[78-L] Porgy and Bess

[Cary Ginell]

One can't look at "Porgy and Bess" from a 21st century vantage point. To realize its brilliance, you must look at it in the context of the time, just as you should with anything else. It was a daring project to undertake in the 1930s - imagine: to stage an opera...an OPERA...using an almost universally black cast (I think the role of the doctor was played by a white) was absolutely outrageous. In writing the music, George & Ira Gershwin sought to replicate an actual dialect spoken by the residents of a tenement known as "Cabbage Row" (changed to Catfish Row in the opera). In this area, African Americans spoke in the Gullah dialect, a Creole language that combined English with elements of West and South African countries. It was fairly authentic to these people. The result was extremely advanced for its time, and since the Gershwins and DuBose Heyward sketched complete human beings out of the characters, instead of stereotypes, the results were sympathetic as opposed to racist. I disagree with simplistic viewpoints towards "Porgy." You couldn't write such a show today, but in 1935, it was nothing short of astounding, groundbreaking work.

 

Gershwin's musical genius resulted in him composing songs that sounded exactly like ones that might have been sung in the tenement. He wrote a lullaby, a spiritual, a gospel, a work song, all of which sounded traditional. And Ira's lyrics were extremely poetic and perfectly suited for the music. You can't compare this to the witticisms written by Porter, Hart, and others from that period. But Ira Gershwin could write in their style too. They could never have done "Porgy."

 

Funny or not, "Amos and Andy" did infinitely more harm to images of African Americans than "Porgy and Bess" did. 

 

"Summertime" shows the influence of the Yiddish theatre on Gershwin. Music historian Jack Gottlieb has shown it to be extremely close to the melody of an unnamed Yiddish lullaby. Check out his book, "Funny, It Doesn't Sound Jewish" and you'll see. 

 

Cary Ginell


 
> Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2009 18:43:33 -0400
> From: estott at localnet.com
> To: 78-l at klickitat.78online.com
> Subject: Re: [78-L] Summertime [was Acoustic women pop singers]
> 
> 
> 
> I don't find it racist as much as I find it outdatedly sentimental, 
> and the dialect doesn't help. It's like reading Paul Lawrence Dunbar's 
> poetry: the surface mannerisms get in the way of good writing.
> 
> Eric Stott
> 
> Quoting David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>:
> 
> > Thank God somebody finally said it! I tried to watch a production of 
> > it about 5
> > years ago and found it racist and condescending and not as funny as Amos 'n'
> > Andy. Coupl'a good tunes though.
> >
> > dl
> >
> > Julian Vein wrote:
> >>   "Porgy and Bess" is a load of patronising crap. "Summertime"
> >> has a great melody though!
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> >
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