of the Pick-a-little ladies, requiring girls with strong voices and a good sense of comedy. Maud is married to Ewart. You can also add additional Pick-a-little ladies. Gender: Female Vocal Range: D5 - D4 Mrs. Squires One of the core members of the Pick-a-little ladies, requiring girls with strong voices and a good sense of comedy. Mrs. Squires is married to Jacey. You can also add additional Pick-a-little ladies. Gender: Female Vocal Range: D5 - D4 Conductor The conductor has the first line in the show, so cast an actor that is loud and energetic! Gender: Male Constable Locke The Constable is a quietly wise man who sees through Harold, but doesn't seem to mind. It's a nice feature for any young character actor. Gender: Male Ensemble The Ensemble is comprised of Adult-types, teens and kids to play townspeople, traveling salesmen, teen dancers, Wa Tan Ye girls and the boys' band. Can accommodate additional Pick-a-little ladies Gender: both Adults For some reason, some kids just read on stage as adults. You'll recognize this quality by comparing kids. Since THE MUSIC MAN JR. is about a town, you'll want to assign your cast into family units. Try to create a realistic town with married folks, single folks, etc. If you have an abundance of girls, cast a few as widows. Ask each family to create a family history, including details of their lives. By doing this you will create an ensemble that is engaged and energized and this will greatly add to the quality of your production! The adults have a few lines (which you can distribute while blocking the scenes.) They also have some solo vocal lines. You'll also want to select the Farmer and His Wife from this group. Gender: both Traveling Salesmen You'll want to cast several good actors to play traveling salesmen, especially salesmen number five, number three, and number one. If you find it necessary to cast girls as traveling salesmen make sure they play the roles as men. Gender: both Teen Dancers Create a group of teen dancers by selecting your best dancers. The Teen Dancers will be responsible for "Shipoopi," and have features in "76 Trombones." Make sure each Teen Dancer is assigned to a family to create the illusion of a real town. Gender: both Wa Tan Ye Girls All of your little girls can play Wa Tan Ye Girls. They are featured during Eulalie's "Spectacle" just prior to "76 Trombones." Again assign them to families. Gender: Female Boys' Band All of your little boys can be in the Boys' Band provided you have enough uniforms. The Boys' Band has two main features: "76 Trombones" and the finale of the show. Make sure the boys are a part of a family. Gender: both