Music - Historical Context (AcaDeca '25-'26)

What 5 meanings does the Curriculum give for “blues”?

1. music of people

2. style of music

3. type of performance

4. despondent state of mind

5. musical form

What 3 aspects of African singing were mentioned in the Curriculum?

call-and-response pattern, melismatic, blue notes

What is a call-and-response pattern?

solo leader presents motif, chorus responds w/ either echoing or contrasting answer

What is the meaning of melisma/melismatic?

one syllable of poetry set to multiple pitches in melody

What is melismatic singing originally influenced by?

Muslim call to prayer, manner of recitation of Qur’an

Which Christmas carol mentioned in the Curriculum has an example of melismatic singing?

Angels We Have Heard on High (“Glo-ria in excelsis”)

Which 3 “core” chords are a part of the twelve-bar blues form?

tonic (I), dominant (V), subdominant (IV)

What is a chorus in the blues?

each repetition of the twelve-measure pattern

What type of rhythm did blues songs have?

flexible rhythm, first eighth note often longer than second

What is was the poetic pattern of blues songs?

a a b

repeat first line with embellishments
move onto new rhyming phrase (“punch line”)

Which song from a musical spoofed the standard blues lyrical structure?

Poppa’s Blues from Starlight Express

What are “country blues”?

rural origins of first known type of blues-singing

What are synonyms for “country blues”?

folk blues, Southern blues, Delta blues, down-home blues

What were some topics of “country blues” songs?

love gone sour, poverty, government, other political topics

Where did “country blues” originate from?

Mississippi Delta region

Which 3 people were mentioned in the Curriculum as some of the first recorded blues musicians?

Blind Lemon Jefferson, Huddie Ledbetter, Robert Johnson

According to the Curriculum, which guitarist was rumored to have sold his soul to the devil, and why?

Robert Johnson, because he suddenly improved in playing guitar after a 6-month absence

What are some other names for “classic blues”?

urban blues, city blues, vaudeville blues

Who performed classic blues?

female vocalists accompanied by piano or combo

What is a combo?

small ensemble of players

What was a common theme of classic blues lyrics?

love/romantic relationships, often autobiographical

Which type of blues did sheet music often favor?

classic blues

Who was one of the earliest publishers of printed blues tunes?

W.C. Handy

Who was the Empress of the Blues?

Bessie Smith

Which mid-century jazz singers did Bessie Smith influence?

Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson

Who helped pay for Bessie Smith’s headstone?

Janis Joplin

Which record studio issued 5 double-album set of records of Bessie Smith’s performances?

Columbia Records

Which two songs helped Bessie Smith break into the industry?

“Down Hearted Blues” and “Gulf Coast Blues”

When did Bessie Smith break into the industry?

1923

Which 4 substyles of jazz were listed in the Curriculum?

New Orleans jazz, Dixieland, Chicago jazz, swing

What was the name of the “red-light district” in New Orleans?

Storyville

Who drafted legislation in 1897 to limit prostitution in New Orleans to one part of town?

Sidney Story

Along which street was Storyville segregated?

Canal Street

What was the role of Storyville in fostering New Orleans jazz?

provided locations for ensembles to perform, also provided a competitive environment to stimulate innovation

Which two traditions did collective improvisation resemble?

Latin American, African traditions

Which band of white musicians imitated the earliest Black jazz musicians?

Original Dixieland Jazz Band

What was the first known “jazz” recording" and when was it recorded?

“Livery Stable Blues” (1917)

Who closed Storyville in 1917 once the US entered WWI?

Secretary of War Newton W. Baker

How was Chicago jazz more ‘sophisticated’ than New Orleans jazz?

players were more expert on instruments, music literacy improved

What was the difference in texture between New Orleans jazz and Chicago jazz?

New Orleans jazz had more heterophony with brief solo breaks, while Chicago jazz had longer solos and less collective improvisation

What was the nickname for lead cornet players in New Orleans combos?

“King"

Which instrument did Joe “King” Oliver play?

cornet

When did King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band begin recording its music?

April 1923

What was the name of the recording studio in which King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band recorded its music, and where was it?

Gennett Records Studio, in Richmond, Indiana

What was the “big finish” of most New Orleans-style pieces?

an ending executed through collective improvisation

What device was used to modify the sound of a trombone to create the voices of talking adults?

wah-wah mute

What made Lillian Hardin a unique musician in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band?

sole woman, not from New Orleans, had formal musical training

Who was the “Jazz Wonder Child”?

Lillian Hardin

Which club’s manager did Hardin convince to offer Armstrong $75/week as the leader of a new band?

Dreamland Club

According to the Curriculum, what was the single most influential combo in the history of jazz?

the Hot Five

Which song introduced scatting to many listeners and when was it released?

“Heebie Jeebies” (1926)

What were some things that defined “big band jazz”?

larger ensembles, pre-planning of pieces, musical literacy expected, designated rhythm sections, swing style

Which talented arranger/composer helped establish Duke Ellington’s characteristic approach to the swing style?

Billy Strayhorn

What was a “head arrangement”?

the composition would be devised on the spot by the whole band together, memorized by ear, and played for the public

More than other “pre-swing” band leaders, which band leader gave prominence to the piano?

Count Basie

Where did Fletcher Henderon go to college and for what?

Columbia University, for chemistry

What technique did Fletcher Henderson use when writing music?

sectional writing / block voicing, call-and-response between instrumental sections

Which musical was “Give My Regards to Broadway” from?

Little Johnny Jones (1904)

What year was Shuffle Along first performed?

1921

What was the source material for the book for Shuffle Along?

a sketch from a vaudeville circuit

How many performances did Shuffle Along have?

504

What was particularly unusual about Shuffle Along?

it featured an onstage romantic relationship between Black characters

What song did Harry S. Truman use as his campaign song in his 1948 run for president?

“I’m Just Wild About Harry”

Which African-American comedy duo created Shuffle Along?

Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles

Who asked Miller and Lyles to create another adventure in Jimtown?

George White

Who composed the closing song (“Jazz Your Troubles Away”) of Runnin’ Wild?

James P. Johnson

Why did George White keep saying he disliked “The Charleston”?

he wanted to premiere the dance in his own revue, George White Scandals

Which composer integrated songs into musical comedies as early as 1915?

Jerome Kern

Who was the lyricist of Rose-Marie (1924)?

Oscar Hammerstein II

Which musical was the “flagship” of the genre?

Show Boat (1927)

Who played the role of Julie in the stage musical?

Helen Morgan

Whose book did Show Boat use as its property?

Edna Ferber

How do musical styles in Showboat affect the storyline?

depicts story’s movement through time (old-fashioned → modern songs)

Which street was nicknamed Tin Pan Alley?

28th Street in New York

Who was “The Old Maestro”?

Ben Bernie

Whose ensemble was the first orchestra hired to perform in the Hotel Roosevelt?

Ben Bernie

Whose recording of “Sweet Georgia Brown” did the Harlem Globetrotters use as their theme song?

Brother Bones and His Shadows

What is a custom score / original score?

music newly written to suit the scenes of a particular film

What was “sound-on-film” technology?

musical sound waves → visual images → embedded along edge of film footage

What was “sound-on-disk” technology?

single motor operated both projector & turntable holding disk corresponding to reel of film

What type of technology was the Warner Brothers’ Vitaphone?

“sound-on-disk” technology

What short story did Samson Raphaelson write after seeing a live performance featuring actor Al Jolson?

“The Day of Atonement”

How did The Jazz Singer become the first “talkie”?

improvised lines between songs that were recorded live

Where did Claude Debussy hear a gamelan orchestra perform, inspiring him to use Javanese elements in his music?

the 1889 Universal Exposition

Who led the all-Black 369th Infrantry Regiment Band?

Lt. James Reese Europe

Where was Darius Milhaud enrolled at the start of WW1?

Paris Conservatory

Who were Les Six?

Darius Milhaud

Georges Auric

Louis Durey

Arthur Honegger

Francis Poulenc

Germaine Tailleferre (composer of another selection)

How did Darius Milhaud startle reporters during in 1922 tour of America?

he discussed his serious interest in Black jazz music

Which ballet company commissioned the score for La création du monde from Milhaud?

Ballets Suédois (the Swedish Ballet)

Which song’s recording by Al Jolson boosted George Gershwin’s reputation?

“Swanee”

Which concert was held to demonstrate the evolution of American popular music?

“An Experiment in Modern Music”

Who was Aaron Copland’s most important teacher?

Nadia Boulanger

Who all performed Copland’s Organ Symphony?

New York Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Serge Koussevitzky

What was the rival organization of League of Composers?

International Composer’s Guild (ICG)

When did Aaron Copland receive the Guggenheim Foundation prize?

1925 & 1926

What was MacDowell Colony in Peterorough, New Hampshire?

a summer retreat for artists to devote themselves to art w/o interruption to their creative projects

On which lake did Clarence Adler build a shack for Aaron Copland?

Lake Placid

What was Music for the Theatre initially titled?

“Incidental Music for an Imaginary Drama”

How many movements did Music for the Theatre have?

5 movements:
I. Prologue
II. Dance
III. Interlude
IV. Burlesque
V. Epilogue

What was Aaron Copland’s motivation behind writing Music for the Theatre?

he wanted to write a work that was “American in character”