West Side Story: The Development Of American Musical

Development Of American Musicals

The Musical is classified as the incorporation of song, dialogue and dance. Musicals, which many confuse with opera, is classified as having a narrower pitch range in comparison to opera and it operates on an AABA or verse and chorus form in its music. (Wikipedia, 2016)

Furthermore, musicals generally have a
“feel good” element attached to them and are intended to keep the audience happy and content. Musicals also differ from any other type of genre of music through the fact that they consist of spoken dialogue.
Musicals, prior to the 1920s, were classified as Vaudeville, which was characterised by its juggling, dancing and lack of plot. (Wikipedia, 2016)

After the 1920s, however, musicals developed

In 1949, it was suggested to Bernstein that he compose a musical based on a modern version of Romeo and Juliet in the slums of New York. Later on, the play was published in 1956 and made into a film soon after. West Side Story is seen as an important form of musical work through how it deals with racial tensions between Americans and Puerto Rican immigrants. Leonard Bernstein uses a big orchestra in order to give consideration to differing elements to represent Americans and Puerto Ricans. His orchestra consists of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion, using various instruments in each category. (Roger Green,

Furthermore, Bernstein is known for the unhappy ending in his musical as well as the significant role of dance. Bernstein uses various musical styles in order to portray different atmospheres. His song Gee Officer Krupke is distinctly a Vaudeville classification through its comedic performances, while America uses Latin rhythms to give of the ambiguous feelings of the Puerto Ricans in the American “land of promise”. Bernstein also incorporates Bebop Fugue in his musical through his song Cool, as well as an operatic style ensemble through the Tonight Ensemble that he incorporates. (West Side Story, 2016)

Bernstein is also acknowledged for his successful use of the tritone. The tritone is classified as an augmented 4th or a diminished 5th and it serves as a leit motif, which is a recurring theme. This particular recurring theme represents longing and tragedy between Maria and Tony, as well as their forbidden love.

America
America clearly shows ambiguous feelings of immigrants in the land of promise through its various musical components. This track uses distinct glissandos, which is classified as the sliding from one note to the next in the vocals - and sometimes also the orchestra. (Notes,