Looking back over the nearly 17,000 posts here, I realize that the ethical issue of authority abuse has come up often, apparently because it drives me crazy. Experts and authorities, alleged, self-proclaimed or otherwise, are supposed to make everyone else better informed and smarter, not more ignorant and stupid. The “experts” that Ethics Alarms has fingered most frequently are pundits, politicians, historians (notably partisan Presidential historians like Jon Meacham, Michael Beschloss, and the late Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. ) elected officials and baseball writers (with a special place reserved in Baseball Writer Hell for Tom Boswell).
One of the requirements for this sub-category on Ethics Alarms is that I personally know enough about the topic the expert is mangling to detect the authority abuse. Musical theater happens to be one of those topics on which I am qualified to speak and write with some credibility, so I was annoyed yesterday to hear Sirius/XM’s Broadway channel host Seth Rudetsky emit an inexcusable whopper.
Rudetsky is what is called an “industry star,” meaning that the Broadway community knows and appreciates his work though he is largely unknown to anyone outside that community except certifiable American musical nuts. He does have a little empire on Sirius, though, hosting and commenting upon about 50% of the content on the Broadway channel while apparently going out of his way to sound as screamingly gay as possible. (I believe this indulgence damages the popularity, cultural status and prospects of musical theater, but that’s a topic for another day).
Rudetsky styles himself as an “expert on Broadway history and trivia” (as it is phrased on his Wikipedia page), so I was gobsmacked when I heard him say, in his introduction to the “Annie Get Your Gun” duet “Old Fashioned Wedding,” that “there was this thing that Irving Berlin did” in his musicals where two characters would sing different songs and then Irving put the songs together, and they “fit.” Rudetsky recalled the “You’re Just in Love” duet in Berlin’s “Call Me Madam” (above) as an example, and said that “Old Fashioned Wedding” from the revival of “Annie Get Your Gun”was another instance of Berlin’s “thing.”
Anyone unfamiliar with Broadway, musical theater and music generally would have come away from Rudetsky’s patter thinking that a) compositions like “Old Fashioned Wedding” and “You’re Just in Love” are unusual; and b) Irving Berlin invented the device. Both impressions would be false, and as I assume that Seth knows better, it was irresponsible of him to mislead his trusting listeners.
Irving Berlin’s “thing” is called “counterpoint,” and it is…
“…a fundamental concept in both classical and contemporary music composition. It involves the technique of combining different melodic lines in a piece of music, where each line maintains its independence while still harmonically complementing the others. The term ‘counterpoint’ is derived from the Latin ‘punctus contra punctum,’ which translates to “point against point” or “note against note,” indicating the interplay of individual melodies. This concept is crucial in music theory, as it allows for the creation of rich, multi-layered compositions. Counterpoint is not just a set of rules; it’s a framework that enables composers to explore musical creativity within a structured environment. It emphasizes the importance of melodic interaction, rather than just harmonic accompaniment, in creating compelling music.”
What? You mean Irving Berlin didn’t invent this marvelous device, wasn’t the acknowledged master of it, and didn’t introduce it to musical theater?
Hardly. Bach used counterpoint. It has flourished in opera for centuries. Sullivan frequently used the device in the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. George M. Cohan wrote counterpoint songs; Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim (who loved showing off) composed them. Heck, Meat Loaf (Michael Lee Aday) used counterpoint in his epic “Paradise by the Dashboard Light.” [Clarification: He used it, but didn’t compose it. As commenter Gregg Wiggins points out below, “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” was written by composer and lyricist Jim Steinman, author of most of Meat Loaf’s songs, and arranged by album producer Todd Rundgren.]
Shame on Seth Rudetsky.
Here’s one of Broadway’s most spectacular examples of counterpoint: the tea party number from Jerry Herman’s musical adaptation of “The Madwoman of Chaillot,” “Dear World.” Herman wrote three songs that interlock: I’ve included this great counterpoint number in various musical revues since I was in college.
Ethics Alarms 
Heck, Meat Loaf (Michael Lee Aday) used counterpoint in his epic “Paradise by the Dashboard Lights.”
I feel pedantic this morning, so I must point out that while the song was performed by Meat Loaf, “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” was witten by composer and lyricist Jim Steinman, author of most of Meat Loaf’s songs, and arranged by album producer Todd Rundgren, who was responsible for more than a few musical moments of that era on his own.
Off-topic, but I’ve always thought it interesting that “Meat Loaf” wasn’t something Aday came up with as a stage name but was the nickname given him by his father during his Texas childhood.
Thanks, Gregg, I am abashed: I should have known that, and checked it. I’ll fix the misinformation. At least I’ve never claimed to be a expert on pop music…
Jack,
While you were doing theater in that time frame I was programming a couple of nationally syndicated weekly radio music programs. So while I may know about rock and roll, I would certainly turn to you for stage musicals.
I’ve been working my way through the Two Part Inventions. And boy, is it ever work. I’ve also been reading a book on piano history. The author points out that Bach became unpopular and pretty much disappeared for a while because counterpoint was so difficult and as the piano became a family staple, people (mostly young girls) wanted easier to play melody and accompaniment rather than counterpoint. There was no money to be made publishing Bach.
Actually, polyphony is a better term than counterpoint. Two or three musical lines flowing in parallel is a better description than note going against each other. To play counterpoint/polyphony, you need to focus on the lines going left to right rather than the notes above opposing the notes below. If you do the latter, the music gets choppy and doesn’t flow. Probably easier for two or three singers or instrumentalists as opposed to one player using two hands or an organist using two hands and two feet.