music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Summertime" is an aria composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, and Ira Gershwin.[1]

"Summertime"
Song
Language	English
Released	1935 (1935)
Genre	Jazz
Composer(s)	George Gershwin
Lyricist(s)	DuBose Heyward Ira Gershwin

The song soon became a popular and much-recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt ... one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote ... Gershwin's highly evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song styles of blacks in the southeast United States from the early twentieth century".[2] Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim characterized Heyward's lyrics for "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now" as "the best lyrics in the musical theater".[3]

Porgy and Bess

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.[4][5] Gershwin had completed setting DuBose Heyward's poem to music by February 1934, and spent the next 20 months completing and orchestrating the score of the opera.[6]

The song is sung several times throughout Porgy and Bess. Its lyrics are the first words heard in act 1 of the opera, following the communal "wa-do-wa". It is sung by Clara as a lullaby. The song theme is reprised soon after as counterpoint to the craps game scene, in act 2 in a reprise by Clara, and in act 3 by Bess, singing to Clara's now-orphaned baby after both its parents died in the storm.

The song was recorded for the first time by Abbie Mitchell on July 19, 1935, with George Gershwin playing the piano and conducting the orchestra (on: George Gershwin Conducts Excerpts from Porgy & Bess, Mark 56 667).

The 1959 movie version of the musical featured Loulie Jean Norman singing the song. That rendition finished at #52 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.

Analysis

Lyrics

Heyward's inspiration for the lyrics was the southern folk spiritual-lullaby "All My Trials", of which he had Clara sing a snippet in his play Porgy.[7][8] The lyrics have been highly praised by Stephen Sondheim. Writing of the opening line, he says

That "and" is worth a great deal of attention. I would write "Summertime when" but that "and" sets up a tone, a whole poetic tone, not to mention a whole kind of diction that is going to be used in the play; an informal, uneducated diction and a stream of consciousness, as in many of the songs like "My Man's Gone Now". It's the exact right word, and that word is worth its weight in gold. "Summertime when the livin' is easy" is a boring line compared to "Summertime and". The choices of "ands" [and] "buts" become almost traumatic as you are writing a lyric – or should, anyway – because each one weighs so much.[9]

Music

Musicologist K. J. McElrath wrote of the song:

Gershwin was remarkably successful in his intent to have this sound like a folk song. This is reinforced by his extensive use of the pentatonic scale (C–D–E–G–A) in the context of the A minor tonality and a slow-moving harmonic progression that suggests a "blues". Because of these factors, this tune has been a favorite of jazz performers for decades and can be done in a variety of tempos and styles.[6]

While in his own description, Gershwin did not use any previously composed spirituals in his opera, Summertime is often considered an adaptation of the African American spiritual "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child", which ended the play version of Porgy.[8][10][11]

Other versions

Statistics for the number of recordings of "Summertime" vary by source; while older data is restricted to commercial releases, newer sources may include versions self-published online. The Jazz Discography in 2005 listed 1,161 official releases, ranking the song fourth among jazz standards.[12] Joe Nocera in 2012 said there were "over 25,000" recordings.[13] Guinness World Records lists the website's 2017 figure of 67,591 as the world record total.[14]

Other versions to make the pop charts include those by:

• In September 1936, a recording by Billie Holiday was the first to hit the US pop charts, reaching no. 12.[6]
• Sam Cooke (US no. 81, 1957)
• Al Martino (UK no. 49, 1960)
• The Marcels (US no. 78, 1961)
• Ricky Nelson (US no. 89, 1962)
• The version, perhaps, considered the ultimate standard for this song is that sung by Mahalia Jackson, known as The Queen of Gospel, who infused the lyrics with her powerful and spiritual voice. Additionally, she has sung Summertime and Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child in tandem; and, there are recordings of this.
• The Chris Columbo Quintet (US no. 93, 1963).[15][16]
• The most commercially successful version was by Billy Stewart, whose scat-laden R&B version reached no. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and no. 7 on the R&B chart in 1966;[17] his version reached no. 39 in the UK[18] and no. 13 in Canada.
• Big Brother and the Holding Company's version featuring Janis Joplin on vocals has been highly praised.[19][20]
• In Britain, a version by the Fun Boy Three reached no. 18 on the UK Singles Chart in 1982.[21]
• In 1998, Chaka Khan's contribution on Joe Henderson's 1997 album Porgy & Bess earned a nomination for the 40th Grammy Awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.[22]
• In 2005,Fantasia Barrino's version earned a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance.[23]
• In 1997, American ska punk band Sublime released the single "Doin' Time", which sampled the Herbie Mann recording of "Summertime". "Doin' Time" peaked at number 87 on the Hot 100 in 1998.[24]
• The version by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, released on their 1959 album Porgy and Bess, was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2022.[25]

See also

• List of 1930s jazz standards

References

Sources

• Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952–2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.

External links

• "A Languid Look Back To Gershwin's 'Summertime'", NPR Music, October 23, 2008

На других языках

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[de] Summertime

Summertime ist der Titel der bekanntesten Arie aus der Oper Porgy and Bess von George Gershwin (Musik), Ira Gershwin[1] und DuBose Heyward (Libretto), die 1935 uraufgeführt wurde. Summertime wurde als eigenständiges Lied aus dieser Oper isoliert vermarktet und entwickelte sich zum meistgecoverten Jazz- und Popstandard aller Zeiten.

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- [en] Summertime (George Gershwin song)

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[es] Summertime (canción de George Gershwin)

«Summertime» es una composición de George Gershwin, con letra de DuBose Heyward, Dorothy Heyward e Ira Gershwin concebida como aria para la ópera Porgy y Bess, de 1935.

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[ru] Summertime

«Summertime» (рус. Летней порой) — ария, написанная Джорджем Гершвином в 1935 году для оперы «Порги и Бесс». Авторы текста: Дюбос Хейвард и Айра Гершвин (брат Джорджа).

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