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The Origin of Composition
By: Jessie Cao
The musical piece "The Red Pony" by Aaron Copland was composed in 1948 at Republic Pictures studios as a film score/soundtrack for Lewis Milestone's movie production. It is based on the novel, The Red Pony, which was written in 1933 by John Steinbeck and published in 1937 by Covici Friede.
The orchestral suite was originally arranged by Copland for the Houston Symphony Orchestra, an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas that has been active since 1913. The suite lasts approximately 20–25 minutes and consists of six separate pieces:
I. "Morning on the Ranch"
II. "The Gift"
III. "Dream March and Circus Music"
IV. "Walk to the Bunkhouse"
V. "Grandfather's Story"
VI. "Happy Ending"
The arrangement of this piece that we play is an abridged version of the original. When played at the given tempo, it lasts approximately 5 minutes. Since this arrangement is composed only for orchestra, the trumpet and other brass and woodwind instrument parts have either been completely left out or have been replaced by orchestral instrument parts. (For example, violin replaces trumpet in the arranged version of "Happy Ending.")
The arranger, Erik Morales, was born on Dec. 10, 1966 in New York City. He has composed best-selling music for many types of genres: classical, jazz, and pop. Morales began composing music shortly after he graduated from high school in south Florida. He studied composition at Florida International University, and in 1989, he completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. Now, he is currently a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the International Trumpet Guild (ITG).
The orchestral suite was originally arranged by Copland for the Houston Symphony Orchestra, an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas that has been active since 1913. The suite lasts approximately 20–25 minutes and consists of six separate pieces:
I. "Morning on the Ranch"
II. "The Gift"
III. "Dream March and Circus Music"
IV. "Walk to the Bunkhouse"
V. "Grandfather's Story"
VI. "Happy Ending"
The arrangement of this piece that we play is an abridged version of the original. When played at the given tempo, it lasts approximately 5 minutes. Since this arrangement is composed only for orchestra, the trumpet and other brass and woodwind instrument parts have either been completely left out or have been replaced by orchestral instrument parts. (For example, violin replaces trumpet in the arranged version of "Happy Ending.")
The arranger, Erik Morales, was born on Dec. 10, 1966 in New York City. He has composed best-selling music for many types of genres: classical, jazz, and pop. Morales began composing music shortly after he graduated from high school in south Florida. He studied composition at Florida International University, and in 1989, he completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette. Now, he is currently a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and the International Trumpet Guild (ITG).
The composer and arranger, Erik Morales.
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The original "The Red Pony" film score, or background music, is nearly an hour long, whereas the suite is only approximately 20-25 minutes long. In the film score, Aaron Copland provided his customary stopwatch and verbal cues; however for two episodes, "Walk to the Bunkhouse" and "Dream March," he utilized the more precise click-track. Copland also conscientiously indicated the orchestration, creating bright and delicate sonorities that reflect the viewpoint of the youthful protagonist, Jody Tiflin. He used a toy trumpet in "Dream March," a clarinet quartet at the end of "The Operation," and a brief vibraphone chord at the moment when Tom accuses Billy of letting Gabilan die.
The novel, The Red Pony, by Steinbeck centers around the ten-year old protagonist, Jody Tiflin, who is described as a young boy with hair like dusty yellow grass and with shy, polite grey eyes. The other characters include Carl Tiflin, Jody's father, who favors order and is strict on Jody but has a loving touch in him, Billy Buck, a middle-aged man who is experienced with horses and Jody's role model, Gitano, an elderly man that used to live near Jody's family's farm, and Grandfather, Mrs. Tiflin's father, who lives by the seaside and loves to tell old stories about his pioneer days, when he led a wagon train of settlers across the continent. The novel is divided into 4 stories ( "The Gift," "The Great Mountains," "The Promise," and "The Leader of the People"), each of which describe a critical point in Jody's childhood. In the first story, "The Gift," Carl Tiflin gives Jody a red pony, which Jody names Gabilan and loves dearly. Every morning Jody brushes the horse and after school, he trains it. Just as he is about to teach Gabilan to let him ride him, the horse catches a bad cold in the rain. Billy Buck has to resort to extreme measures to try to save Gabilan: cut open a sack of puss and carve a breathing hold in the horse's throat. Unfortunately, the horse escapes one night, and Jody finds vultures preying on the corpse the next morning.
Copland's music is appropriate for this subject matter because in Suite II. "The Gift," the melody in the beginning is dreamy and delicate, capturing the emotions a young boy whose wish for a pony has been fulfilled, but it is also a tad bit melancholy, signifying when Jody's pony, Gabilan, catches a cold.
The novel, The Red Pony, by Steinbeck centers around the ten-year old protagonist, Jody Tiflin, who is described as a young boy with hair like dusty yellow grass and with shy, polite grey eyes. The other characters include Carl Tiflin, Jody's father, who favors order and is strict on Jody but has a loving touch in him, Billy Buck, a middle-aged man who is experienced with horses and Jody's role model, Gitano, an elderly man that used to live near Jody's family's farm, and Grandfather, Mrs. Tiflin's father, who lives by the seaside and loves to tell old stories about his pioneer days, when he led a wagon train of settlers across the continent. The novel is divided into 4 stories ( "The Gift," "The Great Mountains," "The Promise," and "The Leader of the People"), each of which describe a critical point in Jody's childhood. In the first story, "The Gift," Carl Tiflin gives Jody a red pony, which Jody names Gabilan and loves dearly. Every morning Jody brushes the horse and after school, he trains it. Just as he is about to teach Gabilan to let him ride him, the horse catches a bad cold in the rain. Billy Buck has to resort to extreme measures to try to save Gabilan: cut open a sack of puss and carve a breathing hold in the horse's throat. Unfortunately, the horse escapes one night, and Jody finds vultures preying on the corpse the next morning.
Copland's music is appropriate for this subject matter because in Suite II. "The Gift," the melody in the beginning is dreamy and delicate, capturing the emotions a young boy whose wish for a pony has been fulfilled, but it is also a tad bit melancholy, signifying when Jody's pony, Gabilan, catches a cold.
Citations:
http://moralesmusic.com/index2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=70
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Pony_(Copland)
http://fanfareforcopland.blogspot.com/2007/12/red-pony-original-motion-picture.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Pony
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/redpony/summary.html
http://moralesmusic.com/index2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=46&Itemid=70
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Pony_(Copland)
http://fanfareforcopland.blogspot.com/2007/12/red-pony-original-motion-picture.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red_Pony
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/redpony/summary.html