Aaron Copland :: essays research papers

Aaron Copland     Aaron Copland was the embodiment of what a composer can hope to become.Copland was very lots in touch not only with himself and his feelings, but withthe audience he intended to reach. Very few composers control a concrete melodic theme ofwhat "types" of race they wish their music to reach. Copland was one of thesefew. The "Common Man" was the underlying part of much of his volumes of musicstrived to reach. Copland felt that, ". .everyone should have a contingency to seethings through this music. Limiting who can understand it only limits your gain" Throughout his 75+ years as a composer and conductor, he touched(p)the lives and hearts of as many people as he could.     Copland was innate(p) in Brooklyn, New York in 1900 to fairly affluentparents. Because of his familys financial status, he started formally trainingas a teen, and moved to Paris where he became the first American student ofNadia B oulanger. It was here that Copland developed much of his neo-classicalstyle. Although he enjoyed the precise structure that Boulanger had taught him,Coplands heart was truly in creating music that people other than musicianscould appreciate. It was upon his hand to America in 1924 that he decided thathe would write ". . .truly American music." He traveled throughout America,getting a taste of what the "common man" was listening to. During these travelshe strayed into Mexico, and wrote the highly palmy El Salon Mexico. A quotefrom the fall of 1932 sums up his intentions in writing this piece "Anycomposer who goes outside his native land wants to return bearing musicalsouvenirs." This is exactly what he did. The piece is a bouncing adaptation ofFrances Toors Cancionero Mexicano, with a very loose tempo, and heavy use ofthe trump section.     It was after the success of El Salon Mexico that Copland proceeded toproduce what is now considere d the digest of "American" music. He combined hisneo-classical schooling with jazz-like syncopation and a new, more than "open" use ofold chordal progressions. He created Billy The put one over in 1938, producing thefirst "Western" musical. The score achieved a remarkable symmetricalness betweenoutright humor and pathos, and oftentimes bordered on tragic. It was this radical fellow feeling of humanity that made Coplands music what it is. Many texts also connect to a certain built in sympathy that Copland may have had for the maincharacter, citing his homosexuality as a cause for his deep understanding ofwhat it is to be looked down upon by society.