le creation du monde, overture and tableau 1 - Darius milhaud

music section 4

what about jazz prejudiced some people against the style

red-light origins of jazz

(name) describes the two processes as “(blank)” and “blank”

deborah mawer; jazzing the classics; classicizing jazz

who incorporated Javanese elements

claude Debussy (1862-1918)

how did Claude Debussy hear Javanese music

galean orchestra from 1889 universal exposition

how did french people hear jazz, ragtime, and blues before roaring 20s

396th infantry regiment band also known as “hellfighters”

what race is Claude debussy

french

who led the “hellfighters”

lt. James Reese Europe (1880-1919)

the “hellfighters” were all

black

lt. James Reese Europe led a notable orchestra where

new york

lt james Europe was a musical director for which two people

vernon and Irene castle

vernon and Irene castle were (blank) who popularized the (blank)

society dancers; foxtrot

what prevented the hell fighters from serving in combat alongside white American soldiers

us segregation laws

in (year), the 369th infantry regiment was offered the chance to 

1917; transfer to the french army as American reinforcements 

who was the first african-american officer to lead his troops into combat during WWI

Lt europe

looking back at the “jazz age” some (#) years later, (name) remarked, “idea of jazz in a concert hall used to be thought of as (blank) in the 20s, but it seems that any piece based on jazz was assured of (blank)”

60; Aaron Copland; provocative; mild succes de scandale

aaron Copland lifespan

1900-90

succes de scandale means

success derived from its notoriety or scandalous nature

la creation du monde was a (blank) made in (year) by (who)

ballet; 1923; darius milhaud

milhaud was a (ethnicity) (job)

french composer

milhaud lifespan

1892-1974

milhaud loved to

travel

milhaud composed a (blank) for (instrument) titled (name) dedicated to traveling

suite; piano; le globe trotter

the (blank) was response for Milhaud first journey

WWI

milhaud was a student at (blank) when war broke out

paris conservatory

why couldn't Milhaud enlist in the army

medical reasons

his first contribution to the war effort was to

assist Belgian refugees

after hearing what, Milhaud began working in the (blank)

after hearing his closest childhood friend died in combat; foreign ministry’s propaganda

who else was a friend of milhaud

paul Claudel (1868-1695)

paul Claudel was a

diplomat and poet

when claudel was posted to (country) as the (blank) in (year), he invited Milhaud to travel with him as the (blank)

brazil; french ambassador; 1917; attache in charge of propaganda

in (year), Claudel was sent from Brazil to (city) and Milhaud accompanied him

1918; Washington dc

from his time in the US in 1918, what does Milhaud mention in his memoirs

nothing

what Milhaud say about American jazz

“the new music was extremely SUBTLE in its use of TIMBRE…the constant use of SYNCOPATION in the melody was of such contrapuntal freedom that it gave the impression of UNREGULATED IMPROV”

Milhaud heard an American jazz orchestra in (city) in (year)

london, 1920

after his return to (country) in (year), he became a frequent visitor to a 

France; 1919; club in Paris that specializes in “american tin pan alley, blues, and dance tunes”

after his return to France in 1919, Milhaud renewed his friendship with which five people

georges auric, louis durey, Arthur honegger Francis Poulenc, and germaine tailleferre

the people he reconnected with were french (blank) who he has met during his years at (blank)

composer; Paris conservatory

who dubbed the group as “les six” in (year)

french journalist; 1920

although their compositional approaches differed from each other, they shared an impulse to write music that was

not derived from the German tradition but instead open to inspiration “from everyday life”

les six took inspos from what

machines, music hall, circus, jazz band

les six principle qualities were to be

dryness, brevity, straightforward

who is absent in the les six photo

durey

how many women are in the les six photo? how many men?

two women 6 men

in (year), an American who had studied (instrument) with (name) offered to arrange a performance tour for Milhaud in the us

1922; piano; debussy

how did Milhaud startle American reporters

he spoke about his interest in black jazz music which was odd at the time for art-music composers to know and acknowledge popular styles

during his visit to the US, what did Milhaud watch and take home with him

shuffle along; some black swan recordings

the black swan gave who his start as bandleader

fletcher henderson

when was this painting made (of les six)

1922

who commissioned a score from Milhaud

the ballets suedois (the swish ballet)

Milhaud and his collaborators decided to use an (blank) as the foundation for heir story from the ballet

african creation myth

another word for storyline

scenario

the scenario divided the ballet into how many sections

6: 1 overture and 5 tableux

the overture is labeled as

prelude

tableu in french means

scene

name the scenes in order

overture (prelude)

I. the chaos before creation

II. the slowly lifting darkness, the creation of trees, plants, insects, birds, and beasts

III. dance of created beings—man and woman created

IV. the desire of man and woman

V. the man and woman kiss—coda

various modern french artists contributed their expertise to

costume and sets

dancers wore

masks and animal costumes

(#) large “gods of creation” wore what that were how tall

3; enormous, cubist costumes; several meters tall

la creation du monde was premiered where and when

paris; October 25,1923

in (year), Milhaud extracted music from the ballet and made a (blank) version for (instrument) and (blank)

1926; concert-suite; piano; string quartet

la creation du monde was the (#) item advertised in the (left/right) column in the (year) poster for the ballet suedois

2nd; left; 1624

the initial reaction to the full ballet was

mixed

in his autobiography, Milhaud wrote

critics thought his music was not serious and was better situated to dance-halls/restaurants. 10 years later, the same critics said that la creation was Milhaud’s finest work

almost (#) yrs after the premiere, the (blank) and (blank) (name) (lifespan) conducted the recording used for listening example and took the reassessment even further

30; conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein (1918-90)

after discussing the jazz-tinged compositions of several (part-century) composers, Bernstein wrote:

early-20th; says la creation du monde is the only real masterpiece that is a jazz work because of its durability and completeness. “the creation of the world emerges complete, not as a flirtation but as a real love affair with jazz”

when was la creation du monde made

1922-23

Milhaud’s initial step was to

choose the instruments for his ensemble

his choice of instruments was largely influenced from his (blank) adopting the same orchestra used in (city) with (#) solo musicians. he also credited (name) as the direct inspiration for his instrumentation

new York visit; Harlem; 17; liza

Liza (year) was a

1922; sequel to shuffle along

liza’s book was made by who

maceo pinkard (sweet Georgia brown)

during the overture, (blank) and (blank) are intermixed

classical and jazz characteristics 

in the overture, what floats over what in the background

alto saxophone’s melody floats over quiet pulsations in the background

in the overture, (instrument) starts interjecting periodically with (blank) and (instrument) plays (blank)

trumpets interject periodically with a short riff-life and syncopated second theme; trombone plays occasional glissandos

what feature of the overture is more associated with art music of the era

use of bitonality

describe the bitonality of la creation du monde in the overture

during the opening, d minor and d major are played at the same time by different instruments

what plays d minor in the opening

right hand of piano, saxophone, violins, cello

what plays d major in the opening

left hand of piano, timpani, string bass

the bitonality can also be seen as a way to create 

blue notes of jazz

tableu 1 intro presents several instruments performing what resulting in a (blank)

ostinato patterns; heterophonic effect

the intro of tableu 1 works in a (blank) fashion by grouping their pulses into groups of (blank) instead of (blank)

hemiola; 3+3+3+3+3+4; 4+4+4+4

there is a total of (#) pulses that correspond to (#) bars of the score 

16; 4

the score itself is notated in (blank), but most performers put emphasis on the (blank) pulses in every bar rather than on the (#) (blank)

2/2; quarter note; 2 half notes

the first tableau is divided into how many large section (letters)

3; A-B-C

A section includes what two things

ostinatos and a fugue

fugue

less-common structure in the 20th century

what instrument launches the fugue subject

string bass

order of instruments to imitate the fugue subject

trombone, saxophone, trumpet

after playing the subject, each instrument moves on to play a (blank) while the subsequent instrument is performing the

countersubject; subject

all the featured instruments are associated with (blank) and intermix notes from (blank) and (blank) to create the effect of (blank)

jazz; major and minor parallel scales; blues harmony

example of blues harmony

adjacent F# and F flat in 3rd measure

the fugue subject is (#) measures long creating a (blank) against the (#)-measure patterns of the ostinato

5; polyatomic tension; 4

the successive entrances of the subject also move through a series of (blank) changes (letters) — the same harmonic motion that (song) would employ (#) years later

circle-of-fifth; E-A-D; sweet Georgia brown; 2

section B is signaled by a

woodblock

section B again features

bitonal layering

what parts of la creation du monde includes bitonal layering

overture (prelude) and section B of tableau 1

how does section B show bitonality

on the piano, the right hand plays d major and the left hand plays c major

in section B how does Milhaud produce a new polymetric section

he juxtaposes a six-pulse ostinato (in the right hand) against an ostinato of 4 pulses (in the left hand)

in the b section, the entrances again proceed through the (blank), but this time they move in a (blank) direction (letters)

circle of fifths; clockwise; F-C-G-D

the end of the b section is indicated by some 

increasingly audible trombone glissandos

the final section C employs less (blank) than the preceding two segments, but it does return to (blank)

polyphony; earlier melodies