Juan Camilo Ruiz-C.

10
th

Investigate possible influences the composer portrayed in his compositions and
the influence of Gershwins work: George Gershwin was inspired and influenced to
write this miraculous piece because it reflects the time he spent in Paris, he was mainly
influenced to compose this piece because for him Paris was one of the most
breathtaking places in the world. In addition to this we notice Gershwins piece is in
allegretto grazioso meaning it is a quick piece, where the leading notes will be high
pitch and will have crescendo intention throughout the whole piece. For the intensity of
the notes we can tell Gershwins experience in Paris was very adventurous, and that for
him reaching such a breathtaking place was very important for him. Going a little back in
this composers history, one of his greatest inspirations and impulse was his piano
professor which was so shocked at this talent that decided to quit asking his family for
money because for mi it was an honor to teach to such a student. His main influences
for the external, where that he gave to USA a big musical contribution, by introducing
new ways of composing and expressing music for Broadway, generating more
entertainment for those who loved Broadway and also for the development of other
great traditional and modern composers.
What were the origins of the piece An American in Paris? Also describe the
intention of the piece: The origins of this piece where that he traveled to Paris, and
from there the idea of composing in a somewhat musical style what he felt in Paris, we
can tell he shared many experiences, learned very much, and had a very good time,
because of the necessity of performing the piece, by purchasing old Parisian taxi horns,
trying at most to create the ambience of Paris at his show, so he could try to recreate for
the audience this incredible experience he had lived. Plus he tried to find French
composers, for helping him at most when he could finally perform one of the most
influential pieces in Broadway. The intention of this piece was to reflect of what a
newcomer in an innovative and traditional city like Paris felt, when he just walked
around the city, searching for their culture and how was it to live in a totally different
atmosphere. And for the audience to understand clearly he must also setup a play,
acquiring the most traditional traits of Paris, including the noise, the actions of the
actors, paintings, etc As he worked through it he would put more and more enthusiast
to the making of this piece, because of the memories he would remember of his
adventures in Paris.
What is the genre and time of the composition? What type of piece is this?
(Symphony, Concert, Chorale...): The genre of the composition is symphonic because
it is designed to be played with a full orchestra, and when we speak of symphony we
also speak that a symphonic piece is in sonata form. Sonata form is that it is written in
three sections which are: exposition, development, and recapitulation. And this is mostly
composed for concerts, involving almost all types of instruments like: wind, string, and
percussion. The time of the piece is called the roaring twenties where the times were
struck with lots of innovative acts influencing the world in many ways, like one of the first
radio stations to being invent, an upswing in sports, mainly in baseball, and the new
coming of great composers like Gershwin, Fitzgerald, and Gatsby. One of the biggest
impacts in this era, was that jazz music, was no beginning to be performed in Broadway
with great enthusiasm, since it seemed the audience liked this greatly. The type of piece
like I said before is a symphonic and concert type of piece. Since it as a composition,
that involves the full orchestra and follows a certain procedure, where you can analyze,
the different types of sections in each movement of the piece.
Listen to the piece while following the score. Where does the first section finish:
It ends in rehearsal 29.
State key signature (s), time signature (s) found in the first section of the piece:
Key signatures: There are the same flats and sharps which are F or Dm for
sharps and G or Em until rehearsal 13. In rehearsal 13 there begin to be 2
sharps which include the notes of sharp one plus Bb or Gm. When rehearsal 15
arrives we can now see the third (Eb or Cm), fourth (Ab or Fm), fifth (Db or Bbm).
And it does these flats until rehearsal 17. In rehearsal 17 the flats return to F and
G, also sharps kick in differently, they keep the first sharp (G or Em) until
rehearsal 23, where again the flats (F,G, and Eb) are seen again until rehearsal
26. In rehearsal 26 the sharps change notably, going from (E, B, and F) and no
flats, eventually here the first section ends.
Time signature: It begins with a 2/4, taking a simple meter until rehearsal 24. In
rehearsal 24 there are various time signatures, this is called a polymeter, the
time signatures are , 5/4, 4/4, , 2/4, , and 5/4. And when it gets to rehearsal
25, it changes to a duple meter, consisted of 4/4 and 2/4 time signatures. And
from rehearsal 25 to 29, it will be the same until the ending of the first section.
Bibliography
Process of the making of american in paris. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/An_American_in_Paris.h
tml
Gershwig's profile. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://musiced.about.com/od/20thcentury/p/gershwin.htm
Intention of the production of american in paris. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/717724/An-American-in-Paris
Origins of the composition. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.unconservatory.org/celam/gershwinbio.html
Genre and style. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090608064803AA8Gi96
Sonata. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.teoria.com/tutorials/forms/sonata01.php
The 1920's. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.shmoop.com/1920s/summary.html