recitative vs song and dance

recitative

noun
  • dialogue, in an opera etc, that, rather than being sung as an aria, is reproduced with the rhythms of normal speech, often with simple musical accompaniment or harpsichord continuo, serving to expound the plot 

adj
  • of a recital 

song and dance

noun
  • Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see song, and, dance. 

  • An excessively elaborate story or excuse used to justify something. 

  • An excessively complex set of instructions. 

  • A display of unnecessary excitement or activity. 

How often have the words recitative and song and dance occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )