‘Make ‘em Laugh’: The Politics of Entertainment

Voicing Omnivorousness, Assembling the Omnivorous Voice: The American Musical Explored

“…We also implement the term musical idiom to denote specific musical traits within a style, such as elements of phrasing, dynamics, or excess sound effects (Fisher et al, 2019). When it comes to vocal idioms , these elements are mainly not notated in the written score but are elements learned and transmitted through sonic information (Taylor, 2012), in the American musical typically made accessible by a show’s (original) cast recording (von Germeten, 2021).…”

“…Moving towards the middle of the 20th century, composers, librettists and producers continued to create works aiming to pull towards what was considered more intellectual, ‘morally dignified’ art forms, such as opera and legitimate theatre, emulating these ‘highbrow forms while making them more accessible’ (Savran, 2018: 82). The goal was an integrated musical, moving seamlessly from spoken word to song to dance as if the same person created all elements (Taylor, 2012). In the still-standing narrative of a ‘Golden Age’ within the Broadway musical, extending from about 1940 until 1960 (Morris, 2018), characters became more realistically portrayed and psychologized like in non-musical works (Knapp et al, 2018a), changing the Broadway composers’ status once and for all from mere tunesmiths, often writing not plot- or character-connected songs, to the idea of the composers as dramatists (Grossman, 2018).…”

“…As elements of jazz, blues and spirituals were present on the Broadway stage during this period, to some degree, was also the belting voice. 7 However, the dominant vocal expression was still melodies composed for classically trained voices, though with tessituras generally lower and more limited than for the operatic repertoire, to enable lyrics to come through (Taylor, 2012). The classical voice was also the only singing offered within singing tuition.…”

“…The classical voice was also the only singing offered within singing tuition. The belted voice, on the other hand, was mostly defined as a ‘natural’ voice (Taylor, 2012); the often-told anecdote of Gershwin ordering belting star Ethel Merman to ‘never go near a voice teacher’ (Bryan, 1992: 5) arguably exemplifies this. Additionally, a belting voice was often described using negative terms such as ‘unsupported’ or ‘unprojected’ singing (Salzman and Desi, 2008), or as singing lacking sophistication (Taylor, 2012).…”

“…Bennett et al, 1999; Ollivier, 2008; Warde et al, 2007), musicology (e.g. Block, 2002, 2009; Knapp et al, 2018a, 2018b; Taylor, 2012) and voice studies (e.g. Eidsheim, 2019, LoVetri et al, 2014; Macpherson, 2019).…”