Bernstein - 'Somethings coming'

Texture
1. Homophonic
2. Three main ideas
  1. 1. Repeated riff (opens the song)
    1. 2. Short, syncopated chords (bars 21-26)
      1. fast, um-ch accompaniment (first heard bar 32 'me')
Harmony and Tonality
1. Harmony
  1. Tonal
  2. jazz-influenced
  3. frequent 7th chords
  4. added note chords
2. Sharpened fourths
  1. creates a tritione
3. flattened sevenths
  1. toner's last note
    1. sense of incompletion
Rhythm, Metre and Tempo
1. metre - 3/4 and 2/4
2. fast tempo, syncopation and change in metre
  1. Gives a feel of excitement and anticipation
3. Cross rhythms
4. accompaniment made of: on-beat bass part with off-beat chords
Structure and Melody
1. syllabic
2. three main themes:
  1. 1. Quiet, syncopated opening theme
    1. 2. Loud, strident theme 2/4, first heard bar 21
      1. 3. Lyrical, slow moving theme, first heard bar 73
  2. Varies the themes
    1. changes words and metre
  3. Themes are alternated
    1. repetitions are not exact
Instrumentation
1. solo tenor
2. accompaniment: Woodwind, Brass, Percussion and strings
  1. Quiet dynamics
  2. soft timbres
  3. Homophonic texture
3. 'air is humming'
  1. strings us harmonics
  2. tremolo
West Side Story
1. composed: 1957
2. set in New York
3. Rival gangs: Jets and Sharks
4. Tony and Maria are in Love
5. 'Something Coming' is Tony's first solo
Musicals
1. Plays except a lot of it is sung in a popular style by actors
2. developed in the 1920's
3. Leonard Bernstein
  1. American
  2. Composed 'West Side Story'
4. Take inspiration from rhythms and harmonies of 20th century classical music and jazz

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Bernstein - 'Somethings coming'

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	Created by Wimbledon35 about 10 years ago