The Soloist

When most people hear the words “opera singer,” their mind conjures up images of bloated women, plunked down in the middle of a stage, illuminated by a spotlight, dressed in exotic costumes, and screaming at the top of the lungs in even more exotic languages. But frankly that stereotype could not be more wrong; I know that for a fact. If those stereotypes were right, then I would not be writing this paper. I love opera. I have been addicted to it for over five years now, and the fire that…

London,” twice. The second echo ends on a peculiar chord, unresolved. The first soloist’s timbre is bright, energetic and full of hope, in contrast to the second soloist’s timbre that is dark. As the second soloist enters the music changes, the key shifting from major to minor. The second soloist sings in a lower register and saddened tones. Todd’s warning “You will learn,” is followed by two rising notes of hope, only to fall back down again with two notes of sorrow. A woman enters, her melody…

to start. The concert includes not only the works of Haydn and Dvorak, but also of a Native American composer, Christopher Theofanidis. With the leading conductor Robert Moody, featured violinists Kenichiro Matsuda and Joyce Fishman, and later the soloist cellist, Mark Kosower, the concert began with a warm welcome and headed straight to the first piece…

this was the first recital by the aspiring music majors of the college. They performed about thirteen different pieces from different periods in history, ranging from the Baroque period up to the 20th century. The event was a recital since several soloists performed the program. The performing group members were: Isaac Martinez, Osbaldo Garza, Christian Dunham, Tyler…

Sometimes they will invite foreign conductors and soloist in order to acquire the “authentic” interpretation of the pieces from their home country. For instance, the orchestra may invite a German violinist to perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto. When the orchestras go on a tour to other country, they may…

1 in D major, “Titan,” was performed next. It was much longer in duration than the first piece. It showed uniqueness in that it incorporated everyday sounds into the music, such as bulge calls, bird songs, and dance tunes, which provided for a very wide variety of tone colors. The symphony began with a thick-textured undertone in the strings and a two-note “hunting call” in the woodwinds, which persisted throughout the piece. Also present was a bright fanfare in the trumpets, followed by a light…

bouncing of the walls we kept it balanced on Troubled fly voices blended with other voices nobody was to high or too low and we lead to Bridge over Trouble Water was also a wonderful song it had its up and downs the first soloist was perfect the second part of the song there two soloist but you can only hear one but then the second just surprise you out of…

The painting Slow Down Freight Train is a very unique piece both in its style and historical background. Rose Piper, the artist, was a semi-abstract expressionist who was best known for her artwork in the 40’s. Piper was one of only four African-American abstract painters to have a solo exhibit in New York. This showcase, which led to her fame, was a series entitled Blues and Negro Folk Songs and all included pieces were directly linked to blues music or musicians. Slow Down, Freight Train was…

With new methods of composition came new ways of conveying emotions in dramatic settings. Musical rhetoric can be identified in terms of articulation of form, text declamation, and text painting by studying the scores of Monteverdi’s Orfeo and Lully’s Armide. Orfeo contains several examples of musical rhetoric in its various forms. For example, m. 12 displays form articulation with a shift in instrumentation to theorbo. The basso continuo section that follows is an example of simple recitative.…

harmonies, new instruments like the harpsichord, and rhythm, because more and more important and composers start to only have to write bass note and key. Baroque concerto was also important because it was an instrumental genre for a soloist or small group of soloists accompanied by a large orchestra. The late baroque style is distinguished by tonality that regulated chord progression, dissonance treatment, and formal treatment…