Sonata form

3.3 Piano Figuration 3.3.1 Use of Percussive Figuration Prokofiev first used percussive figuration in Sarcasms Op. 17 and Toccata Op. 11 written in the same year. At the beginning of Sarcasms, the Tempestoso is depicted by the percussive introduction. The harsh percussive sound in the interval of the augmented fourth is not only reinforced by ff, but also projects an intense emotion. The dynamic contrast in the first four measures further heightens the intensity. Ex. 3.9 Sarcasms Op. 17 No. 1…

Of particular significance is Holst’s fifth movement, entitled Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age. Alan Leo’s book on astrology described those born under Saturn as having the potential for long life but inclined to plod through life slowly and steadily, often being unresponsive. Interestingly, Holst’s own personality is quite similar to Leo’s description of a person born under Saturn. Saturn was Holst’s favorite movement of the planets; perhaps Holst recognized its similarity to his own…

During the Middle Ages, Pythagoras explored mathematical ethics through musical harmony.The main purpose of having music is to improve the ceremony of the Catholic Churches. The fundamental of music was the Gregorian chant, named after Pope Gregory I. It is a serenade with single line of music, which is a monophonic texture. The Renaissance Period is when composers start composing by adding profound meanings and feelings to the world of music. It has many lines of music being performed all at…

Although Beethoven’s Fifth and Sixth symphonies sound very different, they both originated during the same time period and are closely related in many ways. In the first movement of the Fifth and Sixth symphonies, the relationships between the two can already be identified. While their similarities reveal the new ideas that Beethoven wanted to use in his symphonies at the time, their differences reveal the different paths that Beethoven chose for each symphony. Though the first movements of the…

Shoe Horn Sonata: In Misto’s play contrast is a powerful dramatic device. Describe its use in the Shoe Horn Sonata. “Shoe Horn Sonata is an impressive story of courage, hope, horror and friendship. This play is a tribute to commemorate the bravery of the women and to make their story of survival widely known. The historical context that the story has enables us to learn about the past events and to understand the true meaning of war and its consequences. The play draws on real events, the…

In the first movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony it reflects Beethoven’s personal battle raging inside himself as he fought against his own emotions writing the composition. The piece starts out with the exposition exploiting the thirst theme with the well-known four notes often used on television. The theme varies from a soft, piano melody to a pounding almost “frustrated” forte notes. With the constant shifts it is easy to hear the internal conflict between two strong feelings: contentment…

continues until the Eb4 grace note in measure six. This is primarily consistent in the bottom staff with the exceptions of measures five and six where the rows switch staffs. The switching of staffs occurs in each iteration of the rows and its various forms at one point or another. Wagner also creates an elision with the last note of one row and the first note of another. The second movement to Variations for Piano is a canon because of the entrance of one note and the response of a related…

When listening to any piece by Beethoven, you receive the whole range of emotions, and the Fifth Symphony is no different. Just the first four notes, a simple da-da-da-dum, is enough to send shivers up your back. Packed with all the furious confidence of Beethoven, it suggests scarlet eruptions, heavenly processions and all the powers human drama. These four notes started the memorable first movement. This movement is like a Stephen King novel because it is so saturated with intensity and…

This essay aims to examine to what extent should classical performers seek to recreate “authentic performances” of the past. Roger Norrington and the London Classical Players’ recordings of the Beethoven symphonies will be used as a case study to support the argument. Classical performers, are in this context, musicians who present a classical music performance. There is no defined boundary of what precisely is classical music, but classical music in this essay generally refers to art music…

The composition opens in Db major with a tonic chord. Here Debussy has already broken two rules of conventional voice leading; Debussy begins without the tonic note, introducing it later, where the mediant of the chord (F natural) is doubled. This gesture could also be interpreted as opening with chord iii (still with doubled mediant) moving to chord I on the third beat of the bar; however I think this is less likely to be Debussy’s intention because of the use of a Db chord in bar 9 when the…