Specificity of vocal interpretation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s works

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PVNZ «Kyiv University of Culture»

Specificity of vocal interpretation of andrew lloyd webber's works

Sinenko O.O.

Introduction

Andrew Lloyd Webber is a leading composer who made a great contribution to the development of popular and academic music. The specificity of the artist's individual style is connected with bright melodism, the ability to create themes that are easy to remember. In the composer's creative method, one can distinguish signs of turning to stylistic diversity. These features are most clearly present in his musicals and rock operas, which occupy a prominent place in his work. The vocal interpretation of his compositions requires an awareness of the origins of his work and an understanding of stylistic dominants. Often numbers from his musical and theatrical works became real hits and received extraordinary interpretations. It is appropriate to consider the peculiarities of the vocal interpretation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's works, focusing on highlighting their genre origins, which contributes to a better understanding of the author's intention. This issue has not yet received thorough coverage in scientific thought. At the same time, the determination of stylistic dominants of his work on the example of individual analysis will have not only relevance, but also the practical value of the development, the results of which will be useful for students of higher education in the field of "musical art".

Presenting main material

Outstanding English composer of the 20th century, Andrew Lloyd Webber was born in 1948 and devoted his entire life to musical theater. He is also a producer and public figure. His creative output includes works that are very different in subject matter, musical language, and structure. For the entire time of his fruitful creative activity, he created more than two dozen works for musical theater, music for movies, variations, and requiem. Nowadays, he continues to write music and also organizes various festivals. Yes, since 1976 Lloyd Webber holds an annual festival in Sydmonton, where he presents his new works before putting them in theaters. The composer pays great attention to scenography. The attraction to the creation of technical works played a significant role in the development of the composer's projects. Among the composer's awards are seven "Tony" awards, three "Grammy" awards, seven "Laurence Olivier Awards", "Golden Globe", "Oscar". According to the version of New York Times in 2021 called him "the most commercially successful composer in history" [38].

The creativity of E.L. Webber is distinguished by mastery of a wide range of stylistic directions - in particular, the influence of pop, rock and jazz art on the artist's individual style can be highlighted. After all, even in academic works there is a jazz harmony, and in musicals, features of popular pop trends can be traced. The central place in his legacy is, of course, given to stage genres, in particular musicals. This genre began to attract the attention of representatives of various directions of musical art of the 20th - 21st centuries. "Among the artists who created musicals, there were both professional academic composers and popular performers. The wide possibilities that opened up for the creative imagination of musicians in the musical genre became the basis for a range of genres related to it - these are rock operas and musical films" [27, P. 37]. Such interest was due to the polyfunctionality of this genre, because it can be well modified depending on the needs of the audience. However, the appeal to such a large-scale genre was always an indicator of the composer's creative skill and allowed us to trace how he embodied the idea of the unity of the work and at the expense of which he gave it "life". S. Zadorozhna points out that the modern musical not only inherits the leitmotiv techniques that arose in the opera music of the 19th century, but also very "fruitfully develops them due to combination and further complication" [6, P. 68].

The musical is a genre that has absorbed the features of many stage forms - operetta, musical comedy, variety show, theatrical play. The leading features of the musical are the close interaction of verbal, musical and dance components. A number of researchers of the musical pointed out that the choreographic factor is beginning to acquire a particularly important importance in this genre. A. Komlikova notes that genres such as musicals and rock operas are characterized by the use of choreographic numbers "with specific plasticity, the most diverse techniques of sound design and light effects used in musicals" [11, P. 160]. However, it is often the musical component that plays the leading role in creating the drama of a musical, in emphasizing key ideas. This especially applies to the work of professional composers, because they try to pay as much attention as possible to musical development and dramaturgy with the help of an audio component. "Musicals are characterized by intense action. Vocal and dance scenes should grow directly from the action and develop it, be internally motivated. Therefore, musicals are designed for actors who possess not only a high level of professionalism, but also universal giftedness, that is, the ability to combine various professional skills - singing, dancing, language, facial expressions, plasticity" [8, P. 544].

Among musicals and rock opera Webber can be traced to the great Italian opera, which is embodied in the pompous production of "Phantom of the Opera" and his extremely complex arias and duets [24]. At the same time, among his music and theater genres there is a historical drama - "Evita", an experimental musical without a plot - "Cats" and a rock opera based on a biblical plot "Jesus Christ Superstar". Songs included in musicals are characterized by a combination of classical forms with "hit" content. Many songs from his productions become hits, as the composer is an excellent melodist with a sophisticated sense of style. In most of his songs, we see an organic combination of features of a certain stylistic direction with the author's style of E.L. Webber. "The style of musical creativity is understood as the specificity of the worldview and musical thinking of the individual who creates, which is expressed in the system of musical and speech resources for the creation, interpretation and performance of a musical work" [14, P. 127]. The choice of style depends on the visual characteristics of the character of the musical. Some characteristic songs are characterized by the use of style in its pure form, and others - stylistic synthesis. Modern researcher A. Sakharova noted about this characteristic of the artist's work: "A special genre and stylistic "varieties" are characteristic of the composer's early musicals: "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat", "Cats" and "Starlight Express". Their music is simple and accessible and at the same time quite diverse. The composition is based on easily known genre and style models and clichds of mass music" [19]. It is thanks to the reliance on typical genre models, widespread forms-structures of pop music and characteristic features of the musical language of various stylistic directions of songs by E.L. Webber 's songs are easily perceived by listeners, and some of them become real hits and have many bright interpretations. Many modern musicals use pop vocals, which allow you to target a large listening audience. "In most theatricalized vocal-instrumental forms, pop vocals are used. Such a choice of vocal manner allows expanding the number and volume of the audience" [27, P. 40]. composer academic stylistic

One of Andrew Lloyd's musical, which is not very well analyzed in domestic art history practice, is "Starlight Express". Let's consider the stylistic features of the artist's work on the example of this work. The author of the poems for the musical "Starlight Express" is Richard Stilgoe (born in 1943) - a British poet, screenwriter, TV presenter and musician, public figure and philanthropist [35]. Together with Charles Hart, he is the author of the texts for the musicals of E.L. Webber's "Phantom of the Opera" and "Cats". He also wrote two musicals for schools: Bodywork and Brilliant the Dinosaur. The poet was nominated three times for the Tony Award in 1987 for poems and the script for the musical "Starlight Express", has three Prix Italia and an honorary doctorate. He participated in the play Royal Variety Performance, performed at school proms for over 20 years, toured as a vocalist and with Peter Skellern. R. Stilgoe is actively working nowadays - he writes songs and scripts for children's musicals.

Stilgoe is also known for his charity work and fundraising. In the 1980s, he founded the Alchemy Foundation, which is funded by royalties from American productions of “Starlight Express” and “The Phantom of the Opera”. He is the patron saint of Surrey Care Trust. In the late 1990s, he started the Orpheus Center, which offers performing arts experiences to young people with disabilities. R. Steele gave all royalties as a lyricist for the musical Starlight Express to a village in India. In 2012, Stilgoe was knighted in the Queen's Birthday for his extensive philanthropic work. In 1973, E.L. Webber offered Stilgoe to write music for the animated series "Thomas". He accepted the offer and wrote several tunes, but the project was closed [38].

In 1975, one television company asked Andrew Lloyd-Webber to write music for another cartoon - about Cinderella. This project also remained unfinished, but gave the composer a new idea. In 1982, during a trip to America, Lloyd Webber went with his children - daughter Imogen and son Nicholas - on a walk along the Valley Railroad in southern Connecticut. During this walk, he had the idea to combine the story of the steam train with the story of Cinderella. At first it looked like this: Cinderella is a poor little locomotive, her two evil sisters are a diesel and an electric locomotive, and the good fairy is the Northern Express. And then the locomotive loses its piston, and some prince begins to search all over America for the one that this piston will fit. Later, the plot was changed, but the beginning was made. Richard Stilgoe, who helped adapt TS Eliot's lyrics to the musical Cats, was invited to write the lyrics.

In the summer of 1982, a screening of the written material took place at a festival in Sydmonton. Among the guests of the festival was Trevor Nunn, who put "Cats" E.L. Webber. Nunn liked the work of Webber and Stilgoe and agreed to direct the new musical. The director came up with a brilliant idea - to put the actors on the rollers and include exciting racing scenes in the play. Trevor Nunn insisted that the theme of the competition should become the main one, and the musical material should be more popular. John Napier was invited to work - a decorative artist who also worked with Lloyd Webber on "Cats", he was to create a railway world. Making these decorations required considerable effort and resources; the theater cost Ј1,400,000 to build, while the entire production budget was Ј2 million, a record sum for a musical production at the time. David Hersey, another member of the star team of "Cats", invented fantastic lighting. Arlene acted as the choreographer Phillips, at that time - the leader of a well- known dance rock band Hot Gossip. But the most important thing was to find actors who were equally good at skating and singing, which in itself was not an easy task.

The premiere of "Starlight Express" took place on March 27, 1984 at the Apollo Victoria Theater in London. The show has achieved international success thanks to productions on Broadway, in Las Vegas, Japan, Australia, a tour of North America and in Germany, over the years of its existence, it has been viewed by more than 16 million people. The musical is one of the most performed in the world. It lasted 7,461 performances, which is a record in the history of this genre. The highest polarity Starlight Express was received in Germany, where in Bochum, in the Starlighthalle specially built for it; it has been running for 29 years [37]. The synthesis of spectacle, music and drama is the key to the success of a musical among a mass audience. In a musical, one of the main places belongs to the play, that is, to the literary material. With the development of musical comedy, the rapprochement of music with the plot became increasingly apparent, which served as fertile ground for the emergence of modern musical drama [4].

Musically, “Starlight Express” is a series of parodies of various styles of American music, from blues, country and gospel to rap and rock and roll. Also, Lloyd Webber pokes fun at pop culture idols: Greaseball - this is Elvis Presley and Electra - a veiled parody of Michael Jackson. In particular, in most of Andrew Lloyd's musicals used leitmotifs to indicate the feelings of the main characters, life circumstances or fate, etc. "The use of leitmotifs is a characteristic of the specified genre and indicates the borrowing of principles that were characteristic of examples of opera genres. Both the theme itself and its individual characteristics - rhythm, intonation turn, harmony - provide an additional semantic basis for vocal and instrumental numbers" [18, P. 20]. In fact, a leitmotif can be defined as any complex of musical means that realize elements of the plot. The introduction of leitmotifs made it possible to strengthen the connection between the sections of the general form, to give narrative features not only to the verbal, but also to the musical component of the artistic whole. "A large number of leitmotifs allows the listener to orient himself in what is happening on the stage, and the structural diversity ensures the excitement of the musical narrative (which, in fact, is what the listener expects from high-quality popular music)" [6, P. 68]. The specifics of the performance interpretation of Webber's works can be analyzed using the example of the song "Light at the End of the Tunnel”, which is the finale in the musical Starlight Express.

The song "Light at the End of the Tunnel" is a vivid example of a composition in the gospel style. In the musical, this final number is performed by a soloist (steam locomotive Poppa) and a choir (all locomotives and wagons) in the best traditions of black gospel, imitating the preacher's singing and the believers' lines. According to the Ukrainian musicologist V. Symonenko, gospel music can be defined as follows. These are "monophonic spiritual hymns of North American Negroes, which were distributed in the 1930s in large industrial centers of the USA

Gospel topics songs are borrowed from the Gospel. They are performed accompanied by piano, organ, and guitar or without accompaniment. Among the most popular gospel performers songs - Mahelia Jackson, Rosetta Tharp and others. There are also gospel choirs songs" [21, P. 31-32 ].

Gospel genre was formed at the end of the 19th century in white and black Protestant communities in the United States. Throughout the decades of the 20th century, both white and black performance traditions were disseminated through song publications, concerts, recordings, and radio and television broadcasts of religious services. By the end of the century, gospel music had become a popular commercial genre, with performers touring the world. "Black" gospel music emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries alongside ragtime, blues and jazz. However, the progenitors of the tradition in both black and white music of the 19th century, including, in particular, black spirituals, were songs of enslaved people and white hymns.

The roots of black gospel music can be traced back to hymns of the beginning of the 19th century. A Collection of Spiritual Songs and Hymns, Selected from Various Authors (1801), was the first intended for use in black worship. It contained texts written mostly by 18th-century British clergymen, and also included a number of poems by black Americans. However, the volume had no music, allowing the congregation to sing the lyrics to well-known hymn tunes. James Collier noted that "... many Negro songs could be performed under a wide variety of conditions; the same songs sounded on cotton plantations and in churches, in military camps and in shipyards" [10, p. 42]. After the Civil War, black hymns began to include music, but most arrangements used the style of white hymns.

In the last decade of the 19th century, black gospel underwent a stylistic change. Bright and allusive lyrics, much reminiscent of early black spirituals, were applied to tunes composed by white composers. However, the arrangement was adjusted to reflect the feelings of black Americans. Most importantly, syncopated rhythmic patterns were important in the rhythmic side of the hymns, with the use of accents on the second and fourth beats in 4/4 time. This rhythm was usually played by singers and churchgoers.

Arise of Pentecostal churches at the end of the 19th century was the immediate impetus for the development of new, energetic black gospel music . The shouts of the Pentecostals, speaking in other languages and their dances were of African origin. Recorded sermons by Pentecostal preachers were extremely popular among black Americans in the 1920s, and their recordings, complete with choral and instrumental accompaniment, were preserved so that black gospel eventually reached white audiences. The voice of a black gospel preacher was influenced by black secular performers and vice versa. Pentecostal churches introduced tambourines, pianos, organs, banjos, guitars, other stringed instruments and some brass instruments into their services. Choirs often showcased the extreme registers of the female vocal range in a call-and-response counterpoint to the preacher's sermon. Impromptu recitative phrases, melismatic singing, and a highly expressive shout style of singing also characterize black gospel music. As V. Symonenko notes: "Shaut is a Negro folk ecstatic manner of singing with elements of declamation, characterized by strong passion and excitement" [21, P. 103].

"White" gospel music emerged from the intersection of various European and American musical traditions, including Protestant Christian hymns, spirituals, and a variety of popular styles. This musical combination has given rise to a form which, despite many changes, has retained some distinctive qualities. Gospel music is generally based on a strophic form with a refrain, and its verbal lyrics usually reflect personal religious experience and emphasize the importance of salvation. Most of the repertoire is composed in a major key and laid out in a four-part harmonic texture with a melody in the upper voice. The first gospel hymns had a relatively simple rhythmic and harmonic structure using the classical triad of major tonality chords - I, IV and V degrees (TSD), but gradually, under the influence of popular music, its rhythmic and harmonic vocabulary expanded. Until the beginning of the 20th century, gospel hymns were generally serious in content, but since the 20s, the music has taken on a more upbeat character. The organ was replaced by a piano, which in turn was joined by other instruments. The vocal component of the music began to go with the lyrics, which had a more positive character. In the 1930s and 40s, country musicians infused their gospel performances with elements of local country traditions, effectively blurring the line between sacred and secular styles.

In the second half of the 20th century, gospel played an important role in the Protestant religious revival, gaining a greater harmonic diversity under the influence of popular styles. In urban areas, popularized gospel music became the basis of many Protestant services. In the rural southern United States, gospel took on a new identity as a type of popular country music, sometimes called country gospel that was both in practice and stylistically a thoroughly secular tradition. It should be noted that in Ukraine, white gospel became widespread from the end of the 90s of the 20th century in Protestant churches, attracting young people with bright services, in which the musical component played a significant role. Among the songs were many major hit compositions built on the principle of "question-answer", where soloists performed with backing vocals that imitated a traditional gospel choir. The tests of the works were devoted to the theme of service, glorification of the Lord and joyful hopes for eternal life.

So, it is possible to single out a number of features that make it possible to attribute a certain composition to the gospel style: belonging to the genres of vocal music, the leading role of the couplet form, resistance in the verbal text to evangelical plots, the variety of emotional content of the figurative content of the songs (from calm and even sad to fiery and energetic). In this way, a kind of thesaurus is formed, which acts as a semantic constant. "The role of "vocabulary" in the system of musical and speech resources is played by the thesaurus of generalized musical and auditory representations (models) fixed in individual memory" [14, P. 128]. Modern gospel has a fairly simple melody that is easy to remember, it uses the principle of building a "question-answer" melody, the harmony is dominated by chords of major degrees, with the use of diatonic passing inflections. In the melody of the gospel, there is improvisation of the vocalist, which relies on declamation and chanting of supporting tones, it can also have a choir (a choir or backing vocals that act as harmonic support for the soloist, and at some points respond to the soloist's phrases in unison, creating a dialogue) and instrumental accompaniment (piano, electric guitar, bass guitar and drum). When gospel is sung, chain breathing prevails in the choral presentation, and the genre itself became the basis of the soul style.

What features of gospel are there in the composition "Light at the End of the Tunnel”? First of all, if we analyze the verbal text, we can come to the conclusion that the theme of the song corresponds to the range of gospel images and has a symbolic meaning - "light at the end of the tunnel" is a victory in the race (for cars), a meeting with God (for believers) and an appeal to Starlight Express - steam locomotive god. The text, written by Stilgoe, celebrates the power of locomotives, the power of engines, includes a play on words related to the theme of rail travel. Bright metaphors, such as "When the Angel Gabriel blows his magic toot We see the light at the end of the tunnel" emphasize the connection with the theme of gospel songs. The text mentions James Watt, the inventor of the steam engine, whose work started the industrial revolution, first in England and then throughout the world: "Thanks James Watt ( thanks you Mr. Watt ) For watching the pot".

The song contains many optimistic appeals, such as "Full on!", prompting the chorus of locomotives to their typical responses of " Choo-choo-choo", and the very idea of dialogic singing comes from the performance of gospels . The gospel genre was chosen by the composer not by chance. Since the final song should be positive, cheerful and danceable, it should also combine solo and choral singing - a better genre than gospel could not be found. The image of an old locomotive-priest with a low voice (bass-baritone) and a choir of faithful locomotives are multimeaningful - here the playful, humorous and animistic elements are combined.

The song is created in verse form with a bridge and an introduction. As the modern researcher V. Tormakhova notes, "...in pop music, the form ABABCB is used much more often, where A is the chorus, B is the chorus, and C is the bridge" [23, p. 228]. The form of the composition "Light at the End of the Tunnel" is unusual - unlike most songs of this type, it does not start with a song, but with a chorus. Its structure looks like this: Intro А В CB B, where A-chorus, B-chorus, C-bridge.

The tonality of the vocal composition is G major; we should also note the use of a fast tempo in the song. In the sheet music there is a characteristic remark - colla voce, meaning "following the voice." There is a typical arrangement in the gospel style (using the Hammond organ), which tunes to the image of the movement of cars. The timbre of the organ is a stylistic marker of Western European church music. The Hammond organ was designed by Lawrence Hammond in 1935 and was originally an inexpensive alternative to pipe organs. It was small in size, easy to use, and was often called an electronic organ. A characteristic feature of Hammond organs were small levers, with the help of which it was possible to mix different signal forms in different ways. Later models of instruments also had electromechanical vibrato. The Hammond organ found wide popularity in blues, jazz, rock and roll and gospel. In the latter genre, the timbre of this instrument became an integral addition to the voices of the priest, choir and believers, and later became a permanent member of the ensemble of divine services [31].

The composing genius of Andrew Lloyd Webber 's work has shown itself in the fact that he can operate extremely skillfully and freely with various musical genres and styles. The slow introduction (4 measures) begins with a vocal phrase built on a descending octave, which sounds like a locomotive whistle (and is supported by a Hammond organ glissando) and, at the same time, is a characteristic motif that attracts the attention of the audience before the performance begins. V. Tormakhova, analyzing the songs of E.L. Webber, notes about the characteristic features of his language: "Melodies are often built using jumps to wide intervals (octave, nona), cover an extremely wide range and become a real test for the actor-vocalist" [25, P. 380]. In the next two bars, which are the transition from the introduction to the chorus, the tempo gradually becomes faster and the chorus begins at a tempo of "a quarter equals 130 beats per minute", which will be maintained until the end of the song, creating the image of a final race. The first chorus sounds without instrumental accompaniment, the choir members maintain the rhythm only by striking 2nd and 4th notes in the palm of their hands (in 4/4 measure). The whole ensemble enters only in 1 song. At first, the soloist's singing is accompanied by a rhythm section (drum set, tambourine, bass guitar, guitar, Hammond organ) and a choir. Gradually, with each new section of the song, more and more instruments appear. So, in the second chorus, the vocal and choral parts are accompanied by a piano, saxophones are added in the bridge, and brass instruments are also added in the next chorus.

A characteristic feature of the song is the modulation of the last two choruses: the penultimate chorus sounds a second higher - in the key of As - dur, and the last one - another half-tone higher - in A - dur. The song ends in this key. Thanks to these modulations, the composition acquires a brighter character - because the idea of seeing rather "light at the end of the tunnel" is supported, which is demonstrated on several levels: verbal (repetition of the key phrase), raising the melody to a higher register, adding various orchestral groups with bright counterpoints and imitations, and the use of the soloist's improvisation against the background of the choir performing the last chorus. This technique of modulations, made according to the type of comparison of tonalities, for the development of the material in a pop song is repeatedly used by the composer in the songs of musicals. A similar method can be found in the structure of a duet Ghost and Christine in the rock opera by E.L. Webber 's "Phantom of the Opera", where the climax is achieved with modulations at the end of the duet. "It is the artistic language of the musical as a stage genre, synthesizing both classics and pop, and the figurative vocabulary of related arts, that meets the needs of the broad audience, realizes their desire for hedonism and relaxation" [7, P. 266].

The melody "Light at The End of the Tunnel" was written in the best traditions of the gospel genre. In the chorus, the composer creates a hook - the melody is built on the initial motif, which is remembered from the first time. Ukrainian researcher V. Tormakhova claims that the chorus is characterized by the selection of "one intonation-bright motive with its repeated repetition" [22, P. 188]. The chorus begins with an energetic ascending motif built on the chanting of a diminished triad , the second motif is a variant variation of the first, the next is a major modified variant of the shortened second motif, which sounds like a "question", the "answer" to which the next motif will be. In this way, two sentences are formed that make up the chorus.

The choral basis of the composition is the major and minor pentatonic alternating in the adjacent phrases, the minor underlines the words "light at the end of the tunnel" and "inside it can be as dark as the night", and the major underlines the end of the chorus "but there is light at the end of the tunnel". The chant is built on two-beat contrasting phrases that reproduce the principle of responsorial singing, in some of them the chant type of melody that moves up through thirds with the chanting of stable steps prevails, and in others - a declarative type of melody with downward jumps at the end of the phrases. The harmonic sequence of the song is built on tonal ratios typical for the blues: first, fluctuations of the tonic and subdominant (G7 - C 7- G 7- C 7), harmonic inversions of II-VI, and then movement from the tonic by semitones down to the dominant with a solution in tonic (which is characteristic of songs from musicals).

V. Tormakhova draws attention to this principle: "The composer's style is characterized by the predominance of tonal harmonic language, which is felt in the most "hit" episodes. However, there is a harmonic acuity in the dramatic climaxes, when the influence of modern academic music becomes palpable. Ways of achieving harmonic originality are manifested in the creation of unexpected juxtapositions of choral verticals that interrupt the course of standard sequences" [25, P. 380]. Such unexpected in the song "Light at the End of the Tunnel» is tonal comparisons. This technique is not typical for pop songs, but it is used by E.L. Webber to dynamize the form of his "hit" compositions.

History of performances of the song "Light at the End of the Tunnel" consists mainly of performances of musicals by various troupes, as the song includes the singing of soloists and a choir. Among her most notable performance versions are the following, in which the main roles were played by:

* Lon Sutton, P.P. Arnold and others. American singer and actor Lon Sutton [33], who lives in Britain, became famous thanks to the role of Ramblin Poppa McCoy in the musical " Starlight Express", in the productions of which he played from the very beginning in 1984 and until 1996. The performance earned him a nomination for the L. Olivier Award for the best male role in a musical.

Richie Havens, an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, performed two songs from the musical in 1987.

British singers and actors Carl Wayne, Fiona Handley, Jess Conrad, Paul Jones and Stephanie Lawrence recorded cover versions of songs from musicals by E.L. Webber.

The role of Poppy was also performed by Ray Shell - an American film, television and theater actor, singer, writer, director and producer [34].

In the German productions, the performers were Trevor Michael George and David Michael Johnson.

One of the most recent original interpretations of the song is by American singer, songwriter and actor Gregory Porter, recorded in 2018.

V. Moskalenko notes that it is important for the interpreterresearcher to identify stylistic differences in the products of individual musical creativity (musical works), certain stylistic trends, periods in the history of music, etc., through comparison. Actors' interpretations of musicals have common features: in their performance, the dramatic element prevails, and the vocal remains in the background. Many of them tried to imitate the first performance, choosing it as a reference. "The interpretation of pop songs usually arises as a reaction to a bright composition that is fashionable for a short period of time. The emergence of versions can be a kind of tribute to the creativity of a particular performer with the aim of honoring him" [26, P. 35].

When the American singer and actor Lon Sutton first performed the song "Light at the End of the Tunnel”, who lives in Britain, he created a unique image of the old locomotive Poppa McCoy in the musical “Starlight Express”. Its performance until 1996 was exemplary. His low bass-baritone was closest to the "reference" timbre of a priest singing with a choir in the style of black gospel. The timbre of the vocalist's voice is quite dense, saturated and not very mobile. In the key of G major in the tempo of a quarter equal to 126, he tries to be mobile, but he is more comfortable performing the chorus melody with touches of portamento than legato. As a result, the phrases are chopped up and seem to chant, each sounding separately. This execution creates the image of a locomotive that is difficult to move because it is very old and rusty. The structure of the song is sing-chorus and does not include a bridge. All songs are performed at a slow pace, in an improvisational manner, supporting the idea of dialogue. In songs where more agogic is used, the performer's dramatic performance comes to the fore and his voice can perform more subtle nuances - typical short glissandos using blues notes, exclamations using the growl technique (growling) and improvisation in the high register using falsetto. In the first performance versions of this song, the melody of the song was divided between the old and young locomotives. The performance took place as a dialogue, where the phrases in the low register were sung by Poppa, and in the high register - by a young locomotive. In the last chorus of the song, after the modulation, the melody was sung by the choir, and Lon Sutton punctuated the climax with a sustained note in the high register. Lon Sutton's performance of the song emphasizes the genre base of black gospel, but in general his performance is too heavy for the final song, it lacks shine, lightness and image of relentless movement [33]. The interpretation of Webber's works requires deep insight into the author's intention, which is realized through the analysis of all components - from verbal to musical text. The artist easily creates melodic lines that are flexible, that are simply memorable to the listener. At the same time, they are not simple; they rather create an allusion to certain semantic centers.

The role of Poppa was also performed by Ray Shell - an American film, television and theater actor, singer, writer, director and producer. His interpretation of the song "Light at the End of the Tunnel" is more virtuosic in terms of vocal performance and light and bright in the created image. This is the song that should be the final composition of the musical. The performer naturally has a light and flexible voice. He easily overcomes the vocal difficulties of the song in the key of G major at the same tempo as the previous performer. The song is performed in one tempo, without slow chants, entirely by one singer. Since revisions were made in the musical, in more modern versions the lines of the young locomotive in the composition "Light at the End of the Tunnel” are missing. The performer easily manages to keep the tempo of the song; he masterfully masters all registers and performs many improvised phrases with the help of falsetto. The song has a bridge and modulations, and the last chorus is performed by the choir, against the background of which the bright improvisation of the soloist in the style of soul sounds in the high register, using exclamations in the manner of a shout. This emphasizes the connection of the interpretive version with the genre of black gospel, but in Ray Shell's performance, Poppy's locomotive is more of a bright superstar than a priest. At the same time, the image of the final song is quite bright, light, moving and positive.

Performance of the song "Light at The End of the Tunnel" by Gregory Porter (created in 2018) is the most convincing, as it combines both the characteristic singing manner of a black gospel priest and the brightness of the final positive song of the musical. Despite the lower key - F major as opposed to the original (G major), the performer, thanks to his vocal technique, manages to be quite mobile, given his rich timbre of voice. The tonality doesn't come across as "blacked out" as the song maintains a single tempo from start to finish, and the improvised phrases are well executed with a soulful manner and characteristic little glissandos that include gliding over the song's bluesy tones.

Porter's performance of the composition can be perceived as a benchmark. In his interpretation, this song is perceived as an independent musical and intonation program, which is revealed as an artistic whole in the interaction of its standard auditory representations and their interpretations, which is claimed by V. Moskalenko. The singer differs from other performers in his wide stylistic palette - he performs compositions in various directions: swing, funk, soul, gospel, and blues. His author's style is a combination of these directions, which does not always fit into the canons, but creates a unique sound, revealing special aspects of already known compositions. "A high-quality pop vocal is a professional, developed voice with unlimited technical performance freedom and its subsequent ability to express itself in various musical styles, directions and manners..." [2, P. 20]. This definition aptly characterizes the performance style of the famous vocalist.

Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971 in the USA) is an American singer, songwriter and actor born on November 4, 1971. He is the winner of the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2014 for “Liquid Spirit" and in 2017 for "Take Me that the Alley". The singer was born in Sacramento and raised in Bakersfield, California. After graduating in 1989 from Highland High School, he received an athletic scholarship as a football player at San Diego State University, but suffered a shoulder injury while in college and ended his football career. Porter moved to the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in 2004 and initially worked as a chef at Lloyd's Bread-Stuy restaurant, where he also performed as a vocalist. The singer performed at other venues, including Sister's Place and Solomon's Porch, and later moved to the Harlem club St. Nick's Pub, where he had a weekly program. Porter 's touring group was formed in the last club .

G. Porter released two albums on the Motdma label together with Membran Entertainment Group, “Water” in 2010 and “Be Good” in 2012 and then signed a contract with Blue Note Records on May 17, 2013. His third album, “Liquid Spirit”, released in September 2013 in the US and Europe. Brian produced the album Bacchus. The album won the 2014 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album. It should be noted that the album “Liquid Spirit” enjoyed commercial success rarely achieved by jazz albums, reaching the top 10 in the UK album charts. It has been certified gold by the BPI, having sold over 100,000 units in the UK. Singer fourth album was released on May 6, 2016 [30].

Researchers point out that "G. Porter is one of the singers who constantly performs on Broadway, while not abandoning his work as a composer. Such versatility of musicians, who not only easily reproduce music, but also create it for themselves and other performers, is one of the requirements of the time" [17, P. 216]. The uniqueness of G. Porter also lies in the fact that he has a velvety baritone and a unique vocal manner, which is connected with the use of a synthesis of jazz, funk, R&B, blues and gospel. "In many of his performances, he demonstrates equal strength of voice, softness and skill in different vocal tessitura. This meets the basic requirements of pop and jazz vocalists" [17, P. 207].

In the song "Light at The End of The Tunnel" uses a wide range - from "re" of the minor octave to "la" of the first in the key of G major. Gregory Porter performs it a tone lower - in F major. In the last choruses, he uses improvisation in the middle and high register, with long notes and the use of melismatics derived from the soul style. It conveys the performance style of black gospel singing, where recitation, shout-style shouts and improvisation are present. His natural talent and subtle sense of style allows him to reveal the image of the song with its philosophical idea of "seeing the light at the very end." "Today, the performance of a pop singer is almost always accompanied by the use of elements of the performing arts and non- musical means of expression, namely: plastic arts and choreography; dramatization; the latest lighting technical means; video accompaniment, etc." [12, P. 137].

The practice of Broadway performances allows G. Porter to maintain the tempo of the song without sacrificing the melodic and rhythmic complexities of the song, and the acting talent reveals new perspectives in the song (like the recitation in the introduction), and the use of vocal improvisation helps to create a climax and general dynamism of the form. "The interpreter must realize that the musical idea formed by him will always be a symbiosis idea. On the one hand, it should reproduce the leading semantic principles in the "composer's work", and on the other hand, it will to some extent present the interpreter's own creative initiative" [14, P. 98].

It is G. Porter's interpretation of the song " Light at The End of The Tunnel" is the most convincing and highly artistic. Gregory Porter is able to create a character that has a multifaceted character. He appears as an interesting person, in which various features are combined. The vocal difficulties present in the musical composition concern, first of all, the persuasiveness in presenting the emotional content of the work, the difficulty of which lies precisely in the reproduction of a philosophical idea and its implications in a playful form. In this case, it can be said that this level of performance interpretation is created by the singer, relying on a number of indicators specified by the artist. "Factors of the organization of the artistic integrity of a musical work are conditionally divided into those set by the composer himself, and those formed by special techniques of musical performance" [14, P.65].

Traditions of the gospel genre can be traced in the following features of the composition. The song is written at a fast pace, the melody is based on minor and major pentatonic; it uses characteristic intonation turns of a question-answer character. The arrangement uses a typical gospel ensemble - Hammond organ, guitar, bass guitar, drums and percussion instruments (tambourine), with a gradual build-up of instruments, starting with hand-clapping vocals at the beginning of the song and ending with a big band chorus in the ends.

The author's idea is to convey the character of black gospel in the final song of the musical. "Intonation expressiveness of the themes of E.L. Webber is rightfully given the title of one of the best melodists of the 20th century. The themes of this musical, like a number of other works, became hits and entered the concert repertoire of many pop and classical singers. They often become the musical decoration of vocal shows, providing an opportunity to get acquainted with modern composer thinking and show singers their vocal capabilities," V. Tormakhova notes in his publication [25, P. 380].

In black gospel singing there is a peculiarity of intonation, which is characteristic of the Negro folk manner of singing - it is the predominance of the chest register in the sound. According to the traditions of the genre, the performer's voice (imitation of a preacher's singing) should be low, rich and dense. The song has a number of vocal tasks that are difficult to combine with a rich voice. One of such problematic tasks is the performance of melismas. "Melisms are small melodic decorations and their conventional signs, one of the types of musical ornamentation. Melismas include forschlag, gruppeto, double mordent, crossed- out mordent, trill, double-crossed-out mordent, and others. In pop music, in particular, jazz, melismas borrowed from classical music are common" [13].

It is difficult for a vocalist with a low saturated timbre to perform melismas. To solve this performance problem, it is necessary to have the appropriate vocal technique. The large range of the song is another performance difficulty. When performing a song using the chest register, it is difficult for the vocalist to perform the high notes ("la" and "si" of the first octave) with a tight voice. This is an extremely difficult task for an untrained vocalist. To solve the task, it is necessary to master the technique of mixing registers and use it throughout the entire range of the song. Gospel songs often contain stories from the Gospel; the text is dominated by declamation with the use of a large number of words, not always chanted. Such is the text of the song "Light at the End of the Tunnel", in which there is few songs. At a fast pace, much small duration of sounds alternate, which need to be emphasized, accentuating, which is a difficult task for a dense voice. Loud dynamics are another challenge for a vocalist. In the song, it is necessary to maintain the appropriate dynamic level, and high tessitura and loud sound create an additional load on the dense voice of the performer. In the last choruses of the composition, loud long notes are used, which are a difficult task for an untrained singer. In songs with a declamation-type melody, there are usually many accents, which must be performed with different degrees of emphasis, depending on the part of the measure. In the measure of 4/4 in black gospel, the 2nd and 4th parts are accented; the rhythmic thinking takes place in equal eighths. Another difficulty in performing the song "Light at the End of the Tunnel" is the use of a mixed vocal register with a predominance of chest. In high tessitura it is difficult to do. This is one of the most difficult executive tasks of a composition. To perform sounds in the high register with loud dynamics of a dense voice, it is advisable to use belting. "Belting is a vocal technique in which high notes are sung on the support, not falsetto, the voice sounds powerful, dense and voluminous" [1].

Performance of the composition "Light at the End of the Tunnel" is a difficult task for the vocalist in terms of the use of breathing. When reading notes, Gregory Porter immediately imagines the musical and intonational meanings behind them, and can even mentally include the energy of his own performing motor skills in this process. At a fast pace, with a large number of words without chanting, there is little time for breathing, so you need to maintain stable breathing in combination with the formation of a properly open throat. As Seth Riggs notes, “You don't need a lot of air to make a good sound. Even when singing loudly, the amount of air you use will be enough to support the vibration of the vocal cords - no more, no less - so that your sound will come out without any tension... With optimal breathing, the balance between air and muscles is established» [20, P. 21-22]. The song uses 2 modulations, for the performance of which it is necessary to develop a harmonic ear, and to maintain the rhythmic complexities of the song - syncopation, accentuation of the 2nd and 4th bars of the beat, it is necessary to perform exercises to develop a sense of metrorhythm. Moreover, it is necessary to pay attention to intonation, which acquires the role of a communicative center. "Intonation (from the Latin intonare - to pronounce) is a specific means of artistic communication, expression and transmission of an emotionally saturated thought with the help of space-time movement in its sound (human voice and sounds of musical instruments) and visual (gesture, facial expressions, pantomime) form" [14, P. 21].

G. Porter's interpretation is the most modern, virtuosic, and also emphasizes the features of the black gospel genre. As S. Kishakevich notes in his research, "the decisive factor for any performer should not be the analysis of technical aspects of sound extraction, achieving the required degree of sound presentation, control of the diaphragm, but the realization of the desired image, and this should be achieved not only with the help of vocal data , but also due to acting" [9, P. 127].

Conclusions. Andrew Lloyd Webber is a leading composer who made a great contribution to the development of popular and academic music. The specificity of the artist's individual style is connected with bright melodism, the ability to create themes that are easy to remember. In the composer's creative method, one can distinguish signs of turning to stylistic diversity. These features are most clearly present in his musicals and rock operas, which occupy a prominent place in his work. The musical "Starlight Express" is one of the interesting works written by E.L. Webber. In terms of style, this musical features features of various styles of American entertainment music: from blues, country and gospel to rap and rock and roll. Let us note the genesis of the songs from the

work, which is based on the gospel genre, which is indicated by its characteristic features: figurative content ( evangelical themes with an emphasis on the theme of salvation, service and other Christian ideas), couplet form, responsive type of melody, typical harmonic triad of the era of classicism (TSD), enriched with various harmonic turns, features of the arrangement (primarily, the use of such stylistic markers as the choir and the Hammond organ) and the specifics of performance with elements of improvisation and the manner of singing shout.