Summertime (song)

Information about Summertime (song)

"Summertime" is the name of an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin. A popular jazz standard, the song is in the Aeolian mode. Gershwin is said to have based this song on a Ukrainian lullaby, Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon (A Dream Passes By The Windows), which he heard in a New York City performance by Oleksander Koshetz’s Ukrainian National Chorus.

Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own spiritual in the style of the African American folk music of the period. It is sung multiple times throughout Porgy and Bess, first by Clara in Act I as a lullaby and soon after as counterpoint to the craps game scene, in Act II in a reprise by Clara, and in Act III by Bess, singing to Clara's baby.

Popularity

It is widely believed that "Summertime" vies with the Beatles' "Yesterday" as one of the most often covered songs in popular music, with an estimated 2,600 different versions recorded. However, a far greater number of recordings of the former exist: as of 20 September 2007 , an international group of collectors of recordings of Summertime known as "The Summertime Connection," knows of at least 20,415 public performances, of which 14,103 have been recorded. Of those, the group has 8,764 full recordings and about 1,100 samples and incomplete recordings in its collection.

Languages

Summertime was composed in English, but nowadays it has been sung in many languages (we mention at random one artist in the language). The Summertime Connection knows of performances in : Bulgarian (Slavi Trifonov), Catalan (The Mimisikous Band), Czech (Hana Hegerová), Dutch (Wieteke van Dort), Esperanto (Nicolin'), Estonian (Optimistid), Finnish (Topi Sorsakoski), French (Joe Dassin), Frisian (De Kast), German (Peter Kraus), Hohenloher (Annâweech), Italian (I Dalton), Japanese (The Dixie Saints), Lithuanian (Skamp), Maori (Wirimako Black), Papiamento (Tropical Taste), Polish (Petra Janů), Portuguese (Nara Leão), Ukrainian (Oleh Skrypka), Serbian (Basa), Spanish (Cubismo), Yiddish (Lee Colbert), Yugoslavian (Henda) and Zulu (Amanda Strydom). Kwartet Okazjonalny from Poland has performed a humorous tri-lingual version, underlining the stereotypes of the different languages.

Instruments

The original song is an opera-aria, sung by a soprano with a symphonic orchestra. The Summertime Connection has renditions in such different styles as ska, southamerican (all rhythms), rock, housemixes in various forms, all jazz styles from dixieland to bop and so called 'improvised music'. Every conceivable instrument has been used: from gardenhose (Noguru Hata on Dutch TV), cow horn (Bengt Jonsson) and singing saw (Matthew Beckman) to traditional Korean flute (Lee Sang Gang), theremin (Lydia Kavina), carillon (Piet van den Broek), xaphoon (Arthur Mary on June 4, 2007 in Budapest), hydraulophone (water-pipe-organ-flute) (the inventor of this instrument Steve Mann on June 24, 2007 on Loch Ness) and handbells (Raphsody). Very peculiar is the performance of Stone Jazz (a South Korean emsemble). They combine the haegm (korean violin); the piri (korean oboe) and the gayagm (korean harp) with a traditional jazz trio of piano, bass and drums. Every style and mode of singing has been recorded: from a capella via karaoke and doo-wop till big mixed choirs, but also a rendition in a swimming pool because the extra resonance was needed.

References

External links

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The World of Porgy and Bess
AdaptationsBook and play - Opera - Film adaptation
CreatorsGeorge Gershwin - Ira Gershwin - DuBose Heyward - Dorothy Heyward
Songs and adaptations"Summertime" - "Catfish Row"
MediaDiscography
aria (Italian for air; plural: arie or arias in common usage) in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer.
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George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer. He wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin. George Gershwin composed both for Broadway and for the classical concert hall.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1900s  1910s  1920s  - 1930s -  1940s  1950s  1960s
1932 1933 1934 - 1935 - 1936 1937 1938

Year 1935 (MCMXXXV
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Opera is a form of musical and dramatic work in which singers convey the drama.[1] Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition.[2] An opera performance incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and
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Porgy and Bess is an opera with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Dorothy Heyward. It was based on Heyward's novel Porgy and the play of the same name that he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy.
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DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1924 novel Porgy. With his wife Dorothy, he was co-author of the non-musical play adapted from the novel, which became the foundation of George Gershwin's opera
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Ira Gershwin (6 December 1896 – 17 August 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century.
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A jazz standard is a jazz tune that is held in continuing esteem and which is widely known, performed, and recorded among jazz musicians as part of the jazz musical repertoire.
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The Aeolian mode comprises a musical mode or diatonic scale.

An Aeolian mode formed part of the music theory of ancient Greece, based around the relative natural scale in A (that is, the same as playing all the 'white notes' of a piano from A to A).
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Oleksander Koshetz (September 12, 1875 – September 21, 1944) was a Ukrainian choral conductor, arranger, composer, ethnographer, writer, musicologist, and lecturer. He helped popularize Ukrainian music around the world.
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A spiritual (or negro spiritual) was a song created by American slaves before emancipation, or a subsequent arrangement of such a song.

Historical Spirituals


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African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.[1] In the United States the term is generally used for Americans with sub-Saharan African ancestry.
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Craps (previously known as crabs [1] ) is a casino dice game. Craps is a simplification of the Old English game hazard. Its origins are complex and may date to the Crusades, later being influenced by French gamblers.
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game is a structured or semi-structured , usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes also used as an educational tool. (The term "game" is also used to describe simulation of various activities e.g., for the purposes of training, analysis or prediction, etc.
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The Beatles were an English musical group from Liverpool whose members were John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. They are one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music.
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B-side(s) "Act Naturally" (U.S.-1965)
"I Should Have Known Better" (UK-1976)
Released 13 September 1965 (U.S.)
4 March 1966 (UK - as part of an EP)
8 March 1976 (UK)
Format vinyl record (7" & 12")
Recorded 14 June 1965
Genre Pop
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In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. In its current use, it can sometime have a pejorative meaning - implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version,
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Joseph Ira Dassin (November 5, 1938 – August 20, 1980) was a French-speaking American expatriate musician. He later acquired dual citizenship (French and American).

Dassin was born in New York City to film noir director Jules Dassin and Béatrice Launer.
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The New Yorker is an American magazine that publishes reportage, criticism, essays, cartoons, poetry and fiction. Originally a weekly, the magazine is now published 47 times per year with five (usually more expansive) issues covering two-week spans.
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January 10 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

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MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3

File extension: .mp3
MIME type: audio/mpeg
Type of format: Audio MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is an audio encoding format.
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Porgy and Bess is an opera with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Dorothy Heyward. It was based on Heyward's novel Porgy and the play of the same name that he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy.
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Porgy is a novel written by DuBose Heyward in 1925, as well as a play Dorothy Heyward helped him to write which debuted in 1927.

Even before the play had been fully written, Heyward was in discussions with George Gershwin for an operatic version of his novel, which
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Porgy and Bess is an opera with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Dorothy Heyward. It was based on Heyward's novel Porgy and the play of the same name that he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy.
..... Click the link for more information.
IMDb profile
Porgy and Bess is a 1959 movie based on George Gershwin's opera of the same name. It is set in the fictional Catfish Row in 1930s Charleston, South Carolina. It was produced by Samuel Goldwyn in Todd AO.
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George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer. He wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin. George Gershwin composed both for Broadway and for the classical concert hall.
..... Click the link for more information.
Ira Gershwin (6 December 1896 – 17 August 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century.
..... Click the link for more information.
DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1924 novel Porgy. With his wife Dorothy, he was co-author of the non-musical play adapted from the novel, which became the foundation of George Gershwin's opera
..... Click the link for more information.
Dorothy Heyward (1890 – November 19, 1961) was an American playwright. She was married to the author DuBose Heyward, and adapted several of his scripts for the stage, including Porgy.
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