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Date: | Sun, 7 Feb 1999 11:32:20 -0500 |
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Christolpher Webber wrote:
>Music has a way of riding time better than words, and Sullivan's tunes
>have dated much less than Gilbert's verbal brilliance. I think the current
>revival of many of his works independent of the Savoy Operas is evidence
>for his continued vitality - if Jon Johanning doesn't know Sullivan's music
>for "The Tempest" or his "Irish Symphony" I suggest he ought to hear them.
In fact, I am less familiar with the non-operetta works such as those you
mention, but I will admit that, from what I know of them, they show him to
be a much better composer than the Savoy Operas. But the latter is what I
was concerned with in my previous, admittedly quite blasphemous, message.
I'm not sure whether this is just my personal reaction, or that of other
Americans, but I tend to rate the words in these works much higher than the
music. Your point that the librettos have many affinities with modern
American English is a quite interesting one that I was not aware of.
Jon Johanning // [log in to unmask]
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