Down Once More - Rachel Marie Cawley

Down Once More Rachel Cawley Music Analysis

Andrew Lloyd Webber Born March 22, 1948 in Kennington, London- Still alive.

  Father, William Lloyd Webber was an organist and a pianist.

  Mother, Jean Hermione Johnstone was a violinist and a pianist.

  Little brother is a famous cellist.

  Raised in an environment of music and perfection.

  Was married himself 3 times and had 5 children.

As a child..

Andrew Lloyd Webber started composing music at a young age.

First piece composed when he was 9 years old.

He put on productions for friends and family as a child.

  1965 he started at Westminster College but later dropped out to pursue his interest in musical theatre.

  In 2006 he was the 87-th richest man in Britan with a fortune of 700 million euro.

  He has won numerous awards including a Academy Award, a Golden Globe, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, Olivier Awards, plus numerous other awards. He is still alive and working in this current day.

  Most famous works include Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat, Jesus Christ Superstar.

Down Once More- Composition History

  Timing: 12:46

  Version from Most recent movie released in 2004

  Musical Written in 1986

  Orchestra over 100 members

  Phantom of the Opera one of the longest running Broadway shows.

  Musical magic, words and music seem as though the same entity.

  Perfectly exemplifies musical climax and resolution.

Vocals

  Emmy Rossum

  Gerard Butler

  Patrick Wilson

  “mob”

Link to Songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MomeCr9LUs

  0:00-0:16

  The orchestra comes in full on in Allegro fashion. It is very fast and lively and passionate matching the phantoms voice and words. The music waves with the words.

  0:17-0:30

  The trumpets are heard loud and clear as the residing sound for the movement. After their piece then the tempo speeds up to match the phantoms words sung with vivance.

  0:30-1:05

  The horns and trumpets have a counter acting part to the vocals of the mob coming in. This part of the song the organ is playing the melody and setting the fast passed rhythm, along with the low strings playing in the background.

  1:05-1:35

  The form changes at this point with the organ becoming morendo. And the mob sings a line echoing through the cave. The violins play softly in the background until she starts singing then the violins play violently for a moment and then stop.

  1:35-2:05

  The violins play the melody in the background while the phantom talk-sings. The low strings pick up as the tempo changes into a quicker pace for a few seconds before dropping again to the low stings and horns.

  2:05-2:55

  The pitch rises slightly and a clash of the violins coincide with the phantoms voice then lowers again. Christine’s voice enters and the melody becomes softer. The strings accompany her voice with no other instrument.

  2:55-3:15

  The rhythm changes instantly with a clash of the strings and the phantom saying “wait!” The texture then becomes more dynamic with a clash of the symbols and the high notes on the organ beating fast.

  3:15-3:45

  The horns come in dramatically when Raoul yells “free her”. The whole orchestra comes in when this heat picks up. The phantom yells “the world showed no compassion to me!” the violins play fast and give an anxious setting when Roule is saying “Christine, Christine” over and over.

  3:45-4:10

  The form changes once again to repetitive violin notes matching the up down up down beat the phantom is singing in. The horns come in again for the melody. The full orchestra suddenly comes in when the Phantom gets louder. When the phantom yells “Raise your hands to the level of your eyes!”

  4:10-4:30

  The beat is now very fast and the violins are growing in volume being accompanied by the low strings. The fast tempo giving the feel of the anxiousness of the phantom. There is a climax with the horns and the strings until the phantom yells “this is the point of no return!” after which the low strings play a solid note.

  4:30-4:45

  The tone changes entirely when Christine starts singing. Suddenly the music is sweeter and her voice is accompanied by a single violin. The tempo is much slower and specific.

  4:45-5:15

  Her sweet sound is crushed when she says “turn to tears of hate!” This is where the orchestra enters full volume getting increasingly louder. And this is where the leitmotif enters and ties the song to its origin. She is singing with Roule. There is now duel singing and the strings accompaniment the harmony.

  5:15-6:00

  The harmony between the phantom and Roule is especially embellished at this part. Christine joins the harmony singing “angel of music”. The strings and the horns are adjoining in the harmony. The symbols are crashing in the middle of the beats

  6:00-6:30

  The tone slows way down again, the harmony between the phantom and Christine ending slowly and sadly. The trumpets play quietly the overall sound being low.

  6:30-7:00

  Christine sings to herself at this point and this is where the second leitmotif enters. It gets increasingly louder ascending with Christine’s voice saying “you are not alone”

  7:00-7:30

  The complete orchestra comes in loud finishing the leitmotif. The music plays with the horns coming in with a clash of the cymbals. The overall sound is very dramatic and comes together incredibly.

  7:30-8:05

  The tempo completely changes at this point going back to anxious mood and there are violins that are matching the phantoms words. There are a couple pounds on the drum and the trumpets play a small piece.

  8:05-8:25

  The tempo gets increasingly faster as you hear the voices of the mob getting further down the tunnel. The violins are setting the melody until the phantom yells “go now and leave me!” Which is joined by the horns. This happens a couple times.

  8:25-8:40

  At this point the low strings play the looming leitmotif in much darker way than before.

  8:40-9:10

  The dark music suddenly stops and is replaced by the innocent twinkling’s of a music box. The phantom is softly singing to the sweet melody of the music box. The music box twinkling in and of itself is a leitmotif because of the meaning in the movie. The twinkling of the box is often played at various parts.

  9:10-9:35

  Strings join in with the twinkling of the music box. The tempo is very slow and romantic as the phantom sings “Christine I love you.” The music draws quite.

  9:35-10:20

  Again enters the leitmotif with the original phantom strings movement. The increases in volume as the orchestra joins in. The French horns play the melody.

  10:20-11:00

  A distant Christine sings a sweet song joined by soft violins. The tempo is slow as the Phantom enters. The timbre is quite sweet and sad.

  11:00-11:30

  The entire orchestra enters with sforzando suddenly bringing the volume to full height. The drums are leading up the ultimate climax of the song as the phantom sings “the music of the night” At this point the dynamics of the song are in full array and every instrument is filling its ultimate purpose in the song. The Leitmotif enters again with the ultimate melody.

  11:30- 12:00

  The horns accompany the strings with a clash here and there from the cymbals. The texture of this part of the song is very rich. There are no vocals at this point, just the full orchestra.

  12:00-

  A few stings from the quartets play the ending dramatic notes from the leitmotif. The tempo has slowed significantly and it adds to the dramatic ending effect. The form has changed to a variety of repetitive strings played by the low strings.

Bibliography  

  Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera Movie Review (2004) | Roger Ebert (All Content)

  http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/andrew-lloyd-webbers-phantom-of-the-opera-2004

  Andrew Lloyd Webber Biography. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2015, from http://www.biography.com/people/andrew-lloyd-webber-20825129

  Citron, S. (2001). Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber the new musical. Oxford: Oxford University Press.