"Freely Flows the Blood of Those Who Moralize": Morality and Violence in the Theatrical, Character, and Musical Elements of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd

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dc.contributor.advisorKoozin, Timothy
dc.contributor.committeeMemberPollack, Howard
dc.contributor.committeeMemberShimko, Robert B.
dc.creatorYanaway, Amy Gabrielle
dc.date.accessioned2015-08-28T18:45:10Z
dc.date.available2015-08-28T18:45:10Z
dc.date.createdAugust 2015
dc.date.issued2015-08
dc.date.updated2015-08-28T18:45:10Z
dc.description.abstractThis thesis delves into the background of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street to provide a good foundation on which to base a musical analysis. The first chapter describes the theatrical genres that have influenced Sweeney Todd, namely the nineteenth-century melodrama and the plays of the Theatre of the Grand Guignol in Paris. The second chapter follows the history and evolution of Sweeney’s character and motivations through his story’s many adaptations. The third and final chapter – the focus of this thesis – reviews a few existing analyses of the music of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, but more importantly, offers original Schenkerian-based analyses of two songs that represent turning points in the drama, the “Epiphany” scene and “Johanna – Act II Sequence.” These analyses highlight the psychological progression of Sweeney’s character as the musical progresses and discuss whether the music works to support or undermine Sweeney’s words and actions.
dc.description.departmentMusic, Moores School of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10657/1150
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectMusic theory
dc.subjectMusic
dc.subjectTodd, Sweeney
dc.subjectSondheim
dc.subjectSchenkerian analysis
dc.subject.lcshMusic
dc.title"Freely Flows the Blood of Those Who Moralize": Morality and Violence in the Theatrical, Character, and Musical Elements of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
thesis.degree.departmentMusic, Moores School of
thesis.degree.disciplineMusic
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Music

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