well, That's Show Biz, 08-13-2023 2-20 Polyphonic Songs

Polyphonic Songs

“Well, That’s Show Biz!”

08-13-2023

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• Welcome to “well, That’s Show Biz!”. I am your host, Jeremy Freedman, and each week I bring you music from Broadway, Movies, and Entertainers along with some anecdotes, information, and commentary all based on a theme.

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• Today’s theme is Polyphonic Songs. Polyphonic Songs are not just duets, trios, or choral pieces. A Polyphonic Song is one where two or more equally prominent melodic lines are sung at the same time. Each is a melody in its own right that could be sung independently of each other. Many of these songs are obvious but others are more subtle. But by their nature, they produce a great impact to the ears. Today, we are going to hear many different examples of Polyphonic Songs.

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• We are going to start off with two examples from Les Miserables. We are going to open with the dramatic ending to Act 1, “One More Day” as several themes that we have already heard coalesce as the cast prepares for their revolution. Then we will hear the love triangle, “A Heart Full of Love”. Here’s “One More Day”.

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• We are listening to Polyphonic Songs today and you just heard two from Les Miserables, “One More Day”, and “A Heart Full of Love”.

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• Sometimes a Polyphonic Song is very obvious as two people sing their individual melodies before combining them into one joyous payoff. We are going to hear two examples of this from the great Irving Berlin. First up is Dick Haymes and Ethel Merman singing “You’re Just in Love” from Call Me Madam and then Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat singing “An Old Fashioned Wedding” from Annie Get Your Gun. Here’s Irving Berlin.

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• You just heard two Polyphonic Songs by Irving Berlin, “You’re Just in Love” from Call Me Madam and “An Old Fashioned Wedding” from Annie Get Your Gun.

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• <PSA>

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• You are listening to “well, That’s Show Biz!” and today’s theme is Polyphonic Songs. These are songs where two or more separate melodies are intertwined for a glorious result.

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• For our next set, we are going to hear three examples by Jerry Herman. First, the song “More and More / Less and Less” from The Grand Tour. Then “Motherhood” from Hello Dolly. And finally, “The Tea Party” from Dear World. Here’s Jerry Herman.

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• You just heard three examples of Polyphonic Songs by Jerry Herman, “More and More / Less and Less” from The Grand Tour, “Motherhood” from Hello Dolly, and “The Tea Party” from Dear World.

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• <Underwriting>

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• You are listening to “well, That’s Show Biz!” on {Station ID].

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• We are listening to Polyphonic Songs today. These are songs that have two or more independent melodies that are woven together to produce a glorious sound experience. Sometimes it is the whole song and sometimes it is used in a portion of the song. We are going to hear a more modern take for our next example. Here is “Non-Stop” from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton.

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• You just heard “Non-Stop” from Hamilton as we look at examples of Polyphonic Songs.

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• Stephen Sondheim was a master at using the Polyphonic technique in his songs. First we are going to hear “You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow / Love Will See Us Through” from Follies. Then we are going to hear two from Sweeney Todd. The first is “Kiss Me” which is immediately followed by “Ladies in Their Sensitivities” which brings back the melodies from “Kiss Me” resulting in a gloriously beautiful ending to the two songs. Here’s Polyphonic Songs from Stephen Sondheim.

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• You just heard “You’re Gonna Love Tomorrow / Love Will See Us Through” from Follies and “Kiss Me” and “Ladies in Their Sensitivities” from Sweeney Todd as we look at examples of Polyphonic Songs today on “well, That’s Show Biz!”

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• <Other Show Promo>

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• <PSA>

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• If you would like to assist with a future show, you can send me your theme and song suggestions to wruushowbiz@gmail.com. And if you are enjoying today’s show, contact the station at WRUU.org and let them know.

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• I read that Polyphonic Songs are actually easier to create than you might think. It would seem that all you need is two melodies in the same key with similar time signatures. In popular music today we would call it a “mash-up”.

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• To conclude today’s show on Polyphonic Songs, we are going to hear three classics. First up is “Lida Rose / Will I Ever Tell You?” from The Music Man, “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls, and the Reprise of “One” from A Chorus Line. Here’s “Lida Rose”.

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• You just heard “Lida Rose / Will I Ever Tell You?” from The Music Man, “Fugue for Tinhorns” from Guys and Dolls, and the Finale, “One”, from A Chorus Line and that ends today’s exploration of Polyphonic Songs.

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• If you would like to help out with a future show, you can send your theme and song suggestions to me at wruushowbiz@gmail.com. And if you enjoyed today’s show, please, contact the station at WRUU.org and let them know.  See you next week.