Download The Rise and fall of Swing

AMERICAN MUSIC
HISTORY
20th century Contemporary “Classical”
and
Broadway Music (Musical Comedy)
CHARLES IVES
1874 - 1954

Born in Danbury, Connecticut & studied at Yale University under Horatio
Parker (1863 – 1919)

Known for integrated American and European musical traditions

Composed music with an unmatched ability to represent the sounds
and feelings of American life

ATONAL: Music without a tone center

FREE DISSONANCE: Interval/chord that requires resolution, but
remains unresolved

POLYTONALITY: Two or more melody lines in different tonalities or
keys

Influenced by hearing two bands clash in tone and rhythm when heard
playing different tunes at the same time; George Ives (father) taught
Charles to sing in a different key then the accompaniment to “stretch his
ears”

Experimented with serialism: a style of composing where all structure is
chosen from the 12 tones of the chromatic scale – also known as 12tone or dodecaphonic
A Few Vocabulary Words
 Tin Pan Alley: Collection of New York City music publishers &
songwriters who dominated the popular music of the U.S. early
19th century into the early 20th century
 Rock ‘n’ Roll: Launched in 1955 by a film: Blackboard Jungle with
a hit song, “Rock around the Clock” by Bill Haley
 Combination of the R’n’B beat and guitar background of
Country and Western
 Elvis Presley joined late in the 1950’s  1960’s
 The Beatles joined when they first toured the U.S. in 1964
 Ostinato: Repeated bass pattern: organ or synthesizer
 Musical comedy: The Broadway Musical – reflected popular
fashions and supplied new songs with each change; started gaining
popularity in the 1920’s and continued to gain popularity through
writers like Richard Rogers (1902 - 1979) and Oscar Hammerstein
II (1895 – 1960)
Leonard Bernstein: 1918-1990
• Born in Lawrence, Massachusetts
• American conductor, composer and pianist
• At the age of 17, he began studying at Harvard University with Aaron Copland
a very famous composer
• After graduating in 1939, went on to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in
Philadelphia
• Known for his orchestral works, conducted concerts, musical theater and
music education through television
• Music director of the New York Philharmonic beginning in 1958
• Taught at Brandeis University near Boston, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and gave lectures at Harvard, his alma mater
• Enjoyed success as Broadway composer
• Composed the music for the famous “West Side Story” written in 1957 and
“Chichester Psalms” written in 1965
• All of his music, though varied, is united by his deep involvement in American
roots
LISTENING #4:
(Click on the link below)
The Unanswered Question
Using your packet as a guide, complete the
listening criteria for this Charles Ives piece