Best Orchestrations?

[dramarama2]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 7:39am

This is probably by far the least talked about Nomination, so I, being very passionate about music, thought that I'd be the one to start the thread.

BEST ORCHESTRATIONS
Bruce Coughlin, Grey Gardens
Duncan Sheik, Spring Awakening
Jonathan Tunick, LoveMusik
Jonathan Tunick, 110 in the Shade

This one is hard. How do you define a good orchestration?

What sounds best?

Well, if that's the case then I'm going for either Grey Gardens or LoveMusik.

What does everyone else think?

[DirtyRottenGirl]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 9:44am

I really like the Spring Awakening orchestrations. If you listen to the cd and just listen to the orchestrations they are gorgeous.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 9:59am

I agree, DirtyRottenGirl. Those strings at the beginning of "Mama Who Bore Me" are breathtaking and blow me away every time I see the show. Sheik's orchestrations really work to accent his score. This is why I believe that the music in a show will always sound the best if the composer also arranges the orchestrations. Well done, Mr. Sheik.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 10:03am

I really like some of the orchestrations that have been changed since the CD was made.

A favorite is the bongo drums thing at the end of Mama Who Bore Me (reprise) and Those You've Known.

[SondheimFan2]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 12:05pm

i'd like to see grey gardens win, i LOVE the clarinet prominence throughout and the harp during "toyland"

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 12:07pm

Sondheimfan, Toyland was cut from Grey Gardens when it moved to Broadway.

[ljay889]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 12:10pm

Gardens deserves it.

[Josh Freilich]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 12:11pm

I'm really rooting for "Spring Awakening" because it sounds so beautiful.

[SondheimFan2]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 12:15pm

wonderfulwizard, that's too bad they cut toyland, i haven't seen it since it moved to broadway. was it just cut or did they put something in its place?

[LuPonatic]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 12:22pm

I wasn't that impressed by any of them. Sometime they jump out at me, but none of these four. I guess Grey Gardens, if I had to pick one

[vmlinnie]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 1:14pm

I was quite surprised by this one. I think the best thing about the music in Mary Poppins were the Orchestrations. I would have given MP a nom for Orchestrations.

[jg4892]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 1:18pm

I loved Grey Garden's, and would like to see that win. I also really liked the way Spring combined violins and then guitars and drums in their songs, it's really beautiful. I'd be happy with either.

[Switz78]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 1:42pm

Pirate Queen should have been nominated for Best Orchestrations the music is beautiful. It's a shame the Tony noms were so political this year.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 1:44pm

Political? Hardly. But we won't get into the "why wasn't Pirate Queen nominated" debate, again.

I'd give it to LoveMusik, which has the perfect German/Weill-esque sound.

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 1:50pm

MARY-MITCHELL CAMPBELL Oh, wait. Not nominated.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 1:52pm

Sondheimfan, Toyland was replaced with The Girl Who Has Everything, which also is heard at the end of the show. It's on the OBCR if you want to hear it.

[WiiCKED x3]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 2:05pm

"A favorite is the bongo drums thing at the end of Mama Who Bore Me (reprise) and Those You've Known."

^I live for those bongo drums in Those You've Known.

[MusicalMo]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 2:10pm

I think out of the shows/orchestrators nominated, I would like to see the award go to Grey Gardens/Bruce Coughlin. While I do think that Spring Awakening has some nice moments in the orchestration, the problem is that Duncan Sheik didn't do alot of what you guys think is cool. If you look closely in the program or liner notes on the album, you will see a man named Simon Hale who did the orchestrations (strings). Why should the award be given to someone who didn't really do the work? The producers could have solved the problem early on and put both of their names (like Movin' Out, with Billy Joel and Stuart Malina, for example.) Just my two cents. The Tony should be an award for Excellence, remember.

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 2:29pm

I wish the Tony Awards had this category back in the Golden Age. If so then the names Robert Russell Bennett, Philip J. Lang, and Don Walker would have been on every Tony Nominations List. Between the three of them they orchestrated virtually all of the musicals from the Golden Age, flops and hits alike. Sid Ramin and Robert Ginzler also orchestrated some of the shows from that era (GYPSY, WILDCAT). It was unheard of for the composer to also orchestrate his show, probably because of time constraints during tryouts; even Leonard Bernstein had help from Sid Ramin on WEST SIDE STORY. These orchestrators deserved recognition. They had such an input on the sound of a Broadway musical. When you play the old shows on your stereo enjoy the typically brassy orchestrations of Lang, Walker, Ginzler and Ramin and the sumptuous string scoring of Bennett.In my opinion, one of these orchestrators could make a flop sound great on CD.

The Tony Awards started in 1947. Two years later in 1949 they had a category for Best Conductor and Musical Director which lasted until 1964, after which they dropped the catgory for some reason. That is too bad: the conductor-musical director typically arranged the vocals for the principals and the singing chorus as well as conducting the pit orchestra every night, an important but un-heralded job. There were a handful of pit conductors that typically worked with specific composers: Lehman Engel with Harold Rome, Milton Rosenstock with Jule Styne, Salvatore Dell'Isola with Richard Rodgers, Herbert Greene with Meredith Willson. Today's outstanding orchestrator seems to be Jonathan Tunick, while excellent pit conductors include Paul Gemignani working with Stephen Sondheim among others, and Eric Stern.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 2:33pm

Poor Julian Kelley.

[bwaygal1]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 4:03pm

In my heart, I say Grey Gardens deserves it. The music is what got me hooked in the first place and the lovely orchestrations are deserving.

My head says SA will win. (only songs that really have beautiful 'orchestrations' are "Whispering" and "Mama Who Bore Me")
Don't see much else I'd even listen to from that.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 4:11pm

Anyone saying SPRING AWAKENING clearly hasn't seen or heard LOVEMUSIK.

The orchestrations are untouched this year. One of Tunick's greatest achievements. They will and they SHOULD win the Tony.

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 5/20/07 at 4:21pm

I think Spring Awakening will get this one, and the actual string orchestrator will hopefully at least get a box of chocolates or something.

I love the Grey Gardens score but those orchestrations drive me up the wall. They're about as subtle as a jackhammer outside your window at 6:00 am, with at least three harp glisses per minute on average. Part of the problem is that so much of the GG orchestration is on synthesizer, thus many of the harp glisses are triggered samples that don't always breathe and fit in the way a real harpist would.

Here's one case where I would love to get a "complete symphonic recording". I suppose Bryan's "Good Vibrations" OBC is more likely.