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A Harmonic Comparison Between : George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” & Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solennelle” Jessica Auxillos, Keanna Corley, Nicholle Nagaitis George Gershwin ● ● ● ● ● ● born on September 26, 1898 in Brooklyn, New York one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century known for popular stage and screen numbers and classical compositions left school at age 15 to pursue a musical career one of the most sought after musicians in America, composed jazz, opera and popular songs for stage and screen; many of his works are now standards began to experience troubling symptoms, discovered he had developed a malignant brain tumor, died at age 38 during surgery to remove tumor Synopsis of “An American in Paris” “An American in Paris” is Gershwin’s most extended cohesive orchestral work. In 1928, Gershwin went on a social visit to Europe. There, he composed this tone poem loosely based on his experiences in Europe. It premiered on December 13, 1928 by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and was an instant success. It found its way into the orchestral repertoire and was made into the score of a 1951 film. Gershwin’s An American in Paris ● Diatonic harmony ○ any stepwise arrangement of the seven “natural” pitches (scale degrees) forming an octave without altering the established pattern of a key or mode—in particular, the major and natural minor scales. ● Enhanced with influences from 20th century classical music and jazz. Found in Gershwin’s Harmonic Writing ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Chromaticism Augmented chords ‘Wrong note’ harmonies (unresolved dissonances) Bitonality Added-note harmonies (e.g. 6ths, 7ths, 9ths) Parallel movement Major/minor chords (major/minor thirds) Also to note in Gershwin’s Writing ● Always a very clear sense of key ● and changes throughout piece ○ Perfect cadences ■ meaning he doesn’t choose to stay in a key for too long. Gioachino Rossini ● ● ● ● ● ● ● February 29, 1792 - November 13, 1868 Italian composer known for his operas (The Barber of Seville, Cinderella, Semiramide, and Petite messe Solennelle) noted for his operas (comic operas) spent entire childhood in theater voice broke, unable to continue singing, became an accompanist and then a conductor, realized the importance of the German school of composition composed operas,choral music, chamber music, piano pieces went into semi-retirement, wrote little for the rest of his life; broke this silence only for two sacred choral works, Stabat Mater (1842) and Petite Messe Solennelle Synopsis of “Petite Messe Solennelle” Rossini’s mass was very solemn, the last of his Péchés de vieillesse (sins of old age). He dedicated it to the Countess Louise Pillet-Will and given its first performance at her private chapel in March 1864. Originally scored for two pianos, harmonium and 12 solo voices. Irony of the title: the use of the word ‘Petite’ in the work’s titlealthough the work is about 80 minutes long, he felt it was somewhat lightweight in tone compared with major mass settings of other composers. Rossini’s “Petite Messe Solenelle” ● Harmonies ghost the Classical Period, ○ not so much the strong tonic-dominant relationships ● Chords and progressions are similar with modulations ○ passes through unexpected keys. More of Rossini’s Harmonic Styling Unusual sequences: ● number of repetitions of the sequential pattern ○ above three is comparatively rare ● typically you would move from fourths or fifths Rossini moves by thirds Unusual Sequences ● ● ● ● Rising by semitone, Falling by semitone, Rising by a tone, Rising/falling a minor/major third Rossini’s Harmonic Styling ● Repeating chords/ chord progressions with chromatic alteration Also found in his writing ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Diminished seventh chords Half-diminished chords Augmented sixth chords Quoniam bar Augmented triads Dominant seventh chord Suspensions Neapolitan harmonies Qui Tollis Major chords followed by minor and vice versa Chromaticism What are some similarities and differences between Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” and Rossini's “Petite Messe Solennelle” in terms of harmony? Gershwin ● ● ● diatonic harmony, but enhanced with influences from 20th century classical music and jazz. very clear sense of keycreated by strong perfect cadences: new sections are often preceded by the dominant of the new key parallel movement Similarities between both ● chromaticism ● augmented chords ● major/minor chords Rossini ● typical of the Classical and early Romantic period ● based on Classical period, but often passes through unexpected keys. ● Unusual sequences, repetitions of the sequential pattern, the interval each phrase moves by (moving up or down by one step or by a fifth or fourth is usual), overall interval travelled from the beginning to the end of the sequence. Works Cited ● ● ● ● ● http://www.biography.com/people/george-gershwin-9309643#untimelydeath http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/works/gershwin/amparis.php http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/510222/Gioachino-Rossini http://www.sd5.k12.mt. us/cms/lib3/MT01001507/Centricity/Domain/114/MT11_scheme_KS5_Ros sini_Gershwin.pdf http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/georgegershwin/about-the-composer/65/