Hector Feliciano

Romanticism was a movement in the 1770s that focused on the primacy of the individual, inspiration, subjectivity, and the belief in the supernatural. Transcendentalism began in the late 1820s and was influenced by other movements such as Romanticism. Romanticism and Transcendentalism can be seen throughout the poems Thanatopsis, written by William Cullen Bryant, and Song of Myself, written by Walt Whitman, respectively. The tenets of Romanticism can be seen be analyzing Thanatopsis,…

Tchaikovsky Hamad Alrashed Fall 2016Tchaikovsky Hamad Alrashed introduction Tchaikovsky an always associated composer with the Moscow school according to his teaching position , as well as using Russian harmonies , and melodies as much as the mighty five do. The turning point of view between Tchaikovsky and the five by his philosophical point of that he is akin more to western ideas. Tchaikovsky bridges the gap between the two schools, for example tonality in his thematic presentation…

As the conductor entered the silent hall, the lights over the audience started to dim until only the orchestra was illuminated. With his penguin-like coattails wobbling behind him, the conductor stepped onto the gray and worn-out podium, and checked each face of his performers. The small wrinkles on his cheeks slightly lifted as each member grinned back at the conductor. The dimly-glowing white baton began to rise in the air, and with a small twist in the wrist, slowly swirled in front of the…

Randy Newman is one of the many contemporary composers who has shaped our favorite movies and songs into what they are today. Randy was born in a humble home in Los Angeles, California on November 28, 1943. He moved a lot as a child. He first was in Los Angeles, then he moved to New Orleans his mother’s hometown, and finally at age eleven moved back to Los Angeles! He attended and graduated from University High School in Los Angeles, California, and went to college at the University of…

For my composer’s report, I decided to research the infamous works of Wilhelm Richard Wagner. I was extremely interested in Wagner’s work due to the fact that he was one of Adolph Hitler’s favorite composers. I was intrigued to hear what caught Hitler’s attention and to learn what affect his interest had on Wagner’s legacy. While doing research, I learned that Wagner was behind the very famous opera titled Tristan and Isolde. I had previously heard of that opera throughout my life, but I never…

Harry Partch has undoubtedly always followed his own muse when it came to music. Whether it be thinking outside of the box in creating a new music scale or inventing new instruments. Partch is best known for his philosophy of music. He views music as having two “givens”, but his most famous theory is that music is separated into two independant and distinct poles: there is abstract and there is corporeal. According to Partch, music whether it is “good” or “bad” has two God-given aspects. The…

Berlioz’s model of the Requiem Mass is considered to be the first true Romantic-era model. He had included elements from the traditional Requiem Mass, for example the Dies Irae, Tuba Mirum, Rex tremendae and Lacrymosa sections including the text. However, his version of Requiem was greatly different from that of previous Classical models. Berlioz’s work was more theatrical than for service, proving to include secular settings in a sacred frame, as he contrasted the loud and peaceful movements,…

The reason I chose Wagner was because of his interesting background. Being from Germany myself, I can relate better to a German composer than any other composer just because I grew up under a German culture. What is specifically interesting about Wagner that separates him from all the other composers is that he his music pieces appealed to Adolf Hitler. His music was apparently played at concentration camps, which was used to re-educate the prisoners. This created a lot of controversy, which…

Commencing in the early eighteenth century, the Romantic era sought not only to transform the essence of human experience through challenging the unyielding and judicious constraints in the social and political realms of neoclassicism but also to introduce revolutionarily eccentric ways of thinking, whilst provoking the ideals and notions of the period through movements in arts and literature. Mary Wollstonecraft’s earliest work of feminist philosophy “A Vindication in the Rights of Women”…

When one examines the field of fine arts, he is unlikely to find a category as mysterious, captivating, and expressive as music. Given the greatly varied psychological and physiological effects music has on individuals, it is apparent that composers must utilize a variety of complex techniques to stimulate our myriad of senses. Most simply, perhaps, is the usage of musical patterns that match the lyrics of a piece. For an early example, in Weelkes’ madrigal As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill…