# Humming Chorus



## Orgel (Dec 29, 2006)

Has anyone else noticed the similarity between the Humming Chorus in _Madama Butterfly_ and "Bring Him Home" from _Les Miz_? I have a feeling it is not purely coincidental, as the two scenes are longing for someone missing. I'd like to know if anyone else is of the same opinion.


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## barkingbartok (Oct 28, 2007)

There could well be. I can't remember the Les Mis composers off hand, but their next musical was Miss Saigon, which is a remake of the Madam Butterfly opera... it must have really effected them.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

I remember the following exchange in another forum... wish I could remember which one- and who the principals were (I'd like to give credit where it's due). It went like this:

Someone asked why Andrew Lloyd-Weber seemed so lightly regarded in the classical sphere, since the poster asserted that his work was suffused with Puccini-quality melodies. Some wit responded that they accepted the premise-- but added that when Puccini used his Puccini-quality melodies, he was doing so for the _first_ time.


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## Edward Elgar (Mar 22, 2006)

Orgel, Madama Butterfly has been ripped off so many times, I wouldn't be suprised if Shoenberg (not the atonal guy) was influenced by this opera!


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## Caronome (Mar 6, 2007)

I saw Madama Butterfly a few weekends ago and I have to say I thought the same thing!!!! Then I remembered, the people who wrote Les Mis are also the people who are now writing a musical based on "La Traviata." Yes, I guess it's more than likely they ripped it off just a tad =)


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## BobR (Nov 3, 2008)

Yes, a similarity. But Lloyd-Weber yanks at your heartstrings while Puccini gently plucks them. In this case, less is more.


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2008)

Caronome said:


> I saw Madama Butterfly a few weekends ago


Geeez!! I thought she was dead


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## Alnitak (Oct 21, 2008)

Caronome said:


> I saw Madama Butterfly a few weekends ago





Andante said:


> Geeez!! I thought she was dead


Indeed, Andante, but Caronome wrote this last year, in November 2007.


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2008)

I must complain to my ISP  slow is OK but this is ridiculous


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## Alnitak (Oct 21, 2008)

Not at all.

Besides, when she said that she saw Madama Butterfly, she did not precise if she saw her alive, did she? Otherwise, she could have seen her just before her passing away. A lot of things can occur, during a whole year, I think.


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2008)

Alnitak said:


> Not at all.
> 
> Besides, when she said that she saw Madama Butterfly, she did not precise if she saw her alive, did she? Otherwise, she could have seen her just before her passing away. A lot of things can occur, during a whole year, I think.


Hmmmmmm, sure can, such as Putrification


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## mb5839 (Aug 15, 2010)

*Humming Chorus & Bring Him Home (Les Mis)*

Absolutely - heard the Humming Chorus today on the radio and thought "Where have I heard this before" and suddenly realized, Les Mis ("Bring Him Home").


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

BobR said:


> Yes, a similarity. But Lloyd-Weber yanks at your heartstrings while Puccini gently plucks them. In this case, less is more.


Absolutely. You just have to listen to the meretricious slush that is the "Music of the Night" and compare it with La Fanciulla del West, to realise that he who did it first did it best


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

mamascarlatti said:


> Absolutely. You just have to listen to the meretricious slush that is the "Music of the Night" and compare it with La Fanciulla del West, to realise that he who did it first did it best


how poetic


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## bassClef (Oct 29, 2006)

The music for Les Miserables was composed by Claude-Michel Schönberg, not Andrew Lloyd Webber.


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## classidaho (May 5, 2009)

I guess I should be embarrassed to admit I truly enjoy much of A Lloyd-Weber's musics!


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## eaglegray (Oct 15, 2011)

*Finally found someone else who has noticed this!*



Orgel said:


> Has anyone else noticed the similarity between the Humming Chorus in _Madama Butterfly_ and "Bring Him Home" from _Les Miz_? I have a feeling it is not purely coincidental, as the two scenes are longing for someone missing. I'd like to know if anyone else is of the same opinion.


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I realize this is in response to an old post, but I have to say how happy I was to come across someone else hearing the same similarity. I've noted this for a long time, but today I just decided to do a Google search on it, and came up with your comment.
That's great!
And yes, to my ears, at least, there are several melodic bars that the two tunes share quite exactly. You know what they say (to slightly alter a famous phrase): 'Bad artists steal, but great artists borrow.'

Cheers....http://www.talkclassical.com/images/smilies/tiphat.gif


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## eaglegray (Oct 15, 2011)

Lloyd-Webber didn't write Les Mis.


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## AmericanGesamtkunstwerk (May 9, 2011)

BobR said:


> Yes, a similarity. But Lloyd-Weber yanks at your heartstrings while Puccini gently plucks them. In this case, less is more.


ok i mean puccini isn't all that subtle but yes, good point. But I don't really take lloyd-webber seriously as a dramatic composer. the thread began with Miserables, however.

Schonberg/Boublil is the absolute superior dramatist-composer storyteller in contemporary musical theater, any musical theater, bar none. its just too bad they ruin it by _being musical theater. _
(disclaimer: the walnut street theater in philadelphia played miss saigon with keyboard strings. i have since decided that musical theater is fundamentally wrong, in general.) but based on the albums, the music-drama is, in my opinion, on par with pretty much any puccini. even verdi. (I am speaking of Saigon and Miserables)


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