1. The 'Walking Theme', however it is different here because it is not the centre of focus, but rather is played quietly on the oboe (pp) and the violins (p).
2. It involves a similar rhythm- the four semiquavers and two quavers (as in bar 90) is the same as the motif in bar 7, also the pattern of these, with the last note being a relatively large interval gap above the others, is similar in both cases (although the gap is a 5th in bar 89, and a 4th in bar 7).
3. The texture suddenly goes right down, so that none of the woodwind plays, and only the lower half of the strings play. This emphasises the melody.
4. It is played only by the viola, cello and horns in a low register, creating the feel of it being a mere memory. It ends in F minor however, creating tension.
5. "Second walking theme". It is similar to the bass clarinet at bar 70 and ?
6. Call-and-response between the clarinets and violins,
playing in unison (e.g flutes and oboes bar 126),
chromaticism (e.g. clarinets bar 125),
pedal note throughout in the cello part (bars 125-131),
walking bass in the double bass part (bars 125-)
imitation (e.g clarinets bars 125-128)
ostinato in 3rd and 4th horn parts (bars 132-135)
stretto of the taxi horns and the previous rhythm (found in e.g. bar 129)
7. It is played as a triad of B, with three of the four tubas.
8. It is in a different key (Bb) and now has a much broader texture behind it, with the instruments all playing loudly (either mf or f), increasing the impact of this.
9. The texture is dramatically reduced (to just the 1st & 2nd flutes, bassoons, 2nd violin, and the viola) for bars 166-169, then the clarinets, first violin and cello come in at bar 170, then the oboes, english horn and 1st and 2nd trumpets come in at bar 172, and finally the 1st and 2nd horns at bar 173. This very small texture to begin with, followed by a gradual build in texture creates an easy, calm feel. The fact that all the instruments play pianissimo and also dolce (for the most part) adds to this effect. Also the sudden tempo change (to molto menno mosso- very much less movement) means that we are put into a much calmer state.
10. The imitation- it acts like many voices talking at once, creating a commotion.
11. They are playing a melody very reminiscent of the first walking theme, although simply using the first bar of it and then repeating that in a different key, to transition to B.
12. Augmentation
13. Literally 'With fire', this is created by the ff dynamic and short rhythmic lengths (e.g. semiquavers, which predominate the melodies).
Thursday 18 December 2014
Wednesday 17 December 2014
Gershwin 'An American in Paris' Questions #1
1. Strong 2 beats of the bar, creating a strong feel of the 2 feet marching. Also, a slight lilt to the rhythm, created by varied note lengths and articulations, creating the feeling of an uneven, natural walk.
2. Imitate the violins from a bar earlier, in unison. The notes lead to the 3rd Trombone and Tuba note in the next bar.
3. 11 bars- the cadence is interrupted
4. Repetition of the walking theme, except the second violin has a melody in bars 12-15. This part ends with a shift to F minor, the parallel minor key.
5. "Dodging taxis", material in flute parts has come from the violin parts at the beginning, and semiquavers (e.g. in violins) has come from their part at the beginning of the piece, except that now it is repeated without rests, creating a slightly altered rhythm.
6. The taxi-horn is a very striking feature, as is the dramatic change in note durations (from predominating semiquavers to quavers and crotchets), that create a sort of hemiola feel. I would call this the "Taxi" theme.
7. The rhythm of the flutes and bells/xylophone is the same as we have heard before in the horns and violins (figure 3).
8. The taxi horn that is played has a different pitch to the first, and after it plays, the semiquaver sequencing that follows is different from the semiquaver movement before it in this way (that it is more sequential than the last, in rhythm and in pitch), and the two flutes play different things, as well as all the instruments having much shorter note durations, creating a faster harmonic rhythm. Also, the taxi horns now (bars 40-43) have their rhythm repeated, as they have a short call-and-responsorial dialogue.
9. The piece gets faster here (Vivo, meaning lively). This boosts the tension here and creates the feel of increased franticness, perhaps as the protagonist dodges cars. Also the use of rests increases the liveliness of the music, with the 'um cha um cha' pattern. The use of staccato increases the impact of this technique. Finally the use of chromaticism develops tension here, as it is used in most of the parts.
2. Imitate the violins from a bar earlier, in unison. The notes lead to the 3rd Trombone and Tuba note in the next bar.
3. 11 bars- the cadence is interrupted
4. Repetition of the walking theme, except the second violin has a melody in bars 12-15. This part ends with a shift to F minor, the parallel minor key.
5. "Dodging taxis", material in flute parts has come from the violin parts at the beginning, and semiquavers (e.g. in violins) has come from their part at the beginning of the piece, except that now it is repeated without rests, creating a slightly altered rhythm.
6. The taxi-horn is a very striking feature, as is the dramatic change in note durations (from predominating semiquavers to quavers and crotchets), that create a sort of hemiola feel. I would call this the "Taxi" theme.
7. The rhythm of the flutes and bells/xylophone is the same as we have heard before in the horns and violins (figure 3).
8. The taxi horn that is played has a different pitch to the first, and after it plays, the semiquaver sequencing that follows is different from the semiquaver movement before it in this way (that it is more sequential than the last, in rhythm and in pitch), and the two flutes play different things, as well as all the instruments having much shorter note durations, creating a faster harmonic rhythm. Also, the taxi horns now (bars 40-43) have their rhythm repeated, as they have a short call-and-responsorial dialogue.
9. The piece gets faster here (Vivo, meaning lively). This boosts the tension here and creates the feel of increased franticness, perhaps as the protagonist dodges cars. Also the use of rests increases the liveliness of the music, with the 'um cha um cha' pattern. The use of staccato increases the impact of this technique. Finally the use of chromaticism develops tension here, as it is used in most of the parts.
Monday 1 December 2014
Structure in an American in Paris
The piece 'An American in Paris' is broadly divided into two aspects: the Paris of the daytime, where the protagonist is happily marching down the Champs-Elysees, or around the city's cafes. Then there is the night-time Paris, full of smokey jazz clubs (we hear a melody reminiscent of the Blues being played throughout).
There is a lot of repetition throughout the work, in particular the main melodies, like the walking theme (that we hear first in the very beginning), the taxi-cab theme (played by the horns in figure 3), the can-can theme (figure 11), walking theme 2 (figure 13), and the night-time Blues theme (figure 48). These melodies are often repeated in other instruments, so that their timbres are changed, thus the impacts of the melodies are enhanced. This reinforces the overall idea of the two main aspects in the piece.
The aforementioned melodies fit into the two categories I talked about earlier, with the majority fitting into the daytime aspect of Paris. It is as though the protagonist sees the daytime Paris regularly during his stay, and only rarely gets to experience the night-time goings on, which are far more exotic and enthralling.
The melody for the night-time is reminiscent of typical American Blues, showing that perhaps the protagonist is projecting his Americanised views onto the Parisian night.
Gershwin does not finish his masterpiece, however, without bringing back every theme for a final, somewhat nostalgic farewell, as though the protagonist is finally saying goodbye to every part of Paris that he has been to before he leaves. This last part of the piece is, however, far more excited, and we finally get some soaring melodies, as though to suggest that the airplane is departing. Gershwin leaves us with the night-time melody ringing in our ears before his final, incredibly grand, cadence, as if to say "Remember the excitement held in the depths of Paris!"
There is a lot of repetition throughout the work, in particular the main melodies, like the walking theme (that we hear first in the very beginning), the taxi-cab theme (played by the horns in figure 3), the can-can theme (figure 11), walking theme 2 (figure 13), and the night-time Blues theme (figure 48). These melodies are often repeated in other instruments, so that their timbres are changed, thus the impacts of the melodies are enhanced. This reinforces the overall idea of the two main aspects in the piece.
The aforementioned melodies fit into the two categories I talked about earlier, with the majority fitting into the daytime aspect of Paris. It is as though the protagonist sees the daytime Paris regularly during his stay, and only rarely gets to experience the night-time goings on, which are far more exotic and enthralling.
The melody for the night-time is reminiscent of typical American Blues, showing that perhaps the protagonist is projecting his Americanised views onto the Parisian night.
Gershwin does not finish his masterpiece, however, without bringing back every theme for a final, somewhat nostalgic farewell, as though the protagonist is finally saying goodbye to every part of Paris that he has been to before he leaves. This last part of the piece is, however, far more excited, and we finally get some soaring melodies, as though to suggest that the airplane is departing. Gershwin leaves us with the night-time melody ringing in our ears before his final, incredibly grand, cadence, as if to say "Remember the excitement held in the depths of Paris!"
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