20th Century Music in the U.S.A. The music of Charles Ives defies categories. In one sense, his music is in the tradition of the great European composers of the 19th century. He wrote orchestral music, symphonies, songs, and piano music. But he was radically experimental with rhythms, harmonies, textures, and forms. He was writing music with polychords and polyrhythms long before Stravinsky used those techniques in his famous Rite of Spring. Charles Ives “Fourth of July” from the Holidays Symphony (1905) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHWwBaoq1E “Indigenous” American Music/Composers These composers/performers wrote and performed music that was, for the first time, distinctly American. Though the march began in Europe, it became a distinctly American musical form under Sousa’s influence. Ragtime, Jazz, Blues, and the various forms of Country music really began in the United States. The March John Philip Sousa “Liberty Bell” March http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7FD9PNpfpo Ragtime Scott Joplin “Maple Leaf Rag” (1899) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1894JRqbsc Jazz Louis Armstrong “West End Blues” (1928) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAYhQ2N9GKg Fletcher Henderson “Sugarfoot Stomp” (1925) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU0ybjKEuX8 Duke Ellington “Jubilee Stomp” (1928) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiuzOytFYfo Bennie Goodman (Swing) (1937) “Sing, Sing, Sing” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTzP7ecGQiw Blues Count Basie (Jazz/Swing) (1941) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYLbrZAko7E Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie (BeBop) “Dizzy Atmosphere” (1946) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnhIrr4svqs Robert Johnson “Sweet Home Chicago” (1936) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCHod3_yEWQ Jimmie Rodgers “Blue Yodel no. 12” (1933) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lgTTmL1KMY Country Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs (Bluegrass) Foggy Mountain Breakdown (1949) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_Y3mnj-­‐8lA Bob Wills (Western Swing) Keep Knockin’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAkbyegib-­‐s Roly Poly https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhB-­‐P820HP0 Rock Big Joe Turner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Feq_Nt3nM Bill Haley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XToa4X7YEsc Little Richard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc92MbyO7wE Elvis Presley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MnmIVBSZYM The Rolling Stones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEjkftp7J7I The Beatles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNA4yi5v5Ok Funk The Meters Cissy Strut (1969) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_iC0MyIykM The JB’s More Peas (1973) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiIt3jKusBQ Herbie Hancock Chameleon (1973) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nntfcuv9KUc Hip Hop DJ Kool Herc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw4H2FZjfpo Grandmaster Flash, etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmLGYDYb-­‐is Kendrick Lamar Rigamortis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh6QxtRpSH8 “Crossover” Composers The following are some composers wrote music that tried to bridge gaps or divides in our society’s music. Gershwin and Bernstein were greatly influenced by jazz, and tried to fuse elements of jazz with Western Classical music. Frank Zappa’s music is an interesting combination and mixture of many styles: rock, jazz, orchestral/classical, electronic. George Gershwin “Rhapsody in Blue” (1925) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTOJXxTypuU “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIDOEsQL7lA Leonard Bernstein Overture to Candide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=422-­‐yb8TXj8 Symphony #2 “Age of Anxiety” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34P7c_mEg34 Frank Zappa Peaches en Regalia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zprYyWMcUGY Montana http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=220xlHky1SY “Dog Breath Variations” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr3y2MUdq7 “European” or “Traditional” Composers Though their individual styles differed greatly, these composers were writing music following the European traditions: orchestral music, more traditional harmonies, more traditional rhythmic structures, and traditional forms. William Grant Still “Darker America” for orchestra (1925) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iob6FRElEg Aaron Copland “Hoedown” from Rodeo (1942) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsReWx9XdNs “Fanfare for the Common Man” (1942) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLMVB0B1_Ts Samuel Barber “Adagio for Strings” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KylMqxLzNGo Walter Piston Finale from Symphony #6 (1955) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBoUEg2-­‐o7s John Williams The Cowboys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT_DXHYPy4I Jaws http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDcrMScGaj8 Star Wars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxeuDPQyUpo Harry Potter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCNHVMIYqiA “Academic” or “Intellectual” Composers Elliot Carter Minotaur Suite (1947) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8u4H-­‐s01S4 Fragment for string quartet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRgPA-­‐AbwuM Conlon Nancarrow 3rd Study for Player Piano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdm04Rz3wTk John Cage Sonata II for Prepared Piano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUTXNxFvjDw Milton Babbitt Composition for Four Instruments (1948) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uHLmNpE4HM Harry Partch Daphne of the Dunes (1958) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KKGELtTcmA “Minimialism” Minimalism in music features repetition, ostinato, and use of small melodic and rhythmic units. The term “minimalist” often refers to music that is stripped down to its essentials or spare. The following composers and their music fit into this general category. Philip Glass “Glassworks” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Stu7h7Qup8 Terry Riley “In C” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjR4QYsa9nE Steve Reich “Mallet Quartet” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrJkrCs5hUk John Adams Common Tones in Simple Time http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH2yfw-­‐UkI0 Nixon In China http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elUoGdPOcAk