Epiphany

If we are to analyse the Epiphany from it seems sensible to have a look at the dramatic context. Before the Epiphany begins, Todd has the Judge sitting in the chair. Todd is preparing to kill the Judge when Anthony comes running in. As the Judge discovers what Anthony and Todd are up to, he leaves the barbershop, saying that he'll never return. Todd, who has come so close to his revenge, sings out his frustration, while Mrs. Lovett unsuccesfully tries to calm him down. This is the Epiphany The main emotion in the song, frustration, changes during the song to anger.

The first motive the audience hears is the Nemesis-theme which is an indication of Todd's mood. The motive is sustained while Todd makes the following exclamations:

TODD: I had him
His throat was bare beneath my hand!
MRS. LOVETT: There, there dear, don't fret
TODD: No, I had him
His throat was there and he'll never come again

At that moment Mrs. Lovett tries feebly to soften Todd's mood:

MRS. LOVETT: Easy now, hush, love, hush
I keep telling you, what's yer rush?

These words may sound friendly but their effect is partially undermined by the fact that they are accompanied by some fierce dissonant harmonies. These kind of harmonies are used more probably used to accentuate the rhythmic drive of the piece than as pure functional harmonics in the Riemannian sense of the word. They could also be signified as signs for the frustration Todd feels.

This kind of harmonic use is one of the characteristics of Sweeney Todd . In the end, however Mrs. Lovett's words are undermined by these harmonies. The same harmonies are retained for quite a long time while Todd airs his frustration:

TODD: When? Why did I wait?
You told me to wait!
Now he'll never come again.

The same harmonies, instead of weakening the content of the words, in this section amplify the content. The words ''Now he'll never come again'' is sung on a combination of two scales which are used in the harmonies (figure 6.11 on page ).

Figure 6.11: Epiphany

After that Todd expresses his view on mankind in general and on the inhabitants of London specifically. Here a return of the nemesis-motive predicts impending doom. The motive c-f-c-d could be seen as a derivative of the inversion of the Dies Iræ-motive^6.14 (figure 6.12 on page ). The music matches the words:

There's a hole in the world
Like a great black pit
And it's filled with people
Who are filled with shit
And the vermin of the world Inhabit...
But not for long^6.15

Figure 6.12: Epiphany

The Dies Iræ-motive is now sounding in one of the middle-voices while in the upper voices clusterlike sounds can be found with only the g and b$\flat$ in common with the lower voices(figure 6.13 on page ). I don't think this is done so much as to display Todd's frustration but more to display he's determined to kill those who did him wrong. In the meanwhile, even if we take the cluster into account the music has a tendency to move to the dominant key. The words are also indicative of this change:

They all deserve to die! Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why:

Figure 6.13: Epiphany

While these words are sung the Dies Iræ keeps sounding in the middle voices^6.16. If we take a look at the melodic line we see as the first step a minor $7^{\rm th}$, a melodic jump which can be considered dissonant. The whole phrase is based on dominant-7-chord (with the a as an anticipation of the g) This leaves the audience with a feeling that something has to be resolved^6.17. In the meanwhile Todd's view of humanity is completely clarified:

Because in all of the human race, Mrs. Lovett,
There are two kinds of men and only two
There's one staying put in his proper place
And the one with his foot in the other one's face
Look at me, Mrs. Lovett, look at you
No, we all deserve to die!
Even you, Mrs. Lovett, even I!

He uses here a motive not totally unlike that used in There's no place like London when he sings "There a hole in the world like a great black pitt..." and since these words have the same atmosphere as those above, the fact that they are set to the same music is not strange. Todd is getting more and more excited as is shown by the faster rhythmic movement. The Dies Iræ-motive is sounding again under "They all deserve to die" as an amplification of those words. Todd continues even more fanatical:

Because the life of the wicked should be made brief
For the rest of us, death will be a relief
We all deserve to die!

The rhythmic excitement reaches a climax here. It follows more or less the pattern of the last three lines. And suddenly he thinks of his daughter:

And I'll never see Johanna, No I'll never hug my girl to me Finished!(loudly)

Strangely enough he uses here the same motive he'll use later for Lucy later in the piece. This theme has connections with two other themes(see figure 6.14 on page ):

1. The Alms-theme
2. And Johanna as sung by Anthony

Figure 6.14: Johanna(Anthony)
Figure 6.15: Alms
Figure 6.16: Lucy

If we take a look at the dramatic configuration at that moment the reason for these connections is clear.

After this sentimental interlude, Todd addresses the audience directly. This poses an interesting problem concerning the communication structures. Normally when a dramatic figure adresses the audience directly he detaches himself of the action and becomes part of an epic communication structure. The problem in this case is that Todd doesn't consider the audience to be the audience. He sees them as possible customers or even representants of the society he despises so much. If we take this into account the normal dramatic communication structures are maintained. When he addresses the audience he uses a kind of exclamated recitative(figure 6.17 on page ):

Figure 6.17: Epiphany

All right!
You, sir! How about a shave?
Come and visit your good friend Sweeney!
You, sir! Too, sir! Welcome to the grave

These are more exclamations than a running text. Not unlike someone who is on the edge of sanity. His frequent and sudden changes of mood already point in this direction. Even the theme he sang so lovingly when he referred to his daughter gets deformed:

I will have vengeance
I will have salvation

Here he equals vengeance with salvation. This is another indication of his declining mental sanity and his increasing monomany. The pattern repeats itself:

Who, sir?
You, sir?
No one in the chair,
Come,on!
Come,on!
Sweeney's waiting
I want you bleeders!
You, sir!
Anybody!
Gentlemen don't be shy!

This section is written in fragmented exclamation style of m.45-m.50. And then again there follows another change of mood:

Not one man,no
Nor ten men
Nor a hundred
can assuage me,
I will have you!

By this time the audience understands enough, I think, of Todd's frustration and resolvedness. As we progress towards the end of the song, Todd makes up his mind:

And I will get him back, even as he gloats
In the meantime I will practice on less honourable throats

The resolve Todd now shows is mirrored in the rather square rhythms of this section. And again his mood changes suddenly:

And my Lucy lies in ashes
And I'll never see my girl again
But the work waits
I'm alive at last
And I'm full of joy

The descending semitone is now used in abundance. If we look at the melody the last interval poses a problem. The interval (c$\sharp$-f$\natural$) can be enharmonised as (d$\flat$-f). This a major $3^{\rm rd}$. Why this note? I think that there are two reasons to choose this tone, or why this tone has been chosen. The first is that the word 'joy' gets extra emphasis this way. The fact that the f$\natural$ is out of tune, or at least isn't in the scale, gives this emphasis something sad, even though the step is enharmonically equivalent to a major 3$^{\rm rd}$

If we look at the two notes just before the f$\natural$ we see d-c $\sharp\downarrow$, the descending semitone motive on which this section is built. Sondheim wanted to have the step of a major $3^{\rm rd}$ to work as wordpainting for joy. The obvious choice then is f$\natural$. But the fact that this intervall on these tones contradicts the meaning of this word, only serves to get a better picture of Todd's mental disposition.

As for the transition from wanting to kill one man to killing all men Sondheim has said that

it took a month to get the tone of it right. I had to motivate Todd from wanting to kill one man to wanting to kill all men, the moment at which we felt Bond's play was weakest. To demonstrate musically that his mind is cracking I switched between violent and lyrical passages, and had rapid rhythmic shifts, from quick to slow. His murderous vengeance announced to a chugging engine-like theme (the Dies Iræ disguised) alternates with a keening threnody for his wife and daughter. ^6.18

Finally we may conclude that the whole of the Epiphany has a strong emotive function in which both words and music participate. On the other hand we can observe that there is much more subdued appelative function in this song. Todd tries to influence himself, Mrs. Lovett and the audience that what he's going to do is in the name of justice.