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Chapter:  INT  |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  9  |  10  |  11  |  12  |  13


 

C H A P T E R  4

M U S I C  &  O P E R A

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. - Aldous Huxley

 

Johann Sebastian Bach
German (1685-1750)


Bach was Musician of the Baroque era. He was a composer, organist, harpsichordist, pianist, violist, and violinist. His Well-Tempered Clavier consists of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys (1722). His system of tuning (well tempered tuning) and composing made it possible to play in all keys - without retuning the instrument.

Sarabande by Yo-Yo Ma

Bach Sarabande jazz guitar played by Renato Rozic


Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) Italian Baroque / Classical composer. He wrote 555 keyboard sonatas. Click the picture to listen.


 

Harpisichord

Harpsichords produce sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed. It was widely used in Renaissance and Baroque era, and fell out of favor when the piano was invented. Click the picture to listen.
 

Bartolomeo Cristofori di Francesco
Italian (1655-1731)

He was the inventor of the piano. The instrument was originally called the pianoforte - or loud soft instrument.
 

 

 

Ludwig van Beethoven
German (1770-1827)
 

Beethoven was the inventor of romantic music. This music put an emphasis on emotions over reason. He was completely deaf when he composed his 9th symphony. Click the picture, and listen.

 



1726 Stradivari played by Niccolò Paganini
 

Niccolò Paganini
Italian (1782-1840)


Niccolò Paganini was a violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He is one of the greatest violinist of all times. Click the picture, and listen to his Caprice No. 24 in A minor, Op. 1.
 

Franz Liszt
Hungarian  (1859-1865)


 Regarded as the greatest pianist that ever lived.
 

Adam Gyorgy plays Liszt Gnomenreigen
 

 

 

Clara Wieck - Schumann

Robert Schumann
German  (1810-1856)
 

Schumann was a  pianist, composer, music critic, and lawyer. He is one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era.

He started as a concert pianist, and was disturbed by his inability to play a piece by Franz Liszt. His hands didn't have the reach, so he constructed a device to stretch his hands. This resulted in an injury that left him crippled. He turned to composition, and his wife Clara assisted him in performing his music. She was one of the greatest pianists of he time.

Frédéric Chopin
Polish (1810-1849)

Chopin was one of the greatest composers of romantic piano music. Click the picture to listen.

Maurice Ravel
French (1875-1937)

Ravel was a French pianist and composer. He and Debussy invented impressionist music. Click the picture to listen.

 

Claude Debussy
French (1862-1918)


Debussy was a pianist and composer. He, and Maurice Ravel, created impressionist music. Click the picture to listen.

 

Scott Joplin
 
American (1867–1917)


Inventor of ragtime music.

 

 

 

 

ELEMENTS OF MUSIC   |   NOTES


4 ways sound affects us

 

 

TAKE A MASTER CLASS WITH JAMES CONLON:

James Conlon on Music, Plato, and Aristotle (1)

James Conlon on Tradition / Innovation (6)

 

 

 

FORMS OF MUSIC (p 120)

 

 

A CAPELLA:


A cappella is unaccompanied vocal music. It can be sung solo, or it can be sung in a group.

Leann Rimes - Amazing Grace

 

 

MASS: 

A choral (Vocal) work with 6 parts. Each part relates to a section of a church mass: I Kyrie, II Gloria, III Credo, IV Sanctus, V Benedictus, and VI Agnus Dei.

Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor- Kyrie
Antonio Vivaldi - Gloria Rv 589 "Et in terra pax"

 

CANTATA: 
A Cantata is baroque music. It's usually a choral work - with one or more soloists and instrumental ensemble. It has several movements, and served as a mass. See P 120

Halo 3: Cantata #147 by J. S. Bach



ORATORIO:

Large baroque work with chorus, symphony, and vocal soloists.  
 

John Debney - The Passion Of the Christ Oratorio

 

TOCCATA:
The toccata emphasizes the dexterity of a virtuoso performer. It's fast and lightly fingered.

 

Toccata & Fugue in d minor by Johann Sebastian Bach

 


FUGUE:
 

A fugue starts with a single melody - the main theme. Then the theme is woven throughout different overlapping melodic lines; this is called polyphony and counterpoint - a type of texture.

Polyphonic also refers to instruments that can play more than one note at a time. Monophonic refers to instruments that can only play one note at a time. The Minimoog and ARP 2600 were both monophonic analog electronic instruments - see above. Monophony also refers to a single melody without accompaniment. This is also a type of texture. See elements of music.

 

Homophonic texture occurs when chords (harmony) accompany a single melody.


J. S. Bach's The Art of Fugue - Glenn Gould

Bach's "Little" Fugue in G minor

Bach's Wedge Fugue BWV 548 in E Minor - Zacharias Hildebrandt

Bach Fugue BWV 891 - Glenn Gould


 

SONATA:

The sonata form has three sections. The exposition is where themes and ideas are introduced. The development section develops these ideas, and the recapitulation restates the exposition, and minor changes are made.

Horowitz - Scarlatti Sonata L33

Martha Argerich - Scarlatti, Sonata k. 141

Ludwig Van Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata - André Watts


 

SYMPHONY:

A 30-minute orchestral work. Open
ing movement is in the sonata form. See Sonata above.

Toscanini - Beethoven Symphony No. 9

 


Igor Stravinsky - The Rite of Spring

The Rite of Spring (1912) is a ballet with music by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It's about a pagan ritual where a girl dances herself to death.

The music is one of the most innovative and influential in history because it was the first to use dissonance. Leonard Bernstein said, “... it’s never been topped for sophisticated handling of primitive rhythms…”, and “… it’s also got the best dissonances anyone ever thought up." For these reasons it caused a riot at its 1913 Paris premier.

 

Radiolab:

What is music? How does it work?

Musical Language

Hear EMI's compositions

Pop Music

Why do some songs mercilessly stick in our heads?

 

 

CONCERTO: 

A concerto features an instrument soloist - with an orchestra . There are three movements: fast, slow, and fast. It lasts for about 30 minutes.

 

Vladimir Horowitz plays Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto #3
Part 1
  |  Part 2  |  Part 3


 

ETUDE: 

An etude is a musical composition of technical difficulty. The purpose of an etude is to perfect some technical skill at the instrument.

 

Valentina Lisitsa plays Rachmaninoff Etude Op. 39 No. 6
(Little Red Riding Hood)

Nobuyuki Tsujii plays Chopin Etudes

Andre Watts plays Liszt - Paganini Etudes Nos. 3

Andre Watts plays Chopin Etude op.25 no.1 & "Revolutionary" Etude

Alexei Sultanov plays Scriabin Etude D#

Andrei Gavrilov plays Chopin Etude B minor, op 25 No 10.


 

NOCTURNE:

A nocturne is music that is to be played at night, or the music is reminiscent of nighttime.


Chopin Nocturne in C Minor by Valentina Igoshina

Martina Filjak plays Scriabin Nocturne for left hand, Op 9 No2


 

 

ELECTRONIC MUSIC:

 

Musique Concrète:

Musique Concrète (French for real music) began in the late 1940s with Pierre Schaeffer. This is the beginning of electronic music. It  uses manipulated recordings.


Delia Derbyshire | Dr Who Theme | Documentary

Click the picture below, and to try it:

 

SYNTHESIZERS

 



Arturia - Moog Modular V
 

 

 

  MINIMOOG
 

   ARP 2600


 
Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene

  Tangerine Dream
 


Virtual Instruments:


A virtual instrument, also known as a softsynth or software synthesizer, is a computer program for digital audio generation. Computer software which can create sounds or music is not new, but advances in processing speed are allowing softsynths to accomplish the same tasks as dedicated hardware. Softsynths can be cheaper and more portable than dedicated hardware, and easier to interface with other music software such as sequencers and recording studios.

The great analog synthesizers of the past have been converted into powerful software - virtual music instruments. They have the same flexibility, sound, and controls as the original synthesizers. Learn more at:  
www.arturia.com

The Minimoog:

The Minimoog is a monophonic analog synthesizer - invented by Bill Hemsath and Robert Moog. It was released in 1971 by the original Moog Music, and it was among the first widely available, portable, and relatively affordable synthesizers. It is often referred to as the Stradivarius or analog synthesizers because it has a unique fat warm sound. To this day nobody know the secret of its sound.

 

The PlayStation:

You create music using your PlayStation - or other game system. Software to use is the MTV Music Station. It turns your PlayStation into an amazing 24 track recording studio. You can purchase the software used for $5 - $10.00.

 

Nintendo DS:

You can also create amazing music using your Nintendo DS

Live performance (Electroplankton + KORG DS-10)

 

 

FLAMENCO:

 

Paco de Lucia - Entre dos aguas

Jason McGuire - El Rubio

Barcelona

 

 

FUSION JAZZ:

Crossroads 2007 - John McLaughlin

 

Jean-Luc Ponty - Mirage  |  Cosmic Messenger  

 Jean-Luc Ponty violin, Allan Zavod keyboards, Jamie Glaser guitar, Rayford Griffin drums, Keith Jones on bass

 

KLAZZ Brothers amp Cuba Percussion Summertime

 

 

FREE JAZZ:

 

MILES DAVES:

Miles Davis Story | Bitches Brew  | Coltrane - So What

 

 BEN NEILL
Outlands  |  Vimeo  |  http://www.benneill.com
 

 


 

 

ELEMENTS OF MUSIC (P121)

 

Elements of Music Presentation

 

The Sense of Hearing

 

Ben Underwood Can See with Sound.  

 

 

 

 PITCH

Pitch, or tone, is measured in vibrations per second. Low pitches are slow frequencies, and they require larger instruments. Keyboard picture p122. Blue Man Group
 

From the bottom lowest pitch / frequency to the highest top pitch.

 

Synesthesia is a neurological condition. The stimulation of one sense perception leads to an involuntary experience in a second sense perception. People who have synesthesia might see sounds, letters, and numbers as having specific colors. Even days of the week can be associated with color as in Mondays are blue.
 

SYNESTHESIA

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9


Scriabin's Keyboard

 

Induced Synesthesia
 

Castrato is a male singer with an unusually high voice. The high  register was produced by castration before the age of puberty. Some castrati are the natural result of not reaching sexual maturity.


 

Farinelli Il Castrato

VITAS -
Ave Maria  | Lucia Di Lammermoorr (il dolce suono)
Klaus Nomi - The Cold Song

 

DYNAMICS & VOLUME

The size of sound waves determine the volume.

 

 

TIMBRE / COLOR

 

Timbre is what distinguishes one sound from another. You know your friend's voice because it has a distinct timbre. Each instrument has its own distinct sound.  

 

The picture to the right demonstrates the oscillation of a spring. Each type of wave form has a unique timbre.

  Learn How to Make a Rubens Tube

  REACT TABLE
 

 

The picture below shows what the different sound waves look like. They are: sine, pulse, triangle, and saw-tooth. Each has a unique timbre. By mixing them together, synthesizers can create complex warm sounding timbres.

 

oScope for iPhone

Oscilloscope - Bach prelude

 

 

Examples:

 

Listen to these performances of Dominic Miller and Pat Metheny - Shape of My Heart. Each guitar has a different timbre.

 

Listen to these performances of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat by Chares Mingus. Each solo instrument has a different timbre - or sound quality.

 

Jeff Beck - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

Jonas Hellborg and John McLaughlin - Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

Antonis Andreou, Trombone

Dave Holland - Good By Porkpie Hat

 

 

 

d. Duration
Length of notes or silences. See chart p124.


John Cage - 4'33"

 John Cage - About Silence

 

RHYTHM:

a. BEAT -

b. METERCluster of beats with accents.

- Double Meter2 beats to measure: 12 12 12

- Triple Meter3 beats to measure: 12 3 12 3 12 3

- Quadruple Meter - 4 beats to measure: 12 3 4 12 3 4 
   or  weaker second accent

- Syncopation Accent on unusual beats. (See p 124-145)

 

c. TEMPOSpeed.     = 60  means 60 quarter notes per minute. See chart p125 allegro etc.
 


 

The first two measures of Mozart's Sonata K. 331 indicates that the tempo is Andante grazioso. The modern metronome marking is " = 120".

 

MELODYMelody is the part of music you sing. It's a succession of notes. In conjunct melodies the notes are close together. Disjunct melodies have notes that are 2 or more steps apart.

 

Example: Mozart Variations in C, K.265 (300e) played by Steven Lubin. Played on a piano forte.

 

Mozart's music can sound like ragtime because Scott Joplin was inspired by his music. Listen:
 

Adam Fulara - Mapple Leaf Rag - By Scott Joplin

 

 

HARMONY2 or more simultaneous notes. 2 is an interval. 3 or more is a chord. Consonant intervals, or chords, are pleasing sounding while dissonant sounds are not pleasing.   

 

TEXTURE & SONORITY Large intervals are an open or thin texture. Smaller intervals are a closed, tight, or thick texture.

 

a. Monophony is a single line. There can be many of the same notes.

    This is not to be confused with monophonic instruments.

b. Polyphony is two or more melodies (counterpoint).

    This is not to be confused with polyphonic instruments.

c. Homophonic occurs when chords accompany one melody.

 

TONALITY - The C Major Scale consists of all white keys from C to C.

The A Minor Scale consists of all white keys from A to A. (See slides.)

Equal Temperament and the Well Tempered Clavier by Bach

 

Pentatonic Scale - A pentatonic scale uses five notes per octave.  Penta is Greek for five. Playing only the black notes of a keyboard is a pentatonic scale. A pentatonic scale starting on C is: C, D, E, G, A. The notes always sound good when played together.
 


 


 

 

OTHER IMPORTANT CONCEPTS

 

CONTRAST:

 

JS Bach - 2 Part Invention #8 in F Major

 

 

 

 

OPERA

 

 

 

Andrea Bocelli was the first to perform Con te Partiro. The music was written by Francesco Sartori, and the lyrics are by Lucio Quarantotto.
 

Nessun Dorma

 

 "O Sole Mio" The Three Tenors: The Spanish Tenor Plácido Domingo, the Spanish / Mexican Tenor José Carreras, and the Italian Tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

 

 

GRAND OPERA (serious, tragic, and heroic):
 

Rossini - Wilhelm Tell

 

Guillaume Tell (Wilhelm Tell) by Gioachino Rossini is an example of grand opera. It was Rossini last opera although he lived forty years longer. The work glorifies revolution and civil disobedience. For this reason it was censored in Italy. Performances have been given in both French and Italian. 
 

 

OPERA COMIQUE:
 

Opéra comique is a French genre of opera. It contains spoken dialogue, and recitatives (Sung Dialogue). It is, despite its name, not necessarily comic or light in nature. Bizet's Carmen, likely the most famous opéra comique, is a tragedy. It's sometimes confused with the Italian opera buffa (opéra bouffon). Carmen started as opera comique, and was later made into grand opera.

 

CARMEN:

Maria Ewing plays Carmen, and Barry McCauley is Don Jose. The London Philharmonic is conducted by Bernard Haitink.
 

Characters:
Carmen: she works at a cigarette factory. Controversy: first time a woman was portrayed smoking. She has no morals.
 

Don Jose: A soldier, falls in love with Carmen, and goes awal (Absent Without Authorized Leave). In the end he kills her at the bull ring.
 

Escomillo: A brave heroic bullfighter. Carmen leaves Don Jose for him.

 

Carmen the Final Scene - Migenes Domingo (Rosi Film)
 

 

Oedipus Rex Ozawa | 2 |- Julie Taymor Director

Oedipus Rex at Sito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto (1992 by Igor Stravinsky).
 


Julie Taymor (1952 - ) is an American director, actor, set designer, costume designer, and puppeteer. She has two Tony Awards, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, an Emmy Award, and an Academy Award nomination for Original Song.

 

 

 

OPERA BUFFA (comical):


 

Rossini's Barber of Seville
 

Final scene of Don Giovanni from Amadeus

Mozart entered the work into his catalogue as an "opera buffa" although the opera blends comedy, melodrama, and supernatural elements. Dramma giocoso is a term that denotes a mixing of serious and comic action.

 

Movie Amadeus - Scene Die Enfuhrung Aus Dem Serail

Shortly after Mozart arrived in Vienna, the emperor commissioned him to compose the opera: The Abduction From The Seraglio. The leading soprano was Salieri's mistress Caterina Cavalieri.

 

OPERETTA:
 

Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880)

Offenbach was a composer and cellist of the Romantic era. He was of the originators of the operetta form. Operetta is light hearted opera.

 

ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD

 

 


 

 

MUSIC APPRECIATION

 

Terry Riley • In C Remixed • CD Trailer
 

 

In C is the first minimalist musical composition. It inspired the music of Philip Glass, trance, techno, and scores of others. It was first performed in 1967 by an ensemble from the State University of New York at Buffalo.


It consists of 53 short numbered musical phrases - that are played in order, but they are repeated any number of times. Musician can play any phrase they want. A metronome like pulse is created by one musician playing repeated octaves of C. There is no set duration or number of musicians.


 

Sxip Shirey:
Pandora | TED | Blood of the Blood | Bowls with Red Marbles

 

KEITH JARRETT:

Sun Bear Concerts Piano Solo Tokyo Encores
Koln Concert | Radiance  | Paris Concert


 

BOBBY MCFERRIN:

Improvisation with Richard Bona 

Richard Bona - Dina Lam


 

JILL SCOTT:

A Long Walk  |  Hate On Me

The Fact Is  |  Summertime 


 

Zoe Keating -  The Legions | Tetrishead | Escape Artist

 

 

KOMUSO - PRIEST OF NOTHINGNESS:

Playing Shakuhachi Flute

 

MIYATA KOHACHIRO:

Honshirabe  (Japanese Shakuhachi Flute with Kimono patterns)

 


JOHN MAYER:
Daughters  | 
Gravity  |  Belief

 

CARLOS SANTANA:

Oye Como Va | Smooth

Corazón Espinado | Woodstock 1969

John Lee Hooker:
The Healer HQ | Chill Out

 

 

ART BLAKEY
Dat Dere

 

JEFF BECK:

Nadia  |  Cause We've Ended as Lovers

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat |

 

Mahavishnu Orchestra:

Lotus Feet Acoustic  |  Lotus Feet Electronic

 

Flamenco Guitar Barcelona 

Al Di Meola - Libertango

 Beatbox

 

Gipsy Kings - Bamboleo

 

PNiccolo Paganini - Caprice XVI
Performed by Alexander Markov
Niccolo Paganini - Documentary

 

RAVEL - IMPRESSIONISTIC MUSIC

 

Maurice Ravel (1875 – 1937) was a French composer and pianist of Impressionist music. Ravel's piano compositions, such as Jeux d'eau, Miroirs, and Gaspard de la Nuit, demand considerable virtuosity from the performer.

 Ravel - Jeux d'eau, Martha Argerich,

 

 

Raul Midon - State Of Mind @ Jools Holland

 

Ornette Coleman (1930 -  ) is an American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter, and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s.

His album Sound Grammar received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for music.


 

ELECTRONIC MUSIC:
 

Futura

Menace Ultimo
Booster
Alpha Dub

 

Dominic Miller-Adagio in G Minor-Albinoni
 

Goldberg Variation No. 1 - Adam Fulara

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbZe45eicDE
 

BWV 848 - J.S. Bach - by Adam Fulara
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTD2mwwlPqc&feature=related
 

Adam Fulara-BWV_847
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E0hK8HwhLI
 

 

Bach - Cello Suite No.1 i-Prelude - Mischa Maisky

 

Jaco Pastorius Solo

 

Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea - prepared piano
 

Bobby McFerrin - Thinkin' About Your Body

Air by Bach, Bobby Mcferrin

Bobby McFerrin vocal with Ferenc Snétberger guitar

 

 Allan Holdsworth

 

Joe Satriani Live - Flying In A Blue Dream

 

 

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