Composition - West Side Story - p. 126-129 Flashcards
What is the title of the complete work?
What is the title of the song this music excerpt is part of?
What is the form after the introduction?
Who are the two main singers?
Who misses Puerto Rico?
Who likes living in Manhattan, USA?
What is the form in which groups and solo sing back and forth?
The chorus and verse alternate a 6/8 and 3/4 pattern. What is the name of this rhythmic technique?
How is the Latin flavor achieved?
The complete work is West Side Story.
The excerpt is from “I like to be in America”.
After the introduction, the form is verse-chorus.
Rosalia and Anita are the two main singers.
Rosalia likes Puerto Rico.
Anita likes Manhattan, USA.
When groups and solos sing back and forth, it’s called chorus and verse.
Hemiola effect is the main rhythmic technique in this song.
Latin flavor is achieved through use of guitar, claves, maracas and other percussion instruments.
What is the common song structure in popular music in which the verses develop the character/storyline, while the ‘chorus’ acts as a refrain?
verse-chorus structure
What is the term for a temporary shift of the metric accents. For example, notes in groups of three are temporarily in groups of two.
Hemiola
What is the title of the complete work?
What is the title of the selection in this excerpt?
Which character sings this?
Describe the setting?
What is the feelings expressed?
How does the opening melody sound like to show Tony’s adoration for Maria?
The complete work is West Side Story.
The music excerpt is “Maria”
Tony (tenor)
Tony is outside of the gym, where Tony has just met and fallen in love with Maria.
Tony sings “Maria” with love.
The opening of the melody sounds like a chant-like to show Tony’s love for Maria.
What is the musical style developed in the early 20th century in the US and combines elements of African, popular, and European music? It is based on improvisation.
Jazz
Who is Stephen Sondheim?
Stephen Sondheim is the lyricist for West Side Story, written by Bernstein.
What is the name of the complete work?
What is the title of the song this music excerpt is part of?
What are the first few words of the lyric?
Who is singing this excerpt?
What is the sentiment expressed and how?
Describe the word painting on “breezes”
The complete work is West Side Story.
The excerpt is the very beginning of ‘America”
The first few words is “Puerto Rico, you lovely island…”
Rosalia sings the excerpt.
Rosalia misses Puerto Rico and the feeling is expressed through long phrases and free rhythm
Word painting on “breezes” is achieved using a curved motive based on a whole-tone scale. There is glissandi on string harmonics.
What is mambo?
It is a Afro-Cuban dance, popular in the 1940s and 1950s.
Provide definition of verse-chorus structure?
This is a common song structure in popular music. The verses develop the character/storyline, while the ‘chorus’ acts as a refrain.
What is cha-cha?
See picture for cha-cha rhythm.
It is a popular Cuban dance of the 1950s and comes from mambo.
What is the title and genre of the entire work?
What is the source of plot for the entire work?
Who were the librettists?
Who was the choreographer?
The entire work is West Side Story and it is a musical (musical theatre).
This musical is based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim were the librettists.
Jerome Robbins was the choreographer.
What is the title of the complete work?
What is the title of the song this music excerpt is part of?
Name two instruments in the beginning of this excerpt that bring out a Latin feeling.
What rhythmic techniques are demonstrated in the excerpt?
Name two instruments that play wavy lines in triplets.
The complete work is West Side Story.
The music excerpt is the introduction of “Puerto Rico, you lovely island…”
Claves (wood blocks) and guiro (ribbed gourd) play the beginning of the introduction.
The excerpt contains cross-rhythm and rhythmic ostinato.
Spanish guitar and celesta play wavy lines in triplets.
Name the 5 principal characters in West Side Story that we study and provide their description, including the name of the gangs they are associated with.
-Bernardo - Sharks leader
-Anita - Bernardo’s girlfriend
-Maria - Puerto Rican girl; Bernardo’s sister.
-Tony - Jets member
-Riff - Jets leader
What is hemiola?
It is a temporary shift of the metric accents. For example, notes in groups of three are temporarily in groups of two.
Provide the plot summary of West Side Story
This plot follows the Romeo and Juliet tragedy. Two gangs fight over territories - the Jets (the Americans/white) and the Sharks (the Puerto Rican). Maria and Tony fall in love at first sight. The two gangs fight. Bernardo (Sharks gang leader) kills the Riff (Jets gang leader). Tony then kills Bernardo, who is Maria’s brother. The another Sharks member kills Tony. Maria arrives but Tony is dead.
