Recapitulation (musical)
In musicals, recapitulation is the expression for the repetition of a (mostly sung) musical number at a later point. It is often shown in brackets with the name of the original music track and the addition "Reprise". On the one hand it serves to impress melodies on the audience, on the other hand it has a dramaturgical meaning.
dramaturgy
A recapitulation can be the modified (different text or different arrangement ) or unchanged repetition of a previous number. The recognizable melody indicates the similarity of the situations, but their different treatment makes it clear what has happened since. The similarity is contrasted with those elements of the drama that have changed between exposition and recapitulation. It is not for nothing that the exposition and recapitulation are often before and after the peripetia of the drama.
Examples
- In the West Side Story , the song "Somewhere" provides a classic example of the concept of the recapitulation: While the exposition still has the illusion of fleeing to a better, peaceful world, Tony and Maria recognize in the pessimistic recapitulation (at the end, shortly after Tony was fatally wounded) that this idyll cannot be achieved in the contemporary world. Common ground: dream of a better world. Difference: exposure - illusion; Recapitulation - waking up and realizing reality.
- In Jesus Christ Superstar , during the song "Judas' Death" , Judas takes up the theme that Maria Magdalena exposed in "I don't know how to love him", namely the affection for Jesus Christ as a person, beyond all religious and sacred connections . Judas laments (shortly before his suicide) that he really liked Jesus deeply. Certain directors interpret this sympathy as a homosexual relationship, which, however, is not directly supported by the libretto.
- In the musical Les Misérables there are several variants of the recapitulation, which - due to the complex leitmotif of the work - are not so easy to recognize. An example is the finale, during which Jean Valjean looks back at his life and his illegal, dramatic condemnation. The theme he uses is the "On my own" theme, which both Fantine and Eponine propose in the context of unjustified social treatment: With this theme, Fantine laments her suffering as a prostitute for her illegitimate child has to worry, while Eponine addresses "the" ballad of the musical about the unfulfilled, secret love for a man of another class.
- Another example in Les Misérables are the solos by Jean Valjean and Javert ("Valjean's Soliloquy" / "Javert's Suicide"), which musically almost completely correspond, but which have a fundamentally contrary dramatic function, namely firstly the exposition in the dramatic sense, which first of all provides the impetus for the dramatic actions, and in the second case the dramatic catastrophe or the case of the (pseudo) tragic hero Javert, who sees his initially morally justified attitudes ad absurdum because he sees Javert's truly moral ones and observes positive actions that he initially considers negative in his catalog of values. As soon as he sees his own error, this inevitably leads him to his own downfall through the breakdown of his own value system. Even though they are not explicitly named as exposition and recapitulation, these two numbers still correspond to the scheme and, moreover, offer a kind of thematic-moral framework for the musical.
- The musical Starlight Express contains (by interlinking two musical themes) with the song of the same name and the "Starlight Sequence" a more complex exposition-recapitulation constellation: First the mysterious Starlight Express assures Rusty victory in the upcoming race (with the theme "You alone ", which symbolizes the trust in oneself and in one's own abilities), then (in the recapitulation, included in the so-called duet" You alone "), it becomes apparent that Rusty through the Starlight Express, the personification of faith himself, has won.
- In Wicked , the future witch Elphaba, the protagonist, first complains in "I'm not that girl" that she is not as popular and integrated as G (a) linda, who is highly regarded by her fellow students, especially the student Fiyero , enjoy. Later G (a) linda sings the corresponding recapitulation of the song, recognizing that Fiyero, who was actually in a relationship with G (a) linda, ultimately turned to Elphaba.
- The musical Avenue Q does not explicitly name a song as a recapitulation, but the songs "It sucks to be me" and "For Now" implicitly include the entire musical, as they are so thematically similar that they can be viewed as an implicit exposition -Reprise couple could understand. The personal, social and existential questions that are raised in the introduction find in a certain way a resigned and conciliatory answer in the finale. So the finale is both musically-thematically and dramatically a response to the questions / themes asked at the beginning, and would meet the definition of the recapitulation.
- There are also reprises in pop and rock music. One of the best-known examples is the reprise by Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on the album of the same name , which takes up the theme of the first song at the end of the concept album . Another example is the title Home by Simply Red on the album of the same name, where the title is repeated as a short unplugged version at the end of the album , or the reprise of Feel Good Hit of the Summer by Queens of the Stone Age on the album Rated R .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Album Home on Amazon ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Audio samples.
