The Genre and Style Features of Richard Rodgers' Musical “The Sound of Music”

Barsukova Ol'ga post-graduate student of the Division of Mass Media Art Issues at State Institute for Art Studies 117216, Russia, Moskovskaya Obl. oblast', g. Moscow, ul. Kozitskii Per., 5, aud. 20 bars_milo@list.ru Other publications by this author

The musical is a popular musical and stage genre that combines musical, dramatic, choreographic, and vocal arts. The 250-year history of the development of Broadway theater has a large number of successful productions. One of the most iconic is the musical The Sound of Music by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. It premiered on Broadway in 1959. In collaboration with this famous Broadway tandem, a number of works were released, the most famous of which are the musicals Oklahoma! (1943), Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), The King and I (1951), and the film musical Cinderella with Julie Andrews (1957). The Sound of Music was their last collaboration. Hammerstein died in 1960 after the Broadway premiere of the musical (1959), without receiving all of its awards: a Gold Record award; five Tony Awards, including the Best Musical award; a Grammy award for best album; the Critics' Choice Music Award, and others ^{[12, p. 160]}. All these awards testify to the tremendous success of the Broadway production. It is not surprising that after two years of showing on Broadway and 2,385 performances in London (premiered in 1961), it was decided to shoot a film version. So in 1965, the film of the same name appeared, The Sound of Music (directed by Robert Wise, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer) ^{[9, p. 59]}. The film won five Gold Record awards for best album and acting, as well as many other awards ^{[12, p.161]}.

Rodgers' musical The Sound of Music has taken its place in the history of musical art as one of the brightest examples of classic Broadway musicals. Its plot incorporates many of the motifs that the listener appreciates in works of this genre: themes of love, simplicity, and openness of human relations, good and evil, wealth and poverty, faith, and family values. According to music critics, the performance of The Sound of Music aroused a lot of positive emotions in the audience ^{[2, p. 9]}. However, despite the happy ending, the work is still very different from the other similar types of musicals, for example, Cinderella, because it touches on complex issues: the theme of war and peace (the Third Reich, Nazism), the insignificance of human life against the background of the eternal (mountains, faith in God).

Despite the obvious significance of this work and its enormous success, the musical The Sound of Music has been little studied in scientific literature; the purpose of the article is to reveal the main genre – the style and dramatic features of the musical. We identified the following tasks: to analyze the plot and genre components of the work, the intonation complexities of the main characters and the most significant groups of characters (including those based on the vocal techniques used), as well as to trace the influence of the Austrian national genres on the musical fabric of the musical.

The musical's plot is based on real events in the life of the famous musical family of Georg and Maria von Trapp. Despite the fact that most of the musical scenes are connected with the main character Maria and the life of the von Trapp family, the historical, political, and cultural background on which the events unfold is no less important than the characters' personal relationships. The historical context of the events taking place in the musical is connected with the forced annexation of Austria to Germany in 1938. One of the central themes is socio-political: the influence of the Nazi regime on people's fates.

Rodgers and Hammerstein borrowed the plot from Maria Augusta von Trapp's autobiographical book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, published in 1949. ^[13] The story of the von Trapp family was also told in two German-made films, Die Trapp Familie (1956) and Die Trapp-Familie in Amerika (1958), both written by Herbert Reinecker and directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner, with the rights to reproduce the family's history transferred directly to them by the von Trapp family. In the case of the American musical, the rights were not regulated, which allowed Rodgers and Hammerstein to interpret some facts quite freely ^[6].

As the main sources for genre-style analysis, we will take the original clavier of the works of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II ^[11] and the 1965 film The Sound of Music ^[1], directed by Robert Wise. There are no fundamental differences between the musical fabric of the clavier and Wise's film, with the exception of two songs written by Rodgers specifically for the film "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good."

Genre component in the musical It contains cult genres (prayer chants, chorales); mass-everyday genres (song, dance, march); references to national folklore, as well as opera and symphonic music. National musical genres play an important role, which allowed the authors to more accurately identify the musical's musical scene and show its connection with Austria's national culture.

The main intonation-style complex of the musical can be designated as pop-jazz. In the 1900s and 1960s, the phenomenon of jazz undoubtedly exerted a strong influence on the musical art of the United States. In The Sound of Music, the orchestra's composition is quite classical, so that the influence of jazz does not prevail over the rest of the genre and style components. More information about the composition of the orchestra will be discussed at the end of the article. Now, let's remember for comparison, for example, the musical Hello, Dolly! by Jerry Herman (1964), in which the orchestral parts often use "non-standard" ways of playing, for example, the use of mute and "growls" in wind instruments. In The Sound of Music, there is no obvious reference to jazz, but its influence is present: syncopated rhythmic structures, swing, and musical intonations appear at the junction of the European harmonic system and the fret principles of blues intonation ^{[10, p. 1–9]}, widely used alternated seventh chords, reduced triads, chords with replacement tones and other features characteristic of jazz harmony. In the musical, the influence of jazz and pop music was especially pronounced in the artists' manner of singing. For example, falsetto, vibrato, soft attack of sound ^{[4, p. 13–20]}, we will undoubtedly attribute the achievements of pop vocals, and slide, band, mute and sub-tone sound, with the use of swing and accents, drive, glissando with "entrances" ^{[8, p.92–104]}, etc., to a wide range of jazz vocal techniques. Based on the research of V. I. Korobok and A. S. Polyakov and adding our own observations and definitions, we have compiled the following table:

Table. Usage vocal tech in the musical 'The Sound Of Music.'

Combining the jazz-pop complex with other intonation-style spheres, which will be discussed later, allows one to create a voluminous and diverse sound context for the work.

All the main characters of The Sound of Music musical are endowed with special intonations. These leitemes allow you to reveal the content of a particular scene, the personality of the characters, their interaction. The leitemes are associated with the characters like Maria, Captain von Trapp, and the von Trapp children. Nuns (church music) and representatives of the Nazi regime (military music) are also characterized with the help of special musical material. These two opposing intonation spheres do not belong to a particular character, but they form the basis of a number of scenes.

The complex intonation of the musical's main character, Maria, includes several groups of intonations that change depending on the context. Different intonation spheres are used to convey certain artistic tasks and the atmosphere of the action. They reflect different facets of the inner state and experiences of the main character. The musical intonations used embody the character of an open, friendly, restless girl who herself was only recently a child. At the same time, she has a subtle soul and musical flair and is genuinely passionate about art. According to the musical's plot, she teaches music to others, which gives her the ability to change other characters' intonation complexes. This heroine contains the main idea of the work and the transformative power of musical art. Maria can broadcast "image music," topics the most transforming surrounding validity the best.

Let us distinguish the intonations characteristic of Maria and their groups:

1) tert intonations and cantilena, often found in soft, chanting themes like lullabies, associated with images of nature, mountains;

2) broad intonation moves: jumps on the intervals of fifths, sexes, sevenths, characterizing states of joy, high spirits;

3) chromaticisms that appear in the most agitated, tense moments, for example, in scenes of love;

4) a gradual, gammy-like movement, as in the leitmotif of The Sound of Music's heroine, they are related to Maria and Captain von Trapp's children;

5) jazz intonations, "glides," characteristic melismas, which can penetrate various intonation spheres in the course of development.

We become familiar with the heroine in the monastery (No. 2 The Sound of Music). Here, through the juxtaposition of church music, albeit stylized, and the range of Maria's jazz vocal parts, the composer shows the main character's uniqueness and individuality, immediately distinguishing her from other nuns. The third intonation – the most "broad" course in the monastery's chorale – becomes a recognizable intonation element of the chant melody line in Maria's first solo number. However, here the third is played in an inverted, descending version (see musical examples).

Musical example.

The Sound of Music, Act 1, Scene 1, 'Dixit Dominus'

Musical example.

The Sound of Music, Act 1, Scene 2, 'The Hills are Alive.'

In conversation with the abbess, Maria repents her "sin"; she sings all the time, she wants to sing anywhere and everywhere. The recitative-type chant of 'The Hills are Aliv' begins with tertes (a small third – "in f sharp") and second intonations, which sound at first in a small range. The directness and naivety of Maria's character are emphasized by short, simple phrases that give a special structure to her singing. Its emotionality and spontaneity of reactions to events are shown in the melody using the following rhythmic technique: short phrases (one bar or less) are limited to pauses or long durations. So, for example, in the main character's first aria, a short phrase is emphasized in the words "I know" (see the musical example above, 'The Hills are Alive'). This technique is used sporadically, generally without disturbing the chant and cantilena of the sound of Maria's part in this number.

The song 'The Hills are Alive' develops into the theme of The Sound of Music (Act 1, Scene 2), which concentrates on the musical's central idea, connected with the "image of music." The theme of The Sound of Music plays a key role in the development of Maria's image, becoming one of her leitmotifs. Variations on the theme sound when the heroine appears – accompany her image throughout the action. For example, consider an excerpt from the reprise of The Sound of Music in the first act, scene 17:

Musical notation example.

The Sound of Music, Act 1, Scene 17, 'Reprise: The Sound Of Music.'

A characteristic turn that gives this theme a bright personality is the emphasis on the course from the V to the VI stage (the latter is distinguished by a strong share) and back, followed by a downward movement and ends at the VII stage. In this way, instability is achieved, "avoiding" tonics. The theme takes on an excited, upbeat sound and allows you to show the hidden subtext of various scenes in which the development of the relationship between Captain von Trapp and a young girl occurs. So, for example, in the scene of the ball in honor of the Baroness, Maria's leitmotif sounds again, which by that time had still implicitly captured the captain's heart for everyone.

It is interesting that when the nuns begin to discuss Maria (No. 4), their solo parts suddenly include rather frivolous music, from which we can conclude that even a simple conversation about the main character changes their complex intonation. In the future, throughout the musical, we will observe the same reception: in the von Trapp house and in communication with the children and the captain.

The most famous vocal number of the musical, undoubtedly, is 'My Favorite Things.' This is another of Maria's leitmotifs, first heard in scene No. 6 (in the monastery).

The number reveals another aspect of Maria's image, bringing a dance beginning and establishing a connection with the musical genre of the waltz. At first, the melody sounds artless, swirling in the octave range, relying on the "empty" intonations of a fifth, a quarter. The sequential development leads to a gamma-like upward movement, which will later unite the intonation spheres of the entire von Trapp family, especially Maria and the children:

My Favorite Things, Act 1, Scene 6.

The intonation of the heroine's part changes after her heart is touched by love. The melodies become more chromatic, especially in love scenes (e.g., 'An Ordinary Couple' Act 2, Scene 34). The use of chromatic passing and introductory sounds, melismas, and chants allows the actor to show a great sensuality, emotionality, which is associated with the development and change of the main character's image.

Maria's intonations are adopted by the von Trapp children. This is not surprising because, according to the plot of the musical, it is she who teaches them to sing. The children are characterized by simple melodies with similar melodic turns; we can say that their intonation complex is built on thirds and diatonic scales, a gamma-like ascending and descending movement. A revealing theme of 'Do-Re-Mi' is related to the appearance of Maria, the children of the von Trapp family, and the music that filled their lives. It is first heard in scene nine when the governess begins to teach the children to sing. In the poetic text of this bright and memorable theme, which is one of the musical's hits, the names of the notes are associated with certain images of nature. "Do" is the doe, "Re" is sunshine, "Mi" is what we call ourselves, sings Maria (the theme is built on diatonic and terse turns).

Another theme related to Maria and the children is the song 'Cuckoo' ('So Long, Farewell'), which was performed for the first time at the ball in the choral number – a scene prepared by the governess for the children's farewell to the guests. The cuckoo, which lives in the clock, measures the time and signals when it is time for the children to go to bed. However, the children do not really want to sleep, which is wittily played out in the musical and movie scene. This number allows the children to take turns leaving the guests, each saying goodbye to them, and re-sounds in the scene at the Salzburg Festival. The children begin the number by singing the scale, which turns into the intonation of the "cuckoo," first the second "a-g" ("Coo-coo"), and at the climax sounds "So long, farewell" ("g-e"), also a third, like "Me" – "name" in the previously discussed song. Therefore, we can say that, like 'Do-Re-Mi,' this song is built on thirds and a gamma-like ascending and descending movement, which is generally very characteristic of the children's intonation complex.

'So Long, Farewell,' Act 1, №24 (led fragment),

reprise in Act 2, №43

Interestingly, the composer combines the melodies of 'Do, Re, Mi' and 'Cuckoo' into a single intonational whole, thereby endowing the image of the singing children of the von Trapp family with melodic integrity. So, in the cuckoo scene, there are intonations of the ascending movement from the sound "do" and within the sexta, which can be heard in scene nine, which, in turn, relate these themes to Maria's number 'My Favorite Things.'

In the "farewell to the cuckoo" scene, the ascending movement from the sound "do" within the sexta is followed by the sequence from the note "re." The number itself is made in a polyphonic technique, presenting a certain difficulty for the performance. The introduction of a polyphonic type of texture, showing the von Trapp family children's singing skills, first occurs in scene nine (a), when the children together with Maria sing the notes "do, re, mi" in various versions, including in the form of a canon. It is meant to combine the verbal text with his singing solfeggio ("sol do la fa mi do re").

The polyphonic techniques characteristic of the musical's portrayal of the singing von Trapp family children convey a certain spontaneity, and at the same time, the "discipline" of the family. Seven singing children in a single rhythmic movement, with the same duration, would be somewhat artificial because, in ordinary life, children do not speak altogether but speak out in turn. In the children's parties, the contrast-polyphonic and imitation-polyphonic types of presentation are used.

In addition, the children sing almost all the time with Maria's participation. This is also connected with the main idea of The Sound of Music musical.

When the governess leaves the von Trapp villa because of her fears about falling in love with the master of the house, the impresario Max Detweiler finds it very difficult to get the children to sing. Without Maria, her energy, and optimism, they can't handle it. Finally, at the request of a friend of their father, they begin to sing, but they do not manage to perform a full song; the children were able to take on only one chord (see the musical example):

'Vocal Incidental For Dialogue,' Scene 30.

Trying, again and again, the impresario strives to get the children to sing so that they can show the best of their repertoire and perform at the Salzburg Festival, which he really wants. However, his three attempts were unsuccessful. In the first case, a different chord was formed. In the second, Gretl summed it up. The third time, a discordant chorus came out (in the stage performance, deviations from the musical text are used). Without Maria, the children seem to be deprived of creativity; their unity with music has been disrupted.

Captain von Trapp, like his children, also changes significantly throughout the musical under Maria's influence and begins to sing with the family. The intonation structure of the captain's vocal part is not immediately revealed because when he first met Maria, a conversational scene was used in the musical. For quite a long time, Captain von Trapp does not sing, which in itself is indicative. In scene 16 (the arrival of Max and Elsa at the manor), the captain's words are marked by the keyboard, and he is still deprived of the vocal part. The captain's first melody is only heard in scene 17 when the children perform 'The Sound of Music' for the arriving guests, and von Trapp joins them with the words, "I go to the hills when my heart is lonely." Thus, he is immediately "included" in Maria's intonation system (musical example):

Musical example.

'Sound of Music,' Act 1, Number 17.

The development of the relationship between the captain and Maria is vividly shown in scene 32, related to Maria's return to the family. It is here that the first synthesis of dance and vocal elements takes place, which serves as a means of showing the unity of all members of the von Trapp family through Maria's love and music. The captain's feelings for the governess are becoming more and more pronounced. However, the song 'Edelweiss,' which he performed earlier, is quite short, although it is significant. Only in the "declaration of love" duet in scene 34 does the captain have a full vocal part, although in general, he still follows Maria, and his part is limited to a small range.

Such a transition from the spoken beginning to singing is used as an artistic technique to embody the dynamics of the development of the captain's image. From a person who does not show attachment to even his own children, he is transformed into an open and emotional man, capable of sincere feelings and a love for art. This transformative power of music, which Maria gave him, is inextricably linked with his political beliefs as a captain. That is why the theme of the song 'Edelweiss,' stylized under Austrian folk melody, becomes the Captain's leitmotif. Various storylines converge in this theme: this is the political context of the musical's events and, at the same time, the lyrical line of love between the main character and the captain. 'Edelweiss' is a song about a high-mountain flower from the Alpine peaks, which inspired Maria from childhood and led her to a monastery. According to the heroine, from a tree in the mountains, she watched the nuns' lives and decided to become a nun herself, next to edelweiss, she sang and played the guitar, not noticing the time, which was one of the reasons why Maria was sent to "live a worldly life" with Captain von Trapp's family. The captain himself associated the mountains with home, family, and homeland, and he often admired them. Therefore, it is not surprising that the song 'Edelweiss' has become a leitmotif and a cross-cutting theme that accompanies the listener throughout the musical because it is closely connected with the images of the main characters. This is a calm, "patriarchal" melody, outlining the sounds of a tonic sextaccord with somewhat sentimental delays to the first stage. Its slow three-part movement with the emphasis on each lobe is reminiscent of the traditional Austrian-German Ländler dance.

Speaking about this issue, it is impossible not to say more about the use of national genres in the musical The Sound of Music. As E. Mazaykinsky writes: The national and/or historical style in stylistic reconstructions is recreated in the form of a stroke sketch, where each stroke is associated with the composer's individual ideas about the subject on display, and as a whole is an individually selected complex of different features, features inherent in the genre and style system of the corresponding time and culture ^{[7, p. 209]}. This approach is also characteristic of Rodgers, the American composer who created the "Austrian atmosphere" of The Sound of Music musical with various subtle touches.

It is not surprising that many listeners consider the song 'Edelweiss' to be the Austrian anthem. However, as we know, it is a historical reconstruction by Rodgers, which fits so well into the musical context of the displayed time (note: the song is not related to the march of the same name by H. Neel). Austrian motifs permeate the entire musical, and this is no coincidence. Captain von Trapp, like Maria, loves and admires the Alps and the nature of his country. With the help of the Ländler genre, the authors show that Captain von Trapp's fate is closely connected with devotion to his homeland and Maria. In the same way 'My Favorite Things,' one of Maria's characteristics, will later reveal to all those present (including the Baroness) the couple's feelings, as already mentioned, are traced by the features of the waltz: it is written in the size of 3/4, in the tempo of un poco lento ("a little slow" but more lively than 'Edelweiss'), with the emphasis on the strong part and the lighter two subsequent parts, which gives the rhythmic movement a whirling, "enticing" character.

At the von Trapp party, these dances are also played in an instrumental version – a rapid Big Waltz on 3/4 in E major (it has the intonation of 'My Favorite Things'), a slow ländler (with other music not related to 'Edelweiss,' but its theme also begins with "Mi" in the third stage in C major). Here a fashionable American foxtrot dance is also performed, and the dance suite ends with a waltz again.

For Maria's role, the composer uses references to Tyrolean "yodel" music, which came from the eastern part of the Alps. The yodel is characterized by a special style of singing with a quick switching of voice registers, which in Maria's part is implemented as jumps at wide intervals:

Musical example.

'The Lonely Goatherd,' Act 1, Scene 14.

Another important area of intonation and style is associated with the images of the nuns and the monastery, in whose care Mary was before she arrived at the von Trapp house. The images of the humble, detached from the world life of the nuns are embodied with the help of the intonations of the Gregorian chorale.

At the very beginning of the musical, we are immersed in the sound atmosphere of the monastery, where psalm No. 109, 'Dixit Dominus' is played at the service.

Musical example.

The Sound of Music, Act 1, Scene 1, 'Dixit Dominus'

The genre source is unmistakably recognizable: a cappella monophony repeated sounds (on the note of the first octave), each of which corresponds to one syllable of the text, a narrow-range, non-singing melody (psalmody) ^{[5, p. 21]}, a characteristic rhythmic "hang" at the end of phrases. At the same time, attention is drawn to the intonation of the descending major third at the end of the musical constructions (singing of the abutment). In this number, as already mentioned, the composer builds a connection between the "ecclesiastical" sphere and the image of Maria.

The first scene consists of three numbers 'Dixit Dominus,' 'Morning Hymn,' 'Hallelujah' ('Alleluia'), which are interspersed with the ringing of bells (four bars in a slow tempo). At the same time, the sound of religious music is not isolated from the general pop-jazz context of The Sound of Music, although it initially contrasts with it. In order to connect these two intonational spheres, Rodgers gradually and very subtly gives the "Gregorian chorale" the features of gospel. Gospel is a special genre of chorale music akin to spirituals. In turn, spirituals are an original folk genre that was formed among the African-American population of the New World (before the term appeared, such music was called "Plantation songs") ^{[3, pp. 102–104]}). To do this, Rodgers brings to the musical and sound fabric of these numbers several techniques that come from gospel and spirituals: vocal polyphony a cappella, fret variability (relying on plagal turns like t – s; there is a pentatonic), characteristic endings of musical phrases, melismas, etc. You can see the similarity of 'Morning Hymn' with traditional gospel songs, for example, performed by Louis Armstrong ('Go Down Moses,' etc.):

Musical example.

The Sound of Musi, Act 1, Scene 1.

Separately, I would like to say a few words about the orchestra. A number of scenes in The Sound of Music musical include orchestral numbers (interludes, finale No. 47). There is also an overture that combines the musical's most striking themes. The composition of the orchestra, as already mentioned, is classical: it includes a string group, wooden, brass, percussion instruments. The score includes two flutes and a piccolo flute, an oboe and an English horn, two clarinets, a bassoon, three trumpets, three French horns, two trombones, a tuba, percussion (one musician), a harp ^{[11, p. 3]}. This composition can be called symphonic, which determines the rather classical sound of the musical. The orchestra plays an important role in the development of musical themes, and it is not limited to the simple musical accompaniment of soloists. Throughout the first and second acts, the composer includes instrumental numbers, in which the main leitmotifs and leitemes are woven together ('My Favorite Things,' 'Do-Re-Mi,' 'The Sound of Music,' and others). In addition, there are brief, colorful inserts ("bell ringing," bugle sounds). The orchestra is an entirely direct participant in the action as it reveals the subtexts of some stage situations, the characters' moods, and the hidden meanings by conducting leitmotifs. The composer creates a sense of instrumental unity and vocal elements by conducting the leitemes in various numbers' symphonic fabric. Through the orchestra's classical sound, the presence of such a classical form as the overture, a connection with the symphonic tradition, is established.

The musical's genre and style features contribute to creating national color and adding color to pop-jazz musical intonations. Thus, a special melodicism, a bright scenario basis, a developed musical drama, a multi-faceted genre-style fusion serves as a distinctive feature of the Sound of Music and creates that unique quality that has ensured the musical's success in the past and present. Many numbers from the musical are actively entrenched in musical practice, and outside of stage production, they have created many cover versions in various styles: rock, rap, jazz, dubstep, house, etc. Compositions from The Sound of Music have not lost their relevance and are performed to this day. Perhaps this is due to the special vocal melodicism that the musical is filled with, the repetition of its main leitemes and leitmotifs, and intonation formulas. However, in our opinion, such popularity is achieved primarily due to the successful synthesis of all the action and musical components. It's no wonder Richard Rodgers' musical The Sound of Music is included in the treasury of the art world's classics.