The beginning of the piece, “A kiss of the earth”, is highlighted by the characteristic melodic line in the bassoon that unfolds and leads the musical discourse in the first introductory section of the piece. In the very beginning, Stravinsky presents a gradual dialogue between the bassoon and the woodwind section – Clarinet in A, bass clarinet, clarinet in Bb etc. – that is followed by a contrasting melodic cell in the English horn in rehearsal mark 2 (RM2). This is the first actual contrast between two melodic and/or rhythmical elements (bassoon theme and English Horn melody). Considering it as the first striking moment of alternation and/or presentation of a new melodic element, Stravinsky is like illustrating a fundamental principle of manipulating the musical relationships among melodic or rhythmical ideas into the piece. I call this function “interpolation” in my attempt to realize how a single cell can separate the flow of a constant melodic exposition. In this particular example the continuous flow of the bassoon is interrupted by a new melodic cell …show more content…
For example in RM54-55, Stravinsky, composes a small fragment strictly based on the alternation of two heterogeneous, in timbre, color and musical flow, elements: The first one is the ascending gestures in the string orchestra weaving back and forth with the woodwinds and the second one is the punctuated, vertical texture produced by the entire orchestra. The interpolation caused by the abrupt vertical sonorities in the orchestra is the resulted principle that establishes the dramaturgical flow of this small fragment. In this particular case the “interpolation” is the fundamental carrier of construction of the structure. By doing that, Stravinsky, preserves a unity in terms of musical material – two ideas alternating each other – while he can intuitively manage the flow of the music and the pacing of the
1. Narrow-ranging, dynamically restrained modal melodies are played in a variety of tuning temperaments that generate an "illogical" modal harmonic succession. 2. An unrestricted range of multimeters, polymeters, and complex rhythms are used. 3. A texture of two or more independent and equally important melodies accompany one another (i.e., polyphony). 4. The formal construction is often vague and unclear. 5. The instrumentarium is unrestricted and nonstandardized.
A conductor may be seen by many as a very important part of a musical but others may see them as unnecessary. Stravinsky feels that conductors don’t deserve the all the attention and respect that is given to them by critics and audiences. The passage tells of how Stravinsky finds conductors to be more of a distraction than talented musicians. In the Passage, Stravinsky uses diction and metaphors to explain his disdain of conductors.
“You gotta play this piece like an English military band would,” said Jules during band one day while rehearsing the first movement of Gustav Holst’s Second Suite in F. “1. March” begins with four notes played by the low brass which is then echoed by the upper woodwinds. The trumpets have a noble melody which broadens when the entire ensemble joins in. Next, the piece lightens up with an upper woodwind melody. Later on there is a euphonium solo, and following that is a grand theme with an extremely distinguished style. After, there is a change in style and time signature. One simple theme repeats with different dynamics and instrumentations every repetition. The Wind Ensemble played this piece at the Winter Band Concert on December 11, 2013. This work, though easy looking at first glance, was genuinely difficult to put together. It had few layers, so mistakes or intonation problems were extremely noticeable. Furthermore, the style of the piece was extremely intricate and hard to master. Therefore, “1. March” had positives and negatives regarding intonation, balance and blend, articulation, style, and dynamics throughout the entire ensemble and the low instrument section.
Each individual player in this orchestra is a soloist of sorts, playing a completely different piece than the musician seated directly next to them or across the stage. Rather than being written as a concerto, this piece, written in three movements, allows for each of the accomplished musicians to display their skill individually though each solo is not brought to the forefront of the piece, creating a what sounds like a disgruntled compilation of individual pieces that come together. This piece both begins ends with the Funeral March of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony directly tied into the basses, at first it is quiet and difficult to recognize but as the third movement is introduced it becomes more pronounced and evident. Those who were present for this pieces introduction to society were able to see its emotional effect on its composer who had obvious emotional ties to the music. Strauss never showed up to see his work debut instead he attended the dress rehearsal, asked Sacher if he could conduct this work. Strauss was said to have given a beautiful reading of the score that many view as his most...
Russian composers of Prokofiev’s time were generally restrained and classical in their approach. (In class) Prokofiev on the other hand was known for his romantic tendencies for which he was scorned. However, his Symphony no.1 is known as his “classical” symphony as it is extremely classical in form and was written according to classical design attempting to emulate the style of Haydn. Similarities between Prokofiev’s Classical Symphony no.1 and Haydn include its orchestrion size and use of the sonata allegro form, of which is classical. Although Prokofiev's symphony is classical in many aspects, elements of Prokofiev's unique voice are clearly heard. (Ferris)
Debussy’s Impressionist style shines through in Pierrot, one of the many Lieds written by the established composer. Debussy was famous for his interesting and new forms of tonality. Debussy was able to create a piece focused on sound and its emotional reaction with Pierrot. His use of unconventional scales creates a sound unique to Impressionism and Symbolism, the French literary contemporary to Impressionist music. The piece consists of four themes, and they are played and repeated in an interesting order that will be discussed later. The themes themselves are similar, but definitely distinct in their sound. There is a certain dissonance that resounds through all of them, but it does not have the effect of making the piece hard to follow. Dissonance can often have this effect, but the dissonance in this...
As indicated by musicologist Stephen Walsh the colossal advancement of the ritual is not the discord or the stationary nature of the consonant movement in light of the fact that both of these thoughts were by and by before Stravinsky's work. The genuine development was Stravinsky's utilization of musical parts and convincing rhythms to give a structure to drive the sensational activity and therefore free the solidified consonant riggings. Arrangers of the late nineteenth and mid twentieth century found a situation as the customary part of discord as a vehicle for consonant movement was deserted. The issue with disharmony that does not prompt an unavoidable determination is an aggregate discontinuance of consonant and in this way musical motion.Walsh refers to Debussy's Et la Lune Descend Sur le
The Five, The Mighty Handful, and The New Russian School all depict the five Russian composers who came together in 1856-57 in St Petersburg. Their ultimate goal was to portray and produce a Russian style of music , and this is exactly what they would accomplish. Though one of "The Five" goes farther than this with his works, this being Modest Mussorgsky. Mussorgsky was a composer born march 21st 1839, with one of the most controversial names and spellings of a name. He was born to wealthy land owners and was raised for the military life. Studying piano at a young age in St. Petersburg, then later arriving at a cadet school.
In the passage by Igor Stravinsky, he uses not only comparison and contrast, but also language to convey his point of view about the conductors of the time and their extreme egotism. Stravinsky believes that conductors exploit the music for their own personal gain, so rather, he looks on them in a negative light.
‘Sonata’ at this time referred to instrumental music while ‘pian’ means soft and ‘forte’ means loud. The title of the work indicates that it is an instrumental work that has soft and loud sections. Gabrieli's composition is special because it is the first to show dynamic markings in an ensemble setting. Some sources will say that it is the first piece to portray dynamics in general, but other sources provide evidence that dynamic markings appear in solo literature composed decades beforehand. “Deeper acquaintance with the music shows that they [the dynamics] also have an emotional function, for they occur so irregularly that the listener is never certain if he will be overwhelmed with sound, or when he must strain his ears for some more subdued phrase.” Gabrieli felt that dynamics can help portray or alter the audience’s perception of a pattern of music towards a particular mood.
Given the name Igor Fydorovich Stravinsky at birth, Sir Igor was born on June 17, 1882. He was a Russian born American performer. He earned his middle name “Fydorovich” from his dad whose first name was Fyodor. He was a naturalized French and American composer, pianist and conductor.
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
...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.
...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.
Mozart’s use of melodic contour and repetitive rhythmic motives make this piece feel very connected throughout. He begins with a two eighth note followed by two quarter note pattern. This pattern is repeated twice more until finally at measure four a new melodic and rhythmic motive is introduced. At measure four a retardation occurs using a half note to delay the resolution to the quarter note, drawing out the resolution as much as possible to create a sense of relief upon arrival. This pattern of three measures of motive “A” followed by...