On Sunday November 29th at 5:15 pm, I attended a Great Organ Recital concert, which was held at Saint Thomas Cathedral located on fifth avenue in Manhattan. It wasn't the typical idea of what others and myself of today's generation would perceive as a concert we might go to in today's world. Most people in this era think of going to see a famous singer like the very popular Chris Brown or Selena Gomez when they hear the term "concert." However, this scenario was a bit different given the location and the material presented. This specific performance can be categorized as a type of chamber music. It was an instrumental piece performed by a soloist who goes by the name of Benjamin Sheen. From the moment I entered the church, I was taken …show more content…
This piece starts off with a high pitch, loud dynamic and a fast tempo. This then changes to the exact opposite for almost the entire piece which evoked a sad remorseful kind of feeling upon me. Towards the end it once again returned to the original elements it began with which sort of cheered me up a bit. The second piece that was played is called Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645 by, Johann Sebastian Bach. This piece begins with a fast tempo, soft dynamic and a high pitch which continues throughout the piece along with brief interruptions of slow tempo, low dynamic and low pitch notes playing over it. This piece gave me a relaxed sensation making me feel at ease. The third piece was Op. 56: V. Canon in B minor by, Robert Schumann. A fast tempo, soft dynamic and medium pitch began this piece. There were a few changes in tempo from fast to slow throughout the piece. This piece took me from feeling energetic to tired throughout it, also it reminded me of a lullaby. The fourth piece is called the Prelude and Fugue in C minor, Op. 37, no. 1 by, Felix Mendelssohn. This piece left me feeling peaceful and happy as a result of the soft dynamics, high pitch and fast tempo with brief moments of slowness. The fifth piece began with a fast tempo, soft dynamic and a high pitch that was sometimes interrupted by a low pitch. It made me feel as if I was rushing through something
Overall, I enjoyed the concert and I think the musicians did a nice job performing those music pieces. It was my first time participating in a jazz concert, and I had a better understanding about jazz music after hearing their performance. Jazz is a music genre that was originated from the African American communities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Besides, I feel really honored to be able to enjoy the performance of the famous bassist Rufus Reid. He is one of the most passionate musicians I have ever seen and it was a pleasure to listen to his work from “Quiet Pride: The Elizabeth Catlett Project”.
The concert began with an incredibly brief introduction from the president of the Rochester Oratorio Society, after which the society performed a piece that is not listed on the program. After hearing the raw talent the choir displayed in their first performance the crowd praised them, and at this time a representative from the city’s mayor office took the stage and presented the society with a proclamation. The proclamation was on behalf of the city offices and expressed thanks for their 70 years of musical performances and education. Afterwards the society performed Norman Dello Joio’s “A Jubilant Song,” which served as a transition for the Houghton College Choir to take the seats of the men’s choral section. The college choir was approximately a third the size of the society choir, but still managed to perform with a lot of talent. The Houghton College Choir performed Kenneth Jennings’ “The Lord is the Everlasting God” and Larry Farrow’s “Give Me Jesus.” After a quick intermission the Rochester Oratorio Society took to the stage to perform Brahm’s Requiem, which is typically performed with an orchestra, but in their rendition a two person piano served as a replacement. Brahm’s Requiem is in German, making it difficult to understan...
Anton Nel was highly interactive with the audience. Prior to him performing, Anton Nel introduced the fortepiano including the origins of the instrument and how it worked. He discussed how the fortepiano can sound different based on the touch of the musician. Before the three pieces he performed, he gave a little background on the pieces even including some comedy. The interaction between musician and audience was highly appropriate. In my opinion, this was one of the best parts of the concert. It allowed for the audience to connect to the performer. Since Anton Nel gave background information on the pieces it allowed for the audience to look for certain elements in the performance. I knew that this type of interaction was appropriate because it made sense to give a little background prior to performing so the audience knows what they are listening to and what to listen
...xcited to have this experience. Part of the drama of the concert at first is felt when the musicians come in and sit down and begin tuning up their instruments. I would not be able to comment on the performance of the orchestra. During the performance, I seen the audience were moving with the music, but I felt like that everyone seems knows more music than what I learned throughout this semester. After I went home and did some of the research on these music I finally understand why these people like to attend the orchestra concerto, it was because that every piece of music has a history behind it. The Los Angeles audience seemed to me to be people who know music and who will listen to something new in a respectful way. All the same, when the more familiar sounds of the last piece were heard, I could feel a little sense of relaxation and fun coming into the room.
On November 16th, 2013, I attended a concert choir, fall choral concert. This event took place on the Wheaton College Campus, in the Edman Chapel at 7:30 pm. The chapel was well-lit, with long pews for the audience to be seated. The concert began with the audience looking up into a balcony, where the ensemble stood in neat rows. They watched the conductor, who stood on a stage in front of the audience, waiting for their cue.
I attended the Student Recital Concert on April 16th in the Theatre on the 2nd floor at SWIC. It was apparently the last recital of the year. The spotlight was focused on the stage and it was dark in the audience. The only people who were dressed nicely in the audience were performers who were not backstage yet. Everyone else wore normal, casual attire. The room was fairly large. The first act was Sonata 1 in F major. This came from the Baroque era. This was written by Benedetto Marcello. Originally a tuba solo, this piece was accompanied by the piano. Christopher Smith played the tuba, while Diana Umali played the piano. The woman was of Asian descent and wore a black shirt, black pants and black flats. The Caucasian gentleman wore a rust colored dress shirt, black pants and dress shoes. Largo 1 was slow and somewhat depressing. It sounded melancholy. Largo II seemed to progress louder and louder. Largo III picked up some speed. I actually liked it and it started off faster. The duo finally finished at around seven minutes and forty-eight seconds. They collected their chairs and music sheet stands and exited the stage. Then a young black girl, Kayla Jennings, walks on to the stage. An older man, Dennis Bergin, steps out onto the stage and sits on the bench in front of the piano. He was wearing a nice suit. The girl then runs backstage, as if she has forgotten something. She came back out and stood in the middle of the stage. She then gestures to the pianist. The girl then starts singing Homeward Bound by Jay Althouse. The girl was a soprano and I could tell that she was nervous. She seemed to laugh a lot during the song as if she was not taking it seriously. About three minutes into the song, Kayla laughs and proceeds to put her ...
Imagine my trepidation, then, when I walked into this church, with its high, vaulted ceilings and an enormous, emaciated, and slightly malicious-looking Christ figure suspended thirty feet among my head. As I came through the entrance, the prelude began. It sounded like nothing less than the soundtrack to a horror movie, as the slasher is about to leap out and dice an innocent schoolgirl. The organ wailed in threatening, building minor chords and did nothing to allay my trepidation.
Over this semester, I attended two concerts. The first concert I went to was a performance done by the Swedish band Graveyard at the 9:30 club in DC. The second concert that I went to was at the George Mason Center for Performing Arts. This concert was a jazz competition between bands call The Battle of the Big Bands. Both concerts were performed very well and kept the audience, myself included, very entertained throughout the entire show. In this paper, I will be discussing each individual show in depth, and then continuing on to compare the two concerts.
When we arrived, a sizable crowd had already gathered. In the main entrance area, a large number of people walked around looking for tickets, talked to each other, and some made their way toward the main chapel where the performance took place. After we walked around for a couple minutes and received our tickets, we made our way to the chapel’s entrance, had our tickets taken, and walked into the performance space where I took my seat in the far back right corner.
When I first entered the building I was overwhelmed with how the building looked like on the inside and the amount of people that came to the service. As big as the church was, it was still filled with people. When we entered, there was no one to greet us at the door; we just walked into the Church.
I enjoyed myself to the point that this concert no longer felt as if it were an assignment to me. I was happy that I was able to attend this beautiful work of art that was put together by the small group of students and truly enjoy everything that they had put into this concert. I truly do wish that this concert would have been able to have been scheduled to be played in a different concert hall, as not being able to see the performers aside from a small glimpse here or there really had put a damper on the entirety of the concert. The only positive that I was able to find from this was that it kept my eyes from wandering and allowed me to better listen to the music that was being played. It prevented me from being distracted and missing out on pieces of the concert that I may have missed otherwise. One of my favorite parts of the concert had to of been when they had brought out the drum set for the final piece they were going to play for the night. It made you appreciate what foundation the drums can really set for any piece, you might not realize when it there, but as soon as you are to take it away, the piece can feel entirely different. While I was in band through junior high and part of high school, our percussion section truly did play a large part as the foundation of our entire band, and I had not realized it until just after this concert. The percussion in any piece can make the world of difference. It can be the thing that truly makes a piece what it is known
A guest featured in the program notes was Ms. Isabelle Demers. She is a seasoned organ player who has played around the world and is currently an assistant professor at Baylor University. Further remarks about the concert simply stated that this particular concert was the last one of the fall semester. A few items about the concert mildly surprised me. First, the fact that the concert hall had no balcony was a little strange to me, I have never been to a concert where there was no upstairs seating. Second, there were a few different conductors. Two official conductors who each conducted the orchestra on separate compositions, but also a third conductor who assisted one of the official conductors while a piece was being played. I had never seen this before so it was very intriguing to see. All the conductors’ styles varied slightly in the forcefulness of their beats and ques for the orchestra to come in. Overall, they had they simply moved only their hands to direct the orchestra. Finally, the last item that surprised me happened during the performance of the last
The two musical elements I enjoyed were the melody and the timbre of the songs played at the concert. Each song had a distinct melody and when combined with the timbre of the different instruments made for a great concert. At certain moments the songs would become softer in sound when the flutes began to play and then became loud in sound when the tubas began. This indicated to me as the listener a change in the emotion of the song. So with the different melodies of songs and timbres of songs, the songs become like an up and down roller coaster ride. Although I am not a fan of roller coasters, I enjoyed the roller coaster ride that concert brought on that
The environment was quite welcoming, and people felt comfortable with each other. This allowed for the audience to fully enjoy the music without any disruptions. Another factor that made me enjoy the jazz festival was the feel-good music that was played at the festival which served to encourage the audience to get up and dance. Thus, diversification is a significant lesson to grasp when observing music because all music has different origin from another genre and acknowledging this gives the person to become more diverse as an individual.
This concert was very nice and enjoyable. The performance overall was very good and easy to listen to. All the pieces they played except for the second one I really did like. I had never been to a chamber music concert before this one, but I really enjoyed the setting and how close you could be to the musicians. The concert overall was very good and I would go back to another one like it