Music Question

Listen to the following piece of music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM2N8_H4me0

This is the first three sections of Black, Brown, and Beige, by the American composer Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, first performed at Carnegie Hall in 1943.  These sections, entitled “Work Song,” “Come Sunday,” and “Light,” together make up the “Black” first movement portion of the composition.

Write a reaction paper on this piece. Include the following:

• Identify the following elements of music:  Tempo, meter, dynamics, modality (major/minor), harmonic tension, timbre, tessitura (texture), and musical form (if applicable).
• Based on the elements of music you identified, try to explain what general effect of the music is–happy, sad, intellectual, emotional, etc.–and the level of quality of the music–well-written, average, poor?–by virtue  of how the composer chose and employed those elements.
• What do you think was the perspective of the composer while writing the piece?  NOTE:  To answer this question you will need to obtain some biographical information about the composer, and also some of the “backstory” of the composing of the piece in the assignment. Consult the textbook, but also consult other available sources, for any biographical information and/or information on the composition that might help answer this.
• What is your personal reaction to the music?  How did it affect your mood/emotions when listening to it?