This essay will attempt to describe and explain the symbology of a classical music album entitled The Planets. It was created by Gustav Holst, a British composer who was born in 1874 and died in 1934. He was the first of two children. His father, Adolph von Holst, was an accomplished pianist. The origin of Adolph’s family was Swedish. Soon afterward, the family immigrated to England. Clara, the mother, was a piano student of Adolph when they first met. Her grandmother was form Spain, she was soon married with an Irishman and they moved to Ireland. Clara wasn’t very strong; she died soon after the birth of his second child, when Gustav was eight years old. Gustav, following the steps of his father, enjoyed playing piano; however he had neuritis in his hands which made his long hours of practice a great struggle. After years of hard work, Holst obtained his reward. His first professional engagement was as an organist at Wick Rissington in 1893, he also became organist and choirmaster of the choral society at Bourton-on-the-Water. All these experiences helped the composer to increase his knowledge in the field of choirs. Choral music and the choral tradition in England would remain important throughout the rest of his life. His first composition was in 1892.It was a two-act operetta called Landsdown Castle, inspired by the music of Arthur Sullivan. The performance had a great success with the critics and the audience. Gustav Holst has composed many operas and orchestral pieces but he is perhaps best known for his orchestral suite composed during the years 1914-1916, The Planets.
The Planets is a suite for large orchestra composed by seven movements (Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune). As it’s said before it w...
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...aos without an order. It could symbolize the story of how the apprentice takes magician’s place. This piece reaches an exciting musical climax when it can be also appreciated xylophones in the background. In the final part, the combination of a harp, violins and metal winds like; trombones and tubas bring the tranquility, to introduce us to the final movement.
Neptune, the mystic. A pianissimo piece made of the peaceful sound of flutes and strings (violins and cellos), harp arpeggios and percussion like xylophones and triangles. It is characterized by the use of fade out and in of audibility, being the first musical piece which uses it. This movement could be a free spirit of sound. It has parts of melody and harmony all in a low dynamic level. The silent women choir, almost imperceptible and sang without words, makes the piece hypnotic giving an end to the suite.
Aristotle’s Appeals — Discuss the song’s logos, pathos, and ethos separately (in subsections, if you wish); which of these is the most effective in the song, and stating why you think so. Remember, “why” is the big question in this paper – for every opinion you give, you must tell why you believe it.
John Dowland (1563-1626) was a composer of Renaissance England and considered one of the most prolific and well-known composers of English lute song. A composer and accomplished lutenist, he is probably the most well traveled English composer of his time. Through his travels he was exposed to the musical elements of his Italian, French and German contemporaries. He developed his own musical language, in which he created a unique style for the lute song. As a composer, he focused on the development of melodic material and was able to elegantly blend words and music with a wide range of emotion and technique. For the purpose of this document we will focus on the influence of his Italian travels. John Dowland’s use of chromaticism in his lute songs as can be directly associated with such as “All ye whom love or fortune.” In these pieces, we can see the influence on this genre through his travels to Italy and encounters with such composers as Marenzio.
Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven. Two composers who marked the beginning and the end of the Classical Period respectively. By analysing the last piano sonata of Haydn (Piano Sonata No. 62 in E-flat major (Hob. XVI:52)) and the first and last piano sonatas of Beethoven (Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor Op. 2, No.1, Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor Op. 111), this essay will study the development of Beethoven’s composition style and how this conformed or didn’t conform to the Classical style. The concepts of pitch and expressive techniques will be focused on, with a broader breakdown on how these two concepts affect many of the other concepts of music. To make things simpler, this essay will analyse only the first movements of each of the sonatas mentioned.
‘Sonata’ at this time referred to instrumental music while ‘pian’ means soft and ‘forte’ means loud. The title of the work indicates that it is an instrumental work that has soft and loud sections. Gabrieli's composition is special because it is the first to show dynamic markings in an ensemble setting. Some sources will say that it is the first piece to portray dynamics in general, but other sources provide evidence that dynamic markings appear in solo literature composed decades beforehand. “Deeper acquaintance with the music shows that they [the dynamics] also have an emotional function, for they occur so irregularly that the listener is never certain if he will be overwhelmed with sound, or when he must strain his ears for some more subdued phrase.” Gabrieli felt that dynamics can help portray or alter the audience’s perception of a pattern of music towards a particular mood.
In order to fully encapsulate Leonardo’s conquest of the almighty heavens it would only be fitting to have the text set to a full orchestra accompanied by a SATB choir. This is the only combination of instrumentation and vocals that will fully capture the piece’s dramatic story (save a Wagnarian music drama). A full orchestra is a glorious medium that can be used to accommodate the full range of emotions embodied in the poem because of the breadth of orchestral timbre. In parallel with the orchestra, a four-person choir is ideal for the lyrical expression of the poem due to the wide range of notes that can be sung by the soprano, the bass and everyone in between. The parts of the poem sung by the full choir would be done in an imitative polyphony texture utilizing malismas on the repeated line “Leonardo, Leonardo, viene á volare” to accentuate the fact that this line is a “siren-song” sung by “the very air itself.” However, the majority of the text would be sung by the tenor to give the piece a story telling quality, with the rest of the choir chiming in for the Italian parts. This will serve to emphasize the contrast between English and Italian that Sylvestri creates in his poem. It seems appropriate to have the orchestra and choir perform a through-composed setting with a change in music for each st...
The proliferation of graphic scores emerging in Europe and America from the mid-1950s has had a profound impact on musical thought, broadening links between performers and composers, audiences and art forms. Exploration of notational methods based on graphics flourished rapidly and diversely during the fifties and sixties, primarily as a trend amongst young radicals. So many composers producing scores of this kind used a personal vocabulary of symbols – often creating different notation systems for each work – that the effectiveness of their approaches in realising a sonic concept can be assessed only on a case-by-case basis. But the significance of early graphic scores does not depend entirely on how they sound; rather it lies in their capacity to accommodate or even to generate new forms, techniques and mediums, and to challenge notions of what constitutes a musical composition. In addition, these works demonstrate that notation can extend beyond instructional functionality to allow for prominent interpretive and aleatoric elements, and can harbour an intrinsic aesthetic value of its own, apparent before a single note is sounded.
Schubert's instrumental works show development over a long period of time, but some of his greatest songs were composed before he was 20 years old. In Schubert's songs the literary and musical elements are perfectly balanced, composed on the same intellectual and emotional level. Although Schubert composed strophic songs throughout his career, he did not follow set patterns but exploited bold and free forms when the text demanded it. Except for his early training as a child, Schubert the composer, was largely untrained and self-taught. His gift of being able to create melodies that contained both easy naturalness and sophisticated twists at the same time was unprecedented for his time. On this quality rests the reputation that music history finally gave Schubert.
...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.
Grove, George. The Musical Times Volume 47. United Kingdom: Musical Times Publications Ltd. 1906, Print.
In this essay, I’m going to discuss two composers- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. I will first tell you about the life of these men. Then, I’ll compare and contrast their music, the time period of which they lived in, the purpose of their music and more.
Reich, Steve. Writings about Music. Halifax: Nova Scotia Coll.of Art & Design P., 1974. Print.
ABSTRACT: Humanity requires for its satisfaction Beauty and Good, that is, love, wisdom, and courage. Put differently, the necessity of order, equilibrium, and harmony. These values ground one of the most elevated planes of the spiritual life: music. Its moral force in the education of the mind, soul, and behavior of the human person has been emphasized by the ancient Greek philosophers. This important message exists as a pattern crossing the centuries. I will try to reveal the unity ¡¥ethics¡¦/ethike - ¡¥music¡¦/melos by using the semiotic organon.
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.
Franz Joseph Haydn is widely imitated because of his excellent technique that makes his music, so rich in quality and quantity by having one of the most fertile musical minds. Haydn is one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is also known as one of the pivotal figures in all western musical history. Here I will try to showcase and highlight some of Haydn’s brilliance by talking about the life he lead growing up, his work and career, a little introduction to his music, touching on some of his compositions, his contributions to music, and finally Haydn’s influence.
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.