Theme
Both Aaron Copeland and by Ralph Vaughan Williams represent nationalism regarding America and England through the pieces ‘Billy The Kid’ and ‘Fantasia on "Greensleeves”’. Although both scores present a nationalistic element, whereas ‘Billy The Kid’ reflects the somewhat harsh society of that of the Wild West, in comparison 'Fantasia on "Greensleeves"' reflects the lush countryside and likewise higher societal refinement. Therefore both composers are able to convey a different image through their music. Also, both composers include famous folk songs from their respected countries, to emphasis the feel of nationalism. In ‘Billy The Kid’, Aaron Copeland uses the folk songs ‘Great-Grandad’, ‘Git Along Little Dogies’, ‘The Old Chisholm Trail’, ‘The Streets Of Laredo’ and ‘Goodbye Old Paint’. These are all traditional American folk songs, and each of them are renowned for being cowboy ballads. Similarly, both ‘Greensleeves’ and ‘Lovely Joan’ are traditional English folk songs.
Instruments
‘Billy The Kid’ by Aaron Copeland was written for a large group of instruments. These are Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons, 4 French Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Tuba, Timpani, Glockenspiel, Xylophone, Tin Whistle, Sleigh Bells, Wood Blocks, Gourd, Snare Drum, Slapstick, Cymbals, Bass Drum, Triangle Piano, Violins 1 and 2, Violas, Cellos and Double Basses. This provides a thick texture, compared to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ work. ‘Fantasia on “Greensleeves”’ in contrast features 2 Flutes, Harp, Violins 1 and 2, Violas 1 and 2, Cellos 1 and 2, and Double Basses. Therefore this provides a thin texture. This also contributes to the sense of being more refined than the Wild West. This is one of the major points of difference in these two scores.
Melody
In both ‘Billy The Kid’ and ‘Fantasia on “Greensleeves”’ the melody and rhythm in each of the folk songs are very simple, as this is a common factor of folk songs. In ‘Fantasia on “Greensleeves”’, the folk song melody of ‘Greensleeves’ is fairly spread out from the tonic, however in ‘Lovely Joan’ the melody is fairly spread out from the subdominant. In ‘Greensleeves’ the range of the melody includes the notes Middle C, D natural, E flat, E natural, F, G, A flat, B flat, C and D natural. In ‘Lovely Joan’ the range of the melody includes the notes Middle C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C and D. In contrast, the range of notes in the original uses of the folk songs included in ‘Billy The Kid’ are somewhat smaller. For example, in the folk song ‘Great-Grandad’, the notes include A flat, B flat, C, D flat, E flat and F. In ‘Git Along Little Dogies’ the notes include F, G, A natural, B flat and C. In ‘The Old Chisholm Trail’ the notes include F, G, B flat and C. These few examples show how the range of notes in the folk songs in ‘Billy The Kid’ are significantly smaller than the range in the folk songs included in ‘Fantasia on “Greensleeves”’.
Harmony/Counter melody
In both scores by Aaron Copeland and Ralph Vaughan Williams, harmony is used to highlight the melody, and counter melodies create a denser sound, and add to the complexity of texture. An example of the use of harmony/counter melody in ‘Billy The Kid’ is the “interruption theme” of ‘Git Along Little Dogies’. This folk song not only contributes as a second melody of sorts in the same section that features the folk song ‘Great-Grandad’, but provides contrast from this main melody. At bar 123 counter melody is used as well as a ‘call and response’ technique by Aaron Copeland to layer on top of a sustained note in the Violins and Viola. In ‘Fantasia on “Greensleeves”’, the counter melodies are used more as harmonies to fill in the melody. At bar 8, the divisi of the first Violin showcases how Ralph Vaughan Williams has used harmony. Similarly, at bar 40 the second Flute provides harmony/a counter melody to support the melody in the first Flute.
Key
In ‘Billy The Kid’, the Horns and Trumpets show no key signature which indicates having no key, although the Horns show B flats throughout the piece therefore the Horns are in F Major, no key. In the first section in this score, the key signature is A flat Major. This shifts to F Major in the second section, then to D Major in Section Three, then to B flat Major in Section Five, then finally to G Major in Section Six. In ‘Fantasia on “Greensleeves”’, the key signature is F Minor, and the D and E naturals and flats indicate an F Natural Minor/Melodic scale. However, the folk song itself ‘Greensleeves’ is in Dorian mode based on F. In the second section, the key signature indicates either C Major or A Minor through having no sharps or flats, however the folk song of ‘Lovely Joan’ is in Dorian mode based on D.
Duration
In ‘Billy The Kid’ the first section is indicated with cut common time as the time signature. At bar 118 the time signature changes to 4/4 to give energy as well as provide a faster tempo. At Section 5, 5/8 is the indicated time signature. Starting from bar 165, there are three bars of 5/8, followed by one bar of 4/8, and bars of 4/8 also appear at bar 176, 180 and 190. Also from Figure 22, bars alternate from 5/8 to 4/8. In terms of duration, the Horns show dotted bar lines, which assist the player to understand where accents fall when the time signature is not easily divisible. As the time signature is 5/8, the bar could be broken up into two beats then three beats, or three beats then two beats. In this case, the accent falls on the first and third beat, meaning that the bar is broken up into two beats then three beats. This provides a lilting rhythm and an uneven meter which creates a hypnotic feel. At Section 6 there is the time signature of 7/8, which is non-divisible by two, therefore dotted bar lines are used to aid the performer in terms of accents. The bar is then divided into two beats, then three beats, then two beats, meaning that the accents fall on the first beat, third beat and sixth beat. At bar 213 the time signature changes to 3/4. From Figure 25A, there are instruments with accents on the second and third beats in the bar, which go against the time signature of 3/4. This helps emphasise the feeling of being uneven and non-refined, which reflects the Wild West.
In ‘Fantasia on “Greensleeves”’, the time signature is introduced as 6/8, which is a compound meter that subdivides into three beats. However, as can be seen after the word Lento (meaning slow) there is a signal for the Conductor to conduct six beats per bar. After the Introduction, there is another signal for the Conductor to now conduct two slow beats in each bar. At the B section, the time signature changes to 4/4, however with the return of the A section brings about the return of the 6/8 time signature.
In ‘Fantasia on “Greensleeves”’, the time signature is introduced as 6/8, which is a compound meter that subdivides into three beats. However, as can be seen after the word Lento (meaning slow) there is a signal for the Conductor to conduct six beats per bar. After the Introduction, there is another signal for the Conductor to now conduct two slow beats in each bar. At the B section, the time signature changes to 4/4, however with the return of the A section brings about the return of the 6/8 time signature.
Dynamics
In ‘Billy The Kid’, there is a wider range of dynamics, compared to ‘Fantasia on “Greensleeves”’ which coupled with a lighter texture features softer dynamics. This is due to the piece reflecting a calmer and simpler tone. There are also not the same extremes of emotion from one score to the next. However, both Aaron Copeland and Ralph Vaughan Williams have consistently used dynamics throughout each return of the featured folk songs.