Percy Grainger was born in 1882 in Australia. He was a pianist and composer and is best remembered for his use of folk song expressions in his pieces. He began his career as a concert musician at twelve playing the piano. In World War I he began collecting English folk music, an interest that ended up heavily influencing his own compositions. Percy later moved to the United States during World War I and remained there until his death in 1961from abdominal cancer. Most of Grainger's later career was spent touring, performing, and composing ("Grainger, Percy (1882-1961)."). Ye banks and Braes O Bonnie Doon is a Scottish lullaby in F major, composed for winds, string bass, and no percussion. It has a full homophonic texture throughout the entire piece. It is composed of a short …show more content…
thirty-three measures in six eight time. This piece also looks as though it is partially in American popular song form (AABA) due to the fact it goes from verse A, to verse A, to Bridge B, and back to verse A. Overall, this score has a balance and blend between individual members of sections because the cross scoring creates a fullness of blended sounds. In the first section, instruments like the oboes and clarinets stand out, while more serious instruments such as euphonium and tuba don’t intervene, forming a texture of melody accompanied by a medium register of low sound density.
Throughout the piece, the oboes, first and second clarinet, first alto saxophone, and second cornet, all have the same melody. Measures one through five are a four measure phrases that gets repeated again in measures six through nine, and again in fourteen through seventeen. Around measure ten, the dynamic changes to forte and is slightly faster, then slacken. Measures fourteen through seventeen mark the end of the first statement of the melody. There is also a slowing effect added in measure sixteen through seventeen by a sustained note. After measure seventeen the dynamics go back to piano adding shape to develop with the melodic outline. Around measure twenty-six, the ensemble gets filled out by other instruments such as the tuba, euphonium, and trumpet. This makes it go from the darker cornet sound to a bright trumpet sound. The last few measures slow down, going from about eighty beats per minute, to forty beats per minute, ending with piece with two
fermatas. Overall this is a fairly simple grade III band piece. When a band plays this, some students may need to block everyone else out due to overlapping melodies. Cornets for example, have different rhythms. Second cornets have the melody with the oboe and clarinets, while third cornets have a background melody. The difference is that second cornets are playing eighths notes in some measures, and cornets play a quarter note followed by an eighth note. This is a fairly simple piece because the melody, for the most part, is just going up and down a step or leap and the rhythm is repeated. This is a great piece for a middle school band, and one an audience will love due to its soft tone.
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
... began the piece, and the beat of the drum was frequent. After the introduction, the rest of the musicians joined. The pianist also had a solo part with the companion of the drum. The pace of the song was moderately fast, and the song ended with a climax.
In “We Real Cool,” by Gwendolyn Brooks, one can almost visualize a cool cat snapping his fingers to the beat, while she is reading this hip poem. Her powerful poem uses only a few descriptive words to conjure up a gang of rebellious teens. Brooks employs a modern approach to the English language and her choice of slang creates a powerful jazz mood. All of the lines are very short and the sound on each stop really pops. Brooks uses a few rhymes to craft an effective sound and image of the life she perceives. With these devices she manages to take full control of her rhyme and cultivates a morally inspiring poem.
...se on both the tenor and alto flute, one an octave higher than the other. While the return of the verse and the flute’s soothing sound give this ending a vague happy feeling, the contrast between the flutes’ pitches and timbres cannot help but leave the listener with a feeling of tension and apprehension over what will ensue.
Woody Guthrie Woody Guthrie, born Woodrow Wilson Guthrie, was born in Okemah, Oklahoma in 1912. When he was 16 he began to travel around the United States (Feather 428). He had a great love for music and soon began writing his own songs about the Great Depression and the treatment of the migrant workers, who were forced to move west because of the Dust Bowl. His music greatly influenced many people across the country.
The same line is repeated ecstatically by the quartet, which soars upward to it’s peak. The orchestra and chorus re-enter at a rapid tempo to bring the movement to its conclusion.
The second movement, andante, opens with a fluid piano solo introducing the theme quietly. Then, the orchestra takes it over. Everything has a soothing feel to it, bringing relaxation to the listener. It is wonderfully calming and the orchestra comes in occasionally to supplement the piano, which is often alone. The movement is very short, soon fading into silence.
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
3 is the second movement of the piece. It lasts around five minutes of the total 22 minutes of the whole Orchestral Suite. Air is written for Trumpet, timpani, oboe, violin, viola and continuo. It is written in major key. The meter is duple, and I would dare to say that it is quadruple. The texture is polyphonic. It has a slow tempo and there is no presence of accelerando nor ritardando. The harmony is consonant. Melody is conjunct and peaceful. Has a lot of repetition. The melody is consistent. The string instruments are prodminant whereas the timpani and oboe just go along with the melody. Esta es una pieza sencilla binaria; claramente no hay devolución del material melódico apertura en la segunda parte del
The brass plays an ascending sequence, followed by pizzicato notes played by the strings, and an ascending and descending scale on the harp. Strings and oboe play the rhythmic melody, whilst the trumpet plays fanfares in syncopation. The oboe is then replaced by the flute. There is an ascending scale played by the strings, then the brass section repeats the string and oboe melody with cymbal crashes at cadence points. The orchestra then plays a loud melody with cymbal crashes and drum rolls. There is an interrupted cadence, followed by crescendo with cymbal crashes and a brass ostinato. The piece ends with a perfect cadence.
The metre changes between ¾, 2/4, and 4/4 with complex rhythms and varied time signatures which can change very quickly and become unpredictable. In parts of the piece Schoenberg layers a number of different rhythmic patterns on top of each other to create complex contrapuntal texture. This means there is more than one melodic line being played at the same time. This is heard a
...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.
... then plays allegro passages of semi quavers, accompanied by timpani and descending scales in the woodwind. The clarinet, takes over the main melody whilst the cello accompanies with sequences. The French horn takes over the melody, accompanied by the strings. The flute briefly plays the melody before the cello plays octaves, accompanying the woodwind as they play a reprise of the DSCH theme and the timpani crashes. Repeating the themes in the first movement, the cello plays the DSCH motif followed by the "tate ta, tate ta" rhythm in the strings. The horn then plays the theme in augmentation, whilst the cello plays passages of ascending and descending scales, and the theme is heard again in the strings. The movement builds up with the motif appearing increasingly often in the woodwind and strings and climaxes with octaves by the soloist and a boom from the timpani.
...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...