El Salon Mexico Copland Analysis
El Salón México by Aaron Copland: A Study and Comparison of the Orchestral Score and Two Transcriptions for Band
D.M.A. Document Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By Erika Kirsten Svanoe, M.M. Graduate Program in Music
The Ohio State University 2009
DMA Document Committee: Russel Mikkelson, Advisor Hilary Apfelstadt Richard Blatti Daryl Kinney
Copyright by Erika Kirsten Svanoe 2009
Abstract Aaron Copland completed the orchestral score to El Salón México in 1936 marking a turning point in his career. The piece received more performances in the year following its completion than any of his previous orchestral works. It was well received by both critics and audiences due to his focus on melody and shift in thinking towards using the “simplest possible means” to make the music more accessible to the listener. Mark Hindsley completed a band arrangement of El Salón México in 1966 that included numerous changes to the meter and rhythmic notation found in Copland’s orchestral score. The author conducted a comparative analysis of Copland’s published orchestral score, the El Salón México manuscript materials, Bernstein’s arrangements for piano, and Hindsley’s transcription for band. This investigation sought to determine why Hindsley chose to include metric alterations that differ from the orchestral score, and how he decided what meters would be appropriate. The study of Copland’s manuscript materials of El Salón México revealed that Copland simplified the meter and rhythmic notation after the composition was complete. These rhythmic alterations were completed during the orchestration process in an effort to make the piece more performable. Much of Copland’s original conception of rhythmic notation, that appears in his manuscript sketches, also appear in Bernstein’s piano arrangements. In addition, many of the alterations Hindsley utilized were
D.M.A. Document Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University
By Erika Kirsten Svanoe, M.M. Graduate Program in Music
The Ohio State University 2009
DMA Document Committee: Russel Mikkelson, Advisor Hilary Apfelstadt Richard Blatti Daryl Kinney
Copyright by Erika Kirsten Svanoe 2009
Abstract Aaron Copland completed the orchestral score to El Salón México in 1936 marking a turning point in his career. The piece received more performances in the year following its completion than any of his previous orchestral works. It was well received by both critics and audiences due to his focus on melody and shift in thinking towards using the “simplest possible means” to make the music more accessible to the listener. Mark Hindsley completed a band arrangement of El Salón México in 1966 that included numerous changes to the meter and rhythmic notation found in Copland’s orchestral score. The author conducted a comparative analysis of Copland’s published orchestral score, the El Salón México manuscript materials, Bernstein’s arrangements for piano, and Hindsley’s transcription for band. This investigation sought to determine why Hindsley chose to include metric alterations that differ from the orchestral score, and how he decided what meters would be appropriate. The study of Copland’s manuscript materials of El Salón México revealed that Copland simplified the meter and rhythmic notation after the composition was complete. These rhythmic alterations were completed during the orchestration process in an effort to make the piece more performable. Much of Copland’s original conception of rhythmic notation, that appears in his manuscript sketches, also appear in Bernstein’s piano arrangements. In addition, many of the alterations Hindsley utilized were