Posted: 6/29/17 at 9:20pm
Jerry Herman specifically wrote them into several songs for the excitement. Wonder why they took them out of so many songs for this revival?
Posted: 6/29/17 at 9:53pm
Sopranos?
Posted: 6/29/17 at 10:30pm
and Tenors
Posted: 6/29/17 at 10:39pm
are there specific moments you're referring to? The vocal arrangements sound the exact same to me. (The C# is still there at the end of Sunday Clothes). It's just mixed differently than the original album.
Posted: 6/29/17 at 10:43pm
Lacking in tenors and sopranos... they must have maxed out their Diva budget on Bette.
Posted: 6/29/17 at 11:11pm
I think that is why so many folks have been complaining that the cast recording lacks excitement.
Posted: 6/29/17 at 11:58pm
If you're used to hearing the 90s revival recording (which I am), a lot of the keys were adjusted for Channing's lowering range, which changed the choral arrangements to have some much higher notes than the original.
Posted: 6/30/17 at 8:57am
Is there an answer I can understand as to why lowering the soloist's part requires the ensemble (or part of the ensemble) to sing higher?
It sounds counter-intuitive, so I am seriously asking. I have one semester's wroth of music theory class.
Posted: 6/30/17 at 9:06am
Very good question. I've dealt with this exact thing. Chords can be "voiced" any number of ways, meaning you can put different notes of the chord on the top or bottom and they'll sound slightly differen even though it's the same chord. If there's a song in F Major, the chorus might sing a chord that's voiced F-A-C-F (from lowest to highest.)
Now presume a new lead actor comes in and we lower the key a fourth to C. Now the chord the chorus sings is C-E-G-C. But that chord is a lot lower and darker sounding.
The solution is to revoice the chord so that it's G-C-E-G. Same chord but a different inversion. (In F, the root is the bottom of the chord. In C, the fifth would be the bottom note in this example.)
So the Sopranos who were singing a high F in the old key are singing a high G in the new key, even though the soloist is singing it lower.
Updated On: 6/30/17 at 09:06 AM
Posted: 6/30/17 at 11:32am
I've done fourteen years of Rocky Horror, and the harmonies for those songs are pretty well-encoded with our company. But we've had a rotating cast, so there are "singer" keys and "actor who sings" keys for many of the songs. Swapping who sings which harmony part among the vocal groups has become a regular thing.
Posted: 6/30/17 at 12:46pm
The high C at the end of 'Sunday Clothes' is highly present on the recording as well as the high B at the end of 'Hello Dolly.' What's missing? I was particularly struck by how amazing the ensemble sounded when I saw it.
Posted: 6/30/17 at 9:30pm
Thanks for the explanation. I also think the sound mix on the new cd doesnt pop those notes out like the OBC recording.
Posted: 7/1/17 at 1:39am
There is SO much going on during "Sunday Clothes" particularly the last bit, every recording mixes it differently and I hear something different in each one.
Posted: 7/1/17 at 11:39am
temms said: "Very good question. I've dealt with this exact thing. Chords can be "voiced" any number of ways, meaning you can put different notes of the chord on the top or bottom and they'll sound slightly differen even though it's the same chord. If there's a song in F Major, the chorus might sing a chord that's voiced F-A-C-F (from lowest to highest.)
Now presume a new lead actor comes in and we lower the key a fourth to C. Now the chord the chorus sings is C-E-G-C. But that chord is a lot lower and darker sounding.
The solution is to revoice the chord so that it's G-C-E-G. Same chord but a different inversion. (In F, the root is the bottom of the chord. In C, the fifth would be the bottom note in this example.)
So the Sopranos who were singing a high F in the old key are singing a high G in the new key, even though the soloist is singing it lower.
I would love to be able to understand the technicalities here - sound like a great explanation to me!
