American Songbook

American Songbook is a term used to describe compositions typically from Broadway Theatre/Musical Theatre/Films from the 1920s through to the 1950, ending in the RocknRoll era. The lyrics in American Songbook pieces are said to be witty and urbane with unexpected rhymes and musical phrases such as a petonic cadence which is an unsurprising chord sequence. In turn this has also meant that the lyrics and the songs are memorable. Many American Songbook pieces are in 32 bar form and the lyrics relate to timeless situations such as love which means it is as relevant now as it was when it was written, and likewise will be 50 year into the future. The main influence for American Songbook comes from Europe, despite its name many of the composers and lyricists came from immigrant backgrounds.There are many influential composers and lyricists from the American Songbook era, a few of the more popular ones are as follows: Harold Arlen Lived in Hollywood as he wrote a lot of music for films rather than Broadway. Responsible for the music in The Wizard of Oz. His music had a very gospel/blues feel to it. Rodgers and Hart Rodgers (music) and Hart (lyricist). Responsible for over 500 songs and 28 musicals. First collaborated in 1919 and their most popular musical was Pal Joey. Rodgers and Hammerstein They collaborated mostly in the 40s and 50s after Harts death. They were one of the first people to write book musicals, which contained a story. Their musicals contained real life issues such as racial issues Sound of Music, SOUTH PACIFIC. Rodgers himself was responsible for 900 songs and over 40 musicals. Jerome Kern Wrote the first book musical Showboat. This dealt with racial issues that were very prominent in the 1920s. Cole Porter Very unique as he was the only one in the list who was responsible for both the music and lyrics. His most popular and well known shows are Kiss me Kate and Anything Goes. His lyrics were very witty and made reference to the politics of when they were written, for example mentioning celebrities. This was because he came from a well off background and was involved in that social circle. Also due to old money he was heavily influenced by swing jazz, which is why the majority of his compositions contain big band numbers.Other very important composers of the time were Irving Berlin, Gershwin and Lerner and Lowe.

South Pacific

Written and premiered in 1949, Rodgers and Hammersteins musical South Pacific took to Broadway by storm and ran for a total of 1925 performances. Whilst the book was written by Joshua Logan the initial storyline was based upon the 1947 James A. Michener book Tales of the South Pacific. The aim of the musical was to help hinder racism which was a large issue at the time. At the time the musical was produced Rodgers and Hammerstein were considered very high up in terms of box office success, their previous musical Oklahoma! was the longest running musical to that point. South Pacific was no different to the rest, becoming the second longest running musical to that point. The show opened at the Majestic Theatre and ran there until June 1953 when it was moved to the Broadway Theatre to make room for the following Rogers and Hammerstein hit Me and Juliet. The advance sales for the show raked in a $400,000 and the show made a further $700,000 soon after opening. The original production starred Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin, two highly respected performers in the 1940s. Pinza (who was cast as Emile de Becque) was initially an Opera singer, however his enchanting performance of Some Enchanted Evening made him a national celebrity, he even won a Tony Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical in 1950. Mary Martin, who was cast as Nellie Forbush also earned a Tony Award for her performance in the musical, where she was said to have given an irresistible performance. In 1951 she transferred along with the show to the UK to open in on the West End. For many of the musicals key numbers Rodgers and Hammerstein had those two actors in mind when composing them, making sure the tone and melody suited their voices. The musical is set in the middle of World War Two where the US army have been stationed in a base on an Island on the South Pacific, there a young nurse meets a middle aged French plantation owner. Despite their age and racial differences the pair fall in love and the musical centres around watching the pair overcome obstacles as the nurse (Nellie) discovers the details of Becques past. The song I am focussing on for my assessment is Im in Love with a Wonderful Guy, which is sung by the female lead Nellie midway through Act 1. Nellie can be played by an actress between the ages of 18-27 and her voice quality is a mezzo. What provokes her to sing this number is that Becque has just proposed to her.