"Forces of Nature" Faculty Recital

On November 4th, I had the opportunity to see another After Dinner Mint Faculty Showcase in Hockett Family Recital Hall. The program, which features songs about the "Forces of Nature," featured such professors as Michael Galvan, Susan Waterbury, Frank Campos, Nathan Hess, John White, Marc Webster, Jenny Stockdale, Blaise Bryski, and Paige Morgan. The instruments that were featured were oboe, vocals, piano, clarinet, violin, and flugelhorn. The recital, which took about two hours, played without an intermission.

As I was walking into Hockett, waiting for the recital to begin, I was surrounded by the sounds of nature. While the audience was waiting for a performance to begin, the surrounding speakers would play the sounds of nature (wind, animal noises, etc.) as the projector would show pictures of natural landscapes which further adding to this experience. It was easy to see the connection to nature through each performance. Every performer chose a piece that differed from the rest, making the musical journey through nature very enjoyable.

A piece that was memorable from this recital was "Ferdinand the Bull for Speaker and Violin (1936)" performed by Susan Waterbury (violin) and Paige Morgan (speaker). I thought this piece was very interesting because it told the story with music and through a speaker. The way the song is composed is that the speaker would start off by telling a small section of Ferdinand's life and the troubles that come upon him. Once a small section of text is spoken, the violin would enter, playing a melody that the audience can connect to the emotions that Ferdinand is feeling. The song, which started off very happy, soon became very dark as Ferdinand was finding himself in a lot of trouble and not doing what he wanted to do.

I found this recital to be very enjoyable! I loved how the faculty would talk to the audience before beginning the piece, explaining the detail in the song and what they hope the audience will pick out. I think it is outstanding how the faculty in the music school want the audience to walk away with new ideas of performing, as well as understanding the song and it's importance to the overall recital. I would suggest for every student to see a faculty recital because of the wonderful work the faculty puts into every second of the performance.

The songs that were played in the recital were very modern. No song was played that was before 1900. It was great to see songs that focused on the individual and what the composer thought would be the best way to represent their ideas. Like we talked about in class, the cadences took a long time to appear, which gave the audience a sense of incompletion. The audience had to wait before an idea can be considered complete with a PAC.

"Rite of Spring"

           

            

            Modernism was the time during the 20^th Century where artists were expanding on the artistic tradition that was set forth already. The art that was created during this time was abstract and unexpected. Composers, such as Igor Stravinsky, were challenging art and forcing it to live up to it’s potential. In Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring,” he is able to express himself by using modern aesthetics, such as fragmentation, disjunction, and stratification.

            Stravinsky uses fragmentation to help divide the melody of the piece among multiple instruments, adding to unexpected turns throughout the song. Fragmentation is best described as the division of parts of the song into sections, which will make the songs sound like it is unfinished. For example, at 2:00 marks the ending of the string section playing. Suddenly, a lot of instruments start playing such as the clarinet, oboe, flute, and piccolo. When one instrument would begin, another would be about to play. Until this section stops at 3:00, it seems like every instrument is adding their own ideas to the song but it is unfortunately being layered on top multiple instruments with their own ideas.

            Disjunction is used in the “Rite of Spring” to had harmony between two instruments to add unexpected sounds. Disjunction is the harmony between two instruments that is more than a major second, which can sound unpleasing to the ear. At 2:26, the oboe starts playing; setting it up at the instrument that is playing the melody. At 2: 38, the clarinet enters, playing the same melody that the oboe was playing but at a much higher pitch, adding harmony between the two instruments. What is interesting about this specially is that the clarinet, which can have a low song, is playing higher than the oboe, which normally plays at a higher pitch. This harmonization is extremely unexpected.

            Stravinsky adds stratification to build different layers of sound to the song, making the song seem very abstract. The interpretation of stratification could very much be considered chaotic because of the amount of layers a composer can add to the song. Looking at 2:26, many instruments are playing their own ideas, which to the audience can be very overwhelming and abstract. As an audience member, you don’t know what to listen to and how to interpret it. It isn’t until 3:00 when all the chaos ends and the audience is able to hear one idea again.

            The use of modernistic characters help Stravinsky add more abstract and unexpected turns in the “Rite of Spring.” The way he is able to interpret the idea of spring and have all these ideas playing all at once shows how music was transformed during the 20^th Century. Everyone can take something different away from the song every time they listen to it.

OUTLINE

Paragraph 1 – Introduction

Paragraph 2 – Fragmentation; 2:00-3:00

Paragraph 3 – Disjunction; 2:26-2:38

Paragraph 4 – Stratification; 2:26-3:00

Paragraph 5 – Conclusion

Caspar David Friedrich's "Wanderer Above the Sea of Mist" (1818)

The Romantic Era marks a change in human thought. The time of order, restraint, and objective exercise of the intellect were over, marking the end of the Enlightenment. The rise of the individual was growing emphasizing imagination and and spontaneity. the age of emotions, irrationality, and passion was here! Nature was viewed as more powerful than humans. The community was placed higher than the individual. Artists were viewed as a contributor to society, requiring the audience to analyze the artwork in front of them.

The picture "Wanderer Above the Sea of Mist" by Caspar David Friedrich has a lot of traits from the Romantic Era. The picture shows a man in the center standing on top of a peak/mountain. He is looking out into the distance at mountains and the sea. Their is also a fog through the picture. For one, the picture is located in nature which was viewed as a symbol of peace and restoration compared to the life in the growing industrialized cities. It seems like the sea and the sky/landscape are being blended in together. It is hard to tell when one starts and where the other ends. Also, the way the man is standing in the center of the picture makes it seem like he discovered this land. It exemplifies human thought. He is going against the social norm and sending time in what is considered universal order. He is the division of the humans and nature.

There are a lot of qualities that Friedrich leaves the audience to think about. Exactly where do you think the sea ends and land starts? What does the man look like? Why is he there? All traits that makes one wonder what the meaning behind the picture is. Are we supposed to be happy or sad while looking at this picture? The meaning is different for everyone.

The artistic style of this painting leads the audience to think of Romantic ideals. Nature and individual imagination are traits that are clearly formed during this era.

Choral Collage

On October 6th, I had the opportunity to watch the School of Music's annual choral concert. The concert was conducted by two professors, Derrick Fox and Janet Galvan. Mr. Fox conducted the Ithaca College Chorus and Madrigal Singer, while Ms. Galvan conduced the Women's Chorale, and the Ithaca College Choir. All choirs featured students from all over campus, singing choral music from different composers.

All the songs that were performed were choral, with a diverse timespan of composers. Fox and Galvan were able to put together a concert that was able to combine classic choral songs to modern age composers. For example, the Madrigals, which is conducted by Fox, performed "Amor vittorioso" by Giovanni Gastoldi (1566-1609) while the chorus, also conducted by Fox, performed "Seal Lullaby" by Eric Whitacre, who is still composing today. I thought all the songs overall were a great pick for each group. It was nice to listen to each group sing a diversity of choral genres from different time periods.

Looking directly at "Seal Lullaby" by Eric Whitacre, the harmonies were incredible! The flow of the song is created to be effortless. For this song, someone in the choir was playing piano as the rest of the choir was singing. The song begins with the entire choir singing before breaking off into a soprano solo section, which set up the reset of the song beautifully! The dynamics that were used during the song were really impressive. Many times during the song, the choir would start of soft and build to the climax of the piece. The overall sound of the choir was very unison, which makes it even more impressive.

I was very impressed with this concert! I thought the choir sounded fantastic! It was great to see four very different choirs perform songs that were diverse in different ways. It was not a concert where you had to listen to the same type of song over again. Each song was different from one another. I also liked how the chorus danced to their final song, "Fiela."I thought it was a great performance choice!

Compared to other works we listened to, the songs in the concert would most relate to classical music. Again, looking at "Seal Lullaby," a lot of the phrases that were used were very repetitive and effortless. The songs were very structured with each voice part coming in a certain times throughout a piece.

Great job IC Choral!

Ave Verum by Mozart

This week, I decide to take a look at Ave Verum by Mozart. I performed this song multiple times last year and I think the way that Mozart was able to incorporate harmonies and stringed instruments are remarkable. At no point during this song is one more straining to be heard. Before I start analyzing the piece, I would like to point out that the recording I have with this post is by the Vienna Boys Choir, which means that the parts normally sung by a soprano and alto are sung now by young boys.

Looking at the sheet music that came with the recording, we can tell that the song is in D Major because of the key signature (2 sharp keys - F# and C#) and that it's meter is in cut time. Cut time, for those who may not now what this means, is another name for 2/2 (2 half notes per measure). Also, the part with the melody is the soprano line (top line) with the other parts (alto, tenor, and bass) all providing a harmony below. At the beginning of the song, the tonic note (D) is sung by the bass part.

I found that at one point in the song, a phrase ends in a Imperfect Authentic Cadence before resolving in the following phrase. Skip to 1:50. I marked the end of phrase 1 at the lyrics "examine." I had to listen to this part a couple of times before realizing that it sounds like a IAC. I can hear the Do, Mi, Sol in the the voices but the melody does not sound resolved. Although it sounds like it returns home (tonic), there seems to be uncertainty about it. The way I like to think about cadences is that a HC would sound more like a question, with the next phrase being the answer. Well, it seems like for this end chord, there is some sort of question while sounding like it returns home. The following phrase ends on, what I think is, a more complete cadence; it returns home.

Going off the end of the song, I would have to say that it isa contrasting sectional period because both phrases are completely different. The beginning phrase starts with the higher voices (soprano, alto) starting off the section with the lower voices (tenor, bass) later joining. It is very much a bounce back between the two parts. In the following phrase, all parts are together before ending on a more complete cadence. Phrase 2 answers the question that phrase 1 asks.

The sentences of this song is very repetitive. The beginning of the song is set up in the sentence structure of basic idea, repeating the idea, and a continuation. First, it starts with the idea (Ave), before repeating the word again, then continuing to a new idea (verum corpus).

I believe this song is very much exhibits a lot of traits from the Enlightenment. I think the main trait would be the detail to structure. I believe that Mozart was very organized in the writing of this piece because of the way the voices were organized. I also think this piece was very simple in the sense that a lot of people would be able to perform it. For example, when I listen to this piece, I can picture a large professional group performing it, or my choir for high school. I believe the simplicity of this piece is what makes it so amazing. It is very effortless to sing.

The Enlightenment

            

           The eighteenth century marked the beginning of a new away of thinking. This thought process would bring thought and performing arts into a new generation. The movement of new thinking, called the Enlightenment, brought scientific thought and social justice together because of the minds of such philosophers as Voltaire and Rousseau. This whole period broke down social structures and sought to improve education. No longer was society only focused on themselves, but rather the entire population around them (“all men are created equal”).

            Music and its influence over society were changing as the demand for music was being spread to every class system. Changes in musical structures and forms were adapting to what the public wanted to hear rather than the higher, upper class. Musical forms such as opera, symphonies, and chamber music (string quartet, sonatas) were beginning to take shape in this pivotal time of music. Their structures were being created around the most interesting parts of baroque music. For example, a baroque opera was only formed with the people of wealth and what they wanted. Once musical appeal shifted to almost every class structure, new forms of opera (such as comic opera) were created to feature real people in real situations. Composers were making music that was simpler with amusing plots. Also, looking at the structure of an aria within an opera, the form was made simpler, with it being in ABA format. This was designed to make the movement sound more lyrical and songlike.

            With the start of the Enlightenment period, composers and their individual sound was making an influence on the musical world. Mozart and Franz Joseph Haydn were making a name for themselves by making innovations to the way music was traditionally composed. Haydn’s operas were lyrical, inventive, and moving, while Mozart began creating masterpieces at a very young age. The work of these two men marked the beginning on new composing and new listening. No two pieces were the same, leaving the audience on their toes through their careers.

            I found the Enlightenment to be the beginning modern music; music that I found an interest in. Looking at the Mozart and his opera “Don Giovanni.” There are parts of the opera where I can easily pick out characteristics of the Enlightenment. Mozart’s use of bringing real life situation, such as adultery, makes it seem like Mozart was a composer for the people. He seamlessly brings together the idea of equality between two people, and music. For example, the dialogue between Zerlina and Don Giovanni was equality split between the two characters. Don Giovanni would either ask a question, or make a point and Zerlina would respond. Evidently, it seemed like the two characters had their own sound, which made it easier for the audience to follow. This music was created for the people and this mindset would later influence the great artists of the future.

            Above is a my favorite piece my Mozart, “Lacrimosa” written for this Requiem Mass in d minor.