Critical commentary on the fourth movement of Mahlers 4th symphony

Critical commentary on Mahler 4 The fourth movement of Mahler's 4th symphony can be described as a work of art- the small scale orchestra is not a hindrance to the overall timbre, but a carefully engineered plan which allows the details to shine through in small bursts of colour. Through this essay I will explore the use of form and how it shapes the movement as well as lyrical qualities and how they contextualise the piece. The poem from which this fourth movement is derived is set as 5 stanzas which Mahler then sets as 4 verses by linking stanzas 3 and 4. As a verse by verse movement, we can assume that the fourth movement is in a strophic song form which is the most basic of forms (AAA...). What Mahler does with this simplistic structure is quite captivating- he adds in small interludes which interrupt the main theme. The movement as a whole dives into an idea of what heaven is like from a child's perspective. From this, we find very basic qualities amongst more profound texts. The movement begins in G major. The introduction brings forward a musical idea which the Clarinet holds using crisp acciaccaturas. This is only accompanied by muted inner strings, first horn and the harp creating a sparse texture and thus accentuating the clarinets acciaccaturas. This idea is then repeated as an interlude and also forms the accompaniment to the solo part as a countermelody.

  • Word count: 1172
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Baroque Period

Baroque Period The Baroque period, spanning from 1580- 1750, was a time in which many styles were formulated. Influenced by changes in religious thinking and shifts in political attitudes, the baroque music is rich in contrasts and contradictions, and the artistic ideals to which one composer aspired would not necessarily be the same as another's ideals. However, there all were constant values shared by creative minds, and central to the thinking of a Baroque artist, whether it was a painter, sculptor or musician, was a declared intent to move the passions. The belief was that music represented the emotions, or affections, of life, and hence should excite the listener's emotions. This aim spread beyond Italy, the 'fountainhead of Baroque art in all its forms', to become one of the 'distinguishing features of artistic endeavor'1 throughout the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. During the renaissance, composers wrote polyphonically, that is, in equal independent voices. The Baroque placed emphasis on the treble and bass- the outermost strands of a texture. This was the heart of the new monodic style and with the polarity between treble and bass, where a typical Baroque piece consisted of a melodic line for a voice, a bass line for a continuo instrument playing the written line and a plucked or keyboard instrument playing the figured chords-mainly improvising- to fill

  • Word count: 1752
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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swan song

The swan song was an expressive and well-choreographed dance and we are studying two main parts in the dance and the dynamics each dance showed. The two dances were very good and displayed a variety of emotions, feelings and thoughts but despite the non comparison in any of these things the choreographer Christopher Bruce blended them all together very well and made movements that were very heavy and very light go well together in a dance but still made them show the same emotions. The first section that we studied was a trio where the two prison officers intimidate and taunt the prisoner. They intimidate him by putting a red nose on him they also taunt him by making him display the same actions that they are doing and sometimes physically abusing him. The second section is the prisoners solo dance where he is releasing his mixed emotions and putting them into a well-choreographed dance. He is also away from the guards so has a lot more opportunity to put his own feelings in the dance and not being taunted about them. So this makes this section a lot more peaceful then the first one but a lot more upsetting because he shows you the pain and anguish he is going through. The first section has a lot of gestures and actions in it for example the travelling in it with mostly linear pathways. There are a lot of turns in it and stillness as well for example there is one stillness

  • Word count: 686
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Autobiographical piece - Years of dance

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PIECE YEARS OF DANCE Since the first day that I can recall, I have been influenced by music. But what is music? To me, music is everything that can be. Music is romantic and holy. Music is the essence of life. Wherever we go, we hear music - without it, humankind would be something quite beyond our knowledge. Music is an element in my life that cannot be eliminated - as bedtime treats, I used to not only be read stories, but my mother used to sing to me as well. I have sat in front of the television and watched the magic of Disney, where music is the heart of it all. Yet my real passion for music came when I was five and went on my first holiday. India introduced me to the world of Asian film and art, which I had never seen before, only heard of. Today, Indian music and film is recognized in England, however, a few years ago, this was not so. My trip presented me with the most interesting, movies, dances and music. On return, I decided that I wanted to make dance a part of my life and take it to a point where I would be able to do performances. My dream and fantasy since, has been to be so good in my dancing that it would enable me to qualify for a place in the same film industry that gave me the incentive in the first instance. I enquired into many Indian classical dance schools, but found that these did not seem very interesting to me. The vigour and

  • Word count: 929
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Packaging our Product

The Situation For the numerical section of our packaging project, I have decided to survey CD covers. Having a broad mind for music a have a variety of music in my collection. My favourite type of music is dance/trance because I like music with a beat which can be danced to in the likes of a night club. Planning A problem with this selection is what variant to use to classify the CDs, obviously size would not be an ideal choice because there is no variation. One possible unit of measurement is colour, most CD covers use colour to make them more recognisable, appealing or eye-catching to a possible purchaser. Obviously some covers will be better decorated than others and thus will display a whole rainbow of colours, these can be classed as having 'lots' of colours. CDs that have more than 4+ colours will be recorded 'lots' of colours. I will choose a selection of CDs at random, roughly 20% of my collection (20 CDs). To keep the CD selection fair and random, my mum picked 20 CDs for me to evaluate. Here are the 20 she picked, arranged in alphabetical order... The Selection Artist Title Atomic Kitten Whole Again 2 Barthezz On The Move 3 Black Out Mr DJ 4 Daft Punk Digital Love 5 Damage Still Be Loving You 6 Daniel Bedingfield Gotta Get Thru This 7 Delerium Innocente 8 Dido Hear With Me 9 Heaven's Cry "Till Tears Do Us Part" 0 Ian Van Dahl Will

  • Word count: 754
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Electro & Funk

Electro Music The song I listened to for Electro Music was "D.A.N.C.E." by the French Group, Justice. The instruments used in this song and this style are different to other styles as most of the instruments are played on computers or are pre-recorded. Instruments include Keyboards, Synthesizers, Drum Machines and Sample Machines. There may also be decks if it is played live, so more mixing can be done. Because synthesizers and keyboards are used, almost any instrument sound can be put into their pieces. Other Electro artists include MSTRKRFT, Digitalism, Daft Punk and Bodyrox. Most of the songs in the Electro style are fast, around 125-135 bpm, but this song is slower, it has more of a walking pace to it. This could be because there are different types of Electro music, such as Electro Rock, Electro Funk, Electroclash and Electro House, which is the style that this song and most of Justice's songs are. Most Electro Music are usually instrumentals, but they can also have a voice on them, either singing or speaking, but they are usually edited with effects, or by using a Vocoder. The melody for the song is usually the same throughout the whole song. For example, the piano sequence might have only been played once and then looped and edited. The same 4-bar piano chord melody is looped throughout the song, although at some points, it is edited at some points; it is either cut

  • Word count: 822
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Performance Studies Coursework Dance Year 1

Introduction Our Dance aims were to choreograph a dance piece based on a chosen colour that related to a particular emotion. We chose the colour red and explored anger. We were exploring anger we found ourselves branching off into passion. I think this is because they are linked e.g. passion can be created from anger and anger is mainly made up of passion. To achieve our aims the audience would need to understand what colour and emotion we were trying to express through our movement. For example we used a lot of pushing and pulling to express the emotion of being emotionally pulled and pushed about in a relationship which usually comes from being in a relationship with someone who has a lot of passion. The dance was structured by using binary form where there is an A and B phrase. The B phrase shows developments on motifs which occur in A. Our group chose a particular piece of music because we had decided that we didn't want to show anger in itself. We wanted to show the reasons and outcomes of anger. Our music reflected the sound of a heartbeat. We thought this music would be a good tempo to devise a dance piece to and it also linked in with the idea and theme of wanting to show a person feelings, form and persona when angry. The sound of the heartbeat would suggest the tension of when someone is angry. Improvising Initially we brainstormed different colours and

  • Word count: 1394
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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My aim within this essay is to analyse music and dance relationships and give examples of Direct Correlation through to Visualisation being used and what they represent

Music and dance relationships My aim within this essay is to analyse music and dance relationships and give examples of Direct Correlation through to Visualisation being used and what they represent Direct Correlation is when the music and dance work together. An excellent example of this is displayed in the piece Swan Lake by Matthew Bourne. In this piece the music is of a classical genre containing such instruments as Flutes and Violins. The music relates to the movements as at certain points, the music peaks and picks up as this happens also the ballet vocab does to as well slow torso movements are performed when a slow flute is being played. Bourne uses stereotypical swan movements; this enhances the theme of the motif and also uses techniques such as cannon. When a pause of a long note is heard in the music, the dancers stretch there bodies using slow dynamics and hold them. Visualisation is shown in the piece West Side Story. Visualisation creates the mood of the sequence and exaggerates everything possible to help us picture what is going on. The scene performed in West Side Story is violent and strong and makes the audience feel uneasy from the tension built; this is contributed by the music. The choreographer uses very natural sounds to help us relate and visualize the surroundings such as the sound of cars passing by and police car sirens, this makes us picture

  • Word count: 508
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Dance is "rhythmic and expressive body movement usually coordinated into a pattern and performed with music".

Art and Entertainment Dance By : Saad Aqil Dance is "rhythmic and expressive body movement usually coordinated into a pattern and performed with music". Dance is perhaps the oldest of the arts, reflecting man's age-old need to communicate joy or grief by using the most immediate instruments at his disposal. Almost all-important occasions, such as birth, death, marriage, war, new leader, etc in the life of a primitive man were celebrated by dancing. Dance steps are created from man's basic movements like walking, running, jumping, hopping, skipping, etc. Combinations of these have become traditional dance steps and have been used often in a stylized manner, for folk and ethnic dances, social or ballroom dances, ballet, and modern expressive dances. The point in time where people started to dance is very hazy. Indeed, there are people who believe that man has danced since before sapiens was a species. This is true in the fact that before he had the power of speech, ancient man conveyed thoughts, wishes, and emotions through actions. The first recorded dancing is among the ancient civilizations of the Middle East and India and among the Aboriginal people of America, Australia, and Africa. However, there are limitless types of dances performed in the world today by different societies and cultures but this article focuses on Asian Dancing. Asian classical dances often narrate

  • Word count: 1163
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Translating 21 Grammes from screen to stage.

Explain how research material was gathered and used within the process At the very beginning of the devising process the whole group watched the film of 21 grams and in our first lesson we collected any comments about form, structure and content. We then started creating possible ideas and characters, and after a few weeks we decided we could set ourselves almost mini homework's for certain characters or storylines and come back to the next lesson with some fresh new ideas. The first bit of research I did was actually about the film 21 grams and why the film was titled this? And what it meant? I then found out that when a human dies they lose 21 grams in body weight; we then started gathering idea around this such as the 21 grams being the human soul and as you dies your soul leaves your body. I also found out that an average chocolate bar weighs 21 grams so we played with the idea of there being a chocolate bar incorporated in every scene somehow, as we thought that having a chocolate bar in every scene would be a bit to difficult. Another idea was that maybe in the very last scene all the characters that are dead would be lying on the stage with a chocolate bar resting on their chest. But as we produce more drama and more characters were developing we decided that maybe trying to incorporate these ideas wouldn't work and didn't really fit in with the rest of our

  • Word count: 439
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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