Depiction of character through music and words

ECA Option 1 Taking as your example a novel, short story or poem which has been set to music, consider how a person's character can be depicted a) through words alone and b) through words and music together. "From novella to Broadway Musical - the transference of character from the page to the stage." This essay builds on my studies of Carmen and Tristan und Isolde, in which I considered how character can be portrayed through words and music. I shall examine Robert Louis Stevenson's short story "Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde" and one of its many adaptations, from novel to the Broadway musical "Jekyll and Hyde" by Leslie Bricusse and Frank Wildhorn. I shall discuss how the characters are portrayed in the novel through words alone, concentrating mainly on the dual character of Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde, and then examine the libretto and explore whether the addition of the orchestration and vocal lines of the musical enhance or detract from the portrayal and representation of the character. I shall also explore the depiction of the duality of all the characters within the musical, as I feel that Bricusse and Wildhorn were trying to convey through their adaptation that every person has a dual character and they choose which 'Facade' to present to the world. This was certainly the premise of the original story by Stevenson. As Stevenson says in his essay "Lay Morals": "We

  • Word count: 4289
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Describe the introduction and development in America of three musical traditions.

. Describe the introduction and development in America of three musical traditions. America will always be one of the most influential countries when it comes to music, and there are indeed many unique musical styles and traditions that have originated from there. Black Americans have always been at the root of music in America and it has been quoted that "the evolution of black music is simply the evolution of American music". Three of the most famous of these traditions are Jazz, Blues and Hip-Hop. Black Americans founded all three of these musical styles, and as a result the basis of these styles of music, each very different from the next, is the thoughts, feelings and ideals of people that were separated from the society in which they live. One of the most famous of musical traditions is that of the Blues. It has also been one of the most influential, paving the way for many other new styles of music. Blues, a distinct style of music, began to emerge around the 1860's. After the civil war, the newly freed Afro-American people were presented with a new difficulty. They had been removed from the lives that they had previously known and thrown into a new life, a life of segregation and contempt. The American culture could no longer condone the use of slavery, but it was not ready to accept the new free men and women into their society either. Many had to travel the country

  • Word count: 1278
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Avant-Garde Techniques.

AVANT-GARDE TECHNIQUES Who would have thought it possible to play chords on a saxophone and percussion on a piano? Since World War II many avant-garde composers like John Cage, Henry Cowell, Barry Cockcroft, Frederic Rzewski, Robert Ashley, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson and Ryo Noda all considered this to be possible. This paper will cover the following elements of avant-garde music; the new sounds and harmonies, experimental techniques, and new ways of playing conventional instruments. In addition this paper will examine the ways in which composers have created the new compositions, the reasons behind their work, and the ways that they have adapted standard Western notation to accommodate these new ideas. I will examine the work of two composers, John Cage (1912 -1992) and Barry Cockcroft (1972 - ). John Cage was famous for the prepared piano. A prepared piano is a piano that has had foreign objects (preparations) placed in between or on the strings. He typically used nuts, bolts, screws, nails, various pieces of hardware and pieces of rubber for his preparations. Depending on the preparation used, some make duller percussive sounds; pings, plunks and thuds, whilst other objects create more of a bell tone (see attached file prepared piano pic 1 & 2). Another type of prepared piano is the tack piano. A tack piano has small nails secured into the hammers to create a more

  • Word count: 2371
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Eesti Muusikaakadeemia.

Eesti Muusikaakadeemia Muusikateaduse osakond Maria Mölder Popmuusika plaadiarvustused meil ja mujal III proseminaritöö Juhendaja: Kristel Pappel Tallinn 2002 Abstrakt Seekordses proseminaritöös olen seadnud oma eesmärgiks arutleda popmuusika arvustuste üle Eestis ja mujal maailmas. Selleks võrdlen teatud hulka plaadiarvustusi nädalalehes Eesti Ekspress ja võrguväljaandes music-critic.com. Analüüsides kõrvuti kahe väljaande kriitikat ühe ja sama plaadi kohta, üritan jõuda selgusele plaadi hindamise kriteeriumides ja selles, kuidas on arvamust väljendatud. Mõlemad valitud väljaanded on suunatud keskmisele muusikatarbijale, mitte professionaalile. Portaal music-critic.com on spetsiaalselt retsensioonide jaoks, Eestis aga kahjuks midagi analoogset ei eksisteeri. Seega valin võrreldavaks Eesti Ekspressi - ühe vähestest ja ühe pädevama Eesti väljaande, mis avaldab pidevalt plaadiarvustusi. Sisukord . Sissejuhatus 4 2. Plaadiarvustus 6 2.1. Plaadiarvustus tänapäeval 6 2.2. Plaadiarvustuse eesmärk ja sihtgrupp 7 2.3. Analüüsimeetod plaadiarvustuste uurimiseks 10 3. Analüüsid 12 3.1. Björk - Vespertine 12 3.2. Coldplay - Parachutes 17 3.3. Depeche Mode - Exciter 21 4. Kokkuvõte 25 5. Allikad ja kirjandus 27 5.1. Allikad 27 5.2. Kirjandus 27 6. Lisa 29 .

  • Word count: 9685
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Can music be a representational art? Discuss some views on this issue.

Can music be a representational art? Discuss some views on this issue. Of all the different forms of art, none are more problematic when dealing with the issue of representation than music. When dealing with pictorial art it is common place to think that a painting of an object is a representation of it on canvas. However when a piece of music is said to represent something, numerous problems immediately arise. This is mainly due to the medium of music, sound. This essay will discuss these questions using the views of Roger Scruton, Kivy and myself. Scruton makes his argument through five conditions but I will only deal with three of them here because they are specifically relevant to music. His general argument is that music can't represent things and even if it could it would be irrelevant to the appreciation of the music. I'll later show how Kivy defends against this and I will also introduce some arguments that Kivy fails to address. Scruton's three conditions concerning representation in music are: . To be a representational work, a proper understanding of the work demands that the observer gain, some awareness of what is being represented. While the observer might not completely understand what is represented, she must still have a sufficient appreciation of what the work represents. 2. Following from 1), the observer must be able to distinguish the medium of

  • Word count: 1722
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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By his use of imaginative orchestral colours Stravinsky makes the story of the Firebird come alive. Discuss this view of Stravinsky's use of the orchestra referring to suitable passages in the score, using the first five movements of the work.

By his use of imaginative orchestral colours Stravinsky makes the story of the Firebird come alive. Discuss this view of Stravinsky's use of the orchestra referring to suitable passages in the score, using the first five movements of the work. Immediately we are introduced to the leitmotif, major and minor thirds, within a tritone. This returns at bars 15 - 18 and at various other parts in the suite of which I will later elaborate. Within the opening few bars the pizzicato and legato combined in the cello and bass section produces an ominous opening to the work. The base drum roll and the murky off beat and horn entry at bar 5 makes it clear that it is evil magic. One of Stravinsky's traits that often appears is how he uses tritones to represent evil magic, e.g. f# to C, shown in bars 11 and 12, and more simple harmony and chord progressions, e.g. dominant 7ths and 9ths to show good magic which can bee seen in bar 14, based on D. This could represent a glimpse of the Firebird. Another one of Stravinsky's traits is that he works with sound, this section would be much easier for the string player to play across the strings, however to achieve the exact magical effect he wants it "Sul D". This use of sound is also seen in pantomime 2 where he asks the violins to play spiccato, also another very specific sound. In bar 16, beat 8, the mood becomes unearthly once again this could

  • Word count: 970
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Essay onmy experience ofmanaging a music event management

Student no: 22026970 Music Event Project Serhan Osman Evaluation of the planning, the production and my role in the process Within this essay I will endeavor to evaluate the effectiveness of the groups collaboration and its planning strategies analyzing the construction of our music event project. I will identify a number of experiences with reference to the project support my evaluation. Despite the objective of this module being the collaboration of organizing a musical event, it was also a project management assignment with the responsibility of delivering a specified product within a set agreed time scale and financial budget. This is part and parcel of any event project scheme. Author ‘Badiru’ confirms the definition of project management in his book on Quantitative Models for Project Planning, Scheduling and Control, ‘the process of managing, allocating, and timing resources to achieve a given goal in an efficient and expedient manner’. A, B. Badiru. (1993) P.1 The three hour weekly based meetings played a vital element within the success of this project assignment. There were many indirect social conflicts that occurred throughout the group during these sessions. After a few weeks from its commencement date, I noticed some members began loosing enthusiasm and certain individuals including myself did not consistently

  • Word count: 1509
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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What opportunities does the music of Shostakovich offer for a discussion on tradition and dissent?

Claire Dalton ESSAY PLAN Introduction - Outline the question Talk about the definitions of tradition and dissent and set the context in music Paragraph 1 - Review the key elements of the music at that time and introduce Shostakovich- Key points - Chamber Music String Quartets Symphonies and Operas Paragraph 2 - Shostakovich's Symphonies in tradition and dissent terms Key points to cover - Impact of Stalin and his regime in Soviet Russia - Opera - Lady Macbeth - outcry due to dissent - Return to tradition with Symph 5 - Symph 9 - sombre ending didn't fit tradition Paragraph 3 - String Quartets in tradition and dissent terms - String Quartet 2 - Different sonata form - String Quartet 3- 3rd movement- Scherxo different, instrument functions different Paragraph 4 - Jewish Culture - explain how he linked it - specifically Symph 13 Conclusion - Summarise the tradition and dissent - Still difference of opinion - Both tradition and dissent - Influenced by his regime and personal circumstances What opportunities does the music of Shostakovich offer for a discussion on tradition and dissent? Within this Essay, I aim to discuss the opportunities that Shostakovich and his music offer for a discussion on tradition and dissent. Tradition and dissent are common words banded about but it is interesting in this context to define what they are. Tradition refers to

  • Word count: 1491
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Analysis of Haydn's Piano Sonata in E Flat, Hob XVI/49

Write a detailed harmonic and formal analysis of the development section from the first movement of Joseph Haydn's Piano Sonata in E Flat, Hob XVI/49, focusing on the interaction of motive, texture, scoring and harmony. Sonata in E Flat major, Hob XVI/49, can be said to embody both the Viennese keyboard style and many of the musical ideas that Haydn gathered in the cosmopolitan capital of England. Written in 1789, it is one of his last piano sonatas and is quite representative of works composed in his late period. Most importantly, Haydn's mastery of the standard sonata form was unquestioned in this sonata and it provides a template by which to judge divergence and innovation. The development section in the first movement in this particular sonata begins at bar 65 and ends at beat 3 of bar 131. It serves as a contrasting and linking section that connects the exposition to the recapitulation though the transformation and juxtaposition of motives, with the harmony going through distant keys. This essay will attempt to analyse bar 65 to bar 131 of the first movement of Haydn's Piano Sonata in E Flat, Hob XVI/49 in three aspects, namely motives, harmony and scoring and pianistic writing. Motives The development section acts as a segment in the sonata to develop motives. Through different techniques such as sequences, augmentation, diminution, fragmentation and repetition,

  • Word count: 1818
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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Analysis of Prokofiev Sonata No. 7

Analysis of Prokofiev Sonata No. 7 Harlow Robinson describes Prokofiev's Piano Sonata No. 7 in Prokofiev's biography as one of Prokofiev's most accomplished compositions written since his return to U.S.S.R. It is a dramatic embodiment of the strength and driving intensity of Prokofiev's (and Russia's) existence during the War Years. Indeed, this sonata, the second of his three "War Sonatas" composed between 1939 and 1942, was one of Prokofiev's works that shows the composer's versatility and genius in the use of motivic and cyclic elements. In the first movement, one could observe the tension of worries and torments in the struggle of relentless intensity. The opening section of the second movement with its gentle lyricism creates a mood which by contrast fills the listener with a little sorrow and anguish. The last movement, which has a strong driving force throughout, could be hardly dissociated from struggle endured by Prokofiev during the War Years. This sonata is closer to atonality than any other composition by Prokofiev while it is the most densely motivic of all his compositions. Two main Grundgestalt motives were used extensively in this seventh sonata, with most of the sonata's motivic content being derived from them. Thus, these two motives appear as the unifying gesture in all three movements of this sonata. The first motive, which its derivations clearly

  • Word count: 1165
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Creative Arts and Design
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