Fill in the lyrics with the following missing words:
Central Park - Mott - Staten Island - Niagara - Delancey - Bronx - Coney - Yonkers
Summer journeys to ______________ and to other places
Aggravate all our cares, we'll save our fares
I've a cozy little flat in what is known as old Manhattan
We'll settle down right here in town
We'll have Manhattan, the ______________ and ________________ too
It's lovely going through the zoo
It's very fancy on old ______________ Street, you know
The subway charms us so, when balmy breezes blow to and fro
And tell me what street compares with _____________ Street in July?
Sweet pushcarts gently gliding by
The great big city's a wondrous toy just made for a girl and boy
We'll turn Manhattan into an isle of joy
We'll go to _________________ where true love conquers in the whiles
And starve together, dear, in Chiles
We'll go to _____________ and eat baloney on a roll In ________________
we'll stroll, where our first kiss we stole, soul to soul
And "My Fair Lady" is a terrific show, they say
We both may see it close some day
The city's glamor can never spoil the dreams of a boy and goil
We'll turn Manhattan into an isle of joy
What emotions do you feel?
How would you describe her voice?
Ella’s voice was often described as the "gold standard" of jazz singing—effortless, elegant, and timeless. Use the vocabulary above to describe your voice and that of your favourite singer
QUEENS - THE BRONX - MANHATTAN - STATEN ISLAND - BROOKLYN
Where is what? Find the five boroughts of New York City, and the spots mentioned in the song "Manhattan"
Now listen to Ella Fitzgerald’s fun facts and answer the following questions:
Where and when was she born?
Which illegal activities caused her troubles
What happened after her mother’s death?
Where is the Apollo Theatre and why is it important in her early life?
What is the title of one of her first hits?
Where is the Savoy Club and why is it important in Ella’s life?
What’s the title of her first number 1 hit?
Name at least one of her nicknames
How many Grammy Awards did she win in her career?
When and where did she pass
Have you ever heard of the “Harlem Renaissance”?
What is it, or what do you imagine it can be?
Let’s watch this short documentary
Ella Fitzgerald’s influence on the Harlem Renaissance was indirect but significant. While the Harlem Renaissance peaked in the 1920s and early 1930s—before Fitzgerald rose to fame—her career was deeply rooted in the cultural and musical movement that emerged from it.
The Apollo itself was a key venue of the Harlem Renaissance, showcasing Black talent and helping launch the careers of many artists. Harlem was the center of jazz innovation, and Ella absorbed its vibrant musical culture, influenced by artists like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie, who were central to the Harlem Renaissance. Her work with the Chick Webb Orchestra at the Savoy Ballroom helped popularize swing music, bringing Harlem's jazz sounds to
mainstream audiences.
Why was Harlem important for jazz? How does music shape a city’s identity?
You’re now ready for a “Jazz tour” in Harlem, NYC!
Jackson Pollock (1912 - 1956) was a leading figure in Abstract Expressionism, a post-World War II art movement that emerged in New York City. His distinctive technique, known as “drip painting” , involved:
Action Painting – moving around the canvas, dripping and splattering paint with brushes, sticks, and even his hands.
Spontaneity & Emotion – focusing on instinct and subconscious expression rather than traditional composition.
Large-Scale Canvases – creating immersive, dynamic works that filled entire rooms.
Non-Representational Art – avoiding clear subjects or figures, letting the viewer interpret meaning.
Give a title to two of these three paintings and explain your choice:
Lavender Mist - Autumn Rhythm
Now find the two works on google and check your asnwers.
What do you see?
How does it make you feel?
How do these paintings connect to NYC’s energy?
Do you think his work is a form of controlled skill or pure chaos?
Is Pollock’s work true art or just random paint splashes?
Why do you think New York became the center of modern art?
Can you somhow compare this art to Jazz music? Explain
NYC in the 1940s and 1950s was a fast-paced, chaotic, and creative hub, much like Pollock’s paintings. His work mirrored the city’s energy, movement, and unpredictability. Pollock was part of a group of avant-garde artists in NYC known as the New York School, which helped make the city the new capital of the art world, replacing Paris.
He was supported by collectors and critics like Peggy Guggenheim, who helped bring Abstract Expressionism to prominence. Pollock was influenced by European modernist movements (like Surrealism) but gave them a distinctly American, raw, and emotional twist. His studio in East Hampton, Long Island, gave him space to work freely, yet he remained connected to NYC’s art world. New York’s dynamic and evolving culture encouraged experimental artists. Some critics dismissed his work as random or chaotic, but others saw it as revolutionary.
Listen to the description of “One: Number 31, 1950”, one of Pollock’s masterpieces. Which one is it?:
Now listen to this other audio file, also from the MoMA official website. Then answer the questions below
What are some of the explanations given to explain Pollock’s art?
Why was his art revolutionary at that time?
Pick out the biographical elements you hear.
Where did he draw his inspiration from?
Where did he usually paint?
What size is “White Light”? Pick out one adjective.
FROM THE WHITE LIGHT TO THE WHITE WHALE
"Circumambulate the city of a dreamy Sabbath afternoon. Go from Corlears Hook to Coenties Slip, and from thence, by Whitehall, northward.
What do you see?—Posted like silent sentinels all around the town, stand thousands upon thousands of mortal men fixed in ocean reveries.
Some leaning against the spiles; some seated upon the pier-heads; some looking over the bulwarks of ships from China; some high aloft in the rigging, as if striving to get a still better seaward peep. But these are all landsmen; of week days pent up in lath and plaster—tied to counters, nailed to benches, clinched to desks. How then is this? Are the green fields gone? What do they here?"
This excerpt, from Moby Dick - Chapter 1 ("Loomings"), captures the allure of the sea for city dwellers, emphasizing how New York's waterfront draws people yearning for adventure beyond their daily routines. Melville takes us on a Sunday walk along the bustling docks of 19th-century New York City, moving from Corlears Hook (Lower East Side) to Coenties Slip (a historic seaport area) and up to Whitehall (near Battery Park). This was the heart of maritime commerce, where ships from around the world docked, and the city’s working-class and merchant sailors mingled. Melville describes the crowds gathered at the waterfront—clerks, tradesmen, and laborers who spend their weekdays “pent up” indoors. Yet on Sundays, they come to the docks to gaze out at the ships and the sea. Why? Because they long for escape, adventure, and the unknown. These men are not sailors, yet they are drawn to the water as if by an invisible force. Melville suggests that the sea represents something primal and irresistible in the human spirit—perhaps a metaphor for fate, freedom, or even death.
This scene is crucial because it reflects the mindset of the novel’s narrator, Ishmael. Like these dreamers, he too is restless and dissatisfied with city life. The call of the ocean is so strong that he soon decides to sign up for a whaling voyage—just as some of these onlookers might wish they could. The way Melville describes this phenomenon—this magnetic pull of the sea—establishes one of the novel’s core themes: mankind’s eternal yearning for something greater, for adventure, for meaning.
How does the sea symbolize adventure and the unknown?
Compare the sea’s importance in Moby-Dick to Pollock’s and Fitzgerald’s work (movement, improvisation, chaos)
Which of the three figures interests you the most?
How does NYC continue to inspire artists today?
Published in 1851, Moby-Dick tells the story of uber-obsessed Captain Ahab’s quest for revenge on the White Whale as observed by a common seaman who identifies himself only as "Ishmael." When the novel was first published, reviewers and readers alike were, at best, puzzled by its density and, at worst, offended by its religious and sexual allusions.
Poor Melville (1819-1891) didn't live long enough to see his name in literary lights. It wasn't until the so-called "Melville Revival" of the early twentieth century that Moby-Dick was placed on every critic’s short list of great American novels. Even those who’ve never read a word of Moby-Dick often recognize the book’s famous first line, "Call me Ishmael," or the plot device of an insane quest for vengeance on an aspect of the natural world.
WITH THE HELP OF THE PICTURES ABOVE, PUT THE PARAGRAPHS INTO THE RIGHT ORDER AND RECREATE THE STORY
Riccardo Zambon, 22nd February 2025
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