Customer Reviews

The Light in the Piazza: 2005 Tony Award Winner for 6 Awards, including Best Original Score (Music)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Ignore the stars, which I had to put in. This is a public service announcement, not a real review.

There are two books of The Light in the Piazza by Lucas and Guettel. One is the book and lyrics, the other the piano songbook. Amazon has mistakenly put customer reviews of the piano songbook on the webpage of both books.

Therefore, WARNING! All the reviews for the TCG edition of the BOOK AND LYRICS to The Light in the Piazza are actually reviews of the songbook with THE MUSIC AND LYRICS ONLY. Don't order the book published by TCG if you want the piano songbook; don't order the edition published by Leonard if you want to read Craig Lucas's fine script.

Get it together, Amazon!

This is truly one of the most Brilliant scores to come out of Broadway in the past 10 years. The Vocal selection book includes all the necessary numbers, and we will most likely be hearing them at audition after audition.

In response to previous reviews: The book includes two versions of the song: "The Light in the Piazza." It includes a Vocal Selection version in the key of C, with the vocal line in the piano reduction, and a "Performance edition" in the back in the key of D with the original piano accompaniment from the score. The editors clearly knew that there would be a high demand for the title song in recitals and elsewhere, so they included two versions.

Vocal selections traditionally include a piano reduction of the score that includes the vocal melody, and chord symbols above the staff. What's curious about this book is that while it includes a traditional reduction, no chord symbols are included. Singers who are looking for the original piano accompaniment of songs should seek out what's called a Vocal or Piano/Conductor Score. The difference, however, is minimal. In the hands of a capable pianist, either Scores or Selections will work just fine. In addition, Vocal Selections are usually more helpful than Vocal Scores when seeking music for auditions as the simplified piano parts are easier for pianists to sight-read.

Adam Guettel's latest masterwork, The Light in the Piazza, has graced the Broadway stage since April 2005. Now, we can all enjoy the love songs that have made audiences swoon in our homes and our local stages. These vocal selections were wonderfully chosen from a gorgeous score. Ten of the best pieces from the Tony Winning Best Original Score made the cut including:

The Beauty Is
Fable
Love to Me
The Light in the Piazza

As a very balanced selection, this book includes challenging songs for both experienced men and women to perform. The songs remain in their original difficult keys, like the composer intended. Not only is the score vocally taxing, the music will not be easy for beginning pianists. However, many subtle nuances including the beautiful harp-like arpeggios are maintained for a very full sound on the piano.

Songs like Fable benefited from this fleshed-out adaptation because of its many intricate harmonic under workings. Like most Hal Leonard publications, the music is very clean and easy to read, but it also moves the vocal line into the accompaniment. This is both a pro and con. For singers who wanted only an accompaniment, this is not it. Yet, for pianists who yearned for a solo performance piece or singers who don't mind a light vocal line, this book is fantastic.

The book finishes with a Performance Edition of the title song. With these added flourishes, this song sounds as enchanting as it does at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. It would have been nice, though, if all the songs in this book received the same treatment as this song.

Even with that minor quibble, these Vocal Selections are an absolute joy to have and perform. From The Beauty Is's bouncing vitality to the simple harmonies of Love to Me, this book includes the best of Guettel's award winning work. The book also includes Notes on the show, Guettel's biography, and several pages of full-color pictures that detail the talented Original Broadway Cast. Go see it on Broadway, buy the Cast Recording, and then purchase this book. Adam Guettel in the Light for American musical theatre and he shines in The Light in the Piazza.

The simplified arrangements in this book gut the harmonic resonance of almost all the songs. Numbers like "Dividing Day" and "The Beauty Is" are very nearly unrecognizable.

Thank you for the performance edition of "Light in the Piazza," now please,

release the Vocal Score, Mr. Guettel.

As the other reviewers correctly point out, the vocal line is included in the arrangement, which is a problem for those looking to accompany a singer. However, for those who just want to play this stunning music on the piano, this is a terrific book that deserves 5 stars. Guettel's music is enormously complex, both rythmically and harmonically, and the transcriptions capture most of this. It's certainly not a breeze to play, but the effort is worth the reward.

This book is exquisitely faithful to the original score. If you have not yet heard the Light in the Piazza, go buy the soundtrack and get this book if you're a piano player. The music from this production truly captures the beauty and romance of Italy and the lyrics give heart to a simple story of love and loss. I'm 18 and I've played piano my whole life and I find a few of these pieces challenging, if you are a beginner you won't be able to play this. A novice will have to work at them, and a more advanced player will still have some rhythms to work out. Overall a perfect addition to a lover of music's library.

Reiterating Daniel F. Pinkerton "danpink", THIS IS NOT THE PIANO-REDUCTION SONGBOOK. This is only the libretto, dialogue only, NO MUSIC.

I didn't catch danpink's proviso in the midst of these other reviews, and have spent money on a book which isn't what I wanted.

The American musical in the past few years has often been
of the "jukebox" type(Mama Mia, Good Vibrations)or
featured music that hearkens back to a particular period (Hairspray)
or verges on contemporary pop. There is a lot of
tongue-in cheek out there (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
Urinetown), and much of it is excellently crafted.
What has often been lacking are
musicals where genuine emotion is allowed to be expressed,
with all the risks that that entails, by a composer with a definitive sound of his/her own.

The Light in the Piazza is an admirable attempt to craft
a musical where the scenes and songs aren't drawn from a
pool of pre-packaged emotions. And Adam Guettel's 'sound'
blows like a fresh breeze. His simple yet subtle lyrics
allow the characters to display themselves as individuals,
not stereotypes. His harmonic and formal choices,
characterized respectively by comparatively
frequent modulations and subtle departures from strict
AABA convention, allow melodies to soar and sweep in
a manner that never sounds old-fashioned, only human.

This CD is worth buying for listeners interested in hearing
the sound of a composer/lyricist whose range encompases both
gravity and levity; who is willing to let characters express
themselves and reveal their weaknesses and vulnerabilities
without being subjected to the composer's superior oversight.

Oh my gosh, half my through I just wanted to scream
" I don't care just get me out of here"