#classical music analysis

[frank-olivier]

The Evolutionary “Gigue”: A Bridge Between Eras

Jon Lord's "Gigue" stands as a testament to the composer's innovative spirit, bridging the gap between the Baroque era and modern rock. "Gigue" is rooted in the Baroque tradition, echoing the works of J.S. Bach and George Frideric Handel. Lord's mastery of this era's compositional techniques is evident in the piece's intricate counterpoint and lively rhythms. The introduction of unexpected melodic progressions sustain listener interest, enriching the musical narrative with a touch of modernity. This blend of traditional foundation and innovative flair sets the stage for a captivating musical journey.

One of "Gigue"'s most striking aspects is its intrinsic integration of Baroque and rock elements. Lord expertly weaves rock's complex rhythms into the Baroque framework, creating a nuanced and original sound. This deep fusion not only enhances the piece's technical sophistication but also provides a rich, layered listening experience. The seamless blend of genres is a hallmark of Lord's compositional genius, appealing to a broad audience and solidifying "Gigue"'s place in the crossover music canon.

"Gigue" is more than a technically brilliant composition; it is a dynamic, emotionally engaging work. Lord skillfully incorporates contrasting themes and sections, exploring a broad emotional spectrum that resonates deeply with listeners. From the exuberance of the gigue's traditional roots to the introspective moments of modern contemplation, the piece navigates a wide range of emotions, creating a profound connection with the audience. This emotional depth transforms "Gigue" into a timeless, universal work that transcends genre boundaries.

Jon Lord - Gigue

Monday, November 11, 2024

[nerdiqueen]

the witch and the saint by steven reineke

a stupid long analysis (below the cut) because I'm so normal. it's a good song

and the version I like (:

(andante- ~60 bpm iirc) sudden, strong, percussive entrance accompanied by bells and quiet low brass, the low brass takes the melody, slow and dramatic. [this is the witch. she is ominous and foreboding, a threat on the horizon.]

the percussion strikes again, and the upper brass come in for another round of the melody [she lurks in the woods, waiting for her moment to strike the town.]

it swells as the woodwinds come in, crescendo and then a decrescendo, allowing the flutes to come in with their slow, calm melody alongside the low woodwinds and some high mallet instrument accompanying [this is the saint, he is calm and pure]

swells as the clarinets and then trumpets take over in turn, more and more dramatic [but he is not weak, he is more than willing to stand up to the witch and protect his people. he goes into the forest with the men of the town to find her.]

they reach forte and a strong, powerful melody comes from the trumpets [she is there, watching, waiting in the trees.]

tempo change- allegro, ~120 bpm iirc. the percussion creates a sense of running. [a chase. the dogs have caught her scent.]

the brass join again with a strong, fast-paced melody [he chases her deeper into the woods]

then it switches to the woodwinds with the same melody they had earlier, just at the new tempo [she is fast. almost too fast for him.]

brass are back again, and then it's just the bass drum, then the rest of the ensemble comes back in one by one, the tension is building [but he will not give up. this is important to him. he must protect his people]

brass pays off on that tension build, playing the melody they've been cutting in with [he catches up to her- epic fight scene or wtv]

then it slows down and the power fades away, back to ~80 bpm. the high woods have the melody again, and they begin the same way but then morph it to be what the low brass were playing at the very start (yes the bell is back too) [but she escapes. she has wounded and killed many of his men.]

then a new melody comes in, and this one begins feeling somewhat tragic but slowly becomes almost hopeful [at first it seems the saint is lost, too. the men mourn the loss of those the witch killed]

then definitely hopeful, seeming to look forward to something. there is a moment almost like breaking through the surface, everyone is playing powerfully, and it all settles down for the first fakeout ending. [the saint rises. these men will not have sacrificed in vain. he rallies the rest of them to find her, once and for all.]

BAM. tempo SKYROCKETS as the band comes back suddenly. like ~160 bpm iirc? the melody from the chase-like part is back. everything builds, builds, builds [she strikes from the trees. she couldn't take them out before, but she has the element of surprise now.]

the brass comes in as powerfully as they did before, a high-energy melody, then everyone joins in a dischordant crescendo and- [epic fight scene number two!]

grand pause. [the witch leaps at the saint and-]

that was fakeout two. one bass drum note, and the high woods come back with their hopeful, yearning melody. [they both fall. it seems they're both gone, but then the saint rises again, triumphant…]

it builds, but the strong notes from way back near the beginning return and interrupt it, playing some of the witch melody. [the witch, in her final moments, laid a single grievous blow on him.]

and then it all slowly fades away, the low brass playing their melody again. [he falls, succumbing to his wound.]

and all that remains at the end is one lone bell note.

[heartwrrm]

it's immediately clear that both the creature and victor find some of their greatest comforts in nature and that's one of the key features that connects them and proves they're not so different from each other, but i've also noticed that they tend to admire different TYPES of nature

victor tends to amaze at "the high and snowy mountains [...] immense glaciers [...] the rumbling thunder of the falling avalanche [...] the supreme and magnificent mont blonc" (65), typically finding the most comfort in the "savage and enduring scenes" (64) which tend to be colder and rougher yet unchanging; while the creature found that his "chief delights were the sight of the flowers, the birds, and all the gay apparel of summer" (94). there is probably something to be said about the creature's affinity for spring and summer, the seasons of rebirth, of NATURAL and beautiful life, a direct contrast to his unnatural, coldly scientific, "wretched" rebirth that he abhors so much

i was discussing this idea with a friend, who added that victor finding solace in the frozen and dead beauty of wintery environments, a typically less-favoured season, could reflect how victor often refuses himself the typical joys of life. throughout the novel, he struggles with his self-worth because of the guilt induced by his creation of the creature and the deaths that then followed, and the only reason he even desires peace and comfort is because he knows he needs to present himself that way to his family in order for them to be happy ("i [...] wished that peace would revisit my mind only that i might afford them consolation and happiness" [62]). i built on her idea by noting how the creature acknowledged that he "required kindness and sympathy; but [he] did not believe [him]self unworthy of it" (94), a completely contrasting stance from victor, who finds himself undeserving of the many comforts offered to him by his family

furthermore, it seems that victor finds beauty in glory & majesty ("[the scenery] spoke of a power mighty as Omnipotence--and i ceased to fear, or to bend before any being less almighty than that which had created and ruled the elements" [64]), while the creature finds beauty in warmth & growth. both characters seem to find what they desire(d) in the versions of the natural world that they admire most

to reference what i said in the beginning about the connections between victor and the creature, this observation only contributes to my understanding that victor and the creature are incredibly similar, and many of their identical traits involve a rejection or a reversal of the other; they both ardently wish for each other's destruction, they both ruined each other, they're the reason that the other is simultaneously a victim and a villain in their own sense, they both hate themselves but for reversed reasons (victor hates himself for what he's done rather than what he is, while the creature hates himself for what he is more than what he's done), and now this--they both find solace in nature, just opposing kinds. like father, like son

[another-little-hippie]

Burning Down One Side by Robert Plant (1982): scientifically accurate music video analysis/explanation



because ya’ll are so encouraging, here you go 😌 (please ignore my shit editing skills and the random subtitles that showed up and i had no clue how to get rid of) love ya’ll ✨💕

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Another thing I love about the Les Mis musical (which I'm curious if they have in the French) is the hanging rhymes.

At certain points in the musical, the rhyme scheme and music make you feel like there should be a word that will rhyme with another, particular line. Instead of resolving it, though, it just...hangs. It never gets the satisfying resolution you want. And they use this so well, especially in Valjean's Soliloquy (which makes sense, as he is a character that does feel perpetually "unresolved"--always on the run, unable to rest).

First, there's a line early in the song:

My life he claims for God above--

Can such things be?

Now, technically, this line does have a rhyme, in the stanza before, but the music makes you forget about it:

Yet why did I allow that man

To touch my soul and teach me love?

He treated me like any other;

He gave me his trust! He called me brother!

By reverting to a couplet here, instead of keeping an alternating rhyme scheme, it makes the stanza feel complete. By the time you start the next phrase ("My life he claims for God above"), which is furthermore on a rising part of the melody, you kind of assume that it will get another resolution in its own stanza. But it doesn't! Instead we hear:

For I had come to hate the world;

This world that always hated me!

Our ears are primed to hear the word love again, or at the very least the word above reminds us of it--but instead we get two instances of the word hate! Valjean had hoped for love, but instead, hatred was all he was met with; the same thing shows up in the literal construction of the song!

There's another instance of a hanging rhyme at the end of his Soliloquy, which is probably the perfect example of how to use these well. His penultimate stanza is:

I am reaching, but I fall

And the night is closing in,

As I stare into the void

To the whirlpool of my sin;

This establishes an ABCB rhyme scheme: lines 2 and 4 rhyme. We expect the last stanza to follow this:

I'll escape now from that world,

From the world of Jean Valjean!

Jean Valjean is nothing now--

Another story must begin!

Yet here, line 2 does not rhyme with line 4! The word "Valjean" doesn't get a rhyme--it's left hanging, because "Jean Valjean is nothing now"! That name no longer defines the course of Valjean's story!

But what does define it? What does the final line rhyme with?

"My sin."

Even with his new life, Valjean won't be able to leave that behind.

What excellent wordsmithing!

[kenora-pizza]

Musical musings - TTTE edition

One of the things that got me back into TTTE was the banger soundtrack and character themes. Music has always been a huge part of my life, I have classical training for the piano and an in-depth knowledge of musical theory and harmonic practices for classical music. So here are some of the things I noticed about various character themes and some of the engines' whistles.

Gordon is considered to be the biggest engine out of the main 12, and this could be reflected in his whistle, as it has the greatest interval between the two notes which make it up, that being a minor seventh between C and Bb.

James' whistle (G - C#/Db) is a tritone/Augmented 4th/Diminished 5th. In medieval times, this interval was considered to be a representation of conflict, discord (no, not THAT Discord) instability and danger. You can hear it in pieces like the iconic opening to Camille Saint-Seans' Danse Macabre, and in Hector Berlioz's La damnation de Faust to represent the titular character's arrival in Hell. James, I've noticed, is pretty damn insecure. He clings to his red paint like a lifeline and hides behind a veneer of arrogance and vanity. He can be quite boastful, to the detriment of his relationships with other engines, with him usually being the aggressor in conflicts with them. So I suppose the use of a tritone for his whistle is appropriate.

Percy appears to (mentally) be the youngest of the main 12, and this could be represented by having the highest whistle out of all of them.

Thomas' character theme and Edward's Series 2 theme both feature modulations to the parallel major of the initial key's relative minor, with Thomas' theme starting in F major and ending in D major, and Edward's theme starting in C major and ending in A major. The "relative minor" of a major key is the minor key which shares its key signature (ex. the relative minor of F major is D minor since they share the same key signature of one flat, likewise with C major, A minor and a key signature of no accidentals). The "parallel major" of a minor key is the major key which shares its 1st note (AKA, the tonic). So....like mentor, like mentee. Or like Father, like Son, in terms of musical themes.

Henry's theme is in a quadruple meter (following an 8-measure phrasing pattern, likely 12/8 time), meaning that there are 4 beats to a measure. However, each one of these "beats" consists of a triplet(If you were to count out a measure, it'd be 1-2-3 4-5-6 7-8-9 10-11-12, and you'd conduct it like 4 beats instead of each of the 12 individual notes) And Henry is the number 3 engine. Hmm.......

If I think of any more, I'll post 'em. If anyone even reads this lol

P.S: One of my favourite OSTs is Kingdom Dance from Tangled, and every time I listen it, I think of the twins. Probably because it uses the E Dorian mode (with a dash of E Mixolydian) which is common in Scottish music. Just in case anyone's confused, the "Dorian" mode is an 8-note scale which starts on the second note of a given major scale. (e.g, E is the 2nd note of a D major scale, so its Dorian mode uses the same signature of 2 sharps). The Mixolydian mode is an 8-note scale which starts on the 5th note of a given major scale. (e.g, E is the 5th note of an A major scale and thus, its Mixolydian mode uses the same key signature of 3 sharps).

[chicken-scatch-drawing]

Was bored, character design is fun. Also finally listened to the audiobook of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" after being fixated on the musical (demo specifically) for over 5 years lmaooo

Honestly between the musical and the novella, I find myself half-tempted to write my own spin / retelling of the story. (Rant unrelated to the art itself below the cut)

I could make it gay. I genuinely think it would fit.

Jekyll is a highly repressed individual, who shoves down and refuses to indulge in any pleasure he deems "repulsive" or "incorrect" by society and himself, instead using his transformations into Hyde as an outlet or a dual self so he can do what he wants without it actually affecting him. All I'm saying is that 1880s homophobia would not apply to Hyde since he doesn't give a fuck about what society deems incorrect. They're both gay as hell, Hyde just actually acts on it. Maybe Jekyll can figure himself at some point lmao

Honestly, the difference between the musical (again, I only listen to the demo soundtrack, I like it more than the official / released version lol) and the novella is very interesting. Of course, in the novella, there are no love interests-- Lucy and Lisa (Cannot recall her official name. She will always be Lisa to me lol) don't exist, Jekyll is a bachelor and isn't getting married.

The even bigger thing, though, was the fact that Jekyll was in control of his transformations in the original. These were him indulging in his desires by using his transformations into Hyde as an escape, putting responsibility onto him. It was only after he effectively got addicted to the freedom and lack of accountability that Hyde provided did he start to lose control of his transformations. Meanwhile, in the musical, he took the formula one time, and after that he had no control over when Hyde took control, nor did he recognize himself as Hyde. Novella Jekyll recognizes himself and Hyde as the same person, but grows to detest and fear the side of himself that is only indulgences. Musical Jekyll views Hyde as a monster right off the bat, and never acknowledges that Hyde is a part of him, denying it right until the end. This raises the question of whether Jekyll in the musical is actually accountable for Hyde's actions, where novella Jekyll is accountable without a doubt.

In a way, the novella seems to focus on themes of repression and distrust of self, while the musical sort of just... "ooo evil alter" or "evil split personality", simultaneously making you pity and fear Jekyll, while in the novella, you pity and fear Hyde but realize him and Jekyll are the same. Novella Jekyll explicitly states he is neither good nor evil, while musical Jekyll's writing makes it seem like he's the good side to Hyde, and just a poor lil guy lol.

Of course, I love the musical despite this, but I do find myself enjoying the writing of the novella much more. I think it could be really interesting to combine aspects of the two and write my own spin on it, perhaps...

[smilerri]

many thoughts about epic: the musical...

i am once again in the middle of essay writing but plautus is boring and my friend introduced me to this album so u already know I binged the entire thing

(quick warning for spoilers of homer's odyssey? if that's necessary?? man idk whatever)

first thoughts naturally concerned odysseus. i have hated this man with a burning passion ever since I started studying classics - i think he is irredeemably selfish, a liar masquerading as a 'resourceful hero,' and basically just a twat all around. that being said, i respect that epic is not an exact replica. in fact, i like that about it!

readings of odysseus as a loving husband and father, and a man who cares deeply for his crew and fellow warriors is one i would love to see reflected in the source text (though i admit i have only read two different translations so far, so this is subject to change depending on translators choice!), if only because it would be so so refreshing. and epic does that extremely well! i find epic's odysseus to be far more likeable, insofar as he is fueled not by greed for glory (kleos for the nerds out there) but rather the desire to return to his wife and son. (I personally would argue that, while homer's odysseus is indeed fueled by a desire for homecoming (nostos), it is not for the sake of penelope and telemachus, but rather concern over the security of his status and position within the household (oikos))

i also very much enjoy that the love he holds for his family is not an inherently positive trait. in the aeneid, and often in myth, it is achilles' son, neoptolemus/pyrrhus who kills the son of hector and andromache, astyanax by throwing him from the walls of troy - less common, it is odysseus (which i did not know until i googled it just now oops). homer's odysseus does not reject the gods. he is beloved by some, hated by others - he receives their boons and curses as they come. he revels in the attention of the divine, no matter positive or negative, for it is proof of his kleos. epic's odysseus is so much more... human. he doesn't vie for glory that reaches the skies. if anything, he rues it. in the horse and the infant he supplicates himself to (who i assume is) zeus - which is such a loaded act i am genuinely struggling to think of how to articulate it, but boy am I gonna try my darndest.

the act of supplication and guest-friendship (xenia) is a very key theme within the odyssey, and to a point in the iliad also - essentially, if a traveller were to arrive at your doorstep, you were obliged to let them in and provide food, drink, and lodgings to that traveller, no questions asked. in return (because reciprocity is VERY important in homer especially), the guest would provide entertainment, tales of their travels, etc, and would be respectful of their host. the patron of these travellers was zeus. any violation of these terms, on part of the guest or host, would be met with divine scorn. for odysseus to supplicate himself to zeus is therefore meta as hell, but I would instead bring attention to the echoing lyric "hes bringing you down to your knees." 'he,' assumedly, is astyanax. his father, hector, is dead; as is his grandfather, priam, and all of priam's other sons. at this point, one could assume that it is astyanax who is ruling troy, who is now the host of the city that odysseus, a traveller from another land, has entered and ransacked. zeus' 'prophecy' of astyanax growing old and seeking revenge (reciprocity! homeric greece had a 'revenge culture' - essentially 'an eye for an eye' as well as 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours,' though not always so clear-cut), therefore, would be odysseus' punishment for violating the terms of xenia.

supplication, however, is not limited to guest-friendship alone. for example, in odyssey 22, when odysseus slaughters the suitors occupying his home (is that spoilers?), their priest leodes supplicates himself at odysseus' feet, begging to be spared. odysseus takes his head from his neck in an instant. odysseus' kneeling before astyanax, therefore, is no simple act between a guest and his host - perhaps he is begging the infant for mercy, for forgiveness, or perhaps he is positioning himself for punishment; in killing astyanax, odysseus accepts his own death. perhaps this means his fate (which, in case of homeric epic, refers to the time and manner of one's death), or perhaps it is a part of him that has died. in just a man, odysseus asks "when does a man become a monster?" his killing astyanax prevents the boy from ever becoming a man, and spares him from a life fueled only by revenge and the need to regain his glorious birthright, and it turns him into a monster. just as he says he would, he trades in the world where he is 'just a man' for a world where he is a cruel beast, all for sake of his family.

(quick detour but i really like how odysseus' focus is primarily on penelope rather than telemachus. [insert deadbeat dad joke here], but in reality, he doesn't even know the boy. penelope he chose to marry and fall in love with - it's no question that he loves telemachus, but after ten years, it is only natural that he would miss his beautiful, tricky wife with more fervour than the child he never had the chance to love. it shows he is imperfect, even illogical - the son is the father's entire legacy. just as odysseus is 'son of laertes', so will telemachus be 'son of odysseus', the protector of his immortal heroic legacy. yet it is penelope whom odysseus yearns for.)

(another detour but "i'm just a man" is such a juicy lyric, because the entire message of homer's odyssey is that odysseus is not any man - he is a man that the muses deem worthy to inspire great poets to compose epic poems that persist through thousands of years and a million different voices - a hero. but epic's odysseus is not that hero. he is a man, trying to go home, craving comfort and the warmth of the hearth. these 'flaws' humanise him more than homer's odysseus could ever imagine.)

skipping over to polyphemus, odysseus violates xenia once again by killing polyphemus' sheep, albeit unwittingly. homer makes this violation very obvious - odysseus and crew eat polyphemus' cheese and wine while polyphemus tends to his sheep, knowing that the cave is obviously inhabited, and they even wait for polyphemus to return to ask for more. it is worth noting as well that, at this point, odysseus and crew are still jubilant about their victory, and unlike in epic, these 'detours' are purposeful, specifically so that odysseus can scope out the islands for anything of interest he can snatch and add to his spoils of war, adding to his kleos by means of physical wealth (timē) - which makes odysseus' offer of treasure to appease polyphemus all the more baffling in epic. this odysseus is a leader who prioritises the lives of his men over his own kleos, which makes the final lines - "you shall be the final man to die" // "what?" // "watch out!" - all the more heartbreaking. he wants to protect his men, so that they too may return to their families back on ithaca; the prospect of watching them die before his eyes after he already witnessed so many lose their lives in battle must be so utterly terrifying.

polyphemus is so excellently creepy as well! i loved him in the odyssey - this was where I really started to dislike odysseus, actually. he's a cyclops, obviously inhuman, yet he rears sheep and makes cheese and wine and weaves wicker baskets to keep them in, trying to play at humanity. i really did sympathise with him from the first time I read it. epic's polyphemus is similar, so very calm in his anger yet ruthless all the same, and demonstrates great restraint in comparison to his counterpart in the odyssey, who gets filthy drunk after mashing six men dead and allows odysseus+co. to fashion a stake with which to blind him. much of the violence against polyphemus, as well as the violation of xenia in homer's odyssey is 'excused' by the fact that polyphemus is a 'barbarian', to whom concepts of civilised people do not belong.

(very quick detour but polyphemus' first admonishment of odysseus - "you killed my sheep" up to "take from you like you took from me" - makes such heartbreaking parallels to astyanax's murder and the sack of troy. it almost provides a visualisation of the guilt that odysseus must still be battling. i would have loved to have been in his brain when he heard polyphemus say that.)

the mercy odysseus shows polyphemus is particularly interesting - homer's odysseus leaves him alive and tells him his name purely so that his name will spread and his kleos will grow. but epic's odysseus, despite his conviction to kill in survive and to avenge is fallen comrades in remember them, spares him. in part, this is to assure them an escape, so that the cyclops' giant body does not block their exit - but athena's interruption makes clear that this is not all. she criticises him, remarks "he is still a threat until he's dead." no doubt this calls back to zeus' warnings about astyanax, hence his refusal (or inability?) to commit to slaughter. for a homeric greek hero to allow a foe to live on after his allies had been slaughtered is a grave failure of reciprocity, casting shame on both the hero and their enemy. homer's odysseus escapes this with his reputation intact, since as a result polyphemus curses him to face poseidon's wrath - as I mentioned, for a hero, even negative attention from the gods is a good thing as it proves that their reputation/glory is known all over, even in olympus. but, as we have established, epic's odysseus cares not for kleos. the decision to tell polyphemus his name is entirely impulsive and irrational, grieving his comrades, hence athena's outrage.

the relationship between athena and odysseus is founded entirely on the principles they share, described in warrior of the mind (if anyone can lmk whereabouts this song fits in the timeline I will be so grateful, I'm stupid unfortunately :/). they value wisdom, reason, and rationality over brute strength and bloodlust. epic's athena becomes odysseus' patron goddess with the goal to "make a greater tomorrow" and "change the world" - aspirations that are entirely foreign to any homeric god. gods in homer do not care about the wellbeing of humans unless they are directly related to them, and they certainly don't care about the wellness of humanity as a whole. humans are toys and tools of the gods. the amount that athena cares for odysseus, even in the odyssey, is unusual, demonstrative of how much she cares for him, yet epic makes their comradery more obvious, even going as far as to (tentatively) call them friends. my goodbye frames athena's anger as disappointment at an experiment failed - calling back to warrior of the mind, where she claims to have "designed" him - but odysseus' replies to her makes clear that it is far more personal. perhaps, to her, odysseus acting so irrationally is even a betrayal; odysseus is abandoning the principles of reason they both once held and thus is forsaking all that they once shared and that she, as the goddess of wisdom, stands for.

ive always considered athena to be a very interesting goddess. she is a patron of both war, which in homer is only carried out by men, and weaving, the traditional work of women within the household - her very nature is a contradiction of masculine and feminine. although it is ares who is considered the 'black sheep' of the olympians for his brutality in war, epic's portrayal of athena through odysseus' lens paints her as lonely and ostracised - "since you claim you're so much wiser // why's your life spent all alone? // you're alone." It is clear that odysseus here does not view her as his patron at all, rather as a friend - and to that she takes offence, because she is a goddess, eternal and all-powerful. she does not need friendship or comradery; those are mortal concerns alone. personally, I see epic's athena as incredibly insecure. she cuts odysseus off because she cannot bare that a mortal has been able to read her so clearly, to see all the ugly parts of herself that she keeps hidden to retain the facade of the perfect goddess. she knows the paradox within herself - warrior and woman, immortal and alone - and rues that odysseus was able to see it as well. the cruellest part, the most ironic, is that his being able to figure out the true, imperfect nature of a god shows that he has not abandoned the path of the warrior of the mind. in fact, his wisdom extends beyond mortality into the realm of the divine. but athena is blinded by her anger and insecurity, and she says her goodbyes. she disappears from there, only to appear again to try to warn odysseus of his crew opening the bag of winds given to him by aeolus in keep your friends close, once again demonstrating her care for him, despite her anger.

the amount that odysseus cares for his crew is demonstrated time and again throughout the album, yet in the end, he still slowly loses their trust. aeolus' winds are the first sign. his crew betrays his orders upon the first whisper on the wind that he might be keeping treasure from them. the next sign, in puppeteer, is eurylochus' confession upon arrival to aeaea (circe's island), which odysseus brushes off, much as he brushed off eurylochus' concerns in luck runs out. then, in a matter of moments, 600 men are reduced to forty by the wrath of poseidon - which in itself is a significant change. while odysseus in epic is explicitly blamed for failing to kill polyphemus, homer's odysseus takes no responsibility for the deaths of hundreds of his men. it happens when they arrive at telepylos, which, unbeknownst to them, is home to the laestrygonians, a race of cannibalistic giants. odysseus, apparently sensing something off (who tf does he think he is, spiderman?), allows his entire fleet to enter the bay of telepylos while his ship alone remains outside - and when those ships are attacked and trapped, he alone takes his single ship and escapes, allowing twelve ships of men to be ripped apart and eaten by cannibals. an act which he shows no remorse for.

in my interpretation of homer's odyssey, it is this slowly slipping trust that eventually leads to his men ignoring his warnings and feasting on the cows of helios which leads to the deaths of all his remaining crew, including eurylochus and polites (spoilers? idk). so, once epic: the musical catches up to book 12 of the odyssey you WILL be seeing me again I hope ur excited.

there is definitely more i could say here, especially about the circe saga bcs ohhh my god I love circe and I love this circe especially (a female character with actual motive other than being a victim? homer could never) but unfortunately I'm running out of steam and I do in fact have 3 essays due this month (help) so I will probably return to this later !! hopefully its readable bcs I'm not going back to edit any of this ;)

[hornyforpoetry]

I have a question for you, guys. You probably already saw that I'm a huge fan of classic literature and ancient greek myths. With the recent popularity of "Epic: The Saga", a lot of people on Tumblr are talking about the legend of Odysseus. I absolutely love the musical and all of the fanarts and posts. I also saw a lot of analysis from a "modern" point of view that are very interesting, but work just for the musical. So, my question is:

[figubros]

Black Sabbath - Paranoid

Paranoid is the second album by Black Sabbath, and for me, it's a masterpiece that defined heavy metal. From the first riffs of War Pigs to the dark and powerful sounds of Fairies Wear Boots, the album maintains an atmosphere that never ceases to amaze me. The song Paranoid is an absolute classic, with a frenetic pace and contagious energy. But it's not all about speed; tracks like Planet Caravan showcase a more psychedelic and mellow side of the band, adding depth to the album.

I'll probably keep making pixel arts of album covers, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know. If you're going to use my content or upload it to other sites, please let me know. If you like it, consider following or liking my post!!!!

[doom-nerdo-666]

Just a thought:

Thy Flesh Consumed's first level has a NIN logo.

D2RPG i think had a scientist talking about an ancient video called "Moonwalking", a Michael Jackson reference.

D3's original story had the marine saying he was mocked by other marines singing Elton John's Rocket Man

So... what other musicians are canon in Doom?

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

(Some) Subtle Musical Connections and Callbacks in Epic: The Musical

I wanted to make a little mini-compliation of these little connections or references I noticed because I haven't seen them anywhere else yet!

"The Horse and the Infant" X "Survive" - the melody on Zeus's line, "I don't think you're ready"/Odysseus's response, "I know that I'm ready" is used in his exhortation to his men, "That is who we're fighting!" The parallel continues throughout the verse, culminating on "right here and now," because he is calling on them to face the looming challenge, which is the only way they have a chance to survive, just as Zeus did to him. He's using an almost divine authority

"The Horse and the Infant" X "Monster" - the opening guitar lead is the same, because we are being introduced to Odysseus (first as he originally is, and then as the changed monster-man he chooses to become)

"Full Speed Ahead" X "Puppeteer" - the melody on "Ithaca's waiting! Penelope's waiting," is used as the opening plucked melody in Puppeteer, because Odysseus knows they had been so close to home. His longing has been painfully renewed and he's thinking of home as Eurylochus comes up to him

"Luck Runs Out" - The ensemble gradually joins in with Eurylochus as he convinces them to doubt Odysseus. Initially they only sing on the word "How?" Which acts as a response to Odysseus's two statements, "We've come this far," and "You doubt that I could figure this out?" But as the song goes on, they begin singing along with Eurylochus on, "You rely on wit / And people die on it," showing their gradual realization and agreement with him

"Keep Your Friends Close" - The melody on Penelope's name is distorted from what it usually is, representing that the vision of Penelope is not real. Additionally, the melody on the word "open" in the four repeated "Just keep your eyes open" lines mirrors the danger motif.

"The Underworld" - As explained in a previous post, when Odysseus's drowned men are crying out to him, Athena's piano is in the background, because not only did he lose her mentorship (a "death" in itself, referenced in "Monster"), he lost his men as a direct consequence of losing Athena. He "severed his own head" and theirs along with it, and her piano plays to represent how those losses are intertwined

This is only a few, but I wanted to highlight some things that I hadn't seen mentioned elsewhere (although they may well have been--I might've just missed them! I'm still pretty new to the fandom)! Feel free to reblog if you find more!! I'll keep adding on/do the same as I find them as well. Ahhh, this musical is amazing!!

[sumnerstroh]

I wrote a song. Hope yall like Love to Hate. Stream wherever you get music

[iamthemaestro]

had a character development moment today where I realized maybe I simply do not have a healthy relationship to classical music anymore

[hannibals-hoe]

Classical Music Parallels in Hannibal

Hi I’m back with another classical music in Hannibal analysis!!

Ok so per my previous posts: Hannibal’s “theme” is Bach’s Goldberg variations. It plays in various pivotal moments in the show, including the first shot of Hannibal himself, after he kills Tobias Budge, the momentous season two finale, and also in the very last episode before he and will murder Dolerhyde. I also mention how this piece begins to represent Will as well. It’s “their song.”

But anywho I also noticed in season three, the relationship of Dolerhyde and Reba is meant to signify Will and Hannibal’s. I recall Reba’s line: “I try to avoid people to foster codependency and feed on it. The blind attract them.” And Will’s response: “Not just the blind.” Will and Reba have both found themselves entangled with some terrible people- yet they are both survivors. So, like Will and Hannibal, Reba and Francis’s also have a “song.” Theirs is Debussy’s Claire de lune. It plays the first time Reba comes over and they share a drink while Francis flips through his creepy slideshow. It also plays during their final scene together where Dolerhyde fakes his death and Reba escapes the burning building.

As I’ve said before- every aspect/plot detail of Hannibal can be explained further or confirmed by the music selections. (see my other posts for more, linked below)

[diagnosed-anxiety-disorder]

Comparing the intros to Eroica vs Wellingtons Sieg by Beethoven *fanboy screaming*

Inspired by @impetuous-impulse 's long-post essay on if Wellingtons Sieg was a certified banger or just liked because of its political ties. Very interesting, go read the post. Also literally don't worry about being socially awkward while interacting with me, my tumblr tag is literally diagnosed anxiety disorder, I understand if you get social anxiety in my notifs 😭

I'm going to put the post under a Keep reading so my mutuals don't get sieged with a wall of text on their dash ahaha

tldr: Wellingtons Sieg focuses more on imagery and takes a more cinematic/patriotic approach, sacrificing a bit of melodicism. While Eroica is very lyrical and musical, having a steady motif that it grows on, but I wouldn't know that it's about war if someone didn't tell me. Both pieces focus on different aspects of musicality and in their own domain, they perform quite well. I like Eroica more since it's more musical in my opinion, but Wellingtons Sieg is also really dramatic and cool. This is just my personal taste. I recommend listening to both and formulating your own opinion! Both pieces really do sound very Beethoven-esque though

ok coming at this from a musician's perspective and not a historical perspective (since there's plenty of you history buffs out there haha). I had to play a bit of Eroica for an orchestra audition and I just took the time to listening to a bit of Wellington's Victory and sight read the conductor's sheet music. I will now proceed to do a long post looking at the intros of Eroica and Wellingtons Sieg because I don't have the time to listen to both of them in their entirety right now

Just going to put it out there, Eroica and Wellingtons Sieg are both in Eb Major, which is practically known as the heroic key, but that's probably because of Beethoven. The only difference is that Wellingtons Sieg first starts in Eb, then goes to C major (bright and festive) then goes to B major (in this use it's similar in mood i think to C) and then it goes back to Eb.

First of all, I will tell you right now that I like Eroica more than Wellingtons Sieg. Not only am I biased but I've actually listened to Eroica in its entirety multiple times.

At the start of Wellingtons Sieg (after the dramatic snare drum and trumpet fanfare thingies) you have this nice cute little motif. The motif actually ends after the down beat in measure 8 but I wanted to include the crescendo poco a poco. Anyways, this is in Eb and it's backed up by a bunch of quarter note Eb's on the down beats as well. It's a simple melody and it kinda feels like a marching song honestly. During the whole crescendo part it kinda does a whole developmental twisty thingy with the motif and then lands on a forte and it ties it all together at the end with a small recapitulation of said motif. This whole intro just feels like the army marching into battle and whatnot.

Eb Major motif ^^^ I really like it! The staccatos and major key makes it feel very bouncy and lively

Then Beethoven decided that the army is not done marching actually and he's actually going to change the time signature entirely, giving the next upcoming C Major section an entirely different feel. In fact, an entirely different melodic motif, because it makes it ✨interesting✨. So after an even longer period of the snare drum going insane in a triplet-based time signature and then the trumpets follow up with their loud repeated notes since trumpets are good at doing that, then we have another motif!

C Major motif ^^^ (pretend like there's a quarter note C in the invisible measure 8, it was written on a different page so i had to cut off the resolution im sowwy) .

Similar to the first motif, it also has a light and bouncy feel with all the staccatos. The grace notes play a similar role as the 16th notes in the Eb motif as well. I mean, C is the 6th of the Eb major key, but I don't know enough music theory to know the significance of that :/ (im taking AP music theory next year though!!!). So this motif repeats itself a bunch of times in different modulations in 3rds (i think) while the violins either do nothing or echo the melody. Very big focus on the band, especially brass probably.

And then... we get into the part that is probably when the army actually reaches the battlefield. Now, we have our two soldiers right, the Eb motif and the C motif. These two soldiers were obviously on the front lines and got brutally one-shot killed by artillery or something because in the B major section there is literally no motif at all!!

Ok, these two screenshots are 11 pages apart. Beethoven wanted to torture the violinists for a bit. He's literally doing what Wagner did for Ride of the Valkyries where he turns the violins into little Christmas ornaments and gives the brass section a field day. Moments like these are the reason why most of the violinists I know wish they picked the cello instead because wow look at all those juicy quarter notes and long notes ties, very chill. Also the second page that I screenshotted is when the key shifts from B major to Eb major. It's not written in the key signature but the accidentals suggest that the key is different because Beethoven wanted to make sure that no violinist was sight reading on the day of the concert, which is totally something I've never done before (haha... sorry maestro 💀)

I don't think you really need to read sheet music to understand what's going on. The winds are just holding long dramatic notes while the strings are having a stroke. This part of the piece is very cinematic and it very much sounds like the background music for a 1800s based war movie. A lot of times when pieces are based on.. uh... "things" they tend to ditch melodic lines for foley impressionistic sounds. There was this one concert I went to for my city's philharmonic orchestra and they played a piece based on Nazi Germany and they literally used two metronomes that were going off asynchronously as apart of the piece. I mean, the piece was very 1900s modern so... but that's the only example that's at the top of my mind right now.

What I'm trying to say is that there's no melody. Or at least there's no clear lyricism or melodic line that you can pinpoint, or there's no sense of melodicism that I can find with my mediocre knowledge of music theory and composition.

Overall, the intro of Wellingtons Sieg is very cinematic, in its sense that the musical lines paint a picture of the army marching to battle and then roughhousing it on the front lines in the section I just talked about. I really liked the motifs at the beginning, I hope Beethoven recapitulates on them at the end of the piece :(

Alright onto Eroica– I love how it just jumps just straight into the theme after the grandiose entrance. I love the intro to this piece so much, the cellos have such a beautiful rich tone with the arpeggiated Eb 2nd inversion chord while the strings just have a bubbly metronomic portato touch, it's so satisfying. Then when the violin I's take over with the G to Ab dotted quarter notes and how it just leads into the next phrase. Then the end of the first motif is on the same beat as the repeat of said motif but the woodwinds play it instead, contrasting from the deep cello sound to a more free and gentle tone it's really beautiful.

Just listen to the Berlin Philharmoniker play it, they do such a good job with the phrasing and musicality. The Berlin Phil is one of if not the best orchestras out there in my opinion. Each section is so in time with each other it just sounds like a one person powerhouse from each instrument. I wish I can play in an orchestra even a fraction as well-refined as them one day. Nothing wrong with my school's orchestra, it's just aaaa Berlin Phil <333

I don't know where this happens in the sheet music, but after some developmental stuff building off of the Eb major chord motif that is juggled between the sections, the strings lead up to a tremolo-d Eb note and then the brass takes over and plays the Eb chord motif. It's so grandiose and probably sounds amazing live.

The melodic line moved from a soft but rich tone from the cellos to a calm interjection from the violins, sounding like a sigh that is carried on by the woodwinds. The woodwinds take their own artistic spin on the melody as the violins gradually crescendo in anticipation to the climax of the exposition. At the peak of the phrase, the brass section majestically explodes and sound goes everywhere and it's just... Beethoven. The piece feels like a really nice hug

With that being said, I kind of focused on two different things for the two pieces. Wellingtons Sieg tells a story through its music while Eroica is more melody based. Wellingtons Sieg does a great job on portraying a certain patriotic feel through its use of percussion and the brass section. It gets its point across that it is about a heroic war victory, listening to the piece is like watching the battle unfold in front of you. While Eroica, ah Eroica... it's majestic in itself. I don't know how else to describe it other than it really sounds like Beethoven. The way he stamps the epic Eb major motif all over the place and plays with the notes, always making it interesting, it's so nice to listen to.

These two symphonies are both musical in their own way. I believe these two symphonies were written roughly a decade apart, so a lot could've happened to Beethoven personally to influence how he sounds. Wellingtons Sieg definitely has its patriotic zeal thoroughly seasoned across the score while Beethoven's heart bled out on the pages of Eroica.

They're both beautiful in their own special Beethoven-esque way. I'm not historically educated enough to tell you what the audience of the time would prefer but what I think is the most important is to know your own opinion. Like how you don't read a book, the book reads you, music is interpreted differently for every pair of ears, or singular ear (not discriminating van Gogh). Music is for everyone, but at the same time, not for everyone. No matter the political introjections or emotional ties, art will always be art and will be seen differently by any audience. I think it's more important to just experience the music for yourself and figure out what you like.

Alright, this post is long enough. I'm not familiar with making long posts so I have no idea if I did this correctly ._. Thank you for reading this in its entirety if you did, I really appreciate it!

All this talk about Beethoven is making me want to relearn the Beethoven Sonatas I was working on on the piano and violin. Anyways, I gotta study for one of my final exams that is... uh... tomorrow.. and I totally studied for it hahaa.. ha... ... please wish me luck, I need it

ok, I'll shut up now, 再见

The End !