Tag Archives: scores

Arachnophonia: The Lion King

Posted on by

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student assistant Isaac (class of 2025) and features piano/vocal selections from The Lion King. Thanks, Isaac!

The Lion King

The Lion King piano/vocal selections

The score from The Lion King by Elton John, with lyrics by Tim Rice, has long fascinated me, compelling me to explore its depths beyond the surface level of its widespread appeal and just songs I’ve heard since I was little. As someone who has always enjoyed children’s movie scores, I find this score to be a particularly striking example of how melodies intertwined with poignant lyrics can create a tapestry of sound that is both enchanting and something that was stuck with me for quite some time––even as I’ve gotten older.

What makes this score particularly interesting and worth studying is not just its ability to support the narrative arc of an iconic film but how it seamlessly blends a variety of musical styles and cultural influences, creating a universal appeal that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries. Elton John’s compositions, infused with his signature melodic flair, are elevated by Tim Rice’s evocative lyrics, which together capture the essence of the story’s themes—power, betrayal, love, and redemption. The integration of African musical elements with Western pop sensibilities in the soundtrack offers a fascinating study in cross-cultural musical fusion, showcasing the richness that such blends can bring to mainstream music, and I really do think its aurally emblematic of everything Disney had hoped to achieve with the project.

Arachnophonia: Wicked

Posted on by

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student assistant Isaac (class of 2025) and features the piano/vocal selections score for the 2003 musical Wicked. Thanks, Isaac!

Wicked

Wicked

I remember my mom waking me up to go watch my first musical in the downtown of my city, much to my chagrin. I never showed an interest in musicals––really, ever––so spending the first few hours of my weekend attending a show about a movie I’d seen a billion times was never on the top of my bucket list.

Finding our seats in the dark and cramped theater after buying $8 bottles of water just added to my annoyance, especially after finding out that ushers would be watching vigilantly for phone users, so I couldn’t even resort to that. And then the show started. Immediately, I knew this was definitely NOT The Wizard of Oz I’d grown up watching. The dynamic expressions, the mercurial lighting, and the most handsome of musical notes filled every corner of my surroundings: I smiled, I relented.

The cast of Wicked, from the verdant “villain” of the story to the anthropomorphic bat-monkey-things that legitimately frightened me, were equal in energy to the score that is still stuck in my head. “Are musicals my new thing?” I thought to myself. Maybe not fully. Was I puerile to dismiss them in their entirety? Definitely.

So if you haven’t, I would highly recommend watching Wicked, it remains one of my favorite Saturday 12:10 pm’s ever; if you can’t attend a full show (they can be pretty popular), check out the score and imagine yourself on the indelible yellow brick road.

Arachnophonia: L’Histoire de Babar

Posted on by

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Kiran (class of 2024) and features music for narrator and piano inspired by Babar the Elephant. Thanks, Kiran!

L’Histoire de Babar le petit éléphant (The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant) by Francis Poulenc

L'Histoire de Babar - score

As a music library employee, one of our tasks is to ensure that each piece of media and literature is in the correct spot so that patrons can access materials with ease. A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a score for L’Histoire de Babar, Le Petit Éléphant. I recognized the character almost immediately, as I grew up reading the book series and later watching the early 2000s television series in my 2nd grade French class.

Babar originated in France during the 1930s and became a hit in the United States soon after. The story follows a young elephant who is introduced to western society after fleeing hunters. He returns to the elephant realm with modernized ideas and becomes their king shortly after. Babar is accompanied by many friends during his adventures.

This particular score is a piano piece with the narration of Babar’s first story, written in French. It came out long before any TV media was produced, but influenced Babar’s theme song in subsequent years. Babar has certainly influenced a generation through its media presence but has also become a story of the past. You can check out niche items like L’Histoire de Babar, Le Petit Éléphant and other unique materials at the music library (translations may or may not be included).

Histoire de Babar book cover

Arachnophonia: Hadestown

Posted on by

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student assistant Nicole (class of 2024) and features the musical Hadestown. Thanks, Nicole!

Hadestown
Music, lyrics and book by Anaïs Mitchell

Have you heard of the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice?

It is an ancient Greek legend about the story of two lovers that ends up with them being separated by the Underworld for eternity. Singer and songwriter Anaïs Mitchell released her fourth album inspired by this famous tale, with a twist, back in 2006. It has been advertised as a “folk opera” which eventually became a stage production in 2019.

Hadestown tells the story of two lovers, Orpheus and Eurydice, trying to get through times of economic hardship. Unlike the original tale which highlights the location of the Greek Underworld, the stage production depicts a hellish industrial version of it. Orpheus reassures Eurydice that by composing songs he will find a solution to all their problems (“Wedding Song”). Other characters in the story are Hades, the ruler of a town where citizens are exploited for their labor, and Persephone, the beautiful and kind wife of the tyrant that rules Hadestown.

When Eurydice, unsure about Orpheus’ ability to provide for them, gets convinced by Hades to seek a better life in Hadestown, Orpheus sets on a journey to find her, which becomes the premise of the musical.

This successful musical, written by Anaïs Mitchell and directed by Rachel Chavkin, was a winner of 8 Tony Awards including Best Musical, and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.

Hadestown was the first musical I ever saw live when it began being performed in 2019. Not only does the story provide an original twist on a great classical tale, but also, the composition of the songs make this a stellar performance. The cast featuring Eva Noblezada and André De Shields have provided high quality performances for the last couple of years which help make this musical even more worth giving it a listen.

You can check out the piano/vocal selections score of songs from Hadestown at the Music Library!

Arachnophonia: David Popper “40 Studies: High School of Cello Playing, opus 73”

Posted on by

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Brianna (class of 2023) and features a collection of studies for cello by Austrian composer David Popper (1843-1913. Thanks, Brianna!

David Popper
40 Studies: High School of Cello Playing, op. 73

David Popper, composer (1843-1913)

David Popper, composer (1843-1913)

I, like most young cellists, have a love-hate relationship with David Popper. Popper was a prominent composer of Romantic-era cello solo music in the 19th century. He wrote four concertos, although his most played solo piece is probably “Tarantella.” What some may not know is that in addition to these concert solo pieces, he wrote a book of etudes dedicated to strengthening cello technique – 40 Studies: High School of Cello Playing. As the description might give away, the music in this book is not meant for performance in a recital or concert series. These etudes focus on playing in different positions, frequent shifting, bow control, and much more, meaning some of them sound very strange and complicated to listeners. Some musicians consider mastery of these etudes (among other things) a hallmark of a professional cellist.

While playing through such a book may sound like every aspiring young cellist’s dream, many of them are harder to play than they appear on paper. Then, considering the book has 40 separate etudes each averaging about two pages, you can only imagine how much time and dedication mastering each and every one might take. It’s a wonderful resource – if you have the patience to spend countless hours on them.

Since I was first assigned an etude out of this book, I have struggled and fumbled my way through roughly a quarter of the 40 available to me until I ended up with something I was happy with. I can’t say that I got as much joy out of this type of practice as I have on recent solo pieces I have rehearsed, but I also must admit that playing through the etudes strengthened my playing more than I could have imagined. Thumb position used to be a region of the cello I never thought I would be able to wander into confidently, but after playing Etude No. 1 and 5, I feel stronger and enjoy going high on the instrument. If you are a cellist and don’t have a copy of this book in your library, consider picking up a copy from the Music Library!

Arachnophonia: Selections from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”

Posted on by

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student assistant Nathan (class of 2024) and features piano/vocal selections from the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Thanks, Nathan!

Selections from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Selections from "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"

Danny Elfman is such a prolific composer, known for commonly working alongside filmmaker Tim Burton. Arguably, the best and most diverse collection of his work can be found in his music for the 2005 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” His score explores a variety of styles, from Bollywood to the sugar-pop of the 1960s. While the piano score struggles to capture all of the complex work and sound behind the “Main Titles” (Elfman at his prime, in my opinion), it does an excellent job providing a solid basework for solo playability. The piano adaptation for the “Finale” is perfectly captured and successfully leaves what it intends to bring – a feeling of finality and completion at the end of a wild ride.