My esteem for the great Broadway songwriters has only deepened over the years. Their enduring, rich legacy of quintessentially American music has certainly influenced my music during my entire career, especially in the creation of what I hope to have been elegant and gracious lines for those singing my works. Where Have The Actors Gone is my contribution to this genre of theater/cabaret songs, first introduced by jazz vocalist Sunny Wilkinson at the Improv Theater in Los Angeles and later recorded by Sunny with keyboard artist Shelly Berg on Lauridsen - Northwest Journey (RCM 12001). The story tells of the end of a love relationship through an allegorical tale of actors bringing their play to a close and parting ways. My good friend, Grammy recipient and veteran studio singer Ian Freebairn-Smith, widely known for his many brilliant vocal arrangements, sound tracks and original compositions, has arranged Actors in two versions, one for chorus and piano with my original piano accompaniment intact and the second a more expanded version for a cappella jazz choir. His deft, beautifully-crafted renditions now make this song available to choruses as well. — Morten Lauridsen
The music of Morten Lauridsen, Distinguished Professor of Composition at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, occupies a permanent place in the standard vocal repertoire of the Twenty-First Century. His works, including eight vocal cycles and a series of sacred motets, are regularly performed throughout the world and have been recorded on over 200 CDs, several of which have received Grammy nominations. An award-winning documentary by filmmaker Michael Stillwater, Shining Night: A Portrait of Composer Morten Lauridsen, was released in 2012. Information about the film is at songwithoutborders.net. Named an “American Choral Master” by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2005, he was awarded the 2007 National Medal of Arts, the highest artistic award in the United States, by the President in a White House ceremony “for his composition of radiant choral works combining musical beauty, power, and spiritual depth.” For more about Morten Lauridsen: www.peermusicClassical.com
Where Have The Actors Gone Words and Music by MORTEN LAURIDSEN Moderato
Fm
Fm/Db
simile
Fm
C9 no3rd
Cm/Eb
C/Eq
The play has
have the
Pa tempo
rit.
Ebsus
Bb7/D
end - ed,
the
Eb
Bb/D
Eb/Db
cur-tain drawn. ________________
Db
Db/C
no cheer-ing crowds,
no
au - to-graphs,
There's no
Db/Cb
no
cur-tain calls.
0060736 © Copyright 1976, 2000 by Songs of Peer, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Printed in the U.S.A. Warning: Any reproduction or arrangement of this composition without permission of the publisher is an infringement of copyright.
ap -
An
2
_____
Bbm
a
emp - ty stage,
Ab
Ab/G
Ab
si-lent h a l l . - - ' - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Fmadd9
Cm/Eb
Where have the
Eb
act-ors gone. _ _ _ __
Bb/D
I guess their
Eb/Db
They took the
Ab/C
mar-quee down
and packed their bags
Db/Cb
Db/C
Db
and
said good-bye,
and
took their props, and
3 Bbm
Cb
Gb/Bb
________
Ab
know-ing why. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Ebadd9
Ab
Where have the
Abmaj7
Dbmaj9
act
ors g o n e · - - - - - - - - - - - " ' - - - - -
Gm7
C7b9
They knew their lines by heart,
F add6
they
Fadd9
ne - ver missed
Esus
Where have the
Abmaj7
act
Amaj7
ors
their
F
Fmaj7
cue. _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Dmaj7
gone. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __