Curb Dress Rehearsal - March 2024

I usually try to create a program for students to follow during a dress rehearsal - this month and week has been to crazy for me to put something together so I'm listening to the pieces that we will hear and mentioning some of my thoughts below. I hope to see you at the symphony!

1. Ellington's Harlem - 15 minutes

Instrumentation - like most of Ellington's brass section, the employment of specific mutes for the "tinny" sound make it really fun to keep an ear tuned to the specific timbre of a muted trumpet or trombone.

At 3:27 listen for the pizzicato strings.

14:49 pay close attention to the percussion section! This is a super fun section of the piece!

Rhythm - the drums highlight the swing rhythm of symphonic jazz

Form - the way the piece is performed highlights various districts of Harlem:

Commissioned to write the work for the NBC Symphony in 1950, during the period when Maestro Arturo Toscanini was conductor, Duke Ellington wrote “Harlem” on the Ile de France while returning to New York from Europe. The vivid and inspiring picture of Harlem he had in mind bubbled out of him, he recalls, ‘“‘tonally and spontaneously.’”’ He knew that Harlem had the reputation for being “‘a great place.for swingers, where the inhabitants danced, sang, drank and gambled twenty-six hours a day,’”’ but he remembered much else about it, too. “When you arrive in Harlem,” he says, “you discover first that there are more churches than cabarets, and when you really get to know Harlem, you know that it’s like any other community in the world, with or without a reputation, with people, some plain and some fancy, some living luxuriously, others not so luxuriously, some urbane, some sub-suburban, laughing, crying, and experiencing a million different kinds of ups and downs. So the piece of music goes like this: (1) Pronunciation of the word ‘Harlem,’ itemizing its many facets from downtown to uptown, true and false; (2) 110th Street, heading north through the Spanish neighborhood; (3) Intersection further uptown — cats shucking and stiffing; (4) Upbeat parade; (5) Jazz spoken in a thousand languages (6) Floor show; (7) Girls out of step, but kicking like crazy; (8) Fanfare for Sunday; (9) On the way to church; (10) Church — we’re even represented in Congress by our man of the church; (11) The sermon; (12) Funeral; (13) Counterpoint of tears; (14) Chic chick; (15) Stopping traffic; (16) After church promenade; (17) Agreement a cappella; (18) Civil Rights demandments; (19) March onward and upward; (20) Summary — contributions coda.  

2. Poulenc Concerto for Organ - 22 minutes

This piece will be the special organ performance at the symphony. I think it would be good to prepare students to know what they will be able to expect.

Instrumentation - the tympani drums shine in this concerto as well! Make sure students understand what a concerto is. My simple explanation is that it is a special piece for the orchestra and a solo instrument. So an "organ concerto" features the organ. A "clarinet concerto" would feature a solo clarinet player with the orchestra.

Form - 7 tempo changes occur in the piece: 

Andante 

Allegro giocoso 

Subito andante moderato 

Tempo allegro Molto agitato 

Très calme: Lent 

Tempo de l'allegro initial and 

Tempo d'introduction: Largo. 

Each movement often differs substantially in style, tone and texture. For example, the opening movements are loud and quite violent, with substantial organ chords; yet the following middle movements are much calmer and softer.

3. Gershwin Second Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra - 15 minutes

Very familiar to Rhapsody in Blue elements, this is a happy and fun tune and also sometimes called Rhapsody in Rivets.

Instrumentation - enjoy looking out to identify the instruments heard during the performance and how they "talk" back and forth with the piano during the different sections. I also like comparing the piano to the sounds you might hear in New York City - construction workers, traffic, etc.

4. Bernstein Symphonic Dances - 23 minutes

It would be fun to work with students before we go to see if I could get them to snap at the same time as the symphony in the first section! (There are 3 snaps first and then 2 snaps)

I love the syncopation and tempo and time changes in this piece. This is a great piece to imagine! I will have my kids bring a notebook and pencil to write down what the music inspires them to picture in their imagination.

Form - The 9 sections of the piece are organized as:

1. "Prologue": Tensions grow between the two gangs. (ends with a loud whistle)
2. "Somewhere": In a dream, friendship unites the two gangs. (soft and melodic)
3. "Scherzo": In the dream, the gangs leave the city and find themselves in a "playful world of space, air, and sun"
4. "Mambo: Returning to the real world, the gangs participate in a competitive dance at the gym. (super fun and loud with energetic percussion! I hope the symphony shouts "Mambo!"
5. "Cha cha": Maria and Tony first meet and dance together. (Finger symbols and pizzicato violins)
6. "Meeting scene": They speak their first words to each other. ("Maria" theme is heard - a tritone interval. This section is very short)
7. "Cool": Riff, the leader of the Jets, encourages his gang to harness their impulsive hostility. (Listen for the vibraphone if you haven't heard it yet! I love the "warbly" sound!)
8. "Rumble": In a gang battle, Riff, Bernardo (the leader of the Sharks), and Tony are killed.
9. "Finale": The two gangs, realizing that violence is no solution, reconcile and unite, fulfilling the vision of "Somewhere"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvDX4aLP0QU - to watch with the score