The songs from Life on a String by Laurie Anderson
LAURIE ANDERSON Andrea Ehrenberg New School University Avang Garde Opera Professor Sonya Mason October 27, 2005 The songs from Life on a String by Laurie Anderson are a great example of how a master combination of elements can create a deep emotional experience that supports the theme revealed by the lyrics. This excerpt, from the multimedia show Songs and Stories from Moby Dick, is a strong and solid work. Even when concentrating solely on the music, the multimedia experience still remains. Laurie succeeds in creating a world that appeals to mind, emotion, and all senses. This journey takes us through moods such as expectation, dreamlike fantasy, hope, and general ups and downs that constitute a holistic experience of her opera. Furthermore, an evident coherence among musical elements holds together the songs that generate a positive result. Despite the dark and cerebral tendency that characterizes Laurie Anderson, she presents us with intense moments that save the pieces from monotony. Instead, the richness of gloomy moods and dark concepts bring life to the compositions. The beat of these excerpts is a slow one and sometimes is marked by a silent space. In the case of My Compensation for example the beat is irregular. In the case of One White Whale, the keyboard sets the canvas for Laurie's voice to give the song an epical characteristic with traits of new age and
Mozart Symphony No. 41 in C, K551 "Jupiter" Analysis of Development and Recapitulation
Mozart Symphony No. 41 in C, K551 "Jupiter" Analysis of Development and Recapitulation Development First Development The first development starts in the key of E flat major, piano dynamic markings, with woodwind playing a short passage, which then leads into the closing theme from the exposition which is played by the strings. An inverted pedal played by flutes and oboes plays on top while the closing theme continues, when it is then passed over onto the oboes and bassoons in bar 131. From bar 133 onwards starts a thematic development, as the piece goes through several different keys. The woodwind have taken the fanfare from bar 9 (brass do not play), and are using it as a counter-melody, to aid the harmonic changes the piece is going through. The first subject taken for thematic development is taken from the end of the exposition, bar 108 in the violins. Here the theme is passed around between the strings, creating a rising sequence, while the harmony changes underneath, starting in E flat major, going from the dominant 7th, to the tonic 1st inversion, back to the dominant 7th first inversion, then the tonic. The cycle then starts again, but now in F minor, at beat 3 of bar 135, then beat 3 of bar 137 in G minor. In bar 139 the rising sequences start to descend in F minor, while the woodwind start to play longer notes, abandoning the fanfare and playing mostly thirds in
History of Chamber Music What is chamber music?It is ensemble instrumental music for up to about ten performers with typically one performer to a part.
History of Chamber Music What is chamber music? It is ensemble instrumental music for up to about ten performers with typically one performer to a part. Since circa 1450, there has been instrumental music designed for private playing. These pieces used many instruments and (in Germany) it was common that the folk songs would contain 2-3 countermelodies to expand and elaborate the whole, and to arrange the outcome for groups of instruments. Although the pieces were never written for particular instruments, we can, through art/paintings, reasonably guess that the viol was a predominant early chamber music instrument. A more important source of later chamber music is to be found in the arrangements of sixteenth-century chansons (songs of French origin composed usually for four voices on a variety of secular texts), some for voices and lute, and others for lute alone. A generic convention of a chanson was that they used to use contrasting metres and also contrasts in musical texture; the effect of the whole was that of a short composition in several even shorter sections. That sectional form retained in the arrangements later became a striking feature. The Chanson The chanson travelled to Italy about 1525, became known as canzona, and was transcribed for organ. The earliest transcriptions differed from the French arrangements in treating the original chanson with
Could you please tell me the popular 'Adavu's' names, how many steps are in it and the beats?
Could you please tell me the popular 'Adavu's' names, how many steps are in it and the beats? Dear Mrinalini , Here's a list of common Adavus. Different schools of dance perform them with slight variations. You could also check out some books that will tell you more about Adavus. You could try 'Laghu Bharatam' - Volumes I & III published by Shree Bharatalaya, for a detailed description of the adavus with illustration of stick figures. Mohan Khokar's book 'Adavus' is another reference work. . Thattu Adavu - Thaiya thaiyi 2. Naattu Adavu - thaiyum thath- tha thaiyum -tha 3. Pakka Adavu / Meetu Adavu - Taa thai thai tha 4. Kudhitha Mettu Adavu / Mettu Adavu - thai-ha thai-hi 5. Kutha Adavu / Etta Adavu - thath-thai tha-ha 6. Shutru / Bhramari - Thath thai thaam, dhith thai thaam 7. Thaangidu thathadhina Series a. Mandi Adavu b. Karthari Adavu - thai thai-dhath tha c. Shimir Adavu - thai thai-dhath tha 8. Theermana Adavus a. Thai dhi dhi thai / tha dhing gin na thom b. Kita thaka thari kita thom 9. Jark Adavu - thai-ya thai-yi 0. Sharukkal Adavu 1. Mei Adavu 2. Thattu Mettu 3. Uthplutha / Thalaangu / Jumps 4. Bhramari / Turns 5. Nadai / Walk THE ADAVU (or Adaivu as the author prefers to spell it) is a dance unit called Karana in Sanskrit and is made up of a specific pose, a foot movement and a Nritta Hasta. A combination of Adavus is known as an
Commentary - A Glimpse by Walt Whitman.
A GLIMPSE (Walt Whitman) (1) A glimpse through an interstice caught, (2) Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room around the stove (3) late of a winter night, and I unremark'd seated in a corner, (4) Of a youth who loves me and whom I love, silently approaching and seating himself (5) near, that he may hold me by the hand, (6) A long while amid the noises of coming and going, of drinking and oath and smutty jest, (7) There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word. Commentary (A Glimpse): A Glimpse is a free verse poem. Free verse poetry is generally patterned by speech and images rather than by regular metrical speech. Freedom also applies to lines. They can be shortened for speed, or segmented into words or syllables to slow down the reading. A Glimpse is about remarking while being unremarked, advancing from outside to inside, from noisy "bar-room" to quiet look and soul, from coarseness around to silence inside. It is a poem of contradictions. In the poem, persona is surveying denizens of "a bar-room" contrasting the environment, "crowd of workmen and drivers", to his personal thoughts and beliefs. The poem begins by creating a sense of a single image that persona decided to consider. "A glimpse through an interstice" could also suggest a single view of a single person or group on something. Both, "a glimpse" and
Classical Era (1750 - 1820).
Classical Era (1750 - 1820) The Classical period has been called the "Golden Age of Music" because it was at this time that the major forms of Classical music were fully developed. The classical era runs roughly from the 1750s into the early decades of the 1820s. This collection features both pieces originally written for piano, as well as transcriptions for piano. The main composers of this era are Bach, Beethoven, Cimarosa, Clementi, Diabelli, Haydn, Mozart and Turk. In the classical era, no middle class home was complete without a piano. The piano was a new invention and gradually replaced the harpsichord. The harpsichord was unable to play at different volume levels and was therefore limited to be able to play the new classical music. The piano can play a wide range of volumes. It served as the home entertainment centre for families in the classical era. The ever increasing number of people who could play the piano led to a much wider and much more educated audience for music. Almost all musicians were either employed by the church or royal families in the early ages of the classical era. This frustrated many composers because they were often forced to write pieces that there master wanted. By the end of the classical era, though, a musical democracy was forming. Since the middle classes had money to spend and since they were well educated and interested in new music,
Change and development in two contrasting operas "The Magic Flute" by Mozart and the "Iphigénie en Tauride" by Gluck with specific reference to the orchestration and in particular the writing for violin.
Change and development in two contrasting operas "The Magic Flute" by Mozart and the "Iphigénie en Tauride" by Gluck with specific reference to the orchestration and in particular the writing for violin In this essay I will be looking at changes and development in orchestration of the overtures in two operas, by Gluck and Mozart. I am particularly interested in the role of the violin in these operas as it is my main instrument and I can see how difficult or easy the parts are to play and what significance that part has within the opera.First I will briefly describe the orchestration in earlier operas. I will then look at the orchestra in Gluck followed by the orchestration of Mozart. In earlier operas such as Monteverdi's a small string group dominated by violins replacing the viols were placed at the front of the stage. Drums and trumpets were used for martial music and flutes or recorders for the more romantic scenes of the opera. In the baroque the oboe was the favoured wind instrument and remained so through most of the century because unlike the bassoon it is a high ptched instrument whose tone, could approach the softness of the recorder and the brilliance of the trumpet at the same time giving an edge to the violin tone. The accompaniments can be divided into 2 main categories, those for continuo alone or in which strings play only in the ritornelli. The texture
Mozart's K331.
It cannot be denied that K331 is a work in the galant style. Its music clearly revolves around the strong melodies in the Andante, it's variations, the minuet and trio and the distinct alla turca. The galant style influence could indeed be the reason for K331's fame 300 years later. Out of the all his works, Mozart's K331 is the sonata in which the style's characteristics are most noticeable. The melodic right hand line is clearly the main part of each of the sections, whilst the bass line compliments and enforces it. This can be seen in the Andante, bars 1-3, where the rhythm is completely identical in both the left and right hand. The bass line is simple in that it forms straightforward chord breakdowns, such as the broken chords of the Andante, bars 9-10. Mozart has cleverly chosen interesting melodies that are pleasing to the ear, simple and that yet also do some unusual tricks that enhance the overall sound of the music, such as the augmented 6th chord in the minuet. The bass line never takes over from the melody, it is only there to emphasise it. This can be seen in the minuet, bars 1-2 where it doubles the melody an octave lower, and variation 6, bars 129-131 where it merely supplies rhythmic intermissions in the rests. Another feature of the galant style is that of periodic phrasing. It is essential for the piece to be successful is that is should be
From your reading of 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' how appropriate is the musical reference in the title?
From your reading of 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' how appropriate is the musical reference in the title? Louis de Bernieres' 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' explores a multitude of different themes such as conflict, love, history and morals. Music is a universal form of entertainment, expression and catharsis, and de Bernieres incorporates it and its qualities into his novel in an extremely subtle yet hugely complex way. Music has always, in the history of literature, been a device that allows authors to explore themes of love and passion, as William Shakespeare wrote, "If music be the food of love, play on". It has also proved to be a prominent use of expression in all forms of conflict and war, when Chile was governed by a military dictatorship (1973-1990) Patricia Vertugo, a journalist, spoke to a group of Chilean physicists and said "What is happening can be measured in music. The only way we have of communicating is through music. We can't talk about politics; they don't allow us to hold meetings. But if I hear someone listening to music, I know who that someone is and that's enough for me to know that that person is with me." It becomes a voice for the people that cannot be hushed. With Captain Corelli's Mandolin the reader is instantaneously made aware of the subject of music through the title, and as soon as passion and love begin to become prominent in the novel,
Unfortunately, there are no vestigial remains of African musical instruments other than those illustrations in Egypt portrayed
The genesis of modern western instruments can be traced back to the development of African instruments. The statement the genesis of modern western instruments can be traced back to the development of African instruments basically indicates that the origins of the music we use today come from the developments from Africa. To look at this statement briefly one may say that it is a very untrue statement. Even when studied briefly one will still say that it is very untrue. But when studied in detail, the continent of Africa was responsible for the development of the simple categories of the aerophones, membranophones and the chordophones. Music is such an important part of African life and always has been therefore the people used whatever they could to make their music. Egypt, a country on the continent of Africa then developed these instruments further as it had the resources and was a wealthier to the rest of Africa. There are few remains of African instruments, only very few stone ones have been found in the tombs in Egypt. Most of the history of the instrument is relied upon paintings and sculptures found in Egypt. From Egypt these developed primitive instruments soon spread throughout the rest of Africa. The advanced state of music among the most ancient Egyptians is shown by the excellent instruments they made and used, as many of harps and lyres were of beautiful
