Continued Explorations: Music and the Fictive Dream - The Sound of Music


 The Sound of Music is a musical film from 1965 starring Julie Andrews (Wikipedia). The film follows Andrews as she transitions from living as a Nun in an Abbey to being the Governess of a retired Austrian Naval officer's children. The children are raised in a very strict household as if they themselves are in the navy. Maria (Andrews) brings music into the home which eventually softens the soul of the retired Naval officer George Von Trapp.

The film is based on the true memoirs of Maria Von Trapp and was originally a German film, then an American Broadway musical, and eventually became an American film. The film's music was composed by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II (Wikipedia). Rodgers and Hammerstein were a successful duo who composed the music for films such as Oklahoma!, The King and I, and The Sound of Music (rodgersandhammerstein.com).

The song from the film that to me is one of the most fun to listen to and watch is The Lonely Goatherd. The song is performed by Maria (Andrews) and the children as a marionette show and features yodeling. The song was composed and written by Rodgers and Hammerstein. The puppetry in the film was actually performed by famous puppeteers Bill Baird and Cora Eisenberg (Wikipedia).  

  


The lyrics tell a story of a lonely goatherd (goat herder) and how his yodeling is heard by a young girl who yodels back to him. Her mother then hears and thinks they will be a good pair. The music features yodeling as well as harmonization between Maria and the Children. Julie Andrews later performed this same piece with The Muppets, so it is safe to assume it was received well at the time of release. In 2006 Gwen Stefani sampled it in her song Wind it Up on her album "The Sweet Escape" (Wikipedia). Yodelling was a popular form of singing in the Austrian Alps, but the real Maria von Trapp felt the movie's yodelling was not authentic (wikipedia). Yodelling is when you quickly change pitch from your chest voice to your head voice (falsetto). The song is fun and tells an enjoyable story which makes it easy to listen to. I remember being young and watching this film over and over and always loved it when this scene came on because not only is the music and yodeling entertaining but the marionette show is great as well. 

References:

“Rodgers & Hammerstein | the Official Website.” Rodgers & Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hammerstein | The Official Website (rodgersandhammerstein.com).


“The Lonely Goatherd.” Wikipedia, 10 May 2021, The Lonely Goatherd - Wikipedia. Accessed 21 July 2021.

“The Sound of Music (Soundtrack).” Wikipedia, 9 July 2021, The Sound of Music (soundtrack) - Wikipedia. Accessed 21 July 2021.

Wikipedia Contributors. “The Sound of Music (Film).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Mar. 2019, The Sound of Music (film) - Wikipedia.






Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 21, 2021 at 9:38 PM

    I have never seen this play or movie, I really like the story behind it though! It's one of those empowering movies where people say no to something but there's one person who has a different perspective and wants to change it. Music can make a huge change.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anya KurzbardJuly 21, 2021 at 9:59 PM

    I agree that it is very entertaining to watch and a great combination of talented performers. Just listening to the song is exhausting, you can really hear the energy and effort she put into her singing. Speaking of which, I found an interesting little clip of Julie Andrews learning how to yodel from Maria Von Trapp herself. It's interesting to see how they interact, you can watch it here https://youtu.be/g6j376yOlm4

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownAugust 2, 2021 at 6:33 PM

    I wasn't aware that The Sound of Music was a German film first. I wonder if one is still able to view the original version ??? Moving on, your analysis was wonderfully thorough. I thought it was interesting how Gwen Stefani sampled "The Lonely Goatherd" for some of her own music and I never caught on :) Great work !!!

    ReplyDelete

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