Tag: soundtrack

Trial Before Pilate (from “Jesus Christ Superstar”)

From seasoned mod collector JB comes “Trial Before Pilate” from Jesus Christ Superstar. The show started as a rock opera concept album (1970), then debuted on Broadway in 1971.

“The UK’s Andrew Lloyd Webber has always been a sucker for hyperbole, but this has got to be the MotD version of ‘more cowbell’: I count at least two dozen mods, including at least 10 gratuitous half-steps in the ‘Crucify Him’ chorus. The only time the song stays in the same key for more than two bars is when Pilate is counting out 40 lashes.”

Lily’s Eyes (from “The Secret Garden”)

Featuring one of the great modulations in the musical theatre canon, “Lily’s Eyes” is from the 1991 Broadway musical The Secret Garden (1991), music by Lucy Simon and lyrics and book by Marsha Norman. Sung here by original cast members Mandy Patinkin and Robert Westenberg, the modulation is at 3:22 (the song starts at 0:53).

On My Way (from “Violet”)

“On My Way” is the opening number of the first show I music directed at my alma mater, St. Olaf College — Jeanine Tesori‘s VIOLET. It sets the stage beautifully for the show, thanks in large part to the key changes! The song starts in F major and modulates to D at 1:42. At 2:30 there is a transitory bridge before a return to D at 2:57, and a final shift up a step to E at 3:32. This recording is from the 2014 Broadway production starring Sutton Foster.

Beyonce | Spirit (from “The Lion King”)

“Spirit” by Beyoncé, featured in the 2019 remake of The Lion King movie, was reviewed by Slate.com‘s Carl Wilson as an “award-baiting piece of Hollywood-goes-gospel.” After an intro built around choristers singing in Swahili, Beyonce shows off not only her trademark fluid melisma, but also the far edges of her range, both high and low. The half-step modulation is at 3:30.

Only Boys Aloud | You Will Be Found (from “Dear Evan Hansen”)

From live theatre critic Michael J. Curtiss comes this knockout crowd-sourced 2019 cover of “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen. Boys’ choruses from Welsh towns and cities large and small were brought together through Only Boys Aloud, the boys’ division of The Aloud Charity. Aloud’s mission is “to engage young people across Wales with the power of choral singing.”

The modulation is at 2:29 after a gorgeous transition passage starting at 2:18.

Show Off (from “The Drowsy Chaperone”)

From Kent P., a MotD fan who’s contributed before, comes the show-stopping production number “Show Off” from The Drowsy Chaperone, which was produced on Broadway in 2006.

Kent reports: “A hilarious number that makes fun of every old musical cliché by doing them. And of course, one such cliché is the key change! Here’s a video (with good audio quality but less good video quality) from the Tony Awards, with Sutton Foster performing the song. There’s a long intro to the actual song, which doesn’t start until 1:35; after many other key changes, the main modulation is around 4:35. It is probably the most self-referential modulation ever!”

Jacques Brel | Marieke

Singer/songwriter Jacques Brel produced music which AllMusic calls “literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that brought him a large, devoted following in France. His audience eventually extended internationally, making him a major influence on English-speaking writers and performers including Leonard Cohen and David Bowie.” After releasing many albums, often built around a contemporary chanson style, Brel produced a musical revue, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, off-Broadway at NYC’s Village Gate in 1968. The show has since enjoyed dozens of well-received revivals.

The show’s 26 story songs included a restless, ever-building waltz, “Marieke” — as much an ode to his Belgian homeland as to his beloved. Modulation at 2:23.

Lyric translation here.

Jonathan Coulton | NDA

Weekend bonus: No pure modulations here, but plenty of fun shifting through key(s) of the moment. Software guy Jonathan Coulton became a full-time singer/songwriter in the mid-2000s, releasing several albums since. Recently, he was commissioned to write a series of Schoolhouse Rock!-style short songs for the TV series The Good Fight — detail-packed miniature musical explainers of legal and political terminology.

“NDA,” which describes the ins and outs of Non-Disclosure Agreements, features verses which are solidly in G Major. But the choruses (first at 0:10!) and bridge (0:27 – 0:41) cycle briefly through other keys.