Chapter 50: Sounds American: Copland and Musical Nationalism in the United
States
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Aaron Copland studied composition with:
a. Charles Ives. c. Arnold Schoenberg.
b. Nadia Boulanger. d. Charles Griffes.
2. Which ballet by Copland portrayed rural life?
a. Our Town c. Appalachian Spring
b. Rodeo d. Billy the Kid
3. Copland’s Rodeo is:
a. a cantata. c. a film score.
b. an opera. d. a ballet.
4. In which musical style did Copland compose?
a. twelve-tone technique c. neo-Classical
b. jazz d. all of the answers shown here
5. Copland composed Appalachian Spring in collaboration with:
a. Sergei Diaghilev. c. George Balanchine.
b. Martha Graham. d. Merce Cunningham.
6. Copland’s Appalachian Spring depicts:
a. a pioneer celebration in Pennsylvania.
b. a river in Pennsylvania.
c. the change of seasons in the Pennsylvania.
d. an evening dance in Washington, DC.
7. Which of the following best describes the mood at the beginning of Copland’s Appalachian
Spring?
a. energetic c. serene
b. religious d. volatile
8. Copland’s Appalachian Spring quotes the early American tune:
a. Simple Gifts. c. Dixie.
b. Yankee Doodle. d. Amazing Grace.
9. Section 7 of Copland’s Appalachian Spring is in ________ form.
a. sonata c. rondo
b. theme-and-variations d. minuet
10. _____ was the composer who most successfully transformed rural folk traditions into a national
sound.
a. Aaron Copland c. Duke Ellington
b. John Philip Sousa d. George Gershwin
11. Where was Aaron Copland born?
a. Brooklyn c. London
b. Paris d. Mexico City
12. Which ballet by Copland portrayed life in the Far West?
a. Appalachian Spring c. Of Mice and Men
b. Billy the Kid d. El Salon Mexico
13. The tune Simple Gifts is associated with which religious sect?
a. Shaker c. Catholic
b. Protestant d. Mormon
TRUE/FALSE
1. During his composing career, Copland employed jazz, neo-Classical elements, and twelve-tone
techniques.
2. Copland composed music for the theater, but not for film.
3. Martha Graham was a leading figure in modern dance.
4. Appalachian Spring contains no borrowed melodies.
5. Copland espoused the ideal that art should serve the American people during times of economic
and social struggle.
6. Like William Billings before him, Aaron Copland was a self-taught composer.
7. Aaron Copland won an Academy Award for his score for the film The Heiress.
8. Aaron Copland realized that the popularity of radio, the phonograph, and film scores created a new
public for contemporary music.
9. The music of Aaron Copland was rarely heard after his death.
10. Aaron Copland had a strong dislike for twentieth-century modernist composers.
ESSAY
1. Discuss the musical elements of Aaron Copland’s American modernist style and why they had a
wide appeal.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 3 REF: Essentials: pp. 282–283
TOP: Copland MSC: Conceptual
2. Discuss the ways the music of Aaron Copland creates an inclusive soundscape for the United
States.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 2 REF: Essentials: pp. 281–283
TOP: Copland MSC: Applied