William Walton 's Influence On The Music Of A Musical Scene Dominated By The Avant Garde

Protest poems and songs are, and have been throughout history, an effective medium of expressing their composer’s concerns or protests to a wide audience. The main themes behind each of these creative media are influenced heavily by the context in which they were created and focus on the composer’s opinions about controversial issues of that time. Poet Bruce Dawe, through his poem ‘homecoming’ and singer-songwriter Barry Maguire, through his song ‘Eve of destruction’ were able to explore and express their similar concerns about the harsh and dehumanising aspects of war and the effects on society, with Maguire focussing on the ignorance of society toward the detrimental effects of war and Dawe reflecting on emotional trauma experienced by those who lost love ones to the brutality of war.

After World War I, tensions between countries around the world remained high causing many people to struggle with the stress and worries of a post war society. In fact, according to author Kimberly Elliot, “[t]he unprecedented carnage and destruction of the war stripped this generation of their illusions about democracy, peace, and prosperity, and many expressed doubt and cynicism in their artistic endeavors”. Music became a coping mechanism and distraction during this difficult period of time. For many musicians and entertainers, “...the desire for escapism and the introduction in 1915 of leave for the troops at the Front encouraged ever more elaborate entertainment, a phenomenon which continued in the immediate postwar era…” (Hewitt). Although the war brought pain to many people, it also served as inspiration for what would become some of the most popular music of the 1920’s. People sought after music not only because it helped them to cope, but because it allowed them heal: “...[T]he healing power of the blues is not so

The North and South soldiers marched off to war, taking with them a love of song that divided them. Music brought back memories of home and family and also entertained and comforted, strengthened the bonds between comrades, helped forge new

The Classical and the 19th century Romantic Period were eras where many of the most famous composers and compositions that we know today were born. The Classical Period brought forth big name composers like Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, CP Bach, and Ludwig van Beethoven. The 19th century Romantic Period was characterized by composers like Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, and Edvard Grieg. But, what really were these artistic periods? What makes them different from each other? And how did the Classical Period inevitably end and influence the beginning of the Romantic Period? Here we will not only cite in depth research of both the Classical and the 19th Century Romantic Period, but also pull direct characteristics of the classical period from Beethoven’s “Zärtliche

XTC’s composer Andy Partridge considered Easter Theatre as one of the most perfect songs of his career. Featured as the Lead Single in Apple Venus Volume 1, Andy intentionally designed the lyrics uniquely, purportedly to exorcise the ever-present influences of the Beatles and the Beach Boys’ Brain Wilson. It is commonplace in rock music that every band has to espouse some Beatles-que lyrics and of course borrow to some extent from the genius of Brian Wilson, who is regarded as the greatest composer of all times. This paper investigates whether Andy was successful in avoiding such common influences, and more so those of the Beatles’ Penny Lane, which was done by John Lennon and Paul McCartney

Charles Ives is the quintessential 20th century American composer. From his early organ music and music training to his later symphonic pieces and art songs, his music is drenched in early American nostalgia, quotes, and culture. Not only has Ives come to be known so well for his establishment of an American identity, but also his use of complex compositional techniques that fit so well in a post-Romantic era of music. Delving through the history of Ives requires a keen eye to see not only the use of complexity, but to understand the context his music was written in. Through analyzing one of his most notable orchestral works, Three Places in New England, one can see how Ives uses complex compositional devices to not only establish his own identity as a composer but provide an American context as well.

We can understand America’s culture through the lens of music. We can identify how it became a major part of American culture and how it still affects us today. Many people ask them self’s today how music became a huge part of American culture and how did it all begin. Where did it originate and who came up with the type of genres that were popular and are still a big hit in today’s music. I know for a fact that a popular and loved genre of music that is still a tremendous impart in our lives today is the famous Jazz music.

Through the various textual is features, the composers of both The Shoe Horn Sonata and The boy In striped pyjamas have created didactic texts that explore the extremes of human suffering during the brutality of war, effectively engaging the audience by appealing to their emotions.

In this essay, I will be discussing the music of Jewish composers who were unable to showcase their pieces, due to the massive animosity towards their race, despite having composed several outstanding pieces of music. Although they were persecuted severely during the Nazi era, they too contributed to the international music community. For many of the Jewish composers, the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany and Austria was an increasing danger to their safety in the country. They had to make difficult choices to survive –To stay in Germany and remain oppressed in their very own country, or to leave, and be detached from their own cultural roots forever.

Vivaldi composed a multitude of works, comprising over 350 solo concertos with over 230 of those concertos for violin alone (Talbot). He worked at the Pieta, an orphanage and school for girls (Hanning & Burkholder 265). Vivaldi’s concertos imbued qualities of fresh melodies, clarity of form, and color between the solo and orchestra (Hanning & Burkholder 264). His Concerto in A Minor, Op. 3, No. 6. demonstrates the virtuosity of the violin. The idea of the concerto is still upheld today, showcasing the soloist’s ability.

Before hearing this lecture, I had no concept of the types of music in concentration camps, much less a sense of the music within World War II. The lecture taught me how music and the arts are something that can’t ever be stopped. Even though it’s not mandatory for human life or a lucrative career it has permanently etched a place inside of culture and the continuation of history.

1. I think the biggest element that made this song unique is the use of counterpoint. Counterpoint is the use of two or more melodic lines of equal importance. During the course of the song, no one melody sounds like the main melody, and are all of the same significance. I think this would have upset many of the jazz purists, as it was such a change from traditional jazz music.

Experiences, emotional events, and imaginations are often condensed into poetic forms of expression. In Refugee Blues and Inside Dachau, W.H. Auden and Sherman Alexie brought to the fore the struggles and conflicts that characterize humanity through the dynamics of political plots and human biases. A refugee is a psychologically or physically displaced person from their conceived home or country either by reason of tribe, war, religion or politics. Thus, being a refugee means that one has to be displaced and "Displacement occurs not just in the physical world, but in the head, in the very language one has to learn again” (Smith 190)." The use of the word “Blues” in the poem is suggestive of resignment and sadness. It is characteristic of the African American musical notes enslaved in the Southern part of America’s plantations. The traumatic events of the European Holocaust and the American Indian genocides infused in the poems are meant to invoke ethical responses from readers. Ethical witnessing in literature requires three actions from the reader; empathy, consideration of the traumatic portrayal, and a view of the world around the reader (Peterson 76). The speakers in both poems are outsiders who seek to elicit empathy in the readers. The melancholic rendition makes it a plain ballad. This paper looks at the formal analysis and ethical witnessing in Refugee Blues by W.H. Auden alongside

In summary, these works help illustrate the multidimensional nature of music in the context of the Holocaust, and the complexities that surround it. When considered together, these works assist each other in creating a more dynamic, complex picture of music in the Holocaust. While there are plenty of differences between the works, the disagreements only make the relationship between the works stronger. The differences allow for a chance to provide a new perspective that can only help in furthering the understanding of the topic in question. Clarke’s

They say what’s old is new again. There is nothing new under the sun. What goes around comes around. History repeats itself. These may be just a few banal sayings, but they might hold true for classical music as well. Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin is one such example. Written during the neo-classical and neo-baroque movements of the early 1900s, this clever piece ties together French musical traditions, baroque styles, and World War I in just six short pieces. This essay will detail the origins of the suite form and the neo-classical neo-baroque movement, and compare Le Tombeau de Couperin with Bach’s French Suite no. 5 in G Major, BWV 816.