Nocturnes: Sirènes (Sirens), by Claude Debussy, is considered Impressionism whereas Anton Webern’s, Variationen für Klavier (Variation for Piano) op. 27 - II. Sehr schnell is classified as Serialism. The two pieces are contrasting as Impressions and Serialism are different. In Debussy’s words Sirènes, ‘depicts the sea and its countless rhythms; presently, among the waves silvered by the moonlight, is heard the mysterious song of the Sirens as they laugh and pass on’ (Anon, 2017). Sirènes was inspired by a series of impressionist paintings that were also titled ‘Nocturnes’ by James Abbott McNeil Whistler.
The tempo of Sirènes is Modérément animé, translated to moderately animated, meaning the song is to be played lively and at a moderate speed.
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This modulation, changing of key, added with the length and intensity of the piece is familiar in complex pieces of Impressionism as it changes the perspective of the piece, such as Sirènes. The B major key’s perspective includes a fantasy theme where it’s similar to a story where its calm then something dramatic happens. Then the Gb major has a big dramatic entrance but then becomes softer and sadder as if they lost something. However the C major brings out a dark and creepy feeling as if they were sneaking around. Then finally the B major returns where the fantasy returns where everything becomes good again. There are many instruments in the score however there are only a few instruments that are being played at once, as this allows the other instruments to express their impression instead of having all of them play at once and have a jumbled mess with multiple impressions on the same pieces. Debussy used three Grandes Flûtes (Flutes), Hautbois (Oboe), Cor anglais (English horn), Clarinettes en la (Clarinet), three Bassoons, four Cors en fa (French horns), three Trompettes en fa (Trumpets), 2 Harpes (Harps), 8 Soprani (Soprano), 8 Mezzo soprani (Mezzo soprano), Violins, Altos (Violas), Violincellos and Contrebasses. The orchestra, flutes and clarinets were often used in their dark lower registers, whereas violins reach for upper sonorities while trumpets …show more content…
With the quick but large leaps from each note to another it creates a precise picture of what defines Serialism and that is with the artwork having defined lines. The accented beats are not always on the main beats but also the off beats, helping create that disconnects and disjointed feeling. This piece has only one melody line nevertheless, the way in which the notes were chosen would determine a dissonant sound with the unusual chords, and this is a major characteristic of Serialism (Serialism, 2017). These chords however, also help in showing how the music sounds as though it clashes and combined with the dissonant chords it creates an important feature of Serialism (Serialism, 2017). This piece is written as atonal as there is no sense of key or tonality, but there is a major use of semitones which are both characteristics of Serialism (Serialism, 2017). This piece uses the twelve-tone technique which is the main technique for Serialism, this is how they determine the notes that are to be played. Since Webern’s piece is a Variation for Piano, there is only a score for piano, no other instruments are involved. It is considered a thin texture as there is only one instrument being played, with a limited amount of chords, also making it mostly
...he scales in this composition. As for timbre, at the lower register, the song took on a dark, rich, tone, and at the high points it had more of a tinkling melody. The “upbeat” parts made me think of a happy couple strolling through the fair on a summer afternoon.
rather abrupt key changes. i.e. Eb to E at (5). We are taken into the Allegro by
This is similar in formation to the trumpet section, except that there are three tenor trombones and one bass trombone. The trombone section provides a deeper sound than that of the trumpets. The Stan Kenton orchestra from the late 1950s on used two bass trombones, with one player doubling on tuba.
Its dynamic is piano to forte. There are periods of dynamics through movement of the symphony. As the second movement ends, there are crescendos and decrescendos. The third movement begins with fortissmo, and then decrescendos into piano. The range of the instruments make the movement sound magical, yet ominous.
As the music starts, we can hear a deep opening taking place. Even though the music is soft, the musical instrumentation and the choice of harmony let place to a feeling of tension, like a warning for the listener that the story is full of unforeseen development, almost like a foreboding of death, and should be prepared to hear it. Then, the theme become slightly lighter with some plucked strings. Nevertheless, the melancholic theme is never too far, and comes back to end on a crescendo.
The story of Odysseus and The Sirens has been the subject of many renditions including both textual and visual. One example of a Visual rendition is the painting Ulysses and The Sirens by John William Waterhouse. In this painting Waterhouse is showing the point of view of the men and how the Sirens are trying to attack them. An example of a Textual rendition is the poem “Siren Song” written by Margaret Atwood. She took a different approach in her rendition by giving us the point of view of the one of the Sirens. In the painting Ulysses and the Sirens, John William Waterhouse uses the Sirens with the body of a bird to lure sailors to their death to show that the sirens use their temptation to appear more beautiful than they really are, while
One element Atwood utilizes throughout this poem is allusion to Greek mythology. The siren is a mythological creature that was half woman and half bird. The sirens were beautiful but deadly, as they “forces
In Margaret Atwood’s poem “Siren Song”, she tells a story of temptation and power over another person. The speaker expresses ways that contribute to having the power over oneself. In the first three stanzas of the poem, the speaker describes the song having an irresistible sound to it. She comments on how men leap overboard to find the person singing the song, falling to their deaths.
This concluding section starts at m. 241. Fragmentation of the principal themes are utilized in order to recall the ideas from the main theme. The listener will notice the tonic is highlighted by way of the restatements of the theme, arpeggiations in the brass that are reminiscent of a fan-fare, and the final five accented chords of C major that concludes the movement. The coda section is incredibly powerful due to the fact that it marks the true coming and completion of the excursion back to C major, especially due to the incessant beating of C major along with a big crescendo at the conclusion at measure 298. The final arrival of the tonic at the start of the recapitulation starts a propulsion, which makes the listener aware, that the piece is moving back to the key of C major.
The movement can be divided into three sections with the first and the third in tonic major, i.e. C major, and the second in dominant major, i.e. G major. The there sections are all energetic powerful, pronouncing at the beginning of a passage. These openings are followed by a more lyrical passage which is composed of series of sequential patterns. Tutti is placed between each section, which also suggests the modulation between the first and the second, the second and the third section. The three sections start with the same theme while the second and third have modification based on the idea of the first section.
The Sirens’ cunningness and scheming qualities are shown through Margaret Atwood’s Siren Song. Written from the perspective of a Siren, she is portrayed as bored and lonely. The poem starts out, “This is the one song everyone would like to learn: the song that is irresistible.” She is playing the role of damsel in distress, wanting a man to play the hero. Seductive and manipulative, the Siren maunders on
There are many large dynamic changes in the song. The rage of dynamics is from pianissimo to fortissimo. He also included many accents to make the music more powerful. It was a good idea since this overture is introducing the story of A Midsummer Night’s dream.
The French Renaissance instruments were often built in families, or consort by sizes to cover different ranges. The five consorts included winds, plucked strings, bowed strings, bowed strings, keyboard, and percussion. The wind instruments were instruments that caused a reed to vibrate to create a sound, such as the cornett, sackbut, and shawm. The plucked strings and bowed string instruments are both string instruments, while one’s strings is plucked while the other is played with a bow. Examples of an plucked string instrument includes a lute, harp and cittern,and bandora, while fiddles, lira da braccio, and voils are bowed strings. The keyboard consort is an instrument that different notes can be sounded by pressing a keys, buttons, or levers, like large church organs, Clavichord, and Harpsichord. Lastly the percussion group, which is any instrument that can be played by being struck, such as a tabor, kettle drums, cymbals, triangles. The instrument during the French Renaissance was the core of the beautiful music made during this
A parallel moment occurs earlier, in measure 95 Mélisande also climbs to a goal of a high G, stressing the moment her hair has fallen as well. However contrasting to Pelléas’s climax, the bass is positioned over D, and outlines a G major harmony. Debussy superimposes this harmony as the dominant of the C major climax that follows; however, considering that this harmony is in the unstable second inversion, it displays how little effort Mélisande needed to give in order to please Pelléas. In combination this section exhibits that “there is a sense of sensual ecstasy and abandon as Pelléas wraps himself in Mélisande’s hair.” Through innuendo Debussy is creating an extremely intimate scene alluding to sexual intercourse, carrying with it a large amount of danger for both Pelléas and Mélisande if they are to be caught. By displaying how little distraction it takes for both partners to forget about their morals, Debussy is attributing to their childlike natures. Golaud brings the symbolism of childishness to the forefront near the conclusion of the scene. In measure 227 he outright calls both of them children, beginning on the stressed C marked in the initial scene. In this area we notice a high point of Ab and a low point of D in the bass. This tritone continues to allude to a hidden danger. Just as it requires a close ear for the listener to catch this occurrence, the instant can easily go past Golaud without him noticing he true intimate nature of Pelléas and Mélisande’s late night
In this line, it is being explained that it is impossible for men to resists the song, regardless of the obvious loom of death present and the supposed strength that Homer applies to masculine roles in ‘The Odysseus’ which is the original piece of work outlining the Siren myth. The lines “it is a cry for help” and “I don’t enjoy it here” help to further accentuate the readers understanding of the humanity of the speaker. Atwood also uses anaphora to tell an ironic story of how the reader can personally save the siren from her isolation but instead, is deceived into succumbing to the sirens seduction. The use of the free verse technique is applied instead of typical prescribed meters and rhymes. This creates a ‘casual’ persona for the siren. This works to lure the reader into the siren song as the reader feels that the siren can be trusted and that the siren trusts