Download Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo

Four Dance Episodes from Rodeo
Aaron Copland
Born in Brooklyn, New York, November 14, 1900; died in North Tarrytown, New York, December 2, 1990
Copland was commissioned by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo to compose a second “cowboy”
ballet after his first, Billy the Kid, had been such a success. He composed the music in the summer of 1942
in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where he lived while teaching at the Berkshire Music Center (Tanglewood).
The Festival itself had been canceled owing to wartime gas rationing, all except for the School, which
Koussevitzky kept open with his own money and that of a few patrons. Copland wrote to Benjamin Britten
who had returned to England in June, “It’s wonderful to be back—so relaxing and peaceful. I’m doing a
frothy ballet for the Monte Carlo people on the usual Wild West subject—full of square dances and Scotch
tunes and the like.” Copland reported that it was hard for him to work on it once the Center had opened, but
he had promised choreographer Agnes de Mille that he would finish it by the end of the summer.
Rodeo was premiered by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo on October 16 at the Metropolitan Opera
House, conducted by Frank Allers, with settings by Oliver Smith and costumes by Kermit Love. It became
perhaps the most popular American ballet. Copland extracted a suite from the work entitled Four Dance
Episodes, which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic on June 22, 1943, conducted by Alexander
Smallens.
Copland used folk songs as the basis for Rodeo, much as he had done in Billy the Kid. Rather than
quoting them directly, however, he subjected them to his own techniques. Buckaroo Holiday, the first
episode, is based on two folk songs, “Sis Joe” and “If he’d be a buckaroo by his trade,” both found in John
and Alan Lomax’s compilation Our Singing Country. Copland employs cheerful ragtime accompaniments
and humorous pauses. The story begins as a young tomboy Cowgirl suddenly becomes aware of her
attraction to men and tries to impress the Head Wrangler and Champion Roper with her riding skills.
The Corral Nocturne brings great contrast as the dejected Cowgirl cannot measure up to the city
girls and is deserted by the cowboys. Copland borrowed no tunes for this episode, instead creating a
subdued Western landscape with muted brass and strings and plaintive wind solos.
The Saturday Night Waltz accompanies the dance festivities at the ranch. The tuning up of the
strings to start the dance is part of the score. The Roper and the Wrangler ask the Cowgirl to dance, but she
is overcome by shyness. The folk tune “Old Paint” is incorporated as the Roper insists that she dance.
Copland cleverly reconfigured the meter and accentuations of the original tune, which gives it a pleasingly
off-kilter freshness. As the Cowgirl is dancing she becomes jealous when she sees the Wrangler dancing
with the Rancher’s daughter. The annoyed Roper leaves her.
The rollicking Hoe-down is based on “Bonyparte,” which Copland took from Ira Ford’s Traditional
Music of America, though it probably has European origins. “McLeod’s Reel,” one of the “Scotch tunes”
Copland mentioned to Britten, also makes a brief appearance. The composer uses plentiful “fiddle” figures
in the violins to enhance the folk-dance atmosphere. In the ballet the Hoe-down accompanies the happy
ending when the cowgirl finally attracts the attention of all the men and accepts the Roper as her partner.
—©Jane Vial Jaffe