Parallel chord

Dark Souls OST There was somewhat of a surprise for VGM listeners upon the release of the first trailer for Dark Souls, FromSoftware’s spiritual successor to Demon’s souls. Even before any initial announcement was made, it was easy to recognize the work of veteran freelance composer Motoi Sakuraba, his trademark compositional style being so integral. Known primarily for his virtuosic progressive rock compositions, Dark Souls was to be his first fully orchestral work since the Baroque influenced

instruments can be heard. In the beginning, only a guitar plays, followed by drums and short chord strikes to create a chopping noise. The second part, characterized by the tempo change and an intense guitar solo, adds a new percussion sound through the slashing of cymbals and deliberate pedal stomps. The third part shows another signature change back to 4/4 and a milder use of the cymbal, while still maintaining the chord chops. The riff from the introduction is maintained throughout the whole song. A syncopated

to add to the turmoil of the piece. Music is vivace, a very fast tempo, with sweeping flourishes and tremolos in the accompaniment. The strings play the tremolos aggressively, and the full orchestra (winds and brass) is used for loud, punctuating chords. The vocal line is sharp and has very precise rhythms. The instrumentation differs slightly from Queen of the Night Aria 1, as it includes a trumpet and timpani. The oboe, flute, bassoon, horn, and string section all remain the same. The strings accompany

The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos composed by 17th and 18th century composer Antonio Vivaldi. Vivaldi was born on March 4th 1678, in Venice, Italy and was renowned for his Baroque styled concertos and operas. He was a prolific composer who created numerous works and became “a highly influential innovator in form and pattern” (biography.com). He was also ordained as priest but chose to follow through with his passion for music. Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, Vivaldi’s father, was a professional

whose short, bouncing feature opens up a dynamic theme., This dynamic is further expressed as the piece enters B section, since the high-pitched notes have more distinguishable sounds and a more rapid speed. This movement then culminates at five major chords whose high pitch and strong, sharp volume produce an extraordinarily penetrating sound. All these movements delineates a playful scene of rain dancing at every corner of the world: on a roof, a stream, an umbrella, a petal of flower, etc. By reflecting

Schütz’ concerto is based on Acts 26:14 and depicts the attempt of Jesus to convert Saul to Christianity as Saul journeys to Damascus. This concerto was written in 1650, the early Baroque period, when much of the music composed was intended for the church and encompasses the passion and drama of that time. Vocal works such as opera, cantatas, and oratorios were gaining prominence over the instrumental works of the preceding Renaissance period. Saul was written in the style of a small-scale oratorio

Analysis of Haydn’s String Quartet: Op. 76, No. 4, in B-flat Major “Sunrise” Haydn composed his Op. 74 quartets in the later years of his life between 1796 and 1797 and it was the last of his completed string quartets. The set of quartets were dedicated to the Hungarian Count Joseph Erdödy and were published in 1799. It was said that this selection of quartets was one of his “most ambitious chamber works” with his attempt of “emphasizing thematic continuity, seamlessly and continually passing motifs

The resonant sound of brass generates some tension in the form of dissonant chords. The combination of unusual sounds, vivid dynamics and rhythm changes, are incorporated in the symphony by Beethoven. However there is more as the first movement goes on. Beethoven uses a minor key for a short passage. The agitated sound of strings

harmony to the melody, using the notes of the D major chord. The last layer is the continuo bass It provides accompaniment and bass. The harmonic rhythm is not very steady as the chords only change in bars 7, 10 and 11. The chord changes from D to A and then from A to E and E to A (shown in the musical excerpt). These chord changes are changes from either the dominant to the tonic or the tonic to the dominant, showing the typical barque chord changes. Through adding trumpets, bars 1-3 and bars

The next offering is in Fixed Lydian Mode on "C." The tempo is less structured and flexible. The melody line of the first two phrases ascends by thirds, providing a sensation of rising upward. The peak is reached on "A", dropping a whole step before descending back to the tonic. A releasing, freeing sensation can be gleaned from this musical element. The through-composed structure of the chant offers to free the mind, encouraging one to meander in step with the melody line. The chant is played three