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Wedding Music

For my wedding, I would choose the song “Canon in D” by Pachelbel. The melody is calm and extremely memorable. The violins imitate the melody of one another and make a very peaceful sound. The increasing and decreasing of dynamics make the piece merry. The song has a polyphonic and homophonic texture. The first violin enters with the main melody after the double bass starts to play. The next violin delays and  comes in around the same time after the first violin came after the bass, making the piece sound very symmetrical. This also creates a really neat overlapping effect. The chord progression goes from  a major scale, to a minor scale, and then back to the major scale. I would want this piece to be played at my wedding because it conveys a happy and peaceful mood and my big day should be happy and peaceful!

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Funeral Music

Out of the pieces we have listened to in class, I would choose “Sicut Cervus” by Palestrina. I would choose this song because it reminded me of church music. However, this song was not a dwelling piece or in a minor scale. At my funeral, although sad, I do want people to remember me as a happy person. My funeral should almost be celebrating my time here on earth with them. “Sicut Cervus.” The piece includes a variety of voices, including basses, tenors, sopranos and altos. The basses sing “ita desiderat” while the other voices follow in imitation. The piece has three major parts to it” the sicut cervus, the tia desiderat, and the anima mea ad te deus. The translation of this song is also somewhat religious. For example, “anima mea ad te deus” translates to “my soul for thee, O God.” I like how the texture of the song is polyphonic. The singing style could be best describes as smooth and restrained, which i find appropriate for my funeral. 

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Come Back, Sweet Papa

“Come Back, Sweet Papa” is composed by Louis Armstrong (1926). The song is a good example of the style, “dixieland.” It is a good example of dixieland because the song is a jazz style that consists of two beats per measure and has a rather lively tempo. The tune was not written by Louis Armstrong but this is just one characteristic of jazz: what the players do with a tune is much more important than the original tune. This is because the players make up some of what they play as they go along. Instruments that are heard in this piece are the trumpet, trombone, saxophone, clarinet, piano, and banjo. The recording has a little bit of a southern twang to it. The song has a rather moderate/fast tempo and has different instruments repeating the chorus. The piece concludes with characteristic rhythm figure. 

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Lost Your Head Blues

Bessie Smith composed the song “Lost Your Head Blues” between 1924 and 1927. The song starts out with a short introduction of the trumpet. The trumpet sounds like its slurring its notes and instantly creates this specific kind of lonesome mood immediately. Next, Bessie’s voice is introduced and the trumpet silences. The piece is based entirely on tonic and with a short trumpet break that follows Bessie’s singing. Although the chords may change, it concludes on tonic. The lyrics are especially important in this song, and an important characteristic of the blues. Smith says “I was with you baby when you didn’t have a dime” and “when you get a good gal you should treat her right.” Blues pieces were a way artists could express themselves and their hardships. In this piece specifically, Bessie seems as though she is calling out one of her ex-lovers for loving him so well and he did not in return. What is cool about this song is that the trumpet has such an important role. The trumpet player is playing in the same style as the singer. The tempo of the song is very steady.

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Cornerstones Orchestra Concert

The Cornerstones Orchestra Concert was conducted by William McClain. What I like about Mr. McClain is that he acknowledged the achievements of the Georgia College and State Orchestra before they began to play. He also pointed out that this was the first year the GCSU Orchestra was invited to play in Atlanta for a special performance. The program consisted of five pieces and was played in the Russell Auditorium. Because the Russel Auditorium is so large, it allowed for the orchestra to really project their talent. The first piece, “Concerto No.1 in D Minor BMW 1052″ was kind of slow and sounded like a mournful song. This was most likely because the key of the performance was minor. The symphony also played the “Gregorian Chant” composed by Paul Creston (1906-1985). I really enjoyed listening to this piece because we specifically studied this piece in class awhile back. I like the sound of the instruments playing a free rhythm. For the last two songs I noticed, especially, two soloists. I believe the soloists were a violin and viola player. It was neat to compare and contrast these instruments as they played. Although they sound quite different, the musicians do a good job of making the piece flow. I also noticed that the cello was used not only by a bow but also the technique of plucking. This was just one unique characteristic that added to the piece.

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Small Ensembles Concert

The small ensembles concert includes performances by groups playing the same kind of instrument. For example, there was a brass double-quartet and sextet of flutes and a group of low brass. What i found different from most other concerts, is that the brass instruments were tuning in the beginning of the performance. The performers ranged in ages and for the first song, there was no conductor. The trombone performer acted as a conductor and cued the other instruments when to start. For the second song performed by the brass instruments, “The Bride’s Solo”, the musicians changed his and her seating arrangements. I think that they this to project the sound of their instruments in a different way. For “The Bride’s Solo”, a conductor appeared on stage. The music did not connect smoothy in the beginning. It sounded like a short staccato and abrupt in different ways. I also noticed all the players were tapping their foot to the same beat. This is a way to keep tempo. The trumpet and french horn players take turns being the background music, making a constant bum bum bum sound. For the brass quartet, they have a double quartet, consisting of eight people. In the next piece for the brass, they took turns incorporating a lot of chromatic scales. The flute sextet played next and they all stood up to play. There was one soloist the rest accompanied her. They used the technique of trills a lot. The low brass played next and had no conductor. One of the trombones kind of conducts by swinging his trombone to alert the other performers when to begin. I found this concert to be very interesting because it highlighted the individual groups’ skills.

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Power & Pawns (classical concert)

This was not your average “concert.” Power and Pawns was presented by the Music Theatre Scenes Class and was directed by Dana Gorzelany-Mostak. The theatre acted out many different scenes from historic play wrights. What i found interesting about this “concert” was that only the piano was used. The piano was often used to broadcast character’s emotion more in a more intense way. The other instrument was the vocals. Each person in the play had a part and for the most part were singing. It was interesting to compare and contrast the women’s voice to the men’s voices. It seemed that an alto voice, a soprano voice, a tenor voice, and a bass voice was used throughout the different scenes. I felt that the Power and Pawns class was quite comical. Their use of expression made me feel as though I was a character in the act. There was also a scene where the characters made music by tap-dancing. This was especially different because you wouldn’t casually think of tap dancing as music. But it was. The tap dance had a steady beat and sometimes corresponded to the piano. 

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Honoring the Jazz Masters Concert

The jazz concert included four members, a quartet, and the following instruments: trumpet, guitar, bass, and drums. The program consisted of nine songs, with the trumpet having the melody in nearly all of the pieces because of its powerful sound. One of the pieces I admired the most was the first selection, “Tour de Force.” The style was “be-bop” music, according to the performers. What interested me about this song was that there was repetition of the central theme by all the instruments at different times. This was nice to listen to because it is as though each instrument had its own solo. This way, you could really distinguish what instrument was playing in the songs to come. I noticed the technique of double beats used; this adds emphasis to the music. My other favorite piece played was called “Invitation.” The piece was arranged by the guitarist and started off with the cello and the drums. The other instruments were slowly added in by crescendo. The song had a swing style to it and the tempo became faster. 

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Duo Music Non-Classical Concert

The performance consisted of two men, Henrik Karapetyan who played the violin, and Martin Tosch-Ishii who played the cello.The program entailed sixteen short pieces. Each piece had its own kind of personality and character. I noticed that one of the musicians tapped his foot to keep the beat of the song because neither of them had sheet music displayed in front of them. This concert was very lively and the musicians certainly kept the attention of the audience. A very well known song “Welcome to the Jungle” was also played. This was cool to listen to because it was played with only a violin and a cello. Not only were these two instruments played, but the musician incorporated the snaps of his finger and plucking of the violin. The violin especially had a very large range of sounds and pitches, while the cello was more of the background. I noticed too that the techniques of crescendo and decrescendo.

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Dies Irae

“Dies Irae” is categorized as a Gregorian Chant, church music that was sung for the medieval Latin liturgy for worship. “Dies Irae” includes non-metrical rhythm. This is quite obvious in the music because i have no inclination to tap my foot to the beat. This also be because there is no harmony in Gregorian Chants, making the texture monophonic. The piece reflects a reverent and restrained mood; the music does not try to grab the listener’s attention. The length of the notes are about equal and do not have much personality. The singers sing several notes on some of the syllables of the text. I find it interesting how church music has now changed over the years. I think that a lot of people find peace and comfort in worship now a days because of the metrical rhythm and because of the lyrics. Lyrics are a special quality of praise and worship that we have currently that the Gregorian Chants did not have. 

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“Hoe-Down” from Rodeo

Because of the violins, especially, and tempo of the song, Copland’s piece sounds rather like a square dance. There are three sections in the music. The transition from section A to section B is quite obvious and abrupt; The string instruments decrescendo as the trumpet starts to play the same theme but in section two. The oboe and string instruments then come in to play and shortly after the orchestra returns too. The orchestra plays the same short rhythm pattern here four times. “Hoe-Down” from Rodeo marks a period in Aaron Copland’s life where he starts to make his music more abstract. This piece has three very distinct sections, all different but all go back to the same theme that was heard in the beginning. The music is very energetic and playful, which are American characteristics. The piece ends with three short notes from what sounds like the lower wood winds.

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Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez

It is important knowing the background of Joaquin Rodrigo to further appreciate his works of music; Although becoming blind at the age of three, he was still very successful. His Concierto do Aranjuez was drawn from his inspiration during a tragic era in his life where his personal life and country were undergoing numerous problems. The genre, or type of music, Rodrigo composed was classical music. The english horn starts the first theme and then then the guitar follows in repetition but contrasts the first theme with more decorative notes. Around the six minute mark during the second movement, the guitar is heard playing a crescendo of notes, making the music appear more grand and intense because it gets louder. The piece consists of three movements and a concerto of the guitar. The song portrays a melody of a feeling of regret and solitude. The final note of the guitar, at the end of the second, movement marks a feeling of settlement. 

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Pictured are photos I took during the Paul Keene: Post War Explorations in Painting. Paul F. Keene, Jr draws his inspiration from his study abroad travels to Paris and Haiti after World War II. In Paris, Keene was exposed to European Modernism, Cubism, and African art. From 1952 to 1954, he was given the opportunity to live and work in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. During this time, he studied the African culture, including voodoo music and religious imagery. He experimented with colors and formal abstractions and intertwined symbolic references and motifs in each painting. This was especially different from his figurative representations. Walking from room to room in the gallery, I was amazed at how different the paintings were from one another. This was likely due to the places Paul F. Keene Jr traveled and was exposed to. Prior to Georgia College and State University, this exhibition was only presented to two other universities. It is quite an honor for the students here to have had a chance to take in this art.

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Georges Bizet, Farandole From L’Arlesienne, Suite No. 2 (1872)

In this piece of music, there are two different themes that appear, A and B. The first theme, A, begins with a strong, powerful downbeat. It sounds similar to how a march would be played. Theme A is played in a minor scale, creating a dramatic and serious feeling. The strings imitate the orchestra, creating a polyphonic texture. There is then a transition created by the woodwind instruments. The music goes from a serious to a light tone, theme B. What separates theme A from theme B is the tempo. The tempo of theme B starts soft and slow. Another transition is from the minor to major scale. The music becomes much more lively and then returns back to the minor scale. To conclude the song, the orchestra then plays both theme A and theme B in the major scale and grows in intensity. I like how towards the end you can really hear the percussion and how the song ends with several short cords. The chords tie the entirety of the piece together. 

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“Mitamba Yalagala Kumchuzi”

When I first listened to this African piece, I was very surprised at how many sounds were being introduced. The first drum playing sounds as if it is keeping the tempo for the remaining of the song, allowing the other drummers to come in at the right time. Because there is multiple instruments being played at different times, the piece is considered a polyrhythm. The multiple patterns of music adds character to the song. I think that first understanding the background of African music will make you have more of an appreciation for the kind of music. In this song, the singer is almost calling his fellow people for a response. This is a common theme centered around African music. 

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Essay #1

I’ve always had a passion for helping people, so my major is pre-nursing. I don’t have a lot of musical background; however, I was in my school’s band from the fifth to eight grade. I started off playing the clarinet and transitioned to the base clarinet. I also played the piano and completed lessons for five years. My favorite genre of of music is pop because it is very catchy and pumps me up. I feel like pop music intertwines a lot of other music genres as well. A pop song could include rap, hip-hop, and sometimes country. Taylor Swift is living proof! I feel like you can’t go wrong with pop music because of the variety it offers. Although pop is my favorite kind of music, I will generally listen to whatever is playing on the radio. I am not picky about my taste in music, and I like to listen to music in the car or when I work out. I hope to learn to appreciate all kinds of music in this class.