What type of work is West Side Story?
Musical
4 features of jazz heard in Something’s Coming
- Cross rhythms
- Push rhythms
- Syncopated rhythms
- Blue notes
When was Something’s Coming composed?
1957
Which voice and character sings Something’s Coming?
Voice is tenor sung by the character Tony
What is the band accompanying the solo tenor comprised of?
Woodwind, Brass, Percussion and Strings
What do the band do so as not to overpower the soloist?
- Play quiet dynamics
- Play soft timbres
- Homophonic texture
What 2 techniques do the strings use to illustrate the words ‘The air is humming’?
- Harmonics
- Play tremulo
The melody of Something’s Coming is almost entirely melodic or syllabic?
Syllabic
What are the 3 main themes in Something’s Coming?
structure
- Quiet, syncopated opening theme
- Loud, strident theme in 2/4
- Lyrical, slow-moving theme
How does Bernstein vary the themes?
He changes the words or metre
What does the metre change between in Something’s Coming?
3/4 and 2/4
How is a feeling of excitement and anticipation created in Something’s Coming?
- Changes of metre
- Fast tempo
- Syncopated rhythms
Tonality of Something’s Coming
It’s in D major however there are 2 contrasting sections in C major
What is a tritone?
Sharpened fourth
What 2 intervals are frequently used in Something’s Coming?
Sharpened fourth and flattened seventh
How does Bernstein create a feeling of expectation and incompletion at the end of Something’s Coming?
The last note sung by the tenor is a flattened seventh which is an unresolved note
Harmony of Something’s Coming
- Tonal
- Jazz influenced
- Frequent 7th chords and other added note chords
Texture of Something’s Coming
Homophonic
3 main ideas in accompaniment (texture)
- Repeated riff at beginning
- Short, mainly syncopated chords
- Fast um-cha accompaniment
Which Shakespeare play is West Side Story based on?
Romeo and Juliet
