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Audio Samplers - 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 Order an Audio Sampler Not sure what show you'd like to perform? Order an audio sampler of a script, which also comes with a full listening CD of the show and a brochure with show details, so you can read the libretto to see if it's right for your group. Read one or read several musicals to help you make the best decision. We strongly recommend you read the script before you book a show - even if you think you know a title. Only you know what material is appropriate for your school. Once you purchase a sampler, it is yours to keep, even if you decide not to perform the show. Audio Samplers are available from any music dealer that carries Hal Leonard products. Browse our a complete list of audio samplers here which may be purchased via the links provided from your favorite music retailer for $10 plus shipping.
Legally Blonde 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 Laurence O'Keefe & Nell Benjamin Book by Heather Hach Based on the novel by Amanda Brown and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture Overview / Synopsis One Act, Book Musical, Pop / Rock, Rated G Broadway Junior Version  Harvard's beloved blonde takes the stage by glittery pink storm in this fun and upbeat musical. (60-MINUTE VERSION FOR YOUNG PERFORMERS) A fabulously fun international award-winning musical based on the adored movie, LEGALLY BLONDE JR., follows the transformation of Elle Woods as she tackles stereotypes, snobbery, and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. Adapted for younger performers and based on the popular movie, this show features an upbeat original score that's sure to leave cast members and audiences alike seeing pink! When Elle's high school boyfriend Warner dumps her and heads to Harvard, claiming she's not "serious" enough, Elle takes matters into her own hands, crafting a showy song-and-dance personal essay and charming her way into law school. Befriending classmate Emmett and spunky hairdresser Paulette along the way, Elle finds that books and looks aren't mutually exclusive - in fact, law may be her natural calling after all as she quickly begins outsmarting her peers. LEGALLY BLONDE JR. features a large, expandable cast, lead and supporting roles for male and female actors, as well as energetic production numbers. The show's sense of humor, as well as its themes of self-empowerment and open-mindedness, make LEGALLY BLONDE JR. ideal for young performers. At the Delta Nu sorority house, word is out that Elle Woods is going to dinner to get engaged to her beau Warner Huntington III ("Omigod You Guys"). Margo, Serena and Pilar lead the other Delta Nus to the mall, where Elle is having trouble choosing the right dress for the occasion. Later at dinner, just when Elle is sure Warner is going to propose, he breaks up with her, explaining that with his departure for Harvard Law School, it's time to get serious ("Serious"). Devastated, Elle locks herself in her room. Twelve days later, the Delta Nus finally get Elle to emerge ("Daughter of Delta Nu"). Elle realizes the only solution to her heartache is to get into Harvard Law and prove to Warner she's serious enough for him ("What You Want"). Sorority sister Kate helps Elle study for the LSAT, and after several attempts and a lot of hard work, Elle's application comes upon Harvard Admissions. Lowell, Winthrop and Pforzheimer, three Harvard admissions coordinators, decide to admit Elle after a very extravagant song and dance (which she submits in lieu of a personal essay) citing love as her main motivation.  On the first day of class, Elle meets her fellow first-year law classmates, Aaron, Padamadan and Enid, as well as Warner, who is shocked to see her on campus. Callahan (the most feared teacher at Harvard) kicks Elle out of class for being unprepared at the suggestion of classmate Vivienne Kensington. Callahan's TA, Emmett, tries to console Elle, but her mood only worsens when Warner confesses to Elle that Vivienne is his new girlfriend. Elle finds the nearest salon and meets Paulette, who commiserates with her situation ("Ireland"). Afterward, Elle runs into Vivienne who invites her to a costume party. Elle attends, hoping to see Warner, but is dismayed to discover she is the only one who wore a costume - much to Vivienne's delight. On the way home, Elle meets Emmett, who tells Elle how hard he's worked to get where he is and encourages her to do the same ("Chip On My Shoulder"). Time is passing quickly at law school and Elle is working harder than ever, eventually winning her first court case in class and receiving a recommendation to apply for Callahan's internship. With her newfound confidence, Elle helps Paulette win her dog back from her estranged boyfriend, Dewey. Back at Harvard, Warner and Vivienne win two of Callahan's coveted internship positions, and Warner proposes to Vivienne on the spot right in front of Elle. Before her heart can break, Emmett shows her the internship list, and Elle is ecstatic to discover her name is on it as well ("So Much Better").  The interns quickly jump into the case of fitness video guru Brooke Wyndham, who is accused of killing her wealthy husband. After watching her fitness video ("Whipped into Shape"), the interns meet her at a correctional facility where she refuses to give her alibi to anyone but Elle, thanks to their Delta Nu sisterhood ("Delta Nu Nu Nu"). In confidence, Brooke shares with Elle that she was getting liposuction the day her husband was killed, so there is no way she could be guilty, but no one can know because her fitness empire would be destroyed. The other interns demand that Elle give up Brooke's alibi, but Elle refuses to go against her Delta Nu pledge.  Back at the salon, Paulette has eyes for the UPS delivery man, Kyle, but isn't confident enough to go after him. Elle teaches her a guaranteed move to win any guy's affections - the Bend and Snap ("Bend and Snap"), but when Paulette tries it, she accidentally breaks Kyle's nose. Elle returns to the case, but Callahan has a different agenda and tries to kiss her, just as Vivienne returns, unnoticed. Elle rejects Callahan's advances and is fired. Defeated, she prepares to go home convinced she was only ever seen as a joke, even though Emmett asks her to stay, finally realizing that he is in love with her ("Legally Blonde"). Elle stops by the salon to say goodbye to Paulette, but Vivienne - who witnessed what happened to Elle in Callahan's office and finally understands her - convinces her to keep fighting. The entire salon rallies behind Elle as she heads back to the courtroom ("Legally Blonde - Remix") where Brooke fires Callahan and hires Elle to continue her defense.  Everyone is present to witness Elle's first day in court, including Paulette and Kyle (now a couple), Margo, Serena, Pilar and the other Delta Nus. Brooke's stepdaughter Chutney takes the stand, testifying that when she got out of the shower, she witnessed Brooke standing over her father's body, covered in blood. When asked what she had been doing earlier that day, Chutney reveals she had gotten a perm, and Elle realizes a flaw in Chutney's alibi - she couldn't possibly have showered the same day as receiving a perm or her hair would be flattened. Since her perm is still intact, she has obviously lied about her alibi. Under some intense questioning from Elle, Chutney accidentally reveals that she killed her father, mistaking him for Brooke. Elle wins the case and Brooke is set free. Warner tries to propose to Elle, but she gently refuses, having gained her independence and a desire to be the best she can be ("Find My Way"). Three years later, Elle is made valedictorian of her class, and in her commencement speech she proposes to Emmett, who accepts. Everyone celebrates their legally blonde friend and heroine, Elle Woods ("Finale"). Audio Sampler - HL00125163 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00125152 $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 00125153 - Director's Guide $100.00 00125154 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00125155 - Actor's Script $10.00 00125156 - Actor's Script 10-Pak $75.00 00125157 - Rehearsal/Accompaniment CD $75.00 00125158 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00125159 - Student Rehearsal CD 20-Pak $100.00 00125160 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00125161 - Media Disc $10.00 00125163 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample Omigod You Guys (Part 1) Omigod You Guys (Part 2) Serious (Part 1) Serious (Part 2) Daughter of Delta Nu What You Want (Part 1) What You Want (Part 2) What You Want (Part 3) Ireland Chip On My Shoulder (Part 1) Chip On My Shoulder (Part 2) Chip On My Shoulder (Part 3) Run Rufus Run!/Elle Reflects So Much Better Whipped Into Shape Delta Nu Nu Nu And Snap Bend And Snap Legally Blonde Legally Blonde Remix (Part 1) Legally Blonde Remix (Part 2) Legally Blonde Remix (Part 3) Scene Of The Crime (Part 2) Find My Way/Finale Cast Size Large (over 20), Flexible Cast Type Ensemble Cast - Many featured roles, Mainly Women, Showcases trained dancers, Showcases trained singers, Star Vehicle - Female, Teenage Roles Dance Requirement Heavy (Extensive Dance Sections/Solos), Standard (Musical Staging/Some Dance/Optional) AARON SCHULTZ, SUNDEEP AGRAWAL PADAMADAN and ENID HOOPES Three law students with academic credits that would intimidate anyone. BROOKE WYNDAM An exercise video mogul who is also a former sorority girl. She is energetic and charismatic, yet currently on trial for murder. Range: A3-D5 CHUTNEY WYNDHAM Brooke's unhappy stepdaughter with a really bad perm and an even worse attitude. DEWEY Paulette's brash ex-husband who lives in a trailer and holds her dog captive. ELLE WOODS The quintessential Valley Girl may appear like a typical blonde California sorority girl, but don't count her out. She is hardworking, optimistic and tenacious. Range: F#3-Eb5 EMMETT FORREST A smart and sensitive law student who takes Elle under his wing. He is charming, quirky, loveable, and friendly. Range: C3-F#4 ENSEMBLE WAITERS, DELTA NUS, FRAT BOYS, GREEK CHORUS, STUDENTS and INMATES. GAELEN, JUDGE, JET BLUE PILOT, SALESWOMAN, STORE MANAGER, PRISON GUARD, BOOKISH CLIENT and SABRINA Featured roles for young performers who may have less experience on the stage but have vibrant personalities. GRANDMASTER CHAD A fun cameo role for a young guy who is a great musician but may be less experienced onstage. Range: D3-D4 KATE A featured Delta Nu sister - the acedemic of the bunch. Range: Bb3-Db5 KIKI THE COLORIST, CASHIER and STYLIST Part of Paulette's entourage at the salon who are very adept at the "Bend and Snap." Range: C4-A4 KYLE The delivery man who Paulette has her eyes on each time his job brings him to the salon. MARGOT, SERENA, and PILAR Elle's trio of best friends and Delta Nu sisters. Range: F#3-C#5 PAULETTE A brash, caring, optimistic hair stylist who is friends with Elle and longs to find a man for herself. Range: A3-Bb4 PROFESSOR CALLAHAN The most-feared professor at Harvard Law School. Range: Bb2-F#4 VIVIENNE KENSINGTON A smart, savvy, and uptight law student and Warner's fiancee who initially dismisses Elle, but grows to be her friend. Range: A3-Eb5 WARNER HUNTINGTON III A good-looking but shallow and pompous guy who breaks Elle's heart and heads off to Harvard Law. He is caught between his former life with Elle and his newfound serious East Coast life with Vivienne. Range: D3-F4 WHITNEY Vivienne's law school friend and partner in mischief when it comes to bringing down Elle. WINTHROP, LOWELL and PFORZHEIMER Three admissions officers of Harvard Law School who eventually admit Elle into the program after some critical evaluation.
How To License - 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 How to License a Broadway Junior Musical from Hal Leonard Licensing is the process of acquiring the performance rights to a show. It's the only way to ensure your group does not violate the Federal Copyright Law and it is legally required to produce any musical, whether you're a school group or a professional theater. Hal Leonard is a distributor and partner with MTI, and as such we are able to license a select group of Broadway Junior musicals either directly or through our music dealers. We are able to license musicals to: Accredited academic elementary and middle schools with students in grades 9 and lower All other organizations wishing to license a Broadway Junior musical should contact MTI directly at www.mtishows.com. Step 1: Browse the Catalog and Select Your Musical Whether you're looking for an MTI Broadway Junior Collection® show based on a recent hit from Broadway, a timeless classic, a beloved Disney tune or a show based on an award-winning book, we have something for everyone. Simply browse the collection from the list on our 60 or 30-minute showpages, and you'll find helpful information on the shows' requirements on their individual show pages. Read a Copy of the Script Before You Decide Not sure what show you'd like to perform? Order an audio sampler of a script (also comes with a full listening CD of the show) so you can read the libretto to see if it's right for your group. Read one or read several musicals to help you make the best decision. We strongly recommend you read the script before you book a show - even if you think you know a title. Only you know what material is appropriate for your school. Audio Samplers are available from your local music dealer or from Hal Leonard for $10USD (plus shipping) each. These are yours to keep, even if you decide not to perform the show. Step 2: Place Your Order MTI knows schools are facing challenging times, so they've created a special license just for accredited schools grades K-9. This license includes all the ShowKit™ resources listed above, plus the right to perform the show as many times as you would like within one year. MTI's 30-minute KIDS titles range from $395 to $645 MTI's 60-minute JR. titles range from $550 to $795 Simply order your selected musical from your preferred music dealer or Hal Leonard. Be sure to include your shipping and contact information with your dealer. 60-Minute JR. Request 30-Minute KIDS Request Step 3: Watch for Your License Agreement in the Mail/Email/Fax Once Hal Leonard has received your order your License Agreement will be sent/emailed/faxed to you. This is generally a quick process, so be sure to contact us at broadwayjunior@halleonard.com or 1-800-322-1127 if you do NOT receive your License Agreement within one week of placing your order. Step 4: Read and Sign Your License Agreement - return to Hal Leonard Read over your License Agreement CLOSELY to be sure you understand it. Broadway Junior titles are non-returnable, so once you sign the license, you've made your purchase. Sign your agreement and return it to Hal Leonard as soon as possible. Once we receive your signed agreement we will ship your order. Step 5: Put On Your Show! Congratulations! You're on the way to what we hope is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences of yours' and your students' lives! When your ShowKit™ arrives in the mail you're ready to start rehearsing. Broadway Junior has a ton of ways to help and support you through the rehearsal process and to make your performances great. Visit their website at www.broadwayjr.com for all of the details.
Elf The Musical 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 Thomas Meehan and Bob Martin Music by Matthew Sklar Lyrics by Chad Beguelin Based on the New Line Cinema film written by David Berenbaum Overview / Synopsis A title known the world over, Elf The Musical JR. is a must-produce holiday musical that can easily become an annual tradition for any theatre. Based on the cherished 2003 New Line Cinema hit, Elf JR. features songs by TONY Award nominees Matthew Sklar and Chad Beguelin (Disney's Aladdin On Broadway, The Wedding Singer), with a book by TONY Award winners Thomas Meehan (Annie, The Producers, Hairspray) and Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone). Buddy, a young orphan mistakenly crawls into Santa's bag of gifts and is transported to the North Pole. The would-be elf is raised unaware that he is actually a human, until his enormous size and poor toy-making abilities cause him to face the truth. With Santa's permission, Buddy embarks on a journey to New York City to find his birth father and discover his true identity. Faced with the harsh reality that his father is on the naughty list, and his stepbrother doesn't even believe in Santa, Buddy is determined to win over his new family and help New York remember the true meaning of Christmas. This modern day holiday classic is sure to make everyone young performer embrace their inner elf. After all, the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear. Audio Sampler - HL00147944 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00147934 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: Production Guide Director's Guide P/V Vocal Score 30 Actor's Scripts 2 Rehearsal CDs 2 Accompaniment CDs Media Disc Choreographic DVD Cross-curricular Guide 30 Family Matters Booklets 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 00147935 - Director's Guide $100.00 00147936 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00147937 - Actor's Script $10.00 00147938 - Actor's Script 10-pak $75.00 00147939 - Performance/Accompaniment CD pack $75.00 00147940 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00147941 - Student Rehearsal CD 20-pak $100.00 00147942 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00147943 - Media Disc $10.00 00147944 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample SCENE 1 Happy All the Time [Santa, Elves, Buddy] SCENE 1/2 World's Greatest Dad [Buddy, New Yorkers] SCENE 4 Sparklejollytwinklejingley [Buddy, Macy's Employees, Manager, Jovie] SCENE 5 I'll Believe in You [Michael, Emily] SCENE 7 A Christmas Song [Buddy, Jovie, Crowd] SCENE 8 World's Greatest Dad (Reprise) [Buddy, Carolers] SCENE 9 Never Fall in Love (with an Elf) [Jovie] SCENE 10 There Is a Santa Claus [Michael, Emily, New Yorkers] SCENE 11 The Story of Buddy [Buddy, Michael, Emily, Mr. Greenway, Deb, Matthews, Chadwick, Sam, Sarah, Walter] SCENE 13 A Christmas Song (Reprise) [Entire Cast] Sparklejollytwinklejingley (Reprise) [Entire Cast] Santa Claus Santa Claus has a lot on his plate during the Christmas season, and it is starting to show. He is annoyed with the Elves, tired of lying to Buddy and sad that people seem to be losing their Christmas spirit. He is still the same jolly old St. Nick underneath it all, but the job is getting to him. This is a great role for a character performer who can play an older (and somewhat cranky) man while trying hard to keep his holiday spirit. Vocal Range: Bb3 - D5 Buddy Buddy is the perfect elf! He's good-natured, he means well, and he's happy... all the time. There's only one problem. He's not an elf - he's an adult human. This role is perfect for a young man who is an excellent actor and good singer who has the energetic earnestness and comedic timing that Buddy needs. It's helpful to cast an actor who is taller than the other Elves. This will help differentiate Buddy and adds to the humor of the show. Vocal Range: B3 - G5 Elves The Elves are Santa's special helpers who love their job making toys to meet their Christmas Eve deadline. These roles are great for younger performers, or for those who can embody a youthful spirit, enjoy singing and work well together as a group. Vocal Ranges: Solo Elf 1: F#4 - C5, Solo Elf 2: G4 - Bb5 Charlie Charlie is in charge of monitoring the other Elves, making sure every present is wrapped and every bow is tied. Cast a young performer with a good speaking voice, someone who is comfortable taking command of the stage and has authority over the rest of the Elves, but always remains friendly. Vocal Range: Speaking role Shawanda Shawanda is a dependable and caring elf. She will do whatever she can to help out others, including Buddy, even though she accidentally reveals that he is a human. Cast a good actress with a clear speaking voice for this very important moment in the story. Vocal Range: Speaking Role Sam Sam is one of Walter's Office Staff who is in a bind at the top of the show. A young performer with a good speaking voice and strong character choices will do the trick. Vocal Range: Speaking Role Walter Hobbs Walter Hobbs, Buddy's real father, is so focused on keeping his job that he is not making time for his family. He can be stern and unemotional at times, but ultimately he learns to recommit to his family. Cast a great actor with a strong, authoritative presence, but be sure they can also show his softer side. Vocal Range: B3 - E5 Deb Deb, Walter's secretary, has the big responsibility of keeping her boss and the whole office happy. She does this by sharing her positive attitude with everyone. This is a plum role for a young woman with a pleasant demeanor, yet efficient work ethic, who is a solid actor with a good speaking voice. Emily Hobbs Emily Hobbs is Walter's devoted wife who would prefer her husband to spend a little more time at home. She is a problem solver and an excellent mother who is doing everything she can to provide a positive family dynamic. Cast an excellent actress and singer who effortlessly conveys a sense of maturity and warmth. Vocal Range: G3 - D5 Michael Hobbs Michael Hobbs is the smarter-than-average 12-year-old son of Walter and Emily. He quickly befriends his new adult brother, Buddy, and does everything he can to make sure Buddy becomes a permanent part of the family. Look for a solid young actor and singer with an unchanged voice. Vocal Range: G3 - D5 Security Guard 1 and 2 Security Guard 1 and 2 are a stern duo from Walter's office, making sure everyone who enters has permission. Cast a duo that works well together and fits the bill for a tough pair. Vocal Range: Speaking Role Saleswoman The saleswoman is the first person to greet Buddy as he enters Macy's. She's the consummate sales person: smiling, overfriendly, and always trying to sell something. This is a great ensemble role for a young woman with little stage experience. Vocal Range: Speaking Role Manager The Manager is a terrific featured acting role for a performer with good comedic timing. As the manager of Macy's, he's doing everything he can to make sure all the employees stay in line. Vocal Range: Speaking Role Jovie Jovie works as a store elf at Macy's, but don't be mistaken - she doesn't quite exude the Christmas spirit. She's kind of cynical, a bit tough around the edges, and now the target of Buddy's complete adoration. This is a fantastic role for a young woman with a strong singing voice and acting chops. Vocal Range: G3 - Db5 Santa's Helper Santa's Helper works as a Macy's Employee and announces when each kid gets to visit with Santa. This is a good ensemble role for a performer with a loud voice. Vocal Range: Speaking Role Fake Santa Fake Santa is a poor replacement for the real Santa. He's an employee of Macy's who is a bit rough around the edges. Fake Santa should be played by a performer who is unafraid of being a little over-the-top and has good physical control of his body. Vocal Range: Speaking Role Policeman 1 and 2 Policeman 1 and 2 are a friendly pair of cops who return Buddy to the Hobbs household. These are perfect featured roles for two ensemble members. Vocal Range: Speaking Roles Sarah Sarah is a staff member at Walter's office. This is a nice role for a less experienced actor with a good singing voice. Vocal Range: Speaking Role Mr. Greenway Mr. Greenway is one of the crankiest businessmen around. He is the big boss, so look for an older student with a commanding presence to tackle this acting role. Vocal Range: Speaking Role Chadwick and Matthews Chadwick and Matthews are staff members at Walter's office who are doing everything they can think of to save the day and make their boss happy. Cast a pair of good character actors who work well with each other and are able to drive the action of scenes. Vocal Range: Speaking Roles Charlotte Dennon Charlotte Dennon is a TV reporter with a big personality. She does her best to keep her professional persona in public and doesn't like being shown up. This is a great role for a young woman with professional charisma and someone who can make strong acting choices. Vocal Range: A3 to A4 Finale Soloists 1, 2, 3, and 4 Finale Soloists 1,2,3 and 4 are good roles to highlight four of your strong solos singers. Vocal Ranges: Solo 1: D4 - B4, Solo 2: D4 - B4, Solo 3: D4 - F#4, Solo 4: B3 - G#4 Darlene Lambert and Emma Van Brocklin Darlene Lambert and Emma Van Brocklin are on the scene in Central Park and are convinced of Santa's magic after Buddy reveals their past Christmas gifts. Look for two young ladies with nice singing voices and some acting experience to take on these small, but featured, roles. Ensemble New Yorkers, Comforting New Yorker, Macy's Employees, Macy's Employee 1, Member of the Rockefeller Crowd, Office Staff, Business Woman, Flyer guys, Teenager, Jogger, Carolers, Passerby, Children and Parents are all important roles for creating the distinct worlds of the North Pole and New York City. These roles can all be double cast from your ensemble, and it's important to remind your young performers that the stronger and more specific their character choices, the richer and more vivid the story becomes. Vocal Range: Comforting New Yorker: F4 - C5
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).
Frequently Asked Questions - 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 Frequently Asked Questions about Broadway Junior Musicals How long can we perform this show? Your Performance License is good for 12 months. You can keep all the materials after the 12 month period, but the materials are not reusable. Can I perform the same show the next year and just purchase the rights since I already have the materials? You will need to purchase a new kit and sign a new performance license if you would like to perform the show again at another time. The materials are not re-useable, refundable or transferable. Can I videotape the performance? The shows that can be videotaped with the purchase of a Video License at $75 include: Disney's 101 Dalmatians KIDS Disney's Aladdin JR. Disney's Aladdin KIDS Disney's Alice In Wonderland JR. Annie JR. Annie KIDS Disney's The Aristocats KIDS Disney's Beauty and the Beast JR. The Big One-Oh! JR. Dear Edwina JR. Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs before Dark KIDS Dot and The Kangaroo JR. Elf The Musical JR. Fame JR. Disney's Finding Nemo JR. Disney's Finding Nemo KIDS The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley JR. Disney's Frozen JR. Disney's Frozen KIDS Guys and Dolls JR. Disney's High School Musical JR. Honk! JR. Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach JR. Disney's The Jungle Book KIDS Magic Tree House: The Knight at Dawn KIDS Disney's The Lion King JR. Disney's The Lion King KIDS Disney's The Little Mermaid JR. Madagascar - A Musical Adventure JR. Mary Poppins JR. Disney's Moana JR. Disney's My Son Pinocchio JR. Disney's Newsies JR. Peter Pan JR. Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon KIDS Seussical JR. Seussical KIDS Shrek The Musical JR. Singin' in the Rain JR. Disney's Winnie the Pooh KIDS Main restrictions: video recordings are for cast/crew/families only, can't be sold and can't be broadcast in any way including on the Internet. The remaining shows do not allow videotaping. Parents cannot tape, even just for their own personal in-home use. It has nothing to do with how the tape would be used, not being sold, etc. It all comes down to legal copyright rights. Here is how Music Theatre International explains it: Unfortunately, the rights to videotape are not available. Copyright law gives authors the exclusive right to control the reproduction of their work. When a license is granted for a live stage production of a show, that license does not include the right to tape it because the authors retain the sole right to decide when or if their work is recorded in any way. Even a videotape made for classroom use, as a personal memento or as an archival school record violates the authors' separate right to reproduce their work. In most cases, the authors have already granted such rights exclusively to film or television companies, in which case videotaping this show would also be infringing upon the rights granted by the authors to a third party. Can I post a video of our performance on YouTube? There is no broadcasting of the show in any way, even if you've signed a video license. The license specifically restricts the right to broadcast your performance on YouTube, any school channel, etc. I have a few students who were in the 9th grade last year and are going into the 10th grade, can I still allow them to perform in the show? No. All performers are required to be in the 9th grade or under when the show is performed. Can I perform only certain musical numbers from the show? No. The show must be performed exactly as it has been provided to you in the ShowKit™ materials and you cannot delete, alter or make changes of any kind in the text of the play, the musical numbers, characters or characterizations. I have a question that's not listed. How do I contact a person? Please email other questions to broadwayjunior@halleonard.com or call us at 800-554-0626.
Dot and The Kangaroo 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 Daniel Mertzlufft Lyrics by Kate Leonard Libretto by Daniel Stoddart Overview / Synopsis Based on the 1899 classic children's novel, with libretto by Daniel Stoddart, music by Daniel Mertzlufft (Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, Breathe), and lyrics by Kate Leonard (Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical, Breathe), Dot & the Kangaroo JR. will lead audiences on a beautiful journey into the world and spirit of Australia. Young, rambunctious Dot longs for an adventure exploring everything the country has to offer. When she finds herself lost and afraid in the darkening Australian bush, Dot befriends a wise mother Kangaroo who enlists the help of Australia's favourite bush creatures to help Dot find her way back home. A charming tale full of quirky Aussie-native characters, Dot & the Kangaroo JR. transforms the endearing story that transfixed generations past into a fresh, new adventure for generations to come. Audio Sampler - HL01241752 $10.00 ShowKit - HL01241747 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Actor's Book Piano/Vocal Score Director's Guide Choreography Videos (Digital) Guide Vocal Tracks (Digital) Performance Tracks (Digital) Downloadable Resources and Media 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 01241747 - ShowKit $695.00 01241748 - Director's Guide $100.00 01241750 - Actor's Book (Single) $10.00 01241751 - Actor's Script (10 Pak) $75.00 01241752 - Audio Sampler $10.00 MUSICAL NUMBERS Prologue Everything, But Nothing Without You See The Country On Our Way Bottoms Up At The Waterhole The Lullaby King Of The Burrow The Ladies' Lounge Council Of The Animals (Part 1) Council Of The Animals (Part 2) Dot's Testimony See The Country (Reprise) Finale Cast of Characters Cast Size: Large (21 or more performers) Cast Type: Children Dot A smart, brave, and kind 8-year-old girl who lives with her family in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales in 1815 Australia. Quick- witted Dot is tired of doing chores and longs for an adventure. Dot is a major role with lots of stage time and carries her own song. Cast a strong singer and actor in this role who reads as younger onstage and makes a good team with Mrs. Kangaroo. Gender: Female Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: A3 Mrs. Kangaroo Wise, nurturing, and driven. Though she doesn't trust the "new humans," she is willing to help Dot get home as she searches for her missing Joey. Cast a strong singer and actor in this role who will pair well with Dot and can portray Mrs. Kangaroo's compassionate nature and strength of resolve while allowing her sense of humor to shine through. Gender: Female Vocal range top: E5 Vocal range bottom: B3 Matilda Dot's older sister. She loves her family and understands that they work as a team, with everyone contributing to their life in Australia - even if some of the jobs that need to get done aren't as exciting as having an adventure. Cast a good singer and actor in this role who reads as older than Dot onstage. Gender: Female Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: C4 May Dot's mother. Though she doesn't survive past the first scene, she has a small solo holding Dot as a baby. This is a good role for a performer who may be new to the stage but can handle a solo. Whoever plays May should join the rest of the ensemble after her scene. Gender: Female Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: D4 Henry Dot and Matilda's father. Though he sadly lost his wife, May, he loves his children and works hard to provide for the family. Cast a good singer and actor in this role who pairs well with Dot and Matilda and can depict Henry's hard-working, good nature. Gender: Male Vocal range top: D5 Vocal range bottom: C4 Willie Wagtail A bird first onstage in puppet form but later leads the courtroom during Dot's trial. He is a know-it-all and considers himself an expert on the court of law because he built a nest in the Gabble-Babble Courthouse and has listened to many trials. Willie doesn't sing a solo, so cast a performer who can express Willie's self-important attitude and command the courtroom. Gender: Male Larry Lorikeet Larry Lorikeet, Mal Magpie Goose, and Wazza Waterheron are the best of waterhole friends and lead the rousing hoedown "Bottoms Up At The Waterhole." These three function as a unit, so cast character actors with excellent comic timing who can move well and easily play off one another. Vocal range top: E5 Vocal range bottom: E3 Lillian, Lilith, and Leilani (The 3 L's) Lorena's friends who sing backup for her during "So Lame." Cast performers who can match Lorena's teenage attitude and are comfortable singing tight harmonies. Gender: Female Vocal range top: E5 Vocal range bottom: F#4 Mal Magpie Goose Larry Lorikeet, Mal Magpie Goose, and Wazza Waterheron are the best of waterhole friends and lead the rousing hoedown "Bottoms Up At The Waterhole." These three function as a unit, so cast character actors with excellent comic timing who can move well and easily play off one another. Vocal range top: E5 Vocal range bottom: E3 Wazza Waterheron Larry Lorikeet, Mal Magpie Goose, and Wazza Waterheron are the best of waterhole friends and lead the rousing hoedown "Bottoms Up At The Waterhole." These three function as a unit, so cast character actors with excellent comic timing who can move well and easily play off one another. Vocal range top: E5 Vocal range bottom: E3 Koala Koala and Kookaburra share a tree and function as a comic pair. They have a hilarious scene with Dot and Mrs. Kangaroo but no sung solos, so cast two character actors with great comic timing who make an interesting twosome and can dial up the silliness onstage. Kookaburra Koala and Kookaburra share a tree and function as a comic pair. They have a hilarious scene with Dot and Mrs. Kangaroo but no sung solos, so cast two character actors with great comic timing who make an interesting twosome and can dial up the silliness onstage. Platypus Though Platypus is a genius and the king of the burrow, he is not very nice to Dot at first. Beneath his gruff exterior is a loyal friend with a strong moral compass who sees Dot for who she truly is. Platypus leads his own number, so cast a fantastic singer and actor in this role who can command the stage and embody Platypus's grumpy dignity. Gender: Male Vocal range top: G5 Vocal range bottom: C4 "King of The Burrow" Soloists Soloist 1 Vocal range top: G4 Vocal range bottom: C5 Soloist 2 Vocal range top: F4 Vocal range bottom: Ab4 Soloist 3 Vocal range top: G#4 Vocal range bottom: C#5 Soloist 4 Vocal range top: F#4 Vocal range bottom: A4 Bowerbirds Belle, Bree, and Babs Bowerbirds Belle, Bree, and Babs are fierce, fashion-forward, and fabulous, darling, thank you very much! These divas have self-confidence in spades and remind Dot that, first and foremost, she must believe in herself. Cast a triple-threat trio that screams "girl power" and can handle close harmonies. Vocal range top: Db5 Vocal range bottom: Db3 Peacock Paul The Bowerbird girls' best friend and matches their confidence level - not to mention their decor! Peacock Paul does not sing a solo but should be comfortable singing in close harmonies with the Bowerbird girls. Cast a fabulous actor and a good dancer in this fun, energetic role. Pelican The prosecutor in Dot's trial. Pelican does not sing a solo, so cast a good actor who can command the room and lean into the courthouse drama of the scene. Joey Mrs. Kangaroo's missing child. Joey has a cameo at the end of the show when he is finally reunited with his "Mimi." This is a great role for a newer performer who is comfortable having a few lines and a brief duet line and reads as younger onstage. Black Swan Vocal range top: G4 Vocal range bottom: Gb3 Cockatoo Vocal range top: G4 Vocal range bottom: Gb3 Ensemble The Ensemble is a great place for any performer who'd like to be involved in the show. Featured ensemble roles are: Brolga, Snake, British Soldiers, Families, Bowerbirds, Brolgas, Dingoes, Rainbow Lorikeets, Waterhole Birds, Council of the Animals (which include Koalas, Possums, Wallabies, Kangaroos, Bilbies, Emus, Cranes, Plovers, Ducks, Frogs, Bandicoots, and Parrots). Brolga Vocal range top: Bb4 Vocal range bottom: Gb3
Disney's & Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 Original Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman Book by Julian Fellowes New Songs and Additional Music and Lyrics by Anthony Drewe and George Stiles Co-Created by Cameron Mackintosh A Musical based on the stories of P.L. Travers and the Walt Disney Film Overview / Synopsis Delight your audience with a show that's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Follow Jane and Michael Banks on fantastical adventures with their new nanny as she helps the Banks family in more ways than one. Based on the books by P.L. Travers and the classic Walt Disney film, Mary Poppins JR. includes a score filled with timeless classics as well as charming new songs written especially for this adaptation. Audio Sampler - HL00239827 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00239815 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Actor's Scripts Director's Guide Piano/Vocal Score 2 Rehearsal/Accompaniment CDs Choreography DVD Media Disc 30 Family Matters Booklets 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 00239816 - Director's Guide $100.00 00239818 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00239819 - Actor's Script $10.00 00239820 - Actor's Script 10-pak $75.00 00239821 - Rehearsal/Accompaniment CDs $75.00 00239822 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00239824 - Student Rehearsal CD 20-pak $100.00 00239825 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00239826 - Media Disc $10.00 00239827 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample Prologue Cherry Tree Lane (Part 1) The Perfect Nanny Cherry Tree Lane (Part 2) Practically Perfect Jolly Holiday Winds Do Change A Spoonful of Sugar Precision and Order (Part 1) Precision and Order (Part 2) A Man Has Dreams Feed the Birds Supercalifragilistic- expialidocious Twists and Turns Playing the Game / Chim Chim Cher-ee Brimstone and Treacle (Part 1) Let's Go Fly a Kite Brimstone and Treacle (Part 2) Step in Time Anything Can Happen (Part 1) Give Us The Word Anything Can Happen (Part 2) Goodbye Then, Mary Anything Can Happen (Finale) Bert The narrator of the story, is a good friend to Mary Poppins. An everyman, Bert is a chimney sweep and a sidewalk artist, among many other occupations. With a twinkle in his eye and a skip in his step, Bert watches over the children and the goings-on around Cherry Tree Lane. He is a song-and-dance man with oodles of charm who is wise beyond his years. Cast your strongest male singer, dancer, and actor in this role. Gender: Male Vocal range: B2-F4 George Banks Husband to Winifred and father to Jane and Michael, is a banker to the very fiber of his being. Demanding "precision and order" in his household, he is a pip-and-slippers man who doesn't have much to do with his children and believes that Miss Andrew, his cruel, strict childhood nanny, gave him the perfect upbringing. George's emotional armor, however off-putting, conceals a sensitive soul. A baritone, George may speak-sing as necessary and should be among your strongest male actors and singers. Gender: Male Vocal range: Bb2-F4 Winifred Banks George's wife and Jane and Michael's mother. She is a loving homemaker who is busy trying to live up to her husband's social aspirations while striving to be a model wife and mother. Cast an actor who can portray a great warmth and depth of feeling. Winifred should have a pure vocal tone and be one of your stronger actors and singers. Gender: Female Vocal range: A3-Eb5 Jane Banks The high-spirited daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Banks, bright and precocious but can be willful and inclined to snobbishness. Cast a wonderful actor and a strong singer who can take the audience on an emotional journey. Gender: Female Vocal range: A3-Eb5 Michael Banks The cheeky son of Mr. and Mrs. Banks. Excitable and naughty, he adores his father and longs desperately for his attention. Both he and Jane misbehave in order to get the attention of their parents. Michael should be a great actor and singer. Ideally, he reads onstage as younger than Jane. Gender: Male Vocal range: A3-E5 Mrs. Brill The housekeeper and cook for the Banks family. Overworked, she's always complaining that the house is understaffed. Her intimidating exterior is a cover for the warmth underneath. She does not have to be a strong singer, but she should be a solid actor. Gender: Female Robertson Ay The houseboy to the Banks family. Forgetful and clumsy, he often bungles simple tasks. He doesn't do a lot of singing, but he should be a good comedic actor. Note: his last name is pronounced like "eye." Gender: Male Mary Poppins Jane and Michael Banks's new nanny. She is extraordinary and strange, neat and tidy, delightfully vain yet very particular, and sometimes a little frightening, but she is always exciting. She is practically perfect in every way and always means what she says. The role calls for an excellent singer and actor who should be able to move well. Since she carries a majority of the show, precision and diction are key. Gender: Female Vocal range: G3-F5 Ensemble Groups & Featured Roles All ensembles require group singing; featured roles require either solo singing or solo acting, or both. For each featured role, the pages showcasing the character's lines or vocals are listed. Ensemble & Featured Characters include: Katie Nanna, Park Strollers, Statues, Neleus, Bird Woman, Honeybees, Clerks, Miss Smythe, Chariman, Von Hussler, John Northbrook, Vagrants, Buskers, Passerby, Mrs. Corry, Customers, Miss Andrew, Kite Flyers, Chimney Sweeps, Policeman and the Messenger. Katie Nanna Katie Nanna is Jane and Michael's nanny at the beginning of the show. Overwhelmed and upset, she has absolutely had her fill of the Banks children. This role is perfect for a performer who is not quite ready for a larger role. Gender: Female Park Strollers The Park Strollers are citizens of London who go from drab and dreary to bright and colorful as they get swept up in Mary Poppins's adventures in the park. Gender: Both Statues The Statues are stone sculptures. Thanks to Mary Poppins, these works of art come alive and dance with Bert and the Park Strollers. Gender: Both Neleus Neleus is a statue who, once brought to life by Mary Poppins, is very happy to befriend Jane and Michael. This role is a wonderful opportunity to feature one of the strong dancers in your ensemble. Gender: Both Vocal range: Bb4-Eb5 Bird Woman The Bird Woman is covered in a patchwork of old shawls, her pockets stuffed with bags of crumbs for the birds. She tries to sell the crumbs to Passersby, who ignore her as if she doesn't exist. While she should be a good singer, there can be a gruff, folksy quality to her voice that reflects the difficulties of her situation. Gender: Female Vocal range: G3-D5 Honeybees The Honeybees are conjured by Mary Poppins to help teach the children the benefits of "A Spoonful of Sugar." These roles require good movers who can sing. Gender: Both Clerks The Clerks, like George, are employees at the bank. These roles require actors who can sing. Gender: Both Miss Smythe Miss Smythe is the bank Chairman's humorless secretary. This smaller role is great for a performer who is new to the stage. Gender: Female Chairman Chairman, the head of the bank where Mr. Banks is employed, is an Edwardian stuffed shirt. He does not need to be a strong singer, but he should be a good actor with great stage presence. Gender: Male Von Hussler Von Hussler is a businessman seeking a loan from the bank for a shady business deal. This is a great character role for a fantastic actor who can command the stage with pomposity. Gender: Male John Northbrook John Northbrook is an honest businessman seeking a loan to build a factory for his community. This is a great role for a good actor and solid singer who may not be ready to tackle a large part. Gender: Male Vocal range: C3-D4 Vagrants, Buskers, and Passerby Vagrants, Buskers, and Passerby are citizens of London passing by the cathedral during "Feed the Birds." They can also be played by the Park Strollers earlier in the show. Gender: Both Mrs. Corry Mrs. Corry owns a magical Talking Shop. She is a mysterious woman of indeterminate age, but has plenty of spirit and is sharp as a tack. Cast an excellent actor who's not afraid to be over the top in this fun role. Gender: Female Miss Andrew Miss Andrew is George's overbearing and scary childhood nanny. With her bottle of nasty- tasting brimstone and treacle to keep naughty children in line, she is a bully who only knows one way of doing things: her way. Cast one of your stronger singers in this featured role. Gender: Female Vocal range: G#3-D5 Kite Flyers Kite Flyers consist of families flying kites in the park. They can also be comprised of the same ensemble members as the Park Strollers, the Passersby, and Mrs. Corry's Customers. Gender: Both Chimney Sweeps Chimney Sweeps (including Sweep 1, Sweep 2, Sweep 3, and Sweep 4) are Bert's cheerful, friendly, and agile friends who keep London's chimneys in working order. These actors should be great dancers and good singers, capable of bringing the show-stopping number "Step In Time" to life. Gender: Both Policeman and the Messenger The Policeman, a neighborhood patrol officer, and the Messenger, who delivers a summons to George from the bank, are great roles for students new to the stage that might not be ready for a large role. Gender: Both
Once on this Island 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 and Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens Music By Stephen Flaherty Based upon the Novel "My Love, My Love" by Rosa Guy Originally Directed and Choreographed on Broadway by Graciela Daniele Overview / Synopsis Once on This Island JR is the authorized young performer's edition of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's story of "two worlds, never meant to meet," where the power of love is proven to conquer the power of death - a lesson well told for generations to come. Once on This Island is an engaging, Caribbean-flavored musical set on an unnamed island in the French Antilles. The story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl who falls in love above her class, is told around a fire by a group of Caribbean peasants as they wait out a terrible storm. Once on This Island uses the tradition of storytelling to pass down history, values and insight from one generation to the next. The result is a lesson to be passed along for generations to come. With the gods looking over her, Ti Moune's journey of unrequited love comes to prove that the power of love is stronger than the power of death. Ti Moune's courage and spirit prove that love can withstand the storm, cross the Earth, and survive even in the face of death. With rhythms of the Caribbean Islands, this show will be a favorite of performers and audiences alike! The Broadway Junior Collection now offers this Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty score in an adapted format perfect for young performers! Audio Sampler - HL00113121 $10.00 ShowKit - HL09971751 $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 09971753 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 09971752 - Director's Guide $100.00 09971754 - Actor's Script $10.00 09971757 - Actor's Script 10 Pak $75.00 09971755 - Performance/Accompaniment CD $75.00 09971756 - Choreography DVD $50.00 09971678 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 09971758 - Student Rehearsal CD 20 Pak $100.00 09971677 - Media Disc $10.00 00113121 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample Prologue/We Dance [Storytellers] One Small Girl/Waiting for Life [Asaka, Erzulie, Papa Ge, Tonton, Mama, Ti Moune, Storytellers] And the Gods Heard Her Prayer/Rain [Asaka, Agwe, Erzulie, Papa Ge, Storytellers] Discovering Daniel/Pray [Storytellers, Ti Moune, Tonton, Mama, Gatekeeper, Peasants] Forever Yours [Ti Moune, Daniel, Papa Ge, Storytellers] Ti Moune [Ti Moune, Tonton, Mama] Mama Will Provide [Asaka, Storytellers] The Human Heart [Erzulie, Storytellers] Pray - Reprise/The Ball [Gossipers, Father, Storytellers, Andrea, Daniel] Ti Moune's Dance [Mama, Tonton, Little Ti Moune] Andrea Sequence [Andrea, Ti Moune] Promises/Forever Yours - Reprise [Papa Ge, Erzulie, Storytellers] Wedding Sequence [Storyteller (Asaka)] A Part of Us/Why We Tell the Story [Company] Bows/Exit Music [Orchestra] Little Girl/Little Ti Moune Little Girl/Little Ti Moune is the perfect role for a very young performer. This girl should be able to stay focused and listen. The role also requires some singing with the ensemble. Storytellers 1-4 Storytellers 1-4 are the four narrators that tell the story of Once on This Island Jr. They can be male or female. Not only do they sing the bulk of the show, but they also focus the audience's attention on important events throughout the production. These four roles are the true leads! Mama Euralie Mama Euralie is the symbolic mother of us all. She should possess a nice voice, and be a good actress. Be sure to audition Mama with Tonton as you will want to cast two people who perform well together, look like a couple and have stage chemistry. Tonton Julian Tonton Julian is the loving adopted father of Ti Moune. The actor who plays this role should have a nice voice, and be a good actor. It helps to cast a boy whose voice has changed, although not necessary. Ti Moune/Peasant Girl Ti Moune/Peasant Girl is the focus of our story and is featured in solo songs and dance. The actress performing this role should have an excellent voice and be an excellent dancer. The music Ti Moune sings is written in a pop style. Daniel Beauxhomme Daniel Beauxhomme is the male ingenue in Once on This Island Jr. Cast a young man who has a nice voice. Pair up potential Ti Mounes and Daniels at your final audition. Daniel's Son Daniel's Son is a very small walk-on part at the very end of the show. Cast a younger actor who resembles older Daniel. The actor need not sing and has no dialogue. The Gatekeeper The Gatekeeper has one scene. He should be impressive in size with a booming voice. Daniel's Father Daniel's Father is not sympathetic or understanding of his son's wishes, unlike Tonton Julian. This is a small role, requiring some singing and acting. Andrea Andrea is Daniel's beautiful fiancee. She is refined, educated and the exact opposite of Ti Moune. Papa Ge Papa Ge is the self-described "sly demon of death." The actor performing the role should have a nice voice and an evil laugh. Asaka Asaka is the Goddess of the Earth and sings one of the most popular and fun songs of the show, "Mama Will Provide." Cast an excellent singer who moves well and is capable of an earthy look. Agwe Agwe is the God of Water. He has a solo early in the show that requires an excellent voice ("Rain"). Cast an actor capable of singing the song. Erzulie Erzulie is the triumphant Goddess of Love. She should have a pretty voice that is compatible with a pop style of singing. Gossipers 1-7 Gossipers 1-7 are one-line features - a great place to cast performers who may not quite be ready for a larger role, but deserve a feature line or two. Choir of Storytellers Choir of Storytellers (who also play peasants, villagers, guests and grand hommes) is easily expandable to accommodate as many young people as necessary. Cast any young person with the desire to perform.
The Pirates of Penzance 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 Sir William Schwenck Gilbert Music by Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan Lyrics by Sir William Schwenck Gilbert Overview / Synopsis Set sail with this classic comedy that boasts one of the most famous patter songs in musical theatre history. The wit and whimsy of Gilbert and Sullivan's classic score is suffused with a modern sensibility in The Pirates of Penzance JR, a swashbuckling musical journey! Set on the rocky coast of Cornwall, England, The Pirates of Penzance JR begins with a group of pirates who are celebrating the birthday of one of their own, Frederic, who has reached his 21st year. Finally having served the full length of his required time with the pirates, he decides to strike off on his own and become an upstanding citizen - which may even mean bringing the pirates to justice. Thus turns out to be a tricky prospect indeed, especially when Frederic's freedom is called into question! The Pirates of Penzance JR is a light, comic introduction to the work of Gilbert and Sullivan, featuring opportunities for singing as an ensemble or in small groups, with vocal parts written in unison or simple two-part harmony. Audio Sampler - HL00160203 $10.00 ShowKit - HL9971456 $695.00 This ShowKit includes: 30 Student Books Director's Guide Piano/Vocal Score 2 Accompaniment CDs Media Disc Choreography DVD 60-Minute JR. Request Individual Components 9971459 - Director's Guide $100.00 9971458 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 9971457 - Student Book $10.00 9971461 - Student Book 10-pak $75.00 9971408 - Performance/Accomp CD pack $75.00 9971463 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 9971464 - Student Rehearsal CDs 20-Pak $100.00 9971460 - Choreography DVD $50.00 9971462 - Media Disc $10.00 00160203 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample Pour, O Pour the Pirate Sherry [Pirates, Samuel] When Frederic Was a Little Lad [Ruth] Oh, Better Far to Live and Die [Pirate King, Pirates] Oh, False One, You Have Deceived Me [Frederic, Ruth] Climbing Over Rocky Mountain [Daughters, Edith, Kate] Stop, Ladies, Pray! [Frederic, Edith, Kate, Daughters] Oh, Is There Not One Maiden [Frederic, Daughters, Mabel] Poor Wandering One [Mabel, Daughters] Stay, We Must Not Lose Our Senses [Frederic, Daughters, Pirates] I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General [Major-General, Chorus] Oh, Men of Dark and Dismal Fate [Major-General, Samuel, Pirate King, Pirates, Mabel, Daughters] Oh, Dry the Glistening Tear [Daughters] When the Foeman Bares His Steel (Tarantara!) [Peter, Tiger Lily, Brave Girls, Lost Boys, Children] When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold (Part 1) [Ruth, Frederic, Pirate King] When You Had Left Our Pirate Fold (Part 2) [Ruth, Frederic, Pirate King] Tarantara! (Reprise) [Sergeant, Police] A Rollicking Band of Pirates We [Pirates] With Cat-like Tread, Upon Our Prey We Steal [Pirates, Police] Now What Is This, and What Is That [Daughters, Pirates, Major-General, Mabel, Frederic] Finale [Sergeant, Pirate King, Police, Daughters, Major-General, Ruth, Pirate King, Mabel, Frederic, Edith] Samuel Samuel is a pirate and serves as the second in command to the Pirate King. Where the Pirate King is self-assured, assertive, and strong, Samuel is more bookish. Think of him as the accountant to the Pirates. Samuel has some featured solos and it is a good role for a performer who is showing good promise, but needs to nurture their skills a bit. Vocal range: Bb3-Eb3 Pirate King The Pirate King is a great comic lead for a boy who is self assured, a bit of a ham, and great at physical comedy. Cast someone who is inventive, fearless and willing to take positive risks. The Pirate King should sing reasonably well, but he doesn't need to be a polished singer. Consider casting someone who is athletically inclined and a natural leader-this is a great role for the star soccer player, or captain of the football team. Vocal range: B3-Eb5 Frederic Frederic is the male ing�nue of the show. He should have a great voice that is polished. Frederic should also have looks that qualify as "dreamy" if at all possible. Think Davy Jones, Luke Perry or anyone who may be worthy of the cover of Teen Beat or Teen People. Frederic can be a better singer than an actor, but it's great if he can be both. Vocal range: B3-F5 Ruth Ruth is a humoristic tour-de-force for a young comedian. She should be able to play matronly but still be vibrant and full of energy. An actress who is physically different from Frederic is a great choice. For example, if your Frederic is tall and thin, consider a short and stocky Ruth. Ruth transforms from old matronly, to a knock-out beauty when she returns with the Pirate King in "When Fred'ric Was a Little Lad", so it's great to cast an actress who is versatile. Ruth has a featured solo, but doesn't have to be a polished singer. Cast a comedian who is naturally funny, and can be bigger than life. Someone who played Miss Hannigan in Annie Junior, or Mrs. Paroo in The Music Man Junior would make a great Ruth. Vocal range: G3-Eb5 Kate, Edith, and Isabel Kate, Edith and Isabel are the leaders of General Stanley's wards, with Edith serving as the leader among the three. Of the three, Kate and Edith have solos, although you could break-up their solos to provide Isabel with a solo as well. These three should be good singers, good dancers, and reasonable actresses. Traditionally, Edith wears glasses and is more bookish, Kate is aggressive and tomboyish, while Isabel is younger and more na�ve. However, these three roles are open to interpretation. Consider having your actresses create their own character types as long as the characters are specific and can be sustained throughout the entire production. These are great roles for actresses you are nurturing for future lead parts. Vocal range: G3-F5 Mabel Mabel is the female ing�nue to Frederic's male ing�nue. She must have a polished, operatic or legitimate voice. Mabel should be attractive and a reasonable actress, but doesn't need to be an accomplished actress. She's the female star of the show, and the character who takes the biggest risk. Vocal range: G3-G5 Major-General Stanley Major-General Stanely is one of the signature character types in any Gilbert and Sullivan show. For Pirates the Major-General is the character who delivers the rapid fire patter song. An excellent part for a young performer who may not have great pitch, but has great rhythm. Cast that kid who listens to hip-hop and rap; they'll be a natural as the Major-General. Personality is primary in this part; acting, singing, and dancing are a definite second thought. Vocal range: A3-Eb5 Sergeant The Sergeant of Police should be a good singer and a great dancer. Don't hesitate to cast a girl in this role; simply slap on a handlebar moustache and you'll be good to go! Think "Key Stone Cops" as your inspiration. Vocal range: C4-E5 Police Chorus For this chorus, you can cast your best dancers and singers and mix boys and girls, or just girls if that's your best option. The police are traditionally portrayed as "Key Stone Cops"; so performers who are physically adept will be a great addition to your show. Vocal range: E3-F#5 Daughter Chorus These are the wards of Major General Stanley and can range in type and talent as broadly as required. Consider casting Daughters who are accomplished dancers and letting them take the lead in the dances. Cast singing Daughters to lead the singing; throw in some kids who can neither sing nor dance but are great character actresses and encourage them to be funny. Mix it up and your Daughter chorus will be an outstanding addition to your Pirates company. Vocal range: F3-G5 Pirate Chorus If you didn't read the Daughter chorus description, do so now. Everything that applies to casting the Daughters, applies to the Pirates. Don't hesitate to mix boys and girls as Pirates. (In fact sometimes girls make the best pirates!) You can have your chorus of Police play Pirates in the early numbers to give everyone more to do. Vocal range: Bb3-F#5
Xanadu 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. Alice In Wonderland Jr. (Disney) 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 Douglas Carter Beane Music and Lyrics by by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar Based on the Universal Pictures film with a screenplay by Richard Danus & Marc Rubel Overview / Synopsis One Act, Book Musical, Rated G Broadway Junior Version A Greek muse inspires love, laughter and the world's first Roller Disco in this 1980s glitter explosion. (60-MINUTE VERSION FOR YOUNG PERFORMERS) This Tony Award-nominated hilarious, roller skating, musical adventure about following your dreams despite the limitations others set for you, rolls along to the original hit score composed by pop-rock legends Jeff Lynne and John Farrar and has been adapted for the MTI Broadway Junior Collection. Based on the Universal Pictures' cult classic movie of the same title, which starred Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly, XANADU JR. is hilarity on wheels for adults, children and anyone who has ever wanted to feel inspired. The year is 1980. Somewhere along the beach in Venice, California, Sonny Malone becomes frustrated with the mural he has painted of the nine muses of Greek mythology. After he storms off in frustration, the Muses come to life (I'm Alive) and Kira (a.k.a. Clio), Sonny's Muse, hatches a plan to inspire Sonny to artistic greatness. Kira disguises herself as a regular mortal from Australia and arrives at the Santa Monica pier just in time to rescue Sonny. Kira begins her work (Magic), and Sonny reveals his dream to open a roller disco. Inspiring Sonny brings Kira one step closer to being granted the gift of Xanadu. This infuriates sister Muses, Melpomene and Calliope, who hatch a plan to curse Kira so she falls in love with Sonny, a mortal, which is forbidden (Evil Woman). Sonny and Kira meet again in front of a rundown theater and receive a sign that things are coming together to fulfill Sonny's dream (Suddenly). Sonny meets with Danny, the owner of the theater, who is not interested in Sonny's plan until Kira enters and reminds him of someone he knew long ago (Whenever You're Away From Me). In a flashback, we learn that Kira once came to Danny disguised as the southern belle, Kitty, and inspired him to build the old theater. Melpomene and Calliope hide in the abandoned theater and await the arrival of Kira and Sonny so they can curse them and make them fall in love. Danny and Sonny run into each other at the theater, which is named Xanadu, and share their individual visions for its restoration (Dancin'). Danny agrees to give Sonny the theater if he can fix it up by the end of the day. Kira arrives, and they begin planning, providing Melpomene and Calliope with the moment they have been waiting for (Strange Magic). Left with only one hour to restore the theater, the Muses enter and help with the job (All Over The World). With the theater restored, Danny is back in show business, and Sonny's dreams are coming true. The two of them admire the Xanadu sign, while Kira receives a message via Hermes from Zeus reminding her of the rules she must live by. Realizing her feelings, Kira tries to leave, but Sonny begs her to stay (Don't Walk Away). Kira gets away and her evil sisters talk Danny into selling them the theater. Kira returns to Venice Beach to re-enter the mural, having failed in her quest to inspire Sonny and achieve Xanadu for herself. Confronted by her sisters and Sonny, the truth comes out, and she leaves, flying on Pegasus, back to Mount Olympus (Suspended in Time). Kira is brought before Zeus, Aprhodite, Thetis, and Hera to answer for what she has done. Zeus proclaims his sentence, but the others beg his mercy (Have You Never Been Mellow). Zeus pardons Kira, and Sonny arrives at Mount Olympus to profess his love. Zeus decrees that Kira shall return to Earth as a mortal to be with Sonny. He grants her the gift of Xanadu. XANADU JR. is a moving, electrifying tale of endless fun that will keep audiences in stitches, while the original, legendary chart-topping tunes lift them out of their seats. Filled with 80s nostalgia, students will love to strap on their roller skates and perform this silly comedic gem. With a flexible cast size, XANADU JR. is a great choice for groups looking to use a smaller cast size but can easily be expanded for larger groups. You'll want to keep the music in your head, and XANADU JR! in your heart, forever. Audio Sampler - HL00114416 $10.00 ShowKit - HL00114406 $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 00114407 - Director's Guide $100.00 00114408 - Piano/Vocal Score $40.00 00114409 - Actor's Script $10.00 00114410 - Actor's Script 10-Pak $75.00 00114411 - Rehearsal/Accompaniment CD $75.00 00114412 - Student Rehearsal CD $10.00 00114413 - Student Rehearsal CD 20-Pak $100.00 00114414 - Choreography DVD $50.00 00114415 - Media Disc $10.00 00114416 - Audio Sampler $10.00 Hear A Sample Pure Imagination I'm Alive (Part 1) I'm Alive (Part 2) Magic Evil Woman Suddenly Whenever You're Away From Me (Part 1) Whenever You're Away From Me (Part 2) Dancin' Strange Magic All Over The World Don't Walk Away Suspended In Time Have You Never Been Mellow Xanadu Cast Size Large (over 20) Cast Type Children in Cast, Ensemble Cast - Many featured roles, Star Vehicle - Female, Star Vehicle - Male Dance Requirement Heavy (Extensive Dance Sections/Solos) APRHODITE The Goddess of Love. Range: E3-C4 CALLIOPE Muse of Epics, is Melpomene's "Wing-Muse". She is equally devious and listens closely to her sister's direction. Range: G3-E5 DANNY MAGUIRE A real estate magnate and owner of the Xanadu theater. He goes from being guarded about protecting the theater to becoming partners with Sonny and then betraying him. Range: G2-C4 ENSEMBLE Eros, Cyclops, Centaur, Medusa, and the Greek Chorus HERA Zeus' wife and is known for her comparable status to her husband. Range: E4-C5 HERMES A hilarious cameo role for a performer with excellent comedic skills. KIRA The Greek heroine and loveable, young ing�nue. She begins the play as Clio, the youngest and the most idealistic of the Muses. With the addition of leg warmers and an Australian accent, she quickly becomes Kira to help Sonny realize his dreams. She is ambitious, smart and like Sonny, pure of heart. Range: G3-E5 MELPOMENE Muse of Tragedy, is the eldest of the Muses and is most responsible for plotting against Kira. Range: G3-F5 OTHER MUSES Erato, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, Urania SIRENS Melpomene's nine alluring daughters. SONNY MALONE The young male lead from the beaches of California. He is wide-eyed, full of dreams and can be a bit sensitive; after all, he is an artist! While Sonny may not be the brightest, he is very sincere and earnest. Range: G3-Bb4 THE ANDREWS SISTERS (Maxine, Patty and Laverne) An exact duplicate of the Andrews Sisters that were famous in the 1940s. Range: B3-Eb5 THE TUBES An iconic, hard-rockin' new-wave band of the 80s. Range: A3-G#4 THETIS The Goddess of the Sea who tells the pivotal story of Achilles and his vulnerable heel, which in turn, changes Kira's perspective about really loving Sonny. Range: C4-E5 ZEUS The King of the Gods Range: E3-D4
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Hal Leonard Vocal Competition - 2022 Winners | Hal Leonard THE 2022 HAL LEONARD VOCAL COMPETITION WINNERS Complete List ART SONG WINNERS Children's Voices Ages 12 and under (as of February 1, 2022) First Place Heidi Hager (age 11) Herndon, VA Navy Elementary School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Heather Vineyard Second Place (tie) Maya Joshi (age 12) Cresskill, NJ Cresskill Middle School Pianist: Liliana Sotirova Voice Teachers: Amelia DeMayo and Liliana Sotirova Diya Koul (age 12) Lexington, MA Diamond Middle School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Beth Sterling Third Place (tie) Katherine Berdovskiy (age 12) Davis, CA Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Bernadette Mondok Keller Juliet Lee (age 11) Vienna, VA Wolftrap Elementary School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Sonia Yon Honorable Mentions Ava Acconzo (age 12) Bloomingdale, NJ Cristina Garcia (age 12) North Plainfield, NJ Ashley Hua (age 11) Marietta, GA Bella Leybovich (age 12) Mesa, AZ Lily Bell Morgan (age 10) Portsmouth, VA Ben Rost (age 10) Livingston, NJ Anna Smith (age 12) Austin, TX Leila Woodward (age 12) Newport Beach, CA Finalists Amy Ai (VA) Rachel Liz Anand (TX) Saryu Bapatla (FL) Alisha Batreja (NJ) Lilia Bernstein (CA) Theodore Burke (CA) Davna Ceron (NJ) Vinya Chhabra (NJ) Kayla Colchamiro (NJ) Charlotte Collins-Williams (CA) Mark Corrigan (CA) Aerina DeBoer (NJ) Chloe Ding (CA) Scarlett Diviney (NY) Nithya Gandi (IL) Esther Gao (GA) Rudrani Ghoshal (NC) Anna Grace Howell (PA) Ava Kimble (OH) Mady King (AZ) Olivia Ma (ON) Adhya Mahesh (CA) Beatrice Main (CA) Avyay Mangalampalli (MN) Josephine Martin (NY) Brendan McCanta (CA) Lily Mei (NJ) Carter Meza (CA) Maggie Miao (NY) Elsa Newbower (MA) Anh-Thu Nguyen (CA) Daniella Ngyuen (CA) Shreya Philips (TX) Nikila Rajan (TX) Claire Reimer (IA) Shea Sanders (IA) Akiv Sha (NJ) Siya Sharma (NJ) Elaine Shi (ON) Emma Tang (GA) Luke Tran (CA) Renee Tse (TX) Radha Maria Vargas Saravanamuttu (ON) Dyuti Venkatakrishna (NJ) Edward Wagner (NJ) Isabella Wagner (NJ) Janelle Wu (GA) Claire Xiao (NH) Yonglin Xie (ON) Cnai Zecharya (PA) Audrey Zelkovic (NY) Kayla Zhang (GA) NiuNiu Zhang (MD) Semi-Finalists Mira Bills (WI) Cadence Bleakley (CA) Allison Bovy (IA) Ella Cai (ON) Rick Chen (ON) Alan Csallner (TX) Hailey Dai (NJ) Donovan Dau (CA) Lilliana DeBoer (NJ) Catalina Do (CA) Siyu Fan (CA) Jianna Gutt (NY) Kellan Jewett (NC) Siddharth Kamat (NJ) Alyssa Kusherets (WA) Leonardo Lin (CA) Penelope Main (CA) Yifan Monroe (WA) Marsha Nath (AZ) Sofie Nesanelis (CT) Caylie Nguyen (CA) Saisha Pal (VA) Sophia Ponichter (NY) Shreya Rajeev (CA) Darby Schlosser (NY) Samaira Singh (NJ) Ainsley Sorenson (NY) Maya Surdutovich (CA) Amy Tierolf (CA) Richard James Tucker (NJ) Annika Vadhavkar (NJ) Owen Wang (ON) Ruolin Yuan (NJ) Ainsley Zauel (VA) Karson Zhang (ON) Aiden Zhao (GA) Early Teen Voices Ages 13-15 (as of February 1, 2022) First Place Grace Chung (age 15) Hackensack, NJ Bergen County Academies Pianist: Goeun Lee Voice Teacher: Jinhwan Byun Second Place (Tie) Salina Mu (age 15) Austin, TX Westlake High School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Shaunna Shandro Abigail Tidlow-Tranel (age 15) Yellowstone National Park, WY Gardiner Public School Pianist: Douglas Burgess Voice Teacher: Jonathan Beyer Third Place (tie) Nana Castle (age 15) Jacksonville, NC Jacksonville High School Pianist: Jay R. Wright Voice Teacher: Alison Lawrence Aurna Mukherjee (age 15) Austin, TX Liberal Arts and Science Academy Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Michelle Haché Honorable Mentions Isaac Ahn (age 13) Rye Brook, NY Eva Crichton (age 15) New York, NY Abinaya Ganesh (age 15) Andover, MA Jocelyn Knorr (age 15) Havertown, PA David Trey Logeman (age 15) Kings Mountain, NC Lukas Palys (age 14) Dallas, Texas Aanya Santosh (age 13) Lincolnshire, IL Finalists Elizabeth Cho (MD) Alicia Chu (DE) Gabriela Cruz (NY) Maeve Cunningham (NJ) Daniel Deng (TX) Rebeca Dinca (WA) Emily Jane du Pont (DE) Ciela Elliott (NY) Saoirse Feiler (CA) Silvan Friedman (CT) Ashmita Ghosh (NC) Caitlin Hayles (FL) Evelyn Hsu (CA) Logan Hu (LA) Estella Sky Keyoung (CA) Hazel Kim (IL) Mariam Kubursi (CA) Vanessa Li (MD) Fiona Lin (GA) Bridget Lomax (NJ) Morgan Lomax (NK) Annabelle Miin (CA) Avery Nokes (VA) Violet Paris (NY) Gabe Ponichter (NY) Rachel Rogstad (CA) Katherine Ryan (NY) Viveka Saravanan (CA) Serena Sharma (CT) Kendall Sorenson (NY) Emily Stuart (WA) Celine Velazquez (CA) Hanyamin Wang (GA) Forrest Weaver (NH) Kiran Wisneski (PA) Lily Yezdanian (NJ) Margaret Zhang (NY) Semi-Finalists Misha Agrawal (NJ) Elisabeth Baer (GA) Isha Bhandari (NJ) Zoe Cook (WA) Leena Dey (MA) Charlotte Dugan (NH) Zara Garg (CT) Gretchen Gerke (IA) Anushri Ghoshal (NC) Ellivia Gold (NY) Baylee Horvath (AZ) Veronica James (NJ) Leela Jarschel (CA) Charlie Kratz (PA) Iva Liu (CA) Joon-Hyung Noh (CA) Olivia Petrizzo (NY) Sofia Mariposa Pugh (AL) Niko Rinaldi (CT) Luis Rodriguez (ON) Naomi Sedwick (VA) Chelsea Sun (TX) Noella Tae (CA) Shreya Tanna (NJ) Carmen Tarajano (NC) Temira Weisberg (NJ) Ava Whytsell (SC) Garrett Wirth (CA) Jeffrey Yang (CA) Michael Yu (TX) High School Voices Ages 16-18 (as of February 1, 2022) First Place Elena Oliveira (age 18) Houston, TX Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Pianist: Yanira Soria Voice Teacher: Hector Vàsquez Second Place (tie) Aliyah Douglas (age 17) Oro Valley, AZ Ironwood Ridge High School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Stephanie Fox Lia Zheng (age 16) San Diego, CA Canyon Crest Academy Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Zeping Cai Third Place (tie) Paige Klemenhagen (age 17) Lake Elmo, MN Stillwater Area High School Pianist: Ruth Palmer Voice Teacher: Teresa Tierney Ava Maha (age 17) Sewickley, PA Choate Rosemary Hall Pianist: Nathaniel Baker Voice Teacher: Sooyeon Kim and Lorraine Nubar Honorable Mentions Clara Abrahams (age 17) Lincoln, CA Kimberly Adam (age 17) Wayne, PA Eloise Fox (age 17) Landenberg, PA Elliot Henderson (age 16) New York, NY Henry Hsiao (age 18) Princeton, NJ Alexandra Johnson (age 16) Howell, MI Finalists Emelia Aceto (OH) Arya Balian (MD) Angelina Chen (CA) Erin Chung (CA) Ava Danzer (WI) Andie Earl (NJ) Olivia Gonzales (TX) Cecilia Harrison (NC) SangHoon Jung (NJ) Elora Kares (OH) Sofia Mains (PA) Andrea Nalywajko (NY) Kierra Pizarro (NY) Jocie Schnee (VA) Elena Skirgaudas (WA) Amanda Spotts (PA) Ashley Stewart (AZ) Semi-Finalists Katie Brigman (LA) Skyy Brooks (PA) Calia Burdette (KY) Janice Chong (CA) Fiona Coughlin (OH) Grace Finke (CA) Grace Hahn (CA) Kelly Irwin (NJ) Makenna Jacobs (AZ) Christine Kelly (IL) Rohan Kurup (WA) Mary Julia Lashley (OH) Emma Leibowitz (CA) Jack Leslie (CA) Carissa Ma (VA) Gianna Macedon (VA) Holly Marescot (NY) Isabella Michaels (PA) Ashwini Narayanan (IL) Abby Olson (CA) Bria Petrella (NJ) Tanisha Pulla (CA) Aashna Rana (CA) Abhigna Sala (GA) Csepke Sallai (VA) Emmeline Sevey (NH) Kirsten Tierney (VA) Luis Vega-Torres (OH) Viven Vigliante (VA) Nicole Witte (AZ) College/Univeristy Voices Ages 18-23 (as of February 1, 2022) First Place Kaya Giroux (age 21) Carnegie Mellon University Pianist: Paul Michael Clark Voice Teacher: Maria Spacagna Second Place (tie) Natalie Corrigan (age 21) University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music Pianist: Beth Parker Voice Teacher: Amy Johnson Gabrielle Turgeon (age 21) University of Toronto Pianist: Kathryn Tremills Voice Teacher: Elizabeth McDonald Third Place Blake Stevenson (age 22) University of Southern California Pianist: John-Henri Voice Teacher: Thomas Michael Allen Honorable Mentions Lucy Altus (age 21) Carnegie Mellon University Abraham Cruz (age 21) The Boston Conservatory Marieke de Koker (age 23) Mannes College of Music Jacob Soulliere (age 22) Manhattan School of Music Finalists Adam Clayton (age 20) Northwestern University Jack Fanselau (age 21) Southwestern Adventist University Sarah Fleiss (age 22) The Curtis Institute of Music Laura Looper (age 19) Indiana University Lilly Nowak (age 19) Oklahoma City University Ian Pathak (age 20) University of Michigan Andrew Puschel (age 20) Bowling Green State University Aliyah Quill (age 20) University of Michigan Kayla Stein (age 20) Eastman School of Music Jillian Tam (age 20) McGill University Will Upham (age 23) Southern Methodist University Meghan Willey (age 20) James Madison University MUSICAL THEATRE WINNERS Children's Voices Ages 12 and under (as of February 1, 2022) First Place Maya Joshi (age 12) Cresskill, NJ Cresskill Middle School Pianist: Glenn Gordon Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo, Glenn Gordon and Liliana Sotirova Second Place (tie) Agneya Roy (age 10) Concord, NC Cox Mill Elementary School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Brandi Icard Darby Schlosser (age 12) Armonk, NY H.C. Crittenden Middle School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo and Gulnara Mitzanova Third Place (tie) Liam Garrett (age 11) Peoria, AZ Candeo School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teachers: Satyam Patel and Ellen Johnson Ben Rost (age 9) Livingston, NJ Collins Elementary School Pianist: Glenn Gordon Voice Teachers: Amelia DeMayo, Glenn Gordon, Gulnara Mitzanova and Liliana Sotirova Honorable Mentions Alera Cetrulo (age 10) Santa Barbara, CA Amelia Holly (age 10) Chicago, IL Bella Leybovich (age 12) Mesa, AZ Bella Nazzaro (age 11) Lake Worth, FL Ciana Tzuo (age 12) New York, NY Kylie Kuioka (age 11) Brooklyn, NY Mollie Pedersen (age 12) Rochester, NH Nicole Hodges (age 11) Spring, TX Theodore Burke (age 12) Rancho Cucamonga, CA Yifan Monroe (age 10) Gig Harbor, WA Finalists Kellen Bryant (AZ) Mary Burklin (GA) Catalina Chang (NY) Vinya Chhabra (NJ) Hannah Cohen (NJ) Kayla Colchamiro (NJ) Katelyn Dempsey (IL) Brayden Flores (TX) Rudrani Ghoshal (NC) Heidi Hager (VA) Anna Grace Howell (PA) Mady King (AZ) Diya Koul (MA) Scarlett Lau (ON) Chloe Lee (ON) Juliet Lee (VA) McKenzie Lopezlira (AZ) Noelle Louis (NY) Josephine Martin (NY) Carter Meza (CA) Lily Bell Morgan (VA) Brooke Naznitsky (NJ) Jillian Platero (NJ) Poppy Pollard (TX) Brady Roland (PA) Gabriel Saphier (NJ) Akiv Shah (NJ) Anna Smith (TX) John Michael Starling (AL) Sienna Stoll (AZ) Angelina Tong (GA) Leila Woodward (CA) Semi-Finalists Nethania Ajan (TX) Rachel Liz Anand (TX) Anna Athungal (NJ) Ash Bajaj (TX) Saryu Bapatla (LA) Lilia Bernstein (CA) Mira Bills (WI) Mandolyn Binsted (TX) Ava Carranza (AZ) Davna Ceron (NJ) Annabelle Chung (TX) Lucy Cox (GA) Aja Crockett (MA) Jax DaSilva (MA) Lilliana DeBoer (NJ) Adeline DeFeo (MA) Chloe Ding (CA) Vince Ermita (NJ) Daniel Evans (NJ) Anne Gao (VA) Cristina Garcia (NJ) Abigail Gibbins (TX) William Goldsman (NY) Marley Griggs (TX) Lucian Gutfraynd (IL) Fiona Halter (NJ) Lucy Hendricks (WI) Morgan Hensley (TN) Rachel Hesom (MB) Hannah Hodges (TX) Ashley Hua (GA) Kate Hwang (CA) Kellan Jewett (NC) Felice Kakaletris (NJ) Siddharth Kamat (NJ) Ava Kimble (OH) Olympiada Kokkalis (PA) Alejandra Landaeta (FL) Jiaxuan Li (GA) Miranda Libanan (NJ) Antonio Lin (CA) Nola Linder (VT) Margot Mahan (NY) Nevin Mancell (AB) Avyay Mangalampalli (MN) Esha Marupudi (AZ) Donna Megules (NJ) Lily Mei (NJ) Maggie Miao (NY) Aashi Milla (IL) Norah Miller (PA) Julia Morton (TX) Ruchira Mukherjee (CA) Abiageal Murphy (MA) Saish Nagnur (NJ) Gowri Nair (NJ) Sofie Nesanelis (CT) Kara Ngyuen (CA) Abby Nordby (IL) Saisha Pal (VA) Yash Patel (AZ) Neel Pati (TX) Shreya Philips (TX) Daphne Pollard (TX) Fiona Morgan Quinn (PA) Ryan Rahman (CA) Charlie Russell (VA) Shea Sanders (IA) Anika Sandilya (NJ) Siya Sharma (NJ) Sophia Sheth (IL) Ainsley Sorenson (NY) Maddie Stufft (OH) Jacob Sturgis (PA) Emma Tang (GA) Monique Tian (DE) Lauren Trabanco (FL) Lydia Tracy (TX) Karstyn Traylor (TX) Richard James Tucker (NJ) Ella Twaddle (MN) Owen Wang (ON) Jazz Washinton (WA) Christiaan Wilkes (NY) Sabine Wolfli (AB) Janelle WU (GA Lily Youngstrom (CA) NiuNiu Zhang (MD) Early Teen Voices Ages 13-15 (as of February 1, 2022) First Place Kaiya Bagley (age 15) Medford, OR St. Mary’s School Pianist: Tim Spencer Voice Teacher: Andrea Hochkeppel Second Place (tie) Marina Chamedes (age 14) New York City, NY Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts Pianist: Dan Pardo Voice Teacher: Grant Anderson Abinaya Ganesh (age 15) Andover, MA SMB Lessons Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Stephanie Morey-Barry Third Place (tie) Baylee Horvath (age 13) Gilbert, AZ Christ Greenfield Pianist: Hope Douglass Voice Teacher: Nichole Jensen Aurna Mukherjee (age 15) Austin, TX Liberal Arts and Science Academy Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Michele Haché Honorable Mentions Molly Dupre (age 15) Mattapoisett, MA Ciela Elliott (age 15) Chappaqua, NY Stefan Herrera (age 14) Houston, TX Mina Lim (age 15) Orinda, CA Bridget Lomax (age 15) Short Hills, NJ Morgan Lomax (age 15) Short Hills, NJ Grace Martin (age 15) Medford, NJ Lydia Mushkatina (age 15) Bellevue, WA Violet Paris (age 14) Brooklyn, NY Rachel Rogstad (age 15) Loma Linda, CA Naomi Thuren (age 14) Medford, OR Ananya Yadati (age 14) Beachwood, OH Finalists Lia Adzhamoglian (TX) Madeline Ayala (TX) Guy Challen (CA) Kate Clemetson (NV) Maeve Cunningham (NJ) Zoe Dempsey (IL) Sophie DeOliveira (MA) Jocelyn Knorr (PA) David Trey Logeman (NC) Salina Mu (TX) Joon-Hyung Noh (CA) Olivia Petrizzo (NY) Thomas Roper (MS) Katherine Ryan (NY) Viveka Saravanan (CA) Ella Scott (FL) Jessica Smith (PA) Lily Yezdanian (NJ) Semi-Finalists Abigail Adair (OH) Jessica Aezen (NJ) Ella Armandi (PA) Laura Armstrong (IL) Zoe Assis (FL) Madeline Austin (IA) Elizabeth Babiar (GA) Zoey Blackman (NJ) Siyona Bordia (NJ) Ella Bree (NJ) Vivian Brown (OH) Ayla Collins (VA) Zoe Cook (WA) Gabriela Cruz (NY) Elsa Dees (CT) Franziska Diefenbach (NY) Jingyi Du (NY) Charlotte Dugan (NH) Marshall Elliott (LA) Dyuti Ganesh (TX) Katelyn Gard (NY) Sienna Gasparrelli (CA) Ashmita Ghosh (NC) Anushri Ghoshal (NC) Annabel Gilly (NY) Mya Glasofer (NJ) Delilah Grad (TX) Nina Granik (MA) Maya Hanna (IA) Caitlin Hayles (FL) Katey James (OR) Sophie Jaquish (CA) Adhya Karukurichi (MN) Mariam Kubursi (CA) Vanessa Li (MD) Fiona Lin (GA) Grisham Locke (LA) Julia Murphy (VA) Fiona Neff (VA) Avery Nokes (VA) Alexandra Paris (NJ) Angelina Pendleton-Mendez (CA) Rebekah Rogstad (CA) William Daniel Russell (MA) Cetonaya Sammartino (BC) Cole Seevers (VA) Amelia Severns (PA) Sophia Severns (PA) Arushi Sharma (CA) Maya Shull (NY) Kendall Sorenson (NY) Roxie Sparling (UT) Sydney Steiner (NY) Emily Stuart (WA) Elaina Stuppler (OR) Shannon Tilley (PA) Josh Townshend (MD) Forrest Weaver (NH) Kiran Wisneski (PA) Katie Wylie (MA) Nora Yates (IA) Margaret Zhang (NY) High School Voices Ages 16-18 (as of February 1, 2022) First Place Amelia Gibbons (age 17) De Pere, WI Southwest High School (Green Bay) Pianists: Mary Ehlinger Voice Teacher: Kaara McHugh Second Place (tie) Makenna Jacobs (age 16) Chandler, AZ Perry High School Pianists: Jenn Crandell Voice Teachers: Nichole Jensen Emma Schrier (age 17) Cinnaminson, NJ Cinnaminson High School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Tamara Lynn Koveloski Third Place (tie) Emelia Aceto (age 16) Hinckley, OH Highland High School Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Denise Howell Ellie Brenner (age 18) Durand, WI SInterlochen Arts Academy (MI) Pianist: Douglas Peck Voice Teacher: Douglas Peck Honorable Mentions Lindsay Alexander (age 17) Austin, TX Christine Kelly (age 16) Geneva, IL Ava Lane (age 17) Livingston, NJ Finalists Mabry Adair (TX) Kimberly Adam (PA) Braelyn Andrade (MA) Clara Bennett (OR) Skyy Brooks (PA) Juliana Dees (CT) Katrina Franco (CA) Joseph Kayne (OH) Semi-Finalists Yaara Afif (VA) Shayne Barrett Goldstein (NJ) Anika Bhaskaran (MA) Natalie Bordwell (CA) Ty Brennan (WI) Caitlin Callahan (OR) Fiona Coughlin (OH) Shannon Daly (PA) Elena Day (MN) Natalie Evans (AB) Hadley Fitton (MA) Belle Fockler (OH) Jessica Holliday (NJ) Erika Kessler (NJ) Faith Kirkland (AZ) El Larabee (MA) Kaylyn Lau (TX) Nora Maier (IL) Lauren Marchand (NY) Joshua Mckiver (GA) Kyla O’Deay (LA) Abby Olson (CA) Amanda Phillips (MA) Marlee Rossero (OH) Amanda Spotts (PA) Charlotte Teeples (VA) Georgia Thomas (GA) Anna Gray Thompson (SC) Kirsten Tierney (VA) Hannah Tramonte (OH) Anna Beth Trueblood (MO) Olivia Ustinovich (MA) Isabella Vázquez-Janik (PA) Nick Vitale (NJ) Lila Wagner-Gleeson (OH) Sophia Welch (VA) Kenna Wells (NC) Amelia Williams (FL) Jackson Wood (AZ) Young Adult Voices Ages 18-23 (as of February 1, 2022) Enrollment in a school is not required in this category, nor is a voice teacher, but if the singer provided that information it appears below. First Place Abigail Storm (age 20) Austin, TX Ball State University Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Beth Truitt Second Place (tie) Ashlyn Combs (age 22) Lexington, SC Winthrop University Hal Leonard Recorded Accompaniment Natalie Doppelt (age 22) Riverwoods, IL University of Pennsylvania Pianist: Lisa Harer de Calvo Voice Teacher: Lisa Harer de Calvo Third Place (tie) Aminata Jalloh (age 20) Powder Springs, GA Reinhardt University Pianist: Melanie Williams Voice Teacher: Reverie Berger Emily Kars (age 19) Kincheloe, MI Huntington University Pianist: Stephanie See Voice Teacher: Joni Killian Honorable Mentions Te’Jah Beaton (age 20) North Charleston, SC Beck Chandler (age 21) Columbia, SC Karen Covarrubias (age 20) Keene, TX Matthew Danforth (age 18) Demarest, NJ Taylor McCullough (age 18) Kingstree, SC Blake Stevenson (age 22) San Juan Capistrano, CA Finalists Preston Anderson (LA) Diego Bly (VA) Luke Capello (MA) Arianna Dreher (NY) Katelyn Farebrother (WI) Carissa Ferguson (FL) Margot Frank (IL) Melaina Furgeson (NY) Samantha Grasso (NJ) Alexandra Lagos (VA) Katie OShields (MD) Joshua Parga (SC) Chris Richie (OK) Celina Sasso (NV) Abigail Smith (SC) Caitlin Towell (IL) Back To Top
Hal Leonard Vocal Competition - 2021 Winners | Hal Leonard THE 2021 HAL LEONARD VOCAL COMPETITION WINNERS Complete List ART SONG WINNERS Children's Voices Ages 12 and under (as of February 1, 2021) First Place Liliy Yezdanian (age 12) Clifton, New Jersey Lacordiare Academy Pianists: Liliana Sotrova, Glenn Gordon Voice Teachers: Amelia DeMayo, Lilana Sotirova Second Place (tie) Heidi Hager (age 10) Herndon, Virginia Navy Elementary School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Ingrid Lestrud Maya Louise Joshi (age 11) Cresskill, New Jersey Cresskill Middle School Pianist: Liliana Sortirova Voice Teachers: Amelia DeMayo, Glenn Gordon, Liliana Sotirov Third Place (tie) Katherine Berdovskiy (age 11) Davis, California Sutter Peak Charter Academy Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Irina Leykina Diya Koul (age 11)) Lexington, Massachusetts Maria Hastings Elementary School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Elizabeth Sterling) Honorable Mentions Kayla Cochamiro (age 11) Short Hills, New Jersey Joseph Kushner Hebrew Academy Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Rebecca Thompson-Galecki Baylee Horvath (age 12) Gilbert, Arizona Christ Greenfield School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Nichole Jensen Juliet Lee (age 10) Vienna, Virginia Harmonia School of Music and Art Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Sonia Yon Madison Miller (age 12) Ooltewah, Tennessee Homeschooled Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Nichole Jensen Luke Reimer (age 12) Coralville, Iowa Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Mia Fryvecind Chelsea Sun (age 11) University Park, Texas McCulloch Intermediate School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Yixuan Han Gloria Wang (age 11) Johns Creek, Georgia Wilson Creek Elementary School Pianist: Jungkyu Han Voice Teacher: Qian Li Finalists Rayna Batreja (NJ) Juliet Besch-Turner (NY) Isha Bhandari (NJ) Claire Butler (TX) Davna Ceron (NJ) Alera Cetrulo (CA) Maya Cheng (IA) Chloe Ding (CA) Scarlett Diviney (NY) Charlotte Dugan (NH) Jacqueline Foley (AZ) Agustya Harsh (NJ) Daphne Hatzigiannis (MA) Lucia Hendricks (WI) Ashley Hua (GA) Anjali Kandur (GA) David Kupchenko (IL) Audrey Lee (NJ) Josephine Martin (NY) Donna Megules (NJ) Maggie Miao (NY) Brooke Naznitsky (NJ) Shreya Philips (TX) Katherine Pottkotter (TX) Rebekah Rogstad (CA) Kendall Sorenson (NY) Ainsley Sorenson (NY) Savannah Swiatkowski (AZ) Carmen Tarajano (NC) Madeline Thach (TX) Matthew Vallero (CA) Brynn Walker (CA) Ainsley Zauel (VA) C’nai Zecharya (PA) Semi-Finalists Anika Agrawal (VA) Lyla Eve Bauer (TX) Lilia Bernstein (CA) Cadence Bleakley (CA) Theodore Burke (CA) Bekah Calaway-Habeck (IL) Kaitlin Cho (CA) Montanna Coil (AZ) Lilliana DeBoer (NJ) Rudrani Ghoshal (NC) Ellivia Gold (NY) Jianna Gutt (NY) Tilly Haselhuhn (CA) Trinity Hu (MA) Rei Huston (NH) Joyce Huynh (CA) Marcy Elizabeth Ip (GA) Catherine Ji (GA) Sid Kamat (NJ) Julia Kartvelishvili (IA) Chloe Kim (NJ) Mady King (AZ) Charlie Kratz (PA) Jiaxuan Li (GA) Elina Ma (GA) Olivia Ma (GA) Sally Marlin (IN) Brittany McGraw (NJ) Lily Mei (NJ) Lily Morgan (VA) Anh-Thu Nguyen (CA) Kaia Olberg (IL) Saisha Pal (VA) Katherine Purdy (NY) Ryan Rahman (CA) Lillian Rogers (TX) Aanya Santosh (IL) Akiv Shah (NJ) Anna Smith (TX) Sophia Toncich-Mandel (NJ) Kate Walker (CA) Reed Walker (CA) Grace Wang (GA) Owen Wang (ON) Ava Whytsell (SC) Claire Xiao (NH) Audrey Zelkovic (NY) Lindsey Zhao (TX) Early Teen Voices Ages 13-15 (as of February 1, 2021) First Place Kennedy Percival (age 15) Upland, California Homeschooled Pianist: Desireé Bryner Voice Teacher: Camille Waage Second Place Lia Zheng (age 15) San Diego, California Canyon Crest Academy Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Zeping Cai Third Place (tie) Evelyn Hsu (age 14) San Jose, California Lynbrook High School Pianist: Dmitriy Cogan Voice Teacher: Haruna Shiokawa Andrea Nalywajko (age 15) New York, New York Stuyvesant High School Pianist: Mun Tzung Wong Voice Teacher: Catherine Mazzone Honorable Mentions Jude Frazier (age 13) Orlando, Florida Osceola County School for the Arts Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Jeanai LaVita Christine Kelly (age 15) Geneva, Illinois Geneva High School Pianist: Clare Chenoweth Voice Teacher: JoEllyn Caulfield Aurna Mukherjee (age 14) Austin, Texas Liberal Arts and Science Academy Pianist: Sunkyong Park Voice Teacher: Stella Yoon Avery Nokes (age 13) Arlington, Virginia Sidwell Friends School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Tricia Grey Lukas Palys (age 13) Dallas, Texas St. Mark’s School of Texas Pianist: Rami Palys Voice Teacher: Nili Riemer Evan Shidler (age 15) Short Hills, New Jersey Millburn High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Ronald Cappon Finalists Emelia Aceto (OH) Elisabeth Baer (GA) Zoey Blackman (NJ) Gabrielle Brayman (NJ) Elizabeth Cho (MD) Alicia Chu (DE) Grace Chung (NJ) Henry Cornell (NY) Eva Crichton (NY) Janie du Pont (DE) Ciela Elliott (NY) Wesley Geary (AZ) Anushri Ghoshal (NC) Shayla He (CA) Michaela Hieb (CO) Amelie Kaufman (NY) Estella Sky Keyoung (CA) Meghan Linnington (OK) Bridget Lomax (NJ) Gianna Macedon (VA) Brianna Nita (ON) Adithi Nythruva (AZ) Maxine Park (CA) Hasitha Putcha (TX) Aashna Rana (CA) Rachel Rogstad (CA) Viveka Saravanan (CA) Jocie Schnee (VA) Erin Schumacher (AZ) Elena Skirgaudas (WA) Gina Vicari (VA) Ashley Wang (CA) Roger Wang (CA) Andreas Warren (IA) Sophia Welch (VA) Samantha Wu (CA) Eddie Yin (WA) Sabrina Zhu (CA) Semi-Finalists Mithra Ajoy (CA) Alexandra Bae (NJ) Ty Brennan (WI) Max Budowski (CA) Mary Campbell (CA) Silvan Friedman (CT) Ashmita Ghosh (NC) Sophia Holmgren (MA) SangHoon Jung (NJ) Erin Kazmierczak (NY) Alex Kim (NC) Morgan Lomax (NJ) Stephanie Lopez (NY) Salina Mu (TX) Violet Pasmooij (CA) Renna Popli (CA) Raghav Ramgopal (CA) Kirby Rosplock (FL) Csepke Sallai (VA) Michelle Skylar (FL) Skye Stauffer (TX) Sarah Traphagan (TX) Sindhu Vemulapalli (CA)) Julia Wall (MA)) Xinpei Wang (TX)) Margaret Zhang (NY) High School Voices Ages 16-18 (as of February 1, 2021) First Place Joseph Murphy (age 17) Brooklyn, New York) Edward R. Murrow High School Pianist: Dmitry Glivinskiy Voice Teacher: Christine Moore Vassallo Second Place (tie) Bradley Boatright (age 18) Smithville, Texas Smithville High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Michelle Haché Katherine Ramirez (age 17) San Antonio, Texas New Trail Homeschool Academy Pianist: Daniel Zamora Voice Teacher: Crystal Jarrell Johnson Third Place (tie) Eloise Fox (age 16) Landenberg, Pennsylvania Avon Grove High School Pianists: Katelan Tran Terrell, Mathew Odell Voice Teachers: Lorraine Nubar, Cynthia Sanner Saman de Silva (age 16) Los Altos Hills, California Henry M. Gunn High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Jace Witti Honorable Mentions Avni Kamat (age 16) Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Noune Karapetian Alison Kessler (age 17) New Rochelle, New York The Leffell School Pianist: ? Voice Teacher: Lorraine Nubar Ava Kuntz (age 17) Santa Ana, California Orange County School of the Arts Pianist: John Henri Voice Teacher: Kathleen Martin Lizi Kvernadze (age 17) Brooklyn, New York Edward R. Murrow High School Pianist: Dmitry Glivinskiy Voice Teacher: Christine Moore Vassallo Audrey Michael (age 17) Traverse City, Michigan Traverse City West Senior High Pianist: Jamie Hardesty Voice Teacher: Jayne Sleder Ella Rescigno (age 18) Columbia, South Carolina Spring Valley High School Pianist: Luke Fang Voice Teacher: Rachel Calloway Aida Skaraite (age 17) Lemont, Illinois Lemont High School Pianist: Lisa Kristina Voice Teacher: Rachel Olson Finalists Mia Baron (CA) Ellie Brenner (WI) Mina Brooks-Schmidt (AK) Alexandra Cook (CA) Matthew Danforth (NJ) Miriam Friedman (IL) Ethan Hardyk (PA) Erin Hess (NY) Samuel Higgins (MA) Emilia Jurzyk (IL) Paige Klemenhagen (MN) Mary Julia Lashley (OH) Natalie Mastali (FL) Emily Mulva (TX) Alyrie Silverman (NJ) Thalia Suleymanov (NY) Kirsten Tierney (VA) Cherie Uyanik (CA) JoEllen West (TX) William Yang (TX) Peggy Yin (NY) Flora Yuan (CA) Anna Zavelson (TX) Semi-Finalists Arya Balian (MD) Benjamin Barham-Wiese (NY) Anushku Basu (CA) Ellina Bolster (MI) Chelsea Cannon (AZ) Karly Cahn (NY) Olivia Dubay (NC) Andie Earl (NJ) Grace Finke (CA) Katrina Franco (CA) Sydney Horan (FL) Henry Hsiao (NJ) Lexi Lanni (RH) Beau Leavenworth (IA) Wyatt McDaniel (NY) Murphy McDermott (NY) Keely McNab (TX) Kylie Merrill (AZ) Tiffani Mezitis (NY) Cassie Miller (AZ) Kyubin Moon (IL) Shikta Mukherjee (NJ) Ashwini Narayanan (IL) Abby Olson (CA) Bria Petrella (NJ) Reatan Plank (AZ) Aanya Pramanik (TX) Melody Prater (KS) Tanisha Pulla (CA) Sanjna Rajagopalan (NJ) Akash Raman (MI) Olivia Roberts (OR) Soren Ryssdal (CA) Emma Stamper (FL) Abigail Sundahl (MO) Mayu Tayama (CA) Gabriella Treutle (FL) Jessica Wastchak (AZ) Amelia Williams (FL) Amy Yan (TX) Damla Yesil (NY) College/Univeristy Voices Ages 18-23 (as of February 1, 2021) First Place Sophie Naubert (age 22) Conservatoire de musique de Montréal Pianist: Chloe Dumoulin Voice Teacher: Aline Kutan Second Place (tie) Adam Catangui (age 20) Eastman School of Music Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Nicole Cabell Dalia Medovnikov (age 19) Curtis Institute of Music Pianist: Emily Olin Voice Teacher: Emily Olin Third Place (tie) Colin Aikins (age 21) Curtis Institute of Music Pianist: Lisa Keller Voice Teacher: Julia Faulkne Kaya Giroux (age 20) Carnegie Mellon University Pianist: Rosie Irwin Voice Teacher: Maria Spacagna Honorable Mentions Morgan Mastrangelo (age 22) Northwestern University Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Pamela Hinchman Madison Miller (age 22) University of Michigan Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Scott Piper Madelin Morales (age 20) Eastman School of Music Pianist: Seoyeon Park Voice Teacher: Kathryn Cowdrick Rachel Schlesinger (age 18) Purchase Conservatory of Music Pianist: Djordje Nesic Voice Teacher: Sherry Overholt MUSICAL THEATRE WINNERS Children's Voices Ages 12 and under (as of February 1, 2021) First Place Katherine Berdovskiy (age 11) Davis, California Sutter Peak Charter Academy Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Irina Leykina Second Place (tie) Ayla Collins (age 12) Alexandria, Virginia Carl Sandburg Middle School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Aimee Barnes Charlie Russell (age 11) Alexandria, Virginia Belle View Elementary School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Aimee Barnes Third Place (tie) Agustya Harsh (age 12) Edgewater, New Jersey homeschooled Pianist: Glenn Gordon Voice Teachers: Amelia DeMayo, Liliana Sotirova, Glenn Gordon Caitlin Hayles (age 12) Brooklyn, New York Medgar Evers College Preparatory School Pianist: Shane Schag Voice Teacher: Jeanai La Vita Honorable Mentions Anna Burnham (age 11) Georgetown, Indiana Highland Hills Middle School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Katherine Maras Haulter Ryan Coglianese (age 11) Western Springs, Illinois McClure Junior High Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Tracey Ford Amelie Cruz (age 12) Chicago, Illinois Urban Prairie Waldorf School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Rachel Olson Elsa Dees (age 12) Greenwich, Connecticut The Brearley School Pianist: Shane Schag Voice Teacher: Jeanai La Vita Baylee Horvath (age 12) Gilbert, Arizona Christ Greenfield School Pianist: Jenn Crandell Voice Teacher: Nichole Jensen Ashley Hua (age 10) Marietta, Georgia Mount Bethel Elementary School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teachers: Tina Cui, Madison Zahorsky Maya Louise Joshi (age 11) Cresskill, New Jersey Cresskill Middle School Pianist: Glenn Gordon Voice Teachers: Amelia DeMayo, Liliana Sotirova, Glenn Gordon Anna Smith (age 11) Austin, Texas Zach Performing Arts Academy Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Laura Mehl Addison Valentino (age 11) Buchanan, New York Blue Mountain Middle School Pianist: Glenn Gordon Voice Teacher: Amelia DeMayo Lily Yezdanian (age 12) Clifton, New Jersey Lacordaire Academy Pianist: Glenn Gordon Voice Teachers: Amelia DeMayo, Liliana Sotirova Finalists Chloe Aldrete (CA) Ava Barabasz (IL) Lilia Bernstein (CA) Adrish Bhattacharyys (CA) Alyse Biukians (PA) Lydia Bogdonovitch (MA) Gabriella Bozan (OH) Angelina Bubel (NY) Ryan Buggle (NJ) Theodore Burke (CA) Jack Burns (WA) Claire Butler (TX) Melanie Caplan (FL) Amelia Carlson (CA) Davna Ceron (NJ) Alera Cetrulo (CA) Karolina Coelho (FL) Elle Cohen (NC) Grace Coon (MS) Catherine Copland (NC) Adeline DeFeo (MA) Alaina Fernando (IL) Hadley Fugate (AZ) Anne Gao (VA) Liam Garrett (AZ) William Goldsman (NY) Delilah Grad (TX) Ashley Hansen (CA) Natalie Hartung (WI) Annabel Hightower (VA) Nicole Hodges (TX) Veronica James (NJ) Felice Kakaletris (NJ) Sid Kamat (NJ) Sudhisksha Kamatham (TX) Chris Khourty (MA) Diya Koul (MA) Audrey Lee (NJ) Bella Leybovich (AZ) Ruthie Manasseh (CA) Embry Marcum (IN) Carter Meza (CA) Grace Millar (OR) Madison Miller (TN) Yifan Monroe (WA) Ruchira Mukherjee (CA) Brooke Naznitsky (NJ) Mollie Pedersen (NH) Shreya Philips Komattu (TX) Elliot Roa (OR) Rebeka Rogstad (CA) Agneya Roy (NC) Gemma Schleper (NJ) Akiv Shah (NJ) Amelia Shunaman (ON) Molly Kate Skupien (LA) Olivia Bee Sposa (NJ) Charlotte Storm (TX) Ailey Tetrault (FL) Lydia Tracy (TX) Emilie Tseng (CA) Ella Valente (FL) Mariela Vazquez (FL) Ansley Wadle (TX) Brynn Walker (CA) Reed Walker (CA) Angela Xiao (WA) Ainsley Zauel (VA) Samantha Zell (AZ) Semi-Finalists Nethania Ajan (TX) Anna Athungal (NJ) Anne Frances Atkinson (MS) Jennifer Augusta (CA) Nevena Aurelius (FL) Ella Bailey (AZ) Eunice Bang (NJ) Gwendolyn Bartow (OR) Gabriela Bashir (VA) Alisha Batreja (NJ) Luna Baxter (WA) Cadence Bleakley (CA) Leticia Bromley (TX) Lexi Brown (TX) Olivia Bucci (IN) Catalina Chang (NY) Amber Chen (GA) Maya Cheng (IA) Vinya Chhabra (NJ) Annabelle Chung (VA) Sua Chung (VA) Phoebe Rose Claeys (GA) Montanna Coil (AZ) Kayla Colchamiro (NJ) Valerie Combs (CA) Zoe Cook (WA) Maliyah Cooper (IN) Lucy Cox (GA) Savannah Cox (AL) Aja Crockett (MA) Lucia Cunningham (CA) Amelie Curry (CT) Avery Davis (CT) Brenley Day (TX) Lilliana DeBoer (NJ) Aerina DeBoer (NJ) Peyton Deignan (PA) Katelyn Dempsey (IL) Chloe Ding (CA) Scarlett Diviney (NY) Olivia Dulik (IL) Vince Ermita (NJ) Maya Eswaran (VA) Jacqueline Foley (AZ) Kathleen Gahagen (IN) Yiqing Gao (TX) Rudrani Choshal (NC) Riley Glenn (MD) Ellivia Gold (NY) Heidi Hager (VA) Olivia Haller (AZ) Hazel Hay (VA) Ella Hebeisen (MD) Lucia Hendricks (WI) Avital Hermann (NJ) Cassandra Herrador (NY) Amelia Holly (IL) Rei Huston (NH) Anjali Kandur (GA) Sahana Karthik (TX) Adhya Karukurichi (MN) Katelyn Kieninger (IL) Mady King (AZ) Niyati Kotagal (GA) Frederick Kranenburg (OR) Faith Krieger (PA) Farrah Lane (AL) Juliet Lee (VA) Noa Levin (IL) Nola Linder (VT) Tatum Littlejohn (AZ) McKenzie Lopezlira (AZ) Ethan Ly (LA) Mark Ma (GA) Eve Manasseh (CA) Josephine Martin (NY) Brittany McGraw (NJ) Donna Megules (NJ) Maggie Miao (NY) Aubrey Morgan (TX) Lily Morgan (VA) Ena Mujakic (ON) Elina Nartates (WA) Braylen Nelson (TX) Elsa Newbower (MA) Danica Nolasco (AZ) Kaia Olberg (IL) Sophie Ostrovski (ON) Elise Pacheco (MA) Joshua Parecki (CA) Danielle Parsons (PA) Katherine Pottkotter (TX) Mackenzie Pressley (FL) Anna Przybylko (NJ) Katherine Purdy (NY) Nikila Rajan (TX) Charlotte Raynor (PA) Guy Riskind (FL) Lillian Rogers (TX) Ruby Sachs (NY) Shea Sanders (IA) Clara Seay (IN) Samaira Singh (NJ) Ainsley Sorenson (NY) Kendall Sorenson (NY) Savannah Springer (AZ) Aditi Sridhar (VA) Sienna Stoll (AZ) Jacob Sturgis (PA) Chelsea Sun (TX) Kailey Sunwoo (NJ) Sofia Swade (NC) Savannah Swiatkowski (AZ) Madeline Switzer (OR) Carmen Tarajano (NC) Madeline Thach (TX) Sophia Toncich (NJ) Karstyn Traylor (TX) Sofia Trompeter (FL) Renee Tse (TX) Ciana Tzuo (NY) Matthew Vallero (CA) Clara Visser (IA) Alice Wade (IN) Gloria Wang (GA) Claire Xiao (NH) Savannah Zeis (NY) Kacey Zhang (ON) April Zhong (WA) Chloe Zittel (NY) Early Teen Voices Ages 13-15 (as of February 1, 2021) First Place Lizzie Gill (age 15) Dublin, Ohio Dublin Coffman High School Pianist: Amy Pottkotter Voice Teacher: Stephanie Henkle Second Place (tie) Christine Kelly (age 15) Geneva, Illinois Geneva High School Pianist: Clare Chenoweth Voice Teacher: JoEllyn Caulfield Rachel Parsons (age 15) Clairton, Pennsylvania Thomas Jefferson High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Erin Kesser Third Place (tie) Emelia Aceto (age 15) Hinckley, Ohio Highland High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Denise Milner Howell Callie Chae Pyken (age 13) Los Angeles, California Colburn School Pianist: Nick Wilders Voice Teachers: Julia Gregory, Cassie Okenka Honorable Mentions Sienna Gasparrelli (age 13) Mentions Escondido, California homeschooled Pianist: Pam Revitte Voice Teacher: Pam Revitte Morgan Greco (age 15) Camas, Washingtoon homeschooled Pianist: Elizabeth Morris Voice Teacher: Teresa Schnell-Hochanadel Shayla He (age 14) Saratoga, California The Harker School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Alison Collins Clare Keman (age 13) Southlake, Texas Regina Caeli Academy Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Laura Melson Christopher Kranenburg (age 15) Central Point, Oregon St. Mary’s School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Andrea Hochkeppel Camryn Malo (age 14) Barrie, Ontario The Melody in Me Pianist: Katie Pergau Voice Teacher: Margot Hamilton Aurna Mukherjee (age 14) Austin, Texas Liberal Arts and Science Academy Pianist: Sunkyong Park Voice Teacher: Stella Yoon Amanda Swickle (age 15) Jericho, New York Jericho High School Pianist: Nicholas Ferla Voice Teacher: Allie Brault Ananya Yadati (age 13) Beachwood, Ohio Hathaway Brown School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Helen Todd Finalists Audrey Barr (NJ) Maddie Basich (CA) Lydiia Berckley (TX) Ainsley Buice (CA) Nana Castle (NC) Henry Cornell (NY) Halina de Jong-Lambert (NY) Juliana Dees (CT) Keely Donlan (NJ) Ciela Elliott (NY) Hadley Fitton (MA) Patrick Ford (MD) Macy Gabel (NY) Anika Ganesan (VA) Aleah Garcia (AZ) Julianna Gutekunst (PA) Michael Hieb (CO) Isabel Hoch (NY) Whit Jury (IA) Ellie Kim (TX) Alex Kim (NC) Sofia Lee (GA) Meghan Linnington (OK) Stephanie Lopez (NY) Grace Martin (NJ) Avery Mattison (CA) Alysia McCarthy (NV) Mia McFarland (AZ) Sarah McKinley (TX) Ellie Michaels (MI) Avery Nokes (VA) Adithi Nythruva (AZ) Maxine Park (CA) Kennedy Percival (CA) Gabe Ponichter (NY) Jennifer Ribble (TN) Frida Ruiz-Berman (TX) Ava Saba (AZ) Devin Sadler (IL) Sydney Safarik (TX) Joelle Sellers (TX) Milan Shetty (WA) Amelia Silberman (NC) Elena Skirgaudas (WA) Nandu Sreekanth (FL) Lauren Sun (NY) Marget Tenters (MA) Cooper Turk-Gagel (IN) Roger Wang (GA) Sophia Welch (VA) Claira Williams (FL) Samantha Wu (CA) Semi-Finalists Sneha Arya (TX) Madeline Austin (IA) Madeline Ayala (TX) Elisabeth Baer (GA) Anneliese Baum (NY) Kaitlin Black (TX) Zoey Blackman (NJ) Eillie Brower (MI) Vivian Brown (OH) Gracie Butt (AZ) Lilly Carroll (OR) Kate Clemetson (NV) Gianna Codispoti (FL) J.C. Colella (NJ) Eva Crichton (NY) Maeve Cunningham (NJ) Amelie Damseaux (FL) Jordan Daniels (CA) Zoe Dempsey (IL) Sophie DeOliveira (MA) Franziska Diefenbach (NY) Aniela Egan (MD) Elizabeth Babiar (GA) Jacquelyn Erickson (CO) Francesca Falbo (CA) Silvan Friedman (CT) Lucia George (MI) Ashmita Ghosh (NC) Anushri Ghoshal (NC) Ava Haller (AZ) Jessica Holliday (NJ) Kaelynn Jackson (NJ) Amelie Kaufman (NY) Jocelyn Knorr (PA) Vanessa Li (MMD) Bridget Lomax (NJ) Morgan Lomax (NJ) Cassidy Loria (VA) Aden Hayhew (IL) Elizabeth McDonald (LA) Libby McDonald (WA) Alex Metivier (OH) Sierra Milone (NJ) Lara Miranda (FL) Henley Nance (MS) Sean Nesamoney (CA) Joon-Hyung Daniel Noh (CA) Violet Pasmooij (GA) Lena Racelis (AL) Anastasia Ramirez (CA) Andrew Rickey (NJ) Kylan Ritchie (TN) Rachel Rogstad (CA) Himawari Rueff (CA) Katherine Ryan (NY) Jocie Schnee (VA) Erin Schumacher (AZ) Cole Seevers (VA) Darcy Serenbetz (NJ) Jayla Shedeed (CO) Jessica Smith (PA) Abigail Springer (AZ) Skye Stauffer (TX) Sydney Steiner (NJ) Grace Stoltzfus (PA) Addison Stout (IN) Charlotte Teeples (VA) Annabel Tew (PA) Naomi Thuren (OR) Donatella To (CA) Josh Townshend (MD) Hailey Tramonte (OH) Aaryahi Vaidya (CA) Ella Vakiner (IA) Isabella Vazquez-Janik (PA) Gina Vicari (VA) Lila Wagner-Gleeson (OH) Sydney Wechsler (NJ) Katie Wylie (MA) Margaret Zhang (NY) High School Voices Ages 16-18 (as of February 1, 2021) First Place Aliyah Douglas (age 16) Oro Valley, Arizona Ironwood Ridge High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Stephanie Fox Second Place (tie) Matthew Danforth (age 17) Demarest, New Jersey The Dwight Englewood School Pianists: Glenn Gordon, Steve Marzullo Voice Teachers: Amelia DeMayo, Liliana Sotirova Alyssa Sunew (age 17) Katy, Texas Seven Lakes High School Pianist: Jeannine Rowden Voice Teacher: Jeannine Rowden Third Place (tie) Ellie Brenner (age 16) Durand, Wisconsin Interlochen Arts Academy Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Elizabeth Gray Katrina Franco (age 16) San Francisco, California San Francisco University High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Heidi Moss Honorable Mentions Serena Dailey (age 17) Brooklyn, New York Edward R. Murrow High School Pianist: Thomas Hodges Voice Teacher: Christine Moore Vassallo Amelia Gibbons (age 16) De Pere, Wisconsin West De Pere High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Kaara McHugh Rachel Ginn (age 17) Pewaukee, Wisconsin Catholic Memorial High School Pianist: Kaoko Miyazawa Voice Teacher: Christine Flasch Evelyn Hecht (age 17) Maple, Ontario Westmount Collegiate Institute Pianist: Narmina Efendiyeva Voice Teacher: Miriam Eskin Ava Kuntz (age 17) Santa Ana, California Orange County School of the Arts Pianist: John Henri Voice Teacher: Kathleen Martin Lauren Marchand (age 16) Jericho, New York Jericho Senior High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Giuseppe Spoletini Kylie Merrill (age 17) Chandler, Arizona Perry High School Pianist: Jenn Crandall Voice Teacher: Nichole Jensen Janessa Minta (age 17) Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis High School Pianist: Joy Ueng Voice Teacher: Beverly Park Josh Pike (age 16) Peoria, Arizona Arizona Conservatory for Arts and Academics Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Susan Washburn Alexa Reeves (age 17) Mentions Cherry Hill, New Jersey (continued) Paul VI High School Pianist: Melissa Daniels McCann Voice Teacher: Melissa Daniels McCann Ty'Ria Rounds (age 17) Alton, Illinois Alton High School Voice Teacher: Eddie Hitchcock Emma Wallace (age 17) Austin, Texas McCallum High School Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Michelle Haché Finalists Maya Baijal (NY) Mia Baron (CA) Shayne Barrett (NJ) Skyy Brooks (PA) Mina Brooks-Schmidt (AK) Alison Bruner (PA) Caitlin Callahan (OR) Nicole Campos (TX) Amelie Chaouat (TX) Joceyln Coburn (NY) Hadley Connor (MA) Alexandra Cook (CA) Giorgia Dallasta (MD) Lucy Daniels (IL) Meghna Das (NJ) Andrew Dlugosch (TX) Andie Earl (NJ) Natalie Evans (AB) Eniya Fields (IL) Grace Finke (CA) Isabella Fisher (NY) Karli Fisher (TX) Sarah Fountain (CA) Francesca Gamba (NY) Alexis Gearty (MI) Ainsley Gilbert (TX) Matthew Gordon (WA) Seth Greene (NC) Grace Hahn (CA) Julia Hancock (MD) Jasmine Harrick (WA) Isabel Hernandez (IL) Hannah Hess (NC) Eveyln Izdepski (VA) Jessica Jang (TX) Nicole Jones (VA) Grace Kang (VA) Zy’Miracle Kearney (NC) Alison Kessler (NY) Erika Kessler (NJ) Rachel Lewiski (PA) Annie Martin (NJ) Zoe Martinez (CA) Wyatt McDaniel (NY) Hannah McLaughlin (NC) Olivia Miniuk (VA) Libby Mullins (VA) Kyla O’Deay (LA) Alexandra O’Farrell (ON) Abby Olson (CA) Emily Orlowski (NJ) Olivia Ostlund (CA) Marius Pearson (NJ) Bria Petrella (NJ) Samantha Phat (NC) Reagan Plank (NC) Sara Porjosh (VA) Melody Prater (KS) Tanisha Pulla (CA) Alexa Pupich (IL) Ava Jolie Savino (NJ) Madi Shaer (MA) Rose Shyk (PA) Ethan Staver (WI) Yumeko Stern (CT) Madalyn Stevens (MA) Peter Sunseri (CA) Jillian Swartout (CA) Julia Taglang (PA) Kirsten Tierney (VA) Hannah Tramonte (OH) Julisa Veron (CA) Nick Vitale (CA) Vanessa Vu (CA) Jessica Wastchak (AZ) Natalie Wiley (IL) Alaina Wilkins (NJ) Amelia Williams (FL) Bethany Yeh (MD) Peggy Yin (NY) Isabel Young (WI) Amelia Zakroff (NJ) Anderson Zoll (TX) Semi-Finalists Marissa Abbott (WI) Marina Adel (CA) Yara Afifi (VA) Cayman Alatalo (WI) Lottie Arnold (OH) Kristin Barker (MD) Bella Birdsley (TX) Sophia Bogdanovitch (MA) Mariella Boudreau (WI) Eliza Brennan (NY) Carolyn Calbeck (IL) Julia Campion (AZ) Elizabeth Crawford (MA) Samantha Croco (IA) Deborah Cusnir (FL) Jackson Daley (MA) Kathryn Dooley (TX) Olivia Dostal (AZ) Giovanni Faltz (NJ) Emersen Fitch (NC) Arijana Florez (NY) Oliva Fortuna (NJ) Simone Gelety (AZ) Jared Gibson (WI) Madeline Giebels (OR) Lauren Goldsborough (NJ) Katie Jo Graham (KY) Avery Horn (IL) Corrine Jones (IL) Faith Kirkland (AZ) Nicole Kirshy (MA) Jadyn Krouse (NJ) Sophia Kumagai (IL) Elizabeth Larabee (MA) Beau Leavenworth (IA) Cassie Miller (AZ) Kieralynn Moshier (AZ) Emma Myers (PA) Ashwini Narayanan (IL) Annemarie Pongonthara (ON) Lou Ponticiello (IL) Audrey Pottkotter (TX) Ella Reidway (VA) Leah Rettig (TX) Katya Sacharow (MA) Mackenzie Schubert (NJ) Paige Shanks (AZ) Clare Shannon (VA) Caleigh Sheehan (NY) Daniel Shirk (WI) Lillian Slater (IL) Sarah Smith (NJ) Kate Tomson (IA) Olivia Ustinovich (MA) Kavya Vandavasi VA) Ariana Velasquez (NJ) Lucy Walter (TX) Sasha Warm (NY) Skie Weaver (WA) Avery Woods Weber (CT) Kayla Xu (CA) Young Adult Voices Ages 18-23 (as of February 1, 2021) Enrollment in a school is not required in this category, nor is a voice teacher, but if the singer provided that information it appears below. First Place Morgan Mastrangelo (age 22) Northwestern University Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Pamela Hinchman Second Place (tie) Ashlyn Combs (age 21) Nashville, Tennessee Recorded Accompaniment Sarah Juliano (age 22) University of Michigan Pianist: Eric Banitt Voice Teacher: George Shirley Third Place (tie) Benjamin Perkinson (age 19) University of Mary Hardin – Baylor Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Michelle Haché Piero Regis (age 23) Boston Conservatory at Berklee Pianist: Lindsay Albert Voice Teacher: Victor Jannet Honorable Mentions Margot Frank (age 22) Millikin University Pianists: Roberta Duchak, Cameron Burgess Voice Teacher: Roberta Duchak Shavon Lloyd (age 23) SUNY Potsdam Crane School of Music Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Lonel Woods Madison Miller (age 23) University of Michigan Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Scott Piper Sabrina Shah (age 18) Recorded Accompaniment Voice Teacher: Jeanai LaVita Finalists Sarah Allbrandt Sarah Duren Katelyn Farebrother Sophia Fortuna Charlie Grass Joanna Heneveld Sam Joseph Renee Kauffman Sarah Lambert Tate McElhaney Katie Murphy Madison Raef Emma Robinson Ayaka Shimada Abigail Storm Will Upham Back To Top
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