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El Salón México by Aaron Copland: A Study and Comparison of the Orchestral Score and Two Transcriptions for Band

Svanoe, Erika Kirsten
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243886091

Abstract Details

2009, Doctor of Musical Arts, Ohio State University, Music.
Aaron Copland completed the orchestral score to El Salón México in 1936 marking a turning point in his career. The piece received more performances in the year following its completion than any of his previous orchestral works. It was well received by both critics and audiences due to his focus on melody and shift in thinking towards using the “simplest possible means” to make the music more accessible to the listener. Mark Hindsley completed a band arrangement of El Salón México in 1966 that included numerous changes to the meter and rhythmic notation found in Copland’s orchestral score. The author conducted a comparative analysis of Copland’s published orchestral score, the El Salón México manuscript materials, Bernstein’s arrangements for piano, and Hindsley’s transcription for band. This investigation sought to determine why Hindsley chose to include metric alterations that differ from the orchestral score, and how he decided what meters would be appropriate. The study of Copland’s manuscript materials of El Salón México revealed that Copland simplified the meter and rhythmic notation after the composition was complete. These rhythmic alterations were completed during the orchestration process in an effort to make the piece more performable. Much of Copland’s original conception of rhythmic notation, that appears in his manuscript sketches, also appear in Bernstein’s piano arrangements. In addition, many of the alterations Hindsley utilized were similar to the metric and rhythmic notation in Bernstein’s arrangements. In some sections of the music, Bernstein’s and Hindsley’s notation more closely match Copland’s original conception of rhythmic notation than the orchestral score. The comparative analysis also revealed Hindsley’s scoring techniques, including heavy doubling, unnecessary changing of wind instrument timbres and numerous changes to meter and beaming. The author created a new arrangement for band that restores all the orchestral meters and modernizes the instrumentation and orchestration. The intent was to provide today’s conductors the option of using a transcription more closely related to the published orchestral score.
Russel Mikkelson, DMA (Advisor)
Hilary Apfelstadt, PhD (Committee Member)
Richard Blatti, MM (Committee Member)
Kinney Daryl, PhD (Committee Member)
174 p.
Music
Copland; Hindsley; El Salon Mexico; transcription; arrangement; rhythmic notation

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Svanoe, E. K. (2009). El Salón México by Aaron Copland: A Study and Comparison of the Orchestral Score and Two Transcriptions for Band [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243886091

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Svanoe, Erika. El Salón México by Aaron Copland: A Study and Comparison of the Orchestral Score and Two Transcriptions for Band. 2009. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243886091.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Svanoe, Erika. "El Salón México by Aaron Copland: A Study and Comparison of the Orchestral Score and Two Transcriptions for Band." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1243886091

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1243886091
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© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.