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“I’VE A VOICE, I’VE A VOICE”: DETERMINING STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S COMPOSITIONAL STYLE THROUGH A MUSIC-THEORETIC ANALYSIS OF HIS THEATER WORKS BY ©2011 PETER CHARLES LANDIS PURIN Submitted to the graduate degree program in Music and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ___________________________ Chairperson Dr. Scott Murphy ___________________________ Dr. Deron McGee ___________________________ Dr. Paul Laird ___________________________ Dr. John Staniunas ___________________________ Dr. William Everett Date Defended: August 29, 2011 ii The Dissertation Committee for PETER PURIN Certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: “I’VE A VOICE, I’VE A VOICE”: DETERMINING STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S COMPOSITIONAL STYLE THROUGH A MUSIC-THEORETIC ANALYSIS OF HIS THEATER WORKS ___________________________ Chairperson Dr. Scott Murphy Date approved: August 29, 2011 iii Abstract This dissertation offers a music-theoretic analysis of the musical style of Stephen Sondheim, as surveyed through his fourteen musicals that have appeared on Broadway. The analysis begins with dramatic concerns, where musico-dramatic intensity analysis graphs show the relationship between music and drama, and how one may affect the interpretation of events in the other. These graphs also show hierarchical recursion in both music and drama. The focus of the analysis then switches to how Sondheim uses traditional accompaniment schemata, but also stretches the schemata into patterns that are distinctly of his voice; particularly in the use of the waltz in four, developing accompaniment, and emerging meter. Sondheim shows his harmonic voice in how he juxtaposes treble and bass lines, creating diagonal dissonances. He also uses dramatically striking chords called effect harmonies in most of his musicals. He obtains middleground harmonic cohesion through the use of chromaticism and pedal points. Background cohesion comes by remaining in a single key, despite the monotonal excursions he takes that bring the characters and the music to places perceived as far away from where they started. The final approach of the analysis examines Sondheim’s melodies, which are shown to share a number of properties with classical and popular Western melodic writing. However, he also defies melodic trends of step inertia and step declination. His use of motivic stops and melodic cadences often contains large intervals or outlines of large intervals not common in other composers. Prosody and drama affect his melodic writing, in that he writes short, motivic units that are often repeated for a dramatic effect, sometimes disrupting meter and hypermeter. He also writes melodies that are shared between actors in scored dialogue. These musical elements all play a part in the identification of Sondheim’s style. iv Acknowledgements There are a number of people to whom I wish to give my most sincere thanks for helping make this ambitious project possible. Thanks to librarians George Gibbs and Nancy Hawkins (now retired) at KU for your encouragement, research help and flexibility, and Mark Eden Horowitz at the Library of Congress for always being willing to answer specific questions. Thanks to my friends and colleagues Dan Musselman, Brian Nelson, Joe Eidson, Corey Fuller and Randolph Johnson for helping with transcribing examples and making graphics, and therefore saving me a lot of time. Thanks to the teachers who have given me their knowledge and led me to the place I am today: in particular Paul Laird, Deron McGee, Mark Streder, Kevin Olsen, Mark Harbold, Sue Moninger, Kevin Moore, Carol Jacobe and David Damschroder. All of you have touched my life and inspired me to travel down this road to be a professor. I can only hope to have as positive an impact on my students as you have had on me. Thank to my doctoral committee—Scott Murphy, Deron McGee, Paul Laird, William Everett, and John Staniunas (also John Gronbeck-Tedesco), for the time and attention given to helping me grow as a scholar. Extra special thanks to my advisor, Scott Murphy, for his constant advising as a scholar, teacher, and person; being able to provide the criticism I need to grow and not stay stagnant; and always nudging me to become better than I thought I could. I will always be thankful that I had the opportunity to study with the best music theorist I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Thanks to my son, Ezra, for giving me laughter when times are hard, and for reminding me what my priorities in life should be. I love you and thank God for you every day. Thanks to my sisters Christie, Carrie and Bethanie, and my brother, Britton. You guys helped shape me into the man I am today and I will always love you all dearly. Thanks to my parents, Charles and Doreen Purin. You have always encouraged me to be what I wanted to be; you took me to lessons, rehearsals and especially trips to Toronto to see The Phantom of the Opera, which inspired my love for music and theater; and providing everything you could to help me pursue my dreams. You’ll always be the people I look up to the most, and your wisdom and parenting will guide me into eternity. The biggest thanks of all to my beautiful wife, Julie. You have supported me physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually through graduate school, and life in general. Thanks for allowing me to be absent so much to get my degrees done. Thanks for working less-than- ideal jobs to make ends meet. Thanks for putting in countless hours transcribing music examples, entering data and editing. Thanks for being my one and only. This is for you. And most importantly, thanks be to my God and Savior Jesus Christ, without whom, none of this would or could be. v Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................iii Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................iv List of Figures ..................................................................................................................vii List of Tables.....................................................................................................................ix List of Musical Examples..................................................................................................x Introduction: Sondheim’s Influence on the Musical Theater .......................................1 Existing Sondheim Scholarship............................................................................................... 7 Style in Sondheim.................................................................................................................... 9 Methodology.......................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1. Dramatic Concerns ......................................................................................21 Company................................................................................................................................ 44 Sweeney Todd ........................................................................................................................ 52 Sunday in the Park with George............................................................................................ 64 Into the Woods....................................................................................................................... 69 Passion .................................................................................................................................. 75 Conclusion on Dramatic Concerns........................................................................................ 80 Chapter 2. Accompaniment............................................................................................82 The Broadway Musical Accompaniment Schemata.............................................................. 92 Sondheim’s Voice ............................................................................................................... 103 Accompaniments with Mixed Meters ................................................................................. 103 Developing Accompaniment ............................................................................................... 105 “Problematic” Accompaniment Types ................................................................................ 110 Issues in Identifying Accompaniment in Sondheim............................................................ 115 Accompaniment Patterns in Multiple Musicals .................................................................. 117 Conclusion on Accompaniment .......................................................................................... 120 Chapter 3. Harmony .....................................................................................................121 Harmony and Texture in Accompaniment .......................................................................... 128 Harmony through Counterpoint .......................................................................................... 136 Vertical Harmony: Effect Harmony .................................................................................... 142 Middleground Cohesion ...................................................................................................... 151 Harmonic Progression
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