El Salon Mexico Copland

El Salon Mexico by Aaron Copland: A Study and Comparison of the Orchestral Score and Two Transcriptions for Band D. M. A. Document Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Erika Kirsten Svanoe, M. M. Graduate Program in Music The Ohio State University 2009 DMA Document Committee: Russel Mikkelson, Advisor Hilary Apfelstadt Richard Blatti Daryl Kinney Copyright by Erika Kirsten Svanoe 2009 Abstract Aaron Copland completed the orchestral score to El Salon Mexico 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 Salon Mexico 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 Salon Mexico 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 Salon Mexico 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 ii 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. iii Dedication Dedicated to my husband and closest friend Erik Evensen. v Acknowledgements I would like to thank my teachers at the Ohio State University for their help and guidance in completing this project, including my committee members Hilary Apfelstadt, Daryl Kinney, Richard Blatti, and especially my advisor Russel Mikkelson who proposed the idea for project and guided the work throughout the process. I would also like to thank him and the Ohio State University Wind Symphony for their preparation of my arrangement that resulted in a wonderful performance. Thank you to Philip McCarthy from Boosey & Hawkes, and James Kendrick and Jessica Rauch from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music for assisting with the various permissions needed to complete this project. I would also like to thank the librarians at the Library of Congress for their assistance, particularly Loras Schissel for mailing a copy of a necessary manuscript.

Finally, I’d like to thank my family for all of their support the past three years. I need to give a special thank you to my husband Erik Evensen, who has been my greatest supporter. v Vita January 26, 1976………………. Born, Janesville, WI, USA 1999……………………………….. B. M. E. University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire 1999-2001……………………….. Music Educator, Mukwonago, WI 2001-2003……………………….. Graduate Assistant, Oklahoma State University 2003……………………………….. M. M. Wind Conducting, Oklahoma State University 2003-2006……………………….. Lecturer, University of New Hampshire 2006-2009……………………….. Doctoral Conducting Associate, Ohio State University 2009-present ……………………. Director of Bands, Bemidji State University Field of Study Major Field: Music vi Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ii Dedication …………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………………………… v Vita …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. vi List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………………….. viii List of Photos ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. xii List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………………………… xiii Chapter 1: Introduction and Procedures …………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter 2: El Salon Mexico for Orchestra ………………………………………………………….. 7 Chapter 3: The Mark Hindsley Arrangement for Band ………………………………………… 45 Chapter 4: The Erika Svanoe Arrangement for Band……………………………………………. 82 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Suggestions for further Research ……………………………….. 92 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 100 Appendix A: Copland’s “Suggested revisions on band arrangement” ……………………… 103 Appendix B: El Salon Mexico for Band arranged by Erika Svanoe…………………………. 05 vii List of Figures Figure 2. 1: Folksong material used in El Salon Mexico ………………………………………… 23 Figure 2. 2: Copland, El Salon Mexico, melodic material, mm. 8-13 ……………………….. 23 Figure 2. 3: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 23-26, Trumpet …………………………………. 24 Figure 2. 4: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 39-44, Bassoon 1 ………………………………. 24 Figure 2. 5: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 61-64, Violin 1, 2, Viola (compressed)….. 25 Figure 2. 6: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 6-81, Violin 1…………………………………… 25 Figure 2. 7: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 106-110, Clarinet 1 …………………………….. 26 Figure 2. 8: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 135-139, Violin 1………………………………. 26 Figure 2. 9: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 185-190, Clarinet 1 ……………………………. 27 Figure 2. 10: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 256-260, English Horn……………………… 27 Figure 2. 11: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 211-214, Clarinet 1 …………………………… 28 Figure 2. 2: Copland, ARCO 28-A (Piano Sketch), Rhythmic notation, mm. 1-3………. 32 Figure 2. 13: Copland/Bernstein, El Salon Mexico for Two Pianos, Rhythmic notation, mm. 1-3 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 32 Figure 2. 14: Copland, El Salon Mexico, Rhythmic notation, mm. 1-5……………………… 32 Figure 2. 15: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 124-128, Violin 1…………………………….. 33 Figure 2. 16: Copland, ARCO 28-A (Piano Sketch), Corresponding music to Figure 2. 5 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 33 viii Figure 2. 17: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 160-168 (compressed) ……………………… 34 Figure 2. 18: Copland, ARCO 28-A (Piano Sketch), Corresponding music to Figure 2. 17 …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 34 Figure 2. 19: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 130-135, Strings……………………………….. 35 Figure 2. 0: Example of revised rhythmic notation in Symphonic Ode……………………. 37 Figure 3. 1: Hindsley Orchestration Chart …………………………………………………………… 51 Figure 3. 2: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 40-44. Bassoons, Contrabassoon, Alto and Tenor Saxophones ………………………………………………………. 53 Figure 3. 3: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 247-251, Strings………………………………… 54 Figure 3. 4: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 247-251, Clarinets …… 54 Figure 3. 5: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 1-64, Strings …………………………………… 55 Figure 3. 6: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 61-64, Clarinets, Cornets ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 55 Figure 3. 7: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 73-80, Strings …………………………………… 56 Figure 3. 8: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 73-80, Flutes, Clarinets, Cornets ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 6 Figure 3. 9: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 1-4, Trumpets …………………………………… 57 Figure 3. 10: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 1-4, Cornets, Trumpets ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 57 Figure 3. 11: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 20-25, Bass Clarinet, Bassoons, Trombone 1 ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 59 ix Figure 3. 12: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 0-25, Bassoons, Saxophones…………………………………………………………………………………………………… 59 Figure 3. 13: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 221-226 …………………………………………. 61 Figure 3. 14: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 221-226 ……………….. 62 Figure 3. 15: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, 1st Version Manuscript (ARCO 28-D) mm. 73-80 ……………………………………………………………………………….. 63 Figure 3. 16: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 3-80 ……………………………………………. 65 Figure 3. 17: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 73-80 ………………….. 66 Figure 3. 18: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 372-375, Viola………………………………… 69 Figure 3. 19: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 373-377, Clarinet 2, 3 ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 69 Figure 3. 20: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 377-379, Violin 2, Viola ………………….. 70 Figure 3. 1: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 380-382, Clarinet 2, 3 ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 70 Figure 3. 22: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 14-15, Trumpets………………………………. 71 Figure 3. 23: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 14-15, Cornets, Trumpets ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 71 Figure 3. 24: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 316-319, Trumpet 1, 2………………………. 72 Figure 3. 5: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 316-319, Trumpet 1.. 72 Figure 3. 26: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 324-326, Horns ……………………………….. 73 Figure 3. 27: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 324-326, Horns……… 73 Figure 3. 28: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 252-256, Violins …………………………….. 75 x Figure 3. 29: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 252-256, Clarinets 1, 2…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75 Figure 3. 30: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 57-258, Viola………………………………… 76 Figure 3. 31: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 257-258, Clarinet 1… 76 Figure 3. 32: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 10, melodic material…………………………. 77 Figure 3. 33: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, m. 10, melodic material …. 77 Figure 3. 34: Comparison of rhythmic notation for music corresponding with orchestral mm. 156-172 in the Piano Sketch (ARCO 28-A), Bernstein arrangement for solo piano, and Hindsley’s arrangement for band………………………………………………………………… 8 Figure 3. 35: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 59, Bassoon …………………………………… 80 Figure 3. 36: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, m. 59, Bassoon …………….. 80 Figure 3. 37: Copland, El Salon Mexico, m. 313, Trumpet 1 in C…………………………….. 80 Figure 3. 38: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, m. 313, Trumpet (displayed in concert pitch) ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 80 Figure 3. 39: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 60-161, melodic material in Trombone 1, 2, Violin 1, Viola ……………………………………………………………………….. 81 Figure 3. 40: Copland/Hindsley, El Salon Mexico for Band, mm. 160-161, melodic material in Horn 2, 4, Trombone 1, 2 ………………………………………………………………… 81 xi List of Photos Photo 2. 1: ARCO 28. 1, Music corresponding to published orchestral score m. 321…… 40 Photo 2. 2: ARCO 28-A, Music corresponding to published orchestral score m. 321….. 41 Photo 2. 3: ARCO 28, Music corresponding to published orchestral score m. 378……… 2 Photo 2. 4: ARCO 28a copy 2, mm. 24-25, Bass Clarinet, Bassoons, Trumpet in C, Trombone …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 43 Photo 2. 5: ARCO 28-A, Music corresponding to published orchestral score mm. 24-25 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 44 xii List of Tables Table 2. 1: Summary of published scores and manuscripts …………………………………….. 31 Table 3. 1: Comparison of Instrumentation between Copland Orchestral Score and Hindsley Band Score………………………………………………………………………………………. 49 Table 4. 1: Comparison of Instrumentation between Copland Orchestral Score, Hindsley Band Score, and Svanoe Band Score…………………………………………………………………. 85 xiii Chapter 1: Introduction and Procedures Background Transcriptions and arrangements of works from other mediums hold an important place in the literature of the wind band. For much of the band’s history, a large part of the available literature included orchestral transcriptions. While there has been an enormous increase in the percentage of original compositions for band in the past several decades, quality transcriptions of significant works from other mediums continue to add depth and variety to the literature as a whole.

When a conductor is faced with the task of performing an arrangement or transcription, it is important to refer to the original version during score study and preparation. If the arranger of the new version has made changes that may affect the performance of the piece, it is vital to know what these alterations are, and if they are appropriate. In some cases, changes in an arrangement may not accurately reflect the original composer’s intentions, while other changes are appropriate due to the difference in medium. One such band transcription that deserves a thorough comparative analysis and evaluation is Mark Hindsley’s arrangement of Aaron Copland’s El Salon Mexico. While it is considered to be one of Copland’s lighter orchestral works, it is an important piece because of its place in his compositional output as a whole. It was one of the first works that represented a conscious shift in Copland’s compositional style towards using what he 1 called the “simplest possible terms. ” Copland’s perception that the majority of concert audiences were apathetic towards any music but the established classics was responsible for this shift in thinking. As the audience for new music continued to decrease, Copland experimented with music he thought would appeal to a wider audience. 1 El Salon Mexico was the first successful piece in this new style and helped Copland gain widespread popularity. Hindsley’s band arrangement is significant not only because of Copland’s status as one of America’s premiere composers, but because of its widespread use by bands. It has appeared on several state high school contest lists including Texas, Florida, Arkansas, and Virginia and was recorded by both the University of Illinois and the Cincinnati Conservatory. 3 It also appears regularly on collegiate band programs. 4 However, Hindsley made several editorial decisions, particularly regarding meter, which differ significantly from the score of the orchestral work. One purpose of this study is to compare Aaron Copland’s El Salon Mexico for orchestra with Mark Hindsley’s transcription for band and to evaluate the editorial changes made in the band version.

Finally, a new arrangement of El Salon Mexico for band was created in which all of Copland’s orchestral meters were restored. Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (1900-1990) is one of the most significant American composers of the 20th century. He won the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Music Critics’ Circle 1 2 Copland, “Composer from Brooklyn,” xxvi. Berger, Aaron Copland, 30. Shattingermusic. com 4 CBDNA Report 2 Award for Appalachian Spring and his film scores earned him four Academy Award nominations and one win for The Heiress in 1949. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1954, received the Academy’s Gold Medal in 1956, and served as the Academy’s president in 1971. Other awards included a MacDowell Medal in 1961, a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, a Kennedy Center Honor in 1979, a Medal of the Arts in 1986, and a Congressional Gold Medal in 1986, as well as several honorary doctorates. While Copland’s music has been acknowledged by prestigious awards, it is also recognized by much of the American populous because of its infiltration into popular culture. His music has been used to promote the Olympics, the armed forces and the United States beef industry, because “when it comes to music that summons up images of America in the minds of American listeners, Copland is unique… in each case the promoters have wanted to tap into deep-seated feelings that, somehow, this music evokes like almost nothing else. 6 The youngest of five children, Aaron Copland was born on November 14, 1900 in Brooklyn, New York to his parents Harris and Sarah Copland.

Throughout his youth Copland studied piano, theory, and composition with various teachers and supplemented his education by attending recitals and concerts. In 1921 he traveled to Paris where he studied composition with Nadia Boulanger, his most influential teacher. While studying with Boulanger Copland produced his first orchestral score, Grohg, which he completed upon his return to the United States in 1924. In addition, Boulanger arranged for two 6 Howard Pollack. “Copland, Aaron. ” In Grove Music Online. Burr, “Copland, the West and American Identity,” 22. 3 performances of Copland’s organ concerto to be performed by both the New York and Boston Symphony Orchestras with herself as soloist. The performance of the Organ Symphony under the baton of Sergey Koussevitzky initiated an important relationship for Copland.

Koussevitzky became one of Copland’s greatest collaborators and champions. 7 Upon Copland’s return the United States, he felt the need to compose modern music that was identifiably American. He began to incorporate jazz into his symphonic works such as Music for Theatre (1925) and the Piano Concerto (1926). 8 While Copland had the support of Koussevitzky and several other musicians, critics, and artists, much of the press regarded his music with skepticism. His Piano Concerto, performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra with himself as pianist, had a particularly unfavorable reception. 9 Olin Downs of the New York Times wrote “It progresses by fits and starts…confirming [the listener’s] suspicions that Mr. Copland needs a firmer hold of principles of musical structure… Here is a young man who can surely not remain content with the praise of partisans or knowledge of his own artistic shortcomings. ”10 Public audiences had similar reactions. At a performance of the Piano Concerto in Mexico there were so many hisses from the audience during the performance that Copland looked to the conductor, Carlos Chavez, for a sign of whether to continue the performance. 11 Copland’s compositional activity decreased in the late 1920s. He entered a selfreflective period in which he considered his own compositional path, as well as the path of American music. In his 1939 essay “Composer from Brooklyn” he stated: 7 8 Howard Pollack. “Copland, Aaron. ” In Grove Music Online. Crist, Music for the Common Man, 42. 9 Pollack, “Copland, Aaron. ” In Grove Music Online. 10 Berger, Aaron Copland, 24. 11 Copland and Perlis, Copland, 216. 4 I began to feel an increasing dissatisfaction with the relations of the music-loving public and the living composer. The old “special” public of the modern-music concerts had fallen away, and the conventional concert public continued apathetic of indifferent to anything but the established classics. It seemed to me that we composers were in danger of working in a vacuum. Moreover, an entirely new public for music had grown up around the radio and phonograph. It made no sense to ignore them and to continue writing as if they did not exist. I felt that it was worth the effort to see if I couldn’t say what I had to say in the simplest possible terms. 12 It was El Salon Mexico that “developed and heralded his new style. 13 It embodied Copland’s new tendency toward “imposed simplicity. ”14 For the untrained listener the use of folksongs and programmatic title helped bridge the gap from absolute music. It was accessible for audiences who did not have musical training or the ability to perceive formal structures. The piece was immediately popular receiving more performances than any of his other orchestral works and brought Copland’s new compositional style to the attention of the public. El Salon Mexico established Copland as a “successful” composer and was directly responsible for his publishing contract with Boosey & Hawkes. Impressive honors would soon follow, including a commission from the Columbia Broadcasting System for Music for Radio (1937), election to the National Institue of Arts and Letters in 1942, and the 1945 Pulitzer Prize in music for Appalachian Spring. 15 In the decade that followed 1935, Copland did not entirely abandon writing in his more abstract style, though most of his efforts had some element of functionality, such as An Outdoor Overture (1939), composed for students, or included external matter that 12 13 Copland “Composer from Brooklyn,” xxvi.

Berger, Aaron Copland, 30. 4 Copland, “Composer from Brooklyn”, xxvi. 15 Berger, Aaron Copland, 30-31. 5 gave the piece an element of being programmatic, such as Appalachian Spring (1944). Many of Copland’s most popular and well-known works are from this time span, including Fanfare for the Common Man (1942) and Rodeo (1942). Pieces such as his Piano Sonata (1941) and Sonata for Violin and Piano (1943) are representative of his more abstract style during this time period. However, it was not until he composed his Third Symphony (1946) that he composed for the orchestra without programmatic elements. 6 Copland commented on what was perceived as an abandonment of his more complex music in his 1967 addition to “Composer from Brooklyn. ” The assertion that I wished “to see if I couldn’t say what I had to say in the simplest possible terms” and the mention of “an imposed simplicity” were taken to mean that I had renounced my more complex and “difficult” music… these remarks of mine emphasized a point of view which, although appropriate at the time of writing…seems to me to constitute an oversimplification of my aims and intentions, especially when applied to a consideration of my subsequent work and of my work as a whole. 7 While the ten years that followed El Salon Mexico seemed to focus on Copland’s new accessible style, he later felt that there was no disparity between his two compositional styles, the simple and the complex.

Rather, he adapted his technique to the materials with which he chose to work. [There is] a continuing discussion concerning the apparent dichotomy between my “serious” and my “popular” works. I can only say that those commentators who would like to split me down the middle into two because I take into account with each new piece the purpose for which it is intended and the nature of the musical materials with which I begin to work. Musical ideas engender pieces, and the ideas by their character dictate the nature of the composition to be written. 18 16 17 Berger, Aaron Copland, 32. Copland, “Composer from Brooklyn,” xxvi-xxvii. 18 Ibid. , xxxii. 6 By the late 1940s Copland was widely regarded as the leading American composer of his time. While he had lived in Manhattan for many years, he moved to Ossining, New York in 1952. Through the 1950s he continued to lecture, teach and write and in 1958 began a 20-year international conducting career, presenting both this own works and the music of over 80 other composers. In 1961 Copland moved into a larger home located near Peekskill, New York where he lived until his death. He did not compose much after 1972 and began to suffer short-term memory lapses in the mid1970s. After being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s he was under medical supervision by the mid-1980s. He died of respiratory failure on December 2, 1990. 19 El Salon Mexico During a visit to Mexico in the autumn of 1932, Copland conceived of writing a piece based on Mexican themes. From the beginning, he connected the piece with a popular dance hall in Mexico City called Salon Mexico. He realized he did not want to attempt to reflect the profound, historical side of Mexico since he felt he did not truly know the country. Instead he wanted to reflect this tourist “hot spot” where he also felt a close connection with the Mexican people.

While the work references several Mexican folk songs, Copland transforms the melodies into his own musical language. He said “It wasn’t the music that I heard, but the spirit that I felt there, which attracted me. Something of that spirit is what I hope to have put into my music. The work was completed in 1936 and premiered by Carlos Chavez and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Mexico the summer of the following year. 19 Pollack, “Copland, Aaron. ” In Grove Music Online. 7 El Salon Mexico is a significant work in Copland’s compositional output for several reasons. First, this piece came at a time when Copland was beginning a shift in thinking toward trying to say things in the “simplest possible terms. ” The works that followed the Symphonic Ode (1929), the composition that marks the culmination of Copland’s austere writing up to that point, gradually evolved towards a generally more accessible aesthetic. Copland’s focus on melody and the use of Mexican folksongs in El Salon Mexico were important elements that helped Copland write in a more accessible style, as well as attain wider audience appeal of his music. Second, this was Copland’s first work to utilize borrowed folk tunes, a tool he would use throughout his career. While some of the material he borrowed is a direct quotation, his treatment of folksongs more often employs a transformation of the materials, making them a part of Copland’s compositional language, deftly retaining the spirit and character of the tunes. Copland’s motive for turning to these melodies was “an aspect of his campaign to achieve a simple style and a content that would engage the interest of a wider audience. ”20 Third, due to greater interest in his music, Copland became enormously successful. El Salon Mexico introduced the composer to a larger audience and earned him popular acclaim.

Compared to Statements and the Short Symphony, which received hardly any performances, by 1938 El Salon Mexico had been performed by 21 orchestras. Also, it was at the 1938 European premier of this work that Copland met Benjamin Britten, who in turn introduced Copland to his publisher Boosey & Hawkes. El Salon 20 Berger, Aaron Copland, 57. 8 Mexico, along with Music for Radio, were the first works to be published by the London firm. El Salon Mexico clearly marks a compositional turning point for Copland in several ways. His conscious efforts to appeal to a wider audience, use of folksong materials, and the success that followed the premiere all contribute to the fact that this work was an important milestone in Copland’s compositional output. Several arrangements of the piece were created. Leonard Bernstein arranged both the solo piano and two piano versions in 1941 and 1943 respectively. A truncated version titled “Fantasia Mexicana” dated 1952 was adapted and orchestrated by Johnny Green for the MGM motion picture Fiesta. Arturo Toscanini wrote an unpublished arrangement for piano, possibly for his own study of the orchestral score. 21 Mark Hindsley completed his arrangement for concert band in 1966. While Copland created several band arrangements of his own works, as well as composing Emblems (1964) for band, he did not create a band version of El Salon Mexico. His first transcription for band was An Outdoor Overture (1938), originally composed for high school orchestra.

The band transcription was completed at the request of Edwin Franko Goldman and was premiered by the Goldman Band in 1942. The other transcriptions Copland completed for band include Variations on a Shaker Melody (1956), Preamble for a Solemn Occasion (1949), Inaugural Fanfare (1977), and Red Pony Suite (1948). 22 Since the Toscanini is an unpublished reduction of the published orchestral score and the Green is a truncated version of the orchestral score, these two versions did not factor into this study. 2 Briskey, “The Symphonic Band Repertoire of Aaron Copland,” 38-42. 9 21 Mark Hindsley (1905-1999) created the band arrangement of El Salon Mexico in 1966. Hindlsey was the Director of Bands at the University of Illinois from 1948 until he retired in 1970. He completed dozens of arrangements for band, most of which are selfpublished and still available from his son, Roger Hindsley, who currently distributes his music. 23 The only band arrangement of Hindsley’s that is not currently self-published is El Salon Mexico, published by Boosey & Hawkes. According to a 1982 survey by Earle Gregory, it was (and likely still is) one of Hindsley’s most often played transcriptions. The distribution capabilities of Boosey & Hawkes certainly contribute to its availability and popularity. 24 Review of Related Research The majority of literature regarding El Salon Mexico relates to the background story of the composition or how the work fits into Copland’s compositional output as a whole. There is no in-depth analysis of the work to date. This lack of analytical research is also noted by Leo Philip Fishman in his recent dissertation “Theoretical Issues and Presumptions in the Early Music of Aaron Copland” (2007). Fishman states that “there has been a dearth of useful research concentrating on theoretical aspects of his music while there has been a great deal of work on contextualizing Copland as a way to explain his oeuvre. “25 Fishman’s study concentrates on four early works of Copland’s, none of which is El Salon Mexico. www. hindsleytranscriptions. com Gregory, “Mark H. Hindsley: The Illinois Years,” 162-3. 5 Fishman, “Theoretical Issues and Presumptions in the Music of Aaron Copland,” vi. 10 24 23 The most relevant literature that addresses questions posed by this study is either limited in scope or tangential to the topic. Only two limited analyses of the orchestral El Salon Mexico were discovered. No literature could be found regarding Hindsley’s band transcription. Topics that were considered tangential but supportive to the study include studies of the piano arrangements of El Salon Mexico by Leonard Bernstein, Mark Hindsley’s other arrangements for band, and Copland’s use of metric and rhythmic notation in other works. The most relevant literature within these topics is summarized here.

The best information that could be considered an analysis of El Salon Mexico is by Gerald Abraham. When Boosey & Hawkes published the miniature score of El Salon, it was traditional for analytical notes to be included.

The four-page insert gives a brief summary of the story of the Mexican dance hall and Copland’s inspiration for writing the piece. Most of the information outlines Copland’s use and alteration of Mexican folksongs and where they appear in various guises throughout the piece. Abraham outlines his interpretation of the form, which is debatable but certainly workable version of the formal structure. The notes are of high quality and give an excellent summary of the work, but are very limited in scope. 26 “A Comparison and Analysis of Aaron Copland’s El Salon Mexico for Orchestra, Piano Solo, and Two Piano Four Hands” by Richard Glazier gives a brief analysis of the orchestral version and documents some of the differences between it and the piano arrangements by Leonard Bernstein. Most of the analysis is drawn from Gerald Abraham’s notes published in the miniature score, though Glazier additionally illustrates 26 Abraham, “Aaron Copland: El Salon Mexico. ” 11 Copland’s use of polyrhythm and polytonality. In comparing the rhythmic notation of the orchestral and piano versions and reading Copland’s essay “On the notation of rhythm,” Glazier recognizes that Copland simplified the meter in the orchestral version. Some of the other rhythmic notation that appears in the piano versions he credits to Bernstein, but in some cases this notation originally appears in Copland’s hand in the manuscript materials. It is clear that Copland’s manuscripts of El Salon Mexico were not examined as part of this study.

Glazier’s purpose is to document some of the differences in the piano versions and defend them as artistic additions to piano literature. 27 Research regarding Copland’s practice of rewriting rhythmic notation in his orchestral works includes “The Compositional History of Aaron Copland’s Symphonic Ode” by Elizabeth Bergman Crist. She constructs the history of the composition through existing manuscript materials and correspondence. Crist demonstrates the process and circumstances that led to Copland’s rebarring of the Symphonic Ode, and substantiates that Koussevitzky was largely responsible for initiating these changes. The article also provides evidence that Copland preferred his original rhythmic notation. This was discovered through his restoration of the original notation in the revised 1955 edition. 28 Research regarding Mark Hindsley’s band transcriptions was done by Earle Suydam Gregory and documented in his dissertation “Mark H. Hindsley: The Illinois Years. It documents the professional activities of Hindsley with emphasis on his research into the construction of instruments, his contributions to the University of Illinois band building, and his contributions to band literature through transcriptions. 27 28 Glazier, “A Comparison and Analysis of Aaron Copland’s El Salon Mexico. ” Crist, “The Compositional History of Aaron Copland’s Symphonic Ode. ” 12 This includes a study of the scoring practices of Hindsley by examining a sample of his orchestral transcriptions for band and an analysis of how each nstrument was utilized. The research confirms and expands much of Hindsley’s own writings in Hindsley On Bands. 29 Procedures and Purpose of the Study I first became familiar with El Salon Mexico when I was playing clarinet on Suite from Billy the Kid with a youth orchestra. It was at this time I became interested in Copland’s other works for orchestra. I did not formally study the piece until I was asked to conduct Mark Hindsley’s band transcription for an audition at the Ohio State University. During the course of my study, I learned that there were several places in Hindsley’s score where the meters published in the band arrangement differ from the meters in Copland’s original orchestral score.

These discrepancies led me to several questions. What is happening in the original orchestral score that may have initiated the meter changes in the band score? What are all of the meter changes that Hindsley utilized? Why did the arranger choose to use different meters and how were the meters chosen? Do other arrangements of El Salon Mexico also alter the meter? Did Copland approve of the changes Hindsley made? Is a new band arrangement of El Salon Mexico with the orchestral meters restored warranted? These are the questions that led me to develop this study in the manner that follows. At the start of this process, I determined that a new band arrangement of El Salon Mexico was warranted and could be an important addition to band literature. The changing of meters and beaming in arrangements, such as the Hindsley arrangement, can 29 Gregory, “Mark H. Hindsley: The Illinois Years. ” 13 pose difficulties for musicians. In the case of El Salon Mexico, many college wind players learn the piece in the band arrangement, but then must relearn the different meters when called upon to play the original orchestral version. Regardless of whether changing the original meters for an arrangement is an improvement or not, the relearning of music in different meters is a difficult task for both conductors and players.

Since it is highly unlikely that a different edition of the orchestral version of El Salon Mexico will be available, I felt it was important that band directors have an arrangement in which the meters of the orchestral version were maintained. In addition, Hindsley’s arrangement was conceived for a large band with over 90 musicians. College bands of this size were much more common in the 1960s than they are today. Today’s collegiate bands use a smaller number of musicians, more in line with a wind ensemble instrumentation. This trend gained acceptance at many colleges and universities in the 1970s. 30 Even the majority of today’s large concert bands are significantly smaller than Hindsley’s model. The new band arrangement of El Salon Mexico was created both to restore the orchestral meters and modernize the instrumentation. I felt many of the questions posed could be answered by doing a comparative analysis between Copland’s orchestral score and Hindsley’s band arrangement.

This was completed in two stages. First, I completed an overall study of the orchestral work, with special consideration for rhythm and meter.

Second, I compared several aspects of the Hindsley band arrangement to the orchestral score. These aspects included instrumentation, meter, beaming, key signatures, and overall scoring. 30 Battisti, Winds of Change, 68. 14 Since a dialogue with either the composer or arranger was impossible, I decided to review all of the relevant sketches, manuscripts, and correspondence between Copland and Hindsley. To accomplish this I visited the Library of Congress and examined all of the materials relating to El Salon Mexico. It was my premise that an examination of Copland’s sketches and original manuscripts would lead to a deeper understanding of the work and its compositional process, as well as confirm possible errata found during the analysis. To discover any possible contact between Hindsley and Copland, I also searched for and examined correspondence relating to the band arrangement. Chapter Two examines Copland’s orchestral score of El Salon Mexico. This includes a background of its creation and how it fits into a shift in thinking at this point in Copland’s compositional output. It includes a brief formal analysis noting thematic development and use of folksong.

The use of meter, beaming, and rhythm is also examined in depth. Chapter Three discusses Hindsley’s arrangement of El Salon Mexico for band. This will include changes made by Hindsley in the band arrangement pertaining to instrumentation, meter, beaming, key signatures, and overall scoring. All metric alterations in the Hindsley are documented and cataloged according to the type of alteration made, and the origins of these alterations are explored. The publication history, relevant correspondence, revisions to the original band manuscript and errata are also be examined. Chapter Four compares the new arrangement for band, created by myself, to the Mark Hindsley band arrangement and Copland’s original orchestral score. It includes a discussion of the decision making process regarding instrumentation, use of key 15 signatures, overall scoring, meters, and beaming. It also documents changes made due to errata found in both the Hindsley band arrangement, as well as the original orchestral score.

Chapter Five presents a summary of the findings of the study and provides suggestions for further research. Description of Appendices Appendix A: Copland, “Suggested Revisions on band arrangement of El Salon Mexico” Appendix B: Full score of El Salon Mexico for band arranged by Erika Svanoe 16 CHAPTER 2: El Salon Mexico for Orchestra In 1935 Copland organized a series of “one-man concerts” featuring the works of one living composer on each program. In observing the audiences at this series Copland stated “As I looked around at the all-too-familiar small group at these concerts, I knew that I wanted to see a larger and more varied audience for contemporary music. ”31 At this time Copland was finishing El Salon Mexico in which he said he was experimenting with a different style of writing. He was not rejecting one kind of music for another, but felt it was time to try something new. 2 Copland considered the first version of the Symphonic Ode from 1929 to be the piece that marked the end of his most austere and complex compositions. The move toward a simpler style was a gradual transition in the works that followed. In retrospect it seems to me that the Ode marks the end of a certain period in my development as a composer. The works that follow it are no longer so grandly conceived.

The Piano Variations (1930), the Short Symphony (1933), the Statements for Orchestra (1935) are more spare in sonority, more lean in texture. They are still comparatively difficult to perform and difficult for an audience to comprehend. 33 El Salon Mexico was first conceived while Copland was simultaneously working on two other works in the fall of 1932 in Mexico: Short Symphony and Statements. “These three works and their combined compositional histories document Copland’s 31 32 Copland and Perlis, Copland, 244. Copland and Perlis, Copland, 245. 33 Copland, “Composer in Brooklyn,” xxvi. 17 refinement of a simplified musical idiom that emphasizes aural accessibility and draws on the melodic resources of traditional tunes. 34 It is El Salon Mexico and its position in Copland’s compositional output as one of the first of several works to simplify his musical language that makes it particularly significant. Short Symphony is composed in a similar vein as Copland’s earlier works, such as the Piano Variations, which focuses on structural unity and uses a dissonant avant-guard style. Statements still utilizes this type of style, but focuses less on formal structure and is more episodic. Copland also hoped that the suggestive movement titles, such as “Militant” and “Cryptic,” would make the piece more palatable to the listening audience. El Salon Mexico also uses an episodic form, but focuses more on melody than these other works. 35 The reason for this shift toward melody comes primarily from the materials Copland chose to work with, which were inspired by the music he heard during his trip to Mexico in 1932. For several years prior to his trip, Copland had promised Carlos Chavez that he would visit Mexico. When Chavez promised him an all-Copland program by the Conservatorio Nacional de Mexico, he felt the time had come. He left New York on August 24, accompanied by Victor Kraft, and arrived in Laredo September 2, the morning of the concert. Copland remained in Mexico for five months.

During Copland’s visit, Chavez took him to a dance hall in Mexico City called El Salon Mexico, known to the locals as “El Marro” or the policeman’s nightstick. It was a popular place for tourists who wanted a taste of how the local lower class sought 34 35 Crist, Music for the Common Man, 43. Crist, Music for the Common Man, 43-4. 18 entertainment. 36 The atmosphere of the place made an impression on Copland and he came away with the idea to create El Salon Mexico. El Salon Mexico had been ‘in the works’ since my first trip to Mexico in 1932 when I came away from that colorful dance hall in Mexico City with Chavez. I had read about the hall for the first time in a guidebook about tourist entertainment: ‘Harlem type night-club for the peepul, grand Cuban orchestra, Salon Mexico. Three halls: one for people dressed in your way, one for people dressed in overalls but shod, and one for the barefoot. ’ A sign on a wall of the dance hall read: ‘Please don’t throw lighted cigarette butts on the floor so the ladies don’t burn their feet. A guard, stationed at the bottom of the steps leading to the three halls, would nonchalantly frisk you as you started up the stairs to be sure you had checked all your ‘artillery’ at the door and to collect the 1 peso charged for admittance to any of the three halls.

When the dance hall closed at 5:00 A. M. , it hardly seemed worthwhile to some of the overalled patrons to travel all the way home, so they curled themselves up on the chair around the walls for a quick two-hour snooze before going to a seven o’clock job in the morning. 37 Copland did not want to try to translate the profound side of Mexico into a musical work. He felt he did not know the country well enough to attempt this. Rather he wanted to reflect the spirit of the dance hall and his experiences he had there with the Mexican people as a tourist. The “people” were reflected in Copland’s use of traditional folksongs. Copland stated “I began (as I often did) by collecting musical themes or tunes out of which a composition might eventually emerge. It seemed natural to use popular Mexican melodies for thematic material…My purpose was not merely to quote literally but to heighten without in any way falsifying the natural simplicity of Mexican tunes. 38 Having the piece sound “Mexican” was a concern of Copland’s. He wrote to Chavez expressing his concern “I am terribly afraid of what you will say of the ‘Salon Mexico’-perhaps it is not Mexican at all, and I would feel so foolish.

But in America del 36 37 Crist, Music for the Common Man, 51. Copland and Perlis, Copland, 245. 38 Ibid. , 245. 19 Norte it may sound Mexican! ”39 He wrote again to Chavez in 1935: “What it would sound like in Mexico I can’t imagine, but everyone here for whom I have played it seems to think it is very gay and amusing. 40 Once Chavez heard Copland perform the piano version, he agreed to conduct it once the orchestration was complete. The premiere took place on August 27, 1937 in Mexico City with Orquesta Sinfonica de Mexico at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The music was well received by the musicians and public with newspapers stating the piece could be taken as Mexican music. The piece was immediately popular. Twenty-one orchestras had performed the piece by 1938. 41 The first American performance was conducted by Koussevitzky with the Boston Symphony Orchestra on October 14, 1938. Another significant performance was at the 1938 International Society for Contemporary Music concert in London where Copland met Benjamin Britten, who was responsible for introducing Copland to the publishing firm Boosey & Hawkes. In a letter to Ralph Hawkes Britten wrote “I’m fearfully anxious for you to cash in on Aaron Copland – the American composer – now without a publisher since Cos Cob Press gave up. His El Salon Mexico was the brightest thing of the festival…. I feel he’s a winner somehow. ”42 Ralph Hawkes wrote to Copland August 12, 1938 expressing an interest in publishing El Salon Mexico. 3 Negotiations by written correspondence ensued and Copland eventually convinced the firm to publish Music for Radio as well. It was Ibid. , 246. Ibid. , 246. 41 Crist, Music for the Common Man, 43-4. 42 Mitchell and Reed, eds. , Letters from a Life, 566. 43 Ralph Hawkes to Aaron Copland, 12 August 1938, Aaron Copland Collection, Library of Congress. 20 40 39 Hawkes who suggested that more performances of El Salon Mexico would be possible if the instrumentation was slightly reduced and suggested that having a second version of the piece available with smaller instrumentation. 4 Instrumentation: The full instrumentation for El Salon Mexico is as follows: Piccolo 2 Flutes 2 Oboes English horn Clarinet in E-flat 2 Clarinets in B-flat Bass Clarinet in B-flat 2 Bassoons Contrabassoon 4 Horns in F 3 Trumpets in C 3 Trombones Tuba Timpani Percussion Piano Strings (Violins, Violas, Cellos, Contrabasses) The percussion part calls for multiple instruments: xylophone, suspended cymbal, gourd, temple blocks, wood block, bass drum, snare drum, and tambour de Provence, which Copland describes as a long drum with a dull sound.

The gourd was the only Mexican percussion instrument that he included in the piece. This may have been for the best, since several orchestras of the time had a difficulty acquiring a proper gourd for performances. Some of the wind instruments were marked in the score as “not essential to performance. ” At the request of Ralph Hawkes, and likely seeing the opportunity for 44 Ralph Hawkes to Aaron Copland, 20 September 1938, Copland Collection. 21 more performances with a reduced instrumentation, Copland created an alternate scoring to accommodate this request, eliminating the need for the English Horn, Clarinet in Eflat, Bass Clarinet, Contrabassoon, and Trumpet 3. Folksong Materials and Form Copland used several Mexican folk songs, found in published collections, as the basis for many of the melodies in El Salon Mexico. Two of the songs, “El Palo Verde” and “La Jesuita” were found in Cancionero Mexicano edited by Frances Toor. “El Mosco” and “La Malacate,” an indigenous dance tune, were found in El Folklore y la Musica Mexicana by Ruben M. Campos. These melodies are not usually used in their original form, but rather Copland derived new melodic material from them. 45 An excellent summary of Copland’s use of these folk songs comes from musicologist Gerald Abraham. When Boosey & Hawkes published the miniature score, it was customary to provide analytical notes about the music.

The publisher asked Abraham to write the notes for El Salon Mexico. 46 The four-page insert includes excerpts of the original folksong material and documents Copland’s alteration of these melodies into the thematic material used in the piece. Abraham notes the three most utilized melodies as “El Palo Verde,” La Jesusita,” and “El Mosco. ” He describes the form of the piece as a “subtilised and elaborated ternary from, with a long introduction. ”47 Abraham illustrates Copland’s alteration of each of the folksongs, as well as documents where material derived from each folksong appears in the piece. 45 Lee, Masterworks of 20th -Century Music, 119. 46 Dickenson, “Copland’s Earlier British Connections,” 169-70. 47 Abraham, “Aaron Copland: El Salon Mexico. ” 22 Figure 2. 1: Folksong material used in El Salon Mexico48 EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed. Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent. Reprinted by permission. The melodic material from the opening is derived from the first strain of “El Palo Verde” Figure 2. : Copland, El Salon Mexico, melodic material, mm. 8-13 EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed.

Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent. Reprinted by permission. 48 Abraham, “Aaron Copland: El Salon Mexico. ” 23 Beginning in measure 23, the trumpet solo is based on “La Jesusita” Figure 2. 3: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 23-26, Trumpet EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed.

Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent. Reprinted by permission. The duet between bassoon and bass clarinet starting at measure 39 is a rhythmically altered version of “El Mosco. Figure 2. 4: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 39-44, Bassoon 1 EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed.

Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent. Reprinted by permission. 24 At measure 61, the strings have material modified from the second strain of “El Palo Verde” This same material also appears twice more during the piece beginning at measures 145 and 353. Figure 2. 5: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 61-64, Violin 1, 2, Viola (compressed) EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed. Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent. Reprinted by permission. The melody in the strings beginning at measure 76 is derived partly from the second strain of “El Mosco. ” This theme concludes the section that Abraham labels as the introduction. Figure 2. 6: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 76-81, Violin 1 EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed.

Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent. Reprinted by permission. The Allegro Vivace begins at measure 103 and marks the start of what Abraham calls the first section of the ternary form. It begins with material related to the opening measures illustrated above in Figure 2. 2. This is followed by a theme derived from both 25 he altered material from “El Palo Verde” at the beginning of the piece, and the second strain of “El Mosco. ” Figure 2. 7: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 106-110, Clarinet 1 EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed. Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent.

Reprinted by permission. New material is added to the beginning of the previous theme at measure 135 but is very similar. Figure 2. 8: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 135-139, Violin 1 EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed. Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent. Reprinted by permission. 6 The material from Figure 2. 5 returns at measure 145 and is followed by a variant of Figure 2. 2 from measures 175-182. This concludes the Allegro Vivace section and what Abraham labels the first large section of a ternary form.

The second section of this form begins at measure 183 at the tempo change marked “Moderato molto (rubato). ” The clarinet solo that follows (Fig. 2. 9) is a version of Figure 2. 7. Abraham states this version “recurs several times in the section as a species of refrain, holding it together. ” One such reiteration is a rhythmic variant in the English horn at measure 256. (Fig. 2. 10) Figure 2. 9: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 185-190, Clarinet 1 Figure 2. 10: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 256-260, English horn EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed. Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent.

Reprinted by permission. 27 At measure 211, melodic material in the solo clarinet is derived from “La Jesusita” and is then restated in the strings. Figure 2. 11: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 211-214, Clarinet 1 EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed. Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent. Reprinted by permission. Abraham describes the remainder of the middle section consisting of rhythmic development of this tune and material from the first section.

Copland writes of the section “before the final climax I present the folk tunes simultaneously in their original keys and rhythms. The result is a kind of polytonality that achieves the frenetic whirl I had in mind before the end, when all is resolved with a plain unadorned triad. ”49 The return of the main section occurs at measure 324. The material is very similar to what had been heard previously but with slightly altered keys. The piece ends with the fanfare-like material from the opening measures. 0 Manuscript materials and changes in rhythmic notation Copland himself noted that orchestras had a difficult time performing El Salon Mexico. “El Salon was not easy to perform; it presented rhythmic intricacies for the 49 50 Copland and Perlis, Copland, 246. Abraham, “Aaron Copland: El Salon Mexico. ” 28 conductor and the players. ”51 There are many places in the orchestral version where eighth notes are beamed over a barline, dotted barlines and brackets are used to indicate an alteration of normal rhythmic stress, and more than one time signature is often indicated or simply implied by the placement of accents. The need for this kind of rhythmic notation can be observed upon examination of the manuscript materials in the Aaron Copland Collection cataloged at the Library of Congress. Description of the manuscript materials The initial “Sketches” of El Salon Mexico are cataloged at the Library of Congress in the Aaron Copland Collection as ARCO 28. 2. It appears that Copland began his initial sketches of in March of 1933, which is the earliest date noted on the manuscript. These sketches are in pencil, do not always follow the progression of the piece, and have large sections crossed out. They illustrate a working out of melodic material and experimentation with different meters.

The “Piano Sketch” (ARCO 28-A) is dated 1934 on the front cover. The date at the end of the manuscript notes it was completed in July, 1934. The Piano Sketch is a 21page manuscript that uses between two and four staves and progresses through the piece from beginning to end. Revisions were still being made as some sections are crossed out, but then continue on sequentially with revised material. Copland wrote most of the Piano Sketch initially in pen and his original, more complex concept of the meter and beaming appear in pen. Many of the meters and beaming that appear in Leonard Bernstein’s piano arrangements appear in the Piano Sketch.

There are also marks in lead and blue pencil throughout this manuscript. Many of the pencil markings indicate instruments for 51 Copland and Perlis, Copland, 247. 29 orchestration or possible changes to the choice in meter. While the pencil indications of meter do not match the meters of the final published orchestral version exactly, they are certainly less complicated than the original metric indications that appear in pen and are a step closer to what was published in the orchestral score. There are three orchestral manuscript scores cataloged at the Library of Congress. One is cataloged as the “Rough Orchestral Score” (ARCO 28. 3) and notes “began Aug. 9, 1934. ” The manuscript is in pencil, but is incomplete and only four pages in length. The second “Full Score (Draft)” (ARCO 28. 1) is a complete draft in pencil, but has no date indicated.

The final “Full Score” (ARCO 28) is complete and mostly completed in ink with some red and blue pencil marks indicating rehearsal numbers and time signatures respectively. The date on the front cover is 1936. 2 There are several arrangements and other works that are significant to the study of changes in rhythmic notation in El Salon Mexico beyond the manuscript materials.

These include Bernstein’s and Hindsley’s various arrangements of the work, as well as Copland’s 1929 and 1955 versions of the Symphonic Ode for orchestra, which is discussed later in this chapter. The table below summarizes all relevant documents in chronological order. 52 El Salon Mexico manuscripts. Aaron Copland Collection. Library of Congress. 30 Year 1929 1933 1934 1934 c. 1934 1936 1939 1941 1943 1955 1966 1972 Document name Symphonic Ode (for orchestra) “Sketches” El Salon Mexico “Piano Sketch” El Salon Mexico “Rough Orchestral Score” El Salon Mexico “Full Score (Draft)” El Salon Mexico “Full Score” El Salon Mexico El Salon Mexico (for orchestra) El Salon Mexico (for piano solo) El Salon Mexico (for two pianos) Revised Symphonic Ode (for orchestra) “1st Version manusciript” El Salon Mexico (for band) El Salon Mexico (for band) Composer/Arranger Other information Copland withdrawn, revised in 1955 Copland ARCO 28. 2 manuscript Copland ARCO 28-A manuscript Copland ARCO 28. manuscript Copland ARCO 28. 1 manuscript Copland ARCO 28 manuscript Copland published Copland/Bernstein published Copland/Bernstein published Copland published Copland/Hindsley ARCO 28-D manuscript Copland/Hindsley published Table 2. 1: Summary of published scores and manuscripts Changes in Rhythmic Notation One of the reasons for the “rhythmic intricacies” that Copland mentioned is that he originally conceived of groupings of eighth notes in groups of twos and threes that would call for shifting irregular time signatures. 53 In the Piano Sketch these groupings occur starting on the beat. While time signatures do not appear in ink on the Piano Sketch manuscript for the measures in the figure below, the groupings and barlines appear to be the same as Leonard Bernstein’s arrangement for two pianos with the appropriate time signatures added.

The one change in rhythm between the two examples is the eighth rest that appears at the end of the third measure. However, this rest does appear in the orchestral version. “Irregular” time signatures are defined for the purposes of this study as meters that have uneven groupings of eighth notes. For example, a time signature of 7/8 could have an eighth note grouping of 2+2+3. This would be defined as “irregular. ” Other meters that would be included in this definition would be 5/8, 8/8, and 10/8. These irregular meters are considered “shifting” when the time signatures rapidly change from measure to measure. If a regular meter (3/4, 4/4) appears during a string of irregular meters, the term “shifting irregular meters” still applies because the effect as a whole is a succession of changes between groups of 2 and 3 eighth notes. 1 53 Figure 2. 12: Copland, ARCO 28-A (Piano Sketch), Rhythmic notation, mm. 1-3 Figure 2. 13: Copland/Bernstein, El Salon Mexico for Two Pianos, Rhythmic notation, mm. 1-3 Figure 2. 14: Copland, El Salon Mexico, Rhythmic notation, mm. 1-5 EL SALON MEXICO © Copyright 1939 The Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Inc. Copyright Renewed. Boosey & Hawkes Inc, sole agent. Reprinted by permission. As the previous examples illustrate, there were drastic changes in meter between the Piano Sketch and the final orchestral version. These kinds of alterations to meter occur throughout the orchestral version and are particularly prevalent during sections with faster tempi, which tend to be more rhythmic. In most cases, the meters are changed from shifting irregular meters to a more constant regular meter of 3/4 or 4/4. This forces rhythms that originally occurred on the beat to be played as syncopations. 32 Figure 2. 15: Copland, El Salon Mexico, mm. 124-128, Violin 1 Figure 2. 16: Copland, ARCO 28-A (Piano Sketch), Corresponding music

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