Concert With The Mix Of Pieces example essay topic

Concert Analysis: Songs Around the Word Offer Thee by Allen Rid out 1. Gregorian chant consists of a single-lined melody and is monophonic in texture. This piece also consists of these basic structures as well as not having any harmony or counterpoint. This piece performed by U of I faculty member Steven Rickards, is sung a cap pella. 2. This piece differs from the traditional Gregorian chant of the Middle ages because of the jumps and leaps presented in the piece, which show that the piece was written after the period.

Another reason it differs from chant is because this is plainchant rather than Gregorian. It is also sung in English, rather than the traditional Latin text. A havant Olam by Ben Steinberg 3. Cant illation, according to the Harvard Music Dictionary, is to chant or recite (a liturgical text) in a musical monotone; recitation or reading with musical modulations.

One of its features is that the piece is straight out of the torah 4. One of the main reasons why this piece has a Jewish sound is it is in minor key, giving it the drama of a jewish piece. It also has a monotonic sound present. In some parts of the piece, the vocalist embellishes some of the long syllables, making it melisma tic. Midi We stra did a great job of bringing out the main idea of the text which is peace and love.

5. The main role of the piano on this piece is to establish the melodic idea. The pianist, Amy Egg elston, lets the vocalist take over but makes it like they are singing together. The pianist plays just as an important role as the vocalist, making her not an accompanist. Leit enter live by Christian Singing 6. I believe that the piece is talking about happiness and fulfillment.

The piece is entitled Leit enter live which translated means "Seek after Life and Live it". The performer exemplifies this with his happy singing and the piano has an ascending line that also portrays happiness. Det for ste by Edvard Grieg 7. Mr. Samuelson interprets the piece in a few ways. First, with his urgency. He displays his passion and oneness of the music.

He uses lots of dynamics and also in some cases bends the pitch, which makes the piece more interesting. He also displays a great representation of lightness and darkness. The piano helps makes this happen with several chord changes to make the "light" obvious and "darkness". His voice becomes somber when it goes to "darkness" like he is sad, then becomes bright when back to "light". The last chord on the piano, I believe says that the story is still continuing on even after the piece.

Pierrot by Claude Debussy 8. Claude Debussy was among the most influential composers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born Achille-Claude Debussy in 1862 in St. -Germain-en-Lake, France, his mature compositions, distinctive and appealing, combined modernism and sensuality so successfully that their sheer beauty often obscures their technical innovation. Debussy is considered the founder and leading exponent of musical Impressionism (although he resisted the label), and his adoption of non-traditional scales and tonal structures was paradigmatic for many composers who followed. The son of a shopkeeper and a seamstress, Debussy began piano studies at the Paris Conservatory at the age of 11. While a student there, he encountered the wealthy Nadezhda von Me ck, whom was most famous as Tchaikovsky's patroness.

She employed Debussy as a music teacher to her children; through travel, concerts and acquaintances, she provided him with a wealth of musical experience. Most importantly, she exposed the young Debussy to the works of Russian composers, such as Borodin and Mussorgsky, who would remain important influences on his music. Debussy began composition studies in 1880, and in 1884 he won the prestigious Prix de Rome with his cantata L'enfant. After a relatively bohemian period, during which Debussy formed friendships with many leading Parisian writers and musicians, the year 1894 saw the enormously successful premiere of his Pr " elude 'a l'apr " es-midi d'un faun e (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) -- a truly revolutionary work that brought his mature compositional voice into focus. His seminal opera Pell " eas et M'elisa nde, completed the next year, would become a sensation at its first performance in 1902.

The impact of those two works earned Debussy widespread recognition, and over the first decade of the twentieth century he established himself as the leading figure in French music -- so much so that the term 'Debussysme' ('Debussyism'), used both positively and pejoratively, became fashionable in Paris. Debussy spent his remaining healthy years immersed in French musical society, writing as a critic, composing, and performing his own works internationally. He succumbed to colon cancer in 1918, having also suffered a deep depression brought on by the onset of World War I. Debussy wrote successfully in most every genre, adapting his distinctive compositional language to the demands of each. His orchestral works, of which Pr " elude 'a l'apr " es-midi d'un faun e and La mer (The Sea, 1905) are most familiar, established him as a master of instrumental color and texture.

It is this attention to tone color -- his layering of sound upon sound so that they blend to form a greater, evocative whole -- that linked Debussy in the public mind to the Impressionist painters. 9. Commedia 'dell arte refers to a type of improvised play full of physical comedy and acrobatics originating in Italy in the 16th Century. A rough translation of the term is 'Comedy of the profession' or 'by professionals indicating that the actors were trained professionals and not amateurs. Commedia dell " arte plays were unscripted, and the actors improvised around a pre-arranged plot. Each actor specialised in a certain role and played only that part.

All the characters except for the young lovers wore a mask. The plots centred around the young couple who wished to marry but were prevented by their elders. Much of the comedy was supplied by the servants, called the z anni who included Arleccino (Harlequin), Pedro lino (Pierrot), Pulcinella (Punch) and Columbia (Columbine). Their comedies were played at Italian courts and had soon spread to France and Spain, and by the mid 17th Century, elements of the com media dell " arte were appearing in English dramas. By the 18th Century however, it began to die out although elements of it survived in different forms of drama - Anglicise d versions of the characters in the English harlequinade, for example, and similar characters and physical clowning in the scripted plays of writers such as Goldoni in Italy. 10.

Jean Gaspar d Deburau was a French pantomime performer. His original name was Jan Kaspar Dvorak. He was most famous for his introduction of the pantomime character Pierrot at the Th'e^atre des Funambules. His delicate charm and pathos captured the essence of the ever hopeful but always disappointed lover. He was mentioned in the song probably because he and Debussy were French and at the time of the song's introduction was playing the character at the Th'e^atre des Funambules, which was probably Debussy's first encounter with Commedia 'dell Arte.

The song itself was basically talking about Debussy's experience at the theatre. 11. See attached sheet 12. One thing that definitely comes to my mind with this piece is what Debussy was famous for: word painting.

As I stated in #10, I believe that Debussy is describing his experience at the theatre and he makes it clear with the word painting. One example of this is when Kathy Hacker, the performer, sings about Harlequin's wedding, she makes it sound elegant, just like a bride in the wedding. She also sells the word painting with some of her body gestures throughout the piece. Another part that describes Pierrot in the piece is the bouncing of words which make you think that he is walking around. Personal Reflections 13. This concert overall was very entertaining to say the least.

Although distracted by the work of being on call once again as one of the technology personnel that evening, I did manage to observe some wonderful elements of the performance. For one thing, the presentation that each performer made was very nice. With the concert beginning with Steven Rickards behind the panels on stage to, I presume, make some resonance and make it like you were at a temple and making it more lifelike. The piece with Rickards and Jeff Collier on recorder was also pleasant to listen to, especially for someone like myself that does not always get to hear the recorder. The balance between the countertenor and Collier is wonderful and the recorder gives the piece a little color. The selections with Roy Samuels en were even more interesting since he showed some slides of his trip to Norway.

Being an instrumentalist, I am biased toward instrumental music, so im not the biggest fan of this type of music, but the way that the faculty present the concert with the mix of pieces on it made it possible for people like myself to enjoy it. The only confusing part of the piece was some of the languages that were used, especially on the Jewish selections. Despite that confusion, the selections were very nice. The musical flow of the voices throughout the concert was like honey. One of my favorite parts of the concert was Vaughn Williams piece performed with vocal and violin. For one thing it was good to see one of my fellow classmates, Erin Hunt, perform but also because the piece was very well performed.

I was not a fan of Steve Enzinger's voice, probably because I am not used to it. I thought his voice did not match the flowing sound of the violin. It was raspy in nature and did not flow with the violin. What really impressed me about the duo of Hunt and Enzinger was their patience. They never rushed tempos and took their time with melodies, making the outcome a beautiful performance. The music was simple and could have been rushed but never did.

Overall, this concert was very well put together and the musicians were very classy and talented. I wish we had that many talented musicians here at this university. I would recommend this concert to anyone who has an interest in vocal music.

Bibliography

Sacred sound and social change: liturgical music in Jewish and Christian experience By: Lawrence A Hoffman; Janet Roland Walton Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1992.
The Triumph of Pierrot, The Commedia dell " Arte and the Modern Imagination, Martin Green and John Swan, rev. ed. 1993, Penn State Press.
The Life of Debussy Author: Nichols, Roger 184 pages Pub. Date: Jun 1998, Publisher: Cambridge Univ Press Joseph mach lis, Kristine Forney.
The enjoyment of music. 9th edition. Ww Norton and company, 2003.