Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Schoenberg Listening Journal

Elements:
- No clear tonality
- Difficult to tell, but maybe triple simple meter
-Moderato-ish tempo
- Incredible amount of dissonance
- Playing style is erratic in nature, not sure if intened or interpreted
-Performed by Piano and Full orchestra, but do not work in conjunction
-Polyphonic at every point

Structure:
-Strophic structure, not really having clear motif or idea to come back to, simply a musical progression with no repetition
-Makes sense, as the very essence of 12-tone composition is to avoid similarity/repetition

Context:
-Composed by Arnold Shoenberg
- One of many 12-tone pieces composed by him
- Composed during impressionist period


Sunday, September 7, 2014

Franz Schubert - Der Konig in Thule Listening Journal



Elements:
-Minor Key
-Duple Simple Meter
-Moderato Meter
-One piano and one female soprano voice
-Vibrato in voice
-subtle rubato in between phrases


Structure:
-ABA, or binary structure
-Piano plays almost constantly, but at certain points slows down and then stops for a couple of seconds
-At the points where piano pauses, voice does as well
-Piano pays cylcing chord sturcutre throughout piece, switches between A and B sections

Context:
-Composed and published in 1816
-Original poem was written by Goethe
-Poem was very well recieved and covered by a number of other composers
-Poem is spoken in German language
-Romantic Era Piece

The piano accompaniement really serves as a background, adding to the tone and modd of the poem.  The piano does not seek to be in the spotlight, just to add to the qualities of the poem.

From a melodic standpoint this piece fluctuates back and forth.  At the beginning of the prases, these fluctuations are small, then they increase in the middle until they reduce at the end.  The piano chords rise then fall wuickly, only to slowly rise again.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Haydn First Movement Analysis





Elements:
-String quartet, with two violins, one viola, and one cello
-C major
-Allegro Tempo
-Violin carries main melody
-6/8 time

Structure:
-Motif established at the very beginning of the piece is repeated throughout
-PIece modulates into minor key, then back into different major key
-Deceptive cadance towards the end of the piece, then ends with authentic cadence
-For a period, only the two violins play, while cello and viola wait out
-Seems to have binary structure, contrinually changing keys throughout

Context:
-Classical era music
-Composed by Franz Joseph Haydn
-Would be played in a formal setting, royals would likely be the intended audience

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Concerto Listening Journal: Mozart Piano Concerto No.21









Elements:
-Alberti-like bass, but not quite so
-Mostly Chromatic
-Piano is clearly the center of the piece and performance
-Seems like Piano and Strings are taking turns
-Duple simple meter
-Moderato tempo
-String Orchestra and a piano
-Polyphonic, except when in subject


Structure:
-Subject is immediately established, nothing else is happening
-Sibject visited a few times throughout the piece
-Towards the end of the piece, the entire orchestra stops for the piano (for a couple seconds)
-Piano never plays chords, only single notes
-Piano plays in syncopation to the string orchestra (except in subject)
-Piano is moving along scales often

Context:
-Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
-Austrian
-Probably Composed in Late 1700s or early 1800s

Friday, April 4, 2014

LG Fugue Analysis

1.
Meausre 1- D minor
Measure 15- D minor
Measure 24- C minor
Meaure 26- C minor
Meaure 32- Eb Major
Measure 36- Bb Major
Measure 50- D major
Measure 54- Bb Major
Measure 57- D minor
Measure 57- C# minor

2.  The forms for the pieces are fairly similar.  As the subject is establishe din the beginning, each starts to envelop it further as the piece progresses.  The subjects in each piece seem to be similar as well, with each being only a couple of measures long.  As the pieces progress, the subject becomes harder and harder to identify.  Both piece also use pirmarily minor keys, with a few major keys scattered in there.

Although there are similarities, there are also some differences.  I would argue that the Beetheoven takes the subject into a more complex setting.  Not only do the notes around the subject become louder and evenlop the subject, but the subject modulates into a wide variety of new keys.  While this is true in the LG fugue, it doesnt go to the same extent that the Beethoven does.

3.  I think Musicians of the Baroque era would like this piece.  It has many simlarities with the popular style in that time, and without the context of  Lady Gaga, nothing about the piece is all too extrodinary. Some might think that it is a little simple, but I think they would still like it overall.   

Monday, March 31, 2014

Listening Journal: Passacaglia




Elements:
-Double simple meter
-Moderato to Allegro tempo
-Noticeable dynamic Change throughout the piece
-Played on a modern piano
-Syncopation is apparaent in most of the song
Structure:
-Piece is based heavily on chordal motif
-This motif is repeated in many different ways throughout the song
-The first time is played without any extra notes to establish the motif
-The volume of the piece will gradually crescendo over time, then suddenly drop in volume
Context:
-This was composed by Handel, a German composer
-It would have been composed somewhere from 1600-1750
-This piece is early-baroque
-It would have been played in more formal environments

Saturday, March 22, 2014

L'Orfeo Listening Journal




Elements:
-Harpsichord, along with several other string intruments
-What seems to be a full choir
-Messenger is played by soprano male
-Orfeo is played by low tenor male
-Euricide is played by soprano female
-Is both monophnic and homophonic
-Little Vibrato in the voices
-Fixed meter in choir and insturmental parts, not so in solo parts

Structure:
-Cycles between the Choir,  Messengar, Euricide, and Orfeo, instruments (which accompany the choir as well), and other important characters
-Choir changes to monophnic in dramatic kissing scene
-Only a couple of string instruments play the last, tragic scene
-Group choir scenes are accompanied with wild dancing

Context:
-Early Baroque Era Oera
-Written by Claudio Monteverdi
-In italian, based off of Greek myth of Orpehus
-A couple of hours in total (this is an excerpt of the opera).

Friday, March 7, 2014

Music Journal: Gabrieli


Musical Elements:

-Free Meter
-Four Voices, 2 male, and 2 female
-Also a singing choir
-Mostly Polyphonic, with some Homophonic
-Organ is being played in Background
-Voices are in constant motion
-Very little vibrato
-Several  authentic cadences trick us into thinking that it has resolved
Structure:
-Not very chromatic, mostly chordal

Structure:

-Sacred
-Starts off sounding very oordinary for the time, then changes to a verse of Hallejula at the end, with most voices singing in Unison
-From about halfway through the song, th choir joins the four voices.
-No verses are repeated, it is a chronological progression

Context:
-Giovanni Gabrieli was Italian
-This is a sacred piece, meant to be sung in a church
-Composed between 1544 and 1612
-Composed at a time when Secular was becoming more and more common and Sacred less and less

Friday, February 14, 2014

Ockeghem - "Miserere pie Ihesu / Mort, tu as navré de ton dart"- Analysis


Musical Elements:
-Free Meter
-All Male voices
-Liturgical
-Entirely Homophonic
-Four Voices
-Mostly Syllabic and Nuematic (occasional melisma)
-Voices are constantly moving, but stay in unison (apart from chant)
-Voices are accompanied by what I believe is some kind of early harpsichord, an early cello, and some other kind of chordophone.
-No vibrato

Structure:
-Choir and solo parts, where high voice leads the solo
-also a chant part where all voices sing
-Responsorial, moves back and forth between high voice and rest of the choir
-Ordinary, not proper

Context
-Litrugical/Sacred
-Sung in the latin language
-Would have only been sung in church
-Probably composed between 1450s and 90s

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Léonin - Messe du Jour de Noël Analysis




Musical Elements:
-Free Meter
-All Male Voices
-Liturgical
-Organum
-Molstly syllabic in monophonic part, melismatic in homophonic part
-Monophonic part is sometimes nuematic
-Seems like the forward voice in homophonic part changes.

Structure:
-Responsorial
-Changes between monophonic and homophonic in two parts
-Ordinary, not proper
-Simple binary form, chants can start with monophonc or homophonic parts

Context:
-Liturgical/sacred
-From France
-A Christmas mass, only to be sungat that time of the year
-Only would have been sung in a chruch

Monday, January 27, 2014

Music Analysis Part 5: Reflection

Through analyzing this piece, I have found intricate harmonic elements, even without the use of any real chords.  The melody and the use of pedal creates almost an illusion that full chords are being played, even though 2 notes are only ever being played at the same time.  This trend is true for the entire composition, there is not a single chord in the entire piece.

I have also found that John Adams has transformed what would usually be a very dissonant 2nd interval into a mellow, peaceful sound.  To be honest, I am not entirely sure how this works on  a psychological scale, but it is amazing how calm the section is when only two notes are being played again, again, and again.

This piece is probably the most unique piece I have ever seen.  On the surface level, there are a few things that make it stand out. It is a very long piece for solo piano at 1092 measures,  there are very few chords, there are almost no rests in the entire piece, the piece changes key quite frequently, and the two hands are almost always on the same clef, sometimes even playing the same note. All of these make it differ entirely from anything we have listened to in class.   Another aspect of this piece that I have never seen before is that it has no discernible structure.  As I stated in my first blog post, John Adams described it as a "repetitive cell structure:, and that it certainly what I have found.  It s a continuation of changing pattern, where none are repeated.  What I mean by this is that a pattern will start, then the pattern will change in someway and continue, but the first pattern will never be played a again in the entire piece.  This leads to an interesting  feeling.  Listening to the piece is a journey of its own, and  it is unpredictable in the most marvelous of ways.  It may not tell a lot about musical history, but it can definitely tell you about the limits of what music can express.  This kind of music is the cutting edge of what is possible, and I would suggest to anyone that they listen to as much of it as possible.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Music Analysis part 4: Harmonic/Cadence/Partwriting Analysis

Music Analysis part 4: Harmonic/Cadence/Partwriting Analysis

Excerpt from score: 1st page- measures 1-25

Cadences:  There are no noticeable cadences in the first 25 measures

Chordal Analysis:  Although there are no actual chords in this excerpt (or for that matter, at all in the piece), harmonic connections can be made.

For the first seven measures, the only note that is played is E3. 

For the next 9 measures, E3 and F#3 are the only notes played, apart from the occasional E4.  The interesting thing about this section is that even though a second interval played alone sounds naturally dissonant, the melody makes it seem much more mellow.  This could be due to the fact that the interval is hidden by the repetition on the sole notes, (as in E/F# will be played on its own, than the E-F# interval, than E/F# again.)  The occasional E4 adds a little bit of variety to the mix, and further lightens the mood of the piece. 

After these 9 Measures, a B3 is introduced to the mix.  This creates a n interesting relationship between the 5th interval formed by the E3 and B3, and the F#3.  The 5th resolves to the F#3, which forms a 4th with the B that is still resonant from the 5th that was just played (the pedal is being applied). This occurs a couple times in the next two measures as the same pattern from the past 9 measures continues.

Starting at measure 20, the pattern changes, as both hands at a repetitive pattern, with the right hand playing E, F#, B, and the left hand playing E, F#.  This creates a similar harmonic feeling to the measures before it, but seems to be not as thick in texture. 

In measures 22 and 25, a D3 is introduced into the mix.  This creates a 7th interval with the E which resolves the fifth interval.  Although this is just momentary the pedal allows the sound to carry until the next D is played. 

I have not found any connections to 17th century SATB writing thus far.  There are several parallel 5ths, and many instances of crossed voices.  I'm not entirely sure how this piece would even translate to SATB.