Rotational Form in the Opening Scene of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW DAVIS ◽  
HOWARD POLLACK

Although George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess has the reputation of being casually constructed and amenable to cuts, a close look at the unexpurgated opera—including its first scene, the focus of this essay—reveals a through-composed work of considerable architectural complexity. Specifically, the opening scene may be understood as a rotational form—a large-scale organizational strategy in which thematic materials are restated cyclically—exhibiting teleological genesis—a procedure by which the form leads the listener gradually toward a goal-point or climax. In this particular case, two alternating themes eventually conjoin to form the subject of a climactic fugue, thereby closely tracing the scene's dramatic design, in which a craps game degenerates into violence and murder. The presence of rotational form in this scene, among other criteria, suggests that abridged versions of the opera, including the one premiered by New York's Theatre Guild in 1935, need to be reconsidered, especially with regard to the work's motivic, tonal, and formal coherence as well as its proportion and pacing.

1912 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. J. Russell ◽  
F. R. Petherbridge

Previous investigations in this laboratory have shown that partial sterilisation of soil leads to increased productiveness. In attempting to apply this method on the large scale two courses were open. The more obvious was to seek for methods cheap enough for use in the field, and then to conduct a number of field trials to determine which was the best; this was almost certain to prove a tedious and expensive business and would not necessarily lead to a successful issue. The alternative plan, and the one we adopted, was to find classes of growers who could afford to use our present methods of partial sterilisation and who would be willing to do so. However restricted their number of crops might be we knew that the cost of the process must fall once it was applied in commercial growing, so that the range over which it was applicable would soon begin to widen; a further advantage was that from the outset we should be gaining experience of the working of partial sterilisation in practice. Fortunately we met with a large tomato and cucumber grower in the Waltham Cross district who put us in touch with the class of growers we wanted: in this way we came across the problem of sickness in glasshouse soils which forms the subject of the present communication.


1998 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
V. Kellik

The large-scale transition from the system of (real) socialism to that of (mixed) capitalism was launched in central and eastern Europe in 1989, followed by the erstwhile republics of the USSR two years later. These developments also served to open the previously closed book of socialist economics to objective study and research. Much has been written on the subject by economists on both sides of the one-time iron curtain. But what are the impressions of an insider looking out'?  It may come as a surprise that he might view the theoretical foundations of the market economy with serious misgivings.


Author(s):  
Marta Kuzma ◽  
Marcin Lisowski

This paper presents the application of digital terrain model in developing a relief model. The digital terrain model served as the basis for the relief model. The research has taken into account the subject of combining different data in order to develop a numerical model of the land − surveying, bathymetry, maps. Another issue addressed was the one of vertical scale or exceeding it in the developed model. Its appropriate selection allows the correct representation of the terrain geomorphology. The paper presents research in carrying out relief model of Szczesliwicki Park in Warsaw. The results show the link between the vertical scale or exceeding it and the accuracy (correctness) of relief model in large-scale descriptions. In addition, a verification of models was made with the use of a scanner that uses structural light.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 130-145
Author(s):  
Grigoriy V. Alfeyev ◽  
◽  
Alexander I. Kyrlezhev ◽  

In an interview with Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk, several topics are touched upon concerning the nature of Christian theology, the differences between the theology of the Church proper, which exists in theological schools and in the Orthodox theological community, and theology in universities, which is recognized in Russia as a field of the humanities and a group of specialties for which degrees are awarded. Theology as a field institutionally unites different confessional theologies — primarily the traditional religious confessions: Orthodoxy, Islam, and Judaism. Metropolitan Hilarion defends the idea that theology in this secular space should be confessional, and therefore it is necessary to approbate theological research by the relevant religious organizations. At the same time, Metropolitan Hilarion supports the principle of academic freedom, meaning freedom of theological research within the framework of religious traditions and referring readers to historical examples that are the subject of patrology. In the second part of the conversation, Metropolitan Hilarion describes his own path in theology — from the first patrological works to the latest large-scale project of New Testament theology, the fruit of which was a six-volume study dedicated to Jesus Christ as a historical character and as a Man revealing God. This conversation, on the one hand, outlines the position of the Church in relation to theology in its ecclesiastical and secular dimensions, and, on the other hand, reflects the personal history of an authoritative Orthodox theologian, who responds to the challenges of the time and offers a modern interpretation of the main theological topics, while remaining faithful to the unbroken church tradition.


Author(s):  
Vadim Vladislavovich Maiko ◽  

This paper is the first to address the problem of the presence of Byzantine imports in the material culture of Bosporos from the second half of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. So far the degree of “Byzantinization” of the coastal towns in the eastern Taurica, which were finally absorbed by the Golden Horde in the third quarter of the thirteenth century and remained in its structure to the mid-fifteenth century, is a topical issue in the mediaeval Crimean studies. Although the greatest part of the artefacts made in Byzantium, represented mostly by ceramic ware and discovered in the thirteenth-fourteenth century horizons and buildings of Sougdaia, has already been introduced into the scholarship, parallel finds from Bosporos never became the subject of analysis. The reason is the poor studying of the latter and almost complete absence of published materials. The materials of large-scale protective excavations conducted in Kerch in 2018 certainly deserve attention. The vast majority of these finds date from the seventh to twelfth centuries. However, the materials from the second half of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries stand out to become the subject of this paper. Unfortunately, they are highly fragmented, but allowing the one to determine Byzantine imports and to compare their composition and quantity with similar products of Sougdaia.


Author(s):  
Gwynne Kuhner Brown

This chapter challenges the assumption that George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is something done by whites to blacks by highlighting the indispensable, active role played by African American performers in every critically successful production of the opera. Porgy and Bess has been the subject of controversy for decades owing to its depiction of African Americans. Many of the arguments against Gershwin's work casts African Americans as the victims of malevolent or thoughtless white actions. This chapter examines how Porgy and Bess came into being as an opportunity for productive interracial collaboration by focusing on the Theatre Guild production of 1935, one of several postwar productions of Porgy and Bess that have managed to bring performers and the director together. It also considers Gershwin's respect for his cast members as individuals and concludes with a discussion of five case studies that speak of the tension in the relationship between white directorial staff and black performers in Porgy and Bess, including the production of Samuel Goldwyn's 1959 Technicolor film about Catfish Row.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dorothea E. Schulz

Starting with the controversial esoteric employment of audio recordings by followers of the charismatic Muslim preacher Sharif Haidara in Mali, the article explores the dynamics emerging at the interface of different technologies and techniques employed by those engaging the realm of the Divine. I focus attention on the “border zone” between, on the one hand, techniques for appropriating scriptures based on long-standing religious conventions, and, on the other, audio recording technologies, whose adoption not yet established authoritative and standardized forms of practice, thereby generating insecurities and becoming the subject of heated debate. I argue that “recyclage” aptly describes the dynamics of this “border zone” because it captures the ways conventional techniques of accessing the Divine are reassessed and reemployed, by integrating new materials and rituals. Historically, appropriations of the Qur’an for esoteric purposes have been widespread in Muslim West Africa. These esoteric appropriations are at the basis of the considerable continuities, overlaps and crossovers, between scripture-related esoteric practices on one side, and the treatment by Sharif Haidara’s followers of audio taped sermons as vessels of his spiritual power, on the other.


e-Finanse ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 67-76
Author(s):  
Piotr Bartkiewicz

AbstractThe article presents the results of the review of the empirical literature regarding the impact of quantitative easing (QE) on emerging markets (EMs). The subject is of interest to policymakers and researchers due to the increasingly larger role of EMs in the world economy and the large-scale capital flows occurring after 2009. The review is conducted in a systematic manner and takes into consideration different methodological choices, samples and measurement issues. The paper puts the summarized results in the context of transmission channels identified in the literature. There are few distinct methodological approaches present in the literature. While there is a consensus regarding the direction of the impact of QE on EMs, its size and durability have not yet been assessed with sufficient precision. In addition, there are clear gaps in the empirical findings, not least related to relative underrepresentation of the CEE region (in particular, Poland).


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 11-15
Author(s):  
Gan N.Yu. ◽  
Ponomareva L.I. ◽  
Obukhova K.A.

Today, worldview, spiritual and moral problems that have always been reflected in education and upbringing come to the fore in society. In this situation, there is a demand for philosophical categories. One of the priority goals of education in modern conditions is the formation of a reasonable, reflexive person who is able to analyze their actions and the actions of other people. Modern science is characterized by an understanding of the absolute value and significance of childhood in the development of the individual, which implies the need for its multilateral study. In the conditions of democratization of all spheres of life, the child ceases to be a passive object of education and training, and becomes an active carrier of their own meanings of being and the subject of world creation. One of the realities of childhood is philosophizing, so it is extremely timely to address the identification of its place and role in the world of childhood. Children's philosophizing is extremely poorly studied, although the need for its analysis is becoming more obvious. Children's philosophizing is one of the forms of philosophical reflection, which has its own qualitative specificity, on the one hand, and commonality with all other forms of philosophizing, on the other. The social relevance of the proposed research lies in the fact that children's philosophizing can be considered as an intellectual indicator of a child's socialization, since the process of reflection involves the adoption and development of culture. Modern society, in contrast to the traditional one, is ready to "accept" a philosophizing child, which means that it is necessary to determine the main characteristics and conditions of children's philosophizing.


Author(s):  
Iryna Rusnak

The author of the article analyses the problem of the female emancipation in the little-known feuilleton “Amazonia: A Very Inept Story” (1924) by Mykola Chirsky. The author determines the genre affiliation of the work and examines its compositional structure. Three parts are distinguished in the architectonics of associative feuilleton: associative conception; deployment of a “small” topic; conclusion. The author of the article clarifies the role of intertextual elements and the method of constantly switching the tone from serious to comic to reveal the thematic direction of the work. Mykola Chirsky’s interest in the problem of female emancipation is corresponded to the general mood of the era. The subject of ridicule in provocative feuilleton is the woman’s radical metamorphoses, since repulsive manifestations of emancipation becomes commonplace. At the same time, the writer shows respect for the woman, appreciates her femininity, internal and external beauty, personality. He associates the positive in women with the functions of a faithful wife, a caring mother, and a skilled housewife. In feuilleton, the writer does not bypass the problem of the modern man role in a family, but analyses the value and moral and ethical guidelines of his character. The husband’s bad habits receive a caricatured interpretation in the strange behaviour of relatives. On the one hand, the writer does not perceive the extremes brought by female emancipation, and on the other, he mercilessly criticises the male “virtues” of contemporaries far from the standard. The artistic heritage of Mykola Chirsky remains little studied. The urgent task of modern literary studies is the introduction of Mykola Chirsky’s unknown works into the scientific circulation and their thorough scientific understanding.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document