20:
85:"feel" in which the singer becomes a "performer" not simply a character. For Horn, the individual numbers can serve not only to advance the narrative but also to directly address and engage the audience in an experience which stands apart from the dramatic context of the work, and this latter function had its roots in
89:
entertainments. In revues, a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches, there is no overall narrative, but rather a sequence of unrelated (often lavish) musical numbers. However, as Rick Altman points out, some of the numbers in these types of shows
84:
because he thought it would detract from what he viewed as the close integration between the book and the lyrics. However, both David Horn and Scott McMillin have proposed that full integration is not completely possible. For McMillin, the start of a musical number creates a noticeably different
168:
or spoken dialogue. Oratorios followed a similar model. However, as the century progressed, numbers were increasingly unified into larger musical segments with no clear break between them. Early examples of this trend include
54:. It can also refer either to an individual song in a published collection or an individual song or dance in a performance of several unrelated musical pieces as in concerts and
74:
wrote that "musical numbers should carry on the action of the play, and should be representative of the personalities of the characters who sing them." The lyricist
243:
23:
Individual numbers from musicals were often published separately as sheet music as in this example, "They All Look Alike" from
96:
can be narratives in miniature. That number, according to Altman, "is not just musicalâits dream-like dance grows out of the
203:
324:
228:
339:
281:
257:
296:
381:
259:
The
Musical as Drama: A Study of the Principles and Conventions Behind Musical Shows from Kern To Sondheim
58:. Both meanings of the term have been used in American English since the second half of the 19th century.
164:. Until the mid-19th century most operas were structured as a series of discrete numbers connected by
66:
In musical theatre, the lyrics of the individual song numbers are integrated with the narrative of the
185:
92:
241:
A now archaic use of the term in the plural was as a synonym for musical sounds or notes. See
42:
refers to an individual song, dance, or instrumental piece which is part of a larger work of
170:
75:
8:
283:
Continuum
Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Part 1 Performance and Production
362:
117:
366:
180:
43:
244:
Webster's Third New
International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged
97:
375:
153:
19:
198:
149:
125:
121:
101:
16:
Individual song, dance, or instrumental piece within a larger musical work
71:
24:
314:, Second Edition, p. 582. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
165:
161:
86:
80:
78:, another proponent of this view, even refused to list the numbers in
208:
175:
157:
67:
51:
133:
129:
145:
137:
55:
141:
47:
35:
232:, Third Edition (1970). "Number". Oxford University Press.
113:
345:
The
Oratorio in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
61:
367:Greatest Song and Dance Musical Moments and Scenes
373:
349:, p. 191. University of North Carolina Press
323:Sadie, Stanley and Macy, Laura eds. (2006).
104:mimed narrative which opens the selection."
286:. Continuum International Publishing Group.
18:
374:
90:such "This Heart of Mine" in the film
107:
301:, p. 102. Indiana University Press.
13:
280:Horn, David (2003). "Book (1)" in
262:, p. 2. Princeton University Press
256:Quoted in McMillin, Scott (2006).
62:Musical theatre and related genres
14:
393:
356:
329:, p. 191. Oxford University Press
247:(1970). "Number". Merriam-Webster
229:Shorter Oxford English Dictionary
70:(or "book"). As early as 1917,
332:
317:
304:
289:
274:
265:
250:
235:
221:
1:
214:
7:
312:Harvard Dictionary of Music
192:
10:
398:
338:Smither, Howard E (2000).
341:A History of the Oratorio
310:Apel, Willi, ed. (1969).
298:The American Film Musical
186:Das Paradies und die Peri
326:The Grove Book of Operas
204:ComĂ©die mĂȘlĂ©e d'ariettes
271:McMillin (2006) pp. 2-3
31:
295:Altman, Rick (1987).
112:Opera numbers may be
22:
183:'s secular oratorio
171:Carl Maria von Weber
382:Musical terminology
144:. They may also be
108:Opera and oratorio
32:
76:Oscar Hammerstein
389:
350:
336:
330:
321:
315:
308:
302:
293:
287:
278:
272:
269:
263:
254:
248:
239:
233:
225:
152:pieces, such as
120:pieces, such as
93:Ziegfeld Follies
397:
396:
392:
391:
390:
388:
387:
386:
372:
371:
359:
354:
353:
337:
333:
322:
318:
309:
305:
294:
290:
279:
275:
270:
266:
255:
251:
240:
236:
226:
222:
217:
195:
181:Robert Schumann
110:
64:
44:musical theatre
17:
12:
11:
5:
395:
385:
384:
370:
369:
358:
357:External links
355:
352:
351:
331:
316:
303:
288:
273:
264:
249:
234:
219:
218:
216:
213:
212:
211:
206:
201:
194:
191:
109:
106:
63:
60:
15:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
394:
383:
380:
379:
377:
368:
364:
361:
360:
348:
346:
342:
335:
328:
327:
320:
313:
307:
300:
299:
292:
285:
284:
277:
268:
261:
260:
253:
246:
245:
238:
231:
230:
224:
220:
210:
207:
205:
202:
200:
197:
196:
190:
188:
187:
182:
178:
177:
172:
167:
163:
159:
155:
151:
147:
143:
139:
135:
131:
127:
123:
119:
115:
105:
103:
99:
95:
94:
88:
83:
82:
77:
73:
69:
59:
57:
53:
49:
45:
41:
37:
30:
26:
21:
363:AMC Networks
344:
340:
334:
325:
319:
311:
306:
297:
291:
282:
276:
267:
258:
252:
242:
237:
227:
223:
199:Number opera
184:
174:
150:instrumental
116:, but also
111:
91:
79:
65:
39:
33:
29:Have a Heart
28:
72:Jerome Kern
25:Jerome Kern
215:References
166:recitative
162:intermezzi
87:vaudeville
81:Rose-Marie
343:(Vol. 4:
209:Show tune
176:Euryanthe
173:'s opera
158:sinfonias
376:Category
193:See also
142:choruses
134:quintets
130:quartets
118:ensemble
68:libretto
52:oratorio
154:marches
146:ballets
138:sextets
102:Astaire
98:Bremer
56:revues
40:number
160:, or
126:trios
122:duets
114:arias
50:, or
48:opera
36:music
179:and
148:and
140:or
34:In
27:'s
378::
365:.
189:.
156:,
136:,
132:,
128:,
124:,
46:,
38:,
347:)
100:/
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
