It's taken me some time, but while I've always liked Gilbert & Sullivan, I might just get them now. How the humor in their songs is tied to bathos. The way the chorus swells behind authority figures, repeating and blaring their every banality because that's just what you do. I swear, every time they stand looking dead serious and sing "his sisters and his cousins and his aunts!" it gets funnier.
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Wictorian vit
It's taken me some time, but while I've always liked Gilbert & Sullivan, I might just get them now. How the humor in their songs is tied to bathos. The way the chorus swells behind authority figures, repeating and blaring their every banality because that's just what you do. I swear, every time they stand looking dead serious and sing "his sisters and his cousins and his aunts!" it gets funnier.
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We had records of the D'Oyly Carte company performing the operettas when I was growing up so I learned the words to many of the songs. This one is a great example of how clever Gilbert and Sullivan were and just how observant they were of human behavior - as relevant now as then.
If you can get hold of it there's an excellent movie called Topsy-Turvy about G&S and the making of The Mikado. I have a feeling you might enjoy it too.
The D'Oyly Carte recordings are great, I think. We had The Mikado when I was a kid. Some of their best songwriting, and the company nails it. This video is from Shreveport, Louisiana, and I think they acquit themselves quite well.
Never seen Topsy-Turvy although I've heard of it. In fact I don't think I've seen anything directed by Mike Leigh, which is a little embarrassing to admit since his method of working sounds intriguing. Must do something about that.
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