{"id":1520,"date":"2019-04-02T12:18:34","date_gmt":"2019-04-02T12:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/?p=1520"},"modified":"2019-04-02T13:50:38","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T13:50:38","slug":"gershwins-porgy-and-bess-breaking-the-mold-or-reminder-of-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/uncategorized\/gershwins-porgy-and-bess-breaking-the-mold-or-reminder-of-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess: Breaking the Mold Or Reminder of Old?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Although President Trump\u2019s statement, \u201cWe write symphonies<\/a>,\u201d was not perfect, he made a good decision to point towards music while praising the progressive mentality adopted by the U.S. and its allies.  There\u2019s no doubt the President\u2019s three-worded, blanket statement insinuates that classical music is an elitist artform, but Polish and American composers have produced countless works of art which aim to expose the exploitation of and prejudice against specific groups of people. George Gershwin\u2019s Porgy and Bess<\/em> is an example of music creating awareness and helping those in need.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The initial reception of Porgy and Bess<\/em> after its release in 1935 was mixed at best.  Both the casting and the music were called into question as Gershwin\u2019s folk opera featured an all-black cast<\/a> as well as music that combined elements of jazz with western classical music.  Gershwin was faced with the challenging task of writing music that would pass as authentic folk music but would also withstand the highbrow scrutiny of operatic audiences. Duke Ellington said Gershwin\u2019s score did not reflect a genuine \u201cNegro musical idiom<\/a>,\u201d but other critics said, \u201cIt abounds in color, it retains the quality of the Negro chant, the spiritual, the wail, the jazz, and the blues.\u201d Not only was the music a hit or miss for some folks, but the content of Gershwin\u2019s folk opera also had some questionable implications. Some described Porgy and Bess <\/em>as a detriment to the race<\/a> and as a vehicle that promoted racist stereotypes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though Gershwin depicted Bess as a substance abuser with a penchant for abusive men and Porgy as a crippled beggar, Gershwin was still shining the spotlight on African American performers in 1935.  Empowering these actors and actresses on stage gave them opportunities to bring about real change. During the show\u2019s run in Washington D.C., the cast went on strike<\/a> to protest the National Theatre\u2019s segregation policy.  Todd Duncan, starring as Porgy, was successful in organizing the protest and as a result ushered in the first integrated audience at the National Theatre<\/a> on March 21, 1936.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gershwin\u2019s creation was celebrated by a host of incredibly influential musicians.  In 1958, trumpeter Louis Armstrong collaborated with Ella Fitzgerald to release an entire album <\/a>of Gershwin\u2019s music and one year after that Miles Davis released a similar album <\/a>featuring the writing of Gil Evans.  The two albums are based off of the same material, but the end results are entirely different. Showcasing modal improvisation and third stream aesthetics, the Miles Davis record was quite innovative at the time of its release, whereas the 1958 record is another chronicle in the legacy of the iconic trumpet-vocal duo. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inspiring two landmark albums, creating change in significant institutions, and advocating for African Americans in the arts, Porgy and Bess<\/em> remains to be one of the most important American operas today. Gershwin innovated his art to incorporate elements from other cultures to create a dramatic documentation of American life. \u00a0I say dramatic because the production is hardly factual and uses Gershwin\u2019s ideas of African American culture as an outlet for expression. His folktale created opportunities for Black Americans to perform on legitimate stage bringing about discussion and change. \u00a0I generally have a hard time supporting anything President Trump says, but a nod to Western Culture\u2019s music history while making an appeal to America\u2019s innovative spirit, \u201cWe write symphonies. We pursue innovation<\/a>,\u201d is one of the less ridiculous statements he\u2019s made especially with figures like Miles Davis, George Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong decorating our history. <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although President Trump\u2019s statement, \u201cWe write symphonies,\u201d was not perfect, he made a good decision to point towards music while praising the progressive mentality adopted by the U.S. and its allies.  There\u2019s no doubt the President\u2019s three-worded, blanket statement insinuates that classical music is an elitist artform, but Polish and American composers have produced countless … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess: Breaking the Mold Or Reminder of Old?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[116,40,461,112,225],"class_list":["post-1520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-civilrights","tag-jazz","tag-opera","tag-politics","tag-trump"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1520"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1773,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1520\/revisions\/1773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gcornish.digitalscholar.rochester.edu\/mhs123_spring2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}