They're not mutually exclusive are they? I loved George's score for Taboo (I saw the show and bought the CD) as well as Tesori's score for Caroline (I also saw the show and bought the CD). I think George has a gift for crafting contemporary pop ballads that is quite formidable, as well as a talent for mid tempo dance numbers and novelty tunes. I truly hope that he writes again for the musical theatre.
I simply believe that Tesoris gift is more wide-ranging. In "Caroline", she wrote music mostly in blues variations of the 1940s and 50s for Caroline (that exploded in mid-40s Cab Calloway-inflected "jumpin' jive" during her WWII reminscences in "1943"), '60s contemporary soul music for her daughter Emmie, Motown-infused girl group doo-wop for the Radio, grand Gershwin-esque Porgy & Bess themes for the Bus, a simple three-note nursery-rhyme-styled theme for Noah, a disjointed mid-20th century classical recitative style for Rose, mournful clarinet themes for Stuart, rich romantic balladry for the Moon, and jubilant klezmer-variations for the Hanukah celebrations with the Jewish relatives ....... and fit them all together seemlessly and melodically. And when character were in conflict in the story, each character in the scene's "music" would work in counterpoint to each other, sometimes conflicting, sometimes blending but always reflecting musically what was happening to the characters dramatically. Tesori crafted layer upon layer of gorgeous melodic music and stitched together a dense quilt of a score that consisted of many different patches of sound that all fit stunningly together into a vibrant whole despite the contrasting pieces.
You may not hear all of that one one or two listens, but it's all there and very few other composers of the planet could have pulled it off.
"What a story........ everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at her rear end." -- Birdie
[http://margochanning.broadwayworld.com/]
"The Devil Be Hittin' Me" -- Whitney
Updated On: 11/9/04 at 01:04 AM
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