One of the books I have in my personal library is Sondheim & Co., 1989 edition , written by Craig Zadan. It's an extraordinary look at the work of Sondheim through interviews with many of the people involved in his works throughout the years, and with the man himself. Sadly, it only encompasses up to Into The Woods, with just a passing mention of the workshop of Assassins. It's out of print now but I highly recommend getting it either from the library or a used bookstore.

Since Sondheim is known for his lyrics, I thought I'd give you a bit on his thoughts of lyric writing. From page 231:

"Obviously, all the principles of writing apply to lyrics. Grace, affinity for words, a feeling for the weight of the words, resonances, and tone. The basic differences between lyric writing and all other forms are two principles which dictate what you have to do as a lyric writer.

First, lyrics exist in time - as opposed to poetry. You can read a poem at your own speed but on the stage, as the lyrics come at you, you hear them only once...The music is a relentless engine and keeps the lyrics going.

Second, lyrics go with music and music is very rich, in my opinion the richest form of art.It's also abstract and does very strange things to your emotions. So not only do you have that going but you also have lights, costumes, scenery, characters, performers. There's a great deal to hear and get. Lyrics therefore have to be underwritten. They have to be very simple in essence. That doesn't mean you can't do convoluted lyrics, but essentially the thought is what counts and you have to stretch out enough so that the listener has a fair chance to get it. Many lyrics suffer from being much too packed.

 I've always thought of lyric writing as a craft rather than an art. It's so small."

Until next time,
MK
 


Comments




Leave a Reply

Sondheim in September is a charity event benefiting The Actors Fund Of Canada