The concerto written for Benny Goodman by Aaron Copland has been a piece a popular piece of music. This concerto is a large work for clarinet and the orchestra, or piano. It is very free and expressive. Many jazz elements can be found throughout the piece. Although Aaron Copland’s work, titled Concerto, is given the form concerto by its name, he followed in the path of many twentieth century composers and used the name of a classical form but changed many basic elements of it. The classical example of a concerto form is a sonata with an orchestral accompaniment for an instrumental soloist. The classical concerto form generally consists of three movements, with the first being fast, second slow, and the third fast. The exposition of the concerto would be, “a double exposition played first by the orchestra alone and then with the soloist. The orchestral exposition presents all of the thematic material,” This would continue throughout the piece. Cadenzas were also used to give the soloist an opportunity to show off. During this time period, “it was customary to improvise the cadenzas at the performance.” The classical example of a concerto has set rules that the composer follows when writing. Aaron Copland did not follow these rules exactly. He modified the form to incorporate the style that he wanted. This caused many of the old rules of the concerto form to be broken. This can be easily found throughout the piece. This essay will show how the Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto differs from the classical example of the form. Aaron Copland’s Clarinet Concerto is, “cast in a two-movement form, played without pause, and connected by a cadenza for the solo instrument.” At the beginning of the piece, the first movement is, “an ... ... middle of paper ... ...with a C pedal tone. The soloist plays grace notes to an eight note to beats one, three, and five for two measures. Measure five-hundred and four gives the soloist three held notes without accompaniment, and then plays a chromatic scale from F flat below the treble clef to G4 with a glissando to C6, which is part of the final C major chord of the piece. Aaron Copland’s clarinet concerto is a popular piece for many people today. The work as an excellent example for showing how composers will change the rules of a particular form to make it have the quality they want to have. Copland does this by removing one of the movements, starting the piece with a slow movement, and using a free rondo in the second movement and ending the piece with the B section of the rondo. This is how Aaron Copland, used the name of a popular form, but chose not to use the classical example.
As the late Baroque period morphed into the new period known as the classical period, technological advances and new compositional techniques and ideas created new opportunities for the musicians of the period. The changes allowed for new performance techniques, forms, performance venues, and newly available compositional orchestrations to be improved and evolved into something new and improved for the new period.
In the mid 1930s, Benny Goodman sparked the beginning of the Swing Era of jazz music shortly after leading his first band, which was monumental to the development of jazz. This marked a transition from the early Jazz Age, which resulted from combining aspects of ragtime and blues music over the previous two decades. Through Goodman’s live performances at various gigs and NBC’s radio show Let’s Dance, he gained increased recognition as a jazz performer and band leader. Following his pivotal Palomar Ballroom gig in Los Angeles, Goodman’s music inspired teenagers to create dances to accompany his new jazz style. As a result, his music grew to gain national acclaim and popularity among many different types of people. Goodman greatly influenced
Drummond, Pippa; “The Concertos of Johann Adolf Hasse.” Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association, Vol. 99, Iss. 1, 1972.
The Baroque style of music was in prominence from the beginning of the 17th century until the mid-18th century. Some primary features of this style, particularly in the later years, include an emphasis on polyphonic textures and a continuity throughout the entire piece. Most compositions were created for specific events and sometimes written for particular instruments. (Kamien, 2015). The Trumpet Concerto for 2 Trumpets, composed by Antonio Vivaldi, is one example of these late Baroque style compositions and one we can use to analyze: the common elements, the overall effect, and the composer’s possible perspective.
<td width="50%">Baroque Concerto FormClassical Concerto Form Concerto grosso (use of string orchestra set against a number of solo instruments) is the most popular concerto form of this period. Other forms include The ripieno concerto and the solo concerto.Symphony form develops from baroque concerto forms and becomes the new form. Shorter movements than classical form.Concerto longer than baroque from. Fairly strict structure and prerequisites, e.g. Traditional ritornello form, virtuostic displays etc.More freedom and experimentation with traditional form. First movement has solo passages extending into long sections; alternated between four or five ritornello sections. First movement constructed in a variant of ritornello form with a double exposition. Violin is preferred concerto solo instrument although the harpsichord becomes more and more popular throughout the century.The newly prominent piano tak...
In the following paper I will be exploring the beginning of Leonard Bernstein's career and his family background. I will also look into the influences he had in his life and look at two pieces that he composed, "Jeremiah Symphony No. 1", and "Candide". My reasons for choosing these two pieces is due to the fact that they are contrasting in genre, one being a symphony with orchestration and the other being an operetta, and that they were written at different stages in Bernstein's life. They both produced a number of responses and displayed his wide range of musical ability.
There are two main rhythmic ideas that are present in this piece. The first is the regular rhythmic pulse in the pianos and mallet instruments
...ers and the audience. The dramatic nature of this piece alone is something to be reckoned with as it is extremely passionate. The symphony is presented in 4 movements as is common and begins with a Poco Sostenuto- Vivace, followed by a Allegretto movement, Presto movement, and finally ends on an Allegro con brio movement. the central theme of this piece is introduced in the first movement by a flute playing in tripple meter continuously ascending up the scales rising in dynamic contrast, continuing to grow into a louder and more stark contrast between it’s highs and lows. Consistently dance like, the piece is celebratory of its roots buried in historical Austrian music that has been present in the culture for years. The accomplishments of the soldiers for which the piece was composed for are easily told of simply by the energy and power present throughout the piece.
The next work of the program, Courtly Airs and Dances, is a multi-movement work composed by Ron Nelson. The piece is split into six movements: Intrada, Basse Danse, Pavane, Saltarello, Sarabande, and Allemande. Each of these present distinct characteristics that separate it from each other movement, yet all are united by being a style of dance. The first movement, Intrada, presents a fanfare-like opening to the multi-movement work. The trumpets and brass section as a whole lead this, as they create a sense of nobility. The key is major and the tempo is one that could be described as allegretto—it is not a fast tempo, yet more brisk than an andante pace. The texture is homophonic, as there are different parts being performed by different
These pieces are extremely well written and are very idiomatic for each instrument. Montilla explores and takes advantage of the entire clarinet register and the sound of each instrument in each of his compositions and arrangements. In this essay, I will put emphasis on one of his most famous clarinet quartets, “Four for Four.” This is because the core of his knowledge, composition and performance skills can be seen in this work, especially in the movements “Joropo” and “Merengue,” and once we get to know the background of this piece, we will be able to apply it to most of his compositions and arrangements.
The clarinet is a woodwind instrament consisting of a cylindrical wood, metal, or ebonite pipe with a bell-shaped opening at one end and a mouthpiece at the other end, to which a thin reed is attached. The clarinet has five different sections, the mouthpiece, the barrel, the upper section, the lower section, and the bell. The length of the entire instrument is 60 cm long. The mouthpiece section consists of a slotted cylinder, to which a reed is attached by a metal clamp called a ligature. The mouthpiece plugs into the next section which is a barrel. The barrel is simply a connecting cylinder to which the mouthpiece and the upper section plugs into. The upper section is a cylindrical pipe consisting of 4 holes and 9 keys placed in different locations along the pipe. On the back of the pipe there is a hole and a key that is used by the thumb. The lower section plugs into the upper section and is also connected via a special bridge key. This piece consists of 3 holes and 8 keys. On the inward facing side of the pipe, there is a protruding piece of metal called a thumb rest, which supports the entire clarinet. The bell plugs into the lower section. It consists of a cylinder that flares out into a bell shape and ends the clarinet.
Stango, C. (n.d.). A Study of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, His Requiem, and Its Influence on Conducting. Retrieved from https://www.misericordia.edu/honorus/CStangoPaper.cfm
...re was very interesting transitions between the variation, for example, string section plays the variation from low to high, when they reach the highest note, the brass family takes over and continue with the scale and make it more higher. Tremolo style was used in this piece, which is a quick ups and downs stroke mode. The music were very soothing and attracted the audience. Lastly, they end the piece with the same variations that was played at the beginning.
A sinfonia (Italian for symphony) broadly refers to a number of instrumental works from the Baroque period, including symphonies, sonatas, canzonas, concerti, and Italian opera overtures. Even J.S. Bach titles his “three-part” inventions for harpsichord “Sinfonia”. Torelli’s Sinfonia in D (G.8) is a four-movement “concerto” for trumpet, strings and harpsichord continuo. Unlike a concerto grosso, where a main theme is presented and then reappears in fragments, the main themes of Sinfonia in D are developed rather freely. The second movement (Adagio) is a very short, slow, interlude without trumpet that introduces the third movement (Allegro). Hence, the program shows these two movements as “adagio-allegro” joined together.
...chestral introduction with an imperfect cadence. A strong rhythmic ¾ allegro passage, with sequences and descending scales is played by the orchestra, with timpani and cymbals. The music modulates, and a short, quiet woodwind passage is then alternated with an orchestral passage with dotted rhythms, creating a `terraced dynamics' effect. Part B begins with a major clarinet melody accompanied by pizzicato strings. A minor flute sequence follows, and is followed by a repetition of the oboe melody. A string sequence is then played, imitated by the oboe. There is a crescendo, then the rhythmic orchestral melody returns, alternated with a short flute passage. There are suspensions, descending scales and a crescendo, followed by a strong rhythmic passage with the timpani playing on the beat. Imperfect cadences are played, before the piece finishes with a perfect cadence.