Second Movement The Flute's Notes example essay topic
There was a large attendance, and I think that much of the audience consisted of friends of the composers and / or performers. I went with three friends, who I convinced by telling it would be interesting to see student composers. The first piece was called Oblique / musique composed by Patrick Swanson. This piece instantly stood out among the others because of the instruments involved. The piece was performed by two people: one playing a vibraphone and the other playing a large drum / cymbal /gong. However, the piece also contained prerecorded sounds of static, bass, and an incoherent voice.
In this piece the melody was repeated many times. It was similar to the works of John Adams because of its repetitions, background recording, and minimalistic sounds. The second piece was a piano composition by Thalia Venti milla called Ecuadorian Afternoon. This piece had a very relaxing melody and a "walking speed" tempo.
It was not fast and not slow. The intensity of the piece started out high and gradually declined, then built up to decline again. This went on in a series of decrescendos, rising and falling with lots of chords being played. The third piece was a duet for the flute and the oboe by Julia Grace Brown. The piece contained two movements, but I could not tell when one stopped and the second began because there was no pause. While they played the flute was quicker, playing in short, fast, high pitched notes.
On the other hand, the oboe was steadier and carried the notes slightly longer, and it lead the flute through the song. Sometimes the two instruments played simultaneously, and sometimes the flute would mimic the oboe and follow it through the movement. Overall, the piece started out fast and eventually slowed with the two instruments ending together, but the flute always played in a higher range with a more piercing sound above the oboe. The fourth piece was another piano composition, called Re mercier by Jeffrey Kirchner and performed by Josh Straub. This was a fairly simple and straightforward piece. It started out slow with small building crescendos, which became more and more powerful.
It had a dark, moody sound and I think that I was played in a minor key. There were many reverberating note to convey this eerie and sad tone. It became progressively more dramatic and intense, constantly repeated with stronger tone color. The fifth piece was called Epileptic al Bipolarity by Chris Wheeler. The piece was written for trumpet with a piano accompaniment. It had three movements; the first was centered mainly on the trumpet.
It started with low notes and a slow tempo and built to a lively and quick expression of joy and energy. The second movement was played with the trumpet muted. It was much, much slower in tempo and used much lower notes, played within a very small range. The third movement starts out livelier and continues with an upbeat sound. The melody seems almost recognizable and is, therefore, comforting to listen to after the sad second movement. Then the melody stops abruptly and the piano joins in to finish the song.
The sixth piece was called This The Moment sing Me a Song by Craig McGill. This piece had two singers and a piano accompaniment. The song is about a glorious moment when two people meet or possible fall in love. Regardless, it is a very important moment in the lives of the couple, represented by the male and female singers. The song talks about the good times in life. It is an up-beat love song as far as the lyrics go, and the lyrics (moreover the voices of the singers) is what made this song interesting and entertaining.
The piano seemed to play a small role, and followed the sounds of the voices. The female soprano and the male tenor traded on and off to complete the various verses of the song, coming together to sing the chorus. The seventh piece was a three movement sonata for the flute and the piano by Steve Molle ring. In the first movement of the sonata I was able to pick out the two themes.
The first was quick and lively, and it was played loudly in a major key. The second went up and down. It was lively, yet there was a hint of a slow sadder minor key. Then when the two themes came back, I recognized them, but they were played by the piano and flute in unison. There was a definitive pause that separated the movements. In the second movement the flute's notes built in pitch, intensity, and length.
The entire movement had a feeling of rising to a maximum point which could not be surpassed. In the third movement the flute and the piano played together and played nearly the same thing, with the exception of the flutes higher notes. This to had an increasing in intensity and tempo. Now for the sake of time, and because this report is already too long, I will skip to the last piece. Also, the seventh piece was so long that I could keep discussing it. The final and twelfth piece was made up of excerpts from a longer work called Five Short Pieces for Clarinet and Bassoon.
To me, maybe because the concert was beginning to get long or maybe because I did not have many notes over it, the last piece seems fairly similar throughout its movements, or "Short Pieces". The first was an up-beat piece with a distinct melody. The clarinet and bassoon alternated, with the clarinet playing the higher notes. The second movement had a have complete feel to it. The two instruments played at the same time, close to it. The third movement was an impressive sounding mix of ups and downs.
It seemed that the performers were working very hard and it sounded very complex.