[78-L] UK National Anthem^ verse vs chorus

[Don Cox]

On 16/07/2012, Rjholtin wrote:

> In this usage "intros" would be the verses. Indeed, George was great
> at using them whereas too many "real" singers treatedthem as
> throwaways, with two aforementioned highly notable exceptions.
> 
The "intro" or "verse" acts as a bridge between spoken dialog and song.
It makes it seem a bit more natural than characters suddenly breaking
into song. 

This was a problem in operatta or "opera comique", where the jump from
spoken dialog to aria or duet seemed too abrupt. In some cases ("Carmen" 
is one), the dialog was later changed to recitative, which is half
way between speech and singing. 

This hasn't been done in the classic musicals, I think because the
"verse" intro makes the contrast less jarring.

Regards
-- 
Don Cox
doncox at enterprise.net