Claude-Michel Schönberg, “Stars” from Les Misérables

by Kevin Lu | April 16, 2021

The Romantic era was one of the most prominent epochs in the history of literature. It emphasized a stronger desire for the individuality of the artists and brought forth more liberty of expression. Artists often referenced medievalism as a model for inspiration as opposed to the more rational models from the classical era, which resulted in an unprecedented elevation in emotional intensity and drama. As such, emotional scope, depth, and artistic expression were often pushed towards the extremes, yielding a spectrum of emotions that extend beyond the limits of calculation, measurement, or imitation. Victor Hugo (1802–1885) was one of the most prominent writers from the Romantic era and one of the greatest from his native country, France. His creative output was highly prolific, and he wrote abundantly in various genres, including poetry, drama, novels, and even satires. Outside of France, Hugo is mainly credited for his novels such Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Though both novels are widely acclaimed worldwide, Les Misérables is particularly known for its immense length, broad scope of subject matter, and portrayal of history.

Les Misérables was published in full on May 15th, 1862, and was likely Hugo’s most ambitious project. Unlike traditional novels, Les Misérables consists of a series of five volumes in one book with various interceding subplots and interludes in between for discussions of historical matters. The main plot, however, depicts the journey of Jean Valjean, who began as a criminal that was released after serving 19 years in prison. His criminal past renders it impossible for him to find shelter, but to his glory, he was able to find refuge in the residence of M. Myriel, the bishop of Digne. Though the bishop was very kind to Valjean, Valjean wasn’t able to shake off his criminal self as he attempted to run away with the bishop’s silverware. When the police arrest Valjean, the bishop instead defends him and narrowly spares his life. Feeling grateful and inspired to fulfill his pledge to the bishop to make an honest man of himself, Valjean made it a mission to repent and cleanse his sins. The whole novel depicts the long and tiring struggle as Valjean strives to walk down the redemptive path, knowing that another apprehension could mean a life sentence as a repeat offender. Though the novel is widely regarded as a masterpiece, it was subject to a lot of harsh criticism upon its publication. Many critics complained about the content of the novel being “artificial” and “boring,” as well as its portrayal of the political situation that took place decades earlier. While it is true that Hugo’s reputation as a writer was controversial at times due to his heavy involvement in politics, his views of the most prominent issues in society at the time were reflected accurately and contributed to the novel's success.

The immense success of the work has led to numerous different adaptations in the media, notably in the recent movie adaptations. The 2012 movie adaption of Les Misérables, based on the English translation of the original musical, was one of the most compelling renditions of the novel ever to exist. It was directed by Tom Hoper and starred an ensemble cast that consisted of very distinguished and prominent actors such as Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, and Russell Crowe. The immense success of the film has led it to garner numerous awards. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three. Anne Hathaway’s performance in the movie was especially a standout as she won one of the Academy Awards as well as a Golden Globe and a BAFTA award for best-supporting actress.

The movie version had produced fascinating interpretations of songs that became great hits, such as “I Dreamed a Dream,” “Do You Hear the People Sing?” and “One Day More.” However, there were also many other songs throughout that were equally important in representing the plot. “Stars” is an excellent example as it gives a lot of insight into the plot and the character of the main antagonist, Javert. Javert is a local police inspector known for his unrelenting determination to serve the law against all odds. His rivalry with Valjean is extremely deep-seated and worsens when Valjean escapes from prison after confessing his identity. Nine years later, Valjean gets robbed by the Thénardiers, the other antagonists of the story, and their gang in which Javert is called into action. Not recognizing Valjean at first, he arrests the Thénardiers and their gang for their crime which allows Valjean to escape. Finding out only later that his rival had slipped from his grasp yet once again, Javert sings the song as a way of expressing his determination to fulfill his destiny. Lyrical in nature, the music contains buildups to climaxes that help convey Javert’s relentless and unyielding character. It incorporates elements from both the classical and modern style of music writing, and it could be seen as a way of reflecting the time that the plot takes place in, which are from the years 1815–1832. Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Javert was unfortunately criticized quite heavily in contrast to the very positive reception of some of the other leading cast members. While it is true that Crowe’s singing throughout the movie did not stand out, I believe that the casting of Crowe was a great choice as his portrayal of Javert’s character was convincing and that he also embodied the physical attributes of Javert very accurately.

The elements of phrasing in “Stars” can be traced in multiple ways. In general, Robin Attas describes the phrase as “a musical unit with goal-directed motion towards a clear conclusion, created through the manipulation of text, harmony, rhythm, and melodic contour.” As such, this definition can help with the framework for the analysis of phrasing in this piece. The overall form of the piece can be thought of as A-A’-Coda; the two A sections contain tightly knit phrase structures, while the Coda is much looser in its phrase construction. In the A section, the first group of phrases consists of repetitions of a basic idea, a three-note stepwise pattern on the downbeat of the next measure followed by a gesture that resembles a phrase ending.

Each of the repetitions happens on the same beat placement and is separated by a rest. Because a vast majority of the piece is based on repetitions of motives separated by rests, the breathing won’t be taken into consideration when determining phrase endings. The repetitions do, however, create a feeling of regularity which can help with the phrase analysis. Each phrase consists of two repetitions of the basic idea, which establishes a flat melodic contour before a change in register occurs. The change in register causes a disturbance in the overall melodic contour, creating a sense of direction leading into a phrase ending.

Thus, we can conclude that a phrase ends on the downbeat of measures 6 and 10. However, the second phrase ending is extended with an extra basic idea, and so the actual phrase ending happens on the downbeat of m. 11. The slight adjustment in phrase length can be justified in a way so that the phrase endings are on scale degrees ^5 and ^1, respectively. It yields a pairing of phrases to higher levels to create compound structures which, in this case, results in an antecedent-consequent phrase structure commonly found in classical music.

The antecedent-consequent phrase structure can also be seen through the identical chord progression from mm. 3–6 and 7–11 and the similarities in the motivic relationships between the two phrases. There is a descending thirds sequence in the harmonic progression, which features passing 6/4 chords. This kind of sequence could be seen as a more modernized approach to the traditional sequences found in classical music. It helps to yield a stepwise descending bass line that leads into an emphatic predominant prolongation, IV-ii, and then an arrival on the dominant.

After m. 11, there is the presentation of new material, which is repeated in a similar manner. The addition of sixteenth notes to the basic ideas helps to increase the feeling of agitation on Javert’s part, and with every repetition, the register develops and gets higher. After three repetitions, the repetition is disturbed, after which a phrase ending occurs on the downbeat of measure 15.

Afterwards, the next phrase goes through a series of mixture chords before closing on the dominant chord, which hints towards a new tonality of bIII (G Major), the key where the coda is headed. Though there is no antecedent-consequent phrase structure evident, the phrase endings can be confirmed with the overall rhyme scheme, where the phrase endings happen on “reward” and “sword”, the only two words that rhyme in the entire verse. The A section is then repeated with different verses with slight adjustments to the melody line.

The coda begins in m. 34. The coda is different because it is more elaborate harmonically and motivically, which results in a much longer phrase length. Harmonically, this section is very intricate, as it contains a stepwise descending chromatic bass line, leading up to m. 38. On top of the bass line, the melody line is also more erratic than the A sections; the sense of direction is more ambiguous, and there are also some polyrhythms. The melodic and harmonic characteristics could be justified by the fact that they are used to convey the feeling of intense turmoil in the most emotionally dramatic section of the piece. Thus, only a phrase ending on m. 38 can be observed in which a half cadence is present.

Following the half cadence, the music modulates to G major, where fragments of the phrases heard in the A section are stated. Instead of addressing the stars in the preceding A sections, Javert now shifts the focus to himself. In the last four measures, he elevates his register and comes to an emphatic ending on the repetition of the high Ds as a way of expressing his relentless determination to complete the hunt.

There are important musical implications that can be made with the phrasing. Throughout, the music refuses to cadence on a PAC, which creates a feeling of a lack of conclusion. It could be seen as another way of expressing Javert’s determination, but it also could be interpreted as an act of foreshadowing the plot. Later in the plot, Javert gets captured by the revolutionaries after admitting his identity, but is saved by Valjean. Though Javert is extremely grateful that his life was spared by a man who always carried an evil image inside his head, he now gets confronted by thoughts he never dealt with. He always believed that to act lawfully is also to act morally and that a man can never do good after being condemned, but all of that changes. Because Valjean is now officially both a criminal and a good person, Javert is presented with a situation where he cannot act lawfully without acting immorally and vice versa. Feeling unable to cope with the dilemma, Javert decides that the only solution to his problem is to take his own life, which he does so by throwing himself into the river Seine. The inability for the music to end on a solid PAC may allude to the fact that Javert’s goal of capturing Valjean will never be attained despite his determination otherwise to fulfill his destiny.

The analysis of phrasing is, in general, a valuable step when it comes to the overall understanding of the song. Although many grey areas still lie within defining a phrase, there are many valuable tools on a theoretical level that can help uncover the ambiguity behind this lack of consensus. Harmony, melody, and text can all serve a role in determining phrase endings as there are subtle elements from each that can be cross-referenced in the analysis. Singers can especially benefit from the analysis of phrases as it could give them insight into how to organize and articulate their interpretative ideas more convincingly. “Stars” sets forth a great example as its phrase structures are straightforward due to its relative simplicity in its melodic and harmonic elements. By analyzing the phrasing in further detail, it is also possible to trace the significance of the song concerning the plot, which can help with the interpretative details as well as the overall embodiment of the character.