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    Cell Block Tango Presentation

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    Tom Hepworth
    The Cell Block Tango from the musical Chicago is performed by six murderous women telling the stories of how they committed their crimes through dialogue and song. It features a syncopated tango rhythm throughout in the bassline, with some variations during one character's dialogue where she claims innocence. The piece shifts between F minor, F major, F# minor, and G minor, building tension. Each woman's dialogue is accompanied by softer music that stops for their spoken parts before resuming for the song.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Cell Block Tango Presentation

    Uploaded by

    Tom Hepworth
    1K views10 pages
    The Cell Block Tango from the musical Chicago is performed by six murderous women telling the stories of how they committed their crimes through dialogue and song. It features a syncopated tango rhythm throughout in the bassline, with some variations during one character's dialogue where she claims innocence. The piece shifts between F minor, F major, F# minor, and G minor, building tension. Each woman's dialogue is accompanied by softer music that stops for their spoken parts before resuming for the song.

    Original Description:

    A short presentation about the song "Cell Block Tango" from the musical "CHICAGO"

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    © © All Rights Reserved

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    The Cell Block Tango from the musical Chicago is performed by six murderous women telling the stories of how they committed their crimes through dialogue and song. It features a syncopated tango rhythm throughout in the bassline, with some variations during one character's dialogue where she claims innocence. The piece shifts between F minor, F major, F# minor, and G minor, building tension. Each woman's dialogue is accompanied by softer music that stops for their spoken parts before resuming for the song.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    1K views10 pages

    Cell Block Tango Presentation

    Uploaded by

    Tom Hepworth
    The Cell Block Tango from the musical Chicago is performed by six murderous women telling the stories of how they committed their crimes through dialogue and song. It features a syncopated tango rhythm throughout in the bassline, with some variations during one character's dialogue where she claims innocence. The piece shifts between F minor, F major, F# minor, and G minor, building tension. Each woman's dialogue is accompanied by softer music that stops for their spoken parts before resuming for the song.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    of 10

    Chicago Cell Block Tango

    Context of the Cell Block Tango

    The Tango has its roots in African and European music.

    The above pattern is a key rhythmic feature of many


    Latin American dances. Accents on the weak beat give
    the rhythm its syncopation

    The song is performed entirely by murderous women,


    which is ironic because the tango is danced traditionally
    by men. This make the women seem more aggressive.

    Melody

    Piece begins with a spoken word by each woman which


    relates to the verse that they sing.
    Melody is fairly conjunct, and moves in steps apart from
    occasional jumps on phrases such as seen it (bar 37)
    The only distinct change in mood in the piece comes
    during Hunyaks dialogue, as she claims shes innocent
    whereas the rest of the women almost seem proud of
    their murderous ways! During this section the strong
    tango rhythm found throughout the rest of the song is
    absent, which shows how she differs from the other
    women.

    Rhythm

    The rhythm is very similar throughout, and a strong tango


    rhythm is present in the bass at all times apart from
    Hunyaks dialogue.
    The avoidance of the beginning of phrases on the first
    beat of the bar adds to the syncopated feel.
    Crotched triplets create a cross rhythm and help certain
    lyrics stand out.
    Rhythmic augmentation after Hunyak, slower harmonic
    pace allows for reflection on whether she is actually guilty
    or not.

    Harmony

    Begins in F minor
    Moves to F major in bar 22.
    F# minor in bar 60 (with a small section of F major
    within)
    G minor in bar 165.
    This harmonic shift upwards in semitones adds to the
    building of tension throughout the song.

    Structure

    Opens with a clave rhythm with each murderess repeating


    their word that links to their story, this originally takes 6
    bars, then 4, then just two bars, this is diminution.
    All murderesses tell their story above music, rather than
    vamping, the music stops where it is written and the
    dialogue continues above until the spoken cue for it to be
    brought back in.
    The song has two possible endings, the film style (Boo )
    repeats the introductory 6 bars until it fades out. The
    stage ending features the women singing in unison
    accompanied by a Latin style fanfare. The song ends with
    a button on the the tonic note, G.

    Relationship between voices and


    accompaniment

    Accompaniment highlights tango rhythm


    Helps to highlight points at the end of phrases with
    sudden, staccato chords.
    Very similar accompaniment throughout, as previously
    mentioned there is no tango rhythm and reduced
    instrumentation during Hunyaks dialogue.

    Dynamics and Texture

    Choruses are ff
    Ensemble sings p during dialogue as backing, and pp after
    Hunyaks dialogue, stark contrast, ff at ending.
    Melody and accompaniment.
    Some polyphonic qualities bar 157-173.

    Character development

    The song provides a backstory for all of the principal


    characters in jail, showcases the dark and twisted humour
    of the inmates, in contrast to Roxy.
    All characters try to blame the murders on the men,
    despite making it obvious that they killed them, denial?
    Are they suppressing their guilt through aggressiveness?

    Instrumentation

    Drum kit
    Auxiliary percussion (claves, tambourine, cymbals)
    Strings, double bass
    Brass Section Trumpet, trombones, horns, adds to latin
    feel.
    Saxophones
    Mandolin
    Oboe

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