Rhapsody in Blue - George Gershwin - Essay Example

Rhapsody in Blue - George Gershwin   This musical masterpiece came into being as a result of an experimental process intended to transform American jazz to modern genre of music. Rhapsody in Blue premiered in 1924 in a concert dubbed “an experiment in modern music” and featured elements of classical music and jazz-oriented sound effects (Hays 1). The musical was commissioned by Paul Whiteman and positioned Gershwin, its composer among the most renowned music creators. The piece has since emerged as one of the most popular musical compositions of all times. Rhapsody in Blue came into being as an idea generated from the steely rhythms made by a train. While traveling in a train, Gershwin was inspired by the rattle sound effects as the train moved along the rails. Gershwin worked towards conceiving the composition using these sound effects. The intent behind the musical was to allow lovers of Jazz music enjoy symphony and opera by making music simple and essay to understand. Rhapsody in Blue was performed with Gershwin playing the piano. It was composed in a rush as the idea to change the American music was in danger of being stolen ( Hays 2). Due to the urgency Gershwin left the pages for solo piano and orchestra open and only wrote them afterwards. The piece is essentially a combination of ideas combined together in varying rhythms so as to trigger emotions and consequently attract audiences. It features convectional and corny tunes and has a sentimental and harmonic melody. The musical was a jazz concerto aimed at opening the musical world to modern music. After its premiere, the piece quickly rose to change American jazz music to a symphonic inventory. It received responses critics but won public acclaim for transforming American music. Gershwin, a Broadway composer, pianist and conductor developed his skills in orchestration and harmony from a young age. In his early life, the composer was fond of refining his piano playing ability. He had performed compositions by various famous artists such as Chopin and Debussy. He studied counterpoint and orchestration for many years and advanced his knowledge in the field for several years. His first classical piece by the name Lullaby was composed in 1919 and had been designed for string quartet. Gershwin grounded his prowess in music composition after he wrote a song for a famous singer by the name Al Jolson ( Watch1). He is documented as having an ambition to change public misconception that was of the view that jazz music had clear-set boundaries. Ideally, the composer was of the opinion that these boundaries acted as limitations to Jazz music. He achieved this by composing this musical that came to change the widely held public misconception pertaining jazz music. The name was coined by the composer’s brother and was inspired by the paintings ‘Harmony in gray and green and Nocturne in Blue and Green’ both by an American painter named James Whistler. Rhapsody in Blue managed to combine two musical facets, the traditional African American folk model and the classical opera in Bess and Porgy ( Woo 2). Gershwin was opinioned that music should reflect thoughts of people as well as time. This ideology was truly portrayed in his biggest piece. Analysis of this masterpiece will be based on basic features of a musical composition such as harmony, melody, texture, rhythm, tone and form. I will abstract and conceptualize these musical elements and explore them in an attempt aimed at reviewing the 25 minute long composition. Rhapsody in Blue by definition could fit as a concerto as it is written for solo piano as well as orchestra. However, its structure qualifies it as a rhapsody genre. The musical is one extended and features a number of frequent extreme musical contrasts in terms of texture and tempo among other dynamics that are common with a rhapsody. A rhapsody possesses the aspect of being a single composition characterized by free-flowing forms and having continuity. This genre achieves these features mainly by combining several themes together. Gershwin stitched together jazz, impressionism and classical themes to come up with a unique masterpiece. The composer expresses emotion of the impressionists in his musical without over-romanticizing. Striking melodies have also been efficiently used to attract listeners. Ideally, what is regarded as the most persuasive theme in the Andantino Moderato section is made less haunting by use of lighthearted motifs and melodies ( Massey 2). The composer restrains the musical emotionally therefore gaining some form of control over his listeners. It is this melodic aspect of the musical that makes it an exceptional masterpiece. Gershwin employed a classical era approach in the structure of Rhapsody in Blue so as to induce a past-and-present trajectory. This approach that was particularly common with 17th and 18th century music goes a long way to outline the composer’s expertise in counterpoint as well as harmony (Watch 5). A prominent element in Rhapsody in Blue is rhythm which has been efficiently used to piece together the many themes in the musical. By combining emphatic playing, syncopated rhythmic and melodic variations, Gershwin managed to differentiate his piece from what people were accustomed to. Although the opening glissando is somewhat lumpy, it manages to set an effective acoustic stage, particularly due to the spontaneous nature of the overall composition. The opening is written as a clarinet trill. It is then followed by a 17-note increasing diatonic scale that is both captivating due to its trombone-oriented character (Sammy Cowan 1). This trombone-like effect is primarily produced through use of the tongue and throat muscles which alter the tone of the oral cavity. As mentioned earlier, the musical is free flowing and has a spontaneous tone. Its texture is smoothened in such a way that it outlines orchestral mechanisms. The tone of the musical is typical to a rhapsody in that it ranges from extremely rhythmic piano solos to slow orchestrated sections. As such, Rhapsody in Blue exhumes a lot of rhythmic inspiration as its structure features an extensive harmonic and melodic structure. Interrelation among motifs which has been exceptionally and adequately applied in the musical make it even more interesting. Motif interrelatedness is pronounced in the first fourteen measures and the efficient interrelation among the motifs allows the various themes in the composition to easily and rhythmically relate with each other. All the themes also appear as piano solos as well as in orchestrated forms. Harmony in the masterpiece is complex. In the initial level, harmony begins with a B flat and modulates downwards through keys E flat, A flat, D flat and G flat. The composition’s harmony adjusts and shifts towards the sub-dominant direction that is B major, E major and subsequently to A Major. However, towards the end, it appears to be inclined to a B flat ( Cowan 3). The transition appears rather abruptly and the modulation somewhat upsets classic tonal relationships without really abandoning them. The middle section of the piece for most of the part rests in C major, but transitions to G major from time to time. Modulations tend to appear freely and with ease, although at times it appears to lose its harmonic direction. A recursive and progressive harmony with minor thirds has been used by the composer to give an impression of motion. Tempos used in the musical vary immensely and there is abundant use of blue notes. In essence, blue notes depict the clearest form of jazz music influence in the musical. Use of rubato is extensive as rubatos have been used throughout the piece. Use of instruments common with jazz music such as the accordion and saxophones in orchestration greatly contribute to a jazz feel. Various piano styles have also been adopted in the piece. Examples of piano styles adopted include comic piano style, stride piano style and novelty piano style. Stride piano style is distinct in most sections such as rehearsal 33 as well as in other sections particularly in the orchestra. The other two that is comic and novelty piano styles are dominant in rehearsal 9 and 22 respectively ( Massey 7). In my opinion, the opening of Rhapsody in Blue emerges to be one of the most intriguing moments of the piece. It is outrageous due to the fact that the cadenza of the clarinet is in this section. This gives it a unique and distinct aspect. Clarinet plays an upward glissando that matches well with the first theme. Brass plays the second theme only for first theme to be played again but this time with a muted trumpet. The 17-note increasing diatonic scale that is both captivating due to its trombone-oriented character also contributes a lot towards making the section intriguing. At a particular point, after the full orchestra plays the first theme with piano only echoing, the trombones take over the first theme only for trumpets to come in and introduce the fourth theme. Effective theme transitioning and quality instrumentation qualify the musical as a masterpiece. One can easily identify the two-and-a-half minute long octave glissando and connect it to the piece almost instantaneously. Subsidiary phrases which grow out of this opening section in a sensible manner bring a high sense of good logic in instrumentation, rhythm and melody. The third theme is introduced by playing the piano and at this moment, the tempo gradually increases. Full orchestra comes in playing the cymbals and piano extends the third theme in an even more effective manner. Cadenzas follow suit with repeated notes and an upward glissando. As solo piano moves through the third theme, the tempo ceases to fluctuate and increases to yet another cadenza. A mix of instrumentation and efficacy in theme variation in this section make the performance simply amazing. Despite being composed over 70 years ago, Rhapsody in Blue still enjoys significant adoration among jazz music lover due to its distinct nature and high quality of production. Works cited Judy Meyer Hays , Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. A CMP plan for 5th and 6th graders. 2000print. Sammy Cowan, Three American Musical Masterpieces: Rhapsody in Blue, Appalachian Spring, and Adagio for Strings. 2004print. David Wesley Woo, An Analysis of George Gershwin’s Three Preludes And the Influence of his Post-Rhapsody in Blue Music On the Merging of the Classical and Jazz Genres. Academic Musicology Writing Portfolio. November 7th, 2010print. Jew Watch, George Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue, Swanee, An American in Paris. Jewish Entertainment. 2002print. Drew Massey, Rhapsody in Blue (1924). Center for Jazz Arts. 2004 print. Read More