Specifically, something they do countless times throughout the newly-released Broadway cast album. If you’ve listened to “Chant,” “Epic II,” or any of the other updated versions of the songs from Hadestown, you’ll notice that the Workers Chorus uses a loud /k/ sound mixed in with their lyrics. So what does it really mean when the five-person ensemble does this?
I haven’t been lucky enough to see Hadestown, and probably won’t for a while unless by some lucky chance it goes on tour, but I’ve been brainstorming to figure out the significance of the /k/. There’s a small chance that it doesn’t have any rhyme or reason, but it seems like everything in Hadestown is connected to something else, so there’s got to be something there.
Another point I have to make about this detail is that in the 2016 workshop recording, the sound was pretty much only used in “Chant” and its reprise. Now, I hear it in many of the other songs, especially ones that weren’t on the old recording and were newly released for Broadway. Other things have changed on the album for sure, but there’s a significant reason to the rest of them.
If anyone knows why the workers do what they do so often, please please PLEASE let me know because I’m in love with this musical and I want to know everything! P.S. I’m back! I just finished my two-weekend run of Peter Pan, which was time-consuming, and while I’m sad to see it end, now I can write again!
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