"Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables. Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg.
It is the French Revolution, and a group of students have just built a barricade. The group of student revolutionaries defy an army warning that they must give up or die. As they are spending the night on the barricade, Valjean prays to God to save Marius from the onslaught that is to come.
I noticed tonight that it takes me longer to decide which piece I am going to write about than it does for me to actually write about it. I just like too many musical theatre pieces! Anyway, I think that this is one of the most moving songs in Les Miserables. It is just such a sincere plea from Valjean to God to save Marius. There are many musical elements that cause the song to be so moving and emotional.
The song begins very softly, with arpeggiated chords being played on the piano and violins playing a variation of the melody in a high register. When he begins to sing, there is a formatta on a rest, so he enters acapella. The vocal line begins with an octave jump which is done in falsetto as he sings, "God on high, hear my prayer." When the accompaniment joins back in, it is mostly arpeggiated chords on the piano, and strings echoing the melody. At all of the entrances of the vocal line, there are formattas over the rests. The accompaniment is played in a rubato style. The combination of the voice entering alone and the rubato style creates a very improvsational feeling, as if he really is offering this prayer up on the spot.
The dynamics are fabulous because every phrase builds from piano and falsetto to belting and mf to f. It is as if he is becoming so passionate about saving Marius, that after every phrase he needs to calm himself down and keep his emotions in check. At the bridge, it is forte the whole entire time, and he belts out some "money notes". But, at the end of the bridge, the return of the A section brings back the piano, accapella, and falsetto entrances. This great build and climax just to return the the hushed dynamic where we started is incredibly moving and passionate.
The song ends with him repeating the words "Bring Him Home" three times. The first two times, the notes are do la ti, and then the big finish is do mi mi. If I remember correctly from when I did the show, the last note is an a. He sings it pp and falsetto for 12 counts as the orchestra plays arpeggiated chords underneath him. It is beautiful. There is nothing technically demanding in this piece other than the extremely high vocal line that requires a male with a strong falsetto. However, the simplicity and the raw emotion of the piece create an honesty that makes it extremely moving.
How I love Les Miserables!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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5 comments:
Probably noone will read this comment since the post was posted like 3 years ago. Still I feel urged to write that I believe this is the most difficult piece to sing that I have ever heard in a musical. Technically that is.
Those high notes are not really sung in falsetto (it's not supposed to be but I guess some uses it in this song) but it's a very mellow head-voice. I know some people would say head-voice is the same as falsetto but in this specific case the difference is too big to ignore. Last note (the A) is sung in a falsetto though because it's too high for a mellow mix and slo because your not forced to mix with your chest voice after the note.
Colm Wilkinsons rendition of this is the best one I have heard but I don't believe it's perfect. I actually don't believe there is someone that has both the emotional range and the vocal range to do this song absolutely perfect. Colm is near though :).
omg ty so much because today at 5:30 i have to sing this song to be able to get in into the play i just wanted to know some of the songs hystory for real facial emotions ty ty ty
My wife and I have heard this performance on TV a couple of times and neither of us thought the A (or A flat, not sure) was sung in the falsetto--on the contrary it sounds as though the singer was in control, and using that to convey the full meaning of the words. We thought it was a magnificent performance of a most moving piece.
e-f#-f#
It's 8 years later, but I just stumbled across this and would like to correct your first phrase - Les Mis does not take place during the French Revolution. It opens in 1815 and the battles involved are the Paris Uprising of 1832 . The French Revolution was 1789-1799.
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