{"id":9111,"date":"2024-06-03T14:33:15","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T14:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/?page_id=9111"},"modified":"2025-08-16T14:20:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T14:20:04","slug":"aziz","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/","title":{"rendered":"Tonal Rumble: Simultaneous and Successive Bitonality in West Side Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n<script type=\"text\/x-mathjax-config\"> \n\t\tMathJax.Hub.Config({ \n\t\t  messageStyle: \"none\" \n}); \n<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Andrew Aziz<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Abstract<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>This article offers original listening strategies for two dimensions of bitonality featured in <em>West Side Story<\/em>, both implied (but not defined) in Bernstein\u2019s writings (1959, 1976): \u201csimultaneous,\u201d or the vertical superimposition of clashing strata, and \u201csuccessive,\u201d in which non-stratified tonal events generate tonally ambiguous environments, suggesting more than one key. Bernstein\u2019s compositional strategies align with the plot\u2019s trajectory: successive bitonality appears when the gangs stalk each other at a distance (centrally in \u201cPrologue,\u201d \u201cDance at the Gym Blues,\u201d and \u201cMaria\u201d), with simultaneous bitonality capturing their fateful clash (centrally in \u201cQuintet\u201d and \u201cTonal Rumble\u201d). Throughout, the analyses apply contemporary theories of tonal transformation (Kaminsky 2004, Rings 2011), scalar dissonance (Martins 2019), and harmonic \u201cdivorce\u201d (Temperley 2007, Nobile 2015, De Clercq 2019), amongst others. Finally, I summarize that octatonicism in <em>West Side Story<\/em> is best contextualized as a processual byproduct of tonal relations, with the seeds sewn in \u201cPrologue.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/?page_id=9113\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/?page_id=9113\">View PDF<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"9044\">Return to Volume 37<\/a><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Keywords and phrases:<\/strong> bitonality, polytonality, tonal ambiguity, Leonard Bernstein, <em>West Side Story<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">The conditions are ripe for tonal clashes in Bernstein\u2019s <em>West Side Story<\/em>: two opposing forces, the Jets and the Sharks, are fatefully interacting. While many historical, sociopolitical, and even cognitive studies exist, there is a notable absence of close analytical readings of the score.<span id='easy-footnote-1-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-1-9111' title='Thomas Posen (2016) supplies a transformational analysis in a more tonally neutral realm, emphasizing set theory. Joseph P. Swain (1990) and Elizabeth Wells (2010) discuss several passages from a theoretical bent, and Lars Helgert (2008) provides close analytical readings of jazz elements in Bernstein\u2019s concert works. Helen Smith\u2019s study (2016) focuses on several dimensions:&amp;nbsp; the intersection of tritones and fifths, rhythm and meter, motivic development, and counterpoint.'><sup>1<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Musical depictions of the gangs\u2019 ongoing struggle include the confluence of acoustically consonant and dissonant intervals (from the opening trichord), the juxtaposition of simple and compound meters, and the superimposition of independent layers. As Elizabeth Wells notes, the compositional environment of the 1950s led Bernstein to employ dissonance both as a structural tool and as a unifying surface detail (2010, 12). The superimposition of different strata, potentially implying multiple tonal centers, has been theorized as \u201cpolytonality\u201d (and \u201cbitonality\u201d in the case of two key centers). This article investigates the prevalence of bitonality in Bernstein\u2019s consequential score.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The article\u2019s primary task is to uncover listening strategies for those passages in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that offer perplexing, ironic, and even satisfying clashes of sound. In addition, it surveys confounding passages that, despite only projecting one apparent tonal center at a time, may imply more than one. Raymond Knapp describes the distinction:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Broadway\u2019s version of polytonality can involve writing in two or more keys at once, or it can, less jarringly, create an ambiguous tonal environment in which more than one key might serve as a concluding key. (2013, 239)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the first section, I survey the value of such intuitions based on Bernstein\u2019s archived writings on music. Next, I unpack<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">two distinct forms of bitonality found in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: \u201csimultaneous,\u201d or the vertical superimposition of strata, and \u201csuccessive,\u201d in which tonal events generate tonally ambiguous environments, suggesting more than one key. I support my approaches with foundational work on polytonal\/polyscalar work by Peter Kaminsky and Jos\u00e9 Oliveira Martins, perspectives of harmonic divorce in recent popular music studies, and the transformational approach of Steven Rings. I then apply these concepts to chosen numbers in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, beginning with the \u201cPrologue\u201d and culminating in \u201cRumble.\u201d A concluding section reflects on the analytical approaches employed (including the treatment of the \u201coctatonic\u201d collection), situating the methodologies within an epistemological context. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Prologue: Bernstein\u2019s Writings&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is hardly surprising that Bernstein\u2019s acclaimed score is saturated with many evocative sonorities. In his 1959 book, <em>The Joy of Music<\/em>, in the chapter entitled \u201cIntroduction to Modern Music,\u201d he begins with the following:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Here it is a nice, quiet Sunday evening in January, and we are about to listen to some beautiful music. Immediately, this suggests a pattern: low lights, your favorite chair, a glass of beer, a cigarette, those warm bunny slippers- in short, relaxation. And now the music (<strong>Example<\/strong> <strong>1<\/strong>). (Bernstein 1959, 305)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-1\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"668\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-1-scaled.jpeg\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 1\" class=\"wp-image-9148\" style=\"width:512px;height:134px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-1-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-1-300x78.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-1-1024x267.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-1-768x200.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-1-1536x401.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-1-2048x534.jpeg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 1.<\/strong> From Bernstein\u2019s The Joy of Music (1959, 305).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This small segment from Igor Stravinsky\u2019s \u201cSong of the Nightingale\u201d was not intended to \u201cshock, or upset the bourgeoisie, or provoke fist fights. It was written to charm, entertain, to be pleasant and touching\u201d (ibid<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). It is no accident that Bernstein\u2019s reflexive association with modern music was the juxtaposition of two perfect fifths.<\/span><span id='easy-footnote-2-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-2-9111' title='Joseph Straus\u2019 2014 article exhaustively shows how a pair of perfect fifths has great explanatory power in Stravinsky\u2019s harmony and voice leading. Steven Baur (1999, 564) traces Stravinsky\u2019s exposure to the C\/F$$\\sharp$$ triadic superimposition to a performance of &lt;em&gt;Jeux d\u2019eau&lt;\/em&gt; (composed in 1901), and only after hearing it, did the chord appear in Rimsky-Korsakov\u2019s hand (ibid., 567). Significantly, Milhaud viewed that the clashing of even the most distant relationships\u2014even the superimposition of these two particular triads\u2014can be considered polytonal rather than atonal (see Amos 2007, 48).'><sup>2<\/sup><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In Bernstein\u2019s sixth Harvard lecture, \u201cPoetry of the Earth,\u201d he elaborates further, crediting Stravinsky as having appeared \u201clike an angel of deliverance, just in time to lead the great rescue operation, the huge project of saving tonality\u201d (1976, 331), doing so by acquiring \u201csome striking new additives\u2014a new dissonantal freedom\u201d (ibid., 338).&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A closer look into his Harvard lectures reveals how Bernstein <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">valued<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the preservation of tonal elements\u2014such as the perfect fifth\u2014and figures such as Stravinsky, who \u201csaved\u201d tonality. In the fifth lecture, \u201cThe Twentieth-Century Crises,\u201d Bernstein describes the landscape as a \u201criver dividing into two forks\u201d (1976, 270). On one side, tonal composers (led by Stravinsky) wished to \u201cextend musical ambiguities\u201d within the confines of the tonal system (ibid.); on the other, nontonal composers (led by Schoenberg) sought to overhaul the tonal system through a \u201cclean break\u201d (ibid., 271). For Bernstein, tonality was preferable to both free atonality and serialism. Free atonality was \u201cextremely difficult for the listener to follow in either form or content\u201d (ibid., 273), and serialism was not based on \u201cinnate awareness, on the intuition of tonal relationships\u201d (ibid., 283). Bernstein advocated for Stravinsky\u2019s effort to keep tonality alive and \u201cmusical progress on the move\u201d through structural ambiguities (ibid., 337). The ambiguities afforded by serialism were elusive, but those arising from tonal dissonances, such as polytonality, were a natural outgrowth of sustaining tonality.<span id='easy-footnote-3-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-3-9111' title='Bernstein believed that Schoenberg\u2019s twelve-tone music presents ambiguities \u201ctoo huge to be grasped,\u201d whereas Berg\u2019s \u201cpositive ambiguities\u201d stem from his explicit applications of tonality within his tone rows (ibid., 297). '><sup>3<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bernstein illustrates his perspective with several famous examples: the C-F$$\\sharp$$ \u201cPetrushka\u201d chord, the C-E-E$$\\flat$$7 centered ostinati within the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rite<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cDance of the Adolescents,\u201d and the G-D duality in Milhaud\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saudade do Brasil<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201cCorcovado\u201d (<\/span><b>Example 2<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). Bernstein, describing the Milhaud:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>And the point to note is not only that it is bitonal, the left hand in G and the right hand in D, but that it is a Parisian speaking the Brazilian vernacular. Do you see how charming and relaxed bitonality can be? (1976, 361).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-2\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3916\" height=\"916\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-2.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 2\" class=\"wp-image-9149\" style=\"width:512px;height:120px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-2.png 3916w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-2-300x70.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-2-1024x240.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-2-768x180.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-2-1536x359.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-2-2048x479.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 2.<\/strong> Milhaud, Saudades do Brasil, \u201cCorcovado,\u201d mm. 1\u20138, in \u201cPoetry of the Earth\u201d (1976, 361).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These examples engender what I refer to as <strong>simultaneous<\/strong> bitonality (or biscalarity), in which multiple tonal centers (or collections) are superimposed.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span id='easy-footnote-4-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-4-9111' title='One such recent examination of simultaneous bitonality is found in Reese (2020) on the music of Karol Szymanowski, whose \u201ckeyboard\u201d polytonality is often generated by the superimposition of black and white keys. Holly Bergeron-Dumaine (2018) investigates the interaction of concurrent strata, delineating \u201csyntactic\u201d (pitch and duration) versus \u201cstatistical\u201d (orchestration and timbre, tempo, and gesture) differentiation (40).'><sup>4<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Knapp, Wells, and Joseph P. Swain posit that bitonality in <em>West Side Story<\/em> not only involves passages containing superimposed key strands but also encompasses non-stratified passages that allude to more than one key. Wells connects this notion to Bernstein\u2019s embracing the tonal plan of Wagner\u2019s Prelude to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tristan und Isolde<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a centerpiece in the fourth Harvard lecture, \u201cThe Delights and Dangers of Ambiguity\u201d (in particular, 1976, 226\u2013237).<\/span><span id='easy-footnote-5-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-5-9111' title='The central focus of Bernstein\u2019s analysis tracing the origin of Wagner\u2019s motives to Berlioz\u2019s &lt;em&gt;Romeo&lt;\/em&gt; &lt;em&gt;and Juliet&lt;\/em&gt; (ibid., 227), and not as much on the Prelude\u2019s tonality. He does note, however, that the most frequently occurring pitches in the first two phrases of the Prelude form a G$$\\sharp$$&lt;em&gt; &lt;\/em&gt;diminished 7&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;\/sup&gt;, implying four possible keys A, C, E$$\\flat$$, and F$$\\sharp$$.'><sup>5<\/sup><\/a><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Prelude establishes a close duality with A and C, with an early emphasis on A shifting to C in the final section.<span id='easy-footnote-6-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-6-9111' title='See Bailey (1985, 122), who first established the \u201cdouble-tonic complex.\u201d Scholarship investigating multiple tonics is found in Pomeroy (2004) on Debussy and BaileyShea (2007) on Wolf; more recent work on multiple centers in popular music appears in Nobile (2020), specifically on the double-tonic complex, and Ferrandino (2022), who extends the theory to \u201cmulti-centric\u201d complexes. I do not employ their specific terms, instead opting for successive versus simultaneous bitonality, which embraces the distinction between horizontal and vertical manifestations of bitonality.'><sup>6<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Bernstein also unpacks the \u201cdelightful\u201d ambiguity of multiple key centers in the opening of Mahler\u2019s Symphony #5, IV (<\/span><b>Example 3<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-3\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3034\" height=\"1108\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-3.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 3\" class=\"wp-image-9150\" style=\"width:512px;height:187px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-3.png 3034w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-3-300x110.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-3-1024x374.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-3-768x280.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-3-1536x561.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-3-2048x748.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 3.<\/strong> Mahler, Symphony #5, IV, in \u201cThe Delights and Dangers of Ambiguity\u201d (1976, 198).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To Bernstein, ambiguity unlocks the explanation for why audiences \u201cswoon\u201d to the Adagietto, through the withholding of the tonic F for the entirety of the first two measures (\u201cthe two notes we hear <em>could<\/em> turn out to be two-thirds of a whole other triad, namely A minor\u201d (ibid., 199)). Even after the bass finally makes its way to F, a \u201ctug-at-the-heart\u201d in the melody (E) holds the listener in suspense; once it resolves, they \u201cmelt away, with the pleasure of fulfillment\u201d (ibid.). As the identity of the triad remains ambiguous, one\u2019s perception of tonic remains fluid; I term the temporal unfolding of different potential tonics <strong>successive<\/strong> polytonality. In doing so, I embrace Bernstein\u2019s spirit of tonal ambiguity by tracing passages in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that summon a similar analytical strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An additional ingredient of Bernstein\u2019s tonal language can be linked back to his undergraduate thesis at Harvard (\u201cThe Absorption of Race Elements into American Music\u201d), from which Geoffrey Block demonstrates the continuity of Bernstein\u2019s ideas from youth to maturity (2008, 153). In his dissertation, Lars Helgert traces Bernstein\u2019s usage of a collection containing lowered third, fifth, and seventh scale degrees (2008, 56; 216).<\/span> <b>Example 4<strong> <\/strong><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reproduces a transcription from Bernstein\u2019s Harvard thesis that features this collection.<span id='easy-footnote-7-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-7-9111' title='This example is reproduced from Helgert (218). In his analytical chapters, he illustrates the usage of blues scale degrees in Bernstein\u2019s Sonata for the Piano, II(203\u201304); Clarinet Sonata (213\u2013217); Symphony no. 2, \u201cThe Seven Stages\u201d (234\u2013237) and \u201cThe Masque\u201d (247); and Touches: Chorale, Eight Variations and Coda (297, 302\u2013303), especially within the application of the octatonic collection (310).'><sup>7<\/sup><\/a><\/span> As we will see, these \u201cblue-note\u201d scale-degree pairings ($$\\flat\\hat{3}$$\/$$\\hat{3}$$, $$\\flat\\hat{5}$$\/$$\\hat{5}$$, $$\\flat\\hat{7}$$\/$$\\hat{7}$$) allow Bernstein to both activate multiple scalar collections with the same tonic (\u201cpolyscalarity\u201d). In addition, interpreting blues scale degrees affords a potential dual interpretation of pitches not otherwise found in a diatonic collection. For example, G can flexibly serve as $$\\hat{5}$$ in C or $$\\flat\\hat{7}$$ in A. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-4\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2932\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-4.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 4\" class=\"wp-image-9151\" style=\"width:512px;height:103px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-4.png 2932w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-4-300x60.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-4-1024x206.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-4-768x155.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-4-1536x309.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-4-2048x412.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 4.<\/strong> Bernstein\u2019s transcription of the blues scale from his Harvard thesis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bernstein\u2019s usage of lowered scale degrees engenders the sound of jazz, a topic traced by numerous musicologists. According to Katherine Baber, Bernstein\u2019s \u201cweaving of a tapestry\u201d included all the stylistic choices available to him (2019, 13); in West Side Story, jazz styles converge to confront tensions surrounding race, ethnicity, and gender and to act in response to those tensions<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(ibid., 156). Matthew Mugmon accounts for Bernstein\u2019s stance that jazz, as an American folk music, became a \u201cnatural part of a composer\u2019s vision\u201d (2019, 3). Baber and Nigel Simeone cite Bernstein\u2019s admiration of Milhaud\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">La cr\u00e9ation du monde<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which possesses the polytonal and jazz elements that so intrigued him, and that he conducted regularly (Simeone 2013, 319; Baber 2019, 50). In turn, I will discuss how Bernstein draws upon techniques from Milhaud\u2019s and Stravinsky\u2019s works in climactic points of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scholarly literature by Baber, Block, Simeone, Wells, and others affirm how Bernstein\u2019s primary sources provide explicit guidelines for how he <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">heard<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> music, reflecting his compositional impulses.<\/span><span id='easy-footnote-8-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-8-9111' title='Most recently, Laird (2021) has uncovered, through studies of Bernstein\u2019s sketches, the processes of &lt;em&gt;West Side Story&lt;\/em&gt;\u2019s orchestration.'><sup>8<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bernstein\u2019s foregrounding of polytonality, dissonance, and ambiguity communicates potential strategies for unpacking an often perplexing surface. The following section codifies my perspectives further, integrating concepts with contemporary scholarship on scalar and transformational theories.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Simultaneous versus Successive Bitonality&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Swain is accurate when he proclaims that \u201cthe music of the Prologue is the source of all of Bernstein&#8217;s important musical elements\u201d (1990, 213); no source material makes for a more explanatory building block than the opening three notes.<span id='easy-footnote-9-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-9-9111' title='Thomas Posen, in his 2016 master\u2019s thesis, identifies the opening (016) set class as source material, tracing this opening set through more tonally agnostic transformations.'><sup>9<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Bernstein himself (chronicled by Wells; 2010, 57) indicated, in a note to a Dutch student in 1969, how the opening three-note \u201cshofar\u201d whistle is the source material for many other numbers, including \u201cPrologue,\u201d \u201cMaria,\u201d&nbsp; and \u201cCool\u201d; Helen Smith also cites smaller junctures within \u201cScherzo\u201d and \u201cMambo,\u201d as well as \u201cSomething\u2019s Coming\u201d and \u201cCha Cha\u201d (2016, 148). Perhaps a \u201cPetrushka\u201d chord of sorts due to its pitch content and iconic recognition, the opening three-note whistle of G-C-F$$\\sharp$$ creates a necessary problem to be solved\u2014its seemingly paradoxical mix of acoustically dissonant and consonant intervals, as well as the pitches&#8217; individual potential for tonal function.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Such an intervallic study of the opening trichord is carried out by Smith, who traces its various permutations, rhythmic variations, and evolution across the musical.<span id='easy-footnote-10-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-10-9111' title='For example, she cleverly illustrates that the minor second between the trichord\u2019s semitone transforms into a whole step in \u201cSomewhere\u201d and \u201cProcession\u201d (ibid., 152).'><sup>10<\/sup><\/a><\/span> A crucial rhythmic observation is how the \u201ccentral $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ is shorter than the surrounding notes,\u201d as it typically embellishes the resolution note of $$\\hat{5}$$, setting up an appoggiatura. While the three notes of the trichord are typically found in close proximity, one exception where the tritone does not immediately resolve is found in \u201cGee, Officer Krupke,\u201d the psychological effect of which is discussed in Nagel (2010a).<span id='easy-footnote-11-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-11-9111' title='As Smith notes, the tritone is only absent from \u201cAmerica,\u201d \u201cSomewhere,\u201d and \u201cI Feel Pretty\u201d (2016, 152).'><sup>11<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Another exception appears in the nontonal context of the \u201cshofar\u201d motive \u2014a perfect fourth + tritone ascending\u2014that realizes the \u201csemitone\u201d as a dissonant major seventh. For example, the C-F-B in \u201cPrologue,\u201d mm. 40\u201342, cannot be heard as a $$\\hat{5}$$-$$\\hat{1}$$-$$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$, as the B lacks any tendency to resolve to C. This iteration of the motive highlights the acoustic incompatibilities of the tritone and the perfect fifth; joined together, they form a clashing major seventh.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the pitches of a major seventh are tonally incompatible, the intervals\u2019 existence generates an inherent stratification into multiple layers, setting the stage for <\/span><b>simultaneous bitonality<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<span id='easy-footnote-12-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-12-9111' title='Though it was the opinion of prominent scholars that the concept of polytonality was \u201cdubious\u201d (Berger 1963, 22\u201323) or, even worse, a \u201chorror of the musical imagination\u201d (van den Toorn 1987, 63\u201364), these cries are heavily exaggerated. As Daniel Harrison has suggested, the ridicule for the compositional practice of polytonality uncharitably extends to those analysts who wish to uncover the procedure (1997, 394). In support of this analytical perspective in Stravinsky, Dmitri Tymoczko proclaims that the \u201cmusic itself will necessarily be our last court of appeal\u201d (2002, 85). Fortunately, since Bernstein has endorsed the compositional procedure with such affirmation, perhaps an analyst can be at peace uncovering \u201cthe effects and results of this procedure, as well as the conditions under which it flourishes\u201d (Harrison 1997, 394).'><sup>12<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><b>&nbsp; <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simultaneous bitonality occurs most overtly when collections with different tonal centers interact. The two collections may have the same center, however, if they superimpose different chromatic scale degrees or distinct modes (in those instances, bi-\u201cscalarity\u201d or bi-\u201cmodality\u201d is a more precise descriptor). Peter Kaminsky analyzes an example of simultaneous bitonality in Ravel\u2019s Violin Sonata, II, \u201cBlues,\u201d reproduced in <\/span><b>Example 5<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In this work, the keys of A$$\\flat$$ major and G major, a major seventh apart, vie for prominence, with Kaminsky arguing that the upper parts eventually become assimilated into the underlying bass line.<span id='easy-footnote-13-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-13-9111' title='Kaminsky terms this semitonal class as a \u201cT11 superimposition\u201d; see 258\u2013261. '><sup>13<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-5\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3274\" height=\"1316\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-5.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 5\" class=\"wp-image-9152\" style=\"width:512px;height:206px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-5.png 3274w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-5-300x121.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-5-1024x412.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-5-768x309.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-5-1536x617.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-5-2048x823.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 5.<\/strong> Reproduction of opening measures of Ravel Violin Sonata, II (Kaminsky 2004, 259).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaminsky\u2019s method examines two dimensions of simultaneous bitonality that manifest throughout <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, he separates the music into three strands: 1) the middle-range \u201ctreble chords\u201d projecting G major, beginning with the violin and handed off to the piano in m. 12;  2) the bass accompaniment, an A$$\\flat$$-E$$\\flat$$ perfect fifth; and 3) the upper-range violin melody. By itself, the middle-range G major is unopposed (mm. 1\u20136), then vies for prominence with the bass\u2019s A$$\\flat$$ open fifth in mm. 7\u201312, resisting assimilation (ibid., 258). Additionally, he considers the scale degree function of pitches through the lenses of the vying keys. Only the treble chord\u2019s B$$\\natural$$ is acoustically consonant against the A$$\\flat$$-E$$\\flat$$; the D and G are incompatible. While the G-F-G of the violin melody more closely aligns with the piano\u2019s treble chords, the F-E$$\\flat$$-F begins to veer toward alignment with the bass\u2019s open fifth, especially with the presence of the E$$\\flat$$ as $$\\hat{5}$$ in A$$\\flat$$ major. At the same time, F is a \u201cblue note\u201d $$\\flat\\hat{7}$$&nbsp; in G major. The B$$\\natural$$\/C$$\\flat$$ in the violin melody serves as the clinching moment for coherence in both keys, and the tipping point for perceiving A$$\\flat$$ major as more prominent. At first, B$$\\natural$$ projects $$\\hat{3}$$ in G major, before enharmonically transforming into a blue $$\\flat\\hat{3}$$&nbsp; of A$$\\flat$$ major.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contemporary theories of pop-rock music, Trevor de Clercq would classify the Violin Sonata passage as one possessing \u201charmonic-bass\u201d divorce (similar to his Example 15)<span id='easy-footnote-14-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-14-9111' title='In Ex. 15, de Clercq discusses\u2014at the end of Joni Mitchell\u2019s \u201cBlue\u201d\u2014widespread instances of left-handed \u201cpower chords\u201d conflicting with triads performed in the right hand, ending with an instance of an A-E \u201cpower chord\u201d as superposed below an E-major triad above it (2019, 283\u201384). '><sup>14<\/sup><\/a><\/span>; the open-fifth A$$\\flat$$-E$$\\flat$$, akin to a \u201cpower chord,\u201d conflicts with the established harmony. The interaction of the violin melody with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">both<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the A$$\\flat$$-E$$\\flat$$ and G-major harmonic layers (depending on what is heard as the referential \u201charmony\u201d) appeals to what David Temperley (2007) and Drew Nobile (2015) describe as a \u201cmelodic-harmonic\u201d divorce. While both the treble chords and bass line insistently project their respective tonics, the violin line initially resists accordance with the A$$\\flat$$-E$$\\flat$$layer, until gradually \u201cdivorcing\u201d the G-major layer altogether and uniting with A$$\\flat$$ major in mm. 18\u201319.<span id='easy-footnote-15-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-15-9111' title='Ferrandino\u2019s \u201cmulti-centric complexes\u201d provide an alternative take on Nobile\u2019s and de Clercq\u2019s \u201cdivorce paradigms\u201d (2022, 32). '><sup>15<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-6\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3414\" height=\"1234\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-6.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 6\" class=\"wp-image-9153\" style=\"width:512px;height:185px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-6.png 3414w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-6-300x108.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-6-1024x370.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-6-768x278.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-6-1536x555.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-6-2048x740.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 6.<\/strong> Martins\u2019 analysis of Milhaud\u2019s \u201cCopacabana,\u201d mm. 1\u201313  (Martins 2019, 62).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To further interpret Bernstein\u2019s stratification of different scalar collections\u2014rather than just chords\u2014we can apply Jos\u00e9 Oliveira Martins\u2019 theory of polytonal\/modal \u201cmismatch\u201d in twentieth-century music.<span id='easy-footnote-16-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-16-9111' title='Martins summarizes the polytonality \u201cdebate\u201d as revolving around two theoretical tensions: 1) polytonality as a product of the compositional craft versus one\u2019s perception of a layered structure; 2) each layer has explicitly activated functional keys versus (only) preserving a tonal character (2019, 50). \u2013 In separate work, he discusses models for polymodality\u2014also involving scale segment interaction\u2014in Bartok (see Martins 2015).'><sup>16<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Martins models the interaction of tonally resonant layers, developing an original theoretic construct called \u201cscalar dissonance.\u201d Applied to Milhaud\u2019s \u201cCopacabana\u201d movement of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saudades do Brasil<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Martins measures the interactions of different scalar strata. <\/span><b>Example 6<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> reproduces Martins\u2019 score illustrating the competing layers of B major (5-sharp diatonic) and G major (1-sharp diatonic). First, he considers <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">only<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the pitches used in each hand, the left hand\u2019s G-A-B-C-D against the right hand\u2019s full B-major scale. Through this lens, the hands have only one note in common (B), along with four \u201cmismatches\u201d (G$$\\sharp$$\/G$$\\natural$$, A$$\\sharp$$\/A$$\\natural$$, C$$\\sharp$$\/C$$\\natural$$, D$$\\sharp$$\/D$$\\natural$$), in which diatonic pitches in each collection differ by a semitone.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Martins also considers the left hand to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">imply<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the remainder of the G-major collection, including E and F$$\\sharp$$. The E-F$$\\sharp$$s in the right hand synchronizes with both diatonic scales, aligning with the music\u2019s characteristic B-F$$\\sharp$$-E motive.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Martins\u2019 concept of the multiple identities of a particular pitch class participating in<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bitonality can be applied to the opening three-note motive in <em>West Side Story<\/em>. In short, a tonal version of the motive does not necessarily possess the scale degree identities of $$\\hat{1}$$, $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$, and $$\\hat{5}$$, as most of the iterations in Smith\u2019s work do. At select points in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the semitone&nbsp; $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ realizes its potential to function as a leading tone $$\\hat{7}$$, resolving to a new tonic. As I will discuss in \u201cSomething\u2019s Coming,\u201d \u201cCha Cha,\u201d and \u201cMaria,\u201d Bernstein uses this specific functional ambiguity to cleverly toggle between tonal centers; such reinterpretations fall under the umbrella of <\/span><b>successive bitonality<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While some instances of successive bitonality invite traditional forms of tonal analysis, others (especially \u201cPrologue\u201d and \u201cJet Song\u201d) call upon a methodology developed by Steven Rings (2011), whose system (an application of David Lewin\u2019s \u201cGeneralized Interval System\u201d) of scale degree \u201cqualia\u201d quantifies the functional perception of a pitch class in a given key. Rings represents each individual note as an ordered pair of scale degree and pitch class: (scale degree, pitch class); he also measures the intervallic <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">distance<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> between each individual note, with ordered pairs. The left element is an ordinal number (2<sup>nd<\/sup>, 3<sup>rd<\/sup>, 4<sup>th<\/sup> \u2026), indicating a generic interval between scale degrees, and the right element is the number of semitones ascending or descending (negative integers for descending).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-7\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5984\" height=\"3926\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-7.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 7\" class=\"wp-image-9211\" style=\"width:512px;height:336px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-7.png 5984w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-7-300x197.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-7-1024x672.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-7-768x504.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-7-1536x1008.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-7-2048x1344.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 7. <\/strong>Pivot intervallic transformation in Beethoven Piano Concerto, no. 3 (reproduced from Rings 2011, 65). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><b>Example 7<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> illustrates how Rings\u2019 method models perceptual distance traversed between two adjacent keys. Between the second and third movements of Beethoven\u2019s Piano Concerto #3, a modulation from E major and C minor enharmonically recasts B-G$$\\sharp$$ as B-A$$\\flat$$. Since we are analyzing a pivot chord, the pitch classes do not change (both B\u2019s = 11, and G$$\\sharp$$\/A$$\\flat$$ = 8), yielding pitch distances of 0. The scale degree distances, however, ascend by a third ($$\\hat{5}$$ to $$\\hat{7}$$) for B and by a fourth ($$\\hat{3}$$to $$\\hat{6}$$) for G$$\\sharp$$\/A$$\\flat$$, yielding intervallic ordered pairs of (3rd, 0) and (4th, 0), respectively.<\/span><span id='easy-footnote-17-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-17-9111' title='Another excellent analysis using Rings-style analysis is found in Julian Hook\u2019s recent &lt;em&gt;Exploring Musical Spaces&lt;\/em&gt;, tracing the scale degree functions through harmonic settings of the G-C$$\\sharp$$ tritone in Debussy\u2019s &lt;em&gt;Pr\u00e9lude \u00e0 l\u2019apr\u00e8s- midi d\u2019un faune&lt;\/em&gt;. See, in particular, 265\u2013267.'><sup>17<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As I will demonstrate in the next section, such moments of successive polytonality in <em>West Side Story<\/em> can be understood in similar terms.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Having introduced the primary categories of bitonality, along with several approaches from the scholarly literature, I embark upon a series of vignettes from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. First, I consider the \u201cPrologue\u201d and adjacent \u201cJet Song,\u201d the analysis of which contains both successive and simultaneous bitonal events. Throughout both numbers, two keys vie for dual priority. Next, \u201cDance of the Gym Blues\u201d builds on the \u201cPrologue\u201d in its usage of successive bitonality, while integrating the harmonic scheme from twelve-bar blues. Next, \u201cSomething\u2019s Coming,\u201d \u201cCha-Cha,\u201d and \u201cMaria\u201d all demonstrate successive bitonality, with $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ fluidly tapping into its leading tone potential. If successive bitonality is bitonality by \u201cstealth,\u201d in which two centers exist but are not stratified, such echoes the rival gangs\u2019 state of affairs at the beginning of the \u201cPrologue\u201d: coexistence but avoidance. I employ the word \u201cstealth,\u201d as the presence of successive bitonality is far less overt than simultaneous, and often presented in an intentionally clandestine manner: multiple keys are implied rather than showcased explicitly. As the temperature between the gangs increases, and their interactions more prescient of impending doom, the music\u2014and the analytical approaches\u2014reflect this heightened anxiety. The final two vignettes trace the (mostly) simultaneous bitonality, with maximal dissonance (the \u201ctonal rumble\u201d) in the climactic numbers of \u201cTonight\u201d Quintet and \u201cRumble.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Successive and Simultaneous Bitonality in \u201cPrologue\u201d \/ \u201cJet Song\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The opening of the \u201cPrologue,\u201d when the two rival gangs are stalking each other at a distance, encapsulates Bernstein\u2019s successive bitonality. Swain describes the example: <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>The opening phrase, for example, begins with a colored C triad and a colored A triad, and ends on a G-sharp triad, also colored. Is the real key C, as the first bass note would suggest, or A, as the second and last would suggest? (2002, 16)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When first introduced to the snapping Jets, <\/span><b>Example 8<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (analyzed using Rings\u2019 method),&nbsp; surfaces. Indeed, the music sways between the poles of C and A, and one may, especially upon an initial hearing, toggle back and forth between identifying either as \u201ctonic.\u201d Interpreted as two potential tonic-functioning \u201cmajor\/minor\u201d triads (<\/span><b>Example 8a<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), scale degrees are held constant (0), but the pitches are transposed down three semitones (-3), yielding an intervallic ordered pair of (0, -3). (Hereon, \u201cmajor\/minor\u201d triads will be abbreviated as \u201cM\/m.\u201d) Consider, however, an alternative interpretation: what if, after having heard both chords, one analyzes <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">both<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in A major (<\/span><b>Example 8b<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)? Such a reading imports lowered scale degrees akin to what Bernstein demonstrated in his undergraduate thesis (<\/span><b>Example 4<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), including the first triad containing $$\\flat\\hat{3}$$, $$\\flat\\hat{5}$$, and $$\\flat\\hat{7}$$.<span id='easy-footnote-18-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-18-9111' title='This interpretation of $$\\flat\\hat{7}$$ supports Bernstein\u2019s stance on the overtone series as a backbone for universal tonality in his first Harvard lecture, \u201cMusical Phonology.\u201d More recently, Harrison has discussed overtone-series hierarchies as \u201covertonality\u201d (2016, 17); Harrison also explores \u201ccolored triads\u201d (107\u2013109) and \u201cpolychords\u201d (109\u2013111). '><sup>18<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Altogether, we can hear both triads in A, with a scale degree transposition down a third and an intervallic ordered pair of (3rd(-), -3).<\/span><span id='easy-footnote-19-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-19-9111' title='The D$$\\sharp$$ as $$\\flat\\hat{5}$$\u2014reflecting Bernstein\u2019s early writings on the blues scale, and consistent with the other \u201clowered\u201d scale degrees (&lt;strong&gt;Example 4&lt;\/strong&gt;)\u2014could be interpreted as $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ in A major, consistent with its spelling. Beyond blues, Bernstein was also likely inspired by the first demonstration in his first Harvard lecture\u2014the opening of the \u201cfierce and prophetic\u201d Copland Piano Variations (1976, 4), which prophecies the \u201cPrologue\u201d\u2019s A M\/m triad in m. 3.'><sup>19<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The diminished cadential chord of the phrase sustains the ambiguity of the opening two M\/m triads. Within G$$\\sharp$$-B-D (with the A$$\\sharp$$ for \u201ccolor\u201d), the G$$\\sharp$$ is, spelling-wise, functioning as $$\\hat{7}$$ of A, but may <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> be heard as an enharmonically-veiled A$$\\flat$$-B-D, functioning in C.<span id='easy-footnote-20-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-20-9111' title='With the processual toggling between C and A tonics, Derek Myler (2021) might analyze such a passage under the umbrella of a \u201cmultistable\u201d model.'><sup>20<\/sup><\/a><\/span> The following phrase (mm. 5-8), echoing the same music, reveals the entirety of mm. 1\u20138 as an antecedent-consequent pair (<\/span><b>Example 9<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), with the G$$\\sharp$$ enharmonically respelled as A$$\\flat$$.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-8\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"9550\" height=\"6608\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-8.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 8\" class=\"wp-image-9154\" style=\"width:512px;height:354px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-8.png 9550w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-8-300x208.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-8-1024x709.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-8-768x531.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-8-1536x1063.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 8.<\/strong> \u201cPrologue,\u201d mm. 1\u20134, with Rings-style analysis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-9\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"8958\" height=\"4792\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-9.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 9\" class=\"wp-image-9155\" style=\"width:512px;height:274px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-9.png 8958w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-9-300x160.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-9-1024x548.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-9-768x411.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-9-1536x822.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-9-2048x1096.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <strong>Example 9.<\/strong> \u201cPrologue,\u201d mm. 1-8.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suppose that the G$$\\sharp$$ at the end of the antecedent is \u201ccorrectly\u201d spelled as a $$\\hat{7}$$ of A (signaling a half cadence), and the consequent\u2019s A$$\\flat$$ is also \u201ccorrect\u201d as a $$\\flat\\hat{6}$$ of C. If m. 8 implies an authentic cadence of C, A$$\\flat$$-B-D substitutes for its purely \u201cdominant\u201d counterpart (G-B-D) in a manner that Richard Bass would characterize as a \u201cshadow\u201d (1988, 199).<span id='easy-footnote-21-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-21-9111' title='Bass features similar examples of $$\\flat\\hat{6}$$ substituting for $$\\hat{5}$$ in Kabalevsky\u2019s Op. 60, no. 2, m. 3 (ibid., 200-201) and Prokofiev\u2019s Piano Sonata no. 8, Op. 84 (ibid. 208). The transformation of G$$\\sharp$$, a leading tone tending upward, to A$$\\flat$$, tending downward, would be described by John Muniz (2019) as a \u201ctendency transformation.\u201d'><sup>21<\/sup><\/a><\/span>&nbsp; One may imagine a hypothetical V that realizes A$$\\flat$$\u2019s tendency downward to G (<\/span><b>Example 10<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-10\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3709\" height=\"2042\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-10.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 10\" class=\"wp-image-9156\" style=\"width:512px;height:282px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-10.png 3709w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-10-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-10-1024x564.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-10-768x423.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-10-1536x846.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-10-2048x1128.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 10. <\/strong>Hypothetical cadence in \u201cPrologue,\u201d m. 8.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following three measures of finger snaps, the alto saxophone and vibraphone perform the hallmark \u201cE4-E5-C$$\\sharp$$5-A4-D$$\\sharp$$4\u201d\u2014arpeggiating a downward A-major triad + diminished fifth, then sustaining a final D$$\\sharp$$. Once the D$$\\sharp$$ is articulated, the corresponding orchestra members reiterate mm. 1\u20133 of the \u201cPrologue\u201d (<\/span><b>Example 11<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). Both triads are recontextualized with the prevailing A-major backdrop (the hearing of <\/span><b>Example 8b<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), and yet, the D$$\\sharp$$ is left alone to sonically interact with the two triads. As such, the pitch functions as both $$\\flat\\hat{3}$$ (in C major), and $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ (in A major). The alto sax and vibraphone reprise the same pitches, though arpeggiating back upward to a C, this time matching the final open octave of m. 8, and a resumption of finger snaps. Altogether, the fluid toggling between C and A continues to capture the essence of successive bitonality.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-11\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"9192\" height=\"2358\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-11.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 11\" class=\"wp-image-9157\" style=\"width:512px;height:131px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-11.png 9192w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-11-300x77.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-11-1024x263.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-11-768x197.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-11-1536x394.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-11-2048x525.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 11. <\/strong>\u201cPrologue,\u201d mm. 11\u201318.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The music then proceeds to a tonally elusive 12-measure vamp (mm. 22\u201333). The previous octave leap from E4 to E5 is overshot to F5, arpeggiating via an augmented triad. The treble presents a three-measure pattern, unfolding a diminished triad (B-D-F), while the bass contains an apparent inverted dominant sonority, D7, with a troublesome C$$\\sharp$$ (perhaps unsurprising, given that C$$\\sharp$$-F$$\\sharp$$-C$$\\natural$$ is a transposition of the whistle motive). The dissonant grinding of the ostinato layers is marked by a salient compound diminished-octave dissonance between the bass F$$\\sharp$$ against rearticulated F$$\\natural$$s on the pickups to mm. 22 and 25 (<\/span><b>Example 12a<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). As discussed on p. 7, such a dissonant interval invites stratification that embodies simultaneous bitonality. Kaminsky would argue that such superimpositions act as \u201ccatalyst(s) for potential dual organization \u2026 using superimpositions as referential sonorities\u201d (2004, 258).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-12a\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"8800\" height=\"2650\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12a.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 12a\" class=\"wp-image-9158\" style=\"width:512px;height:154px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12a.png 8800w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12a-300x90.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12a-1024x308.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12a-768x231.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12a-1536x463.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12a-2048x617.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 12a.<\/strong> Prologue, mm. 20\u201327.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The incompatibility between the treble and bass parts may be interpreted as a \u201cdivorce\u201d between the prominent F$$\\natural$$ and F$$\\sharp$$. In the bigger picture, the bass\u2019s ostinato of D7, featuring the tritone F$$\\sharp$$-C, conflicts with the treble\u2019s B-F; consequently, if the bass music were adjusted by a small interval, any stratification would dissolve. Viewed this way, Bass would likely describe the F$$\\sharp$$ (and C$$\\sharp$$) as an extended shadow, substituting for pitches that work diatonically with the treble. <\/span><b>Example 12b <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>Example 12c <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">offer such substitutions. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-12b\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"7816\" height=\"2292\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12b.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 12b\" class=\"wp-image-9159\" style=\"width:512px;height:150px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12b.png 7816w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12b-300x88.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12b-1024x300.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12b-768x225.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12b-1536x450.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12b-2048x601.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 12b.<\/strong> \u201cPrologue,\u201d mm. 20\u201327, reharmonized with G (V7\/C) underpinning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-12c\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"8016\" height=\"2284\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12c.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 12c\" class=\"wp-image-9160\" style=\"width:512px;height:146px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12c.png 8016w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12c-300x85.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12c-1024x292.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12c-768x219.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12c-1536x438.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-12c-2048x584.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <strong>Example 12c. <\/strong>\u201cPrologue,\u201d mm. 20\u201327, reharmonized with G$$\\sharp$$ (vii$$^{\\circ7}$$) underpinning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In<\/span><b> Example 12b<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the F$$\\sharp$$-C tritone is replaced by G-B, the \u201cC$$\\sharp$$-F$$\\sharp$$\u201d is shifted up a semitone to \u201cD-G,\u201d and the F4\/F5 is heard as $$\\hat{4}$$ in a V7 of C major. In <\/span><b>Example 12c<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Gs of <\/span><b>12b<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are replaced with G$$\\sharp$$s, and the same Fs are heard as $$\\hat{6}$$ of A minor. Instead of either possibility, Bernstein stifles both potential outcomes, choosing a dissonant underpinning.<\/span><span id='easy-footnote-22-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-22-9111' title='Nobile (2023) discusses a very different strategy from Bernstein\u2019s lyricist for &lt;em&gt;West Side Story&lt;\/em&gt;, Stephen Sondheim, whose bass lines are \u201cfirmly grounded in standard tonal practice, generally centering on $$\\hat{1}$$, $$\\hat{4}$$, and $$\\hat{5}$$ with various levels of embellishment. In fact, the simplicity of the bass is what allows him to incorporate so much dissonance.\u201d In stark contrast with Sondheim, Bernstein often destabilizes the harmonic underpinning, such that the melodic material resists a concrete tonal interpretation.'><sup>22<\/sup><\/a><\/span>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bernstein\u2019s choice of such a frozen dissonance contributes to the 12-measure vamp\u2019s interthematic function between instances of <\/span><b>Example 11<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s primary content (mm. 11\u201318). The hypnotic, wandering nature of the vamp dramatizes the imminent refrains of the content in m. 34 and m. 70, but with a twist: both returns replace mm. 11\u201318 with confident A major settings, breaking through the bitonal haze. These bursts provide tonal clarity for passages that exhibited uncertainty for all of mm. 1\u201320. But, A major is not the only breakthrough key in the \u201cPrologue.\u201d The troublesome C$$\\sharp$$-F$$\\sharp$$ underpinning of the 12-measure vamp, too, finds a reconciliation later in the form of F$$\\sharp$$ major (mm. 101\u2013107 and 112\u2013118; mm. 101\u2013104 shown in <\/span><b>Example 13<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). Reconciling the disjunct tonality of the earlier 12-measure vamp, Bernstein changes the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">treble<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> material to align with the bass. (Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Lydian-shaded B$$\\sharp$$ fuses with the F$$\\sharp$$ and C$$\\sharp$$ as an iteration of the three-note motive!) The F$$\\sharp$$-major vamp is then sequenced a whole step to A$$\\flat$$ (mm. 122\u201333) before entering <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pi\u00f9 mosso<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> centered on B$$\\flat$$ (mm. 140\u2013181).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-13\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-13-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 13\" class=\"wp-image-9161\" style=\"width:512px;height:139px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-13-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-13-300x84.jpg 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-13-1024x288.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-13-768x216.jpg 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-13-1536x432.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-13-2048x576.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 13.<\/strong> F$$\/sharp$$ major \u201creconciliation,\u201d mm. 101\u2013104.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To close off the \u201cPrologue,\u201d we hear three final returns to the primary material: in A over a dominant pedal (mm. 182\u2013191), in B$$\\flat$$ over a dominant pedal (mm. 246\u201356), and, finally, back to C (mm. 262\u2013end). <\/span><b>Example 14a <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">displays mm. 262\u2013267, the final exclamation following a \u201cpolice whistle.\u201d The downward arpeggiation transforms into a vertical cluster, superimposing the C, A, and G$$\\sharp$$ triads from <\/span><b>Example 8 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with their dissonant shadows, F$$\\sharp$$, D$$\\sharp$$, and C$$\\sharp$$, respectively. The vertical manifestations of the \u201cPrologue\u201d arpeggiation are highly reminiscent of the beginning and end of the final number in Part I of Stravinsky\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rite<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201cDance of the Earth,\u201d shown in <\/span><b>Example 14b<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; most noteworthy is how a manifestation of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2019s three-note motive (C-F$$\\sharp$$-G) saturates multiple layers in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rite<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-14a\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3034\" height=\"766\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14a.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 14a\" class=\"wp-image-9162\" style=\"width:512px;height:129px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14a.png 3034w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14a-300x76.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14a-1024x259.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14a-768x194.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14a-1536x388.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14a-2048x517.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 14a. <\/strong>\u201cPrologue,\u201d mm. 262\u2013267.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-14b\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3540\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14b.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 14b\" class=\"wp-image-9163\" style=\"width:512px;height:129px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14b.png 3540w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14b-300x64.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14b-1024x217.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14b-768x163.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14b-1536x325.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-14b-2048x434.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 14b. <\/strong>Ending of Stravinsky\u2019s \u201cDance of the Earth\u201d from Rite of Spring.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The end of the \u201cPrologue\u201d cools down, as it were, using the same music as the beginning and providing a segue into the first vocal number, \u201cJet Song.\u201d The onset of the \u201cJet Song\u201d closely mirrors the script of the \u201cPrologue\u201d\u2019s opening: mm. 1\u201315 appears verbatim, and the 12-measure vamp is reduced to eight and transposed upward by a semitone (mm. 16\u201323). In m. 24, the \u201cJet Song\u201d gallop begins in earnest, centered on B$$\\flat$$.<span id='easy-footnote-23-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-23-9111' title='Wilfrid Mellers describes it as follows: \u201cThe persistent dislocation of the accents is both physical and emotional, and the tendency to bitonality\u2014or rather to two-part writing in which one part is unresolved appoggiatura to the other\u2014suggests their disconnectedness.\u201d (1964, 429)'><sup>23<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Similar instances of successive bitonality (involving two keys a minor third apart) underlying the \u201cPrologue\u201d are present during each iteration of the \u201cJet Song\u201d\u2019s primary verse. <\/span><b>Example 15 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shows the example sung by Riff, identifying scale degrees in both keys of B$$\\flat$$ and G, accompanied by a Rings-style analysis transposed down by step from <\/span><b>Example 8<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In the \u201cJet Song\u201d opening, however, B$$\\flat$$ major asserts stronger prominence than C initially does in \u201cPrologue,\u201d with every vocal downbeat articulating $$\\hat{1}$$ or $$\\hat{5}$$, supported by colored&nbsp; \u201cI\u201d and \u201cV$$^{6}_{5}$$.\u201d Though the presence of G comfortably serves as an added sixth to a B$$\\flat$$-major triad, the F$$\\sharp$$ in the bass line lurks as a potential leading tone of G.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-15\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4800\" height=\"4716\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-15.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 15\" class=\"wp-image-9164\" style=\"width:512px;height:503px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-15.png 4800w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-15-300x295.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-15-1024x1006.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-15-768x755.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-15-1536x1509.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-15-2048x2012.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 15.<\/strong> \u201cJet Song,\u201d mm. 28\u201331, including Rings-style analysis of the first two chords.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Viewed through B$$\\flat$$ however, the F$$\\sharp$$ is enharmonically respelled as G$$\\flat$$, $$\\flat\\hat{6}$$, substituting for F$$\\natural$$ (\u00e0 la the \u201cPrologue\u201d). Maximizing the effect of the bass F$$\\sharp$$s, Bernstein strategically places G and F$$\\natural$$ in the vocal melody (echoing the F$$\\sharp$$\/F$$\\natural$$ clash of the Prologue\u2019s twelve-measure vamp). After the initial verse of \u201cJet Song,\u201d Bernstein follows with \u201cPrologue\u201d music in B$$\\flat$$ (mm. 67\u201378) before using the original transposition of the vamp (mm. 80\u201392) to reinstate the C\/A complex. Additional verses appear at m. 137 (an exact transposition of m. 28), m. 164 (in $$^{2}_{4}$$<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">time), and finally at m. 191. A final exclamation closes off the paired opening numbers, with the upper orchestra performing an arpeggiation of G-E-C-F$$\\sharp$$ (in C!).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Successive Bitonality in \u201cThe Dance of The Gym Blues\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will next unpack the complex applications of successive bitonality present in \u201cThe Dance at the Gym Blues,\u201d the material of which is initially featured in mm. 116\u2013124 of  \u201cJet Song.\u201d \u201cThe Dance of the Gym Blues\u201d imports the minor-third-related tonal pairings established by the \u201cPrologue\u201d (C\/A) and \u201cJet Song\u201d (B$$\\flat$$\/G). In \u201cJet Song,\u201d the higher of the two keys (B$$\\flat$$) serves in a primary role, and the lower key (G) in a subordinate role, three semitones below; \u201cThe Dance of the Gym Blues\u201d resumes a similar framework. This number also elevates two dimensions featured in blues: first, each measure includes triads within a metrically standard twelve-bar blues progression; and second, primary key triads routinely fall on <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">backbeats<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (usually 4 and sometimes 2), and subordinate key triads on strong beats.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Table 1<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> considers an analysis of only mm. 16\u201328, during which B$$\\flat$$ blues is primary, and G subordinate. (The gray-shaded mm. 29\u201333 is not considered in the reading.) Columns 2-5 list all of the M\/m triads on quarter note beats, and Columns 6\u20137 include all of the harmonies as they would metrically occur within a normative twelve-bar blues. (Column 6 contains the progression in B$$\\flat$$ blues, and Column 7 in G.) Harmonies from Columns 6-7, if present in 2-5, appear in <\/span><b>bold<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A closer look at Column 6 shows that each 12-bar blues harmony (tonic B$$\\flat$$, subdominant E$$\\flat$$, or dominant F triads) corresponds with the expected location between mm. 17\u201328, with only one exception: the IV in m. 26. As such, the E$$\\flat$$ triad is denoted with a strikethrough. G blues\u2019 subordinate triads (Column 7) only appear in six of the twelve locations: mm. 17\u201319, m. 21, m. 24, and m. 26; the absent harmonies contain a strikethrough. We can also observe that the primary (B$$\\flat$$) key\u2019s tonic triads regularly appear on backbeats, anticipating the subordinate tonics on strong beats. Finally, the last four measures of the blues progression, mm. 25\u201328, signal a changing of the guard, with B$$\\flat$$ blues\u2019 triads shifting exclusively to strong beats (1 and 3) and G blues disappearing entirely. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-regular\"><table><thead><tr><th>Measure<\/th><th>Beat 1<\/th><th>Beat 2<\/th><th>Beat 3<\/th><th>Beat 4<\/th><th>12-bar blues in B$$\\flat$$<\/th><th>12-bar blues in G<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>16<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>(B$$\\flat$$, pickup) pickup)<\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>17<\/td><td><strong>G<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (1, I)<\/td><td>G (1, I)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>18<\/td><td><strong>G<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (2, I)<\/td><td>G (2, I)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>19<\/td><td><strong>G<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (3, I)<\/td><td>G (3, I)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>20<\/td><td>F<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>F<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (4, I)<\/td><td><s>G (4, I)<\/s><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>21<\/td><td><strong>C<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>E$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$ (5, IV)<\/td><td>C (5, IV)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>22<\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>E$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>E$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$ (6, IV)<\/td><td><s>C (6, IV)<\/s><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>23<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td><strong>G<\/strong><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (7, I)<\/td><td>G (7, I)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>24<\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (8, I)<\/td><td><s>G (8, I)<\/s><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>25<\/td><td><strong>F<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>F (9, V)<\/td><td><s>D (9, V)<\/s><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>26<\/td><td><strong>C<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><s>E$$\\flat$$ (5, IV)<\/s><\/td><td>C (10, IV)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>27<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (11, I)<\/td><td><s>G (11, I)<\/s><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>28<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (12, I)<\/td><td><s>G (12, I)<\/s><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>29<\/td><td>G$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>G$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>30<\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>31<\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>32<\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>33<\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Table 1. <\/strong>Harmonic Chart, \u201cThe Dance at the Gym Blues,\u201d mm. 16\u201328; B$$\\flat$$\/G blues.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Table 2 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reads a primary-subordinate 12-bar blues progression of D$$\\flat$$ \/B$$\\flat$$ that emerges as the initial B$$\\flat$$\/G progression wanes. The itineraries of both tables\u2019 12-bar formulae dovetail between mm. 24\u201328, setting up a competition for prominence between D$$\\flat$$ and B$$\\flat$$ as primary, culminating in the vamping tonal \u201cbattle\u201d in mm. 27\u201328 (<\/span><b>Example 16<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). In Table 1, mm. 27\u201328 mark the ending of B$$\\flat$$\u2019s role as primary; Table 2 reads a continuation of its subordinate role. Alterations of the 12-bar model first appear in m. 28, which\u2014still engrossed in the tonic battle\u2014delays IV until m. 29; then, m. 30 truncates what should be two bars of tonic before giving way to an emphatic authentic cadence in mm. 31\u201333.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table is-style-regular\"><table><thead><tr><th>Measure<\/th><th>Beat 1<\/th><th>Beat 2<\/th><th>Beat 3<\/th><th>Beat 4<\/th><th>12-bar blues in D$$\\flat$$<\/th><th>12-bar blues in B$$\\flat$$<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>16<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>17<\/td><td>G<\/td><td><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>18<\/td><td>G<\/td><td><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>19<\/td><td>G<\/td><td><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>20<\/td><td>F<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>F<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>21<\/td><td>C<\/td><td><\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>22<\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>23<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td>G<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>24<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>D$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>D$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$ (1, I)<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (1, I)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>25<\/strong><\/td><td>F<\/td><td><\/td><td><strong>D$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$ (2, I)<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (2, I)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>26<\/strong><\/td><td>C<\/td><td><\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><strong>D$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$ (3, I)<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (3, I)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>27<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>D$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>D$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$ (4, I)<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (4, I)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>28<\/strong><\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$<\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$<\/td><td><s>G$$\\flat$$ (5, IV) <\/s>(D$$\\flat$$ instead!)<\/td><td><s>E$$\\flat$$ (5, IV) <\/s>(B$$\\flat$$ instead!)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>29<\/td><td><strong>G$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>E$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>G$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>E$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>G$$\\flat$$ (6, IV)<\/td><td>E$$\\flat$$ (6, IV)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>30<\/td><td><strong>D$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>D$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>B$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$ (7\/8, I), only 1 bar!<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (7\/8, I), only 1 bar!<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>31<\/td><td><strong>A$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$ (9)<\/td><td>F (9)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>32<\/td><td><strong>A$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td>A$$\\flat$$ (10)<\/td><td>F (10)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>33<\/td><td><strong>D$$\\flat$$<\/strong><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td><\/td><td>D$$\\flat$$ (11\u201312)<\/td><td>B$$\\flat$$ (11\u201312)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Table 2. <\/strong>Harmonic Chart, \u201cThe Dance at the Gym Blues,\u201d mm. 24\u201333; D*f\/B*f blues.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-16\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"10183\" height=\"3283\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-16.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 16\" class=\"wp-image-9165\" style=\"width:512px;height:165px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-16.png 10183w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-16-300x97.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-16-1024x330.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-16-768x248.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-16-1536x495.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-16-2048x660.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 16.<\/strong> \u201cThe Dance of the Gym Blues,\u201d mm. 27\u201328; competition between D$$\/flat$$ and B$$\/flat$$.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>$${\\Large\\mathbf{\\sharp}}$$<strong>$${\\Large\\mathbf{\\hat{4}}\\text{ }}$$<\/strong> as Leading Tone: &#8220;Something&#8217;s Coming&#8221; \/ &#8220;Cha-Cha&#8221; \/ &#8220;Maria&#8221;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The successive bitonality of keys a minor third apart is a feature of both \u201cPrologue\u201d\/\u201dJet Song\u201d and \u201cThe Dance of the Gym Blues.\u201d I now return to another instance of successive bitonality inherent to the initial three-note whistle, first discussed on p. 7. I feature (\u00e0 la Smith) a permutation in which two of the three notes form an adjacent semitone; in \u201cMaria,\u201d the result is an appoggiatura figure, interpreted as $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$, which naturally resolves upward to $$\\hat{5}$$. Such appoggiaturas were not yet prominent in \u201cPrologue,\u201d however, as $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ remained separated from its resolution partner. For example, in m. 12 of the \u201cPrologue\u201d (<\/span><b>Example 11<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), E-(C$$\\sharp$$)-A-D$$\\sharp$$ arpeggiates a $$\\hat{5}$$-$$\\hat{3}$$-$$\\hat{1}$$-$$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ scale-degree pattern, with the E and D$$\\sharp$$ a compound semitone apart, and the D$$\\sharp$$ left \u201changing.\u201d The arpeggiation is eventually verticalized in <\/span><b>Example 14<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>a<\/strong>, highlighting the acoustic dissonance of this interval.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The \u201cMaria\u201d ascending semitonal gesture first gains prominence in \u201cSomething\u2019s Coming\u201d; one may interpret the attractive force of $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ to $$\\hat{5}$$ to Tony\u2019s premonition of becoming acquainted with Maria. The initial $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ has the potential for converting its chromatic embellishing function to that of a new leading tone, activating the dominant-related key. The initial measures of \u201cSomething Coming\u201d deliver D-G$$\\sharp$$-A in Tony\u2019s melody (\u201cWho knows?\u201d) and the treble accompaniment (as shown in <\/span><b>Example 17<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), with an apparent scale degree function of $$\\hat{1}$$-$$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$-$$\\hat{5}$$. The harmonic underpinning, however, is looping consecutive perfect fourths (D-A-E).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-17\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6908\" height=\"3067\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-17.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 17\" class=\"wp-image-9166\" style=\"width:512px;height:267px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-17.png 6908w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-17-300x133.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-17-1024x455.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-17-768x341.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-17-1536x682.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-17-2048x909.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 17. <\/strong>\u201cSomething\u2019s Coming,\u201d mm. 8\u201311.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One possible interpretation is that the E, $$\\hat{2}$$ of D major, is really a shadow, substituting for tonic D; such a reading, however, underplays the E\u2019s role in stratifying the bass from the treble layer. Though E does not generate the acoustically intervallic clash of, say, a major seventh (\u00e0 la <\/span><b>Example 12a<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), it is unlikely to function as $$\\hat{2}$$ in the third beat of a galloping $$^{3}_{4}$$ meter. Instead, I posit an interpretation of tonal stratification, in which the bass layer stealthily implies A major, with E as $$\\hat{5}$$. This reading of simultaneous bitonality also activates the leading tone potential of the G$$\\sharp$$ in the lyric \u201cknows?\u201d While there is no full realization of A major, the stage is nevertheless set for future conversions of $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ to leading tones in a dominant-related key.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-18\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"7158\" height=\"5850\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-18.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 18\" class=\"wp-image-9167\" style=\"width:512px;height:418px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-18.png 7158w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-18-300x245.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-18-1024x837.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-18-768x628.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-18-1536x1255.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 18.<\/strong> \u201cSomething\u2019s Coming,\u201d mm. 85\u201395.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A transposition of similar music in C major, this time in $$^{2}_{4}$$ time, removes the destabilizing force, focusing on C-G in the bass. The accompaniment pattern of the C-major section, with sustained F$$\\sharp$$s between tonic triads (m. 86, m. 89), stretches the role of F$$\\sharp$$ beyond that of a vocal appoggiatura (<strong>Example 18<\/strong>). In a flash, the music abruptly climbs from C major back to D, with two moves that instantaneously activate the leading tone function of $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$: first, from C to G, and then G to D. The music of mm. 85\u201390, first appearing in mm. 62\u201367, initially resolved m. 67\u2019s V<sup>7<\/sup>\/IV to IV in m. 68. Measures 85\u201390 do not follow suit, spurning the resolution to IV and instead \u201cresolving\u201d the vocal\u2019s B$$\\flat$$ to B$$\\natural$$, supported by a G-major triad with an added sixth (m. 91). The what-would-have-been $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ acquires leading tone function, retrospectively turning m. 87\u2019s tonic chord into a pivot between C and G major. The same formula immediately unfolds in m. 94, with $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ achieving leading tone status (C$$\\sharp$$ resolving to D in m. 98) and m. 91 serving as a retrospective pivot. The passage recycles once more (mm. 140\u201353) before reverting to the original $$^{3}_{4}$$ vamp (m. 169).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ambiguous quality of $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ as a potential leading tone in the dominant key resumes in \u201cCha-Cha.\u201d In this number, C$$\\sharp$$, $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ in G major, hints at the nearby dominant key of D. The long-anticipated number, \u201cMaria,\u201d imports \u201cCha-Cha\u201d music; measures 211\u2013216 of \u201cCha-Cha\u201d correspond directly to mm. 9\u201314 of \u201cMaria,\u201d then 219\u201329 of the former to 15\u201325 of the latter. Almost all of \u201cMaria\u2019s\u201d music is found in \u201cCha-Cha,\u201d except for three additional, <em>crucial<\/em> measures in \u201cMaria\u201d addressed below. The activation of $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ as a leading tone in the dominant key spurs segments of successive bitonality between the keys of E$$\\flat$$ and B$$\\flat$$ major.<span id='easy-footnote-24-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-24-9111' title='A similar style of analysis was performed by de Clercq and Temperley of the Beatles\u2019 \u201cHey Jude\u201d (2011, 57).'><sup>24<\/sup><\/a><\/span> <strong>Example 19 <\/strong>illustrates a harmonic analysis of \u201cMaria\u201d\u2019s mm. 9\u201328;&nbsp; the presence of the A$$\\natural$$ in mm. 9\u201312 positions the music to comfortably coexist in E$$\\flat$$ (I and V) and B$$\\flat$$major (IV and I). Upon the inclusion of A$$\\flat$$, pure E$$\\flat$$ finally appears with an apparent imperfect authentic cadence in mm. 13\u201314 (ii<sup>7 <\/sup>-V<sup>7 <\/sup>-I<sup>7<\/sup>). Mm. 15\u201316 reestablish bitonality with a restatement of mm. 9\u201310, before abruptly straying from E$$\\flat$$ major via D-minor triads (m. 17, m. 20). The presence of D minor in m. 20\u2014a non-cadential iii in B$$\\flat$$ major\u2014undermines the interpretation of mm. 9\u201314 and mm. 15\u201320 as a parallel period structure. Instead, m. 14\u2019s cadential event in E$$\\flat$$ major is demoted to one of \u201climited cadential scope\u201d (Caplin 2004, 89). In retrospect, mm.\u2019s 9\u201314 and 15\u201320 together form a presentation of a brewing compound sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-19\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5066\" height=\"6242\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-19.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 19\" class=\"wp-image-9168\" style=\"width:512px;height:630px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-19.png 5066w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-19-243x300.png 243w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-19-831x1024.png 831w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-19-768x946.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-19-1247x1536.png 1247w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-19-1662x2048.png 1662w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 19.<\/strong> Analysis of corresponding measures of \u201cMaria\u201d (mm. 9\u201328)  and \u201cCha-Cha\u201d (mm. 211\u2013229).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Following m. 20, we are temporarily vaulted back to E$$\\flat$$ major via an A$$\\flat$$-major triad in mm. 21\u201322 (exclaiming \u201cMa-ri-a!\u201d), only for B$$\\flat$$ to be immediately resummoned in m. 23. Then, a twist: B$$\\flat$$-minor (mixture) + F-major chords in mm. 24\u201325 (\u201cso soft and it\u2019s almost like praying\u201d) signal a seemingly terminal half-cadential event in B$$\\flat$$ major. At this juncture, the correspondence with \u201cCha-Cha\u201d ends. Instead of ending on m. 25\u2019s dominant, \u201cMaria\u201d redirects back to the key of E$$\\flat$$ major in mm. 26\u201328, vanquishing the centricity of B$$\\flat$$ (at least for now); these bars provide tonal closure that purposefully eludes \u201cCha-Cha.\u201d&nbsp; The remainder of \u201cMaria\u201d echoes the same script, with mm. 29\u201347 supplying a written-out repeat of mm. 9\u201328.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tonal Rumble in the \u201cTonight\u201d Quintet<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the remainder of the paper, I focus on the two climactic numbers in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: the \u201cTonight\u201d Quintet (hereon, \u201cQuintet\u201d) and \u201cRumble.\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before delving into the \u201cQuintet,\u201d it is crucial to establish a few essentials of \u201cTonight.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-20\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3176\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-20.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 20\" class=\"wp-image-9169\" style=\"width:512px;height:193px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-20.png 3176w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-20-300x113.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-20-1024x387.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-20-768x290.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-20-1536x580.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-20-2048x774.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 20. <\/strong>Opening of \u201cTonight\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First sung by Maria in the long-awaited B$$\\flat$$ major, the initial verse comprises four eight-measure phrases. Three of the phrases begin with an alternation between the tonic and $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$\u2013inflected neighbor chords, channeling the recently completed \u201cMaria\u201d (<\/span><b>Example 20<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The second phrase temporarily shifts a minor third to D$$\\flat$$\u2014continuing to reinforce the minor-third tonal complex\u2014but veers back to a minor-inflected B$$\\flat$$ zone for phrase three, until reprising the opening material for phrase four. After all four phrases are complete, the $$\\hat{1}$$ and $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ of B$$\\flat$$ are reinterpreted as $$\\flat\\hat{2}$$&nbsp; and $$\\hat{5}$$, embracing a modulation down by semitone to A major (also discussed by Swain 1990, 211). After reprising all four phrases in A major, the same modulatory scheme sinks the music downward to A$$\\flat$$ major.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In one fell swoop, the \u201cQuintet\u201d vanquishes the tritone-filled and minor-third-infused sound worlds with a piercing augmented sonority and haunting ostinato. In Spielberg\u2019s 2021 version of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the onset of the sonority is depicted in a fitting dramatic fashion. As a roomful of police officers ponder strategies for thwarting the planned rumble, the ostinato of the \u201cQuintet\u201d fades in. Then, the sonority strikes just as the Jets\u2019 tools collapse onto the ground. The \u201ctonal rumble\u201d is on, as is the scene of the most salient instances of simultaneous bitonality.<span id='easy-footnote-25-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-25-9111' title='Posen (2016) analyzes the schematic frames of the different character groups interacting on stage and toward the audience (ibid., 79\u201380), and supplies a semiotic and contrapuntal interpretation of the original \u201cTonight\u201d tune as sung by Tony in canon with violins (83\u201387).'><sup>25<\/sup><\/a><\/span> Several commentators have noted layers of tension in the scene. Swain, who also discusses the intersection of keys in this scene, states: \u201cBy dramatizing this inextricable intertwining of love and hate in consistent musical motives and symbols, the quintet summarizes the progress of the tragedy just before the fatal moment.\u201d (ibid., 234). Wilfrid Mellers describes the interaction of the feuding gangs in the scene as follows: \u201cLike two countries at war, they both believe they\u2019re right, and they both believe they will triumph\u201d (2001, 88). Julie Nagel characterizes the polyphony as providing \u201can aural analogue of the characters\u2019 verbal expression of latent and manifest motivations, drives and defenses, preoedipal and oedipal themes, complex relationships, and affects including love, hate, prejudice, jealousy, and revenge\u201d (2010b, 657). By examining the simultaneous bitonality that these passages exude, my analysis to follow will deepen our musical understanding of the tensions described by these authors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ostinato\u2019s bass (E-F$$\\sharp$$-G$$\\sharp$$) strikes with opposing C-E dyads in the upper parts, supplying the initial augmented triad in m. 1 (<\/span><b>Example 21<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). The apparent A-minor underpinning of E-F$$\\sharp$$-G$$\\sharp$$ initially suggests C-E as a pairing of $$\\hat{3}$$-$$\\hat{5}$$. The schism that gives rise to simultaneous bitonality is circled in m. 2: the troublesome dissonance between G$$\\sharp$$ and G$$\\natural$$ upon entrance of the middle layer\u2019s parallel thirds. This characteristic dissonance in the \u201cQuintet\u201d invokes two companion examples: Stravinsky\u2019s \u201cThe Ritual of Two Rivals Tribes\u201d from <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rite<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the opening of Milhaud\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">La cr\u00e9ation du monde<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-21\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4526\" height=\"1700\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-21.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 21\" class=\"wp-image-9170\" style=\"width:512px;height:192px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-21.png 4526w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-21-300x113.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-21-1024x385.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-21-768x288.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-21-1536x577.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-21-2048x769.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 21. <\/strong>\u201cQuintet\u201d intro, mm. 1\u20133.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unsurprisingly, Bernstein sets his \u201cQuintet,\u201d with two rival gangs about to fatally clash, in a similar vein as Stravinsky\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rite<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><b>Example 22<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> supplies two musical excerpts from \u201cThe Ritual of Two Rivals Tribes\u201d: mm. 1\u20134 and mm. 59\u201364. Centering on mm. 3\u20134&nbsp; in <\/span><b>Example 22a<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Stravinsky\u2019s four-hand transcription yields consecutive white-note diatonic thirds in Piano 1, competing against a very chromatic version an octave below in Piano 2.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-22\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6834\" height=\"5576\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-22.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 22\" class=\"wp-image-9171\" style=\"width:512px;height:418px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-22.png 6834w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-22-300x245.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-22-1024x836.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-22-768x627.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-22-1536x1253.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 22.<\/strong> Excerpts from \u201cThe Ritual of Two Rivals Tribes\u201d; mm. 1\u20134 and 59\u201364.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Piano 2\u2019s pitch choices are not random, however, as the qualities of the thirds are always inverted (major becomes minor, and vice versa). When Piano 1 plays a major third (e.g., F-A), the lower note is raised in Piano 2 (e.g., F$$\\sharp$$-A); likewise, when Piano 1 plays a minor third, the upper note is raised in Piano 2. Consequently, there is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">always<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a diminished octave simultaneity between the two parts. Later in \u201cTribes\u201d (<\/span><b>Example 22b<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), starting in m. 61, the left-hand parts of both pianos project a G$$\\sharp$$ against the right hands\u2019 G$$\\natural$$s within the white-note diatonic, as in the \u201cQuintet.\u201d Neither of the Stravinsky passages declares any specific tonal universe, as the white-note diatonic layer\u2019s claim to \u201cC major\u201d is fragile at best.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Expressing a very different mood, we see a similar construction within another of Bernstein\u2019s favored compositions, Milhaud\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">La cr\u00e9ation du monde<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, from the outset (<\/span><b>Example 23<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). A murmuring bass line hovers between D and F$$\\sharp$$, and middle-register diatonic thirds (1$$\\flat$$) clash between the F$$\\sharp$$s in the bass and middle register\u2019s F$$\\natural$$s. Unlike in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rite<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, however, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">La cr\u00e9ation<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> projects a clear D center in both layers, while the F$$\\natural$$\/F$$\\sharp$$ superimposition (perhaps a major $$\\hat{3}$$ against a \u201cblue\u201d $$\\flat\\hat{3}$$) provides a dissonant clash. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-23\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3098\" height=\"1100\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-23.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 23\" class=\"wp-image-9172\" style=\"width:512px;height:182px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-23.png 3098w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-23-300x107.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-23-1024x364.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-23-768x273.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-23-1536x545.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-23-2048x727.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 23. <\/strong>Milhaud, La cr\u00e9ation du monde, mm. 7\u201311.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prior to its appearance in the \u201cQuintet,\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> prominently features scalar dissonance in the opening section of \u201cAmerica\u201d (<\/span><b>Example 24a<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). The section features three strata that place B$$\\flat$$ and B$$\\natural$$ in opposition: a middle-register\u2019s floating triplets in G natural minor (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">or C dorian<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), a vocal soloist arpeggiating G-major triads multiple times, and the bass line\u2019s open C-G fifths (asserting a center of C). <\/span><b>Example 24b <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reveals three possible hearings:&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: Alegreya;\">the two upper layers engage separately from the bass (a \u201charmonic-bass\u201d divorce);<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: Alegreya;\">\u00a0the voice remains independent from the middle layer and bass (a \u201cmelodic-harmonic\u201d divorce); or\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: Alegreya;\">the bass assimilates both upper layers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><b>Example 24b<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, mismatches are indicated in <\/span><b>bold<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with implied pitches in parentheses.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-24a\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3124\" height=\"1158\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24a.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 24a\" class=\"wp-image-9173\" style=\"width:512px;height:190px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24a.png 3124w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24a-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24a-1024x380.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24a-768x285.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24a-1536x569.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24a-2048x759.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 24a.<\/strong> \u201cAmerica,\u201d mm. 9\u201312.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-24b\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"7858\" height=\"2333\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24b.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 24b\" class=\"wp-image-9174\" style=\"width:512px;height:152px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24b.png 7858w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24b-300x89.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24b-1024x304.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24b-768x228.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24b-1536x456.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-24b-2048x608.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 24b. <\/strong>Hypothetical polyscalarity (mismatches in <b>bold<\/b>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Case 1 (\u201charmonic-bass\u201d divorce), the two upper layers together engage G-centered collections: G natural minor in the middle layer and G major (omitting E and F$$\\sharp$$) in the vocal layer. While this magnifies the $$\\hat{3}$$ mismatch of B$$\\flat$$\/B$$\\natural$$, the absence of $$\\hat{6}$$ or $$\\hat{7}$$ limits any further explicit scalar dissonance. The bass\u2019s C-G, however, asserts a different tonal center of C, either dorian or melodic minor, filtered through either harmonic layer. Case 2 (\u201cmelodic-harmonic\u201d divorce) combines the now C-centered middle and bass layers, pitting them against the G-centered vocal line. The bass engulfs the middle layer, together implying C dorian. The B$$\\natural$$ in the voice explicitly clashes with the B$$\\flat$$ in the middle layer, while the E$$\\flat$$-F in the middle layer implicitly clashes with the voice&#8217;s implied E-F$$\\sharp$$. Finally, total bass assimilation (Case 3) asserts an entirely C-centered framework in all three layers, including C melodic minor in the vocal line.&nbsp;<\/span>As a result, E$$\\flat$$-F is implied in all layers, eliminating any scalar dissonance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The \u201cQuintet\u201d presents a related scenario: the bass line ostinato $$\\hat{5}$$, $$\\hat{6}$$, and $$\\hat{7}$$ imposes an implied tonal center of A melodic minor (<\/span><b>Example 25<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). The vocal line (featuring Riff, Bernando, and eventually Anita) never showcases G$$\\natural$$, cleanly assimilating into the bass\u2019s implied A center. The instrumental\u2019s white-note diatonic thirds, however, with their insistent G$$\\natural$$s, continue to assert their independence as G-major triads and eventually G M\/m sevenths (m. 13), implying dominants of C. In the first two beats of m. 13, however, G$$\\natural$$ is absent from the middle layer, allowing for bass assimilation and implying V7 &nbsp;and&nbsp; V9 sonorities. The vocal F$$\\natural$$, however, notably clashes with the F$$\\sharp$$\u2019s melodic minor underpinning (circled in m. 13).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-25\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"7774\" height=\"3376\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-25.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 25\" class=\"wp-image-9175\" style=\"width:512px;height:222px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-25.png 7774w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-25-300x130.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-25-1024x445.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-25-768x334.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-25-1536x667.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-25-2048x889.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 25. <\/strong>\u201cQuintet,\u201d mm. 10\u201314.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting in m. 37 (<\/span><b>Example 26a<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), all parts commit to A centricity in a jazzy section (even acknowledged by the lyrics!), with a blue $$\\flat\\hat{7}$$ suggesting mixolydian in the vocal line. Conspicuously, F$$\\natural$$ in the bass creates the same major third span as in the \u201cQuintet\u201d and generates the augmented sonority F$$\\natural$$-A-C$$\\sharp$$ (first heard as early as m. 21 of the &#8220;Prologue&#8221;). In m. 38 (circled), the F$$\\natural$$ also creates audible clashes with the vocal\u2019s F$$\\sharp$$, inverting the relationship from m. 13. One can also imagine a version in which the F$$\\natural$$s were instead Es akin to the recomposition of m. 8 in&nbsp; \u201cPrologue\u201d (<\/span><b>Example 10<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). Instead, the sinister F$$\\natural$$s continue to signal the terror that the rival gangs will soon inflict upon each other. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-26a\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6984\" height=\"2450\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26a.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 26a\" class=\"wp-image-9176\" style=\"width:512px;height:178px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26a.png 6984w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26a-300x105.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26a-1024x359.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26a-768x269.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26a-1536x539.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26a-2048x718.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 26a. <\/strong>\u201cQuintet,\u201d mm. 37\u201339.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The \u201cQuintet\u201d then shifts to Tony\u2019s rendition of \u201cTonight\u201d (A major), followed by a complete reprise of the \u201cQuintet\u2019s\u201d opening, transposed up a minor third (C minor). In Maria\u2019s complementary rendition of \u201cTonight,\u201d the same pattern in <\/span><b>Example 26a <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\u201cWe\u2019re going to rock it tonight\u201d) is transposed at various pitch levels to fit with \u201cTonight\u2019s\u201d accompaniment (e.g., mm.\u2019s 118, 120, 124, 126, 128), each time assuming the same scale degree pattern as the original (<\/span><b>Example 26b<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). In mm. 130\u2013132 (<\/span><b>Example 27<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), however, Bernardo and Anita sing two altered versions. Bernardo\u2019s is an augmentation (mm. 130\u2013131), with scale degrees adjusted to synchronize with the underlying accompaniment. Most notably, the previously perfect-fourth leaps ($$\\hat{5}$$ to $$\\hat{1}$$) become perfect-fifth leaps ($$\\hat{6}$$ to $$\\hat{3}$$). Anita\u2019s version (B-E-D-E-B-D-C$$\\sharp$$) is a direct transposition, but the Es\u2014instead of serving as $$\\hat{1}$$\u2014appear as upper neighbors to D, with the final C$$\\sharp$$ a fitting augmented fourth above the root (G).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-26b\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6816\" height=\"1192\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26b.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 26b\" class=\"wp-image-9177\" style=\"width:512px;height:90px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26b.png 6816w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26b-300x52.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26b-1024x179.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26b-768x134.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26b-1536x269.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-26b-2048x358.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 26b.<\/strong> Transpositions of \u201cWe\u2019re going to rock it tonight\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-27\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6008\" height=\"2683\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-27.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 27\" class=\"wp-image-9178\" style=\"width:512px;height:229px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-27.png 6008w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-27-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-27-1024x457.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-27-768x343.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-27-1536x686.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-27-2048x915.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 27. <\/strong>\u201cQuintet,\u201d mm. 130\u2013132.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the waning moments of the number (<\/span><b>Example 28<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), the white-note thirds finally undergo their own diatonic transformation, infusing an F$$\\sharp$$ into the white-note collection.<span id='easy-footnote-26-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-26-9111' title='Hook would describe this as a \u201csignature transformation\u201d (2023, 550\u2013568).'><sup>26<\/sup><\/a><\/span>  By importing a sharp, the passage spotlights the $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ previously missing from the earlier \u201cQuintet\u201d music but central to the \u201cTonight\u201d music\u2014the ultimate fusion of forces.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-28\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"5317\" height=\"1375\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-28.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 28\" class=\"wp-image-9179\" style=\"width:512px;height:132px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-28.png 5317w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-28-300x78.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-28-1024x265.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-28-768x199.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-28-1536x397.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-28-2048x530.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 28.<\/strong> \u201cQuintet,\u201d mm. 142\u2013143.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Tonal Rumble in &#8220;Rumble&#8221;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The \u201cRumble\u201d is a culmination of tonal hostilities bubbling throughout the musical, featuring distortions of earlier numbers\u2014most centrally \u201cPrologue\u201d and \u201cAmerica.\u201d In perhaps the most \u201catonal\u201d sounding number, the bass supplies brutal Stravinskyian \u201chits\u201d of a C-F$$\\sharp$$ tritone; above, the triadic pattern draws upon \u201cPrologue\u201d material, as shown in <\/span><b>Example 29<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<span id='easy-footnote-27-9111' class='easy-footnote-margin-adjust'><\/span><span class='easy-footnote'><a href='https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/#easy-footnote-bottom-27-9111' title='Posen argues that the \u201cRumble\u201d \u201cdoes not follow tonal syntax, even though [Bernstein] used what he considered \u2018pure tonal\u2019 compositional building blocks\u201d (2016, 44).'><sup>27<\/sup><\/a><\/span><\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Echoing the relationship of the tritone, the initial F$$\\sharp$$ substitutes for the \u201cPrologue\u201d\u2019s initial C. After repeating F$$\\sharp$$, \u201cRumble\u201d\u2019s shift to A in m. 5 inverts the relationship\u2014transposing up three semitones to A\u2014from the \u201cPrologue,\u201d which shifted down three semitones. After returning to F$$\\sharp$$, the climb from F$$\\sharp$$ up to C$$\\sharp$$ mirrors the earlier downward move from C to G$$\\sharp$$. An essential distinction: Bernstein climbs the perfect fifth (+7), rather than echoing the \u201cPrologue\u2019s\u201d descending diminished fourth (-4)<\/span>.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> E$$\\sharp$$s are sustained in the highest register when Riff and Bernando draw blades. <\/span>Underneath the E$$\\sharp$$, Bernstein brings back \u201cAmerica\u201d in the most dystopic way: C$$\\sharp$$ triads (mm. 7\u201310) are conjoined with alternating Cs and Gs to form simultaneous bitonality. This distorted transformation of \u201cAmerica\u201d provides a musical foil to the gleeful exclamation of the earlier number.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-29a\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6076\" height=\"4350\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29a.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 29a\" class=\"wp-image-9180\" style=\"width:512px;height:367px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29a.png 6076w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29a-300x215.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29a-1024x733.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29a-768x550.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29a-1536x1100.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29a-2048x1466.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 29a.<\/strong> \u201cRumble\u201d opening: reflections on \u201cPrologue\u201d and \u201cAmerica\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-29b\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"4775\" height=\"1942\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29b.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 29b\" class=\"wp-image-9181\" style=\"width:512px;height:148px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29b.png 4775w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29b-300x122.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29b-1024x416.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29b-768x312.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29b-1536x625.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-29b-2048x833.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 29b.<\/strong> \u201cRumble\u201d opening triads.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the mirrored \u201cPrologue\u201d is repeated, an extended dystopic \u201cAmerica\u201d repeats up a whole step: D vs. E$$\\flat$$ (mm. 17\u201333). Throughout <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">West Side Story<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a certain inevitability about the fate of E$$\\flat$$ has lingered. As early as the \u201cPrologue,\u201d though C, A, and F$$\\sharp$$ were represented explicitly, the fourth element of the minor-third cycle, E$$\\flat$$, was largely absent from the musical. That is, until \u201cMaria\u201d and her altogether familiar motive; even then, a stable E$$\\flat$$ was conscientiously avoided. As discussed by Posen (2016, 52), E$$\\flat$$ is explored generously amongst a flurry of minor-third-related transpositions, culminating in a \u201cRumble Chord\u201d (as termed by Posen; ibid., 68) that coincides with an off-stage siren. If \u201cMaria\u201d graced us with an E$$\\flat$$-major triad with its characteristic A$$\\natural$$, the \u201cRumble Chord\u201d is the depths of despair: E$$\\flat$$-minor, also with A$$\\natural$$. (After its impact in \u201cRumble,\u201d the \u201cRumble Chord\u201d reappears, fittingly, at the end of \u201cProcession and Nightmare.\u201d) The opening \u201cPrologue\u201d music finds a few last gasps in \u201cRumble\u201d: twice during mm. 38\u201346, and mm. 113\u2013116.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Example 30 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">juxtaposes mm. 1\u20134 of \u201cPrologue\u201d with the corresponding measures in \u201cRumble.\u201d The top voice in \u201cRumble\u201d forms E$$\\flat$$-C-E$$\\flat$$-B$$\\flat$$, a direct transposition of \u201cPrologue\u201d\u2019s G-E-G-D. Against the top voice are diminished octave shadows, akin to the F$$\\sharp$$\/F$$\\natural$$<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">verticality found in \u201cPrologue\u201d\u2019s mm. 20\u201327 and throughout various passages of the \u201cQuintet.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-30\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"7033\" height=\"3116\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-30.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 30\" class=\"wp-image-9182\" style=\"width:512px;height:225px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-30.png 7033w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-30-300x133.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-30-1024x454.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-30-768x340.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-30-1536x681.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-30-2048x907.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 30.<\/strong> mm. 1\u20134 of \u201cPrologue\u201d vs. congruent measures (mm. 113\u2013116) in \u201cRumble\u201d.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A closer look, however, reveals an even closer relationship than transposition alone. In fact, the diminished octaves in \u201cRumble\u201d are identical in pitch class to the semitones found in the blues-inflected major\/minor triads in \u201cPrologue\u201d but now widened for \u201cRumble.\u201d The bass part features tritone \u201chit\u201d chords, as the opening of the \u201cRumble,\u201d but echoes the same bass line as \u201cPrologue\u201d with one exception: G$$\\sharp$$ is now G$$\\natural$$. The G$$\\natural$$ clarifies a relationship suggested but not realized in the \u201cPrologue\u201d itself: tonic (C) and dominant (G) scale degrees\u2014another flash of functional tonality in the most dissonant of universes<\/span>; implied only via shadow (see Example 10) until \u201cRumble,\u201d $$\\hat{5}$$ is, at last, finally heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion: <em>West Side Story<\/em> and the Octatonic; and \u201cFinale\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Readers of this essay will note the conspicuous absence of \u201coctatonic\u201d as an analytical descriptor for much of <em>West Side Story\u2019s <\/em>pitch organization, key schemes, and transposition patterns. As Posen discusses, the \u201cRumble,\u201d in particular, engages the octatonic collection. Both the (016) set class (3-5) and all major and minor triads (3-11), when transposed by 3, 6, or 9 semitones, will remain in the same octatonic transposition (2016, 51\u201352). Across the musical, Bernstein\u2019s tonal ambiguity often engages keys a minor third apart, showcasing tonal centers C and A. By extension, F$$\\sharp$$ and E$$\\flat$$ exist in the same minor-third\u2014and thus octatonic\u2014orbit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arguments against asserting octatonicism as a primary analytical lens are outlined by Tymoczko (2002, 85). Most applicable in <em>West Side Story<\/em> is the notion that, since its building blocks are octatonic subsets, the result is \u201coctatonic music,\u201d and the collection is analytically <em>a priori<\/em>. Centrally, one is often faced with the classic paradox of perception for moments like the \u201cPetrushka\u201d chord, mm. 70\u201372 of Ravel\u2019s <em>Jeux d\u2019eau<\/em>, or <strong>Example 1<\/strong> (and as we will see, at the end of the \u201cFinale\u201d): are they best explained by the application of a singular collection, or instead through the interaction of competing musical layers? Opponents of polytonality as an analytical construct (see fn. 12) are inclined to hear such phenomena as a musical <em>alloy<\/em>: the combination of layers becomes homogenized into a single structure. Support for a \u201cpolytonal\u201d or \u201cpolyscalar\u201d analytical bent calls for continued attention toward the interaction of constituent elements.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My analyses of octatonic passages in <em>West Side Story<\/em> showcase successive and simultaneous bitonality from a \u201cbottom-up\u201d view; recognition of \u201coctatonic\u201d materials is an <em>a posteriori<\/em> observation. In the \u201cPrologue,\u201d tonal centers C and A earn the bulk of our attention, and the presence of G$$\\sharp$$\/A$$\\flat$$&nbsp; only reinforces this tension. Even once an \u201cauthentic cadence\u201d in C provides confirmation, A major establishes itself as the \u201cpriority\u201d throughout; yet, F$$\\sharp$$ breaks through, and the entire number ends with proclamations of C. A similar dual complex is found in the \u201cJet Song,\u201d where the B$$\\flat$$is heard as primary, with G lurking, akin to the \u201cPrologue.\u201d \u201cDance at the Gym Blues\u201d takes the dual priority concept to an even higher plane: first juxtaposing B$$\\flat$$ and G, with B$$\\flat$$ as priority, then fluidly transforming into a D$$\\flat$$\/B$$\\flat$$ duality, with D$$\\flat$$ as priority. The \u201cQuintet,\u201d in a synthetic fashion, forms simultaneous bitonality, stacking the centers of C and A that the \u201cPrologue\u201d previously exhibited in a successive manner. Correspondences with the octatonic collection, where they appear, are a resultant byproduct of juxtapositions sculpted by the music.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The \u201crumble\u201d movements of \u201cQuintet\u201d and \u201cRumble\u201d exemplify simultaneous bitonality, the seeds of which are sown as early as \u201cPrologue\u201d and the opening scene of \u201cAmerica.\u201d These acoustic fractures further ingrain the natural split between the rival gangs. In many cases, the interval of a diminished octave creates a sense of tonal bifurcation, as two keys a semitone apart are tonally incompatible. Even altering a single pitch establishes a sense of independence between layers, creating a sensation of listening to two conversations simultaneously. As Martins concludes in his 2019 essay: focusing on scalar dissonance reframes the discussion to be \u201cless about the specification of identities\u201d and \u201cmore about empirical effects\u201d (83).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such effects appear in the \u201cFinale,\u201d capturing the essence of ultimate tonal disrepair (<strong>Example 31<\/strong>). The music is separated into three octaves of strata, with the lowest serving as a drone; the upper two strata have interlocking chords one octave apart. While mm. 15\u201318 project E- and F$$\\sharp$$-major triads (a familiar $$\\sharp\\hat{4}$$ universe), mm. 19\u201322 insert more insidious chromaticism against an E pedal. In m. 19, the F$$\\sharp$$ triad shifts up a semitone to G$$\\natural$$ major (a \u201cbluesy\u201d chord against the pedal), then \u201ccorrecting\u201d itself back to E. In mm. 20\u201321, three consecutive vertically mismatched octaves tug at one\u2019s heartstrings: E\/E$$\\sharp$$, C$$\\sharp$$\/C$$\\natural$$, and A$$\\sharp$$\/A$$\\natural$$. The top line then soars to an F$$\\sharp$$, joined by F$$\\sharp$$\u2019s underlying pedal point. F$$\\sharp$$ projects $$\\hat{5}$$, with a canonic B-major reminiscence of \u201cSomewhere,\u201d suggesting more optimistic days ahead. Then, with F$$\\sharp$$ holding firm in the lowest reaches, B major inches upward to C major, solidifying our reality: F$$\\sharp$$ and C\u2014just as the Jets and Sharks\u2014are incompatibly stratified.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/aziz-vol37-example-31\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"6874\" height=\"2584\" src=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-31.png\" alt=\"Aziz, Example 31\" class=\"wp-image-9183\" style=\"width:512px;height:192px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-31.png 6874w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-31-300x113.png 300w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-31-1024x385.png 1024w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-31-768x289.png 768w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-31-1536x577.png 1536w, https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/aziz-vol37-example-31-2048x770.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 89vw, (max-width: 767px) 82vw, 740px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Example 31.<\/strong> \u201cFinale,\u201d ending.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>References<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Amos, Laura Christine. 2007. \u201cAn Examination of 1920s Parisian Polytonality: Milhaud\u2019s Ballet <em>La cr\u00e9ation du monde<\/em>.\u201d Ph.D. diss., University of Texas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Baber, Katherine. 2019. <em>Leonard Bernstein and the Language of Jazz<\/em>. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bailey, Robert. 1985. <em>Prelude and Transfiguration from \u201cTristan und Isolde,\u201d Richard Wagner<\/em>. New York: Norton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>BaileyShea, Matthew. 2007. \u201cThe Hexatonic and the Double Tonic: Wolf\u2019s \u2018Christmas Rose.\u2019\u201d <em>Journal of Music Theory <\/em>51 (2): 187\u2013210.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bass, Richard. 1988. \u201cProkofiev\u2019s Technique of Chromatic Displacement.\u201d <em>Music Analysis<\/em> 7(2): 197\u2013214.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Baur, Steven. 1999. \u201cRavel\u2019s \u2018Russian\u2019 Period: Octatonicism in His Early Works, 1893-1908.\u201d <em>Journal of the American Musicological Society<\/em> 52 (3): 531\u2013592.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Berger, Arthur. 1963. \u201cProblems of Pitch Organization in Stravinsky.\u201d <em>Perspectives of New Music<\/em> 2 (1): 11\u201342.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bergeron-Dumaine, Holly. 2018. \u201cDifferentiation of Concurrent Musical Strata.\u201d M.A. Thesis, McGill University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bernstein, Leonard. 1959. \u201cIntroduction to Modern Music.\u201d In <em>The Joy of Music<\/em>, 333\u2013403. New York: Simon and Schuster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_____. 1976. <em>The Unanswered Question, Six Talks at Harvard<\/em>. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bernstein, Leonard, and Stephen Sondheim. 1957. <em>West Side Story<\/em> (Piano Vocal). Music Theatre International.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Block, Geoffrey. 2008. \u201cBernstein\u2019s Senior Thesis at Harvard: The Roots of a Lifelong Search to Discover an American Identity.\u201d <em>College Music Symposium<\/em> 48: 52\u201368.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Caplin, William. 2004. \u201cThe Classical Cadence, Conceptions and Misconceptions.\u201d <em>Journal of the American Musicological Society<\/em> 57 (1): 51\u2013118.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>de Clercq, Trevor. 2019. \u201cThe Harmonic-Bass Divorce in Rock.\u201d <em>Music Theory Spectrum <\/em>41 (2): 271\u2013284.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>de Clercq, Trevor, and David Temperley. 2011. \u201cA Corpus Analysis of Rock Harmony.\u201d <em>Popular Music<\/em> 30 (1): 47\u201370.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ferrandino, Matthew. 2022. \u201cMulti-Centric Complexes in Pop-Rock Music.\u201d <em>Int\u00e9gral<\/em> 35: 27\u201343.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Harrison, Daniel. 1997. \u201cBitonality, Pentatonicism, and Diatonicism in a Work by Milhaud.\u201d <em>Music Theory in Concept and Practice<\/em>, eds. James M. Baker, David W. Beach, and Jonathan W. Bernard, 393\u2013408. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_____. 2016. <em>Pieces of Tradition: An Analysis of Contemporary Tonal Music<\/em>. New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Helgert, Lars E. 2008. \u201cJazz Elements in Selected Concert Works of Leonard Bernstein: Sources, Reception, and Analysis.\u201d Ph.D. diss., Catholic University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hook, Julian. 2023. <em>Exploring Musical Spaces<\/em>. New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kaminsky, Peter. 2003. \u201cComposers\u2019 Words, Theorists\u2019 Analyses, Ravel\u2019s Music (Sometimes the Twain Shall Meet).\u201d <em>College Music Symposium <\/em>43: 161\u2013177.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_____. 2004. \u201cRavel\u2019s Late Music and the Problem of \u2018Polytonality.\u2019\u201d <em>Music Theory Spectrum<\/em> 26 (2): 237\u2013264.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Knapp, Raymond. 2013. \u201cThe Sounds of Broadway\u2019s Mean Streets: Setting New York City \u2018Edge\u2019 in Show Song.\u201d <em>Studies in Musical Theatre<\/em> 7 (2): 237\u2013259.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Laird, Paul. 2022. <em>West Side Story, Gypsy, and the Art of Broadway Orchestration<\/em>. New York: Routledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lewin, David. 1987. <em>Generalized Musical Intervals and Transformations.<\/em> New Haven: Yale University Press.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Martins, Jos\u00e9 Oliveira. 2015. \u201cBartok\u2019s Polymodality: The Dasian and Other Affinity Spaces.\u201d <em>Journal of Music Theory<\/em> 59 (2): 273\u2013320.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_____. 2019. \u201cScalar Dissonance and the Analysis of Polytonal\/Modal Mismatch in Twentieth-Century Music.\u201d <em>Musurgia<\/em> 2019 (3): 49\u201387.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mellers, Wilfrid. 1964. <em>Music in a New Found Land: Themes and Developments in the History of American Music<\/em>. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_____. 2001. \u201cThe Narrative and Thematic Significance of Music in <em>West Side Story<\/em>.\u201d In <em>Readings on West Side Story<\/em>, ed. Mary E. Williams, 67\u201376. San Diego: Greenhaven Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mugmon, Matthew. 2019. <em>Aaron Copland and the American Legacy of Gustav Mahler<\/em>. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Muniz, John. 2019. \u201cA Tendency-Transformational Model of Enharmonic Modulations and Related Phenomena.\u201d <em>Music Theory Spectrum<\/em> 41 (1): 1\u201320.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Myler, Derek. J. 2021. \u201cLewin\u2019s Dubbit, Husserl\u2019s Post-horn: A Multistable Model of Polytonal Perception.\u201d Presented at the Society for Music Theory Annual Meeting (virtual).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nagel, Julie J. 2010a. \u201cPsychoanalytic and Musical Ambiguity: The tritone in \u2018Gee, Officer Krupke<em>.<\/em>\u2019\u201d <em>Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association<\/em> 58 (1): 9\u201325.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_____. 2010b. \u201cMelodies in My Mind: The Polyphony of Mental Life.\u201d <em>Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association<\/em> 58 (4): 649\u2013662.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nobile, Drew. 2015. \u201cCounterpoint in Rock Music: Unpacking the Melodic-Harmonic Divorce.\u201d <em>Music Theory Spectrum<\/em> 37 (2): 189\u2013203.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_____. 2020. \u201cDouble-Tonic Complexes in Rock Music.\u201d <em>Music Theory Spectrum <\/em>42 (2): 207\u2013226.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>_____. 2023. \u201cSondheim\u2019s Dissonant Tonality,\u201d in <em>Here for the Hearing: Analyzing the Music in Musical Theater<\/em>, eds. Michael Buchler and Gregory Decker, 35\u201362. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pomeroy, Boyd. 2004. \u201cTales of Two Tonics: Directional Tonality in Debussy\u2019s Orchestral Music.\u201d <em>Music Theory Spectrum<\/em> 26 (1): 87\u2013118.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Posen, Thomas W. 2016. \u201cModeling Compositional Grammars in Leonard Bernstein\u2019s <em>West Side Story<\/em> (1957).\u201d MM Thesis, University of New Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reese, Alan. 2020. \u201cExamining Keyboard Bitonality in the Middle-Period Music of Karol Szymanowski.\u201d <em>Music Theory Spectrum<\/em> 42 (2): 305\u2013325.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rings, Steven. 2011. <em>Tonality and Transformation<\/em>. New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simeone, Nigel, ed. 2013. <em>The Leonard Bernstein Letters<\/em>. New Haven: Yale University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Smith, Helen. 2016. <em>There\u2019s a Place For Us: The Musical Theatre Works of Leonard Bernstein<\/em>. New York: Taylor and Francis.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Straus, Joseph N. 2014. <em>Harmony and Voice Leading in the Music of Stravinsky<\/em>. <em>Music Theory Spectrum<\/em> 36 (1): 1\u201333.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Swain, Joseph P. 1990. <em>The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey. <\/em>New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Temperley, David. 2007. \u201cThe Melodic-Harmonic \u2018Divorce\u2019 in Rock.\u201d <em>Popular Music <\/em>26 (2): 323\u2013342.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tymoczko, Dmitri. 2002. \u201cStravinsky and the Octatonic: A Reconsideration.\u201d <em>Music Theory Spectrum<\/em> 24 (1): 68\u2013102.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>van den Toorn, Pieter. 1983. <em>The Music of Igor Stravinsky.<\/em> New Haven: Yale University Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wells, Elizabeth A. 2010. <em>West Side Story: Cultural Perspectives on an American Musical.<\/em> Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Andrew Aziz Abstract This article offers original listening strategies for two dimensions of bitonality featured in West Side Story, both implied (but not defined) in Bernstein\u2019s writings (1959, 1976): \u201csimultaneous,\u201d or the vertical superimposition of clashing strata, and \u201csuccessive,\u201d in which non-stratified tonal events generate tonally ambiguous environments, suggesting more than one key. Bernstein\u2019s compositional &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/37-2024\/aziz\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Tonal Rumble: Simultaneous and Successive Bitonality in West Side Story&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"parent":9044,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9111","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9111"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11702,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9111\/revisions\/11702"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theory.esm.rochester.edu\/integral\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}