The contribution of Frank Saddler to the art of orchestration for the American musical theatre

Frank Saddler was the first great orchestrator for the Broadway stage. Once referred to by George Gershwin as “the father of modern arranging,” Saddler was the most sought-after orchestrator for the commercial theatre in New York from 1909 until his death in 1921. During that time, it has been documented that he scored more than sixty shows—an unprecedented accomplishment that has never been repeated—and the anecdotal record suggests that he may have been involved in creating orchestrations for many more productions. Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, Saddler learned to play several instruments at a young age and became an active performer and composer in the local Pittsburgh music scene during the 1880s. After spending four years in Munich studying composition, orchestration, and conducting, he embarked on a career as a music director for touring musical shows that lasted several years. Beginning in 1898, he settled in close proximity to New York City and devoted himself exclusively to a career as a musical arranger, at first working primarily as a freelance orchestrator for musical publishers. By 1909, he had established himself as one of the top orchestrators for musical productions on Broadway and would go on to work for many important producers, including Lew Fields, Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., the Shuberts, Elizabeth Marbury, Charles Dillingham, and George M. Cohan. Beginning in 1912, Saddler scored almost all of Jerome Kern’s music for the stage, more than twenty shows that together laid the foundation for the musicals of the so-called Golden Age of Broadway. At the same time, he was a highly regarded musical arranger, who was entrusted with creating the musical settings and accompaniments for many of the composers he worked with, including Kern. His orchestration techniques were grounded in traditional European scoring practices while also being highly innovative, idiosyncratic, and characteristic of American musical idioms in the Ragtime Era. Along with Kern’s music, Saddler’s orchestrations were a key element in the transition of the American musical from an imported style based upon nineteenth-century European comic opera to the form of musical play that became standard on Broadway in the mid-twentieth century, from Show Boat to Oklahoma! to My Fair Lady.弗兰克·萨德勒（Frank Saddler）是百老汇舞台首位杰出的管弦乐编曲师（orchestrator）。乔治·格什温（George Gershwin）曾称其为“现代编曲之父”，1909年至1921年萨德勒逝世期间，他是纽约商业戏剧领域最炙手可热的管弦乐编曲师。据文献记载，此阶段他为超过60部剧目完成了配器——这一前无古人的成就至今未曾被复刻；轶事记载则显示，他或许还参与了更多剧目管弦乐编曲工作。萨德勒在宾夕法尼亚州西部出生并长大，幼年便掌握了多种乐器演奏技巧，并于19世纪80年代在匹兹堡当地音乐圈成为活跃的演奏者与作曲家。他曾赴慕尼黑深造四年，研习作曲、配器与指挥，此后以巡演音乐剧音乐总监的身份开启了长达数年的职业生涯。1898年起，他定居于纽约近郊，全身心投入音乐编曲事业，最初主要以自由职业者身份为音乐出版商担任管弦乐编曲师。至1909年，他已跻身百老汇音乐剧顶级编曲师之列，随后为诸多知名制作人工作，其中包括卢·菲尔兹（Lew Fields）、小弗洛伦茨·齐格菲尔德（Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr.）、夏伯特剧团（the Shuberts）、伊丽莎白·马伯里（Elizabeth Marbury）、查尔斯·迪林厄姆（Charles Dillingham）以及乔治·M·科汉（George M. Cohan）。1912年起，萨德勒几乎包揽了杰罗姆·科恩（Jerome Kern）所有舞台音乐剧的配器工作，共计超过20部剧目，这些作品共同为所谓“百老汇黄金时代”的音乐剧奠定了核心基础。与此同时，他亦是一位广受赞誉的音乐编曲家，曾为多位合作作曲家打造音乐编排与伴奏，其中便包括科恩。他的配器技法以欧洲传统谱曲规范为根基，同时兼具高度的创新性与个人风格，彰显了拉格泰姆时代（Ragtime Era）的美国音乐语汇特色。除科恩的作品外，萨德勒的管弦乐编曲亦是美国音乐剧从基于19世纪欧洲滑稽歌剧的进口风格，转型为20世纪中期百老汇标准范式的音乐剧戏剧形式的关键要素之一——这一转型历程贯穿《演艺船》（Show Boat）、《俄克拉荷马！》（Oklahoma!）直至《窈窕淑女》（My Fair Lady）。