Musicians and Composers of World War II Essay

During the 1950’s-1970’s many composers started experimenting film scoring by associating genres such as jazz, funk, and rock. Composers such as Henry Mancini, Duke Ellington and Kenyon Hopkins associated different genres of music into film scoring. Henry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger. His most notable works include the Jazz-idiom theme to the Pink Panther film series. Mancini also composed the film scoring for Victor Victoria and Oklahoma Crude etc. He also recorded music in styles ranging from big band to classical to pop. Duke Ellington was also an American composer and Pianist and is often considered as the most influential composer and bandleader of the big band era. Ellington composed the film scoring for films

Another thing was the music of the 1940s, the 1940s was the decade of “the crooner” as the other form of entertainment the musical entertainment also played tribute to the war by many popular songs like “God Bless America”. This songs were sometimes were taken to war and it made solders said that the music took them home and they loved it.

Both Jazz music and World War II had a significant impact on each other. Jazz music boosted the morale of soldiers fighting abroad and also lifted the spirits of their loved ones back at home. Many jazz musicians were soldiers, and several others traveled overseas or across the country to entertain U.S. troops. Among these performers were Bing Crosby, Artie Shaw, and Benny Carter. Jazz music was not only evident in American culture, but also in European countries, particularly in Nazi-occupied areas where it was a sign of rebellion. I want to further explore how the war affected the accessibility of jazz during the time, as well as how the war helped shape the musical direction

It is an extremely difficult time for the Music Industry which began in the 1930 and

During the WWII era, American music was banned throughout Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe. This is because in

Throughout history, music has always played a large part in military actions. Sometime the music was pro-war directed, but most of the time, it was directed to the ending of war. It is also interesting to note, that until the early 1960’s, most of the wartime music was up-beat and offered encouragement to our troops. Enter the Vietnam War, or conflict as it has been called, and everything changed Starting as early as the Civil War, music was used to influence the war. In fact, one of Abraham Lincoln’s favorite pro-war songs was “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, which would be countered by “Dixie” from the confederate states.

World War II brought about numerous hardships, but through these hardships many people found happiness through music, entertainment, recreation, and leisure activities. Patriotism ran high and influenced the pop culture, including the music industry during and around the time of World War II. Many songs addressed the war directly giving information of the war

The Cold War was a worldwide conflict from 1948 to 1989 which put socialist states against communist states around the world. This was a time of political hatred and for musicians this was a time of uproar and crackdowns by the government. One of the largest communist states at the time was the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.) and within this state there was the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Although this group were not law makers they did hold a great deal of power within the state. “The Central Committee’s membership was elected by the party congress in which this membership ordinarily went to the holders of the most important positions in the Soviet government and economy, thereby enabling the committee to serve as the party’s chief tool within the government” (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica). In 1948, this group had made a special resolution to music which criticized many famous Soviet composers. Through this resolution there would now be strict criteria for which music was acceptable including the music had to use traditional harmony, should not be too discordant, should include folk and popular idioms, should have words, and many others. These criteria would keep the music in line therefore keeping the artists and from there the people in line. We have seen through this course that music is a very powerful motivator for not only the artist but also for the audience.

Many artists were drafted into service to fight the wars and killed. Because of the political movements in Italy and Germany, some composers fled their native lands mainly to the United States. Those composers found the employment in American colleges and schools of music (Zorn and August 2006). The changes in the commercial aspect of music distribution along with new means of music communication occurred in this period. There were many organized concert series in large and small urban centers. Music for motion pictures became one of the important music outlets. Yet writing music for the new musical genre, films was on the periphery if the musical mainstream, films reached the biggest number of audience. Begging in the first half of the twenties century, recordings and radio became a big deal. Those were heard in all kinds of surroundings; at home, the market, the office, the factory, the playground, and even the sports field (Wold, Martin, Miller, and Cykler 1990,

Music amid World War II unprecedentedly affected America, both on the home front and on troops serving abroad. Dissimilar to World War I, which happened in the pre-radio period, by December 1941, for all intents and purposes each American family unit, 96.2 percent, possessed radios. At no other time had recordings of tunes and live musical exhibitions been show to such a large number of a great many Americans, both to those supporting the war at home and to troops serving all through the world. For some Americans, this mass appropriation of music had a binding together, devoted impact by raising the assurance of the troops abroad and rousing and motivating the Americans at home to completely bolster all parts of the war exertion. Some African

With this concept in mind, the Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur, or the Militant League for German Culture, was created in 1929. Originally headed by Alfred Rosenburg, the Nazis took over the institution when Hitler rose to power and it became known as the Reichskulturkammer in 1933. The RKK was created to combat cultural influence that did not further “Germanness”. A division of the RKK became known as the Reichsmusikammer, or the RMK, that was used to censor music all throughout Germany. The only problem with the RMK was that it was entirely run by men with almost no musical background. It can be agreed that all Germans were very fond of music and its impact on the soul, but not all took the time to learn how to create and play music. The first of many cultural restrictions targeted music specifically and crippled the creation of music in German society.

Throughout the history of the United States, war and political actions have played as several influences for practices. One practice that has a massive connection with war and politics is music. It has the capability to express protest themes such as anti-war or anti-establishment. Music can also set the mood for the entire environment, such as a depressed scene creates slow, or somber-toned music. Or if the setting is rebellious and ecstatic, musicians will want to create fast-paced dancing music. In this essay, I argue that American music plays a drastic part in war and political applications and in the history of the United States, the Prohibition Era, World War II and the Vietnam War have significant evidence to prove this ideology.

Composers rely heavily on ritornello form. More freedom in the form although a sinfonia proper is later developed.

Music in the 1930s distracted everyone from what was actually going on. It made the people happy and that is all the leaders of America wanted such as President Roosevelt. However, when the depression seemed to to lift, it eventually got worse. Although, music brought the people to life and together just like it does today. It is important and interesting to learn about the struggles, the happiness, and the music of the Great Depression.

The major war of World WarⅡhad a bigger impact on the music that surrounds us more than most realize. The war caused many gradual changes such as, the change into musical groups instead of Big Bands, musician royalty payment, and the limit to materials used in musical instruments. Between 1941 and 1951 bands have became smaller because of expenses and obstacles from the war. During the musicians protest there was the want for royalty payment for albums and artists. Lastly, the war caused a limit in the materials used to make musical instruments.