Kissel, And Anan Nayak: Song Analysis

In a giant room, there are speakers on the ceiling. But, they, themselves, are lost. They have no meaning. For the sounds on stage and the sounds in their hearts are strong enough to surpass the speakers on the ceiling. Turn off the mics. Turn off the lights. And the soul coming from their heads and their fingertips will knock you down. They will put you on the floor. Because their music has its own form. And the speakers on the ceiling are needed no more. The words above describe how I felt sitting in the Administration Auditorium listening to Rani Arbo, Andrew Kinsey, Scott Kessel, and Anan Nayak perform with everything they had to a crowd that took up less than 40 percent of the seating. In all honesty, I was not looking forward to sitting …show more content…
Accordingly, the majority of their pieces revolved around homophonic textures with the occasional monophonic and polyphonic texture as well. They opened with particularly passionate piece titled “Hear Jerusalem Moan.” It was written in major tonality which served well for the uplifting, spiritual lyrics displayed throughout the song. The rhythm of the guitar provided the piece with a two beat meter. The lead singer carried the melody while the instruments and the other singers provided accompaniment, making the work homophonic. However, occasionally the instrumental portions broke off into their own melodies and the work became polyphonic for a time, most likely for variation. The closing of the song was absolutely gorgeous. Not only did all the instruments cut off at once and all four musicians sang in imitative polyphony, but they also performed this particular section a cappella as well. The members in the band were extremely expressive; one might say Rani Arbo and her band’s talent was far greater than just the sounds coming from their …show more content…
This piece had one of the most vibrant and harsh, yet soft and smooth sounding tone-colors I have ever heard. It reminded me of the game Red Light, Green Light; where children freeze to a stop when “red light” is announced, but build momentum as “green light” is yelled. In the same way, the abrupt, but silky dynamics in the beginning of the song flowed effortlessly with the lyrics “What’s a man to do? What’s a man to say? He works his whole life through, then just slips away.” They were able to paint the concernment and hope of the man in just a few words because of the way they let their voices build, then fade. The song was played in a two beat pattern with a lot of vibrato. During the conclusion the they sang the chorus one last time and the end is picked up by only the instruments, predominantly the fiddle. Changing the tempo to accelerando, one might say he or she could invasion a horse galloping quickly through the woods . . . or maybe that is just me, but it could have easily been placed inside an intense movie scene. Because of the action rush at the end of the movement, I was left wanting