Good morning!
I'm going to try not to ramble since I don't want to end up running late again today, but I do want to post before I head in for the matinee...
DR Jed - I'm actually a fan of
Children of Eden. Yes, the show and score is far from perfect, but there are some nice moments. The success of the show lies in the director's concept and staging - otherwise, it can be a long evening in the theatre. And there is that inherent problem in knowing how the story ends, no surprise for the audience, so... BUT I do have to say that
1776 still keeps me in suspense - now that's a great book!
Musically, as long as you have good voices, you'll be fine. And, as I've discovered with many a Stephen Schwartz score, the more high tenors you have, the better. His pop sound depends a lot on the "at the top of their range" tension. When I finally did Godspell a few years ago, I found that that was the secret to the voicings - and other "sources" confirmed that for me. (However,
The Baker's Wife choral writing is pretty standard. *And I'm one of those in the minority who loves that score - and the book, warts and all.)
And depending upon how large your ensemble is, it actually helps them not to develop such a refined "blend" - and we ain't talkin' french roast here. That extra "shimmer" helps to fill out the sound... at least in my experience. -Again, back to my
Godspell experience - when you have one person per part in 10 part harmony, hearing 10 individual voices instead of one chorus, really made a big - and wonderful - difference for me.
If you can get a hold of the original London recording, I'd say go for it. But, beware, if you listen to it, you'll probably lament - like myself and others - some of the changes they made when it crossed the pond. There are some numbers in the London version that are not only better songs, but also work better than their "American" equivalents.
The US cast recording is from the Papermill Playhouse production. 2 discs. And over-produced... again, in my humble opinion.
-And I've worked with the conductor/arranger/producer... It does come across as very slick, and techno-ey. And the keyboards are really highlighted in the orchestration - which is not a good thing. However, it is nice to have, more or less, the complete score as it stands now on record, and I do give it a good listen regularly.
I, too, will be venturing into
Eden this spring. I'll be the assistant music director/conductor for the upcoming production at Ford's Theatre in DC. We start mid-March and run until mid-June. Nice long run. And I love working at Ford's not only for the sense of history that surrounds you, but also for the backstage "family" there - great staff, always welcoming.
-In any case, maybe we can compare notes.. literally and figuratively.
*Oh, and for our pit at Ford's, we'll be using: two keyboards, one double reed player (doubling on oboe and English horn), french horn, cello and percussion. There may be a trumpet or guitar player I'm leaving out, but I'm looking forward to all that "color" that the double reeds, french horn and cello will be providing.
