For this edition of Required Listening I'm analyzing a true classic. And I mean really classic. Think of what would have been a classic to the artists who perform what we normally consider classics. Think so classic, it's almost classical.
Also, it's not really an album per se, but a recording. And it's not the original recording, because it was originally done before they recorded songs of this nature. Rather, it is one 16-minute and 35-second movement recorded from an original transcript by a contemporary orchestra.
The track is titled "Rhapsody in Blue." It was composed by the late, great George Gershwin. It is one of the single greatest pieces of music ever composed.
"Rhapsody in Blue" is an ingenious combination of early jazz and classical music that was first arranged in 1924. It took on its full orchestral form in 1942. It is one movement of music with several themes and sections.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with what the term "rhapsody" means, it is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colors and tonalities. "Rhapsody in Blue" embodies all of this.
"Rhapsody in Blue" contains no lyrics but, a testament to Gershwin's talent, it contains so much meaning. Every instantly recognizable theme brings a new image to mind as they flow seamlessly from one to the next.
The performance begins with a simple slinky note on a clarinet that ascends like the sunrise over a big city. It's a peaceful morning until the rest of the orchestra kicks in and the city comes to life!
The fast-pace hustle of rush hour in the city rages for a short time until the first piano solo. The piano is decidedly more peaceful. The images of family come to mind, as well as the stoic calm of an occupational interior in the early morning.
When the orchestra comes back in, it bears all the intensity of a construction site. Pole hammers and rivet guns rocket away as the piano staccatos and the orchestra surges. Then the trap set comes in and I'm sucked into the underground.
What could arguably be called the first use of a trap drum set with a full orchestra, the rhythm created by the percussion and the orchestra in turn would be the perfect soundtrack to a trip through the tubes. Fast-paced and full of screaming trumpets and soloing saxophones alike, this theme is Gershwin flexing his rhythmic muscle. Then it's back to the build site for a tad.
Suddenly, the song slows down. It slows way down. And then immediately picks back up to it's original tempo.
Lunch Break.
A long piano solo follows. Most of the major themes are covered in the ivory's shining moment. It's as though Gershwin took his practice routine for the themes of the song and added it into the song to represent the artist at his canvas. In Gershwin's case, his canvas is his piano.
A brief circus theme comes out of nowhere, but then fades into the most beautiful part of the song. A slow building ballroom waltz that is easily the most classical part of "Rhapsody in Blue." I'm unsure of what this part might rep resent. It could be lovers in the park, skaters or the simple relaxing feeling that you feel when the lull of the afternoon descends upon you.
The piano comes back in all smooth, but suddenly becomes fast-paced and staccato, like a journalist on deadline pounding away at his typewriter. As the journalist frantically finishes his report, the orchestra rises like a horror movie soundtrack. Then, something terrible happens.
What terrible deed could be represented by the ensuing castropheny I do not know, but the wailing of every instrument in the orchestra grinds the mind and makes you fear for your own safety, as if you were falling from a tall building. However, just as all hope seems lost ... the finale!
The horror show slows and becomes a lumbering gargantuan on an epic scale. It is almost as if the city has come to life. Where strides the behemoth is unknown, but the grandeur of its journey is unparalleled in any other piece of music I have ever heard.
The song slows to a halt and the city returns to its resting place.
False end!
The song reaches its most intense theme in the last half minute. The streets are lit with all sorts of neon and people crowd every available piece of sidewalk as the city's night side comes to life. It is the end of a glorious day, but the beginning of an exciting night.
End song.
Gershwin so perfectly combined jazz and classical music in "Rhapsody in Blue," that it is doubtful anyone can top it. Gerswin took his experiences in the Big Apple, and converted them into music, and the story of the city he weaves is so eloquent, that it rivals fine literature.
"Rhapsody in Blue" is a high point on the timeline of musical genius. It's old, but it will forever remain one of the most respective pieces of music in my eye. So classic it's almost classical, "Rhapsody in Blue" is surely a piece of required listening for everyone who hears and breathes.
Casey Welsch is a sophomore news-editorial and broadcasting major. Reach him at caseywelsch@dailynebraskan.com
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