I finally got around to uploading the stuff from mine and Rhiannon’s peer editing session today! It was pretty productive; I got some good feedback but unfortunately she revised my second draft and my paper has definitely gone in a different direction since. Her concerns about my paper were suggestions about including visual musical examples in discussing Geshwin’s themes, as David Schiff does in his book. Since I am taking that section out of my paper, the only way something like this might be relevant is when I am comparing excerpts/chords from Gershwin’s piece to Ellington’s; however, I don’t have sheet music for Ellington and since it was an interlibrary loan, I already had to turn in the score I had been using of Rhapsody in Blue, so unfortunately I think the time in the recordings of these comparisons will have to suffice. She also mentioned some things about the Ellington section feeling out-of-place in the grand scheme of my Gershwin paper, but since I am focusing on the Ellington-Gershwin comparison, I don’t feel this will be an issue either. Otherwise, there were a few wording issues and stuff she pointed out which was helpful, but it was mostly just encouragement that my paper is sounding good so far. Woot!
Research Journal
Primary source research
http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A02EEDF133BEE3BBC4051DFB066838E659EDE
This is a New York Times article reviewing the 1945 movie Rhapsody in Blue, a Warner Brothers film about Gershwin’s life. I think its pretty relevant because it shows not only that Gershwin was such a household name that one of the biggest creators in film recreated his life in a movie (years after his death), but also that their poor and unrealistic portrayal of Gershwin was received so badly–both in this article and in another source written by Duke Ellington, it seems as though people jumped to fiercely defend the real Gershwin and almost seemed to take personal offense to this made-up echo of the real man, something I would assume they would do only for someone they sincerely loved and valued (and further showing the impact Gershwin had on the average American).
Rhapsody in Blue in the Media
Here is the United Airlines commercial featuring Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (with encouraging comments such as “best airline commercial ever,” “loving the Gershwin,” etc. from random YouTubians, which further proves my argument of this piece’s lasting influence):
The commercial was aired during the 2008 Summer Olympics, according to the article below. It was one of five commercials debuted that day that used emotions to convey the comfort and luxury one might experience flying United. So, not only did the Rhapsody in Blue commercial air at a time when viewers are more patriotic than usual (rooting for the USA team in the Beijing Olympics), but it was also used as an emotional marketing scheme, meaning advertisers thought Gershwin’s piece was so telling of the American experience (or maybe more the American dream, since the commercial was aimed more toward first class passengers concerned with comfort and luxury) that it could evoke those feelings in its audience.
http://0-search.proquest.com.libcat.uncw.edu/docview/199787400?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:wcdiscovery
Two book sources
There’s a pretty cool chapter in the Duke Ellington Reader (p. 114) about Ellington’s response to Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess… though this doesn’t have much to do with Rhapsody in Blue, I’m incredibly interested in looking at the different viewpoints of Gershwin and Ellington, when it comes to race and jazz (the two seem so intermingled in my research it feels impossible to leave out, especially when comparing and contrasting the two musicians), and there is a boatload of awesome insight into Ellington’s perspective (from his own mouth) through an interview in this book.
Likewise, there is a chapter in the George Gershwin Reader (p. 300) which I’d like to check out as well, though unfortunately I wasn’t able to locate a preview of this one to decide whether or not it is pertinent to my writing. However, the UNCW library has both of these (woot!) so I’ll be checking them out in the very near future.
More research–draft 2
Found another useful source for comparing Ellington and Gershwin (and it was a seriously interesting read). A eBook called Dvorak to Duke Ellington: A Conductor Explores America’s Music and it’s African-American Roots, it is centered around the issues concerning race and jazz. With two sections on Gershwin alone and three on Ellington alone, there is some incredibly relevant information I can use in my paper–and from this, eventually deduce my own opinion and voice. In one part, Ellington insults Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, calling it “Gershwin’s lampblack Negroisms,” which I found interesting and would like to try to research more Ellington’s reaction to Gershwin if possible (and conversely, Gerswhin’s to Ellington). Another where Ellington credits Paul Whiteman for popularizing jazz, though he made it “whiter.” Written by someone who actually collaborated with Ellington (to create a symphonic arrangement of “Black, Brown, and Beige,” among other things), there is some super cool insight into Ellington the person and in general the way jazz was composed at the time, etc.
http://0-site.ebrary.com.libcat.uncw.edu/lib/uncw/reader.action?docID=10087303&ppg=20
Research for Draft 2
Found an old NY Times article before Ellington’s performance in Carnegie Hall in 1943. There is a paragraph where Ellington is quoted mentioning Paul Whiteman and his respect for him despite the fact that his popularization of the symphonic genre of jazz (Ellington preferred to call his own music “Negro music”) was much different than the way he viewed his own approach to music. Might turn out to be useful for a Gershwin-Ellington compare/contrast.
Another Primary Source
Woohoo! I haven’t been doing much research lately (and thus haven’t posted on my research journal) because the sources I have already found have been getting the job done thus far (although I must admit that my paper is only a little over 2100 words right now and I honestly can’t fathom yet how I’m going to add another 2900). But today I sat down to write about the reception of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at its 1924 premiere and on a whim during a bout of writer’s block I was finally able to find an actual review of its debut. Which is awesome! So here it is, another source and another long-awaited addition to my research journal.
“Rhapsody in Blue” Analysis
George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” is a unique piece of music—this fact was undeniable upon its debut in 1924, and still proves true to this day. Particularly in the realm of form, Gershwin’s piece somewhat defies conventional interpretations of the way a piece of music should function—so much so that Gershwin’s formal education and knowledge of music theory at the time he composed “Rhapsody in Blue” has been questioned and debated by many. Some have gone as far as to claim that the work has no form whatsoever, though others have been able to make structural sense out of Gershwin’s piece. But before one can attempt to understand the overall form of the piece, it is important to understand the significance of Gershwin’s five main recurring themes. These themes, as named by David Schiff*, can help better explain Gershwin’s famous composition.
The first theme heard in “Rhapsody in Blue” has been named the Ritornello theme. This tune, which begins three measures before rehearsal number 3, is played by the piano in an AABA’ form. Though the key signature is A major, Gershwin’s use of accidentals implies C major with the colors of a blues scale during the A sections. But the accidentals in the B section imply A-flat major, meaning that Gershwin moves to the key of the flat sixth instead of the typical four. From here, Gershwin treats A-flat is if it were the four after all, and moves to E-flat in the final A’ section, rather than going back to C like in the beginning of the theme. This is only one of two themes which contain a modulation.
The second theme, the Train theme, is the only one of the five that is not played as a piano solo somewhere throughout the piece. Again, Gershwin uses an AABA’ form in C major, though this one does not modulate and moves as expected to the subdominant key during the B section before returning to C in the A’ section. It is a tune with two voices: at rehearsal number 9, the bottom ostinato voice can be heard for the entire duration in both the bassoons as well as in the viola, but the upper voice jumps around the orchestra. Beginning in the trumpet, this melody then moves to the oboe at the start of the B section, then to the clarinet, before finally returning to the original trumpet voicing in the closing A’ section.
The Stride theme is the third theme, in what resembles an AA’BA” form, though initially it might just seem like a modified version of the above Train theme until the heavy emphasis on the dominant in the last phrase. Included within this theme are parallel harmonies that further emphasize the unique 20th century writing style of Gershwin, the likes of which was heard much less frequently at the time of the work’s premiere performance.
The fourth theme is called the Shuffle theme, and at rehearsal number 25 it can be heard in the bass clef of the piano. It is the second theme with an internal modulation, in what seems like a 20-bar phrase in an AA’BB’A” form, beginning in G major but using sequences to repeat the theme a third up, then another minor third up on the flat fifth, before finally returning to the theme’s original tonic.
The fifth and final theme, the Love theme, is a little unusual. Instead of Gershwin’s typical four-bar phrase, this theme contains altering phrases of 8 and 6 in an AA’B form.
The understanding of these five themes individually can then better navigate through the larger form of “Rhapsody in Blue” as a whole. There are essentially four different sections of the piece: the first is the molto moderato section in the beginning, containing dialogue between the jazz band and piano using the Ritornello theme; the second is the scherzo, containing the Train theme and trio; third is an andante moderato section from which we hear the Love theme repeatedly; and finally, a finale in which the Love theme can be heard again, as well as a climactic variation of the Stride and Ritornello themes. Though it is true that this overall form is nontraditional and possibly somewhat difficult to navigate, it is obvious that Gershwin did indeed have a clear form for his masterpiece to follow.
*Schiff, David. Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Annotated Bibliography
Banagale, Ryan. Arranging Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue and the Creation of an American Icon. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
This book, published by the ever credible Oxford University Press, contains six chapters, each examining a different aspect of “Rhapsody in Blue.” From information about the original music and arrangement of voices to the piece’s success through the media, this book will certainly prove one of my most in-depth and relevant sources for answering the proposed research questions.
*
Crawford, Richard. “Gershwin, George.” Grove Music Online, Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, 2007-2015. http://0-www.oxfordmusiconline.com.libcat.uncw.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/470?q=gershwin+rhapsody+in+blue&search=quick&pos=8&_start=1#firsthit (accessed January 21, 2015).
This source is simply an entry about Gershwin in Grove Music Online. Though I mostly used this source to obtain other sources through its bibliography, it does contain some useful biographical information and a specific section concerning my chosen piece that may come in handy during the writing of my paper.
*
Gershwin, George. “The Relation of Jazz to American Music.” In American Composers on American Music: A Symposium, edited by Henry Cowell, 186-7. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1962.
This excerpt of this symposium is written by Gershwin himself. It is a mere few paragraphs of Gershwin’s perception on American music and how important he believes jazz to be in this realm. This source provides some insight to Gershwin’s inspirations as well as his purpose for creating the music he did, particularly “Rhapsody in Blue.”
*
Goldman, Anne. “Listening to Gershwin.” The Georgia Review 62, no. 2 (Summer 2008), 353-372.
This source is a peer-reviewed article in a scholarly journal. It contains background information on Gershwin as well as descriptions of the piece and its social relevance around the time of its premiere in 1924. Particularly, the majority of a section in the article entitled “Rhapsody” contains specific details about what make “Rhapsody in Blue” such a significant piece of American music, especially for the time period.
*
Neimoyer, Susan. “George Gershwin and Edward Kilenyi, Sr.: A Reevaluation of Gershwin’s Early Musical Education.” The Musical Quarterly 94, no. 1-2 (Spring-Summer 2011), 9-62. http://0-mq.oxfordjournals.org.libcat.uncw.edu/content/94/1-2/9.full (accessed January 27, 2015).
This peer-reviewed scholarly journal article examines the perceptions of Gershwin’s critics claiming he essentially knew nothing about writing serious music, and why this perception is incorrect. This is relevant to my paper especially to discuss how Gershwin (and “Rhapsody in Blue,” which is discussed specifically throughout the article) was received by audiences who truly understand the music rather than those who are musically uneducated. The article also looks at what Gershwin was formally taught about music, and how this shows up in his writing, which I believe will prove useful in my style study and score analysis.
*
Pollack, Howard. George Gershwin: His Life and Work. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
This source is a (rather large) book published by the University of California Press, thus I am confident it is credible. Divided into two parts, Life and Work, this book is 706 pages of useful information. Aside from biographical material, there are two sections in particular devoted strictly to “Rhapsody in Blue,” and contain information concerning Gershwin’s musical education at the time he wrote the piece, a musical analysis of the piece, how the piece was received at the premiere in early 1924, and more.
*
Schiff, David. Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Through an examination of the above sources’ bibliographies, I have discovered this source, a Cambridge University Handbook about Gershwin, was already cited by several. It is a book dedicated singularly to an examination of Gershwin and “Rhapsody in Blue,” containing a musical analysis, a style study of different elements used in the piece, information about its premiere, and more.
More research…
I think I must just be pretty much the worst researcher ever because I’m having an incredibly difficult time finding legitimate sources. It was suggested of me to find primary sources such as things written by Gershwin himself, press reviews of the 1924 premiere of Rhapsody in Blue, etc., but besides one writing by Gershwin himself, I can’t find a thing after literally hours of searching. So to make up for that, I found a book in the library called “George Gershwin: His Life and Work” by Howard Pollack. Somehow Mr. Pollack has been able to find plenty of primary sources with which to compile his book. Through his citations I will continue my search for primary sources, but whether I can figure out a way to get access to those or not, at least this book will continue to give me more secondary insight on Gershwin and Rhapsody in Blue.
Pollack, Howard. George Gershwin: His Life and Work. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
Also, in other news, my first interlibrary loan for Ryan Banagale’s book on the piece has finally arrived. Hooray! Hopefully I will have good news of the other soon.
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