7.4- Mid Modern Music

Musical Theatre

[audio:musicaltheatreoverview.mp3]
The music of musical theatre was much lighter and uplifting than many of the more anxious sound of other compositions of the early and mid 20th century.

Broadway had become the center of popular theatrical music in America

Rodgers and Hammerstein 1902-1979 and 1895-1960 [audio:rodgersandhammerstein.mp3]
Carousel (optional video):

Carousel – 1956   If I Loved You Duet

Oklahoma (optional video):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrDVzbeDzRk&feature=related

Sound of Music – trailer (optional video):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRPEpJHI9zg

Leonard Bernstein (American) 1918- 1990 [audio:bernstein.mp3]

  • Conductor of the New York Philharmonic
  • Tireless educator, introducing children to classical music
  • Young People’s Guide to the Orchestra — a weekly TV show on CBS
  • West Side Story
  • Lyrics by Steven Sondheim
  • Based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
  • Rival gangs the Jets and the Hispanic Sharks
  • Presenting on stage the intercultural tensions from New York City’s West Side

Optional video – West Side Story Prologue

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxoC5Oyf_ss

Andrew Lloyd Weber (British) 1948 – ? [audio:webber.mp3]

Optional video links to excerpts from each show Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat:

Jesus Christ Super Star

Evita

Cats

Phantom of the Opera

Music Concrete — Electronic Music

[audio:electronicmusic.mp3]

Going beyond the popular sounds of electronic instruments utilized in Rock and Roll, pioneers in electronic sounds strove to create a new soundscape.

Edgar Varese (French) 1883-1965 [audio:varese.mp3]

  • Career in America
  • Credited as the “Father of Electronic Music’
  • Influential to cutting edge Rock and Roll performers i.e. Frank Zappa
  • Popular work — Poem Electronique a collaboration with Le Corbusier and Xenakis

Optional video:

Karlheinz Stockhausen (German) 1928 — 2007 [audio:stockhausen.mp3]

  • An extremely influential composer, whose ideas were transformed by other composers and musicians
  • Cited by the Beattle as a major influence, and included on the cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band Album

Example of work — Kontakte

Chance Music — Aleatory Music

John Cage 1912 -1992 [audio:cage.mp3]

  • The Marcel Duchamp of music
  • Worked at the Black Mountain College and collaborated with Merce Cunningham and Robert Rauschenberg
  • A composer that worked with “found sounds’ noise and experimental instruments
  • Altered traditional instruments to create new sounds
  • 1952 — his groundbreaking, controversial work 4’33’ composed of silence. [audio:groundbreakingmusic.mp3]

4’33’

Sonata

4 Responses to “7.4- Mid Modern Music”

  1. Nicole Wade writes:

    Yay! I grew up watching and love most of the musicals that you have listed here!

  2. Dallas Hrcka writes:

    I was searching AOL and I came across your site. I am very happy I did, you have a lot of very good information here. I also love your layout, you have made it very simple to find everything. I have bookmarked your site and I will return shortly. Keep up the excellent work. Thanks. Click Here

  3. fotograf ślubny kraków writes:

    First of all I would like to say fantastic blog! I had a quick question which I’d like to ask
    if you don’t mind. I was curious to know how you center yourself and
    clear your mind prior to writing. I’ve had a difficult
    time clearing my thoughts in getting my thoughts out there.
    I truly do enjoy writing however it just seems like the first 10 to 15
    minutes tend to be lost simply just trying to figure out how to begin.
    Any recommendations or hints? Cheers!

  4. Aubrey Swallows writes:

    In response to fotograf Å›lubny kraków, I usually begin with one idea. I start blurting whatever I can even if it doesn’t make sense or relate to the original idea. Then from those first few minutes of unstructured blurbs I formulate a new base idea, one that is expanded and more generalized so I can formulate subordinate ideas that support the original. From there I create a format that denotes examples that supports the main idea. From these examples I try to find a couple pieces of strong supportive evidence that pertains to that supportive example. All of this creates a bunch of choppy strings of ideas but the constant time spent writing and researching is a start that helps me get into the mindset of what I am writing about.

    From here I scrap everything I just wrote, not by erasing it, but by beginning a new fresh page. I begin again with a new and even more generalized idea, hopefully working towards a more educated thesis statement. I find new more generalized supportive ideas and expand on those with supporting evidence. This process continues over and over again, scrapping the old and expanding, producing a more refined piece. I don’t think I will ever create the perfect piece because of time constraints. However, just putting in the time and effort gives me something I find acceptable.

    As for my environment I write best when I have no surrounding distractions. This enables me to focus solely on what I am writing. No music, no tv, and no company (the exception being when you are collaborating with others that have similar writing goals or knowledge on your topic). I also like to be chemically in balance. Good sleep, nutrition, and lower stress levels promote my critical thinking skills. I hope this helped!