Music Speaks

Sweeney Todd with Hanif Lawrence.

This episode explores one of Sondheim's darkest musicals, Sweeney Todd; we are with Professor Lawrence for this episode.

This episode explores one of Sondheim's darkest musicals, Sweeney Todd; we are with Professor Lawrence for this episode.

Via Wikipedia:

Beethoven was a nature lover who spent much of his time on walks in the country. He frequently left Vienna to work in rural locations. The composer said the Sixth Symphony is "more the expression of feeling than painting."

In this episode, Hunter takes on the annual Proust Questionaire.

Shaun takes the annual Proust questionnaire.

Via Wikipedia:

In a Nutshell is a musical composition by Percy Aldridge Grainger for orchestra, piano, and Deagan percussion instruments. The suite, published in 1916, is made up of four movements: "Arrival Platform Humlet", "Gay But Wistful", "Pastoral", and "The Gum-Suckers March". Grainger later made versions for both solo piano and piano duo. It is described as one of the early modernist works of Grainger.

Via Wikipedia: In a Nutshell is a musical composition by Percy Aldridge Grainger for orchestra, piano, and Deagan percussion instruments. The suite, published in 1916, is made up of four movements: "Arrival Platform Humlet", "Gay But Wistful", "Pastoral", and "The Gum-Suckers March". Grainger later made versions for both solo piano and piano duo. It is described as one of the early modernist works of Grainger.

Via Wikipedia

The Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, also known as the Fate Symphony (German: Schicksalssinfonie) is a symphony composed by Ludwig van Beethoven between 1804 and 1808. It is one of the best-known compositions in classical music and one of the most frequently played symphonies,[1] and it is widely considered one of the cornerstones of western music. First performed in Vienna's Theater an der Wien in 1808, the work achieved its prodigious reputation soon afterward. E. T. A. Hoffmann described the symphony as "one of the most important works of the time". As is typical of symphonies during the Classical period, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has four movements.

It begins with a distinctive four-note "short-short-short-long" motif, often characterized as "fate knocking at the doorWestern.", the Schicksals-Motiv (fate motif):

The symphony, and the four-note opening motif in particular, are known worldwide, with the motif appearing frequently in popular culture, from disco versions to rock and roll covers, to uses in film and television.

Like Beethoven's Eroica (heroic) and Pastorale (rural), Symphony No. 5 was given an explicit name besides the numbering, though not by Beethoven himself.

Via Wikipedia and IMDB

A Christmas Carol: The Musical is a 2004 American musical⁠ television film⁠ based on the 1843⁠ novella of the same name⁠ by⁠ Charles Dickens⁠, which also inspired a⁠ 1994 stage musical⁠ by⁠ Alan Menken⁠ and⁠ Lynn Ahrens⁠.

The story features an old bitter miser who is given a chance for redemption when ghosts haunt him on Christmas Eve.

The movie was directed by⁠ Arthur Allan Seidelman⁠ and written by Ahrens; the film stars⁠ Kelsey Grammer⁠,⁠ Jesse L. Martin⁠,⁠ Jane Krakowski⁠,⁠ Jennifer Love Hewitt⁠,⁠ Geraldine Chaplin⁠, and⁠ Jason Alexander⁠. The film first premiered on November 28, 2004, on the⁠ NBC⁠ television network.