Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Aarden, Bret

Keywords

George Gershwin, American Hybridity, Music Analysis

Area of Concentration

Music

Abstract

The goal of this document is to provide a useful analysis of the hybridity in George Gershwin's music, and by doing so show that the composer deliberately and consciously applied this hybridity in an attempt to assert his own assimilationist attitudes, as well as to portray what he believed to be the multicultural potential of the United States. In addition to the analyses provided in the document, many examples of contemporaneous and modern responses to Gershwin's music are presented. These examples all respond to hybrid elements in Gershwin's music in various ways. Many of these responses are quite critical of Gershwin's hybrid music. More often than not, negative responses to his music express some form of exclusionism or purism and serve to show that many people either misunderstood Gershwin and his musical goals, or disapproved of them. The hybrid elements found in Gershwin's music are applied to all aspects of the music: form, rhythm, harmony, and melody. There is evidence of inspiration being drawn from the Western art music tradition, African-American music, Latin music, and, in a few cases, Asian music. Perhaps the most significant musical cultures represented in the music of Gershwin are the Western art music tradition and African-American music, specifically jazz and blues.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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