Fine Composers To Keep In Mind

[LouW95]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 1:23pm

Just to give mention to Martin Charnin, Sheldon Harnick, Charles Strouse and some other fine theater composers still very much with us! Hope to hear more music from these creative people soon.

[magruder]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 1:41pm

Actually, Charnin and Harnick are lyricists. But I'd happily hear a new Charles Strouse score any day.

[LouW95]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 3:13pm

The term music was used to refer to music and lyrics, thanks.

[MisterRussell]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 3:16pm

Ain't nobody better than Sondheim or Kander & Ebb.

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 3:31pm

But the term 'composer' I believe refers to the music itself.

Charnin and Harnick are certainly not composers. They're lyricists.

[bob8rich]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 3:44pm

Martin Charnin is indeed a lyricist.

Sheldon Harnick is most well known as a lyricist but, before he teamed up with Jerry Bock, he wrote music and lyrics (notably the revue song "The Boston Beguine"). Harnick penned book, music and lyrics for the new musical "Dragons", which premieres in Montclair NJ November 13 - December 21.

Concerning the "fine composers to keep in mind" thread, I would half agree with Mister Russell "nobody better than Sondheim or Kander and Ebb" - apart perhaps for the amazing William Finn.

[magruder]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 4:00pm

Just thought it was odd to title your thread "Fine Composers to Keep in Mind" and start off with two gentlemen known principally for writing lyrics. (Harnick, I believe also wrote music and lyrics for several songs in the The Littlest Revue, including the legendary "The Ballad of the Shape of Things" - although he is of course, best known for his lyrics to Jerry Bock's music.)

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 5:11pm

DRAGONS is not a "new" musical. It's true it is having it's professional debut this year, but it has been around since the mid 80's.

Updated On: 11/12/03 at 05:11 PM

[LouW95]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 5:32pm

Merriam-Webster defines composer as one who forms by putting together..Always happy to talk about words but would rather keep to the topic.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 5:48pm

Hmmm--if we were talking about law or surgery, technical terms would be quite important. Why can't they be so in this beloved artform of ours?

[LouW95]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 5:49pm

For the record: "Martin Charnin began his theatrical career originating the role of Big Deal in WEST SIDE STORY. Involved subsequently in 53 theatrical productions, including I REMEMBER MAMA and TWO BY TWO, as lyricist, librettist, composer, director, or a combination of all four, in 1977 he brought ANNIE (the 11th longest running musical in history) to Broadway. He has received four Tony nominations, a Tony Award, three Grammy nominations, two Grammy Awards, three gold records, two platinum records, six Drama Desk Awards, 16 Emmy nominations, three Emmy Awards, and a Peabody Award for Broadcasting. He directed Montreal's first mega-musical JEANNE LA PUCELLE, based on the life of Joan of Arc".

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 5:51pm

gotta side with LOU here....you mean you have never heard the phrase "compose a poem"? Most lyrics are poetry, right?

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 5:54pm

While this may be true for literature, it is not for theatre.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 5:57pm

then the theatre phrase that would support LOU's point of view would be "score composed by" which is not all that uncommon...whether it's a single songwriter or a team.

Updated On: 11/12/03 at 05:57 PM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 6:00pm

But the score is not the same as the lyrics. =)

The lyrics are the libretto.

Updated On: 11/12/03 at 06:00 PM

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 6:03pm

And he didn't say 'Song composed by', he said 'Composer'.

Whatever...

I agree...William Finn is one to treasure!

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 6:11pm

actually, opera and musical theatre seem to divide on what a "libretto" is and what is contained in the "score"...musicals sometimes call "the book" the libretto, and credits may be "libretto by", "lyrics by" etcetera...rental materials from the publishing houses are labelled "libretto" and include all words, the texts of songs and scenes (no matter who created what)...i think the generally accepted "score" meaning for musical theatre is both music and lyrics...

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 6:13pm

Ok--fair enough. Even the Tonys would agree with that. But, I second robbiej on the term composer in musical theatre.

I do like that Billy Finn guy myself.

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 6:18pm

got nothing against Finn, myself. Here's a query: if a songwriter works with pre-existing melodies (think KISMET, the typing test from MILLIE, etcetera) since they're only using words, are they still a composer?

[TxTwoStep]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 6:21pm

from reading another thread, PLAY ON is another example of lyrics added to melodies after...

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 11/12/03 at 8:35pm

1. Jerry Herman
2. Charles Strouse
3. Jerry Bock
4. JUle Styne
5. Stephen Sondheim
6. Frank Wildhorn
7. David Friedman
8. Frank Loesser
9. Jule Styne

Updated On: 11/12/03 at 08:35 PM