photo credit: Diego_3336
Music as a form is so fluid that it can seem to fit into any form or shape that we can imagine. Because the shapes that we imagine music to be in are the shapes of human expression and emotion there are as many difference types of music and musical expression as there are cultures and subcultures that create them. Whatever the history of the American musical, it has a certain undeniable power for people with taste for deeply emotional storytelling.
The Power of Words and Song
I am reminded of grown men moved to tears by a Broadway ballad. And I’m reminded of how many people I’ve encountered in my life who understand the power of what some would call “American Opera”. Emotional musical storytelling is a very old and honored classical form. As it has come into its own in American theater it has produced uniquely American works. Musicals like “The Music Man” or “Oklahoma” are expressions of a certain side to popular culture. They do not express anything like the cornucopia of human experiences that can be found in this melting pot of a country, but they do present a certain nostalgic point of view that can be undeniably powerful at times despite its shortcomings.
Some find the standard Broadway fare to be too “corny” and “old-fashioned” for their tastes, and certainly at times I agree with them.
Recently I had a chance to watch the latest film version of “The Phantom of the Opera”, and despite its excesses and missteps, it also had its fair share of powerful moments and quiet beauty. The song “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” is one of grief and mourning for someone help close for too long after they’re gone. It presents the plea of a young woman trying desperately to let go of the past and move forward with her life so she can live her dreams. The ability to express the deepest emotions of a character through words married to music is a very powerful one. It is a form that can lapse into ridiculousness and self-parody, but when it strikes the right chord it can move the human heart in ways that few other forms can.
Plaintiff cries for assistance, love, understanding and comfort in times of pain are universal. Any culture that has developed a language has these things in it. Most cultures develop music early as well. To combine the two in a way that uses the power of language and the power of music at their strongest and marries them into a form of sonic emotion is both difficult and a worthy artistic goal at the same time.
Everything, The Musical
It is a popular joke that anything can and should be turned into a musical. As the parody musical of Silence of the Lambs proves. The parody is both very funny and dead on. It captures the cadence and nature of musical theater and uses it to create a cloyingly cute retelling of an extremely serious story. even bits and pieces of a proposed Batman musical can be found on the web in various mp3 files, and certainly successful Broadway superhero productions have been mounted. But some of these efforts prove that some things really don’t make good material for a musical.
But powerful stories, like the ones featured in Les Miserables or Rent have covered topics as deep as war and how society deals with AIDS. If the storytellers can recognize the power of the form and craft something not cloying or overly sentimental they can reach into the soul of the audience and provoke sincere emotional reactions. The song “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables deals with a man who is fearful of losing his son to war, and though it was written many years ago, people find it more topical than ever. People find the basic emotion and the basic story – which is all too common – to be sublimely expressed in this form.
Hard To Love
Though sometimes it can be difficult form of music and storytelling to love – partly because it can go so wrong – it can be rewarding for those who develop a taste for this relatively new style of “American Opera”.
It certainly doesn’t hurt to form that a type of sub genre – “Rock Opera” – seems to be popular. From The Who’s Quadraphinia and Tommy, to concept records that seem to suggest a broader story and deep characterizations that cut across multiple tracks like Green Day’s American Idiot, the American musical form can be seen in a harder, grittier format. Sometimes deeper emotions – feelings of angst, alienation and youthful rage and rebellion – can be expressed through a rock that does more than just provide powerful music. The melding of deeply felt and crafted lyrics to blistering chord structures and heartbreaking vocals can get across ideas that might be too deep for ordinary music.
In a sense musicals live on in various forms, and spread their infectious desire for heartfelt tales through catchy lyrics and memorable melodies that stay with us for years to come.
Scientists continue to try and understand the basic human drives that might have created the first forms of music. Perhaps it was deep emotions like Joy, rage or confusion that caused people to find new ways to express what they wanted or needed to get out of their systems in new ways. Perhaps the catharsis of playing combined with the childlike joy of finding rhythms, repetition and sounds that can relax us, make your blood boil or send us into a trance – perhaps those with the initial motivations behind early music. For many music will always have a very primal ability to move people emotionally; for both good and ill.
For some music will be an inspiration to dance and movement, or storytelling and writing. Music often forms the basis of things I write about and care about. Many times music is a part of a film or television show or theater production that tells a story I can never forget. And if the plaintive cries of early man can be heard in some of the more moving songs we come across in musical theater, then naturally some will be off put by this. Delving into deep emotions and pain can be very unnerving and frightening. For some it is an area they simply don’t want to go. But for those who find vicarious enjoyment through this form of sonic emotion, or find a resonating pain that helps them get in touch with something they have lost, musicals can be a treasure trove of inspiration, comfort and entertainment.
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I am old enough to remember when movie musicals were very populer. I enjoyed them and still watch some over again when I have the chance. One movie is ” Show Boat” . I watch it just to hear the song “Old Man River”, the singer has a great bass voice and sings it with great feeling. I wish I could remember his name.