The Nutcracker Suite Analyse

A composer depends entirely upon the nature of the film for all the clues needed to write a suitable score for a film. Brought into the production after a certain amount of film has been shot, the films concept will dictate how the composer will write the music. Whether based on the story line, or providing information by setting an atmospheric state, film music will always have different purposes between different films. Penguin Ballet by Nigel Westlake was composed to focuses upon the graceful, almost ballet like movements of the penguins underwater. Whereas, Writings on the wall by Sam Smith conveys ideas and messages which will be expressed throughout the film, especially through the use of lyrics. Although positioned within the film to provide contrasting messages, both these songs use similar musical elements to support the piece, and its position with the film. The discussion of this essay is that there are similarities between the musical elements that support the lyrics in a song and the action in a documentary. Through this, we will discuss the musical element’s of pitch, and timbre and texture.

During a later part of Scene Two when the cast is dancing the movements match the music, they appeared to be doing the Waltz, so the music had abrupt changes. In Scene Three: Cadiz, the orchestra plays some sad and somber music at the beginning. As the scene progresses the music goes from dark and dismal to happy and cheerful. During one of the songs of Scene Four: Paris the Old Lady, Cunegonde and Candide were discussing a flight and the music being played by the orchestra matched the lyrics bringing the idea of a flight to life. The Old Lady has a mezzo soprano voice she executes all of her notes well in the song. At the end of scene three Candide, Cunegonde, and the Old Lady leave to go to a new place and in the song they sing there are rounds, which were well executed. It helped change the mood again which brightened up the audience.

The ballet had many features that express the story The Nutcracker. One feature the ballet had to express the story was pantomime. Pantomime is when the dancers use body language to tell a story. Another feature the ballet had to express the story was the music. The music changed every time something joyful, suspicious, or wonder filled happened. The final feature is the costumes. The costumes help express the story by all the details. The details on the costumes come and a wide variety. Some features include squints, colors, buttons, and much more. In the book The Nutcracker, The story is expressed by dialogue and pictures, but in the ballet the story is expressed by music, costumes, and Pantomime. In the book you had to use your imagination

Listening to Music class has taught me a new way to listen and enjoy music. I have learned how to differentiate the melodies, rhythms, and instruments in a song. It has also introduced me to different genres in the music world, aside from what is usually played on the radio. I can now attend any concert, listen to any genre, or watch any ballet and easily recognize the many specific aspects the music being played has. Ballets are very interesting to me. The audience is able to enjoy the music being played as it is telling a story, and being acted out through the performer’s body language. In the two ballets, The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker, a great story is told in both referencing the many great dynamics music has. These two specific ballets are written by different composers, and each one of them have certain conditions they were written under. As well as different receptions, popularity, and development. The Rite of Spring and The Nutcracker’s differences has made some sort of an impact in the performing world back then as well as now.

Ludwig van Beethoven once said, “Music, in truth, is the mediator between intellectual and sensual life”. Though he and his music were from an entirely different era, both still have relevance in our lives today. Music from the past is all around us on the radio, in commercials, and on the big screen. For example, one of Beethoven’s most famous symphonies, “Symphony No. 9”, makes an appearance in many movies. It even makes an appearance in Die Hard. Though we like to think that which is old is obsolete, we are everyday reminded that this is not true.

Throughout the commercial, pathos is made evident from the very beginning with the scenes of dark clouds, which then slow music is softly played in the background, with a mix of wind blowing from the scene in the mountains. Next, scenes of nature and cultural landmarks appear one

Tchaikovsky wrote The Nutcracker at the request of the Director of the Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhskii (Poznansky, 2012). The Nutcracker is based on E. T. A. Hoffmann’s fairy tale, of which Tchaikovsky was fond of. However he did not like using The Nutcracker for a ballet scenario. The ballet tells the story of a young girl, Clara, who is given a nutcracker for Christmas. Clara then falls asleep and dreams the nutcracker fights an evil mouse king. The nutcracker then turns into a prince and takes her to a land of snow, where he tells her the story of the battle with the army of mice. She does several dances for the Prince to celebrate his triumph in battle. She then awakens and learns it was all just a dream (Green, n.d.). The Nutcracker was

“Once upon a time in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom; peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition.” (Cinderella, 1950) This is the ideology that has

Since the establishment of Walt Disney Company in 1923, it has created many classic animated characters, such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Lion King, Bambi, and so on. The success of Disney animated movie is not only due to its wonderful storyline and the vivid characterization of the animated characters, but also because of the music produced in the film. Disney’s music, whether its theme music, its background music, or song music, are clever and perfect blend of the plot, prompting many Disney animated movies become classics. This paper will focus on one of the Disney’s animated movie, The Three Caballeros, and analysis the connections between its content and its music.

In the movie “A Christmas Carol” the background music and place told a lot about the scene. When Marley's ghost came the lighting was dim, Scrooge was sitting by an old fireplace eating his supper when the wind starts howling and the music has that scary vibe. It shows a mood to its audience and also shows what it's supposed to. Another part where it showed a good strong mood was when the ghost of christmas future took Scrooge to his own grave, the dimmer lighting and snowy dark night gave a creepy vibe and when Scrooge saw his name in the tomb and fell down in the snow and a sadder aura was felt by the audience more of a remorseful one was felt when he begged it know how he could save himself. This is how the mood help the story

The importance of music in movies is highly regarded for manipulating the viewer’s emotions and helping them immerse into the story. Music is one of the prime elements in cinema. Without it a movie would feel dull and unexciting. There are three elements in a movie: one is acting, the second is picture, and the third one is music. It is a holy trinity; if incomplete, there would be a lack of sensation and excitement. Both acting and picture can stand independently from one another, but music is the one that makes the movie memorable.

On November 25, 2017 I attended The Nutcracker ballet performance at the Eisemann Center. The dance was adapted from a story by E.T.A Hoffman with the music by Tchaikovsky. The show was a faithful adaptation of The Nutcracker with the dancers, costumes, sets, and Tchaikovsky’s music all playing an integral part in depicting the story in an entertaining way. Overall, the presentation was successful in portraying the holiday classic that is The Nutcracker, and the majestic sets and costumes along with the music allowed for sustained attention and spectacle that was still true to the narrative of The Nutcracker. The production did this by having grand, bright costumes and sets that resembled the time period of The Nutcracker and depicted the setting of the dances, the original music by Tchaikovsky which was able to produce the emotions that come with the story, and lighting techniques that showed the weather and time of day which helped show what scenes were being told throughout the performance.

A musical film is a genre of movie where songs sung by characters are added into the storyline, occasionally complemented by choreography. The musical numbers in these films do not always develop the plot and characters, but they do give the films a more exciting quality. The primary difference between musical theatre and film musicals is the use of extravagant scenery that would be extraordinarily unreasonable for a stage performance. While making movies, the individuals involved have the luxury of being able to shoot multiple takes and have the time to move backgrounds around or change their entire location. Stage performances, on the other hand, must have scenery that can be easily and efficiently moved on and offstage when it is needed. In order to be able to thoroughly comprehend this relatively recent- in the grand scheme of things- form of entertainment, one should understand the history behind these musical films, be aware of some of the “big names” that are well-known, and recognize major titles that revolutionized musical film forever (Scaruffi, P., 2005).

Although my interests are numerous, my passions are very few. First and foremost, I have a passion for classical music. There is an indescribable sensation I feel when hearing “The Variations of The Canon” gigue from Johann Pachelbel’s Christmas Carol Collection. For two minutes and fifty-five seconds, I was mesmerized and I realized why I persuaded my mother to buy me his CD. His music, in its grandeur and consonance was perfect, the climax of coloratura repertoire, hitting every F note with glorious precision as the forty piece orchestra projects their brilliant voice. The

The expectations of film music are that it highlight and complement any onscreen actions while not being too distracting from the plot of the story. Today, one of the most well-known film music composers is John Williams. Winning a multitude of awards, he has written music for a wide range of highly popular movies, from Jurassic Park in 1993 to Schindler’s List in late 1993 to later Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2001 and Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005, to name a few. However, many of the elements that John Williams uses in writing film music were implemented by Richard Wagner in writing his operas. Both Wagner and Williams are great composers of their respective times. According to Jon Burlingame, writer for the Los Angeles Times, “Wagner's influence on film-music