Category: Sondheim
Sunday in the park with George is a fictionalised story of the real life French painter, Seurat. The painter is renowned for devising painting techniques such as chromoluminastion and pointillism.
The musical was especially influenced by the painting 'A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte'. The painting uses Seurat's techniques to present a scene on the bank if the river Seine. Sondheim has taken the image of the painting and the painters life and created an imagined story.
The story follows the character George as he becomes deeply in absorbed into creating his painting of 'The Hat'. He is mocked for his unconventional style throughout the story. The style of story changes through his journey, with art used to represent different moments in his life. For example when George (Great-Grandson) die, a blank canvass is shown to illustrate the current state of the painter George. During the play, George can often be seen working on his latest painting. The backdrop is reflective of his painting. As he make changes to the paintings, the backdrop and scenery changes. This was an interesting approach to scenery and I have not seen this style in other performance. It makes the play seem more surreal and avoids needing to accurately represent real life. It contributes to the dreaminess of George's imagination.
Finishing the Hat is a song that refers to the time when he is coming close to finishing his painting, his masterpiece, 'The Hat. The song could be broken down using the circle of attention technique from the Stanislavski workshop, as the song is representative of different states of attention. The song begins with the character observing the surroundings, the things going on around him. These are like distractions for the artist and is demonstrated that they are almost insignificant, trivial activities to him. The song is representative of George's internal drama, the thought process he is going through during the creative process. The main focus of the song is referring to his relationship with Dot. The woman in the song is Dot, and he is referring to her imperfections. Each of Georges paintings are representative of the lives of people he knows and their relationship. The song is representative to someone is who absorbed and critical. The song is also tells of how George enters "the world of the Hat", The world refers to his imagination, the world he has created within his mind. The Hat is therefore, the bringing into reality of his imagination. When we study the painting of the hat, we are not just looking at it superficially, we are actually seeing a representation of George's inner world. He is stating that "can you not see this world?", as it is so obvious to him.
Musically, the lyrics and the song are challenging and are almost in a race with each other. At times they meet up such as on window. The music is dreamy, fast and flowing. It is very representative of the emotions George is experiencing. The song is mostly in a high tempo and this adds further challenges when performing the song.
Variations of the song
Mandy Patankin
Jake Gyllenhaal
Josh Grobin
Lyrics
Song Progress
After listening to the song, it seems challenging but achievable. The song is not difficult to sing without music, it's staying with the music thats the challenge. Their is no obvious key and timing is everything. Thee is some pattern with the music, where the song changes with the music. Some verses are similar. The main challenge is the tempo, but with practice and the experience I have so far I should be able to achieve my own variation of the song.
I have reached a point where I have a good understanding of the song. The song is challenging because it is not as structured as a typical song. The music is more representative of internal melodrama. The key is keeping pace with the music, not to be too fast or too slow. Not to extend anything unless needed. The most important pointer when performing is 'window'. The word window is emphasised within the music. If I am singing window when the music dictates (ding), I am performing at the right tempo.
Final Version
This song was arguably the most challenging due to it's style. It's a strange song and very specific to the character. I had listened to different version of the songs such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Mandy Patankin and Josh Grobin. I preferred the style of the Mandy Patankin version as it felt more character driver. I felt that instead of using perfect technique, it would be better to apply emotion and feeling to the song. I tried to put myself in the position of the character. I used the music as a base emotion, that I am having all these racing feelings I am trying my best to express them. Over the course of the term I have definitely improved my understanding of the song. With more time and practice, I feel I could perform this song to a higher level. Unlike other songs, I also had little to no support in regards to learning, but I felt I needed to just get to grips with the music and apply character and emotion. I have also come to realise that I can be a bit like George. Absorbed into my work, ANALytical and frustrated by other peoples inability to see my vision, whilst I frantically attempt to express myself.
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