This short scene moves the story along as the night is almost over and Old Deuteronomy is about to choose who goes to the Heaviside Layer. It consists of two parts: a reprise of "Memory" ("Daylight") and a spoken verse ("The Jellicle Choice").
Context[]
After Mistoffelees successfully brings Old Deuteronomy back to the tribe, Jemima (also known as Sillabub), noticing that it is nearly dawn and the night is nearly over, sings a reprise of "Memory".
Munkustrap then explains to the Jellicles that Old Deuteronomy will now make the Jellicle Choice. Before the patriarch can commence, Grizabella interrupts. Old Deuteronomy lets Grizabella speak, which leads into "Memory".
Music[]
After the jubilation of the preceding "Magical Mister Mistoffelees", the mood quietens as the orchestra begins playing the recurring Jellicle theme, heard here in its two-phrase form and intoned on synthesizer bells (labelled on the score as "Jellicle Bells").[1]
The two-phrase Jellicle theme opens this number.
Listen to a midi transcription showcasing the Jellicle theme in its two-phrase form.
The music transitions to the melody of "Memory" as Jemima/Sillabub sings the first half of the number. This reprise of "Memory" has a moderately slow tempo ("andante"), and is composed in the key of D major with a chord progression of D-Bm-G-F#m-Em-Bm-A-G/A-D. The first verse is set in the 12/8 time signature, shifting meters to 10/8 at the start of the second verse and then to 6/8 on the singer's last note. Jemima/Sillabub's vocals span from B3 to E5.
The time signature changes mid-song
The second half of the number is performed by Munkustrap as a hushed spoken verse, accompanied once again by the same two-phrase Jellicle theme that opened the number.[1]
Lyrics[]
Jemima/Sillabub:
Daylight,
See the dew on a sunflower.
And a rose that is fading,
Roses wither away.
Like the sunflower,
I yearn to turn my face to the dawn.
I am waiting,
For the day.
Munkustrap:
Now, Old Deuteronomy, just before dawn,
Through a silence you feel you could cut with a knife,
Announces the cat who can now be reborn
And come back to a different Jellicle Life.
Translations[]
Audio[]
- "Daylight" and "Memory" from the 1981 London cast recording
- "Daylight" and "Memory" from the 1983 Broadway cast recording
- "Daylight" snippet from the 2006 Dutch tour cast recording (incl. opening Jellicle theme)
Note: .ogg files cannot be played on iOS devices
Video[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Megamusical, Indiana University Press (2006). Page 141. ISBN 978-0-253-34793-0.
| v • e Musical Numbers | |
|---|---|
| Productions | Broadway Score • Australian Score • 1998 Film Score • UK Tour 2003 Score • UK Tour 2016 Score • Broadway 2016 Score |
| Act One | Overture • Jellicle Songs • The Naming of Cats • Invitation • The Old Gumbie Cat • The Rum Tum Tugger • Grizabella: The Glamour Cat • Bustopher Jones • Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer • Old Deuteronomy • Pekes and Pollicles • The Song of the Jellicles • Jellicle Ball • Memory (Prelude) |
| Act Two | The Moments of Happiness • Gus: The Theatre Cat • Growltiger's Last Stand • Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat • Macavity • Macavity Fight • Magical Mister Mistoffelees • Daylight • Memory • The Journey to the Heaviside Layer • Ad-Dressing of Cats • Finale - Bows and Play-out |