Verdi's Requiem, Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 in A Major, and "The Mountain Whippoorwill" by Jess Turner are three very different pieces. The first is an opera with fantastic musical continuity accented by a broad spectrum of emotions. The second is an instrumental piece in the minor key, and it is very quick and lively. The latter is a longer piece than the first two, an instrumental like the second, but it is happen set to match a poem, which makes it somewhat similar to the first. Verdi’s Requiem has a lot of emotions from reverent reflection to joy and simplicity, Mendelssohn's Symphony is generally dance-like liveliness and a little apprehensive throughout, and Jess Turner’s piece is in every way a story with a rollercoaster of emotions.
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For Verdi’s Requiem, the words of the song direct the feel of the music. When the words are about the day of wrath, there is a more somber, serious tone to the piece and faces on the players and singers. When the words are joyful and simple the music is as well. At the beginning the music is slow, and the lower tones further down the range make it sound somber and a little sad. Then, the dynamics change to a higher volume, and the brass section adds an intense urgency as the tempo quickens, adding to the drama of a man being called to judgement. In Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, the quick tempo of the piece was what communicated the most to me the emotions of the music, being dance-like. The continuous movement and quick rhythm in the piece from beginning to end makes the piece feel like something is running and pulling you along with it. The emotions of "The Mountain Whippoorwill" by Jess Turner are as diverse as the musical devices used throughout the piece, and it is the musical devices which shape those emotions. In the beginning of the song, there is suspense in the mechanical, slow melody, and then loneliness in the sole saxophone which sweetens the introduction into a …show more content…
I loved the serious parts of the song contrasted with the lighter, more joyous, hopeful parts, and the depth that the voices added to the layers of tones in the orchestra. The timing was sweeter to my ears than the other pieces, and I had no trouble at all understanding the correlation between the music and the words (once I found a translation). In "The Mountain Whippoorwill" by Jess Turner, however, while I sincerely enjoyed the percussion section near the end of the song, it was a difficult piece for me to understand and research, and by far my least favorite of the
For Verdi’s Requiem, the words of the song direct the feel of the music. When the words are about the day of wrath, there is a more somber, serious tone to the piece and faces on the players and singers. When the words are joyful and simple the music is as well. At the beginning the music is slow, and the lower tones further down the range make it sound somber and a little sad. Then, the dynamics change to a higher volume, and the brass section adds an intense urgency as the tempo quickens, adding to the drama of a man being called to judgement. In Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, the quick tempo of the piece was what communicated the most to me the emotions of the music, being dance-like. The continuous movement and quick rhythm in the piece from beginning to end makes the piece feel like something is running and pulling you along with it. The emotions of "The Mountain Whippoorwill" by Jess Turner are as diverse as the musical devices used throughout the piece, and it is the musical devices which shape those emotions. In the beginning of the song, there is suspense in the mechanical, slow melody, and then loneliness in the sole saxophone which sweetens the introduction into a …show more content…
I loved the serious parts of the song contrasted with the lighter, more joyous, hopeful parts, and the depth that the voices added to the layers of tones in the orchestra. The timing was sweeter to my ears than the other pieces, and I had no trouble at all understanding the correlation between the music and the words (once I found a translation). In "The Mountain Whippoorwill" by Jess Turner, however, while I sincerely enjoyed the percussion section near the end of the song, it was a difficult piece for me to understand and research, and by far my least favorite of the