Unlike Stravinsky’s ballet, Copland’s feels less internally driven. Using silence and frequent changes of harmonic material, it continually suspends its own sense of direction. Generally, Copland eschews both transition and that which to which it would transition to. In this way, it sometimes seems that storytelling itself propels development. This lends the music its apparently spatial and explorative character. The ballet, meanwhile, is not enough to quench our imagination of the story, which is motivated by the need to provide what the music seems to lack developmentally. This gives the music an intense evocative power. The tightly-knit themes of the music are very compelling in themselves, drawing in the listener in such a way that she forgets where she is in the music, and tending in this way to assuage concerns about absence of direction in the music.

Listening to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring gives me the impression of being in the grip of a kind of external, objective process. In this way, it succeeds in creating a musical representation of ritualistic compulsion. For the most part, Stravinsky does this through the rhythmic dimension. Here Stravinsky systematically violates our expectations, in such a way as to force the listener to take a more passive relationship to the music.

The emphatic insistence of the ever-unpredictable beat commands the listener’s attention and organizes the development of the music. Especially in the second part, everything else in the music seems transitory and secondary. The absence of a single tonal center intensifies the music’s reliance on rhythmic development. Hence its sense of totality and of submission, which lend themselves so well to the music’s task of representing ritualistically sanctioned violence.

From the onset, I could tell that this piece was going to be a bit different. Though there were similar sounds and rhythms at the beginning, the 2:29 mark began to paint a different picture for me. One in which birds were coming out, building their nests for the upcoming season of reproduction and warm weather. Though it is disjunct, the compositional element is quite genius. I do not know if is because it reminds me of the carelessness of birds for other birds’ melodies or because of its actual meticulous construction.

Another aspect that I found interesting was the 4:00 mark in which instruments form a repetitive rhythm that highly resembles a locomotive, or at least different components coming together as one for one cause. I cannot think of a comparable analogy for it pertaining spring, but it would probably the combination of sunlight, warmth, and rain, which makes the recreation of life possible. While I found the repetition interesting, I also found the the 14:55 mark interesting for the opposite reason. Just how we talked about jazz and its improvisation aspects, I feel like this piece also deserves a similar conversation. While not in terms of composition, — at least not to my knowledge — there seems to be a sense of personal freedom in the dancing. Although the dancers may be given a certain degree of freedom within the choreography, the dancing is disjointed in such way that gives each performer a personality, even if it is merely an illusion.

I really enjoyed Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and very much appreciated the choreography as well. The dancers personify the sounds of the instruments in this piece, as they move along to the sounds of the composition. In addition to coordinating movements with particular beats, the choreographer grouped dancers to match with groups of instruments, as evidenced principally in Part I, for the duration of minute 6:00 for example. In this instance, the dancers act out the various instrumental groupings, as these play separate sections of the music (ex. one group will represent the piccolo melody, while the other will act on the cymbal solo).

The relationship of dancers to the music is significant as, additionally they contribute to the piece with the sound of stomps. The chaos versus structure of the music is also demonstrated, as the dancers all act independently and many instruments play in conjunction at different pitches in dissonance (ex. 21:20), followed by a 21:35 where the dancers all act in unison to a sole instrumental group.

The contortion, bent and twisted nature of some of the dance moves, gives an affect that really contrasts with Copland’s piece, that is characterized by more free-flowing representations. “The Rite of Spring”, which is supposed to represent pagan Russia ironically uses doll-faced dancers with very contorted and rhythmic style. One part of the dance somewhat resembles the “Twirling Dervishes” from Turkey, while others represent conflicts, and many parts of the piece are characterized by tension.

I first saw Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” back in 2009 after the death of Merce Cunningham. One of pioneers of American modern Dance, Cunningham got his start working with Martha Graham as a soloist in her dance company. I remember searching for Graham’s work, and coming across “Appalachian Spring;” I’m struck just as much now as I was then by the enchanting simplicity of the piece. I think it’s important, when considering this piece to not only listen to the music, but to look at it as a whole. With music by Copland, choreography by Graham, and set design by Isamu Noguchi (designer of the famed “Noguchi Table”), this piece is sort of a crash course in American Modernism.

The use of all of these elements reminds me of the term gesamtkustwerk – Wagner’s notion of the totality of an artwork. What’s so striking, to me at least, is that “Appalachian Spring” achieves the same effect as Wagner’s operas; however, the piece is completely stripped of the lavishness we’ve seen with a lot of works from the 19^th century. Much like the dance and the set, there is a distinguishable ease to the Copland’s arrangement that perhaps comes from the sparse instrumentation, and the effortless melodic line.

I think this is more apparent when viewing the work as a whole, because you realize that it’s not about creating a work that is technically challenging and complex nor is it about the spectacle of the performance. The piece is avant-garde yet very accessible; it has a self-consciousness that accentuates the creative process.

The overall mood of this piece is peaceful and calm throughout. There is no conflict or dramatic tension. While objectively it is a fantastic work of art, I personally found it to be less eventful and drier than “The Rite of Spring”.

In Part II, the pace picks up around 1:12. The string instruments crescendo to forte  and increase in tempo. This is accompanied by the man in the black hat dancing with the five women. The man gives off an air of dignity and honor. The five dancing women demonstrate that the event is so significant that it involves an entire community. At first the dancing man is the focus of attention, but later in the fourth minute a woman takes over with similarly enthusiastic string accompaniment.

In Part III, the bride and groom dance together. A violin melody is played several times, including at 1:39. The simple and homely nature of the melody reminds me of a small-town American pioneer village. At 3:03 the preacher begins a dance of his own, this time with no hat. He dances extremely energetically, and the strings are frantic and tense. This leads up to him pointing at the couple at 4:30. The preacher seems to build up spiritual energy and direct it at the couple to form their marriage. This is the climax of the piece.

Throughout the piece such as at 6:58 of Part III, the four women and the preacher dance together. This indicates that the five of them together represent the congregation and community in which the wedding takes place. They provide a background and context for the bride and groom.

In Part IV, the bride and groom reunite in dance around 2:15. They dance joyfully in celebration. The melody of their dance in Part III is repeated at 3:00, like a Wagnerian leitmotif. The piece ends with the preacher and congregation departing around 5:35. The two lovers remain, as they are the focal point of the story. The music ends peacefully and quietly. However, the last few notes do not resolve and instead ask a question as the lovers embrace, ‘What next?’

This piece is energetic and frantic throughout. The clothing and regular beat pounded home by the strings in the introduction illustrate a primitive tribe. The viewer feels like an adventurer from a civilized land discovering the rituals and traditions of an undeveloped people.

At 6:25 the women in red enter the scene. The four groups then consecutively charge and retreat from each other, while the fast-paced and brassy background music indicates tension and even warfare. The drums and dissonant horn calls between 7:20 and 7:40 only add to the frantic mood. Around 8:15 the music transitions to a slower and more peaceful melody led by the woodwinds, but the flute trill in the background tells that tension remains under the surface. At this point the tribes are no longer in conflict, but instead dance in unison. At 11:13 the dancers fall and then rise. The music is brassy and fast. Clearly the passionate dance has not stopped.

The introduction of Part II is mystic and almost eerie. The strings play a dissonant melody in double-meter  The horns at 18:00 add to the mood with a quiet dissonant call of their own. At this point the viewer is in suspension and unsure of what to expect. One of the girls is singled out and surrounded. This girl remains the focal point of the rest of the piece. She stands stoically and unmoving for a long period of time as the keystone upon which the dancing and music is based. The music closely matches and drives the dancers’ movement, such as at 28:18 when the bearded men dance in circles around the chosen girl. At the end of the piece the music crescendos and the brass section is let loose. The tension and chaos of the music is matched by the chosen girl’s erratic dancing at 32:48. The section ends with the girl falling on the floor dead from exhaustion. Curiously, the last notes are played by high-pitched flutes. This gives the feeling that the girl’s light-weight spirit has been lifted up to the heavens in her sacrifice.

I enjoyed the way the music and dancing matched in a logical way in this piece. The piece truly conveys the mysticism and grandeur of an ancient and primitive tribal sacrifice, as well as the awe a newcomer would experience.

Having watched Copland’s Appalachian Spring after Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, I can’t help but interpret it by comparing it to the latter. The two ballets are strikingly different, particularly in their instrumentation, affect, and choreography.

In The Rite of Spring, the instrumentation was, most of the time, very full, especially since it featured a lot of percussion, whereas the instrumentation in Appalachian Spring seemed very sparse. Even during dramatic moments, such as when the preacher “warns of the dangers on the frontier” in part 3 (3:00-4:33), only a few instruments play at a time. Compared, for example, with the sacrificial dancer dancing to death in The Rite of Spring (around 32:00-end), where timpani, brass, woodwinds, and strings are all featured, Copland’s soundscape is very sparse, which creates a sense of openness and possibility–much like the settlers’ feelings in the ballet.

On a similar note, the overall affect of Copland’s ballet is very different from Stravinsky’s: while the latter is urgent, primal, and harsh, the former is hopeful and happy. To give two examples, the dancing in Stravinsky’s ballet begins with a pounding dissonant chord (4:00-5:05) that foretells the mania to follow, while Copland’s ballet opens with slow, bright melodies (0:00-2:10) that sound hopeful and cheerful (they made me think of a sunrise). Part of this difference stems from the instrumentation, but Copland’s piece also has much smoother and steadier rhythms than Stravinsky’s and uses dissonance much less extensively. A prominent example is Copland’s use of the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts” in part 3 (0:04-2:53) & part 4 (3:21-3:45): the melody and rhythm are very straightforward, the harmony is completely consonant, and the overall affect is happiness and hope. Moreover, using “Simple Gifts” and other American tunes (e.g., the dance at 1:28-2:00) creates a distinctly “American” soundscape (much like Ives’ “The Things Our Father’s Loved”), which fits the distinctly American scene portrayed in the ballet–obviously contrasting with the violent ancient ritual portrayed in The Rite of Spring.

One last difference I noticed was how the choreography related to the music itself. In Stravinsky’s ballet, the dancing matches the music very closely–the dancers move jerkily and completely in sync with the orchestra’s rhythm (e.g., during the opening scene or the sacrificial dance at the end), while in Copland’s ballet, the dancers move relatively independent of what the orchestra is doing. For me, then, a lot more emotion came from how the dancers were moving compared to Stravinsky’s ballet. For instance, when the preacher warns the settlers in part 3, the music is sparse and doesn’t often rhythmically fit what the dancer is doing; however, his facial expressions and violent movements clearly tell you that he’s concerned about something, and the music serves more to accent those effects.

To sum up, Copland’s sparse instrumentation, simpler and sweeter melodies, and relative independence between the dancers and orchestra shifts your attention to the story the dancers are acting out, and creates a distinctly “American pioneer” atmosphere of hope and uncertainty.

From my past experience watching ballet, I thought that ballet featured simply dancers on a usually empty stage, so the house, fence, and chair set-up for the ballet stage made it more interesting. In addition, the dancers were wearing costumes. The whole setup made it easier for me to grasp what was going on as the costumes distinguished the pastor, groom, and bride. I had trouble putting together what the dance was supposed to represent and putting together the dance and music. I felt that the music was subservient to the dance. Interestingly, I felt the Copland-esque feeling from Hoe Down in part 2, and this conveyed a familiar affect for me.

In some specifics, I have more questions I wanted to raise. It becomes clear that they are getting married in part 3, and the theme at the beginning of part three along with the interplay between the bride and the groom was fun to watch as they switched from a ballet-like dance to a ball-like dance. Before that, I had trouble putting together what the female solo in part 2 was supposed to convey.

In part 3, the pastor stands out as he takes off the hat and the female members of the town hold it and the music distinctly changes to a more solemn and slower pace at 3:09. This contrasts with the festivities that take place right before. This mood seems to be carried by the groom at 6:13 as there is a separation of the piano and the orchestra which seems to convey a sense of departure. The ominous sound continues into 1:05 of part 4.

However, from 1:55 in part 4, we see the couple becoming closer, suggesting a sense of closeness as they hold hands and the music becomes calmer. The rocking chair and the motion suggests that they will have a family and leave peacefully. The piece conveyed multiple scenes, and I had trouble putting everything together.

Copland clearly works within the tradition of Stravinsky in “Appalachian Spring.” He expands upon Stravinsky’s complex rhythms to create a more naturalistic sound-scape that gives rise to Martha Graham’s revolutionary style of choreography that is rhythmic, narrative, and relies on the dancer’s form. I found this piece to give rise to outstanding choreography and liked it even better than the Stravinsky because if its unique rhythms and its ability to change styles instantly.

The piece begins with a lyrical, slow melody in the woodwinds accompanied by a constant swell in the strings. It sets the stage for a “dream-world,” which Graham’s ballet becomes. The ballet is similar to theatre, and reminds me of Wagner’s style of “total art” — this time including dance as well as music and drama to tell a compelling narrative. A dramatic melody emerges suddenly out of the lyrical swell at 2:25, with complex and sporadic rhythms in the percussion and woodwinds that are accentuated by the dancer’s own percussive hand claps.

In Part Two, a male dancer leads a group of female dancers in a much more traditionally melodic dance, in a bouncing 4/4. This melody clearly has a place within the theatrical piece, seeking to invoke a style of dance of the community that is shown. This device is used again in Part Three, when Copland plays upon a familiar folk melody by altering the rhythm and tonality, playing the same theme in different keys and in different, choppy syncopations. This again lends itself to the dancer’s precise yet emotionally expressive movements.

Finally, in Part Four, the music returns to the lyrical theme of the beginning, with “the wife” using the music to do a meditative dance. The return of the music seems to help the audience exit the “dream world” just as they had entered in, and the characters leave the stage just as they had entered in the beginning. Overall, I found “Appalachian Spring” to be a very interesting and lyrical piece of music that inspired expressive choreography and storytelling.