Every day, I try to listen to a new piece of music. Whether it be a string group, unaccompanied choir, or even a percussion consort, I believe that by doing this, so much can be learned from just listening. About the mid-month of July, I came across this piece of music. I thought it was extremely fun and quirky at the same time! I had continued to listen to it, read some background information on the piece, and do a small amount of study on the work. When it came time to choose the piece for…
Song no. 2 displays how Shostakovich uses uncertainty in major-minor mode to evoke folk-like flavor. In the orchestral introduction of song no. 2 mm. 1-18, the music sounds as if in an F# minor key, but the E major chords in mm. 16-18 that proceeds to the A major chord in m. 19 provide a certainty that the music really is in the key of A major (fig. 15), with the submediant chord at the beginning of the song gives the song a minor flavor. Fig. 15: The dominant chord in mm. 16-18 in song no. 2…
Ludwig Van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are the two most important and talented composers of all times. These two composers are very respected and very known in classical music around the world. For instance, we are still studying their work today because of how important there were. However, the two composers have many similarities but when it comes to their music they are totally different. These two famous composers are different such as their nature of music, the use of a different…
This essay will focus on comparing “Die Lindenbaum”, the fifth Lied from the Song Cycle, Winterreise by Franz Schubert with “Lucy, I Remember Your Name” (2009) by John Cooper of the band Skillet (www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7sjrjiOYYQ). While there are several similarities between the two pieces, there are noticeable differences; such as, the time periods in which the two pieces were composed. “Die Lindenbaum” was written in 1828 during the Romantic period to be performed with a piano…
The scene that I have composed a song to appears in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2’. The scene takes place after (SPOILER ALERT!) Severus Snape is killed and Harry collects some of his memories into a vial. Harry then pours Snape’s memories into a pensieve to re-watch them. Snape’s memories take us back to his childhood and when he first meets Harry’s mother, Lily. The full scene is absolutely heart-wrenching as you watch Snape’s feelings grow for a girl that does not reciprocate…
The funny and talented actor, Rainn Wilson, was on Oprah today talking about his show, "SoulPancake." In it two people go around in a lime green VW bus and create, what I would call, "Living Art." They encounter ordinary people on the street and ask them to participate in creating some form of art. One of the little vignettes actually brought tears to my eyes. People were asked to grab an empty picture frame, one of many hanging on a wall, and walk around, looking through it in order to spot…
“Why don’t you add the motif to your composition?” His voice echoed through the large, empty classroom. Dmitri Shostakovich, my tutorial partner, is critiquing my music! What a dream! Dmitri Shostakovich, a Russian composer and pianist, is my classmate at Williams College. He has been assigned as my partner in the Music Composition Tutorial. I am looking forward to learn more about why and how he composes music in the style that he chooses. His music represents curiosity and…
There are many significant developments in the musical and dance genres throughout the 19th century. The first significant development in the performing arts is the arrival of new genres to music like Romanticism. Romanticism was unheard of as a musical genre until the 19th century, it used to consist of paintings and other works until it was illustrated in music. Romanticism is considered such a significant accomplishment because it combined expression of emotions that was not present before…
Music’s Top Dog Most musicians learn how to write letters before music symbols. Mozart, on the other hand, had it the other way around. He had an early start in composition and later became one of the greatest composers in the world of classical music. Throughout the “Leaving a Legacy” unit, students chose to research the legacy of a movement or a person. Mozart’s contributions embodied the ideal image of a long-lasting legacy. He composed from his early years until his last breath and his…
ARS Trio is a darkly twisted experimental Portuguese project composed of Renato Diz on piano, Sergio Tavares on double bass, and Jorge Queijo on drums and percussion. Despite the plans regarding this project had started in 2009, only recently the band members have reunited in Portugal to record their debut album, Poetics of Sight, strongly influenced by film and released on the W&J Productions, a new record label from New York. Using imaginative techniques and resorting to unconventional sounds,…