Prelude to “Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg” – Richard Wagner The first piece played by the University Symphony Orchestra was a prelude to an opera by Richard Wagner. The instrumentation of the piece included flutes, oboes, clarinets, violins, bassoons, French horns, trumpets, viola, trombone, tuba, harp, timpani, bass, and the cello. To me, the piece sounded like it was in quadruple meter. The piece had a very dramatic start with a quick tempo and forte dynamics. The tempo remained fairly quick throughout the performance at about allegretto, but it did occasionally slow down to moderato. The dynamics of the piece hovered on forte with the intermittent slowing down to a mezzo-forte level. Throughout the piece, there were instances where the …show more content…
The pieces contrasted the first one in many ways. This piece had a more individualistic approach with various instruments getting the opportunity to play alone, leading to a difference in textures throughout. In addition, there was more disjunction in these pieces than in the first. Each movement was unique, yet they all flowed together well and had re-occurring themes. The first movement started out very solemnly with a slow tempo and quiet dynamics. Later, it built up to a quicker tempo and got louder only to come back down again. Eventually, it ended on a powerful note. The second movement was overall more solemn and slow than the first. The times that it did get louder, it was through the use of trumpets, causing them to really stand out. In contrast to the first movement, this movement ended quietly, with the last note fading out. The third movement was the shortest. Just like the previous movements it starts out serious. Dynamically, it seems to go from mezzo-piano to mezzo-forte and then peaking at forte before finally coming back down. Towards the end, the tempo becomes faster and the dynamics louder before it slowly fades. Unlike the first three movements, the fourth movement began with a lively trumpet fanfare. It then mellowed out through the usage of flutes, but about halfway through, the trumpet comes back. Then the piece goes back to being mellow. The piece ends
The two pieces I have observed are Sad Case by Lightfoot and Leon and D-Man in the Water by Bill T. Jones. These two pieces are quite different but in a way they feel as if they could play off each other. Which is why I will be discussing the difference in the costuming, movement, and musical scores. These three components were the first things that I saw as I was watching the videos.
The piece included a slow tempo. I am not quite sure, but I believe I heard Merry-Go-Round played by one of the trumpet players. The ending to the piece had a continuous pattern of crescendos and pauses. Consequently, the audience became confused because they didn’t know when it was over. I thought it was a humorous way to “include” the audience.
The same themes and chords cycle in this piece. The chords and continuous chorus do not sound like piano performance. The listeners could be aware of the resonance of the piano. I could notice that the music reaches the end of the work. However, the song could go on moreover, if the composer would keep playing the music.
This piece consisted of two different movements. The second part of it was a lot more allegro, upbeat, and energized. It symbolized the eternal love that no one, not even a powerful king, could take away. The whole orchestra had more active roles and a polyphonic texture. Together they made a beautiful
The introduction of the piece is the same as that of “The Raiders March”, but with strings playing in the background. The A melody begins with the trumpet as the strings fade out (0:07). The first minute and a half of the song is played the same as that of “The Raiders March”, though due to differing sound equalization, some parts stick out more or less than they do in the original. For example, in the third repetition of the A melody, one can more clearly hear the xylophone accompanying the melody here than in “The Raiders March”. The piece begins to differ more significantly after the break following the third repetition of the A melody when the piece modulates down a half step instead of up like in the original (1:37).
1.4) underwent several thematic transformations in this movement, first being treated in rising sequences. The ‘antagonist’ leaping figures (see fig.1.4) outline accents on weak beat, giving the whole section a sense of metrical disruption. The second theme appeared in B-Flat major, followed by a closing
This is then followed by a sing-song like eight-note figure that features a pointed forward momentum. The rhythmic building blocks of the theme is constructed in two bar phrases which then sequences upward by step (Example 1). The accompaniment to the theme is sustained half notes played by the second violins, Violas, and Cellos The home key and the harmonic content of the exposition is also very clear in its presentation. The opening of the movement is in A major and remains primarily diatonic in its harmonic content, with only the occasional passing tone. The primary theme is played twice having a four-bar transition in between each quotation (Example 2).
Movement two takes on a very slow tempo. Movements three and four then pick the pace right back up and finishes off allegro. Overall, the main differences can be found throughout the way the movements are paced out in the three works, mainly focusing on Beethoven’s symphony no.5 and Haydn’s Symphony No.94, and also how the themes and variation are played into it as
Instruments are introduced at the beginning of new sections, such as the pre-chorus and chorus. Dynamics each verse begins in mp and increases dynamically to mf at the pre-chorus; there is a slow crescendo to f during the transition from pre-chorus to chorus. Tempo the tempo of this song is moderato at approximately 116 bpm, however it feels much slower due to the emphasis being on the 2nd and 4th beats rather than on the 1st and 3rd.
It features two main themes, plus many melodic episodes. The structure - in A-B-A form - is clearly identifiable through the themes that mark each of the sections: the lyrical melody that opens the work, the exciting piu animato that ends with a demanding cadenza, and the final recapitulation that is followed by a cheeky and vivacious codetta that brings the work to a dramatic close. Possessing a memorable melodic theme, the piece tests the performer through the unending phrases, virtuosic c and the resultant nimble fingerwork required. It has remained one of the great standards amongst the
It remains quite repetitive until the end of the piece. “Entry of the Gods into Valhalla” is a piece of art that is performed in an instrumental fashion by an orchestra. Listening to this song reminded me of someone enjoy a day, and suddenly something goes wrong which inflicts a sense of fear. The music was quite soothing in the beginning, but towards the end began to put listeners on edge by the eerie sounds being produced. I think this was a great choice for the opening piece because it captured the listener’s attention.
In Peter and the Wolf, the main character or message is simply the triumph of good over evil, so it is understandable why the piece has a tempo in Allegro and is in a Major key. Peter is represented as a String and the dynamics at the beginning are in Mezzo Forte and feature small gradual crescendos. Then gets very quiet all at once in Piano then quickly crescendos again. As the piece goes along Peter is introduced to many different “animals” or instruments, such as the Flute from the woodwind family, which represents the Bird. Then came the duck played by the oboe, which featured a melody in Legato and a tempo in moderato.
The first movement of the Swan Lake Suite, Scene, which began with the violins playing with an oboe solo on top. The oboe was playing various crescendos and decrescendos at a mezzo piano dynamic and the tempo was moderate. This ends with the high woodwinds playing a string of the melody, passing it to the low brass with the strings very quietly in the background and then what seemed to be a diminuendo. The second movement of the Swan Lake
First of all, the piece is quite interesting as a prelude – an introductory piece of music as it start off with dynamic and vibrant sounds that include the whole ensemble. This piece is structured as a three-part or ternary form which consists of ABA’ form. The idea of this piece is mainly act as an introductory of a story because this piece is only an excerpt from a bigger orchestral performance. From what I have heard, the solo performance is mainly comprise of the woodwind instruments in part B that indicated the slight sign of relief and calmness. The piece has a lot of variation where the composer include different timbres and dynamics such as the high dynamic structure during the first and the last part with the associating crashes of cymbals.
This movement begins with a beautiful love song until a turbulent middle sections rudely interrupts its dream-like reverie. The finale, Andante-Allegro, begins with a quiet, introspective introduction in the piano alone which then leads into an exuberant Allegro. At the Allegro, the violin breaks forth with ascending, slashing passages from its lowest to its highest register, creating a sense of drama and importance. However, then comes a playfulness that sneaks into the music almost without notice. And then after a rush of virtuosic passages from both violin and piano, the sonata comes to an explosive end.