Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no. 4 1st mvmt.

First 3 minutes only.

• Romantic - emotive (rubato and extensive use of dynamics from ff to pp)
• In 4/4
• Major tonality
• For full orchestra with piano solo

Melody

Structure

Rhythm

Melody

• First chord on piano part is given by trumpets one bar earlier at [0:20]
• Chordal piano part, ascending contour to [0:28]
• Interval of a 3rd in piano part at [0:28] alters the previously conjunct chord progression, leading into the (mostly) descending contour until [0:46]
• At [0:55] there is a repeat of the first part of the first section ([0:00]-[0:28])
• At [1:00] there is a modally altered version of [0:30]-[0:46] and the key goes to the relative minor at [1:05].
• At [1:26] the woodwind instruments (an oboe, then a clarinet) interject the piano with scalic melodies, the oboe's being a slow, descending melody and the clarinet's being fast, ascending melodies
• At [1:37] a flute also has a countermelody.

Structure

• Orchestral introduction [0:15]-[0:22], ascending contour to lead into the piano entrance
• Piano solo at [2:30]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcTNMC78oxY

Japanese Folk music- 'Sakura'

This piece begins with two solo stringed instruments being plucked simultaneously to create both monophony and homophony in the piece. They are accompanied by other plucked stringed instruments from 0:13. The piece seems to be minor throughout. We know that traditional Japanese music is often microtonal, however this piece seems to use the semitonality of Western music, which could demonstrate the Western influence on Japanese culture.

Melody

• Mostly conjunct- coherent
• A lot of use of quavers and semiquavers, creating excitement and tension along with the minor tonality
• Some sustained notes underneath main melody as a drone or pedal note, to create harmony with the instruments individually
• Some chords at beginnings of cells to give strong sense of beat- shows influence of Western culture
• Seems to be in 4/4 or 2/2 or both- "
• Some glissandi and broken chords
• Piece finishes with the tonic note played by all as one minim to give a sense of finality

Rhythm

• Mostly short rhythmic values, and very little syncopation
• Little use of 'space'/rests. 'Space'/rests are normally used a lot in Japanese music.
• Some off-beat notes at 2:05 for example

Texture

• Polyphonic in the second half of the piece
• Monophonic until 1:40, and then texture builds to polyphony by 2:45

Structure

• Quite simple, binary form - AB (homophonic and quite slow, then polyphonic and faster (2:45-))
• Doesn't seem to have motifs, as no part of the melody repeats

Listening in which I first write about who I think the composer is, then look to see (without altering my initial work)

Context

• Sounds as though it is from the Romantic period, due to its incredible dynamic range at the beginning- the voices enter at ff, and after a few seconds go to p. This exchange between the two dynamics runs throughout the piece.
• This use of what is essentially terraced dynamics could also indicate the Baroque period.
• However might be neo-Classicism, due to the Latin lyrics, which were used in the Classical period, as it was looking back to the ancient Greeks and Romans.

The piece is O Fortuna by Carl Orff. I will look at the first 2 minutes and 54 seconds of it.

Rhythm

• From 0:00 to 0:16 entirely crotchets and minims with both voices and instruments, creating drama and tension from the start.
• From 0:18 to 0:25 quavers are introduced, broadening the range of rhythmic values used and thus creating development in the piece, which adds to the tension, as well as the fact that the harmonic rhythm has increased too as a result of the quavers being added. The long fermata at the end of this phrase indicates the introduction of a new phrase.
• At 0:29 there are crotchets once again in the voices, as a reference to the initial phrase of the piece, with the bassoon and strings playing quavers as a tonic-dominant bass. This emphasises the key of the piece. This rhythmic motif continues for a majority of the piece.
• At 2:44, more of the instruments begin playing the quaver motif, further developing the music.

Melody/Harmony

• First melody enters at 0:05, very simple in pitches used- super tonic, mediant, tonic. This is played twice. At 0:18 the melody jumps to the dominant, in a sort of imperfect cadence, which assures the listener of the key. This melody fully cadences at 0:27 with a fermata on the super tonic, creating tension with the elongated suspension that remains unresolved until 0:30, when there is only a mediant used, however this is less tense.
• The melody beginning at 0:30 is centred around the mediant and super tonic notes, which is very tense and remains unresolved until 0:57, yet even then the melody repeats, so we have the tension once more.

Mahler Section B Analysis

This piece sounds as though it is from the Romantic period, as it does not appear to have such an extensive harmonic range and as much dissonance as the music of the 20th century. However it is quite emotional (due to its extensive use of legato playing, and later the rubato used in the B section), and for all its (arguably) rhythmic simplicity. The piece would be played in a concert hall normally, due to the fact that it is from a symphony (the 1st), and thus requires a lot of space for the large ensemble (a full orchestra).
The piece begins with timpani drums playing a steady pulse on the tonic and dominant notes (crotchets). This introduces the minor key. After two four-beat bars (as the piece seems to be in 4/4), a solo cello enters with a simple conjunct melody that resembles a minor version of the popular tune 'Frere Jaques'. This melody lasts for six bars, and at [0:32] a bassoon enters in direct imitation, creating a canon. At [0:53] another low pitched instrument comes in, again directly imitating the original melody, creating a three-part canon. This only lasts for four bars this time, before an oboe comes in at []. The oboe's melody is much more lively than the canon beneath it, as it consists of much shorter rhythmic values, namely quavers and dotted quavers tied to semiquavers, which refers to the countermelody (the Frere Jaques theme), although it is more disjunct, for example at [1:16] there is the interval of a perfect fourth, in a perfect cadence consisting of acciaccaturas, and at [1:12] there is the interval of a perfect fifth, played as two quavers. At [1:22] a flute enters, in direct imitation of the Frere Jaques theme, which returns the piece to the A section and gives cohesion to the piece.
The piece has two clearly distinctive sections, the A section being the Frere Jaques theme with all its canonical texturing, and the B section beginning at [2:20], which is a sultry melody introduced by the oboes, when they play a three-beat anacrusis (an ascending, conjunct, scalic pattern) that leads into a swung, almost jazzy melody that lasts for the rest of the extract. This greatly contrasts with the steady first section, as it is so syncopated and rubato is used frequently here. However one major thing the two sections have in common is that the first beat of every bar is the strongest, which creates a strong feel of the four beats in a bar, another implication that the piece is from the Romantic period (the fact that the time signature deeply manifests itself into the piece). The phrase length here seems to be two bars, then another two bars, because of the way the countermelody is used (by another oboe), as it plays half way through the second bar (at [2:24]) in a sort of response to the first oboes.
Texture throughout the extract is generally polyphonic, as we get a canon in section A that is accompanied by the timpani drums until [1:08], when the oboe comes in with its melody. At [1:23] the oboe blends into the canon by playing more quietly and also because it takes on the canon melody. At [1:44] the oboe returns with the same melody as before, which brings the material back in order to give some cohesion before this section ends. At [1:58] the oboe stops, and we just hear the canon, accompanied by the timpani and with some of the instruments now static, playing only the tonic note, which creates a more monophonic texture to ease off the tension of the section before bringing it to a close at [2:20]. The B section has a much simpler texture, which is another contrast with the A section, because it is predominantly just melody and countermelody played by the oboes, with the pulse maintained by the timpani drums (or perhaps that is the sound of strings playing pizzicato).

Bela Bartok - Romanian Folk Dances

Bartok was a 20th century composer who collected Folk music from around Hungary, his home country. He used this folk music as influence to much of his work, and we can hear this in this piece. One way in which we can hear this influence is in the lively, charismatic mood of the movements. Even in the third movement, which is much slower and quieter, we still hear a strong accompaniment that is comprised of intervals of a 5th and the occasional augmented fourth (D and G#, for example). The interval of a fifth is considered the strongest interval in music, and dates back to medieval organum (for the Western Classical tradition). We get a very similar thing in the next movement, whereby it is another slow, quiet movement, but the accompaniment is comprised of strong intervals (major 6ths, minor 6ths, and many perfect 4ths). The fifth movement is lively again, with more chordal perfect 4ths and major and minor 6ths in the accompanying part. The final movement also has a chordal accompaniment, with yet more perfect fourths and some perfect fifths. The piece ends with a chord of a perfect fifth in the melody and octave C#s in the accompaniment- the tonic note. We can see therefore that Bartok uses chordal accompaniment for all the movements of this piece, which gives a bold character to them, a feature that is very much in line with the tradition of Hungarian folk music.

Video

'Masterpiece'- Information on the musical periods through an analysis of this piece

Features of the Renaissance Period

• Mass/Motet + Secular songs
• Lute songs
• Modal
• Polyphonic textures
• Decorated suspensions

Features of the Baroque Period

• Fugal
• Melismatic melodies
• Beginning of diatonic harmony
• Imitation
• Conter-melodies
• Stretto
• Augmentation/diminution
• Pedal notes
• Decorated suspensions
• Fanfares
• Homophonic/polyphonic textures
• Terraced dynamics

Features of the Classical Period

• Appoggiatura
• Alberti bass
• Regular/periodic phrasing
• Conjunct/stepwise melodies
• Melody dominated homophony
• Chromaticism
• Contrasts
• Dotted rhythms
• Tonality
• Emergence of rubato
• Expressive melodies
• Huge dynamic contrasts
• Accents

Features of the Romantic Period

• Cantabile
• Triplet motion
• Hemiola effect
• Greater use of dissonance
• Waltz emerges

Features of the 20th Century

• Wagner- 'total art'- very dramatic, huge orchestra
• Modality returning
• Impressionism
• Use of the whole tone scale
• Parallel harmonies
• Influence of popular music on Classical music - crossover
• Experimental electronic music

Charpentier Section B Style Response Attempt #2

Charpentier was a French composer from the Baroque period. We know this because of the figured bass ("Basso"), played on the lute, that underpins the work. This was used a lot in the Baroque period. There is also the fact that the accompaniment of the piece is string-dominated, not only by the usual violins, but also includes the use of a lute. This prominence given to stringed instruments was introduced in the Baroque period. We can also hear the use of diatonic harmony (the piece is in F# minor, which is emphasised by the Basso playing an octave leap of two F#s in the very first bar, which it continues to do throughout the piece, for example in bars 5, 9 and 13, and also the fact that the violins' melodies land on A, the mediant note of the key, in bars 5 (1st violin) and 9 (2nd violin), which pulls to the tonic). This is probably a Motet, as it is religious (which we can hear in the Latin text, that refers a lot to 'dominum', the master), and it does not include the Mass text, so cannot be from a Mass. It also puts emphasis on the text as it is very syllabic, and so we can hear the words clearly, a common feature of a Motet.
In the opening part of the piece, we get strict imitation by the 2nd violin of the 1st violin. This creates a canon in these first 12 bars. If we look at the melody itself, it is comprised of 4 bars of sequencing, followed by 2 bars of conjunct quaver movement with a wave contour, then a bar where the tonal centre of the piece (F#) is emphasised, because the instrument plays only octave F#s. This is then followed by one bar consisting of the F#, which sustains the clear tonal centre, then a G that is the diminished supertonic of the key, and pulls into the perfect cadence that is comprised of the E# (the leading tone) and finally the F#, the tonic. At bar 13, the 1st violin plays another sequence that starts on A (the mediant note), and thus pulls down to the F# that we get in the third bar of the sequence (bar 15). This sequence is slightly syncopated by the violins (they put emphasis on and hold the quavers that fall on strong beats of the bar (2 and 3)), which is a stylistic feature of the Baroque period.

Timed Blog Post #2- Amsterdam Folk song ("Tulpen uit Amsterdam") Exactly 30 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-cl=85027636&v=85U-77_5lWk&x-yt-ts=1422503916 <- The piece I used.

This song is a folksong from Amsterdam, in The Netherlands. It therefore has been influenced by the Western folk traditions, which we can clearly hear in the piece, through its constant time signature (3/4), clear key signature, and clear structure (verse, chorus, verse, instrumental, verse).
The song begins with an instrument that sounds like a woodblock being hit in a perpetual semiquaver rhythm, as well as an oboe that plays the same rhythm. These two play on the mediant note for 6 semiquavers, then move down to the supertonic for 6 semiquavers, and finally resolve at the tonic note, where the oboe does a slide, descending and then ascending to lead into the accordion's melody. This is accompanied by the woodblocks being played in demisemiquavers, which increases the interest through its more interesting rhythm. At 0:03 the accordion comes in with sequantial descending arpeggios, whose lowest note gets higher with every arpeggio, to lead into the vocal part, by ending, just like the oboe before it, on the tonic. This creates a sense of coherence within this opening section. At 0:07 the voice comes in with an upbeat (or anacrusis) comprised of two crotchet beats. Its melody begins by descending a fifth, to the subdominant. Then at 0:15 it repeats this, but starting one note lower this time, and thus finishing on the mediant.

Timed Blog Post (exactly 30 mins)- Ravel Violin Sonata 1st Movement (First 3 minutes)

Ravel was a 20th century French Impressionist composer, and we can hear this in this piece. First of all, the extensive use of very varied, and sometimes very dissonant harmonies is reflective of the 20th century. The impressionistic style, created by the rich, emotional aspect of the piece, which is caused by the harmonies and varied dynamics, (from roughly pp to f), as well as the fact that it seems to be portraying something, perhaps a river or lake (popular topics for 20th century French Impressionist composers) and its extensive use of rhythm was also very commonly implemented by French composers of the time, and particularly Impressionist ones, such as Debussy or Faure.
The piece is in 3/4, and consists of a solo violin accompanied by a piano, who's part is so diverse and melodic that it is almost a counter-melody. At the beginning of the piece the piano has an introductory passage that begins on what sounds like the tonic, before it falls, with triplet motion, and at 0:06 plays a lilting, but stagnant few bars, before ascending at 0:11 into the violin's entry. At 0:14 the violin comes in with dissonance to the piano, that is slightly tense, because the piano had been so assonant and simple in its short melody. With this slight tension Ravel begins the piece, and we see that the rest of it is usually slightly tense in its harmonies, making this opening a foreshadowing to the Sonata.
The piano's octave quaver movement (0:14 onwards) provides a steady harmonic basis for the violin, and it sounds as though through the two, Ravel is depicting a body of water, with its rippling surface (the piano) and brightly coloured exotic fish (the violin) within. (The exoticness of the fish comes out through the weird harmonies, not 'normal' in our Western society, thus perhaps these fish are from another country).
The rhythm in the piece is generally comprised of quaver movement, until 1:08, when the violin recedes, and the piano has only crotchets. This continues for a few bars, giving rest to the music, as it has just had a climax at about 1:00 (following an ascending violin sequence comprised of crotchets, where the harmonic rhythm had been faster than usual).

Ravel- Le jardin Féerique

This piece is from Ravel's Mother Goose Suite, and is clearly a piece of Impressionism, due to the fact that it conjures the image of a quiet garden on a warm Summer's afternoon, through its use of the strings  being the predominant sound. The title also gives an indication that it is an Impressionist piece, because it tells us that the piece is about a garden full of fairies.
The piece begins with the strings playing long notes in what is almost homophony, but for the fact that the different instrument parts move at slightly different times. We can also hear lots of non-harmonic notes in this section, for example a suspension at 0:05 and a retardation at 0:25. This adds to the slightly tense, but still fairly mellow atmosphere that this beginning has. From about 0:28 to about 1:27, we get a very gradual crescendo, accompanied by the instruments' pitches getting higher and higher, which builds tension. At 1:18 the crescendo comes to a large, sustained, minor chord. This dies away and at 1:28 one of the violins has a solo, accompanied by just two vibraphones playing in parallel thirds in homophony, which gives the section a very light feel, especially as it is juxtaposed with the huge climax before it. This texture continues until 2:01, when more strings come in. At 2:27, a diminuendo brings the piece back to its usual calmness, as the strings recede by playing piano. At 2:51, a crescendo brings us into the penultimate section of the piece, where the strings play homophonically, as well as the bass clarinet (?), which maintains a steady crotchet-moving bass-line. This section's steady rhythm builds to 3:07, when bells come in with steady staccato quavers that underpin the other instruments here, giving this part a more dramatic feel, due to the denser texture and greater variety of articulation. Here the strings repeat the melody that they had previously, although at a slower tempo to indicate the end of the piece. The piece ends on a large tonic chord.


The piece