Abe Binder

9/27/15
Emotion and Meaning in Music
Jazz in La Creacion Du Mond
An expert on Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue might claim that that particular piece is the
best example of the unification of jazz and classical styles. It is a shame I do not know an expert
on this topic1, for if I did, I could explain to him that there was a piece composed two years
before the conception of Rhapsody in Blue that did even better at combining the two musical
styles with the additional bonus of not evoking corporate imagery of an overly-enthusiastic
United Airlines stewardess explaining the safety features of a boeing-747 for the nth time. That
piece is Milhauds La Creacion Du Mond. In this paper, I will focus less on the classical aspects
of La Creacion Du Mond and turn my attention instead on to how jazz influences and is
incorporated in the piece. I will attempt to prove that jazz form, melody, harmony, and rhythm
occur in what is perhaps Milhauds most fascinating and famous work.
Part of Milhauds desire to integrate Jazz into his music can be explained by the rise of
exoticism in France during the twentieth century.2 Beginning with Debussy and the impressionist
movement, a desire arose to de-emphasize musical elements that could not be grasped and
understood without concentrated listening. For 20th century French composers, this meant
stepping away from old western classical traditions and exploring new music that was more
1 The professor to whom I write this paper is, in fact, an expert on Gershwins
Rhapsody In Blue
2 See the Biography of Milhaud in Grove Music Online

accessible to the common-folk. Debussy famously used the pentatonic scale to achieve this
simplification, which he borrowed from Gamelan music specifically.3 This, along with a young,
liberal audience, lit the flame for the musical desire of the exotic in France.4 Milhaud was not
influenced as strongly as Debussy by the Gamelan. Instead, he was stimulated by Jazz, which,
like the easily palatable pentatonic scales of the Gamelan, was an incarnation of musical ideals
that were more down to earth than traditional western classical music.
Milhauds personal encounters with jazz in his early career were also, of course,
important to inspiring its integration in La Creacion Du Mond. In 1920, Milhaud traveled to
London where he encountered Billy Arnolds American Novelty Jazz Band. We can imagine he
was quite excited by the discovery off Jazz through the vivid and exciting manner in which
describes it after first hearing it: "The new music was extremely subtle in its use of timber: held
together by the piano and subtly punctuated with rhythms of the percussion. The constant use of
syncopation in the melody was of such contrapuntal freedom that it gave the impression of
unregulated improvisation whereas in actual fact it was elaborately rehearsed daily. 5 Fittingly,
Milhauds original description of Jazz can be now be used with stunning overlap to describe his
own work, La Creacion Du Mond. Indeed, the piano in the piece acts in a similar, binding
manner as the rhythm guitar does for rock music. Indeed, the use of syncopation in the piece
feigns improvisation when, in reality, it had truly been pre-conceived and employed in a very
careful and precise fashion. After hearing jazz for the first time in London, Milhaud continued to
3 Lowell taught me this in an oral presentation he did on Debussy and the Gamelan
4 See Joy Kairies article on impressionism.
5 This quotation is referenced in Robert Millers Doctorate Thesis, Darius Milhauds
La Creation du Monde: the conductors guide to performance

seek it out and study it. Milhaud and some of his composer friends visited Harlem in order to
experience the roots and essence of jazz. Often, when Milhaud and his colleagues went out in
Harlem to jazz venues, they were the only Caucasian people present,6 however, this only served
to bring Milhauds fascination and enthusiasm for the art form to greater heights. Milhaud
brilliantly applied the structural aspects he learned from these outings to the organization of La
Creacion Du Mond.
The form of La Creacion Du Mond contains many aspects of a jazz piece. Firstly, it is
cyclical in both modality and themes, strongly resembling the recurring-riff 7 structure of a
jazz song. For example, three distinct themes are exposed during the fugal section of the piece.
During the finale, which is signified by a rapid dynamic change, all three themes are suddenly
reintroduced on top of each other.8 This recurrence is similar to how a jazz riff that occurs at
the beginning of a piece will return at the end following a series improvisational solos.
Furthermore, when the themes reappear in the finale, they are fragmented, creating an illusion of
improvisation, which is a key element to a successful jazz song. The cacophony that is generated
when these themes raucously clash with each other is illustrative of yet another jazz motif, the
shout chorus. 9 A shout chorus typically occurs after an instrumental solo is finished, and
features the entire band playing loudly together dissonantly to create a sense of musical chaos.

6 See The Grove Online Biography on Milhaud

7 See Grove Online Article on Jazz
8 Before being able to hear this recurrence, I read it in Robert Millers Doctorate
thesis.
9 See Wikipedia article on refrain.

The harmonies and melodies used in this piece also contain components of jazz. The
modality is especially noticeable. Specifically, Milhaud uses an augmented fourth note and minor
7th note in the scales of the piece.10 These two notes, along with the tonic, major 3rd, perfect 4th,
and perfect 5th constitute the blues scale.11 The augmented fourth note is typically referred to as
the blues note. This note is extremely dissonant because it wants to resolve to the perfect fifth,
the second most consonant note in a scale besides the tonic.12 Jazz and blues musicians use this
note in short bursts to create tension and a sense of misplacement. During the exposition of the
third theme of this song, Milhaud employs the blues note in short bursts to achieve that same
effect. These notes are also played in the instrumental harmonies, to create an underlying feeling
of tension thats difficult to consciously acknowledge but easy for the ear to naturally pick up on.
Coupled with rhythm, the blues note creates an odd sense of flow to the piece that is
characteristic of jazz music.
It is challenging for me, in terms of rhythm, to discuss La Creacion Du Mond because I
am unfamiliar with how to properly listen for and describe it. One thing I am certain of, however,
is that Milhaud frequently uses Syncopations across this piece. Syncopation begins during the
second theme on the tom-tom drum.13 The tom-tom, during this section, plays three oddly placed
10 While it took the use of additional resources to discover the existence of
recurring themes and syncopations, hearing the use of the blues scale was
something that I accomplished on my first listening of the piece. I think that is
because I am a guitar player, and have used that scale more often than most other
musicians.
11 See Grove Music Online Article On Blues
12 Michael Grace, Colorado College
13 See Wikipedia article on Drum Kit

beats while the general time-signature of the piece continues in 4/4.14 This syncopation, like the
blues note, is designed to create a sense of misplacement and is used frequently by jazz
musicians. Milhaud applies this syncopation directly after his more western-sounding, nonsyncopated first theme to dramatize the contrast between the classical and jazz styles that he will
be bouncing between for the rest of this piece. Another time he uses syncopation is during the
fugal section. During this section, multiple beats are played intentionally milliseconds after the
downbeat. This is an especially relevant place to include this mistiming because fugues are
supposed to be the ultimate representation of musical unity and control.15 To include
syncopations in this section once again stresses the contrast in musical styles that Milhaud is
dancing with in this piece.
Our attraction to the exotic can be easily explained. We become accustomed and bored
with one style, and something new entertains us and re-excites us. Milhaud felt this same desire
for novelty after experiencing the homogeneity of western-classical music. He found his escape
in the wonderful rhythmic, melodic, and structural components of Jazz music and did a
wonderful job incorporating these elements into his most famous piece, La Creacion Du Mond.

14 I am uncertain of the time signature. Perhaps it was 2/4 or maybe 2/2. The point
is that is that there was a juxtaposition between the pieces general time signature
and the three beats of the drums.
15 Michael Grace, Colorado College

Works Cited
Ausborg, G. "Milhaud, Darius." Remote Access to Databases :. Oxford, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
Feather, L. "Jazz." Grove Music Online. Oxford, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
Grace, Michael. "Emotion and Meaning in Music." Lecture.
Kairlies, Joy. "Impressionism." Impressionism. Florida State College, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
"La Creation Du Monde." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.
"Milhaud and Jazz." Bibliolore. Repertoire International De Literature Musicale, 04 Sept. 2014. Web.
28 Sept. 2015.
Willer, Robert. "Darius Milhaude's La Creacion Du Monde: The Conductor's Guide to
Performance." University of Iowa. University Of Iowa, 2011. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.