American Voices

AMERICAN VOICES OF 20TH CENTURY WIND BAND MUSIC: A STUDY OF SELECTED MUSIC BY WILLIAM GRANT STILL, WILLIAM

SCHUMAN, VINCENT PERSICHETTI AND AARON COPLAND

by

Ellizar Abalos

A Study in partial fulfillment of the

requirements for the Degree of Master of Music

School of Music Advisor: Dr. Robert Spradling

Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan

May, 2012

Copyright by Ellizar Abalos

2012

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To#my#wife#Vanessa#

AMERICAN VOICES: A STUDY OF WIND BAND MUSIC DEVELOPMENT

THROUGH SELECTED MUSIC BY WILLIAM GRANT STILL, WILLIAM SCHUMAN, VINCENT PERSICHETTI

AND AARON COPLAND

Ellizar Abalos

Western Michigan University, 2012 In the first half of the 20th century, through the early 1960’s, the development

of wind band literature contributed a large part to the creation of an American voice. Through the efforts of the College Band Director’s National Association (CBDNA), the American Bandmaster’s Association (ABA), and the Michigan Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA), the best of symphonic writers were invited to compose for band and help grow the medium.

A large group of American symphonic composers, many of which studied

with European teachers, started as popular-nationalists and then developed into modern-traditionalists. Other American symphonic writers just wanted to contribute traditional classical music rather than creating an “American” identity. Popular-nationalists evoked folk tunes or its vernacular, like the Hungarian Bela Bartok, to create a national flavor. A large influence in this movement was the trend of incorporating jazz (catalyst) and the use of serialism or twelve-tone (antagonist) in academia. Arnold Schoenberg had asserted that the current tonal system had been exhausted. In response, a group of national-modernists proved this idiom false.

Composers such as William Grant Still, William Schuman, Vincent

Persichetti, and Aaron Copland developed a “modern” American sound that retained a connection to tonality and rejected the language of Late Romanticism without relinquishing accessibility to general audiences. While many enjoyed a small period of popularity and critical favor, Copland developed a lasting reputation.

This period in wind band music development has greatly expanded textural

orchestration, the extended use of harmony, using rhythm as an equal partner to melody and creating motives that develop through the piece. These techniques ultimately created the American Voice of the mid-Twentieth Century. This paper will discuss how these elements were used in the music of four selected pieces. The compositions selected include: Afro-American Symphony (1930) by William Grant Still, George Washington Bridge (1950) by William Schuman, Pageant (1954) by Vincent Persichetti, and Emblems (1964) by Aaron Copland.

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It has been a nomad’s journey to get to where I am today. Little did I know

that almost nineteen years after arriving from the Philippines, in the summer of 1993,

that I would finish a Master of Music degree in conducting. It was always my

family’s wishes and my own that the medical track would be my future. Alas, that

did not come to fruition and my passion for teaching and music will burn eternal.

My first thanks goes to my main advisor, Dr. Robert Spradling, who has led

me to the path of discovery in finding the best literature for wind band, imparting the

philosophies of a righteous life, teaching me to accept and conquer my weaknesses

and to balance the emotional and rational aspects of being a conductor. I am in debt

of gratitude for all the lessons and knowledge he has imparted to me. Second, to Dr.

Montgomery, whose leadership with the marching band and concert bands are

uncanny and something to which I will strive to achieve in the budding years of my

career. I enjoyed our impromptu talks as I searched for immediate input on my ideas

and dreams. I also thank Dr. David Code and Dr. Stanley Pelkey for challenging me

academically. You have both been the beacon of my academic track at Western

Michigan University and I hope not to stray from the path of discovery and

enlightenment.

My most important gesture of gratitude goes to my wife, Vanessa Abalos,

who through the first two years of our marriage allowed me the time and supported

me through the entirety of the program. She is the rock and inspiration for everything

I do. Thanks also to my mother and stepfather, Edita and Mark, for their undying

support and understanding through the hours I spend studying, practicing and

listening in solitude.

Ellizar Abalos

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................... ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... iii - iv

APPENDECIS / LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................. v - viii

CHAPTER

I. WILLIAM GRANT STILL: A POPULIST, NATIONALIST AND AMERICAN COMPOSER’S STRUGGLE AND TRIUMPH ............. 1

Introduction ...................................................................................... 2

The Early Childhood ........................................................................... 3

The Practical Development of a young musician................................ 5

Revisiting William Grant Still’s Music............................................... 9

A Conclusion and Manifest by William Grant Still ............................ 12

Analysis of the Afro-American Symphony: The Central Blues Theme ............................................................................................................. 17

II. WILLIAM SCHUMAN: A VOICE OF STEEL – THE MODERN TRADITIONALIST ................................................................................. 21

Introduction ...................................................................................... 22

The Early Childhood ........................................................................... 23

Development and Early Exploration ................................................... 24

Influence of Roy Harris....................................................................... 25

Schuman’s Compositional Technique................................................. 29

Key Compositions: Sixth Symphony (dual tonality)............................ 32

Key Compositions: George Washington Bridge ................................. 34

Analysis of George Washington Bridge: Absolute Music ................. 35

Table of Contents—continued

iv iv

III. VINCENT PERSICHETTI: MODERN TRADITIONALIST – TWENTIETH CENTURY HARMONY ................................................ 41

Introduction ...................................................................................... 42

Early Childhood .................................................................................. 43

Development and Early Exploration ................................................... 44

Persichetti and Music .......................................................................... 45

Twentieth-Century Harmony by Persichetti........................................ 48

Key Compositions: Pageant................................................................ 49

Analysis of Pageant: Increasing the Band Repertoire ....................... 50

IV. AARON COPLAND: A NEW PERSPECTIVE..................................... 53

Introduction ...................................................................................... 54

Influence of Nadia Boulanger ............................................................. 56

Copland and Jazz ................................................................................. 58

Cubism Influencing Copland............................................................... 59

Key Compositions: Piano Variations 1930……………....................... 61

The CBDNA 1964 Commission: Limitless Boundaries ..................... 63

Analysis of Emblems: A New Perspective ......................................... 64

A. Form .......................................................................................... 64

B. Harmony .................................................................................... 66

C. Rhythm ...................................................................................... 68

D. Motive/Melodic Lines ............................................................... 70

E. Orchestration.............................................................................. 71


v v

F. Conclusion.................................................................................. 72

BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................. 73

APPENDICES

A. Errata for George Washington Bridge ........................................................

B. Performance Notes: George Washington Bridge .......................................

C. Errata for Emblems .....................................................................................

D. Performance Notes: Emblems.....................................................................

E. Errata for Pagaent ......................................................................................

F. Performance Notes: Pagaent ......................................................................

G. Errata Scherzo for Band.............................................................................

H. Performance Notes: Scherzo for Band ......................................................

I. Pagaent, Movement I: An Essay in Modal Counterpoint ..........................

J. Pagaent, Movement II: First half of Theme A...........................................

K. Pagaent, Movement II: Two statements of Theme B.................................

L. Pagaent, Movement II: An 8-bar coda with a very rich final chord ..........


vi vi

LIST OF FIGURES

1. W. Grant Still’s long lasting friendship with W.C. Handy................................. 6

2. Correspondence between Still and W.C. Handy................................................. 13

3. W.C. Handy in 1933. .......................................................................................... 14

4. W.C. Handy (late 1920). ..................................................................................... 15

5. Symphonic Suite Mvt. 1, Jubilee by G.W. Chadwick (Still’s Teacher). ............ 16

6. Principal Theme (1st movt., mm 7-18)................................................................ 17

7. Recurrence of the blues motive in a coda (3rd Mvt., mm. 19-98) ....................... 18

8. Prinicpal Theme “Call and Response” (1st Mvt., mm. 7-10, mm. 9-10). ........... 18

9. Transitional phrase leading to an eight-measure episode that implies the variance of the rhythmic/note figure.............................................................. 18

10. Episode employing figure in variation mm. 39-46…………………………… 19 11. W.G. Still’s harmonic analysis ......................................................................... 26

12. Example of Harris’ Autogenesis– motive develops. ........................................ 27

13. Harris Explains His Technique ......................................................................... 28

14. Example #2 of Harris’ Autogenesis.................................................................. 29

15. Schuman’s*Angular*melodies ......................................................................... 30

16. Schuman’s Lyrical Melodies ............................................................................ 30

17. Schuman’s Sensitivity in Orpheus’ lute............................................................ 31

18. Dissonant vs Consonant Harmony.................................................................... 32

19. Polytonality ....................................................................................................... 32

20. Jazz Rhythms .................................................................................................... 32


vii vii

21. Harmonic Duality in Schuman’s Sixth Symphony........................................... 33

22.*Early*indications*of*the*‘oblique*interval*expansion ........................................... * 33*

23.*Schuman’s*impression*on*George&Washington&Bridge ......................................... & 34*

24.*Bichordal Opening Bb – low brass, C – high brass (mm. 1-4)......................... 35

25. Rhythmic transition........................................................................................... 36

26. Theme #2 – Chromaticism and Angular melody.............................................. 36

27. Theme #3 – rhythmic and disjunct, but playful ................................................ 37

28. Theme #4 Flowing, but angular ........................................................................ 38

29. Form Chart ........................................................................................................ 38

30. Pandiatonic Cluster ........................................................................................... 39

31. Rhythmic Motives............................................................................................. 39

32. Secundal Chords ............................................................................................... 40

33. Tension Crescendo (oblique interval expansion).............................................. 40

34. Complete Band Works...................................................................................... 47

35. Movement I: An Essay in Modal Counterpoint................................................ 51

36. Movement II, A Street Parade .......................................................................... 52

37. Tied Syncopation .............................................................................................. 58

38. Nude Descending a Staircase............................................................................ 60

39. Rhythmic Displacement Piano Variations, Vivace, mm. 151-158 .................. 61

40. Rhythmic Displacement/Signs of Serialism, Piano Variations mm. 17-38 ..... 62

41. Simple Form – Ternary..................................................................................... 65

42. Full Form .......................................................................................................... 65

43. Subsection of B................................................................................................. 66


viii viii

44. Subsection of Returning A................................................................................ 66

45. Sequential Writing ............................................................................................ 67

46. Ascending/Descending Motives (min. 3rd) ....................................................... 67

47. Contrary Chromatic Motion.............................................................................. 67

48. Section B Snare drum Motive........................................................................... 68

49. Jazz Influence ................................................................................................... 69

50. Coda Fanfare..................................................................................................... 69

51. Conjunct Melody .............................................................................................. 70

52. Disjunct Melody ............................................................................................... 70

53. Amazing Grace ................................................................................................. 70

! 1!

WILLIAM GRANT STILL A Populist - American Composer’s Struggle and Triumph

CHAPTER ONE

! 2!

Introduction

As a forgotten keystone of twentieth century American music and composition,

William Grant Still is an important part of America’s musical history. He struggled

against racism and discrimination in a world dominated mostly by intellectuals, most of

whom were white. His efforts were not only to get his music performed, but also to get it

accepted at the highest level of performance next to names such as Henry Cowell, Aaron

Copland, George W. Chadwick, and Howard Hanson. His music is unique, drawing from

the roots of black music, experience of prejudice and slavery, and the importance of

making music relative to the audience at hand. Still connects with his listeners. His

works included symphonies, operas, chamber, wind ensemble, and choral genres.

William Grant Still furthered music through modernist compositions, but stayed

grounded through the creation of an American sound that was demanded by audiences

and brought forth through the mastery of the modern composer. He sought a forward

drive in music that made the responsibility of creating a unique American music a dual-

role between composer and audience. Though mostly forgotten, because of the politics

of race and class, I believe that William Grant Still’s music should be studied with

seriousness and the depth at which we cover other American composers of the present

and past. His teachers included well-known composers, modernist, Edgar Varese and

Americana-composer, George Whitfield Chadwick. One of Still’s most famous works

include Afro-American Symphony. We will analyze and study the social and musical

aspects of this key composition. To begin we must explore the composer’s beginnings.

! 3!

The Early Childhood

William Grant Still was born in Woodville, Mississippi in 1895 and became

world renowned for his Afro-American subject and Afro-American folk idiom, which

was new to the ears of the academic music world of the times. His parents, William Grant

Sr. and Carrie Lena (Fambo) Still, were both teachers with college educations. Still’s

father taught music at the Agricultural and Mechanical college of Alabama.

Unfortunately, Still Sr. died when Still was just three months old. Still’s mother moved

them to Little Rock, Arkansas, where they lived with his maternal grandmother.

According to Verna Arvey, Still’s future spouse, he was to be musically educated through

the influence of his maternal grandmother:

“While his grandmother worked about their house, she sang hymns and spirituals.

“Little David, Play on Yo’ Harp” was one of her favorites. Thus he grew up with the

songs of his people, and grew to love the old hymns, which he plays today with the

addition of such exquisite harmonies that they assume unsuspected beauty. A communal

habit of the childhood days was that of serenading. It was pleasant to be awakened from

slumber by such sweet sounds. He has always deplored the passing of the custom.” 1

An enriching force in his life included his stepfather, Charles B. Shepperson, a

railway postal clerk, who deeply loved music – particularly opera. His salary was just

enough to purchase a phonograph on which William listened to many Red Seal records.

Charles played a large role in Still’s early musical development. Charles would engage

Still in conversations about the musical shows, the singing activities, and the concerts and

plays they would attend.2

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!Robert B. Haas, ed. William Grant Still and the Fusion of Cultures in American Music, Los Angeles: Black Sparrow Press, 1972, 3.

2!Haas,!William Grant Still,!4.!

! 4!

The most influential individual in Still’s life was his mother. She moved the

young Still to a bigger city, where he would have more opportunity, such as playing in a

larger high school band in Little Rock Public Schools. Carrie Lena Still, Still’s mother,

had a strong determination, talent and high moral character. She commanded the

attention of a room and taught her son, at home and in the classroom, the strictness of a

lifelong teacher. She showed no favoritism. The hard work and dedication she gave to

her son made him successful early on. William Grant Still graduated from high school at

the age of sixteen, was first honor bearer and class valedictorian.3

Still’s first undertaking in college was to attain a Bachelor of Science degree from

Wilberforce University in Wilberforce, Ohio. His mother highly disagreed with the idea

of studying music in college. She saw no future for her son in music – especially since

he was colored. She believed that the prejudice against a black composer would leave

Still either working for side bands, or musical stages or local bands. She never believed

that a black composer could ever live up to the standards of the white composer and the

long list of accomplished European composers. Nevertheless at Wilberforce, Still

pursued his passion for music. He arranged and composed music for a string quartet and

later joined and became the bandleader in the Wilberforce Band. The first scores he

bought were Weber’s Oberon and Wagner’s Flying Dutchman. Still learned to play

violin, the oboe and clarinet. He would not finish college, leaving two months prior to

graduation, but Still would receive an honorary degree of Master of Music, in recognition

of his “erudition, usefulness and eminent character.”4

Still would recall, “I stayed there [Wilberforce] from 1911 to 1915. Then I went

to Columbus and did some professional work for a while. And then, after a couple of

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!3!Arvey, Verna. Studies of Contemporary American Composers: William Grant Still. New York: J. Fischer & Brother, 1939, p.10.

!4!Arvey,!op.!cit.,!p.!12.!

! 5!

years, I received the legacy that my father left me. This legacy enabled me to go to

Oberlin, and I went to Oberlin immediately.”5

Still would not stay in school very long, for in 1918, he enlisted in the Navy.

During this period of his life, Still experienced the first set back in his young professional

career. Though college educated, his only allotted duty in the U.S. Navy as a black man

would be third class mess attendant. At Oberlin, Still had studied violin, so when his

superiors learned that he was a trained musician, he was directed to play the violin for the

officers’ mess on the U.S.S. Kroonland.6

The practical development of a young musician

Upon Still’s return from the Navy in 1918, W.C. Handy, known as the father of

the Blues, offered Still his first job as an arranger and musician in New York City.7

Handy’s band traveled across the south, playing popular blues music. Years later, Still

would recall, “Well anyhow, that period that I devoted to professional work, particularly

in New York, was one of great value to me. I was working largely with popular music—

to an extent with it—but I wasn’t confined to it, because when radio came in I was

orchestrating for orchestras like Don Vorhees’ orchestra. The bulk of what Don played

was serious music not in its bigger forms, but in some of its lighter forms.”8

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!5!Judith A. Still, and Dominique-Rene de Lerma, eds. William Grant Still An Oral History. Flagstaff, Ariz.: The Master Player Library, 1998, 14. An industrious and frugal young man, Still, Sr. managed to acquire a sizable sum of money from his partnership in a grocery business. A few months after his only child was born, the elder Still died at the age of twenty-four of a mysterious ailment. Some said that he had been poisoned by a rejected sweetheart at the instigation of White men in town. Whatever the case, the money that he had saved was passed on to his son at a later time.

6!Still,!William Grant Still An Oral History,!14.!

!7 W.C. Handy and Eileen Southern, "Letters from W.C. Handy to William Grant Still," The Black Perspective in Music 7, no. 2 (1979): 199-234.

8!Still,!William Grant Still An Oral History,!15.

!

! 6!

Fig. 1 W. Grant Still’s long lasting friendship with W.C. Handy.9

Upon his return, many professors when so impressed by his talent that they

offered a scholarship that would lead to his study of composition with Dr. George W.

Andrews, who gave Still a sound foundation in orchestration and theory. A foundation is

all he needed to begin a successful track in the entertainment business:

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!9 W.C. Handy and Eileen Southern., 217.

!

IN RETROSPECT: LETTERS FROM W. C. HANDY

W. C. Handy and William Grant Still standing in front of the then-incomplete Perisphere on the grounds of the New York World's Fair 1939-40.

217

! 7!

“I learned to play many instruments, not for the purpose of being a proficient

performer, but in order to capture the sound, [and to] have it so firmly implanted in my

consciousness that I could bring it out and play with it and mix it. It took a long time. I

spent many years preparing for that, as I say. Now, you see, the work that I was doing—

orchestrating—was all-helpful. In addition to learning the sounds, I was learning what to

do, and what not to do, as far as instrumentation was concerned.”10

A few years later, in 1920, Still was playing in Eubie Blake’s orchestra. The

orchestra was featured on a popular show called Shuffle Along. While on tour in Boston,

Still realized that his income was enough to afford more lessons. So, he decided to apply

to study composition at the New England Conservatory of Music. Upon receiving a

response, Still was told that he would study with the “generous” George Whitfield

Chadwick11 (generous due to the fact of William’s race). Chadwick also offered to teach

Still free of charge. Still protested, but Chadwich refused to take his money and thus

began four months of pro-bono composition lessons.12

Upon his return to New York City, Still accepted a position as recording director

of the Black Swan Phonograph Company. The company used all-black orchestras and

focused primarily on classical and semi-classical artists and recordings. Among those

featured on the label was Ethel Waters.13 Contrary to popular belief, the label did not de-

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!10!Still,!William Grant Still An Oral History,!15.

!11!Victor F. Yellin, Chadwick: Yankee Composer. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990, 1-90. Chadwick was born in 1854 in Lowell, Massachusettes. He taught composition and theory at the New England Conservatory of music and is known as one of the Deans of American music. He created uniquely American sound (See Scores Example 1 for an example of his first Symphony, Mvt. 1, Jubilee).

12!Haas,!William Grant Still,!6.!

!13An!important!Negro!blues!singer!and!actress!who!recorded!under!the!Black!Swan!label!was!

Ethel!Waters!(1900K1977).!!Waters!was!the!first!woman!to!sing!W.C.!Handy’s!“St.!Louis!

Blues,”!and!she!popularized!the!song,!“Dinah,”!in!New!York.!!After!appearing!in!the!Negro!revue!“Africana,”!she!began!to!perform!in!a!great!number!of!popular!musical!dramas!and!

films.!

! 8!

emphasize popular music, nor did it ignore black musicians. It wanted to retain a serious

and reputable label. Unfortunately, the label would fold within the year Still took over as

recording director. Serendipitously, during his tenure at Black Swan Phonograph, Still

was able to find an opportunity to study with a great “ultra-modernist” composer of his

time – Edgar Varese. In his account of the moment he found this opportunity, Still states:

“Edgard Varese14 moved to New York, I think about 1921, and coming to

America he met the Negro officer, Colonel Charles Young15 on the ship, and formed a

friendship [with him]. He [Varese] decided that, when he came to this country, he would

find some Negro musician and teach him. At the time they called it “ultra modern”

music. It was quite far removed from the music that I’d been accustomed to.”16

Varese had written to Harry Pace, the owner of the Black Swan Phonograph

Company, looking for a promising student to teach. Still had caught Pace in time to save

the letter from going into the garbage can. Still took the letter, wrote back to Varese and

managed to earn the scholarship to study with him for three complete years. At first, Still

was not very taken by the modernist idiom, but he eventually grasped the concept with

enthusiasm and charisma:

“When I was groping blindly in my efforts to compose, it was Varese who

pointed out to me the way to individual expression and who gave me the opportunity to

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!14Felix Meyer, and Heidy Zimmerman, eds. Edgar Varese, Composer, Sound Sculptor, Visionary. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2006. Born!in!Paris,!Edgard!Varese!studied!under!Roussel,!d’Indy,!Widor,!and!Busoni.!!In!1919,!he!came!to!New!York,!and!five!years!later!he!

began!the!International!Composer’s!Guild!that,!for!the!next!six!years,!sponsored!the!

performance!of!music!by!his!contemporaries.!!Divorcing!himself!from!traditional!musical!

techniques!and!composition,!Varese!championed!ultra!modernism!in!his!work!as!a!composer!

and!discouraged!the!use!of!conventional!!

!!devices!by!his!pupil,!William!Grant!Still.!!Still!studied!with!Varese!from!1923!to!1925.!

15Colonel!Charles!Young!(1864K1922)!became!one!of!the!first!Negro!to!enter!West!Point,!rode!!!!!!!!

with!Teddy!Roosevelt’s!Rough!Riders!and!wrote!the!morale!song!There’s!a!Service!Flag!in!the!Window.!

!16!Still, William Grant Still An Oral History, 17.

!

! 9!

hear my music played. I shall never forget his kindness, nor that of Chadwick and the

instructors at Oberlin.”17

While taking lessons with Varese, Still worked primarily as an arranger for an

assortment of broadcasting companies, including radio stations, the NBC network, CBS

and Mutual networks. If composing had not been such a passion for Still, he could have

made a career of arranging, but he had a calling to compose original material. Still

eventually worked, at various times – with Earl Carroll – Artie Shaw, Sophie Tucker,

Don Vorhees, and Paul Whiteman. One of the best selling records of all time, Frenesi,

by Artie Shaw, was arranged by Still. CBS station commissioned more than one work by

Still, the most important being the ballet Lennox Avenue. The stage piece depicts daily

life in Harlem, New York in the 1930s and was premiered on CBS radio on May 23,

1937 (See Fig. 2).

Revisiting William Grant Still’s Music

Henry Cowell, renowned American composer of the 1920’s and 1930’s, stated

that it is difficult to categorize William Grant Still’s music. He states that Still, a

“Negro,” uses his people’s themes and feelings as a basis for his music, with some rather

vague European influence. He believed that perhaps he [Still] possessed the beginnings

of a new style. As we’ve explored, many have seen Still’s work as naïve, yet his

influence on other music is evident. Copland once wrote of sixteen figures, including

Still, which represented “an entirely new generation of composers… These men form, for

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!17!Haas,!op.!cit.,!p.!6.!

!

! 10!

better or worse, the American school of composers of our own day.” Other prominent

names on the list were Antheil, Cowell, Harris, Sessions, and Thomson.18

It is written in the book Music in the 20th Century (by William W. Austin,

published by W.W. Norton and Company, 1966) that Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue

helped inspire William Grant Still to make use of Jazz and Negro folksong in his

symphonies and operas. This statement alone was questionable, considering the fact that

George Gershwin’s idol was someone with whom Still performed and for whom he

arranged music – W.C. Handy. Gershwin was an avid listener to the Blues idiom and

admired the music arranged and performed by Handy’s ensembles. Gershwin also took

every opportunity to listen to new music created by “Negro” composers and musicians.

One such concert he attended was at Aeolian Hall on January 24, 1926, given by the

international Composer’s Guild. The concert featured music by William Grant Still,

Florence Mills as soloist and Eugene Goossens conducting.

It was around the same time that Still’s Afro American Symphony was made

public that Gershwin’s Girl Crazy, in which “I Got Rhythm” was featured. The third

movement of the Afro American Symphony seemed to sound similar to the song I Got

Rhythm. To those who had more access to Gershwin’s music, it seemed that Still had

been influenced by Gershwin. The opposite, however may be true. Still may have

influenced Gershwin in his writings. Gershwin was not “borrowing” any musical

material exactly, but his absorption may have led to other similar thematic material –

including W.C. Handy’s St. Louis Blues versus Gershwin’s later composition of

Summertime.19

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!18!Carol J. Oja, William Grant Still, Black Music Research Journal. Vol. 12. Chicago: Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College, 1992, p. 164-165.

!19!Haas,!90K91.!

! 11!

European composers were also highly involved in “borrowing” idioms from

“Negro” musicians and composers. The following account is an example. The book, The

Unknown Brahms, by Robert Haven Schauffler, published by Crown Publishers in New

York in 1940, carries a statement by Arthur Abell, an American violinist who was one of

the few who could inspire the master to talk intimately of his own work. “A year before

Brahms died,” said Mr. Abell, “he asked me whether I played the banjo. ‘No,’ I replied.

‘Why?’ ‘Because at Klengel’s I met an American girl who played for me, on the curious

instrument, a sort of music which she called Ragtime. Do you know this?’ – and he

hummed the well known tune which goes to the words:

“If you refuse me,

Honey, you lose me.”

‘Well,’ the master continued with a faraway look in his eyes, ‘I thought I would use, not

the stupid tune, but the interesting rhythms of this Ragtime. But I do not know whether I

shall ever get around to it. My ideas no longer flow as easily as they used to!’”

Brahms had an affinity to “Negro” music, but his age and health made his

intention an inclination, which never found fulfillment.20

Another composer influenced by “Negro” music or spirituals was the famous

Czech composer, Antonin Dvorak. “All I tried to do,” Dvorak claimed later, “was to

write music in the spirit of national American melodies.”

Dvorak is well known for his use of indigenous American tunes in his major

work, the Symphony No. 9 – From the New World. Dvorak influenced Harry T.

Burleigh, a colored composer who was a student at the National Conservatory in New

York during Dvorak’s tenure as its director. Burleigh visited Dvorak at his East 17th

Street home repeatedly in order to sing Plantation songs and Hoe-downs for him. Dvorak

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!20!Haas,!93.!

! 12!

had announced intentions repeatedly to use “Negro” melodies in the New World

Symphony. One spiritual that briefly makes an appearance in the first movement of the

New World Symphony is “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” abbreviated in the second theme

and introduced by the flute. Dvorak himself wrote in an article for Harper’s New

Monthly for February 1895: “A while ago I suggested that inspiration for truly national

music might be derived from the Negro melodies or Indian chants. I was led to take this

view partly by the fact that the so-called plantation songs are indeed the most striking and

appealing melodies that have yet been found on this side of the water, but largely by the

observation that this seems to be recognized, though often unconsciously, by most

Americans.”21

A Conclusion and Manifesto by William Grant Still

Dvorak awakened people to the existence of an American music through his

Symphony, A New World. Americans have a musical idiom of their own. From that day

on, we have utilized music of our own. Though at times, our history and facts seem

altered by the social norms and practices of the time, it is good to ask and wonder the

truth of our musical influences. Though Still is not given credit outright for helping to

shape the duality and integration of “Negro” music and symphonic form, it is very

evident that he had influenced peers and colleagues that were exposed to his

compositions.

This is, without a doubt a fact. As Still states, “We create important abstract music

and also create our own cultural music, to blend something new. American music is a

composite of all races, cultures, and people. Ours is a New World and ours is a culture

that is growing. We are not the Old World. We (composers) must add to our technical

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!21!Haas,!p.!91K92!

! 13!

ability the folk songs, church hymns, and authentic flavor we hear in every neighborhood.

In furthering American music, composers and audiences have a share in their creation of

its ideal music. They must demand of orchestras what they want to hear. The American

public can and must provide this proportion. If we work together, we can create an

American culture that we can be proud of and give American music a place in the world

it rightfully deserves.”

FIG. 2 Correspondence between Still and W.C. Handy

210 THE BLACK PERSPECTIVE IN MUSIC

HANDY BROTHERS MUSIC C@. INC _ ""^"''PB\ -eHome tSlues '

1587 BREADWAY. NEW Y'RK. N.Y. I c-L 6 - 8843

October 23rd, 1942

Mr. & Mrs. William Grant Still 3670 Cimarron Street Los Angeles, Calif.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Still:

Under another cover, I am sending you a spiritual, my ar- rangement of, "That Love My Jesus Gave Me, Shine Like A Mornin' Star." I sent my brother the first autographed copy of it with the following letter, which is self-explanatory:- Dear Brother Charles:

"When I was a janitor for the white Baptist Church in Florence, Alabama, more than fifty years ago, the pastor preached in our Methodist Church on Sunday. You were a baby then. Our congregation sang in unison, "That Love My Jesus Gave Me Shine Like A Mornin' Star." It made the white preacher happy. After that whenever we met, I had to sing that Spiritual for the white minister, so he could teach it to his congregation. He said the words are convincing and reveal a sublime faith.

My pals and I used to try to harmonize it but our difficulty was to ascertain whether the melody began on "la or re." Well, after fifty years, I have decided that this spiritual ends on "re" and begins on that syllable and have made an arrange- ment of solo voice and piano.

"Shine Like a Mornin' Star" is an unusual melody, deeply stirring and, besides its value as devotional music, it is a study for those engaged in research. My research for this was not made in any archives or remote corners of the Southland, but from the recesses of my own mind stimulated by a memory of days and years that can never come again.

I haven't heard this spiritual since those days, Charlie, and this is the first time I have seen it in print."

Sincerely, Signed: William C. Handy.

P.S. This is the best description that I can give the number. Tell me your reaction to it please. Analyze it if you will. Also let me know how you like it. All in best of health.

! 14!

FIG. 3 W.C. Handy in 1933

THE BLACK PERSPECTIVE IN MUSIC

W. C. HANDY (1933)

216

! 15!

FIG. 4 W.C. Handy (late 1920)

IN RETROSPECT: LETTERS FROM W. C. HANDY

W. C. HANDY (late 1920s?)

215

! 16!

FIG. 5 Symphonic Suite Mvt. 1, Jubilee by G.W. Chadwick (Still’s Teacher)

! 17!

Analysis of the Afro-American Symphony: The Central Blues Theme

William Grant Still’s music is known for its innovation in incorporating the folk

style of his people into the symphonic form. Still encouraged the use of spirituals in

academically serious symphonic works to elevate the stance of his people in the eyes of

the music world.1 The wind band piece we will study is a transcription of William Grant

Still’s Afro-American Symphony, “Scherzo” Mvt. 3, which was renamed Scherzo for

Band for the wind band version. The original composition was finished for full orchestra

in 1930, while the transcription itself was done in 1962. It is reminiscent of the times

when band transcriptions were still prominent in the performance practice of wind band

groups. The central focus of this analysis is to show examples from his Afro-American

Symphony and discuss its importance in establishing the use of the blues idiom in the

symphonic form.

The first appearance of the blues theme is seen within the first twelve-measure

phrase in the introduction of the symphony’s first movement (see Fig. 6).

FIG. 6 Principal Theme (1st movt., mm 7-18)22

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

22!Simpson, Ralph R. “William Grant Still – the Man and His Music.” 21.!

! 18!

The twelve bar measure is reminiscent of the blue’s twelve bar structure. The

blues’ practice of “call and response is also utilized, creating four measure sub phrases.

The “call and response” blues theme is reiterated throughout the symphony numerous

times, becoming a key compositional technique (see Fig. 8). Still also uses a technique of

blues rhythm, an offbeat pattern that can be varied. We see this throughout the

symphony, where motives and variances of motives are restated, restated in a variant

form, or stated with a counter-motive (see Fig. 9-10).

FIG. 7 Recurrence of the blues motive in a coda (3rd Mvt., mm. 19-98)23

FIG. 8 Prinicpal Theme “Call and Response” (1st Mvt., mm. 7-10, orchestral comments mm. 9-10)

FIG. 9 Transitional phrase leading to an eight-measure episode that implies the

variance of the rhythmic/note figure.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!23!Simpson, 22.!

! 19!

FIG. 10 Transitional Phrase, Mvt. 3, mm. 35-38, Episode employing figure in variation mm. 39-4624

Returning to the blues idiom, the basic harmonic structure derived from this style

follows the basic progression of I – IV – I – V – I. Still emphasizes his style by making

the basic chords harmonized as basic triadic sevenths, I7 – IV7 – I – V7 – I. In Fig. 18, the

composer marks the harmonic structure, during the compositional process. His first draft

was a simple condensed piano score. The analysis shows that Still’s attention to melody

is very important.

FIG. 11 W.G. Still’s harmonic analysis, 1st movt., mm 7-18.25

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!24!Simpson, 23.!

! 20!

It helps that Still was very familiar with the blues idiom, using chromatic notes or

“blue notes” that were unique to his folk background. The “blue note”2 he uses includes

D-natural, C-flat, G-flat in the melody and the F-flat within the accompaniment). The

seventh degree of the scale is implemented through the basic blues progression and the

sixth is implemented as a “color” that can be “treated casually and often times lowered or

played out of tune.”26 Rhythm in the first phrase is also established. Syncopation is key

to this particular style, making the bar-lines merely guides and allowing the phrase to be

carried by the melody.

Still’s unique style is derived from his rich spiritual background, the modernist

lessons of Edgar Varese, and the orchestrations he created for Paul Whiteman, NBC, and

W.C. Handy. His composition of effective melodies is euphonic due to its relation to the

well established and popular blues idiom.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!25!Simpson, 32.

!26!Simpson, 33.!

! 21!

WILLIAM SCHUMAN

A Voice of Steel – The Modern Traditionalist

CHAPTER TWO

! 22!

Introduction

William!Schuman!was!a!multifaceted!man!that!was!full!of!grit,!brilliance!and!

intelligence.!!In!the!music!world,!Schuman!was!involved!in!education,!

administration,!and!composition!for!most!of!his!life.!!During!the!first!half!of!the!

twentieth!century,!Schuman!made!quite!an!impact!with!his!development!into!a!

traditional@modernist!composer!and!as!an!advocate!of!his!philosophies!in!music!

education!at!the!famed!Julliard!School!of!Music!and!Sarah!Lawrence!College.!!In!

1962,!Schuman!took!on!the!role!of!president!at!the!Lincoln!Center,!helping!to!design!

and!bring!it!some!of!the!best!music!artists!to!perform!during!his!tenure.1!!!

! In!his!time!in!administration,!it!is!hard!to!believe!how!prolific!and!successful!

he!became!as!a!composer.!!Schuman’s!middle!class!roots!instilled!in!him!a!lifelong!

industriousness!and!desire!for!advancement.!!In!his!time!as!a!composer,!Schuman!

developed!an!American!sound!that!showed!music!that!could!be!forward!thinking,!

but!yet!still!be!able!to!connect!to!the!general!audience.!!Some!of!his!key!works!

include!ten!symphonies!(the!third!and!sixth!being!most!prominent),!the!New$

England$Triptych$for!orchestra,!his!opera!The$Mighty$Casey,$the!ballet!Undertow,$four!

string!quartets,!and!his!cantata!A$Free$Song!–!which!won!the!first!Pulitzer!Prize!for!a!

musical!work.!!Schuman!also!composed!a!number!of!key!works!for!band!which!are!

still!standards!in!present!day!repertoire:!!Newsreel,$in$Five$Shots$(1941),$George$

Washington$Bridge$(1950),$Chester$Overture$(1956$–$from$the$New$England$Triptych,$

N.E.T.),$When$Jesus$Wept$(1958$–$N.E.T.),$Philharmonic$Fanfare$(1965),$Dedication$

Fanfare$(1968),$and!Be$Glad$then,$America$(1975$–$N.E.T.)2$

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1!Simmons, Walter. The Music of William Schuman, Vincent Persichetti, and Peter Mennin, 38-39 !

2!Grimes, Ev, and William Schuman. "Conversations with American Composers: Ev Grimes Interviews William Schuman." 46.!

! 23!

The Early Childhood

William!Schuman!was!born!in!New!York!City!on!August!4th,!1910!as!a!

descendent!of!German@Jewish!ancestors!that!immigrated!to!the!United!States!prior!

to!the!Civil!War.!!Samuel,!his!father,!developed!a!printing!business!and!helped!his!

son!accept!the!idea!of!assimilation.!!Although!Schuman’s!mother!was!strongly!tied!to!

her!Jewish!background,!she!also!bought!into!the!idea!of!raising!Schuman!without!a!

strong!sense!of!ethnic!identity.!!Samuel!named!his!son!after!William!Howard!Taft,!

showing!his!deep!patriotism.!!Schuman!would!be!the!middle!child!of!three,!Audrey!

the!oldest!and!Robert,!the!youngest.!!Robert!would!be!mentally!institutionalized!

until!his!death!in!1957,!and!Schuman!spoke!little!of!him.3!!The!comfortable!standard!

of!living!Schuman!experienced!and!his!family’s!patriotism!would!create!the!

fundamental!grounds!for!his!successful!years.!

! During!his!teen!years,!Schuman!developed!two!keen!loves!–!baseball!and!

music.!!Both!his!sister!and!mother!played!the!piano!and!Schuman!took!violin!lessons!

and!taught!himself!to!play!the!clarinet,!upright!bass!and!the!piano.!!His!formative!

years!in!music!were!still!to!come,!but!he!showed!promise!while!attending!high!

school!in!Manhattan!and!camp!in!Maine!at!Camp!Cabbossee.!!There,!he!and!his!

friends!were!involved!in!theater!and!composition!–!Fate,$a!tango,!was!his!first!piece.!!

In!1926,!Billy,!as!he!was!called,!formed!his!own!jazz!band!called,!“Billy!Schuman!and!

His!Alamo!Society!Orchestra.”!!He!composed!hundreds!of!popular!songs.!!He!was!so!

successful!that!his!father,!Samuel,!even!made!him!business!cards.4!!He!soon!began!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3!Simmons, 23-26. !

4!Swayne, Steve. Orpheus in Manhattan, 22. !

! 24!

promoting!popular!songs!with!his!dear!friend!and!fellow!musician!and!composer,!

Frank!Loesser.5!

!

Development and Early Exploration

! An!important!moment!in!Schuman’s!life!occurred!on!April!4,!1930,!when!his!

sister!took!him!to!see!Toscanini!conduct!the!New!York!Philharmonic.!!The!

synchronized!bowings!and!the!expansive!range!of!emotion!impressed!him!most.!!

The!program!that!evening!included!Siegfried’s$Funeral$Music$by!Wagner!and!

Schumann’s!Rhenish$Symphony.$$The!color!and!the!possibilities!of!sound!one!could!

make!with!an!orchestra!really!struck!a!chord!with!Schuman.!!He!would!soon!drop!

out!of!school!to!attend!the!Malkin!Conservatory,!a!local!music!school.6!!!

! In!1933,!Schuman!enrolled!at!Columbia!University’s!Teacher!College,!the!

place!where!he!was!exposed!to!the!pedagogical!ideas!of!John!Dewey.!!He!would!later!

carry!this!philosophy!to!the!Julliard!School!of!Music.!!He!developed!a!teaching!

pedagogy!that!was!against!rote!learning!and!instead!guiding!the!experience.!!!

Schuman!was!still!in!his!populist!form!as!a!composer!at!this!point!and!even!thought!

of!dropping!out!of!school!because!his!band!was!doing!very!well.7!

! “I!would!have!left!college,!but!I!probably!would!have!been!paid!$10.00!a!

night!to!play!the!fiddle!and!sing,!maybe!$12.00!or!$13.00,!I!don’t!know.!!My!father!

said,!‘You!know,!I’ve!always!agreed!with!everything!you’ve!done,!but!I!don’t!think!

you!should!do!this!because!it!interferes!with!your!education.!!If!you!want!to!do!it!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5!Simmons, 27. !

6!Swayne,!65@67.!

!

7!Schuman, William. "On Teaching the Literature and Materials of Music." 155-160.!

! 25!

after!you’re!21!and!have!finished!your!formal!education,!it’s!okay!with!me,!but!I!urge!

you!not!to!do!it.!!I!urge!you!not!to.’!!So!I!didn’t.!!And!of!course!he!was!right.”8!

! In!the!early!1930’s!Schuman!was!starting!to!develop!his!voice!both!in!his!

compositions!and!teaching!philosophies.!!In!1933,!Schuman!would!hear!Roy!Harris’!

Symphony$1933.$!This!piece!would!help!create!a!voice!for!Schuman!and!he!would!

later!go!on!to!study!with!Roy!Harris.!!The!work!had!a!spirit!that!truly!spoke!to!him.!!

In!1935,!Schuman!went!on!to!graduate!with!his!BS!in!education!from!Teacher’s!

College!and!almost!immediately!went!on!to!teach!at!Sarah!Lawrence!College.!!There,!

he!convinced!the!administration!to!try!his!revolutionary!techniques!in!teaching!

music!with!a!more!individualized!approach.9!

Influence of Roy Harris

! In!his!compositions,!Schuman!would!grow!tired!of!Tin!Pan!Alley!style,!and!

would!soon!move!on!to!explore!a!new!voice.!!In!the!mid@!to!late@1930s,!Schuman!

would!study!with!the!great!Roy!Harris,!who!had!championed!the!use!of!American!

folk!tunes!and,!to!a!lesser!extent,!jazz!rhythms!in!his!compositions.!!Roy!Harris!was!a!

product!of!the!teachings!of!Nadia!Boulanger,!so!naturally!Schuman!would!grow!fond!

of!the!techniques!of!Igor!Stravinsky!(and!would!later!learn!of!his!anti@string!works).!!

Schuman!would!recall,!“I!was!very!enthusiastic!about!Stravinsky,!as!most!people!at!

that!age!were.!!It!was!either!Stravinsky!or!Schoenberg…!kind!of!like!Brahms!and!

Wagner.!!It!seems!so!ridiculous!in!retrospect.”10!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8!Swayne,!23@24.!

!

9!Schuman, William. "The Responsibility of Music Education to Music." 17-19. !10!Pye, Richard. "Asking about the Inside: Schoenberg's Idea in the Music of Roy Harris and William Schuman." 69.!

! 26!

! Harris!would!instill!in!Schuman!the!idea!of!autogenesis.!!It!would!forever!

create!a!legacy!through!his!teacher.!!In!Figure!12,!you!can!see!the!germ!of!a!motive.!!

The!motives!in!Roy!Harris’!music!would!sprout!much!like!a!sapling!of!a!tree!and!

grow!branches,!or!variations,!that!originate!from!the!germ!motive.!!!

!

FIG.!12!Example!of!Harris’!technique!of!‘autogenesis.’11!

!

!

!

!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!Pye,!71.!

were like no others I had ever heard, his wholly original "autogenetic" concept of form, the orchestration so free and strong, the extraordinary beauty and sweep of the melodic material' (Schuman 1979, pp. 5S6).

Schuman's remarks appear to suggest that the autogenetic principle goes beyond melodic elaboration, embracing the musical organism as a whole (the form). lO This interpretation again bears comparison with Schoenberg's concept of the musical 'Idea' and its ultimate manifestation in the body (form) of the piece: 'I myself consider the totality of a piece as the idea: the idea which its creator wanted to present.' He goes on to speak of 'a state of unrest, of imbalance which grows throughout most of a piece . . . The method by which balance is restored seems to me the real idea of the composition.'1 1 Defining the concept of form 'in its aesthetic sense', he refers to 'elements functioning like those of a living organism.'l2 Schoenberg's many and diverse statements on the nature of the musical Idea are summed up by Carpenter and Neff in similar terms: 'The musical idea, the essence of the work, represents its total dynamic, the balance of forces within the whole' (Schoenberg 1995, p. xix). I shall return

Ex. la Harris Symphony - American Portrait 1929 (in Stehman 1973, p. 1039) I germ

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SCHOENBERG'S IDEA IN THE MUSIC OF HARRIS AND SCHUMAN 71

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Music Analysis, 1 9/i (2000) (¢ Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2000

! 27!

!!!!!!Harris!technique!creates!a!connective!approach!that!many!American!

composers!in!the!first!half!of!the!twentieth!century!would!use.!!He!was!

designated!as!one!of!the!first!true!American!composers!for!his!use!of!folk!

tunes!and!the!decidedly!American!style!that!marked!the!brand!of!populist!

composers.!!Below!is!an!excerpt!of!Harris!explaining!his!music.!

FIG.!13!Harris!explains!his!technique.12!

!

!

!

!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12!Pye,!73.!

lis## j j : lsr 1#r' -g lhf #t

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SCHOENBERG'S IDEA IN THE MUSIC OF HARRIS AND SCHUMAN 73

These descriptions of the melodic process in Harris's music tally closely with Schoenberg's statements regarding the nature of the 'basic motive' and the process of developing variation.l3 The following extracts illustrate the point:

Inasmuch as almost every figure within a piece reveals some relationship to it, the basic motive is often considered the 'germ' of the idea.

Homophonic music can be called the style of 'developing variation.' This means that in the succession of motive-forms produced through variation of the basic motive, there is something that can be compared to development, to growth (1967, p. 8).

Music of the homophonic-melodic style of composition . . . produces its material by, as I call it, developing variation. This means that variation of the features of a basic unit produces all the thematic formulations which provide for fluency, contrasts, variety, logic and unity, on the one hand, and character, mood, expression, and every needed differentiation, on the other hand - thus elaborating the idea of the piece (1975, p. 397).

A second characteristic of Harris's autogenetic approach is discussed by Stehman in relation to the second movement of Symphony No. 2 (1934). In this example (Ex. lb), we see 'how an element of one phrase is used as a springboard for its successor' (1973, p. 160). There are clear resonances here with Schoenberg's illustration of'connective technique'. In an excerpt from his Chamber Symphony Op. 9 (shown here as Ex. 2), he shows how the end of one phrase (G:-A-B-Ct) also initiates the onset of the next phrase (marked

Ex. 2 Schoenberg Chamber Symphony Op. 9, bars 8G92 (in Schoenberg 1995, p. 1 39)

l l

II

Music Analysis, 1 9/i (2000) i¢) Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2000

! 28!

FIG.!14!Example!#2!of!Harris’!Autogenesis!–!motive!develops.13!

!

!!

!

!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

13!Pye,!74.!

72 RICHARD PYE

Ex. lb Harris Symphony No. 2 (1934) (in Stehman 1973, p. 1083) Ta

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to the broader implications of the '"autogenetic" concept of form' in due course. For the moment, let us go back to the issue of melody.

Stehman (1973, p. 13) cites a 'textbook example of Harris' principle of melodic construction' from the first movement of the early Symphony - American Portrait 1929, demonstrating the (evolution of a melodic line . . . from a single initial germ motive.' Stehman's example (ibid., p. 1039) is reproduced as Ex. la. The development of the 'germ' 'motive x' is described primarily in terms of interval expansion (the initial semitone becomes a tone, the two intervals subsequently combining in the stepwise minor third of the fourth bar). This first phrase is then regarded as 'a germ idea from which the entire Elrst theme subsequently evolves' (ibid., p.l4) (Ia, Ib, Ic, Id in Ex. la).

Music Analysis, 1 9/i (2000) (C) Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2000

! 29!

Schuman’s Compositional Technique

!!!!!Schuman!was!once!asked!during!an!interview!after!the!performance!of!

his!third!symphony,!“Why!is!it!that!you!modern!composers!never!write!a!

melody?”!!Schuman!replied,!“My!music!is!all!melody.!!Can!you!sing!‘The!Star@

Spangled!Banner?’!!Then!I!guarantee!to!teach!you!to!sing!the!principal!

melody!of!my!symphony!in!half!an!hour.”14!

!!!!!Schuman’s!music,!though!irregular!and!angular!at!times,!is!basically!vocal.!!

As!a!modern@traditionalist,!he!strays!not!too!far!from!the!influences!of!his!

teacher,!Roy!Harris.!!Examples!from!Symphony$No.$4$(1941)!and!American$

Festival$Overture$(1939)!in!Figure!15!and!16!are!contrasts!between!the!

angular!and!more!conservative!–!folk!like!melody!that!Harris!had!instilled!in!

him.!!!

FIG.!15!Schuman’s!Angular!melodies15!

!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

14!Broder, Nathan. "The Music of William Schuman." 17. !

15!Broder,!18.!

i 8 The Musical Quarterly Ex. 1 A. Fourt Symihnt,first novemat

C & 1 F P r Copyrih, 1941, byG Scdi.r ,3 B. Ameian. Festival Overture'

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Not all of Schuman's melodies are "angular". When he wants to, he can write one that would please the most hidebound conservative:

Ex. 2 "American Festival Orture"

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, b-: I 1-

And that he is capable of exquisite sensitivity of line is shown by this excerpt from a recently completed setting of "Orpheus with his lute":

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! 30!

!

FIG.!16!Schuman’s!Lyrical!Melody16!

!

Schuman!could!also!control!his!melodies!and!texture!so!that!he!could!

showcase!his!more!sensitive!side,!as!in!Figure!17.!!In!his!most!conservative!

compositions,!Schuman!could!still!employ!techniques!such!as!imitation,!

augmentation,!and!diminution.!

FIG.!17!Schuman’s!Sensitivity!in!Orpheus’!lute.!

!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!16!Broder,!18.!



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! 31!

!!!!!He!used!harmonies!at!times!for!the!purpose!of!texture!rather!than!

establishing!a!relationship!in!progression!or!transition!from!one!section!to!

the!next.!!The!dissonance!he!uses!implies!oblique!interval!expansion,!a!

technique!of!adding!additional!non@chord!tones.!!It!is!not!a!jumble!of!notes!

put!together,!but!rather!a!use!of!polytonality,!bichordal!structure!or!

secundal!harmony.!!Schuman’s!control!of!harmonic!texture!allows!him!to!

achieve!incredible!contrast!when!he!returns!to!his!more!conservative!roots.!!

On!top!of!his!dissonant!textures,!we!also!find!the!influence!of!his!early!tin!

pan!alley!music!and!jazz!in!the!rhythms!he!uses!in!Third$String$Quartet$(Fig.$

20).$

FIG.!18!Dissonant!vs.!Consonant!Harmony17!

!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

17!Broder,!19.!

The Music of William Schuman The Music of William Schuman The Music of William Schuman honored devices of imitation, augmentation, diminution, and so on. The resulting harmonies are usually dissonant, by text-book standards. In the period from about I937 to about 1941 Schuman was so fond of parallel fourths and fifths that their use became a mannerism. The later music employs such progressions less and less. As with most of the outstanding composers of this century, harmony is not, as a rule, a structural element in Schuman's large forms; that is to say, he does not normally employ key relationships as a means of binding large sections together. But his harmony is not, on the other hand, a mere haphazard result of the combination of melodic lines. Instead the counterpoint is carefully planned, not to proceed from one harmony to another, as in older music, but to result in a definite kind of harmonic texture, which is maintained consistently for the length of the passage in question. Schuman's command of harmony enables him to achieve greater intensity or contrast, or both, in two ways-by rendering the pre- vailingly dissonant texture still more dissonant:

Ex. 4 Third Symphany, ficrfmoveae A _V~Iooso Br.ss,Tim., Sti, .

>i- #,.> > > > h >> 2

* tLb; Xe

i h h L - oI, L

honored devices of imitation, augmentation, diminution, and so on. The resulting harmonies are usually dissonant, by text-book standards. In the period from about I937 to about 1941 Schuman was so fond of parallel fourths and fifths that their use became a mannerism. The later music employs such progressions less and less. As with most of the outstanding composers of this century, harmony is not, as a rule, a structural element in Schuman's large forms; that is to say, he does not normally employ key relationships as a means of binding large sections together. But his harmony is not, on the other hand, a mere haphazard result of the combination of melodic lines. Instead the counterpoint is carefully planned, not to proceed from one harmony to another, as in older music, but to result in a definite kind of harmonic texture, which is maintained consistently for the length of the passage in question. Schuman's command of harmony enables him to achieve greater intensity or contrast, or both, in two ways-by rendering the pre- vailingly dissonant texture still more dissonant:


>i- #,.> > > > h >> 2

* tLb; Xe

i h h L - oI, L

honored devices of imitation, augmentation, diminution, and so on. The resulting harmonies are usually dissonant, by text-book standards. In the period from about I937 to about 1941 Schuman was so fond of parallel fourths and fifths that their use became a mannerism. The later music employs such progressions less and less. As with most of the outstanding composers of this century, harmony is not, as a rule, a structural element in Schuman's large forms; that is to say, he does not normally employ key relationships as a means of binding large sections together. But his harmony is not, on the other hand, a mere haphazard result of the combination of melodic lines. Instead the counterpoint is carefully planned, not to proceed from one harmony to another, as in older music, but to result in a definite kind of harmonic texture, which is maintained consistently for the length of the passage in question. Schuman's command of harmony enables him to achieve greater intensity or contrast, or both, in two ways-by rendering the pre- vailingly dissonant texture still more dissonant:


>i- #,.> > > > h >> 2

* tLb; Xe

i h h L - oI, L WSk.}r Sings g t P-- * 4- >> . f 1 I l

> > > Copy2Ai1942, b G. Schieric.

or by making it consonant:

Ex. 5 Fo Symphony second movemeni

; . - K L ttJ i _.t I. l , I== I , I '^

Copyrigt, 94, by G.ScirrInVc.

Such consonant passages, for all their passion and sweetness, are never handled in a g9th- or 8th-century manner. One must go back to the homophony in I6th-century music to find their spiritual origin.

Example 4 illustrates also Schuman's use of polytonality, a

WSk.}r Sings g t P-- * 4- >> . f 1 I l > > > Copy2Ai1942, b G. Schieric.



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i9 i9 i9

! 32!

!

!

FIG.!19!Polytonality18!

!

FIG. 20 Jazz Rhythms19

Key Compositions: Sixth Symphony (dual tonality)

!!!!!!!I!believe!it!is!important!to!note!that!just!before!Schuman!had!composed!

George$Washington$Bridge$(1950),!he!had!already!mastered!his!technique!of!

using!textural!harmony.!!Schuman!completed!his!Sixth!Symphony!in!1948.!!

You!can!almost!set!a!pitchclass!in!the!first!eight!measures,!with!the!melodic!

segment!centered!on!C#!@!Bb!–!F!–!D!and!the!bass!on!C!–!D!–!Eb!–!G.!!!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

18!Broder,!19.!

!

19!Broder,!20.!

20 The Musical Quarterly favorite device with him. One of the most interesting examples of polytonality in his music is the opening of the slow movement of the Symphony for Strings.'

Ex. 6 Larghiasno J-40

CoS rd r l_ _ m T=- Copyr.il, 1943,

" e i gzi I > > , G. ?xr,

Here the simultaneous employment of harmonies belonging to different keys results in an effect of intense emotion. Some pieces (e.g., the "Prayer in Time of War") end polytonally, but most of them end in a consonant triad, which, the logical outgrowth of dissonant progressions, gives as much of a feeling of finality as the dominant-tonic cadence of older music.

Schuman's rhythms are extremely varied, and while the fundamental pulse-beat may remain regular for long stretches, particularly in slow sections, the metric patterns above this beat shift constantly. In contrapuntal passages there is often a fascinating interplay of stresses. He is especially fond of accented off-beats, as in this lively figure derived from jazz: Ex. 7 2 Third String Quartet, 1Fna

A _ h. 1s- 3 * 6.>

mBP t-rf^ Copyrig, 1942, y Boosey aHawIes9j.

These varied rhythms are integrated in larger patterns that, as a rule and especially in the instrumental works, hang together logi- cally. Since, as we have seen, key-relationship has been abandoned as a means of achieving structural coherence, its place is taken by thematic repetition, either in entirely free forms or in free adapta- tions of old forms. Schuman's fugues employ many of the standard devices of the form, but his method of handling these devices and the changes he rings on the traditional procedures are quite un- orthodox. The finale of the Third String Quartet is a particularly striking example of the manner in which he adapts old principles

1 The same passage appears in the second piece of the "Three-Score Set" for piano. 2 The thematic material of this movement is used also in the finale of the Fourth Symphony. The jazz-like figure of measure 3 appears in one form or another in many works.




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! 33!

!

!!!!!!The!texture!is!unique,!but!it!can!be!related!to!Vincent!Persichetti’s!

harmonic!treatise!in!which!he!states,!"the!heroic!dualism!caused!by!the!

resistance!of!the!diatonic!to!the!chromatic!and!a!focusing!of!that!opposition!

in!the!form!of!two!triad!plus!added@note!sonorities.”!

FIG.!21!Harmonic!Duality!in!Schuman’s!Sixth!Symphony.20!

!

FIG.!22!Early!indications!of!the!‘oblique!interval!expansion.21!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

20!Pye, Richard C. "The Construction and Interpretation of Bespoke Pitch-Class Set Genera as Models of HarmonicDuality in William Schuman's Sixth Symphony." 255. !

21!Pye,!257.!

bespoke pitch-class set genera in william schuman’s sixth symphony 247

To what extent, then, is it possible to construct a Parks-style generic model of this duality, in both its focused andgeneral forms, and how might such a model “render grasp-able aspects of structure that are otherwise elusive”? For ex-ample, do the opposing tetrachords form part of a pervasiveduality, infusing both the thematic (horizontal) and har-monic (vertical) dimensions?

The role played by the primary tetrachords as the foci of abroader chromatic and diatonic duality strongly suggests atheoretical model presenting two opposing genera. Ideally,such a model would formalize the difference between setclasses intuitively associated with one or other of the primarytetrachords while also admitting some degree of ambiguityin set classes displaying a looser affiliation. The Parks modelof bespoke genera construction would appear to be ideallysuited to such a task. Before examining the proposed har-monic duality in detail, it will helpful to map out the musicalterrain within which it operates.

Formal design. A general topography of the work is pre-sented in Example 2, using thematic and harmonic identityas the principal means of structural delineation. Areas of un-

equivocal harmonic focus are frequent and extensive, as, forexample, in the case of the Leggeramente section (mm.169–273), where 4-14 sonorities (including occasional sub-sets and supersets) underpin the thematic materials through-out. The sonorities that define particular sections of the workin this way are denoted by their set-class names in the exam-ple. It should be noted, however, that harmonic identity isonly one of many strands of opposition and coherence thatpervade the Sixth Symphony. In particular, thematic identityremains crucial to the definition of form, with themes oftendeployed in the manner of a cantus firmus, providing athread of continuity through often complex contrapuntaltextures.21 In this role, Theme A is fragmented into its con-stituent motives, most notably in the closing measures of thework (Aa in m. 630, and Ab in m. 638) or otherwise modi-fied while retaining its identity (‘A’ in mm. 94, 140, 273 etc.).It is also more radically transformed into the quasi-fugalsubject (A1) that opens the Moderato con moto in m. 50.Three further themes (B, C, and D) perform similar roles,

21 Cf. Dickinson 1985, 458, who finds motives used “serially” in the cen-tral Adagio.

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example 1. Schuman, Symphony No. 6, mm. 1–8.

679-125.MTS.Pye_pp243-274 9/8/03 1:34 PM Page 247

of 4-14 complex members (for example, 5-29[01368],6-z19[013478], 7-z38[0124578], and 6-z46[012469] inmm. 95–100, seen in Ex. 7[d]). The tripartite structure ofthis passage is reflected in the following taxonomy of setclasses presented in Examples 7–9.

A marked shift of harmonic emphasis is then signaled bythe return of Theme C in m. 123, shown in Example 10(a).

The contrast is sharply drawn: an accelerando to a fastertempo, a shift from the string-dominated textures of mm.80–123 to woodwind and brass, and the introduction of the be-bob inspired, syncopated rhythms of Theme C. (Seethe melodic segmentation of the passage shown as Example10[b].) However, the harmonic re-orientation is not fromthe 4-14 realm to that of 4-17, but to their only shared tri-

254 music theory spectrum 25 (2003)

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679-125.MTS.Pye_pp243-274 9/8/03 1:34 PM Page 254

! 34!

Key!Compositions:!George&Washington&Bridge&

!!!!!George!Washington!Bridge!was!composed!in!1950!and!published!in!1951.!!

The!first!performance!took!place!in!Interlochen,!MI.!!The!spearhead!of!the!

project!was!William!D.!Revelli!and!the!University!of!Michigan!for!the!

Michigan!School!Band!and!Orchestra!Association!(MSBOA).!!This!form!of!

absolute!music!reflects!to!Schuman’s!experiences!of!passing!by!the!George!

Washington!Bridge!everyday.!!He!agreed!only!to!compose!the!piece!if!the!

commission!would!guarantee!a!large!number!of!schools!would!purchase!the!

music.!!The!performances!were!not!guaranteed.!!This!deal!eliminated!the!

need!for!a!large!commission.!!Schuman!wrote!a!snippet!on!his!interpretation!

of!what!the!impression!the!piece!represents.!

FIG.!23!Schuman’s!impression!on!George&Washington&Bridge.22&

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

22!Rhodes, Stephen. "A comparative analysis of the band compositions of William Schuman." ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, 61.!

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

! 35!

!

!!Analysis!of!George&Washington&Bridge:&Absolute!Music!!! George&Washington&Bridge&was!written!during!the!prime!years!of!Schuman’s!

career.!!We!see!in!his!composition!a!mature!style!that!reflects!many!earlier!pieces,!

but!also!expands!the!harmonic!texture!we!had!seen!in!his!Sixth!Symphony.!!

Schuman!uses!in!George&Washington&Bridge!short!and!motivic!themes,!long!and!

sustained!lines,!bitonality,!call!and!response!between!choirs!of!instruments,!and!

massive!blocks!of!sounds!similar!to!earlier!works.!!

! There!are!four!main!themes!in!this!work.!!The!first!theme!opens!with!bitonal!

chords!in!Bb!major!in!the!low!brass!and!C!major!in!the!high!brass.!!The!chords,!being!

a!step!apart!increases!the!harmonic!texture!and!dissonance.!!The!grit!of!the!chords!

really!represents!the!absolute!music!he!depicts.!!!

FIG.!24!Bichordal!Opening!Bb!–!low!brass,!C!–!high!brass!(mm.!1E4).23!

!

!

! A!rhythmic!bridge!takes!us!from!the!first!motive!to!the!second!motive.!!In!the!

bridge,!rhythm!plays!an!equally!important!role!as!the!harmonic!structure.!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

23!Rhodes, 62.!


! 36!

!

FIG.!25!Rhythmic!transition.24!

!

!

!

!

!

! The!rhythmic!“bridge”!allows!us!to!set!a!contrast!to!the!second!theme,!which!

is!less!strident,!but!more!chromatic!and!harmonically!ambiguous.!As!you!can!see!we!

have!F#@F!natural!and!C!natural!–!C#.!!The!intervals!in!the!second!theme!below!are!

angular,!having!many!thirds!and!fourths.!!The!end!of!the!phrase!ends!with!intervallic!

angular,!perfect!5th,!syncopation.!

FIG.!26!Theme!#2!–!Chromaticism!and!Angular!melody.25!

!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

24!Rhodes, 63. !

25!Rhodes, 64.!


! 37!

The!third!theme!is!more!rhythmic!and!disjunct!in!nature.!!It!contrasts!the!

sustained!sonorities!in!the!beginning!and!has!an!offbeat!feel.!!The!phrasing!is!

divided!into!two!rhythmic!subphrases.!!!!

FIG.!27!Theme!#3!–!rhythmic!and!disjunct,!but!playful.!

! !

!

The!final!main!theme!is!stated!much!like!the!second!theme!–!chromatic,!

flowing,!and!a!bit!angular!in!nature.!!The!angular!moments!take!away!a!bit!from!the!

flowing!line,!but!it!exemplifies!the!character!of!a!bridge!like!structure,!where!

angular!pieces!are!prominent!anywhere!on!the!structure.!!The!image!below!takes!a!

snapshot!of!the!large!form!of!the!piece!(ABCB1A1Coda).!!Overall,!we!have!a!ternary!

form,!where!we!are!introduced!to!a!Chordal/Rhythmic!motive,!transition!to!an!

intervallic!motive!and!return!to!Rhythmic/Chordal!motive.!

!

!

!

!


! 38!

FIG.!28!!Theme!#4!Flowing,!but!angular!

!

!

FIG.!29!Form!Chart.26!

!

!

! !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

26!Garofalo, Robert J. Guides to Band Masterworks, 114.!


Activities Two of the activities in the lesson

plan involved students in simple composition projects. Given the concept melody/harmony and its subconcepts of oblique interval expansion (tension crescendo), bitonality, triad of major and minor thirds, major seventh chord, pandiatonic tone cluster, and secundal chord, students were asked to compose short chordal phrases using similar dissonant harmonic structures. Another activity involved the concept of rhythm and its subconcepts of syncopation, augmentation, diminution, disjunct rhythm, and fourfold division of the beat and its variants. From these, students composed short rhythmic duets using similar meters, rhythms, and rhythmic devices.

Two experimental exercises were included to involve students in creating their own pandiatonic tone clusters and bitonal sonorities during the warm-up period. Information and ideas for conducting mini-lectures on the following topics were given: melody/harmony, dynamics, rhythm, texture, form, and aesthetics. Two optional activities were suggested: a

field trip, whose objective was to ex- amine the form and structure of a suspension bridge similar to the George Washington Bridge; and the inclusion of slides (photos and draw- ings of suspension bridges made or collected by band members) with the concert performance.

In the final unit exam, given at the end of the lesson plan, students were asked to identify music terms, recog- nize melodic and harmonic intervals and chords, and, because analysis of George Washington Bridge revealed that the composition is predominantly homophonic, students were asked to identify aurally different types of homophonic textures.

To accomplish the activities suggested in the teacher's lesson plan, it was necessary to organize a six-week teaching schedule in which all mini- lectures, class discussions, dictation work, and tests were carefully planned. The class discussion on aesthetics, for example, occurred during the last week of rehearsals. Student projects and assignments were scheduled to coincide with class activities that covered the same concepts or skills.

Testing To determine the effect that the

Unit Study Composition would have on student learning, a conceptual knowledge and aural skills pretest and posttest were administered to the band members. In the conceptual knowledge pretest, students were asked to identify basic music terms. Evaluation of these scores revealed that many students were un- able to give satisfactory definitions for common music terms, especially those that explain how music should be performed.

Toward the end of the six-week in- struction period, a posttest of conceptual knowledge and aural skills was administered. The mean scores for the pre- and posttests are given in Figure 5. Although greatest improve- ment occurred on the conceptual knowledge posttest, much improve- ment was also noted on the aural skills posttest, particularly in aural discrimination of chords (215 percent increase). The overall improve- ment of aural discrimination was 102 percent. Clearly, aural dictation work in class had a significant effect on student learning.

Figure 4. Abbreviated low chart

The arch represents the relation between the composition's external structure and that of the bridge

SECTION C Cantabile Melody: Flowing motion of the bridge

-4\ Ascending Spaced Accompaniment: Vertical tie rods reaching up

Rhythmically Activated Staccato Chords

I'

36 mej/april '81

! 39!

Examples!of!techniques!he!uses!in!George$Washington$Bridge$include!

pandiatonic!clusters,!tension!crescendo,!secundal!chords,!intervallic!relationships!

(5th,!4th,!7th),!chord!duality!and!rhythmic!figures!that!are!sometimes!in!counterpoint!

with!the!longer!flowing!lines.!!!

FIG.!30!Pandiatonic!Cluster27!

!

!

FIG.!31!Rhythmic!Motives28!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

27!Garofalo, 104. !

28!Garofalo,!110.!

!

istrator were included. Style, particularly the interpretation of rhythms, articulations, and other expressive elements in the composition, was discussed.

Analytical notes Analysis of the seven structural ele-

ments of George Washington Bridge included music examples and a complete flow chart. Overall, the work is in arch form: ABCB1A1 Coda (see Figure 4). Section A begins with massive bitonal sonorities. Each of the five repetitions of this idea (Theme Ia) is varied throughout the composi-

Figure 3a. Pandiatonic tone cluster

(meas. 97-99)

tion through rhythms, dynamics, instrumentation, and articulations. At measure 15, Schuman introduces a contrasting lyrical melody (Theme Ib) that has a rhythmic chordal accompaniment. This theme is not repeated. Section A concludes with a reappearance of Theme Ia, beginning at measure 32. The form of section A is thus ternary (aba).

Section B (allegretto, 4 meter, beginning at measure 42) introduces Theme II-rhythmically activated staccato chords. The fourfold division of the beat and its variants are used extensively in this section to ac-

~;_IT~' V

Figure 3b. Secundal chords

^ (meas. 100-101)

'-?~~~~~~~~~ I^ V-1 v <

I --1 17 'o

j : a a

Figure 3c. Accompaniment (open 5ths) and melody (added 6ths to open 5ths above)

(meas. 113-115)

A J t ; w .L de s 3 i

9? h d luJ f

tivate the chords; disjunct rhythm also appears in measures 83-87.

In section C (piu mosso, 4 meter, beginning at measure 97) the composer introduces a flowing cantabile melody (Theme III), followed by its two varied repetitions (the first repetition begins at measure 129; the second at measure 143). In the last phrase of each statement of Theme III, Schuman builds a tension crescendo through the use of oblique interval expansion (see Figure 2). This harmonic device produces an increasingly dissonant chord structure that eventually finds its consonant resolution in the first chord of the next section. Schuman uses many interesting harmonic ideas in the ac- companiments to Theme III. Three of these are identified in Figures 3a, b, and c. Section C concludes with a quiet passage (measures 164-182) harmonically related to the chords found in section B. In measures 183-186 the composer uses diminution to build motion into the next section of the composition.

Section B,, beginning at measure 187, is a restatement of Theme II material; this time, however, the rhythmically activated staccato chords are varied and the section is shortened. By stacking intervals of a fourth, Schuman concludes section B1 and introduces the next section.

Section A1 begins at measure 230 with the reappearance of the massive bitonal sonorities of the beginning. To emphasize the recapitulation of this important music idea, the composer marked the tempo "slower than the beginning." He also varied the material by interspersing new bitonal passages between phrases of the original idea.

The coda begins at measure 250 with a tritonal sonority sounded by the full band minus percussion. Frag- ments of old material, especially Theme III, reappear but are always varied. The composition ends with a dissonant bitonal passage that re- solves to a resonantly scored C major chord.

As I was analyzing the. composition, I was surprised to find a striking similarity between the arch forms of the composition and the bridge. (See Figure 4). Schuman was apparently unaware of this relationship at the time that he wrote George Washing- ton Bridge.

mej/april '81 35

. 61 6AS m

i 1 I

Figure 5. Mean scores

Conceptual Knowledge (0-43)

Aural Skills Dictations (0-45) Melodic Interval Harmonic Interval Chordal Rhythmic

Pretest

12.64 14.24 5.18 3.60 1.86 3.60

Posttest

32.10 28.75 8.68 7.51 5.86 6.70

Increase

+154% +102% + 68% +109% +215% + 86%

Figure 6. Chord phrase John Riley, Grade 12

mp f

9 t ~. i _-a t I

CTl/)--- -

~,~~~

Student study guide The student study guide for

George Washington Bridge was orga- nized in five parts: historical notes; list of concepts, subconcepts, and objectives; glossary of music terms; activities, resources, and assignments with options; and a statement explaining how the student would be evaluated. The first three parts con- tained information similar to that included in the teacher's lesson plan. In the activities section students were instructed to complete four out-of- class assignments: listening and score study, home practice, and two short composition projects.

One assignment required students to construct at least six dissonant chord structures similar to those used by Schuman in George Wash- ington Bridge. They were then asked to assign a number to each chord on a scale from one (least dissonant) to six (most dissonant). Out of these chord structures students composed tension crescendos. To determine the tension rating for each chord, the structures were played at the piano. After the chords had been arranged according to dissonance, the outer

Figure 7. Rhythmic duet Patrick Hagan, Grade 11

I =I ' I Im I A

B

A

B

mf f

A S %.

r: mj . n-,.m 4 . 7 7 ' ' ' ' I' '

cresc. poco a poco ff

aA S P YnS 8z zJ1t = 1ff

mej/april '81 37

I

! 40!

FIG.!32!Secundal!Chords29!

!

FIG.!33!Tension!Crescendo!(oblique!interval!expansion)30!

!

!

From!the!late!1940s!through!the!mid@1950s!Schuman!was!his!most!prolific!

and!produced!his!most!mature!compositions.!!We!see!in!George$Washington$Bridge$

the!heightened!awareness!of!textural!harmony!that!Schuman!had!made!his!

signature!as!a!premiere!American!composer.!!Here!was!a!sound!and!voice!that!was!

unique!to!the!culture.!!After!listening!to!the!premiere!of!Schuman’s!Sixth!Symphony,!

Vincent!Persichetti!said!that!“No!longer!is!one!conscious!of!technique!or!devices.!!

Here!is!music!that!gets!under!the!notes!and!in!the!blood!stream.!!It!breathes!lyric!

beauty!and!stamps!vivid!impression!upon!the!listener.”!!It!is!evident!that!Schuman!

had!implemented!the!best!of!his!technique!from!the!Sixth!Symphony!into!a!quality!

piece!of!wind!band!literature.$

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

29!Garofalo, 105. !

30!Garofalo, 104.!

istrator were included. Style, particularly the interpretation of rhythms, articulations, and other expressive elements in the composition, was discussed.

Analytical notes Analysis of the seven structural ele-

ments of George Washington Bridge included music examples and a complete flow chart. Overall, the work is in arch form: ABCB1A1 Coda (see Figure 4). Section A begins with massive bitonal sonorities. Each of the five repetitions of this idea (Theme Ia) is varied throughout the composi-

Figure 3a. Pandiatonic tone cluster

(meas. 97-99)

tion through rhythms, dynamics, instrumentation, and articulations. At measure 15, Schuman introduces a contrasting lyrical melody (Theme Ib) that has a rhythmic chordal accompaniment. This theme is not repeated. Section A concludes with a reappearance of Theme Ia, beginning at measure 32. The form of section A is thus ternary (aba).

Section B (allegretto, 4 meter, beginning at measure 42) introduces Theme II-rhythmically activated staccato chords. The fourfold division of the beat and its variants are used extensively in this section to ac-

~;_IT~' V

Figure 3b. Secundal chords

^ (meas. 100-101)

'-?~~~~~~~~~ I^ V-1 v <

I --1 17 'o

j : a a

Figure 3c. Accompaniment (open 5ths) and melody (added 6ths to open 5ths above)

(meas. 113-115)

A J t ; w .L de s 3 i

9? h d luJ f

tivate the chords; disjunct rhythm also appears in measures 83-87.

In section C (piu mosso, 4 meter, beginning at measure 97) the composer introduces a flowing cantabile melody (Theme III), followed by its two varied repetitions (the first repetition begins at measure 129; the second at measure 143). In the last phrase of each statement of Theme III, Schuman builds a tension crescendo through the use of oblique interval expansion (see Figure 2). This harmonic device produces an increasingly dissonant chord structure that eventually finds its consonant resolution in the first chord of the next section. Schuman uses many interesting harmonic ideas in the ac- companiments to Theme III. Three of these are identified in Figures 3a, b, and c. Section C concludes with a quiet passage (measures 164-182) harmonically related to the chords found in section B. In measures 183-186 the composer uses diminution to build motion into the next section of the composition.

Section B,, beginning at measure 187, is a restatement of Theme II material; this time, however, the rhythmically activated staccato chords are varied and the section is shortened. By stacking intervals of a fourth, Schuman concludes section B1 and introduces the next section.

Section A1 begins at measure 230 with the reappearance of the massive bitonal sonorities of the beginning. To emphasize the recapitulation of this important music idea, the composer marked the tempo "slower than the beginning." He also varied the material by interspersing new bitonal passages between phrases of the original idea.

The coda begins at measure 250 with a tritonal sonority sounded by the full band minus percussion. Frag- ments of old material, especially Theme III, reappear but are always varied. The composition ends with a dissonant bitonal passage that re- solves to a resonantly scored C major chord.

As I was analyzing the. composition, I was surprised to find a striking similarity between the arch forms of the composition and the bridge. (See Figure 4). Schuman was apparently unaware of this relationship at the time that he wrote George Washing- ton Bridge.

mej/april '81 35

. 61 6AS m

i 1 I

Figure 1. Blueprint of objectives

I. An UNDERSTANDING of the structural elements of music: melody harmony rh\thm

II. A KNOWLEDGE of music as a creative art form of man in a historical context: composition composer stvle neriod

IYLbandstran Appreciations bandstration dynamics texture form

The performance COMPOSITION

a basis for

developing:

Attitudes Habits

r ~III. SKILLS: aural dexterous translative

The Rehearsal-A Laboratory Experience in Applied Music Understanding

Figure 2. Tension crescendo (oblique interval expansion)

A (meas. 125-129) | , o

rp f P 8 s

i 9

P-- f P

34 mej/april '81

! 41!

VINCENT PERSICHETTI Modern Traditionalist: Twentieth-Century Harmony

CHAPTER THREE

! 42!

Introduction

! Vincent!Persichetti!was!a!prolific!composer,!educator!and!administrator!of!

his!time,!creating!over!150!works!in!a!plethora!of!genres!and!serving!forty!years!as!a!

faculty!member!at!Julliard!as!the!chairman!of!the!Composition!Department.!!An!

incredible!pianist!as!well,!he!was!able!to!captivate!audiences!with!his!wit,!talent!and!

taught!a!great!deal!of!pianists!during!his!tenure.!!Persichetti’s!childlike!attitude!can!

be!heard!in!the!etudes!written!in!the!Little&Piano&Book.&&His!Hymns&and&Responses&for&

the&Church&Year!was!indispensable!by!church!choirs,!and!many!composition!

students!referred!to!his!text,!Twentieth&Century&Harmony.&Musicians!during!his!time!

would!learn!much!about!contemporary!music!through!his!first!four!compositions!

for!band:!!Divertimento,&op.&42&(1950),&Psalm&for&band,&op.&53&(1952),&Pageant,&op.&59&

(1953),&and!Symphony&for&Band&(Symphony&no.&6),&op.&69&(1956).1&

& We!will!discuss!the!traditionalKmodernist!technique!and!the!treatise!of!

twentiethKcentury!harmony!as!written!by!Vincent!Persichetti.!!His!contributions!to!

the!teaching!world!are!unparalleled,!being!one!of!the!most!knowledgeable!in!score!

study,!research,!and!rapport!with!students.!!Persichetti!encouraged!healthy,!creative!

participation!in!music!at!all!levels!of!proficiency!while!shunning!dogmas!that!

advocated!one!compositional!approach!at!the!expense!of!others.!

! This!serious!composition!figure!in!the!early!half!of!the!twentiethKcentury!had!

a!wit!that!was!lacking!in!pomposity.!!At!the!age!of!65!he!stated,!“I’ve!not!decided!

what!I’ll!do!with!my!life.!!Perhaps!I!will!concertize!as!pianist,!but,!on!the!other!hand,!

shouldn’t!I!bring!audiences!some!of!those!neglected!orchestral!pieces?!!Then!again!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!Simmons,!174!–!176.!

! 43!

I’d!love!to!have!a!larger!herb!farm,!if!it!weren’t!for!my!keen!interest!in!sailing.!!I!

know!I’d!like!the!life!of!the!Maine!lobster!fisherman,!but!my!sculpting!would!keep!

me!on!solid!ground.!!I’m!too!busy!with!composing!to!consider!what!my!life’s!work!

will!be.!!I!suppose,!though,!at!some!point!I!should!decide!to!work!for!a!living.”!

!

Early!Childhood!

!

! Vincent!Ludwig!Persichetti!was!born!on!June!6,!1915!K!the!son!of!Vincenzo!

Ruggiero!Persichetti!and!Martha!Buch.!!Vincent!was!a!second!generation!American,!

his!father!had!emigrated!from!Italy,!originally!of!the!Abruzzi!region,!at!the!age!of!

eleven,!becoming!a!banker!in!the!Philadelphia,!Pennsylvania.!!Vincent’s!showed!

signs!of!an!affinity!for!music!at!an!early!age,!always!sitting!affixed!to!the!player!

piano.!!At!the!age!of!five!he!was!enrolled!at!the!Combs!Conservatory!to!study!music!

and!piano!with!Warren!Stranger.!!!

! At!the!tender!age!of!nine,!Vincent!Persichetti!audited!theory!classes!with!

Russell!King!Miller,!whom!he!would!cite!as!his!most!influential!teacher.!!Miller!

would!let!Persichetti!write!“contraband”!music!to!which!he!would!delegate!“bumpy!

melodic!lines”!and!“music!that!would!move!along!a!zigzag!path.”!!Always!looking!to!

forward!his!music!education,!Persichetti!would!bombard!Miller!with!questions:!

“Why!did!Schumann!begin!so!many!pieces!so!far!from!the!tonic?!Did!

Beethoven's!title!"Sonatas!for!Piano!and!Violin"!mean!that!he!considered!the!

piano!more!important!than,!or!as!important!as,!the!violin?!Why!does!music!

have!phrases,!answers,!sections,!and!development?!Can't!it!just!sit!there!like!a!

prism!and!be!admired?!Can!an!atonal!work!be!consonant?”2!

! !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2!Morris, Donald A. "The Life of Vincent Persichetti, with emphasis on his works for band." ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. N.p.: ProQuest, 1991. Print. 18-21.!

! 44!

! In!1929,!when!Persichetti!was!fourteen,!he!wrote!his!first!piece!called!Serenade'for'

Ten'Wind'Instruments,'prior!to!his!knowledge!of!Igor!Stravinsky.!!He!would!later!write!the!

following!excerpt!in!consideration!of!the!effects!of!living!in!Philadelphia!and!how!his!family!

nurtured!his!interest!in!music.!

! VP:$“In$the$then$acoustically$perfect$Academy$of$Music,$Leopold$Stokowski$and$the$Philadelphia$Orchestra$offered$me$the$riches$of$the$past,$the$present,$and$@I$believe$@the$future.$I$heard$all$the$great$performers$of$the$day$and,$in$another$great$hall,$every$opera$the$"Met"$brought$to$town.$In$addition$to$conservatories,$the$city$had$an$art$academy$that$allowed$me$to$enroll$while$going$to$public$school,$until$I$could$graduate$from$both.$I$worked$with$paints,$clay,$and$wood,$and$have$been$sculpting$ever$since,$probably$because$this$is$the$only$way$I$can$caress$sculpture.$I've$tried$to$embrace$pieces$in$museums@without$success.$However,$the$Philadelphia$Art$Alliance,$founded$in$the$year$of$my$birth,$let$me$touch$their$sculpture,$and$I$enjoyed$the$company$of$artists$in$other$mediums.$There$was$the$Matinee$Musical$Club$Orchestra.$Because$I$could$sight@read,$I$was$invited$to$be$their$pianist$at$eleven.$My$colleagues$were$first@generation$Americans$who$now$hold$positions$in$major$orchestras$across$the$country.$And$then$there$was$my$father,$deeply$involved$in$all$the$early$works.$His$enthusiasm$was$infectious.$I$think$of$my$First$String$Quartet$as$the$"Turkey$Quartet",$for$the$second$movement$winks$at$my$father,$who$sang$the$early@morning$young$turkey$calls$he'd$heard$as$a$farm$boy$in$Towanda,$Pennsylvania.$It$was$first$performed$on$14$March$1943,$at$the$League$of$Composers,$and$I$still$remember$sitting$with$Elliott$Carter$and$Lukas$Foss$and$Leonard$Bernstein$(who$all$had$premieres$on$that$concert),$listening$to$the$Stuyvesant$Quartet$play$the$finale$at$precisely$half$the$correct$tempo.$My$father$wasn't$present,$and$I$am$grateful.”3!! !

Development$and$Early$Exploration$

! His!teachers!sparked!Vincent!Persichetti’s!early!interests:!composition!with!

Russell!King!Miller,!conducting!under!Fritz!Reiner,!and!piano!with!Olga!Samaroff.!!

He!confesses!that!the!most!important!influences!to!his!mastery!of!composition!

include!Joseph!Haydn!and!Schumann.!!He!prides!himself,!much!like!his!childhood!

days,!of!being!unique!and!“eclectic”!in!his!writing,!implementing!the!“zigzag”!

melodies.!!He!heard!Rachmaninoff!play!every!time!he!came!to!Philadelphia!and!

listened!to!a!multitude!of!records!to!satiate!his!appetite!for!music.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!3!Shackelford, Rudy, and Vincent Persichetti. "Conversations with Vincent Persichetti." 105-106.!

! 45!

!!! “My!inner!ear!imagined!against!what!I!heard!with!my!outer!ear!at!the!

performance.!That's!how!I!learned!to!write!for!orchestra.!!In!the!early!'30s,!

Prokofiev's!First!Violin!Concerto,!Debussy's!Prelude!al'apresNmidi!d'un!faune,!

Stravinsky's!Le!Sacred!u!printemps,!and!the!Fourth!Symphony!of!Sibelius!

enriched!my!soul;!while!works!like!Casella's!Italia!rhapsody!and!Copland's!

Scherzo!worried!me.”4!

!

! The!music!Persichetti!greatly!admired!could!be!counted!on!one!hand,!

including!Schumann’s!Fantasia,&Op.&17,&Beethoven’s&Op.&111,&Wozzeck,&Otello,&and!the!

Gurrelieder.&&In!his!most!formative!teen!years!Persichetti!would!study!scores!by!

Casella!and!Malipiero!–!a!gift!from!an!Italian!clerk!in!his!father’s!real!estate!office.!!

He!knew!about!these!Italians!before!he!had!heard!and!experienced!Hindemith,!

Bartok!or!Ives.5!

!

Persichetti!and!Music!

Persichetti’s compositional development did not follow a true linear progression.

It is important to discern the idea that his compositional techniques were used during his

mature compositional years in the 1950s. In 1929, at the age of 14 he had composed

Opp. 1 and 2, and the Serenade No.1 for wind dectet and the Serenade No. 2 for piano.

All these pieces would be the standard of his later repertoire – using compositional

techniques such as polytonal harmony, angular melodies, irregular rhythms, and short

sporadic motives.

The 1940s were a rather silent time for Persichetti. This was the period he used to

study the more conventional composers and experiment with more chromatic and atonal

compositions. The more consistent and distinctive Persichetti voice was prominent from !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4!Shackelford, 107-108. !5!Shackelford, 110-15.!

! 46!

the 1950s to the 1960s. The early 1970s to the 1980s saw a phase that we can relate to

Aaron Copland’s last compositional years (including Emblems in the 1960s). Persichetti

established a voice by amalgamating the techniques he found all around him. He

believed that the combination of all the styles of music is what would speak the future

language of composition – a renaissance. As he grew older, he believed truly that he had

no purpose to try to please the listener. Persichetti also admonished the idea of writing

music in the style of serialism, and confidently started each of his pieces with a thematic

or dramatic idea. His philosophy was to create sound gestures first, and then

manipulation techniques are used later, implying that serialism has helped the composer

avoid “disparate melodic, harmonic, and contrapuntal devices and irresponsible changes

of textures and patterns.”

From my earliest days, there seem to have been strands of grazioso and grit

present in my music. Some pieces contain one or the other of the ingredients, while some have both. At eleven, I wrote a very hospitable intermezzo, set politely in an E-flat modal area, alongside a razor-sharp keyless scherzo, whose "major" and "minor" chord structures were whipped into a tonicless batter. So I set the tone right from the start. No, my music doesn't fall into periods. I feel sure that somewhere within me there must be a female gene, but I happen to be strongly male -with no periods or variants. There are some who know only my "graceful" music, and others only my "gritty" music. Then there are those who know my early gracious" works and later "gravelly" ones, and think I am changing -or possibly "progressing”!6 !

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!6!Shackelford, 112-113.!

! 47!

!

!

!

FIG.!34!COMPLETE!BAND!WORKS7!

!

Divertimento,!op.42,!1950!

Psalm,!op.53,!1952!

Pageant,!op.59,!1953!

Symphony!for!Band!(Sym.!no.6),!op.69,!1956!

Serenade!no.11,!op.85,!1960!

Bagatelles,!op.87,!1961!

So!Pure!the!Star,!chorale!prelude,!op.91,!1962!

Masquerade,!op.102,!1965!

Turn!not!thy!Face,!chorale!prelude,!op.105,!1966!

O!Cool!is!the!Valley!(Poem!for!Band),!op.118,!1971!

Parable!IX,!op.121,!1972!

A!Lincoln!Address,!op.124a,!band,!1973!

O!God!Unseen,!chorale!prelude,!op.160,!1984!

!

!

Persichetti!is!best!known!today!for!works!in!the!windKband!medium.!!

William!Schuman!admired!Persichetti’s!works!for!band!stating,!“Vincent!was!not!an!

original!orchestrator,!except!when!he!wrote!for!band.!I!felt!that!his!band!scoring!is!

the!best!scoring!he!did.!!I!liked!it!very!much.”8!

! In!the!performance!of!his!Divertimento,&Persichetti!was!able!to!collaborate!

with!the!great!Edwin!Franko!Goldman!in!June!1950.!!The!two!men!were!able!to!

create!a!memorable!piece!that!would!be!etched!into!the!standard!repertoire!of!band.!!

This!commission!led!Goldman!to!truly!believe!the!debt!of!gratitude!Persichetti!had!

to!influences!such!as!Roy!Harris!and!Aaron!Copland.!!Goldman!states,!“For!all!one!

can!say!of!the!composer’s!debt!to!Harris!or!Copland,!the!music!has!a!personality!of!

its!own.!!Its!lack!of!pretentiousness!conceals!immense!skill!and!sensual!sensibility.!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!7!Simmons, Walter. The Music of William Schuman, Vincent Persichetti, and Peter Mennin. 265-277. !8!Simmons, 267-269.!

! 48!

Persichetti’s!exploitation!of!band!timbres!and!sonorities!is!highly!imaginative,!and!

he!has!not!been!afraid!to!score!lightly!or!to!call!for!unusual!combinations!of!

instruments…!Persichetti’s!music!is!gentle,!buoyant,!moving!and!diverting!in!

succession…!The!Divertimento&as!a!whole!is!among!the!most!successful!works!that!

have!been!added!to!the!band!repertory!in!many!years.”9!

!

TwentiethNCentury!Harmony!by!Persichetti!

!

! Vincent!Persichetti!had!written!TwentiethVCentury&Harmony:&Creative&Aspects&

and&Practice!with!the!idea!of!creating!a!twentieth!century!common!practice.!!Of!

course,!this!may!seem!absurd!because!Persichetti!advocated!a!nonpartisanship!

orientation!when!it!came!to!music!composition!and!its!artistic!purpose.!!Overall,!it!

seems!that!it!was!a!bit!at!odds!with!what!he!spoke!about,!but!definitely!reflected!the!

practice!of!composition!in!his!own!works.!!Persichetti!was!a!staunch!advocate!of!

making!modernist!music!to!be!accessible!to!the!audience,!be!it!absolute!music,!

thematic!or!programmatic.10!!!

! Unfortunately,!this!book!was!not!held!in!high!acclaim.!!Many!thought!of!his!

practices!to!be!at!odds!because!he!was!amalgamating!different!styles!of!

composition.!!His!book!was!thought!of!giving!devices!rather!than!ideas.!!It!seems!

that!his!ideas!of!musical!rhetoric!and!harmonic!texture!is!no!longer!a!common!

practice!for!today’s!sounds,!but!is!worth!revisiting!for!another!close!look.!!Other!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!9!Morris, Donald A. "The Life of Vincent Persichetti, with emphasis on his works for band." 184-198. !10 Schuman, William. "The Complete Musician: Vincent Persichetti and Twentieth-Century Harmony." 379-381.!

! 49!

camps!of!composition!rivaled!its!stance!during!the!time,!most!clearly!the!serialists.!!

Yet,!as!duly!stated!by!Arnold!Schoenberg,!Perschetti’s!compositional!ideas!have!ties!

to!serialism.!!Persichetti!printed!in!the!introduction!of!his!book,!“Any!tone!can!

succeed!any!other!tone,!any!tone!can!sound!simultaneously!with!any!other!tone!or!

tones,!and!any!group!of!tones!can!be!followed!by!any!other!group!of!tones,!just!as!

any!degree!of!tension!or!nuance!can!occur!in!any!medium!under!any!kind!of!stress!

or!duration.”11!

! The!possibility!that!due!to!Persichetti’s!inability!to!clearly!state!his!ideas!of!

harmonic!texture!and!amalgamation!and!differentiate!between!other!camps!did!not!

sit!well!with!his!readers.!!Yet,!there!is!no!doubt!that!his!compositions!influenced!

music!to!move!forward!and!represent!the!traditional!modernists!of!his!time.!

Key!Compositions:!Pageant'!

! Edwin!Franko!Goldman,!on!behalf!of!the!American!Bandmasters!Association!

(ABA),!commissioned!Pageant&in!1953.12!!It!is!very!reminiscent!of!his!earlier!work!

Psalm&for&Band&in!that!they!both!start!with!a!warm!first!section!that!transition!to!an!

upKtempo!allegro!section.!!The!opening!3Knote!motif!by!solo!horn!is!much!like!a!

sunrise!that!gives!way!to!the!warmth!of!the!clarinet!entrance.!!The!modal!

counterpoint!allows!us!to!hear!the!motivic!conversation!of!brass,!woodwinds,!or!

combinations!of!both.!!The!festive!2/4!section!is!the!mixture!of!diatonic!melody,!the!

polytonal!irregular!rhythm!in!the!accompaniment!and!the!close!tie!to!the!3Knote!

motive!at!the!beginning!of!the!piece.!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11!Schuman,!382K383.!!12!Morris, 184-196.

!

! 50!

! Written!to!be!accessible,!the!piece!is!perfect!for!younger!musicians!to!be!

exposed!to!the!modernistic!style!of!composers!in!his!era.!!The!premiere!of!the!work!

took!place!in!Miami,!Florida!where!in!March!1953;!the!American!Bandmasters!

Association!convention!took!place.!!After!a!few!performances!following!its!premiere,!

the!work!itself!was!not!fully!revisited!until!it!was!recorded!in!1977!by!the!

Northwestern!University!Symphonic!band!under!the!direction!of!John!Paynter.!!!

! Though!Persichetti!did!not!care!much!about!entertaining!his!audience,!

Pageant!is!accessible!due!to!its!warmth,!simple!directness,!formal!sophistication!and!

expressive!content!–!all!mixed!with!the!modernistic!techniques!of!dissonance,!

polytonality,!and!irregular!rhythms.!!!

Analysis!of!Pageant:'Increasing!the!Band!Repertoire!!

! Pageant&is!a!composition!that!reflects!Persichetti’s!idea!of!amalgamating!

techniques!of!old!and!new.!!The!opening!section!gives!us!a!look!to!the!modal!

counterpoint!of!old!renaissance!music.!!The!second!section!is!a!more!joyous!parade!

that!uses!some!of!the!motives!in!the!first!part!of!the!piece,!especially!the!beautiful!

horn!opening!of!a!perfect!fourth.!!Though!this!is!not!one!of!Persichetti’s!most!

revered!wind!band!works,!its!serene!melodic!opening!shows!us!that!his!modernist!

techniques!do!not!diminish!the!musical!quality!of!his!compositions,!but!rather!

announces!the!coming!of!the!new.!!He!states!his!philosophy!quite!clearly!that!the!

amalgamation!of!techniques,!the!old!with!the!new,!is!the!true!wave!of!the!future.!

! The!piece!contains!stylistic!beauty!in!that!motives!are!shared!between!the!

two!sections.!!It!has!a!structural!sophistication!that!blend!old!and!new!

compositional!techniques,!and!creates!layers!that!can!be!best!described!as!lyricalK

! 51!

cubism.!!Persichetti!uses!motivic!integration!to!directly!tie!and!create!flow,!

especially!in!the!second!movement!of!the!work.!!Finally,!he!shows!his!cycles!of!

motives!and!how!they!relate!to!certain!sections!in!the!piece,!all!the!while!using!

unique!combinations!or!call!and!response!sections!between!textures!of!instruments.!!

The!timbral!qualites!are!unique!and!can!represent!sounds!that!were!new!to!the!ear,!

yet!clear!enough!for!the!listener!to!understand!what!is!happening!with!

accompaniment,!polytonality,!irregular!rhythms,!and!angular!lines.!

!

FIG. 35 Section I: An Essay in Modal Counterpoint13 1–3 Germinal motive, quartal (pentatonic) in solo horn, based on B@. Note: the horn C must be held across the barline, into the first sound of the clarinets. (See Apendice I) 3–18 “A,” 3-part modal counterpoint (or 2 parts, with lower voice enriched by parallel thirds), loosely periodic. 19–27 “B,” or “Chorale.” Roughly, 4 antecedent measures in trombones & basses answered by 5 consequent (but non-conclusive) measures in woodwinds and euphonium with subtle bass drum enhancements. The tonal center is E@, the counterpoint is still modal but now first-species, and the section ends on the dominant. A dolce treatment is called for, in mezzo forte. (See Apendice I) 43–58 Second full statement of “A,” begun almost identically to the first, but with a flute obligato countermelody marked sereno. (See Apendice I) 59–66 Third statement of “B,” now in C major (earlier observations still apply). The orchestration is more like that of the first statement than that of the second. The ending is even less conclusive than before; in fact, it cannot be definitively fixed at measure 66. (See Apendice I) 66–72 Concluding statement of Movement I, with the third Chorale statement trailing off into references to “A” and a restatement of the opening horn motto. The final sounds are those of the clarinets’ three-part modal counterpoint, and the final chord is tonic. (See Apendice I)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!13!Goza, David. Coming to Terms With Persichetti's Pageant. 1-2. !

! 52!

FIG. 36 Section II, A Street Parade14 73–121 First large section, “Exposition” 73–80 First half of Theme A, with a 4-bar antecedent played by the snare drum over a bitonal structure and a 4-bar mostly pentatonic consequent in high woodwinds, (See Apendice J) 101–09 First statement of “B,” beginning in C and moving to D. The theme is eight measures long (4 + 4), but a phrase elision at 108 sets up a 2-bar extension, resulting in an “extra” measure. (See Apendice J) “Second Developmental Section” 190–209 Two statements of Theme B, structurally similar to 101–21. (See Appendice K) !

“The Final Stretch” 244–51 A simultaneous reprise of Themes A & B in B@ & E@ respectively, against a steadily rising “oom-pah” accompaniment in middle voices. (See Appendice K) 288–95 An 8-bar coda with a very rich final chord. (See Appendice L)

!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!14!Goza,!2.!

! 53!

AARON COPLAND A New Perspective

CHAPTER FOUR

! 54!

Introduction

Aaron Copland is an iconic American composer whose humble background is

deeply rooted in his family’s Lithuanian Jewish Descent. Born on November 14, 1900

Copland was born the youngest of five children. Copland’s father Anglicized their last

name ‘Kaplan’ to Copland before he had emigrated from Russia. Copland’s father,

Harris, was not very musical, but his mother, Sarah, played the piano and allowed young

Copland to take music lessons. The Copland family owned a department store in

Brooklyn, New York.

Copland’s early piano lessons would be with his sister, Laurine, but soon would

advance to study with Leopold Wofsohn, with additional harmony and counterpoint with

Rubin Goldmark. Having a high affinity for music, Copland would graduate Boys’ High

School in 1918 and would soon have aspirations to study in France. During the three

years prior to his departure, he would earn a living playing the piano. He would later

state, “I had read in the magazine Musical America of a plan by the French government

to establish a summer school for American musicians in the Palace of Fontainbleau, a

short distance from Paris… I was in such a rush to enroll that I was the first student to

sign up and be accepted. Actually, I was one out of nine awarded scholarships. My

parents were less than enthusiastic, but it was known that any well-educated musician had

to have the European experience. In the past, that had meant Germany, but since the war,

the focus for the arts had shifted to France.”1

The trip to France would be the fountain of much of Aaron Copland’s works

throughout his career. Influenced by the art scene, jazz music, and the social climate of

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1! Aaron Copland and Vivian Perlis. Copland 1900 Through 1942. New York: St. Martin's,

1984, 35.!

! 55!

the decades to come, his most important lessons in composition would be learned through

his master teacher, Nadia Boulanger. He would study with her from 1921 through 1924.

The decades that would follow would show the progression of Copland’s works in

relation to the political climate, his leftist political stance, and his search for creating an

American voice. We would see in the 1930s Copland’s efforts to reach to the masses and

allow his music to be populist and relate to the masses. Billy the Kid (1939) would use

American folk elements and became extremely popular. In the 1940s, the Americana

voice in Copland would be most prominent. A series of works written during this period

would slate his name as an enduring voice in American music. Still, his music would

resound the influences of Nadia Boulanger, Igor Stravinsky and jazz. Prime examples of

works from the forties include A Lincoln Portrait (1942), into which Copland

incorporated American folk tunes, his ballet Rodeo (1943), his Fanfare for the Common

Man (1943), and his modern dance work for Martha Graham, Appalachian

Spring (1944).

The 1950s were stricken with turmoil, especially after President Dwight D.

Eisenhower’s inaguration in 1953, for which Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait was

performed. He was questioned before congress about his perceived far-leftist political

stance, but Copland would prove not be a traitor to his own friends. A Lincoln Portrait

was singled out as evidence of his socialist leanings by certain members of congress. The

1960s and 1970s were important decades in Copland’s experimental stage. He would

dabble in serialist-like techniques and revisit some of the cubist and jazz influences from

his earlier days. These two decades late in his career would be a period to which he

would abandon his populist views and switch into a modern-nationalist composer.

! 56!

Copland would write about his piece Emblems between 1963 and 1964, “An

Emblem stands for something – it is a symbol. I called the work Emblems because it

seemed to me to suggest musical states of being: noble or inspirational feelings. The

exact nature of these emblematic sounds must be determined for himself by each

listener.”2

Influence of Nadia Boulanger

Nadia Boulanger would inspire, challenge and grow Copland’s

compositional technique. She would also show Copland that the best way to

learn is to experience music as much as he could in live performances.

Copland’s time at Fontainbleau and at Boulanger’s home in France – 36 rue

Ballu – would introduce him to the leading artists in Europe and Copland would

become Boulanger’s first American student.

“I no longer recall what Mademoiselle Boulanger was doing that day,

harmonically speaking, that was so striking, although I remember that the subject

was Boris Godunov. Her sense of involvement in the whole subject of harmony

made it more lively that I ever thought it could be. She created a kind of

excitement about the subject, emphasizing how it was, after all, the fundamental

basis of our music, when one really thought about it. I suspected that first day

that I had found my composition teacher.”3

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!2!Copland, Aaron. Emblems. New York: Boosey and Hawkes, 1965.

!3Aaron Copland and Vivian Perlis. Copland 1900 Through 1942. New York: St. Martin's, 1984,

35.!

! 57!

Boulanger was keen in introducing contemporary compositional

techniques in music, something with which many most American teachers had

little experience. She would teach Copland everything from pre-Bach to post-

Stravinsky and the very structure of composition: harmonic transposition,

figured bass, score reading, organ registration, instrumental techniques,

structural analyses, the school fugue, the free fugue, and the Greek modes and

Gregorian chant.4 Copland was nurtured by Boulanger’s support and air of

confidence in the young composer.

Boulanger’s influence would also cause Copland to delve into the deep

study of what she termed Stravinsky’s “non-string” works, including the

neoclassical Octet and Symphony for Winds. The Octet really showed

Stravinsky’s linear concept and rhythmic structure, also influenced by the jazz

idiom. “In this work Stravinsky establishes himself as a master of geometric

construction; his thought is translated into precise lines – simple, classic – and

the authority of his creative writing reveals by its leanness and its concision, an

unquestionable power.”5

When Copland struggled to find his own compositional voice, he would

rely on the support of Boulanger and the compositions of Stravinsky. Copland

would analyze more and more of Stravinsky’s work and learned more of the

musical elements from his works.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4!Aaron!Copland,!Copland(on(Music,(New!York:!W.W.!Norton!&!Company,!1963,!87.!

!5Teresa!Walters,!“Nadia!Boulanger,!Musician!and!Teacher:!!Her!Life,!Concepts!and!Influences!(Volume!I),”!(DMA!diss.,!Peabody!Institute!of!the!Johns!Hopkins!University,!1981),!92.!

! 58!

“There was also much to learn from Stravinsky’s bold use of dissonance

and his unusual instrumental combinations that projected sharply defined colors

so differently from the luminous soft lines of French impressionism. I was

particularly struck by the strong Russian element in his music. He borrowed

freely from folk materials, and I have no doubt that this strongly influenced me

to try to find a way to a distinctly American music. It was easy to see a parallel

between Stravinsky’s powerful Slavic rhythmic drive and our American sense of

rhythmic ingenuity. The most important thing for me, though, was that

Stravinsky proved it was possible for a twentieth-century composer to create his

own tradition.”6

Copland and Jazz

Copland was thoroughly influenced by jazz in the 1920s. Composers of

the time were using the term jazz and ragtime almost interchangeably. In

Copland’s terms, he used jazz rhythms predominantly by writing tied

syncopation.

FIG. 37 Tied Syncopation

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!6Copland, Aaron, and Vivian Perlis. Copland 1900 Through 1942. New York: St. Martin's, 1984. 35-99.!

! 59!

This very rhythm can be seen repeated numerously in Emblems, especially

in his use of rhythmic displacement. We will discuss this closely in the analysis

of Emblems. We also find Copland practicing the use of the lowered third as an

indicator of the blues idiom and chromaticism.

Cubism Influencing Copland

Cubism is an avant-garde art form that was revolutionized by Pablo

Picasso. Its characteristics include objects that are broken into pieces, like

shattered glass, re-assembled and created into an abstracted form. This motive

of broken motives would appear in Emblems. During the first two decades of the

twentieth-century, cubism inspired architects, writers, and musicians – including

composer Aaron Copland.

Copland was first introduced to the art form when he studied in Paris and

Fontainebleau, France in 1921. During his time in France, he heard radical

modern music by Ives and Ravel and mingled with French intellectuals,

including theater critic Harold Clurman, cubist painter Marcel Duchamp,

conductor Serge Koussevitzky, and fellow composer Roger Sessions.

With Copland’s exposure to cubism, he would embark on a journey where

his technique would include fragments of motives, or variations on a motive that

would be pieced together much like a cubist work. Two works are most

prominent in this theory, including Copland’s early work, Piano Variations

(1930) and the CBDNA commission, Emblems.

! 60!

FIG. 38 Nude Descending a Staircase (1912), Marcel Duchamp.

! 61!

Key Compositions: Piano Variations 1930

The Piano Variations (1930) was one of the first to show Copland’s interest in

serialist music. Much like Emblems, Copland shows early intentions in his

Piano Variations of composing absolute music. Incredibly, this was the exact

same time when Copland had been writing much of the music he had deemed

reachable by the masses. His Piano Variations really only drew acclaim from

close musical circles that understood what he had created. Similarly, Emblems

had a lukewarm reception from its audiences due to its jaunty, off beat,

dissonant, and uncharacteristic harmonies that were coming from the master of

Americana music. When one looks at this excerpt from the Piano Variations,

that the influence of jazz rhythm, the placement of uncomfortable rhythm, and

the pitch class that seems to tie Copland’s music loosely to the practice of

serialism is evident.

FIG. 39 Rhythmic Displacement Piano Variations, Vivace,

mm. 151-158.

! 62!

FIG. 40 Rhythmic Displacement/Signs of Serialism Piano Variations,

mm. 17-38.

! 63!

The CBDNA 1964 Commission: Limitless Boundaries

Keith Wilson outlined the boundaries of the (Emblems) commissioning

project in 1963. In May 1963, Wilson wrote: “The purpose of this commission

is to enrich the band repertory with music that is representative of the

composer’s best work, and not one written with all sorts of technical or practical

limitations.”

Wilson’s statement would become the basis of Emblems and should be

considered when assessing the difficulty of the piece. It might be easy to

speculate, that Copland did not take Emblems seriously, and thus the parts do not

lay well technically. Yet, when we keep in mind that limitations were boundless

for Copland, that Wilson gave him the permission to write advanced quality

literature, was the grounds for the outcome of the piece.

When Copland accepted the commission, Keith Wilson also suggested to

Copland a number of already familiar works to reference in orchestration and

form: Hindemith’s Symphony in B flat, Creston’s Celebration Overture and

Prelude and Dance, William Schuman’s George Washington Bridge and

Chester Overture, and Piston’s Tunbridge Fair. Similarly, it is almost uncanny

the relation between the ternary form and columns of sound that we hear from

both George Washington Bridge and Emblems. The technical difficulty of the

work lies in the following line that Wilson sent to Copland on July 4, 1963,

reiterating the level of music the commission required:

! 64!

“We want you to feel free to write whatever you think would be effective

for this large group of wind instruments, and not what the average high school

band can play. We have some excellent bands whose members have technical

proficiency equal to that of professional musicians. Please do not feel restricted

in any way.”7

Analysis of Emblems: A New Perspective

Emblems was a stage of experimentation for Copland’s compositional

development. In the 1930s and 1940s, Copland’s works were very accessible to

its audiences, but he created a new voice in implementing folk music and the use

of dissonance and serial techniques.

FORM

The basic form of Emblems can be summed up as ternary. It has the basic

outline of A-B-A’-Coda. Emblems resemblance to George Washington Bridge is

most evident in its form and towering chords at the beginning and end of each

piece. One must look back to Copland’s thoughts on cubism to really understand

the subsections of this piece. It has the picture of fragmentary motives that were

put back together to create larger sections. Take note of the multiple subsections

and its role in creating such an intricate pattern within the work.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!7Carnochan, Robert M. "Aaron Copland's "Emblems"." Pro Quest Dissertations and Theses. N.p.: ProQuest, 1999, 15-16. !

! 65!

FIG. 41 Simple Form – Ternary8

FIG. 42 Full Form9

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8!Ibid,!55.!!

9Ibid,!56.! !!

! 66!

FIG. 43 Subsections of B.10

FIG. 44 Subsections of returning A.11

HARMONY

There is balance and contrast within Emblems, showcasing strong

dissonance in the outer sections and a more consonant melody with Amazing

Grace. His use of consonant 4th and 5th harmonic intervals to accompany

Amazing Grace is closely related to pieces found in Southern Harmony choral

books. Copland makes use of multiple techniques of modern and traditional

practice. He uses sequential writing (mm. 130-137) with ascending/descending

motives (minor 3rds in mm. 4-7) and contrary chromatic motion in measures 13-

14 in 2nd and 3rd trombone.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!10Ibid,!60.!!!11Ibid,!63.!!

! 67!

FIG. 45 Section B mm. 130-137 (Sequential Writing).12

FIG. 46 Ascending/Descending Motives (m3) mm. 4-7.13

FIG 47. Contrary Chromatic Motion in trombones, mm. 13-15.14

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!12Ibid,!69.!!!13Ibid,!69.!!

14McCallum, Wendy M. "Pedagogical Style and Influence of Nadia Boulanger on Music for Wind Symphony, an Analysis of Three Works by her Students: Copland, Bassett, and Grantham." University of North Texas. N.p.: University of North Texas, 2004.!

! 68!

An abundance of tonal clusters (mm. 18-19) and bitonality (mm. 212-214)

can be identified, but is also complimented by the use of a traditional hymn tune

whose harmonic movement was written by Copland long before he considered

using the melody. The principal tonal centers in the major sections of the work

are from C (A) to G (B) with the return to C (A).15

RHYTHM

It is evident that jazz had a large role in many of the syncopated lines in

Emblems. It is piece where we find that rhythm plays an equal importance to the

melodic line. It at times can be playful. It is most evident that Copland intended

rhythm to be held as important as melody when he introduces syncopation as the

introduction to the B section.

FIG. 48 Section B snare drum motive, mm. 108-110.

Space (rests), rhythmic pacing, and the forward movement at the

beginning and end of larger sections also indicate the importance of rhythm. The

“tied syncopation” creates a dance-like feel, while slower sections establish the

importance of silence on the beat and emphasizes the offbeat pattern.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!15!Ibid,!45.!!

! 69!

FIG. 49 Jazz influence in cl., pn, and crnt.: syncopation mm. 142-152.

FIG. 50 Coda Fanfare, mm. 353-356.

! 70!

MOTIVES/MELODIC LINES

Copland used a contrast of conjunct and disjunct melodic lines, much like

Persichetti’s “zig-zag” melodies. It can be seen in the examples below from the

cornet lines. This contrast makes for the towering gesture at the beginning, with

more disjunct lines, followed by flowing conjunct melodic lines that makes use

of the song Amazing Grace. It sets up a stark contrast that juxtaposes the large

intervallic leaps.

FIG. 51 Conjunct Melody in the Cornet, mm. 7-9.16

FIG. 52 Disjunct Melody in the Cornet, mm. 298-301.

FIG. 53 Conjunct Melodic Line Amazing Grace, flute, mm. 84-92.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!16!Ibid,!42.!!

! 71!

ORCHESTRATION

When deciding the orchestration for the piece, Copland used help from

Keith Wilson, who recommended a few wind band pieces for reference. Yet,

Copland also took liberty to use unusual instruments not commonly seen in the

wind band medium, including bongos and celeste. The bongos were a touch of

Cuban jazz, and the celeste was transferred from his experience in orchestral

compositions. Copland also uses a string bass to help supplement the low end of

the ensemble. In Emblems, Copland stays consistent with his cubist views,

making sure that he explores different combinations of instruments and also

contrasting the melodic line by allowing entire sections to take part in “piecing”

phrases together.

“As a composer I get great pleasure from cooking up tonal combinations…

Orchestral know-how consists in keeping the instruments out of each other’s

way, so spacing them that they avoid repeating what some other instrument is

already doing, at least in the same register, thereby exploiting to the fulles extent

the specific color value contributed by each separate instrument or grouped

instrumental family.”17

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!17Copland,!Perlis,!87.!!

! 72!

CONCLUSION

Though many thought that Copland did not take Emblems seriously, it is

obvious, through careful analysis that the full gamut of his compositional

language is used in this one piece. The influences of cubism, Boulanger,

Stravinsky, jazz, serialism, and the works of Schuman and Persichetti deeply

impacted Copland in his choices of techniques incorporated into this work. The

amalgamation of compositional styles can also be related to Persichetti’s

Harmonic Treatise, where multiple compositional techniques could be used to

compose a piece. The amalgamation of compositional styles may be the

“enigma” that many listeners ponder when they hear Emblems. Figuratively,

within the piece, we find the vast web of social acceptance within a nation whose

patchwork of cultures and races is interwoven within Emblems.

! 73!

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APPENDICES APPENDICE A: Errata for George Washington Bridge

1. (m.114) Baritone Saxophone – the second half note in this measure should be G#, not G (score and parts).

2. (m. 258) Add sharps to the notes C and F in the bass clef of the condensed score only.

APPENDICE B: Performance Notes for George Washington Bridge

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APPENDICE!C!!

APPENDICE D: Performance Notes for Emblems

PICCOLO

• Rehearsal #9, Beat 2: To facilitate the response of the soft high E, lift the right-hand

pinky, or lift the right-hand pinky and slightly vent the 2nd trill key

• Rehearsal #11, from the eighth-note pickup until four measures after #11: Increase

the volume of the soli line

• Rehearsal #5, #17, #42, and pickup to #48: The Piccolo is doubled with Eb Clarinet

in the upper register, making intonation a special challenge, especially on high F#s and

Gs; if a less-experienced player has difficulty with these notes, drop down one octave

CLARINET

• 1st Clarinet, Rehearsal #15-16: Use only one player on the top notes

ALTO CLARINET

• One measure before Rehearsal #2: The dotted eight-note in the part should be an Eb

• One measure before Rehearsal #4: The high D can be played "open"

• Four measures after Rehearsal #43: This note is normally sharp when played with

the standard Gb fingering; try the Gb with the forked fingering

BASSOON

• Rehearsal #2-3: This is an awkward passage; take time to carefully work out the

fingerings

• Rehearsal #9-13 and #43-47: Be careful to blend and balance the divided parts

TRUMPET

• Rehearsal #42-47 and 4 measures before end: It is essential to have two players on

1st Cornet to facilitate mute changes and split solo parts

• Rehearsal #45-47: Solo lines on Amazing Grace must match flute; consider using a C

Trumpet for better intonation

HORN

• Watch Copland's markings for stopped horn; see general notes on Copland performance

• Be careful to match the length of notes and articulations with the trombones

TROMBONE

• Be sure to make an obvious difference between accented notes and unaccented, and

between forte vs. fortissimo

• Rehearsal #12-13: This is the line of melodic interest; play out and watch intonation

• 2 measures before Rehearsal #17: Watch for rhythmic accuracy; the rests on both

sides of these notes are important

• Rehearsal #34: 1st and 2nd Trombone soli is in octaves; pay strict attention to the

placement of accents

• Back off of long fortissimo notes; listen to other instruments to avoid covering the

melody

• Rehearsal #6-10 and #15-16: If the trombone section is large enough, have one person

per part play the muted sections, so that the quick mute changes are more practical

EUPHONIUM

• From quarter-note pickup to Rehearsal #44 until #45: Use a mute to match the

timbre of other muted brass

TUBA

• Never use more than two players on the 1st Tuba part; in sections of four players or

less, one on 1st is sufficient

• Pay attention to breath marks throughout the work

• Never peak too early on a fermata crescendo; leave a player or two out until the

ultimate chord; this adds an extraforte to the sforzando fortissimo

• Measures 4-7: Play very sustained at the first entrance to match other instruments

• 4 measures before Rehearsal #1 and at #5, #8, and 1 measure before #48: Place

emphasis on the second sixteenth-note of rhythms marked "broader"

• Rehearsal #6: Release figures on beat 3

• 1st Tuba, 3 measures after Rehearsal #8: Beat 2 should be a quarter-note Ab, not Gb

(the same intervals as in next measure)

• 1st Tuba, 4 measures after Rehearsal #13: Play marcato e sostenuto while using a

good blending dynamic;fortissimo is not necessary in this range (2nd Tuba can stay at

printed dynamics)

• 1st Tuba, 5 measures after Rehearsal #16: Same as Rehearsal #13 above

• 1st Tuba, 6 measures after Rehearsal #25: Beat two should be a B-natural

• Rehearsal #30: Have one or more of the 2nd Tubas play D-natural octava basso

• Rehearsal #32: It is difficult for a section of tubas to play lightly at forte as indicated;

lower the dynamic to conform to the style

• 6 measures after Rehearsal #34: Crescendo through the quarter-notes to the next

downbeat

• 1st Tuba, 7 and 8 measures after Rehearsal #34: Play the Eb 8vb with the 2nd Tuba

• 1st Tuba, pickup to Rehearsal #42: Mark dynamic mezzo forte

• 4 measures after Rehearsal #42: Breathe with the rest of the ensemble between beats

two and three

• 1 measure before Rehearsal #48: Do not overdo the fortissimo

• 1st Tuba, 3 measures after Rehearsal #48: Play subito mezzo piano with a

ridiculous crescendo tofortissississimo on the downbeat of the fourth measure; then

both parts can play written dynamics to the end !

E. Errata for Pagaent

1. Clarinet 3 – last measure, tie to E-natural.

F. Performance Notes: Pagaent (by David Goza)

Introduction, with a Refresher Course in Quartality and Pentatonicism Vincent Persichetti’s third work for wind band, published by Carl Fischer in 1954 as the composer’s Opus 59, is a large-scale two-movement essay informed by two radically different compositional strategies and unified by a single germinal motive. The work was written a year before its publication and was premiered on 7 March 1953 with the composer conducting. To launch an analysis of Pageant, it might be wise to begin with a refresher course on how pentatonicism relates to quartality and how those relationships are expressed in set-theoretical terms. This is no place for a dissertation on set theory; my remarks are intended for clarification only and will by no means exhaust the topic. The work’s opening motive, played by solo horn, already suggests a quartal vocabulary: this is easily enough seen by the fact that the three pitch classes used (B@, F & C) can be spelled as a stack of perfect fourths. That this motive could easily be transposed to the black keys of the piano (e.g. D@–A@–E@) means that the motive is also based on a subset of the pentatonic scale. And in fact the black keys of the piano – which constitute a pentatonic scale – can be re-spelled as a stack of perfect fourths: B@, E@, A@, D@, G@ (the order of flat signs in key signatures). The close relationship,then, between quartality and pentatonicism is surely obvious. The intervallic structure of the pentatonic scale – which, as we have just seen, is also a quartal collection – may in set-theoretical terms be spelled from G@ as (02479) or, if one starts on D@, (02579). (You will find only the first of these listed in a comprehensive set-theory catalog, as it is in “best normal order” – i.e. with the smallest intervals clustered toward the beginning of the list; nevertheless, it is useful to list both spellings for reasons that should become clear shortly.) These two spellings of the pentatonic scale exhaust the possibilities so far as easy identification of subsets is concerned. We can thus see that the three-note sets (024) and (025) are both pentatonic – i.e. quartal – sets but (036) is not. And as we look carefully at Persichetti’s Pageant and discover how often we encounter sets (025) and (027), the usefulness of the foregoing refresher course will become readily apparent

G. Errata for Scherzo for Band

NONE

H. Performance Notes: Scherzo for Band

1. Use slight swing style.

2. Make sure to treat woodwinds, especially clarinets like the string voice.

3. Slight poco a poco accelerando 16 measures from the end.

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APPENDICE!I!

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APPENDICE!J!

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APPENDICE!K!!

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APPENDICE!L!!

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APPENDICE!M!!

Documents

American Voices