A Little Night MUSIC

You guys are going to hate me… But now it’s time for the music analysis!!!
The title, A Little Night Music, is a literal translation of the title of Mozart’s
Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (the first movement
(Allegro) is something all are familiar with). The score for this show is rare, it’s not often
found in musical theatre. It’s generally more challenging for performers, including
complex meters, pitch intervals, and polyphony. The score includes very high notes for
both males and females. It is written almost exclusively in ¾ time, also called waltz time,
which the show is famous for. Other meters, such as 12/8, which also has a 3 feeling, are
included but are less common. Going back to the polyphony statement, Sondheim used
this show essentially as a practice for his contrapuntal and choral ideas. His use of
counterpoint is both creative and a work of genius. He is able to put 3 songs together at
the same time, each with their own independent theme, and make it sound as one. An
example would be the song “Soon” from Act I. His use of simultaneous melodies
maintains clarity and, in some cases, creates the feeling of a round, or an infinite canon,
meaning that each voice sings the exact same melody but at different times.
The most famous song, “Send in the Clowns,” was not originally in the score.
Sondheim wrote it just a few days before the out of town tryouts. Originally, Desiree was
written for a non-singing actress, but upon discovering that Glynis Johnson could sing but
could not sustain a phrase, he wrote “Send in the Clowns” for her in a way that worked
around her vocal weakness. He ended nearly every line with a consonant, which made for
a short cutoff. He purposefully wrote the song with short phrases that could be acted
rather than sung since Glynis didn’t have the power to sustain long musical phrases.
Sondheim’s influences include Mozart and Ravel. Mozart only in the title, but the
influence of Maurice Ravel is apparent in the orchestrations, advanced harmonics, and,
specifically, in the opening chord of the song “Liaisons” which is the exact same as the
opening chord of Ravel’s Valses Nobles et Sentimentale, a waltz suite published in 1911
(piano version) and 1912 (orchestral version).

My Review

Although based off of a movie, nearly everything about this show is original and
authentic. Wheeler’s book and Sondheim’s music and lyrics come together in perfect
harmony (music pun) to create a perfect story, only to be enhanced by the direction,
choreography, and design. Sondheim’s use of all almost every composition technique,
ranging from baroque all the way to the twentieth century, show both a diversity in
musical knowledge and creativity. He said, "As for the three songs... going together well,
I might as well confess. In those days I was just getting into contrapuntal and choral
writing...and I wanted to develop my technique by writing a trio.” Which blows my mind
because of how well he pulled the counterpoint off. It’s incredible to think that this was
just the beginning for him in terms of the most difficult musical concept. Although it is
not the most important musical ever written in terms of the message it’s conveying, it is
overall a wonderful piece of entertainment guaranteed to keep any audience happy
throughout the entire performance. Even if one doesn’t like the show itself, in my
opinion, it’s nearly impossible not to fall in love with the music. Maybe I’m just a nerd,
but the music itself was enough for me to give this show a rave review. At this point I
don’t even want to see it. The soundtrack creates such beautiful imagery in my head and I
don’t want the actual stage direction to ruin what I’ve imagined myself.

-Rave review, obviously.