Musical Division and Juxtaposition in Sondheim’s Musical Sunday in the Park with George

The musical Sunday in the Park with George (1984) is based on the pointillist painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and portrays the life and art of the painter Georges Seurat. Composer Stephen Sondheim adapted the concept of ‘dots' from the painting into the elements of the musical, including stage design, drama, and music, creating a new form of musical distinct from traditional ones. This study analyzes how the techniques of division and juxtaposition in Sunday in the Park with George enable new artistic expressions through the fusion of music and painting. Focusing on the representative songs ‘Color and Light, ‘Eulogies,' and ‘Move On,' this research explores the implementation of pointillistic scenarios and musical pointillism. The results show that Sondheim extended the possibilities of artistic expression by applying Seurat's pointillism to the concepts of musical division and juxtaposition. Specifically, he expressed the division and juxtaposition of colors through short, monosyllabic words and fragmented melodies, while reinforcing the work's coherence and unity through the repetition of leitmotifs and the use of intersecting harmonies. This study provides foundational insights into evaluating the impact of Sondheim's techniques on modern musical creation and understanding how his works pioneer new artistic boundaries through interaction with other art forms.