Suggestions for performance:
VERSE 1: as slowly and sustained as possible; the horns must be heard clearly (do not hesitate to double the horns with a trumpet in measures 5-10 if necessary).
VERSE 2: don't rush! The half-note pulse should be only slightly faster than the quarter-note in verse 1. The saxophone melody should be played legato; the staccato ensemble chords should be played gently, with just a touch of mystery to them. The crescendo and diminuendo in measures 31-38 need to be carefully controlled.
VERSE 3: again, don't rush - there should be a feeling of continuation of the verse 2 pulse, not an abrupt change of tempo. The clarinet tune should be played semi-legato, not short and choppy. There should be an easy, relaxed feel to the tune, with a light ensemble accompaniment. The countermelody should be highlighted, beginning in measure 65. The "Grand Cakewalk" starting in measure 74 needs to be a little slower, and quite grand: it should be the happiest section of the piece, and the loudest as well.
TRANSITION TO VERSE 4: there should be a continual slowing from measure 84 through measure 93.
VERSE 4: the half-note pulse should be close to the verse 1 quarter-note pulse; the music requires the same slow and sustained style. Intonation is critical for piccolo, oboe, muted trumpet, and bells. The shifting ensemble chords must be as smooth as possible, with no change in volume between the brass group and the reed group. Measure 105 should be greatly held back in tempo - this is a second emotional climax in the work - and there should be a sudden return to tempo and soft dynamic level in measure 106. A continual slowing should begin in measure 110 and the concluding measures should be played as slowly and softly as possible. The chimes at the end should sound from offstage, or at a distance from the performing area if possible (far off, but still audible). Timpani and string basses should hold their final note for a very long time, always diminishing toward inaudibility.
N.B: The use of several string basses will greatly improve the ensemble sound of America Verses. If string basses are not available, the timpani roll at the end of the work may need to be played a little more loudly.
Suggestions for listening:
CHARLES IVES: Variations on "America" (for organ)
this work has also been arranged for orchestra, and for band
WILLIAM SCHUMANN: New England Triptych (for orchestra)
this work has also been arranged for band
AARON COPLAND: A Lincoln Portrait (for orchestra)
this work has also been arranged for band
GEORGE GERSHWIN / MILES DAVIS / GIL EVANS: Porgy & Bess
(for solo trumpet & jazz orchestra)
Related materials:
Performers and audiences for
America Verses may benefit from exposure to and discussion of works outside the world of music that are concerned with the American condition. Here are a few suggestions:
Poetry:
WALT WHITMAN: Leaves of Grass (especially "Song of Myself")
ALLEN GINSBERG: Collected Poems (especially "Howl")
ADRIENNE RICH: Dark Fields of the Republic
AUDRE LORDE: Undersong
Fiction:
THEODORE DREISER: An American Tragedy
JOHN UPDIKE: In the Beauty of the Lilies
JAMES BALDWIN: Another Country
WILLIAM FAULKNER: The Sound and the Fury
F. SCOTT FITZGERALD: The Great Gatsby
THOMAS PYNCHON: The Crying of Lot 49
ROBERT STONE: A Hall of Mirrors
Visual Arts - Painters:
JASPER JOHNS
EDWARD HOPPER
GEORGIA O'KEEFE
MARSDEN HARTLEY
Visual Arts- Video / Mixed Media
BRUCE NAUMANN
BILL VIOLA
FILM
ORSON WELLES: Citizen Kane
JOHN FORD: The Searchers
ARTHUR PENN: Alice's Restaurant
ROBERT ALTMAN: McCabe and Mrs. Miller / Nashville
BARBARA KOPPLE: Harlan County, U.S.A.
SPIKE LEE: Do The Right Thing / He Got Game
JOHN SAYLES: Matewan
Discussion Topics:
What music best characterizes America? - jazz? classical concert music? commercial-industrial pop music? folk music? movie music? Elvis?
Is capitalism a good thing or a bad thing? Have the American people been hurt or helped by free-market capitalism? In what ways?
Of what should America be most proud? Of what should America be most ashamed?
What is patriotic music? What is its purpose?
Is
America Verses a happy piece of music or a sad one? Does it mirror America, or is it more like a dream?
What is to be done to make America better? How can music help?
TIMOTHY BROEGE / 1998
