#1
Posted: 4/4/09 at 1:13pm
As we know, the last lyric is "Not Sweeney. Not Sweeney Todd. The demon..." etc. There's a little difference in the Ballad between the OBCR and any subsequent recording of the show and I can't think of why this difference exists.
On the OBCR, the interval between "Swee" and "ney" on the line "Not Sweeney" is a major third. On any other recording, that interval is a major second. Also, in the repeating two-triplet pattern that appears in the xylophone, strings, etc after the last lyric (it's more prominent in the closing ballad) and also under the melody in the transition to Worst Pies, there is a change in the second triplet of the repeating figure; the interval between the first and second notes of the 2nd triplet is a fifth, whereas on any other recording it's a fourth.
Anyone know why these changes were made? I know Sondheim does a lot of rewriting but this is such a small change, and as far as I can tell the rest of the score has remained intact (except for major song cuts, obviously), so I'm curious to know what the reason was.
On the OBCR, the interval between "Swee" and "ney" on the line "Not Sweeney" is a major third. On any other recording, that interval is a major second. Also, in the repeating two-triplet pattern that appears in the xylophone, strings, etc after the last lyric (it's more prominent in the closing ballad) and also under the melody in the transition to Worst Pies, there is a change in the second triplet of the repeating figure; the interval between the first and second notes of the 2nd triplet is a fifth, whereas on any other recording it's a fourth.
Anyone know why these changes were made? I know Sondheim does a lot of rewriting but this is such a small change, and as far as I can tell the rest of the score has remained intact (except for major song cuts, obviously), so I'm curious to know what the reason was.
-Was that a fart?
-My fault, I fear.
-My fault, I fear.
