The Use of the Male Chorus in Operettas

We just enjoyed watching Edmund Purdom and hearing Mario Lanza lead a male chorus in the Sigmund Romberg operetta, The Student Prince. The key word to describe this type of song is: rousing!

We know that almost every operetta contained some sort of song that featured a male chorus. In order for these choral numbers to succeed they required a wide range of male voices from tenor to bass; in short, they need tons and tons of great harmony. At some point, vocal arrangements were separately credited in official programs; however, for Sigmund Romberg operetta’s such as The Student Prince in 1924 and The New Moon in 1928, all we know is that Emil Gerstenberger was the lead orchestrator (and was assisted by Alfred Goodman on The New Moon). In the movies of those shows, we don’t know who crafted the vocal arrangements because there were too many orchestrators, and no one person was credited with vocal arrangements.

For this post, we would like to single out the male chorus from The New Moon, singing “StoutHearted Men.” While the book and lyrics are credited to Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel and Laurence Schwab, we believe that the lyrics for “StoutHearted Men” came from Oscar. First, the words conveyed Oscar’s view of the world; second, Oscar included two songs from The New Moon in his book on lyrics, without sharing the credit with Mandel or Schwab; and third, Robert Kimball, the great anthologist on lyrics, notes: “It is generally believed that neither Schwab nor Mandel wrote lyrics.”

We are including quotes of two segments of the lyrics from “Stouthearted Men,” below. In the scene that precedes the song, there is no debate, no vote; there is one leader. For the rest of the men, it is important for us to note that each individual man is held responsible for his decision to join the fight or not. At the outset, the men are afraid, until Robert says that, if he must, he will fight alone. One man. Then, a few men join him. As they stride toward the site of the coming battle, we see the visual image of a geometric progression as more men change their minds and decide to fight for their freedom. It is stirring.

“Give me some men who are stouthearted men/Who will fight for the right they adore/Start me with ten who are stouthearted men/And I’ll soon give you ten thousand more.”

“Hearts may inspire/Other hearts with their fire.”

Now, we think we are about to shock you! If we were asked to find a musical number similar to “Stouthearted Men,” even though it may be a mixed chorus and not just a male chorus, we would not choose a song from another operetta. Instead, we would choose a song from a Rodgers and Hart musical, Babes in Arms (1937). For the 1939 movie adaptation, Leo Arnaud and George Bassman wrote the orchestral arrangements and Roger Edens created the music adaptation. While there is no war to be fought, each youngster must decide if he or she wants to remain free or is willing to be carted off to a work farm. Perhaps, this is not quite as dramatic as war, but it is just as serious an issue to the teenagers involved.

The next composer that we are going to study is Leonard Bernstein.