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Western Music History dissertation
History Of Music
Characteristics of the Baroque music era
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Western music has traditionally been around for many era`s. Music was composed to entertain the society of all kinds, or narrate an emotion and express one`s emotion through the composition of sounds and vocals. The composer that I have chosen to reflect and also provide an analysis on is Henry Purcell. Firstly, Henry Purcell was brought up in England, where he became one of England’s best composer of the entire Baroque era. He has composed all forms of musical pieces, some which were included in Shakespeare’s play opera as well as a coronation. He was the organist for Westminster Abbey. It is stated that, Purcell was an ambitious composer who incorporated newer defined pieces with old historical ones, to allow the balance of the originality …show more content…
In keeping their vocal chords in between the minor and major scale, creating a subdued harmony, it is easily distinguished how the first part of the composition, we can hear the violins’ gradually keep their tempo in a relaxed but yet happy momentum. From 00:00 till 4:31 We can identify what the strong bass being played right after the violinist end their notes, I fee like this was included in the composition to help the bass player to solidify the violinists ends and its sound my profound it at the endings only. The second part of the music composition is played in A-Major, in this part of the section the composition takes a more harmonic but longer interval with an upbeat turn. Here the momentum picks up in certain phrases, making the listeners get excited. When I was listening to this part, I was able to disguising the anticipation of the coronation. It felt as though, I was physically witnessing the coronation of James II occur. The way the musical composition is played is highly soothing and remarkable because at the start of the second section, the composition starts of with a melody that has a long tempo which ends to start up gradual
5 the 4th movement. Beethoven’s innovation of bigger orchestra’s was a game changer in the Classical Era and he definitely deserves to be ranked as a “Maverick of Sound.” This piece is rumored to be an autobiographical tale of Beethoven losing his hearing and was done in the period’s traditional sonata form. This piece beautifully evoked the mood of what I imagined as Beethoven’s dilemma of “fate knocking at the door.” Everything in this composition is built around the four opening notes. The tempo allegro was brisk and lively. The exposition set the tone with string instruments followed by the entire orchestra repeating in a march-like character. The bridge was similar in mood to the opening and was announced by horns. The recapitulation led to a long coda that punctuated the ending which built to an exciting climax accentuated by a dynamic fortissimo resolution to the frenzied tension. This joyful finale was great fun to listen to and a most excellent way to end the
...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.
Religion has been an important part of man’s life. Man has allowed religion to control and influence his life in many different ways, affecting both his behavior and his actions. So its not surprising that music, one of man’s earliest expressive forms, has also been influenced by religion. Religion has had an effect on man’s music all throughout history, from the early Egyptians to even now. So it is only natural that Western music should also have been affected by religion. Western music, and its development by composers, has been strongly influenced by the Christian religion, especially in the Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. The music in these periods laid the foundation for all the different types of music we enjoy today.
...rtly audience.” So even looking at this manuscript one can conclude that the musical life in England was quite lively. Many people participated and had a hand in the success King Henry VIII saw in his court. King Henry VIII’s musical talent and patronage certainly defined many of the characteristics he had as king, but history can’t ignore the treatment of his wives, the executions of his political rivals, and cultivation of fear among the common people. Luckily his beliefs in the role of the arts somewhat subdued a lot of the negativity some associated King Henry VIII with. Through his music and his court he was able to define how music should be used in any monarchy by making it a daily ritual in which the members of his court were enriched with music in their lives. This practice among others is what made King Henry VIII such a supreme figure in the Renaissance.
The first section, which lasts for the first 35 seconds, has a predominant non-diegetic foreground and a subtle diegetic background. The foreground segment corresponds to a musical score made by multiple violins playing a lengthy discordant piece. It is characterised for its high pitched notes which create a feeling of tension and anticipation to the audience. On the contrary, the background sounds, which encompasses both, the ripping paper and Marion’s body movements, are both diegetic and lower in intensity and volume in comparison to the forefront. It is possible to affirm that the background noises do not play a major role in the fragment but rather complete the picture the audience is
The music begins by introducing all the fundamental/primary material which the entire movement is based on. In bar 7 the violins play the first theme (in D Major) which includes the two-note descending motive and lasts until bar 25. In the last beat of bar 25 the "famous Mahlerian" major-minor duality becomes evident. The contrasting minor key theme is introduced.
John Warrack, author of 6 Great Composers, stated, “Any study of a composer, however brief, must have as its only purpose encouragement of the reader to greater enjoyment of the music” (Warrack, p.2). The composers and musicians of the Renaissance period need to be discussed and studied so that listeners, performers, and readers can appreciate and understand the beginnings of music theory and form. The reader can also understand the driving force of the composer, whether sacred or secular, popularity or religious growth. To begin understanding music composition one must begin at the birth, or rebirth of music and the composers who created the great change.
“Music” as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “vocal or instrumental sounds combined in such a way as to produce the beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” Emotion, and the treatment of emotion, is indubitably an important aspect of music from all eras, but the manner in which emotion is expressed, has changed over time. Throughout the Baroque period (c. 1600 – 1750) musicians attempted to cause a specific extreme emotion in the listener, while during the Classical period (c. 1750-1825) composers sought to produce a balance of emotions. Due to philosophical and artistic movements that occurred, emotion, a critical element of music, was conveyed differently between the Baroque and Classical periods.
The Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Opus 26 is one of the most famous violin concertos over the musical history. It is also considered to be the most renowned work by the German composer Max Bruch. I will begin with a short explanation of why I choose to analyse this piece followed by what makes this piece so remarkable. I will then present the musical context – German Romantic period – in which this piece was composed and discuss how it is representative of this period. Also, I will present briefly the biography of the composer and relate his life and style with this particular piece of music. After, I will explain the basic structure of a concerto, associate it with this violin concerto, and analyse how each movement is related. Then, I will analyse some psychoacoustic parameters of this piece (pitch, dynamics, rhythm, and texture). Finally, I will give my appreciation of this piece in term of beauty, musical expression, and mood.
...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.
The term romantic first appeared at sometime during the latter half of the 18th Century, meaning in quite literal English, "romance-like", usually referring to the character of mythical medieval romances. The first significant jump was in literature, where writing became far more reliant on imagination and the freedom of thought and expression, in around 1750. Subsequent movements then began to follow in Music and Art, where the same kind of imagination and expression began to appear. In this essay I shall be discussing the effect that this movement had on music, the way it developed, and the impact that it had on the future development of western music.
...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.
Introduction The world is changing and so is the style of music. Often people who do not have any musical background might think that classical music is boring and only for more mature audiences. In fact, the sales of traditional Western classical music albums are decreasing and many symphony orchestras and operas are struggling to find endowments and audiences. It is considered that classical music today occupies a position similar to that of religion, as a form of art rather than entertainment or just a background noise (Johnson, 2002). Unlike popular music, classical music may be more sophisticated and complex in its form.
Most of the early music that we have today still in print is primarily sacred music. This music, for the most part, is in the form of sections of the Mass, such as the Gloria, Kyrie and Agnus Dei. Most people of the Middle Ages were poor peasants who worked all day for meager wages and had no idle time lounging the way the upper classes did. Therefore, there are few extant secular compositions of music from this era. The rise of a new middle class, however, gave financial freedom for some people to spend time and money on entertainment in the form of music and dance. Thus, the rise of the middle classes also gave way to the rise in composition and performance of secular music, which became the music of choice for composers of that day.
Today, around the world, music creates an impact on our culture and history. Specifically, in the Middle Ages, music was used in such a way, that society grew around it. Many things have changed about this subject, including instruments, vocals, and style, but the impact that still reaches our society today remains the same.