CHAPTER 57 Modern America: Still and Musical Modernism in
the United States
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. During which decade did the Harlem Renaissance begin?
a. 1900s c. 1920s
b. 1910s d. 1930s
2. Which of the following was referred to as “the greatest Negro city in the world” during the 1920s?
a. New Orleans c. Chicago
b. Harlem d. Los Angeles
3. The Harlem Renaissance was inspired by a book of essays entitled
a. The Harlem Renaissance. c. The New Negro.
b. Invisible Man. d. Weary Blues.
4. The most important literary figure associated with the Harlem Renaissance was
a. Langston Hughes. c. Alain Locke.
b. Ralph Ellison. d. George Schuyler.
5. Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday performed in Harlem at the
a. Cotton Club. c. Coconut Grove.
b. Club DeLux. d. Ambassador Hotel.
6. In his early years, William Grant Still was associated with which artistic movement?
a. the Harlem Renaissance c. Impressionism
b. abstract expressionism d. imagism
7. William Grant Still composed music in many genres, including
a. opera. c. jazz arrangements.
b. film and television scores. d. All answers shown here.
8. How many movements make up Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano?
a. one c. three
b. two d. four
9. The third movement of William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano was inspired by a
a. poem by Langston Hughes. c. sculpture by Augusta Savage.
b. painting by Sargent Johnson. d. novel by Ralph Ellison.
10. The third movement of William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano can best be described as
a. experimental. c. serial.
b. bluesy. d. post-Romantic.
11. The New Negro, a book of essays, inspired
a. the Harlem Renaissance. c. the Great Migration.
b. the Harlem race riots of 1925. d. All of the answers shown here.
12. Who was the editor of The New Negro?
a. Alain Locke c. William Grant Still
b. Langston Hughes d. Duke Ellington
13. Langston Hughes was the most important ________ associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
a. musician c. literary figure
b. painter d. sculptor
14. Which author’s works explored what it meant to be black and female in a male-dominated society?
a. Billie Holiday c. W. E. B. Du Bois
b. Zora Neal Hurston d. Bessie Smith
15. Who considered his works as “tone parallels” to the lives of blacks?
a. Alain Locke c. William Grant Still
b. Langston Hughes d. Duke Ellington
16. Langston Hughes wrote verse that imitated the rhythms and flow of
a. bebop. c. jazz.
b. spirituals. d. ragtime.
17. What was the name of the literary, artistic, and sociological movement that highlighted African American intellectual life in the 1920s
and 1930s?
a. the New Negro Movement c. the Great Migration
b. the Harlem Renaissance d. Back to Africa
18. Who was the founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)?
a. Alain Locke c. Zora Neal Hurston
b. Langston Hughes d. W. E. B. Du Bois
19. Which African American composer wrote the first symphony to be performed by a major American orchestra?
a. Charlie Parker c. William Grant Still
b. Louis Armstrong d. Duke Ellington
20. What was the name of the first symphony written by an African American composer to be performed by a major American orchestra?
a. Afro-American c. Black and Tan Fantasy
b. Songs of Separation d. Rhapsody in Blue
21. The piano accompaniment for the third movement of Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano resembles
a. ragtime. c. bebop.
b. stride. d. a Mozart sonata.
22. Who was the MOST prominent African American woman artist of her day?
a. Zora Neal Hurston c. Augusta Savage
b. Sargent Johnson d. Bessie Smith
23. The second movement of William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano was inspired by a
a. poem by Langston Hughes. c. sculpture by Augusta Savage.
b. painting by Sargent Johnson. d. novel by Ralph Ellison.
24. Where was William Grant Still born?
a. California c. Arkansas
b. New York d. North Carolina
25. William Grant Still is a(n) ________ associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
a. composer c. poet
b. painter d. author
1. The authors of The New Negro encouraged black artists to look to New York for inspiration.
2. The Harlem Renaissance highlighted African American intellectual life in the 1920s and 1930s.
3. William Grant Still had an extensive background in jazz but no training in the European tradition.
4. William Grant Still composed the first symphony by an African American to be performed by a major American orchestra.
5. William Grant Still composed only instrumental works and avoided opera.
6. William Grant Still moved to Los Angeles and composed music for television.
7. William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano reflects his ties to the Harlem Renaissance.
8. The third movement of William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano is based on Sargent Johnson’s Mother and Child.
9. Langston Hughes is the most important literary figure associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
10. Zora Neal Hurston’s work explored the intersections of blackness and femininity.
11. Duke Ellington is a musician associated with the Harlem Renaissance.
12. Troubled Island by William Grant Still was the first opera by an African American produced by New York’s City Opera.
13. Like most classical works, Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano does NOT include the use of harmonies associated with the blues.
14. After the success of Still’s works, many members of the concert music establishment embraced blues and jazz as compositional
sources.
15. The accompaniment for the third movement of Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano evokes stride piano.
1. How does William Grant Still’s Suite for Violin and Piano reflect ideas associated with the Harlem Renaissance?
2. How does the music of William Grant Still reflect the traditions of European and African American music? Include examples in your
answer.
3. What was the Harlem Renaissance?
4. Discuss how works associated with the Harlem Renaissance addressed notions of African American identity.