22-23 Program Book - Flipbook - Page 65
Black, Brown and Beige Suite, arr. Tyzik (1943)
EDWARD KENNEDY “DUKE” ELLINGTON
(April 29, 1899-May 24, 1974)
Edward “Duke” Ellington was a leading figure in jazz and is considered one
of America’s greatest composers. He grew up in a musical household in
Washington, DC, and began gigging as a teenager. His career really took
off in the 1920s, and his composing became more serious with longer, more
complex pieces that took the jazz big band well beyond its dance band
genre.
Ellington introduced Black, Brown and Beige at Carnegie Hall on January
23, 1943, as part of a concert that was a fundraiser for the war effort. It
was described as “a parallel to the history of the American Negro,” and
the original composition was 45 minutes long. It was also Ellington’s first
appearance at Carnegie Hall, so it was a special event and important to his
career. Black, Brown and Beige was composed specifically for the occasion,
expressing a mix of struggle, achievement, and patriotism.
Black, the first movement, depicts the arrival of slave ships in 1619, the
early struggles, and sanctuary in the church. It is divided into three parts:
“Work Song,” “Come Sunday,” and “Light.” Brown also has three parts
representing the next phase of Black history in America, bringing the
story up to the Spanish-American War in the 1890s. The three sections
include “West Indian Influence” (or “West Indian Dance”), “Emancipation
Celebration” (later reworked as “Lighter Attitude”) and “The Blues.” Beige
depicts experiences from the 1920s, 1930s, and World War II.
Like most programmatic works in any style, it helps to know the storyline
to make the most sense of the music heard. The musical depictions include
narrative aspects of storytelling and elements clearly related to popular
dance band styles. As one listens, it becomes apparent that this is more
than a jazz piece—the variety of tempo changes, style elements, and timbre
effects demonstrate his interest in creating a programmatic composition.
CLASSICAL SERIES: DVORAK'S NEW WORLD
Like other jazz and classical composers, he began to mix styles, adding
more instruments to the ensemble and using more complex compositional
techniques. Works like Creole Rhapsody (1931), Symphony in Black (1935),
and Reminiscing in Tempo (1935) demonstrate an interest in expanding
the forces to create a type of jazz symphony. Ellington’s expansion of the
traditional jazz big band followed similar inspirations of earlier orchestral
works with jazz influence in the 1920s by composers such as George Antheil,
George Gershwin, William Grant Still, and Darius Milhaud, for groups led by
Paul Whiteman, Fletcher Henderson, and others.
For example, in the opening section of “Work Song,” hard labor is
represented with heavy percussive aspects, contrasted with a more
cosmopolitan feel of arriving in a city. “Come Sunday” is a spiritual as part
of a scene depicting black folks standing outside a church they cannot
enter, enjoying the music and harmonizing along, praising the universal
God of all men.
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