"Reverie--Passion!" Doesn't this title for the first movement of Berlioz's "Symphony Fantastique" remind you of one of those overly passionate steamy love scenes from black and white film from the 50s? In fact it reminds me of one specific clip from the film Phaedra I found on youtube with a steamy scene between Anthony Perkins and Melina Mercouri. It is ironic how well this story line fits with Berlioz' narrative. A man lost in reverie, perhaps of an old flame, is brought back to reality by his passionate current lover.
This clip, similarly to the first movement of Symphonie Fantastique narrates a change in the protagonist's frame of mind. We start the piece (and the clip) with the composer in a pensive mood reflecting on pleasant memories (perhaps with an old lover). The music also reflects this sweet "Reverie" with smooth, long phrases by the string instruments and a slow tempo.
This sweet "Reverie," however, is abruptly cut off by the presence of a new love interest. This love differs greatly from the sweet, gentle souvenirs of an innocent love. It is raw and wildly passionate. The music suddenly furiously increases in tempo, then slows down only to rise and wane in a crescendo, only to increase again. New woodwind instruments as well as lower strings are brought in and the chords played by the strings are more dissonant. This new unpredictable and passionate music defines the rest of the movement and ends in an abrupt culmination of the building tension and feverish expectation of the later part of the piece.
It is surprising how well the first movement fits this video clip. I guess passionate love is not reserved only for romanticism.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Dynamic Beethoven
The focus of First Nights has shifted once again and we are now exploring the first performance of Beethoven's 9th symphony. This type of instrumental music is very different from anything that we have seen previously. The most obvious difference is the lack of words and the consequent greater focus on instruments.
I am still unsure as to how I should approach analysis of this type of music, but right away, something that stood out as something I can potentially latch on to are the changes in dynamics (louder or softer) that are much more obvious in an orchestra than in an aria or even a chorus.
Here is a sample from Beethoven's 9th symphony. The changing dynamics are very obvious (especially with the added crashing sound of the drum that comes in at 3:05). This part begins softly with only the strings and some wind instruments (flutes?) playing quietly, and smoothly become louder almost more urgent. The strings decrease in volume only to increase in volume again, this time with greater participation from the flutes.
This game of some sort continues throughout this entire piece (even including the occasional crashing sound of a drum towards the end of this segment (3:30 onwards)), pulling and letting go, growing and hushing. Keeping its audience at the edge of its seat, somehow managing a sense of tension and urgency in the louder parts and releasing that tension with the more quiet peaceful music.
The more one listens, it becomes clear that changes in dynamics are not the only tools being used to create impart feelings. The speed at which the instruments, the types of instruments playing, the interplay between the different instruments all to a large extend come together to drive this piece. I hope that i will learn how to better listen for these things. In the meanwhile, for this post, I make do with what I can hear- the change in dynamics, and amazingly this has already given me greater enjoying from this piece than when I listened to it passively.
I am still unsure as to how I should approach analysis of this type of music, but right away, something that stood out as something I can potentially latch on to are the changes in dynamics (louder or softer) that are much more obvious in an orchestra than in an aria or even a chorus.
Here is a sample from Beethoven's 9th symphony. The changing dynamics are very obvious (especially with the added crashing sound of the drum that comes in at 3:05). This part begins softly with only the strings and some wind instruments (flutes?) playing quietly, and smoothly become louder almost more urgent. The strings decrease in volume only to increase in volume again, this time with greater participation from the flutes.
This game of some sort continues throughout this entire piece (even including the occasional crashing sound of a drum towards the end of this segment (3:30 onwards)), pulling and letting go, growing and hushing. Keeping its audience at the edge of its seat, somehow managing a sense of tension and urgency in the louder parts and releasing that tension with the more quiet peaceful music.
The more one listens, it becomes clear that changes in dynamics are not the only tools being used to create impart feelings. The speed at which the instruments, the types of instruments playing, the interplay between the different instruments all to a large extend come together to drive this piece. I hope that i will learn how to better listen for these things. In the meanwhile, for this post, I make do with what I can hear- the change in dynamics, and amazingly this has already given me greater enjoying from this piece than when I listened to it passively.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
The Hallelujahs
Just for laughs (and maybe some educational purposes), here is a youtube video of Handel's 'Hallelujah' performed by "silent" monks. I think Professor Kelly may have mentioned it in class. It is pretty funny:
And just to keep it academical, here is another Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright. Try to see if you can spot some ritornellos and try comparing their use.
And just to keep it academical, here is another Hallelujah by Rufus Wainwright. Try to see if you can spot some ritornellos and try comparing their use.
The Evolution of the Ritornello (Part 2)
Last time we discussed the similarities in the ritornello across time, from Monteverdi to Handel. In this blog post, I would like to speak to some of the differences, which constitute in my opinion an evolution of some sort.
When listening to Handel's Messiah, it is pretty obvious that the oratorio (a descendant of the opera) has become much more organized and standardized, and much more complex since Monteverdi. When we look at these changes as they pertain specifically to the ritornello we can identify two main changes: 1) the closer musical ties between the ritornello and the following song and 2) the increased interaction or exchange between the song and ritornello.Let us go back to our examples from Act II of Orfeo and Part I of the Messiah. We will compare one aria from each: Orfeo's stunning aria "Vi ricorda" in Act II, and the song of Part I, scene 2 in the Messiah: "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted."
In Act II of Orfeo, the ritornello provides little more than an idea of the tempo, the range of notes, and phrasing for the aria Orfeo goes on to sing. It does not give us a clear accurate picture of how Orfeo will sound. It bears much more resemblance to Handel's accompanied recitative than to his arias. In addition, the ritornello follows a very rigid patter in which it repeats once between each verse. Ritornello followed by verse followed by Ritornello and so on. All very predictable.
In the Messiah, on the other hand, the ritornello has become a much more complex affair and has acquired a much more interactive role in the songs. In the first few notes of the ritornello, not only are we provided with the typical tempo and phrasing, we are actually being indicated how the rest of the song will sound like. The notes pretty distinctly play out the music for the phrases "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted" and the distinctive fluctuations of the phrase "the crooked straight;" the arguably catchiest parts of the song.
Even more surprising, however, the ritornello does not have a predictable designated place when it comes in. It comes in all over the place and is repeated in its entirety or in part. Only parts of it are played throughout the song, and the complete ritornello is played again at the very end of the song. The ritornello has taken on an interactive quality and acts almost as an echo, repeating the notes previously song by the singer in "ev'ry valley" at 3:19 and then "shall be exalted" at 3:24. At other times, instead of repeating, it is almost as if the ritornello is interacting with the song almost like a call and response. The vocalist would sing "shall be exalted" and the ritornello would interject with the music for "ev'ry valley" (3:50). And in other places it would anticipate what the vocalist would sing and play it beforehand such as at 3:58 when it anticipates "the crooked straight" phrase. It is almost like a game of tag, when the vocalist and the ritornello chase, interrupt, and at times such as in 4:21, they complement and support one another beautifully. The ritornello in this sense is no longer a passive passage but an interactive musical tool.
In some ways, Handel's ritornello grew in complexity, however, it also lost some its complexity by tying the ritornello very closely to the rest of the song. The fact that the ritornello musically became composed of patches of notes from the song may in fact represent a simplification and a restriction in what it can be musically.
What about the ritornello now? I think we have kept something from both traditions and have developed ways to combine aspects from both.
When listening to Handel's Messiah, it is pretty obvious that the oratorio (a descendant of the opera) has become much more organized and standardized, and much more complex since Monteverdi. When we look at these changes as they pertain specifically to the ritornello we can identify two main changes: 1) the closer musical ties between the ritornello and the following song and 2) the increased interaction or exchange between the song and ritornello.Let us go back to our examples from Act II of Orfeo and Part I of the Messiah. We will compare one aria from each: Orfeo's stunning aria "Vi ricorda" in Act II, and the song of Part I, scene 2 in the Messiah: "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted."
In Act II of Orfeo, the ritornello provides little more than an idea of the tempo, the range of notes, and phrasing for the aria Orfeo goes on to sing. It does not give us a clear accurate picture of how Orfeo will sound. It bears much more resemblance to Handel's accompanied recitative than to his arias. In addition, the ritornello follows a very rigid patter in which it repeats once between each verse. Ritornello followed by verse followed by Ritornello and so on. All very predictable.
In the Messiah, on the other hand, the ritornello has become a much more complex affair and has acquired a much more interactive role in the songs. In the first few notes of the ritornello, not only are we provided with the typical tempo and phrasing, we are actually being indicated how the rest of the song will sound like. The notes pretty distinctly play out the music for the phrases "Ev'ry valley shall be exalted" and the distinctive fluctuations of the phrase "the crooked straight;" the arguably catchiest parts of the song.
Even more surprising, however, the ritornello does not have a predictable designated place when it comes in. It comes in all over the place and is repeated in its entirety or in part. Only parts of it are played throughout the song, and the complete ritornello is played again at the very end of the song. The ritornello has taken on an interactive quality and acts almost as an echo, repeating the notes previously song by the singer in "ev'ry valley" at 3:19 and then "shall be exalted" at 3:24. At other times, instead of repeating, it is almost as if the ritornello is interacting with the song almost like a call and response. The vocalist would sing "shall be exalted" and the ritornello would interject with the music for "ev'ry valley" (3:50). And in other places it would anticipate what the vocalist would sing and play it beforehand such as at 3:58 when it anticipates "the crooked straight" phrase. It is almost like a game of tag, when the vocalist and the ritornello chase, interrupt, and at times such as in 4:21, they complement and support one another beautifully. The ritornello in this sense is no longer a passive passage but an interactive musical tool.
In some ways, Handel's ritornello grew in complexity, however, it also lost some its complexity by tying the ritornello very closely to the rest of the song. The fact that the ritornello musically became composed of patches of notes from the song may in fact represent a simplification and a restriction in what it can be musically.
What about the ritornello now? I think we have kept something from both traditions and have developed ways to combine aspects from both.
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