"Summertime" is the name of an aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin, and has become a popular jazz standard. Gershwin is said to have based this song on a Ukrainian lullaby, Oi Khodyt Son Kolo Vikon (A Dream Passes By The Windows), which he heard in a New York City performance by Oleksander Koshetz’s Ukrainian National Chorus. An aria (Italian for air; plural: arie or arias in common usage) in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. ... Gershwin redirects here. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar). ... For other uses, see Opera (disambiguation). ... The cast of Porgy and Bess during the Boston try-out prior to the Broadway opening. ... DuBose Heyward (August 31, 1885 – June 16, 1940) was an American author best known for his 1924 novel Porgy. ... Ira Gershwin (6 December 1896 – 17 August 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. ... Jazz standard refers to a tune that is widely known, performed, and recorded among jazz musicians. ... Dr Oleksander Koshetz (September 14, 1875 â€“ September 21, 1944) was a Ukrainian choral conductor, arranger, composer, ethnographer, writer, and lecturer. ...

Gershwin began composing the song in December 1933, attempting to create his own spiritual in the style of the African American folk music of the period. It is sung multiple times throughout Porgy and Bess, first by Clara in Act I as a lullaby and soon after as counterpoint to the craps game scene, in Act II in a reprise by Clara, and in Act III by Bess, singing to Clara's baby. == Historical background on spiritual music Spirituals were often expressions of religious faith, although they may also have served as socio-political protests veiled as assimilation to white, American culture. ... An African American (also Afro-American, Black American, or simply black) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to Africa. ... // Era Overview At the end of the Civil War, the United States was still bitterly divided. ... Craps (previously known as crabs[1]) is a casino dice game. ... For other uses, see Game (disambiguation). ...

Popularity

It is widely believed that "Summertime" ties with the Beatles' "Yesterday" as one of the most often covered songs in popular music, with an estimated 2,600 different versions recorded. However, a far greater number of recordings of the former exist: as of 16 april 2008, 09:51 GMT, an international group of collectors of recordings of Summertime known as "The Summertime Connection," knows of at least 22,700 public performances, of which 16,086 have been recorded. Of those, the group has 10,514 full recordings and about 1,100 samples and incomplete recordings in its collection.^{[citation needed]} The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, I Want To Hold Your Hand. ... Music sample Yesterday Problems? See media help. ... // In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ...

Languages

Summertime was composed in English, but nowadays it has been sung in many languages (we mention at random one artist in the language). The Summertime Connection knows of performances in : Bulgarian (Slavi Trifonov), Catalan (The Mimisikous Band), Czech (Hana Hegerová), Dutch (Wilfred Klaver), Esperanto (Nicolin'), Estonian (Optimistid), Finnish (Topi Sorsakoski), Fon (Angélique Kidjo), French (Joe Dassin), Frisian (De Kast), German (Peter Kraus), Hohenloher (Annâweech), Italian (I Dalton), Japanese (The Dixie Saints), Lithuanian (Skamp), Maori (Wirimako Black), Papiamento (Tropical Taste), Polish (Petra Janů), Portuguese (Nara Leão), Ukrainian (Oleh Skrypka), Serbian (Basa), Spanish (Cubismo), Welsh (Sara Glyn-Jones), Yiddish (Lee Colbert), Yugoslavian (Henda) and Zulu (Amanda Strydom). Kwartet Okazjonalny from Poland has performed a humorous tri-lingual version, underlining the stereotypes of the different languages. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Joe Dassin Joseph Ira Dassin (November 5, 1938 – August 20, 1980) was a French-speaking American expatriate musician. ...

Instruments

The original song is an opera-aria, sung by a soprano with a symphonic orchestra. The Summertime Connection has renditions in such different styles as ska, South American (all rhythms), rock, house mixes in various forms, all jazz styles from dixieland to bop and so called 'improvised music'. This article is about the genre. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... Dixieland music is a style of jazz which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s. ... BOP or bop may refer to: bleeding on probing (used by Captain Jack) balance of payments an organised party or club night at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford Bebop, an early modern jazz developed in the 1940s Blowout preventer used in oil and gas drilling acronym for bird of...

Every conceivable instrument has been used: from garden hose (Noguru Hata on Dutch TV), cow horn (Bengt Jonsson) and singing saw: (both Natalia Paruz and Matthew Beckman) to traditional Korean flute (Lee Sang Gang), theremin (Lydia Kavina), carillon (Piet van den Broek), xaphoon (Arthur Mary on June 4, 2007 in Budapest), hydraulophone (water-pipe-organ-flute) (the inventor of this instrument Steve Mann on June 24, 2007 on Loch Ness) and handbells (Raphsody). Natalia Paruz is reviving the old-time art of playing the musical saw. ...

Very peculiar is the performance of Stone Jazz (a South Korean emsemble). They combine the haegm (korean violin); the piri (korean oboe) and the gayagm (korean harp) with a traditional jazz trio of piano, bass and drums.

About 25 electric cello's exist in this world. Mrs.Jennifer Adams recorded Summertime in 2006 together with her husband as the Montana Skies.

The dulzaina is a traditional Castillian instrument, which can be seen as an ancestor of the oboe. Samuel Brogeras performed in january 2008 Summertime on his dulzaina.

Ram Deepak just has published a cd Steps (2008) with Summertime played on the bansuri (Indian bamboo flute)as track 4.

Every style and mode of singing has been recorded: from a cappella via karaoke and doo-wop to large mixed choirs, and also a rendition in a swimming pool (for the extra resonance). This article is about the vocal technique. ... For other uses see Karaoke (disambiguation) A karaoke machine Karaoke from Japanese kara, empty or void, and ōkesutora, orchestra) (pronounced IPA: or ; in Japanese IPA: ;  ) is a form of entertainment in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and a PA system. ... Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music popular in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s in America. ...

References

• Pierpoint, Claudia Roth. "Jazzbo: Why we still listen to Gershwin." The New Yorker, January 10, 2005.[1]

For other uses, see New Yorker. ... is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• List of more than 4000 cover-versions of "Summertime"
• The site of The Summertime Connection
• A second site of TSC with texts in different languages
• Summertime in MP3 format