Austin Community College
Hamilton: An American Musical
Lauren Matthews
American Music
Fall 2020Matthews 1
Hamilton: An American Musical
Hamilton is a musical, telling the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’
...
Austin Community College
Hamilton: An American Musical
Lauren Matthews
American Music
Fall 2020Matthews 1
Hamilton: An American Musical
Hamilton is a musical, telling the life of Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s Founding
Fathers. The music and lyrics were composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda who also played the lead
role, Alexander Hamilton. Alex Lacamoire was the Music Director, Orchestrator, and Conductor
for Hamilton and Tommy Kail was the Director. The recording was filmed in June of 2016 at the
Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City with the original cast including: Lin-Manuel
Miranda, Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff, Leslie Odom Junior, Phillipa Soo, Renée Elise
Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, Jasmine Cephas
Jones, and many others. It is important to note that there are over 20,000 words, in comparison to
an average Broadway show of 10,000. This helps Lin Manuel fit as much history as he can into a
three-hour performance. Hamilton broke the record for the most Tony Award nominations in a
single year and has the best-selling cast album. This essay includes, in my opinion, the four best
songs from Hamilton.
The first song, “Alexander Hamilton” opens the audience to Hamilton’s childhood. The
start of this narration is done by alternating soloists and changes to the full ensemble towards the
end, doing call and response. The first bar is an important motif that will be played throughout
the rest of the show when the protagonist, Aaron Burr, starts his frequent monologues about
Alexander Hamilton. Slowly throughout the song, the texture builds. The texture starts "thin"
with soft snapping and then layers into a "dense" texture with guitar, piano, strings, and drums. It
is important to note the build of accompaniment to help further the momentum, but realize that
the silence is just as important. This silence helps bring attention to the key lyrics. For example,
this happens at Alexander Hamilton (Lin-Manuel Miranda)’s entrance. Also at this moment,
tens
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