Connie Ju | [The Moldau] Smetana | Year 11 Music 2 Musicology Essay |
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Smetana’s Moldau is a musical portrayal of the main river which runs through the countryside of Bohemia (present day Czech Republic).
The piece begins with a sweet one bar theme that is played by two solo flutes, representing the trickle of a small creek. The soft melody played in piano and “lusingando”, which means to be played in a coaxing style, convey the delicate and smoothness of the water. The ascending semi-quavers accompanied with a slight crescendo at the beginning of the phrase as well as a two quaver rests at the end of the bar create a rippling effect, symbolising the slight waves of a stream. Furthermore, the lone plucked pizzicato quavers
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The polyphonic texture consists of two major layers and the randomly placed pizzicato chords which are a reminder of water’s unpredictable motions.
Bar 16 (flutes, clarinets, strings – polyphonic texture)
The two small rivers that make up the larger Moldau meets at bar 28 where the clarinets stop for a bar and the violas begin their melody. This short bar acts as a bridge, the connection where the bodies of water finally merge to create a great river. The bigger river in bar 29 is conveyed by the three different layers, flutes, clarinets, and violas. Continuous semi-quavers that rise and fall in pitch still represent the fluidity and continuity of the water but now the extra layer means that the river is wilder with bigger waves and other movements. Bar 28 (melodies played by flutes and strings) Bar 29-30 (flutes, clarinets, viola)
Bar 36 sees even more layers as the strings begin to play the flowing melody of the river. The start of the larger body of water is indicated by a strong perfect cadence by the lower strings (bar 36). At the widest point of the river, bar 40, the whole orchestra plays. All the instruments playing together expresses the notion that this is the climax of the river and it is wildest at this point. The wind instruments, however, play a slower melody of
Section one is introduced with a pedal solo which is used to maintain the rhythm of a ¾ pattern that is consistently present throughout the entire piece and initiates the ostinato theme. A significant part of section one can be distinguished in measure 33 where the melody of both hands shifts to the swell organ manual. Also, the melody switches again to the choir organ manual in measure 49.
This composition consists of three movements of which we will further examine movement II, Adagio Cantabile. This movement is placed in high contrast with the other two, particularly in tempo.
The author uses hyperboles to create a picture of his experience of coneing in the river. An example is when the storm is first approaching, the author is saying that the river is talking to him and telling him to be prepared. On lines 25 it says “ get ready, get ready”. This shows that the storm is “talking” to him and telling him to get ready for the storm. The author also uses personification
A slow universal crescendo is audible until bar 29, when the dynamic then holds at a fortississimo (fff) – ‘as loud as possible’. Tr.1 provides a rest from the constant dissonant chords in bars 40-42 before returning to the regular rhythmic figure. This opening successfully displays the unpredictable intensity and discomfort of war through is constant rising and falling in dynamics and unexpectedly changing texture. At the end of bar 67 (after B1), all instruments quickly crescendo to another fff, before moving directly into the next section (C1 – see figure 2.2). This presents a triumphant mood through the melody of the brass instruments moving strictly along the D major scale (making regular use of its’ tonic, octave tonic, subdominant and dominant notes), and the lack of minor harmonies and dissonant intervals so commonly used in A1 and B1. The segment slowly begins to incorporate these dissonant harmonies in canon, bringing about an eventual sense of dread as the dynamic builds to a gradual fortissimo (ff) crescendo. Following this crescendo, all instruments participate in an ff universal decrescendo, combining to create an irregular Am (not native to the tonic chord) on a lower register (predominantly A2).
The river represents the period between life and death. Another part of this symbol is the air representing life and under the rocks and waterfall representing death. Just as the transition from life to death is in motion, so is the rushing of the water. Both have a beginning and an ending point, but the part in the middle is constantly moving, swirling and churning. As the girl loses hope for survival and the waterfall is approaching, the narrator states, “[S]he becomes part of the river” (45). The girl now crosses over the borderline of life and death, and she is about to be swallowed up by the falls of death and can never return to life. However, when the diver goes into the river to save her, he comes out saying that “he’d never enter that river again” (47). He encounters the spiritual eccentricity of the edge of death when he looks into lifeless girl’s animated eyes, and he can not fathom that experience. Another symbol that is introduced twice is the gurgle of the aquarium, which symbolizes the attempt to understand nature’s cycle of life. As she floats downstream, the girl remembers “her sixth-grade science class, the gurgle of the aquarium at the back of the room”(45). During this moment, all of her thoughts are puzzled, and she cannot understand the death awaiting her. Later on, after sleepless nights, the diver is in the empty school where “the only sound the gurgle of the aquarium” (48). This moment is the point at which he decides
Antoine Watteau’s La Perspective (View through the Trees in the Park of Pierre Crozat) uses many elements of the Rococo style of painting to instill a sense of intimacy. In this painting, members of the elite society gather unceremoniously in a wooded clearing. The people make casual exchanges as they mingle in the park. Trees and foliage dominate a majority of the painting. A small white building can be seen in the background through a clearing in the trees. Watteau uses color, composition, setting, and pose in the painting to create intimacy.
How does the river function in the story? Is it a metaphor, a catalyst, or both? Is it a character?
Throughout the piece, the brass plays the theme in alteration with the timpani and tam-tam. Although the theme is simple, together they create a long musical idea. The overall dynamic of the brass grows throughout creating a sense of power especially when
Texture – The texture is homophonic throughout the whole of Section A. There are three layers of sound in the Section A. The first is the melody – played by the violins and trumpets. This is the layer of sound which is most prominent throughout A. The second is the timpani and viola part. This is the softest layer throughout the section. It provides harmony to the melody, using the notes of the D major chord. The last layer is the continuo bass It provides accompaniment and bass.
Two other important symbols are the moments of silence throughout the story, and the reoccurring usage of water. Each occurrence of silence in James Baldwin’s story is of great importance. In a tale centered around music, silence stands out more than noise. Once Sonny was confronted by Isabel and her family about his constant piano playing and stopped, “The silence of the next few days must have been louder than the sound of all the music ever played since time began” (Baldwin 351). To Sonny, this silence is deadly. He lives his life for music. The stillness marks the beginning of his downfall. During the narrator’s first flashback to childhood, he recalls a sense of dismal seriousness, “For a moment nobody’s talking, but every face looks darkening, like the sky outside” (Baldwin 344). Even a child can feel that there is some sort of inescapable impending pain that everyone knows about, yet no one wants to discuss. However, that is the exact subject that Sonny addresses in his music. Water
The writer compares his life to water on Rouge River that is heading towards dead end with unknown future. “And my reflection is dominated by water Coming to impasse, the teeter-totter Of decision” from the poem shows the seriousness and thought provoking idea i.e. contemplation probably related to meaning of life and what lies ahead. Moreover, “And plunging in we find a serene cavernous strength, And pressed to run its darkness at full length, We find our all”, reflects tone of believing in ourselves and the best we have in us. This means no matter the situation we can bring the best of us that is life. Tone of the poem helps writer to make the poem more appealing to the readers. It aids the poet to express his feeling more effectively and
In 1896 H. G. Wells had the first edition of ' The Island of Dr. Moreau'; published. The book took place primarily on an island in the Pacific Ocean. On this island Dr. Moreau and his assistant ( Montgomery) performed dangerous, secret experiments on humans and animals. When Wells wrote this he knew nothing about DNA, cloning, or chromosomes but he did use his scientific imagination. Wells realized that society was beginning to rely on science too much in the late nineteenth century. He wrote this book to issue a stern warning for future societies against their own scientific advancements. He knew that just like his society others will want to quench their appetite for this tasty treat called vivisection or cloning. He knew that
Michael Miller’s book, The Bon Marché: Bourgeois Culture and the Department Store, 1869-1920, is an expansive and interesting look back on a era of Parisian history that is best represented by its then-current trend and social innovation, the department store. The book gives a fascinating account of the store from its beginning to eventual common place status in 1914. The book gives an insight on the factors in which the store saw success, such as the management, the labor, and new marketing. It also gives light to the social factors that made the store possible (i.e education and economy).
The Island of Dr Moreau, by H.G. Wells, is not an ordinary science fiction novel. It doesn't deal with aliens or anything from outer space, but with biological science that exists on earth. The novel was about a character, Edmund Prendick that gets involved with an island of experimentation. At first glance, this tropical paradise seems idyllic. But deep in the jungles lies a terrifying secret. Moreau and Montgomery have been performing scientific research on human beings and the experiment goes terribly wrong. They have ignored the most fundamental law of the jungle: survival of the fittest. The doctor is seeking to make animals half human by means of vivisectional surgery; the transplantation of organs, and the pain involved is very
Just so you know before hand, the lyrics to the music came from the CD with trademark of Delta Music Inc. The movement opens agitatedly as the orchestra picks up fragments of one theme after another from the previous three movements, as if seeking a satisfactory vehicle for its expression; but each is discarded in turn. The first seven notes of the main theme to come are tentatively uttered, but it too is abandoned as the search continues. Once again the theme begins, this time in the woodwinds, but it soon breaks off. Finally, the theme emerges decisively in the basses for a subdued first statement. The second statement is calm, tranquil, confident, and the theme continues onward in the various voices of the orchestra, broad and flowing. The winds make a strong statement of the theme. The flow of the music abruptly halts--there are rapid shifts--great agitation, until the orchestra introduces the baritone singing the first three lines of the poem, rejecting the feverish discords of the previous passage, calling for a different music, whose nature is suggested by the strings beneath his voice: