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By Duane Shinn

 Rodgers and Hammerstein are two of musical theater’s best collaborators. The Sound of Music is the best known of their productions.

Mention the names Rodgers and Hammerstein and almost everyone knows a bit about them. Rodgers and Hammerstein are two of musical theater’s best collaborators. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II are best known for the musicals, The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The King and I, and Carousel.

Rodgers first partnered with Lorenz Hart. The partnership was a successful one, and they produced a number of Broadway works. Chief among these were Babes in Arms and A Connecticut Yankee. Hammerstein was also building a successful career on Broadway working with a number of composers. He collaborated with Jerome Kern to produce the well-known musical, Show Boat, in 1927.

The genesis of their first work together, Oklahoma!, resulted from both their writer partners turning them down on the same issue. They both wanted to turn the play Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs into a musical. Therefore, Rodgers and Hammerstein collaborated to produce the hit Oklahoma! in 1943. The pair started a whole new tradition in musical theatre with some of the changes they implemented in the musical. For one, prior to Oklahoma!, musicals had little or no plots and the songs didn’t tell a story. The show was so popular it broke records nearly every time it was performed. It was performed 2, 248 times. In 1944, the musical won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The songs that were performed in many of the duo’s musicals have lived on over the years. Timeless classics like “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “People Will Say We are In Love,” and the title song, “Oklahoma!” are still popular today.

Another of their award winning productions was South Pacific. This work, which addressed the dual issues of race and war, also won a Pulitzer Prize. Songs from South Pacific are also known internationally. Some of the better known ones are “Bali Ha’i,” “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” and “Some Enchanted Evening.”

The Sound of Music is the best known of their productions. In 1959, it won a Tony award for best musical. Although many of their musicals were happy and cheerful, the duo also used their work to make social commentaries. The highly successful musical The King and I addressed the subjugation of women at the time. Based on the true story of an English woman, Anna Leonowens, The King and I addressed the cultural differences between countries as well. One of the most popular songs from this musical is “Getting To Know You.”

The last collaboration by Rodgers and Hammerstein was the Sound of Music, featuring Julie Andrews. This opened in 1959, just prior to the death of Hammerstein from cancer in August 1960. The musical, like The King and I, was based on a true story. It was about the life of a nun who lived in Austria during Nazi occupation.

Many of their musicals have been produced for television or film. Two of these were Cinderella and State Fair. Cinderella has so far had three incarnations on television, the latest being in 1997.

The music and musicals from Rodgers and Hammerstein have set the stage for future generations to come. Over 40 years later, their music still stirs the hearts of listeners and captivates audiences. Rodgers was the composer behind the music, and Hammerstein wrote lyrics for their productions.

The number of awards and accolades they earned together is a testament to their brilliance. They received 34 Tony awards, 15 Academy awards and two Grammy awards. Richard Rodgers died in 1979, but their songs will live on forever.

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World Musical Instruments - Exploring Musical Inclinations From Some Countries Around the Globe
By Matthew Stanton

 Music is a part of our everyday lives; simply, it is a part of human nature. This is manifested by how people cater to music artists, how we fawn over the latest songs that we feel we can relate to, and how humming to the tune of our song inclination is a common sight. Indeed, music is everywhere, even before technology allowed us to make music faster and to reach people with more speed. Its prevalence today is perhaps the same as its prevalence in the past, in the sense of its pervasiveness amongst people.

When we feel happy, when we feel sad, when we feel lonely, when we feel angry, there is a kind of music, a kind of tone, a kind of song that will fit whatever we are feeling, what with the number of musical compositions we have been exposed to since our birth. Music is a creation, a production. If food needs ingredients to come to life, then musics ingredients lie in the musical instruments that bring it to life.

They say music is a universal language, because it does not matter if one can not understand he music; the flow of music may very well be enough. Almost every country, and all countries I know of, produces music. This music may serve to cater to people in that country only, or to serve a more international purpose. However it is aimed to do, the music from one country can always be heard by a person from another country if he wishes to. This is why music and musical instruments is universal, and why it is interesting to know the extent of its universality.

Musical instruments: what they are and what some countries prefer

What are musical instruments?

These are those that give off sound, and thus generate music. It is made to generate music by the one holding or owning it, such as the musician or the player making use of it. The musician or the player can then produce sound effects to his satisfaction, using these types of instruments.

World musical instruments: showing the preference of two countries

Music encompasses the globe, and so do these types of instruments, for they pave way to the production of music. There are various kinds of musical instruments to suit ones purpose of a sound effect, and these include string instruments, wind instruments, percussion instruments, electronic instruments and friction instruments.

China’s popular musical instruments

Almost every country has its own preference for music and thus for musical instruments, and China is no different. The musical instruments that are traditionally popular in China are made of materials that include stone, silk, gourd, metal, bamboo and wood. Wind and string instruments are very popular in China. An example of the latter is what they call an Erhu, which is a string instruments that is described as a two-stringed fiddle. An example of the latter is called the Dizi, which is a simple wind instrument made of bamboo. It is popular because it costs less than other types of these instruments and is fairly easy to learn.

Africa’s popular musical instruments

In Africa, these are used to create music that has ritualistic value to them. They are used to create music for social and ceremonial functions. Percussion instruments and drums are considered to be the most popular types of musical instruments in Africa. Specifically, one of the most popular musical instruments in Africa is called the Mbira, a thumb piano that can be used in different ways by different cultures in Africa to serve a variety of purposes.

You may not have played a musical instrument in your life, nor be interested in doing so, but I am sure you have heard music being played and appreciated it. As music is a very pervasive aspect in our lives, it is always good to know whatever we can about it.

Matthew Stanton writes an article about World Musical Instruments which are unique in itself and have a distinctive sound. Simply visit this website at World Musical Instruments

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