Music Report about the Concert

My reason for attending the concert was to support some of my fellow colleagues who had invited me to see the concert, and I was not disappointed. Sir Edward Elgar's piece, The Dance, was a delightful piece. The piece began with the piano playing a quaint line of jumps which is immediately taken over by the women of the ensemble. When the women voices come in the feel of this “dance” comes alive as the meter is clearly established as a simple simple, and this is because their melodic lines a very rhythmic and hardly stay still just like a real person would during a dance. Then the male timbre comes into the mix when the repeat of the opening theme occurs and at this point there are harmonies present but the overall texture is monophonic. Then there is a modulation into another tonal center which is emphasized by the polyphony that begins to occur, the male voices singing sort dance like note, while the female voices sing sustained notes on the top, and the voices join up on the same melody to lead into the climax of this section. In the middle of the piece there is a more smoother, calmer melody, still monophonic with the interplay occurring among the harmonies which clearly cut through with the distinction of colors from the lower and higher voices. Towards the ending of the piece there is a restatement of the playful theme between the males and females, giving off the impression of a young couple flirting or joking around while they are spinning around a ball room. Throughout the entire song the piano was accompanying the concert choir, providing rhythms and harmonies similar to a waltz: light, dainty but firm, syncopation, and also helped prepare listeners with the modulation changes.

The second piece I enjoyed was Morten La...

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...ckground information that added a greater level of depth to what it was that they were singing. Some of the information, at least for me, clarified much of what it was that I heard and made the concert more pleasurable than me just sitting there trying to figure out some deeper meanings. The jazz ensemble was also enjoyable and provided some variety in the program other than strictly classical sounds or pieces., especially when some of the improvisational licks and jazzy chords were sung. Many of the pieces were contemporary or modern in style like some of the Lauridsen and Britten pieces, but overall it was a nice mix with traditional Navajo providing some nice chant and meditative elements to the Elgar piece bringing in the aspects of a dance and party atmosphere. By the end of the concert my friend and I were grinning at each other from the joy and satisfaction.