Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record charts, which track differing musical styles or genres. In some contexts, the term "crossover" can have negative connotations associated with cultural appropriation, implying the dilution of a music's distinctive qualities to appeal to mass tastes. For example, in the early years of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

, many songs originally recorded by African-American musicians were re-recorded by white artists such as Pat Boone in a more toned-down style, often with changed

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

, that lacked the hard edge of the original versions. These covers were popular with a much broader audience. Crossover frequently results from the appearance of the music in a film soundtrack. For instance, Sacred Harp music experienced a spurt of crossover popularity as a result of its appearance in the 2003 film '' Cold Mountain'', and

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

experienced a revival due to the reception of 2000's '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?''.

Classical crossover

Classical crossover broadly encompasses both

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

that has become popularized and a wide variety of

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

forms performed in a classical manner or by classical artists. It can also refer to collaborations between classical and popular performers, as well as music that blends elements of classical music (including

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic and symphonic) with popular music (including pop, rock, middle of the road, and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, among other types). Pop vocalists and musicians, opera singers, classical instrumentalists, and occasionally rock groups primarily perform classical crossover. Although the phenomenon has long been widespread in the music industry, record companies first used the term "classical crossover" in the 1980s. It has gained in popularity since the 1990s and has acquired its own ''Billboard'' chart.

Popular classics

A means of generating vast popularity for the classics has been through their use as inspirational anthems in sports settings. The aria " Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's '' Turandot'', especially Luciano Pavarotti's version, has become indissolubly linked with soccer."Nessun Dorma put football back on map"
''The Telegraph'', 7 September 2007 (accessed 24 September 2015).

Classical performers

Within the classical recording industry, the term "crossover" is applied particularly to classical artists' recordings of popular repertoire such as Broadway show tunes. Two examples of this are Lesley Garrett's excursions into musical comedy and José Carreras's recording '' West Side Story'', as well as Teresa Stratas' recording '' Showboat''. Soprano Eileen Farrell is generally considered to be one of the first classical singers to have a successful crossover recording with her 1960 album ''I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues''. The first Three Tenors concert in 1990 was a landmark in which Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras and Plácido Domingo brought a combination of opera, Neapolitan folksong, musical theatre and pop to a vast television audience. This laid the foundations for the modern flourishing of classical crossover. Collaborations between classical and popular performers have included Sting and Edin Karamazov's album '' Songs from the Labyrinth''. A collaboration between Freddie Mercury and soprano Montserrat Caballé resulted in the worldwide hit "

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

". R&B singer Mariah Carey performed a live duet with her mother Patricia, who is an opera singer, of the Christmas song " O Come, All Ye Faithful". Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins performed a duet with rock singer Michael Bolton of O Holy Night. Singers and instrumentalists from the classical tradition, Andreas Dorschel has argued, run the risk of losing the sophistication of the genre(s) they were trained in, when they try to perform rock music, without coming up to the often rough and wild qualities of the latter. Italian pop tenor Andrea Bocelli, who is the biggest-selling singer in the history of classical music, has been described as the king of classical crossover. British soprano Sarah Brightman is also considered a crossover classical artist, having released albums of classical, folk, pop and musical-theatre music. Brightman dislikes the classical crossover label, though she has said she understands the need to categorize music. In the 2008 Polish release of her '' Symphony'' album she sings " I Will Be with You (Where the Lost Ones Go)" with Polish tenor Andrzej Lampert, another artist who has performed in both classical and non-classical styles, as well as having actually obtained full musical training and academic degrees in both (though operatic singing is his main professional focus).

References

Bibliography

* *Lonergan, David F. ''Hit Records, 1950–1975''. Scarecrow Press, 2004.

External links

Article on the definition of Classical Crossover
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