Vernacular and African-American Musical Traditions in Bernstein’s Elegy for Mippy II
Felipe Brito | July 17, 2014 | Indiana University - Jacobs School of Music
Published at Music in The United States (final project) with Dr. Amanda Sewell
In 1950, Leonard Bernstein published a set of five brief brass works commissioned by the Julliard Musical Foundation. Bernstein (1950) called this suite Brass Music, and dedicated the works to his brother, Burton “Burtie” Bernstein, naming each of the five movements after Burtie’s pets. Members of the New York Philharmonic gave the first performance of this compilation of brass works on April 8, 1959, at Carnegie Hall (Laird, 2002, p. 49). The employment of jazz and blues elements in this suite makes it a prime example of the influence of both vernacular and African-American musical traditions on Bernstein’s composition style. According to William Brooks in “Music in America: an Overview (Part 2)” appearing in The Cambridge History of American Music (1998), “Leonard Bernstein drew on both vernacular and ethnic streams, sometimes in the same work” (p. 260). The third piece in the sequence, Elegy for Mippy II, is probably the best example of vernacular and African-American musical tradition in Bernstein’s work. Swing feel, musical accidents, and a slow, easy tempo indicate a strong influence from African-American musical tradition, while vernacular musical tradition is honored through the accentuation, articulation, and frequent metric alterations in the piece.
As a unique rhythmic device throughout the piece, Bernstein suggests an unusual action alluding directly to “swing feel,” an essential African-American musical element of blues. A strong blues beat can be created using the feet, the guitar, clapping, or drums. In the score, Bernstein wrote (1950), “the trombonist should accompany himself by tapping one foot, mf, four to the bar” (p. 1). This directive gives a quality of swing feels to the piece. Foot tapping roots the performer in the rhythmic base of the piece, allowing for easier navigation of the complicated rhythmic structure and dynamic changes present in Elegy for Mippy II. By including the simple instruction to tap one’s foot, Bernstein created a unique rhythmic atmosphere for the piece, in which the trombonist accompanies himself with a tap of his foot. As reported by Niall O'Loughlin in The Musical Times (1968), “the trombone is liable to sudden outbursts of sound and erratic rhythms but is kept on a lead, so to speak, by the constant tapping of the player's foot, four to a bar, all through the piece” (p. 840).
Musical accidents are also evidence of African-American musical tradition’s influence in Bernstein’s Elegy for Mippy II. The key signature is free of flat and sharp symbols, but occasional accidents occur in specific spots, indicating the use of a blues scale. According to Jim Ferguson’s All Blues Scale for Jazz Guitar: Solos, Grooves & Patterns (2000), “blues scale consists of the minor pentatonic scale plus the ♯4th or ♭5th degree” (p. 6). From the first to the third measure, Bernstein added sharp accidents to the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth scale degrees, creating a direct reference to the blues scale.
The time signature and the tempo of Elegy for Mippy II are also evocative of African-American musical tradition. According to the musical score (1950), the trombone player should play the solo work “slow and easy” (p. 1). Bernstein employed a 12/8 time signature in the piece with a slow, measured tempo, which is characteristic of a blues ballad. As stated by Paul Laird in Leonard Bernstein: A Guide to Research (2002), “the immediate appeal of Bernstein’s music is strongly influenced by his frequent use of American vernacular musical references, including elements of jazz, [and] blues” (p. 32).
The composer’s approach to accentuation and articulation are indicative of vernacular musical traditions. According to Anthony N. Williams’s Interpretation of Jazz Influenced Solo Trombone Works by American Composers (2011), Elegy for Mippy II exhibits styles of articulation and accenting similar to Jack Cooper’s Sonata for Trombone (p. 64). Williams stated (2011),
“The performer should employ a bebop style by using a more pronounced legato tongue combined with heavily accented up-beats on all the sixteenth-note passages. In contrast, the eighth-note passages should be interpreted in an orchestral style by using a lighter legato tongue and broadening the sound” (p. 64).
In Bernstein’s score for Elegy for Mippy II (1950), the eighth-note passages on the first phrase (m. 1-4) have legato articulation. In contrast, the sixteen-note passage between measures thirteen and fourteen employs a legato tongue combined with heavily accented upbeats.
Frequent metric alterations are yet another hallmark of jazz vernacular tradition displayed in Bernstein’s piece for solo trombone. In Contemporary composition for the trombone: a survey of selected works, Stan Pethel (1981) stated that Bernstein’s Elegy for Mippy II is “traditional with rhythmic alterations, [and has] some jazz articulations” (p. 111). Metric variation in jazz is a process by which some notes with equal written time values are performed with unequal durations. As reported by Thomas Earl Senff in An Annotated Bibliography of The Unaccompanied Solo Repertoire for Trombone (1976), “the difference between the simple and compound metric pulses [in Bernstein’s Elegy for Mippy II] is further delineated by the performer, who accompanies himself by tapping his foot, mf, four beats to the bar” (p. 49). Measure three of the score supports this statement for example, with irrational rhythm or groupings representing a simple metric pulse against the complex 12/8 time signature. Senff (1976) also states that “The general compositional style of this work is contemporary, with emphasis on the jazz phrasing and frequent use of a duple metric pulse against the compound time signature” (p. 48).
Elegy for Mippy II, Bernstein’s only work written for solo trombone, is a prime example of vernacular and African-American influences in Bernstein’s compositions. The swing feel created by the performer’s bluesy foot tapping, the use of musical accidents and the slow, easy tempo in the 12/8 time signature all evoke elements of African-American musical tradition. The influence of vernacular musical tradition is exemplified through accentuation, legato articulation, and frequent metric alterations. Bernstein’s masterful combination of these influences attracted the attention and admiration of performers and critics alike, allowing it to become one of the most celebrated works for solo trombone (Herbert, 1986, p. 502).
References
Bernstein, Leonard. Elegy for Mippy I, horn & piano. S.l.: s.n.], 1950.
Bernstein, Leonard. Elegy for Mippy II: trombone solo. Farmingdale, N.Y.: Boosey & Hawkes u.a., 1950. Bernstein, Leonard. Fanfare for Bima: for brass ensemble. Full score [u. Stimmen]. Ed. London u.a.: Boosey & Hawkes, 1977.
Bernstein, Leonard. Rondo for Lifey: trumpet and piano. S.l.: Jalni, 1977.
Bernstein, Leonard. Waltz for Mippy III, for Tuba & Piano. S.l.: Schirmer, 1950. Duke, Cason Austin. A performer's guide to theatrical elements in selected trombone literature. Ann Arbor: Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company, 2001, p. VI.
Ferguson, Jim. All Blues Scale for Jazz Guitar: Solos, Grooves & Patterns, 2000, p. 6. Herbert, Trevor, Sep 1986, The Musical Times, Vol. 127, No. 1722 in Solo Trombone, [REVIEW], p. 502 Laird, Paul R. Leonard Bernstein: a guide to research. New York: Routledge, 2002, p. 32; p. 49. Nicholls, David, and William Brooks. "Music in America: an Overview (Part 2)." In The Cambridge history of American music, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 260. Nicholls, David, and Larry Starr. "Tonal traditions in art and music from 1920 to 1960." In The Cambridge history of American music, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1998, p. 481.
O'Loughlin, Niall – Sep 1968 – The Musical Times Vol. 109, No. 1507 in Bernstein Rondo for Lifey for Trumpet and Piano by Leonard Bernstein; Elegy for Mippy I, for Horn and Piano by Leonard Bernstein; Elegy for Mippy II, for Solo Trombone by Leonard Bernstein; Waltz for Mippy III, for Tuba and Piano by Leonard Bernstein, [REVIEW], p. 840
Pethel, Stan. Contemporary composition for the trombone: a survey of selected works, 1981, p. 111. Senff, Thomas Earl. An annotated bibliography of the unaccompanied solo repertoire for trombone, 1976, p. 48-49.
Williams, Anthony N. Interpretation of Jazz Influenced Solo Trombone Works by American Composers: Alec Wilder, William Goldstein, Richard Peaslee, and Jack Cooper, 2011, p. 64.
