Next music piece was called Dance Preludes, which was created in 1954 by a Polish composer name Witold Lutoslawski. This piece had five movements, which was going to be played by clarinet player Garry Evans and piano player Natalya Pitts. The first movement was in allegro molto. The music was quick, direct, and had a lively tempo. The second one was in andantino which was slightly in walking tempo. It was a bit fast with crescendos and bit slow with decrescendos on some part. In the middle of the music is where it got faster but then slowed down in walking tempo. Third music is in Allegro giocoso which way different from the others. While it was fast and much more lively and it was also really jagged. The fourth movement was in andante which
“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.
I chose Louis Couperin- Prelude from Suite in C Major. After listening to the music, it almost sounds like he’s warming up before he goes into virtuosic piece. A prelude is a brief keyboard piece that is either an independent composition or it’s an introduction to another piece. They almost sound like an improvisation piece. (Ferris, pp. 127-128, 2014)
My first choice was a ballet piece named La Sylphide. La Sylphide is a story about a young Scottish man named James who is soon to be wed. He falls asleep and has an intricate dream about a beautiful sylphide, which is a spirit. In his dream they dance and he soon falls in love with the sylphide. When he awakes, he soon forgets about the sylphide and focuses on his fiancée.
The dance that I will be focusing on is entitled: thinking sensing standing feeling object of attention. The dance, to me, symbolizes the socialization of persons in Western civilization concerning gender roles. In the beginning there are gestures that are separated from emotion and full-embodiment, but as the dance progresses the gestures become more meaningful and recognizable. The lighting starts out very specific and narrow, then the light encompasses the entire stage, and eventually the dancers are silhouetted as they return to a familiar movement motif in the end. The music is mainly instrumental with occasional soft female vocals, and the lyrics suggest emotion, which is interesting because the dancers do not convey emotion until the end of the dance. Also, the showing of emotion is directly proportional to how much clothing the dancers have on at specific points in the dance.
The history and development of tango can be divided into three stages, the first stage being La Guardia vieja, or Old Guard, which lasted until 1920. During this time, tango had emerged as a genre of instrumental music. The form during this time consisted of three parts, with different sections (ABC). This form usually uses four instruments: flute, violin, guitar and bandoneon. The most famous tango ever written is from this time period, Gerardo Matos Rodrigez’s “La cumparsita.” This early tango used rhythms related to habanera and milonga in duple meter and began to slow the tempo down during the 1910s. During this time, a quadruple meter with sharp accents was also adopted. Marcato and sincopa, two new patterns, established the harmonic and rhythmic foundations of more recent tangos.
Rachmaninoff went about its composition in a rather odd manner, composing the second and third movement before the first movement. Rachmaninoff was the pianist and his cousin, Siloti, was the conductor when they performed the concerto in its entirely, after its completion in April 1901, in Moscow on the 27th of October (Bertensson and Leyda 9).
A movie screen appeared before the second dance a to give us some background information about the upcoming piece. The choreographer admitted that, “we pretty much choreographed the dance in a hallway.” And also that the dance did not have a theme. After hearing this and visually seeing the dance I was immediately able to recognize this in the dance because the dancers did not move from one area to
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
The majority of the pieces featured a rather slow steady beat, provided by the drum and the piano, while the other instruments (mainly the brass section) were used to play the main motif along with some minor ornamentations. The third song they played, one of my favorites, was simply a steady 4/4 tempo kept by the drum, with some minor variations. The saxophone and trumpets took turns drifting in and out to carry the melody. The saxophone player delivered an entertained solo which consisted of very light and amusing trills, this created a very soothing and relaxing
The first piece, written by Johann Sebastian Bach, had six different movements. The first movement is the most known portion of the music; it has a very uplifting feel. The volume stays at mezzo-piano until the next movement. Tempo ranges between andante and moderato. Each note in this prelude is accented and distinctly
During this movement, every instrument was present and heard including the piano. The instruments played in this section were the piano, drums, electric guitar, double bass, saxophone, conga, marimba, and trombone. This section seemed to have a tempo and a steady beat, unlike the opening piece. The segment also seemed to be more mellowed out with very few high pitches. There were forms of imitations and from the opening piece however in this section the themes were descending, but the feelings were still upbeat similar to the conclusion of dance music. At the end of this piece, the audience stood up and
The music type in the film was classical orchestra. The music has brought out theme of love and conflicts. The director presented events that shift from past to present and future by using music composed by Anthony Minghella. The director has used music successfully to connect the audience with the characters and to depict the characters throughout the play. The soundtrack is exemplary; it is suitable to the timeframe, aftermath of the Second World War, when love and embracing one another reigned. The film suddenly twist, violence rage, the music perfectly creates the scene, audience are swallowed, deeply involved. The audiences are treated to weirdest feeling; classical orchestra virtually builds the
3 (‘Slavyanskaya’), by Boris Kozhevnikov, provided me with feelings of excitement. The loud volume in the first movement filled the atmosphere in the hall with energy. It sounded as though this section of the arrangement was designed to be a march with the vibrancy of the brass instruments. Hearing the first few notes of Slavyanskaya reminded me of John Phillip Sousa’s King Cotton March which also began with the powerful and rich tones of brass instruments. Slavyanskaya then transitioned into a waltz with a noticeably slower tempo than the movement that preceded it. This shift lightened the intensity that was introduced by the first movement. Because of this, I settled on choosing the third movement as the section that I liked the most in this work. This movement continued the festivity introduced by the first passage. It was also easier to accept than the first because its volume gradually increased while the first was more abrupt. By the time this piece concluded, I was so energized that I was left in my seat eagerly waiting for
...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.
All throughout life we encounter certain affairs that can instantly change our whole domineer. These experiences we undertake can cast a ‘black cloud’ above our heads, leaving us in a dreary state. Only you can tell yourself: what will work exactly to get yourself out of that shadowy position. The reason I chose this poem is: I can relate to having ‘black days’ and having to find my own ‘peace’ and ‘balance.’ To me, this poem is more than a man just getting through one bad day; it’s about him teaching us that there is light even through the darkest days. Similar to him, I had to find my own peace of mind or ‘balance’ that would help me get through my tuff times. Even though his was through music and mine was through writing, all that matters is what technique works best for you to get though those days.