Leitmotifs of the Shaperaverse

Throughout the canon of Paul Shapera's works, there are many recurring thematic elements, many of which are represented by segments of music called leitmotifs.

Note: This list is neither definitive nor objective. Interpretations and connections can be drawn differently by different listeners, and as such, this list likely cannot cover every instance of every leitmotif that might be heard, nor can it definitively describe each listed leitmotif's function.

## Motifs introduced in The Dolls of New Albion

### **"Ruin"**

*Motif 1 appears in:* Overture, Annabel Raises the Dead, Edgar Builds a Business, Bonfire of the Dolls, We Bid You All Adieu

*Motif 2 appears in:* Overture, New Albion 3, Bonfire of the Dolls

Two motifs exist which play when something is about to occur that will negatively impact the city of New Albion. Motif 1 first appears as a piano motif in the overture, but gets restated with a Theremin later in the track. It appears later when Annabel is about to successfully revive Jasper, then when Edgar is about to build his business that will contribute to the city's downfall, again when the riots start and prompt the city to enact martial law, and once more in the final song of the album, when New Albion is on the brink of a revolution. In addition to its album appearances, it opens every episode of Astonishing Tales of the Highly Improbable, which is known to take place near the beginning of New Albion's civil war and while Lloyd Allen is formulating his plans for destroying the city.

Motif 2 first appears in the overture as a violin melody, again when the Narrator, Kate, mentions how saturated with Dolls the city has become, and one final time when the riots in the city start, immediately following Motif 1's appearance in that same song.

### **"New Albion"**

*Appears in:*

New Albion 1, New Albion 2, New Albion 3, New Albion 4, New Albion 5, New Albion 6, New Albion 7, New Albion 8, New Albion 9, New Albion 10, New Albion 11

These songs, all of which follow a noticeably similar narrative pattern, rhythm, and/or chord progression, are representative of the city of New Albion. Every time it's heard, the listener is given an update on the state of affairs in the city, as well as smaller goings-on that are less important to the overall plot of the album.

In addition to the songs themselves, another leitmotif occurs within New Albions 1, 2, 4, and 11. It is an 8-bar melody which is *also* associated with the city. It additionally makes an appearance in See Our Show, where it is used as part of a medley by Raven to talk about his absent boyfriend Lloyd Allen, who, unbeknownst to him, has been trapped in New Albion since his death and resurrection as a Doll.

### **"Come/Go Back"**

*Appears in:*

Annabel Raises the Dead, The Day They Come

This leitmotif, sung once by each McAlistair woman, bookends Jasper's time in the land of the living. Annabel sings it when she resurrects Jasper for the first time and Priscilla sings it when Jasper is about to be released to Elysium for the last time.

### **"Angel"**

*Appears in:*

Annabel Raises the Dead, Annabel's Lament, Bonfire of the Dolls, The Day They Come, See Our Show

This leitmotif is sung once in each act of The Dolls of New Albion aside from the 2nd. Each time, it denotes a relationship between Jasper the Doll and the McAlistair family. Each time it's sung by a McAlistair (Annabel and Byron), the McAlistair is in love with Jasper, despite Jasper never showing any interest in them. However, the one time Jasper himself sings it, it's when he realizes his great-granddaughter Priscilla is planning to give him his long-awaited death at the cost of her own life. Previous iterations of the motif have McAlistairs sing it while wanting Jasper to be with them, but this rendition is a role-reversal: it's sung by Jasper when a McAlistair finally wants to let him go. This motif, too, makes an appearance in See Our Show, with Raven using it to directly impel Helen to be with him.

### **"Circles"**

*Appears in:*

Annabel Has a Doll, Edgar Builds a Business, The Day They Come, Rhm / War

Sung by Kate in Dolls of New Albion, this motif essentially summarizes the moral of each character's story. With Annabel, it highlighted that Jasper was less than thrilled to be back in the world of the living, and had no interest in being with her. For Edgar, it outlined his descent into being a terrible person, additionally underscoring the fact that Fay, Jasper's daughter, had no interest in being with Edgar. In Priscilla's act, the motif is used to explain the lesson Priscilla learned: sometimes, happiness involves sacrifice, and repetitive cycles need to be broken from the outside (in this case with the police as the cycle-breakers. Priscilla can't kill Jasper herself, so she has the police do it). Han-Mi attempts to use this motif to make Jakob Jansson stop his cycle of bloodshed, but to no avail.

### **"Elysium"**

*Appears in:*

Annabel Has a Doll, Elysian Night, The Suicide, Bonfire of the Dolls, Uncle Raven's Storytime Theatre: Never Never Land

This motif plays in the context of people wanting to go to Elysium. The first couple times, it's Jasper singing about how he wishes to return Elysium, and then it's heard on the radio immediately following his rendition of it. This prompts Amelia, severely hurt by the world and also longing to go to Elysium, to commit suicide, singing her own rendition of the motif as she does. Following her suicide, a music box-esque version of the motif plays when the words to Jasper's song about Elysium are mentioned to be the contents of her suicide note. The motif makes one final appearance when Raven is explaining that the Crossroads Posties had trapped themselves in a side pocket of Elysium.

### **"Ghosts"**

*Appears in:*

Annabel's Lament, Priscilla and Jasper Play Cards, The Day They Come

Sung by Annabel, this motif is a reflection on what brought her to the point of the song. She reminisces on her childhood and the frame of mind she was in that led her to resurrect Jasper. Jasper, too, uses it as a reflection motif (among other things), several generations later. He reflects on the downfall of New Albion, which he has watched play out for generations thanks to the McAlistairs, noting that the only way to halt it is for someone to give up personal interest, or sacrifice. He additionally tells Priscilla about Fay, and illustrates the relationship between love and sacrifice by admitting that he's performing a sacrifice in staying alive, just so that Priscilla, whom he's come to love, can live. He then repeats this motif bitterly when Priscilla calls the police, reflecting on the lives he's been around to watch end, as well as the cycle of selfish, petty drama that's about to get Priscilla killed.

### **"Burn"**

*Appears in:*

Edgar Gets His Heart Broken, Fay Considers Edgar's Proposal, The Day They Come, See Our Show

This motif generally is taken as a warning that its addressee will face consequences for their actions. Edgar uses it to swear that Fay will regret dumping him, Fay uses it to swear that Edgar will face consequences for coercing her into marriage, Jasper uses it to swear that New Albion's police force (possibly representing the city at large) will face consequences for killing Priscilla, and Raven uses it while attempting to coerce Helen into marriage, possibly as a mirror of Edgar and Fay's situation.

### **"McAlistair Speech"**

*Appears in:*

Edgar Builds a Business, The Movement 1, The Movement 2, Bonfire of the Dolls, The Hunt

This is the motif used by Edgar and Byron whenever they make speeches to the public, whether it's Edgar trying to sell his Dolls or Byron trying to get one elected. Noticeably, Byron's use of the motif is at a higher tempo than Edgar's until after Amelia's death, where he matches his father's tempo much more closely. Its use in "The Movement 2" additionally makes a brief appearance at the beginning of The Room Beneath New Albion's "The Hunt" in order to show that the events in both songs are concurrent.

### **"Voodoopunk Chant"**

*Motif 1 appears in:* New Albion 3, Voodoopunk, The Gangster, My Secret Playmate

*Motif 2 appears in:* The Movement 1, Voodoopunk, The Discussion 2, The Voodoopunks, Blood Red Dogs, Reunion, Kyrie, The Lovers, The Deceit, The Voodoopunks' Ascension, The Hippiepunk Overture, The Balley A-Go-Go, The Balley (Murder Mystery)

Here are 2 major motifs associated with the Voodoopunks. The first one is an esoteric-sounding chant that appears in "New Albion 3" to signify the rise of the Voodoopunks, then in "Voodoopunk" as part of one of their rituals, then again in "The Gangster" to signify the time at which the song (and the album as a whole) takes place. It also appears in the track "My Secret Playmate," and notably, this instance of the chant predates all others. This version, which likely served as inspiration for the others, is a recording of an actual Vodou ritual in what appears to be Haitian Creole, but at the time of writing this, it has not been translated by Paul or any listeners.

Motif 2 is the Dollay one. In almost every major appearance of the Voodoopunks during Dolls, and every one of their major appearances thereafter, this chant or some variation of it is heard.

### **"The Movement"**

*Appears in:*

The Movement 1, The Movement 2

This motif conveys a brief overview of the Voodoopunks' beliefs and motives. The first instance reveals that Byron participates in Voodoopunk out of love for Jasper and as a way to rebel against the world Edgar created. The second instance expounds upon Amelia's thoughts and feelings: she seeks companionship, she loves Byron but understands that he won't have her, and she participates in the movement as a form of refuge from her abusive father.

### **"The Day We Come"**

*Appears in:*

New Albion 4, Priscilla and Jasper Play Cards, The Day They Come, The Bust, The Discussion 2, The Substation, Finale, Ark 1, The Balley (Katy Shaw), The Warehouse, Operation Boogly Oogly, Nash & Ryvyr Grok 2, Ryvyr's Reunion, The First Crime Scene

This is the cop motif of New Albion. In every use from the New Albion Tetralogy, it's used to denote police activity, paramilitary activity, or at least direct legal intervention on behalf of the city. In Katy Shaw, it's used by New Albion's police force and by Sheila when she's revealed to be their informant. It gets 3 uses in Nash Harding, each consisting of Amber (not actually police, but rather Arcadia security, or the fun police) humorously failing to properly invoke it. In "The First Crime Scene," its role as the police motif is alluded to when Kevin stops Abi from invoking it.

## Motifs introduced in The New Albion Radio Hour

### **"The Soiree"**

*Appears in:* The New Albion Radio Hour Overture, The Soiree

This motif represents the soiree Constance attends which serves as a turning point for the story as a whole.

### **"The New Albion Radio Hour"**

*Appears in:* New Albion 5, The Thief, Waiting, New Albion 6, Katy Shaw

This motif shows up at the beginning of the narration for each act. Regardless of whether Lloyd opens with a Papaver Cigarettes advertisement, as soon as he's ready to get into the story, this plays. It additionally plays at the beginning of the last track, New Albion 6, which serves as an epilogue to the events that had transpired in the songs before it. Towards the beginning of Katy Shaw's eponymous song, it can be heard being shouted in the background by an unknown figure.