Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.
Over the centuries, the popular music changed, partly as cultures changed, as new instruments were invented and as the ability to manipulate musical patterns developed and became more and more sophisticated. Some of the earliest periods are sharply defined, because the changes which created them were major, The Baroque period was a time of excited experimentation in music as harmonies and counterpoint were developed and varying patterns of themes were tried. The music and the instruments were becoming quite capable of producing many different patterns and sounds. The Classical period was a time for the development of form and structure, and was characterized by attention to control, balance, symmetry, proportion and restraint. The Romantic period was the symbolic flowering if music as an artistic medium for emotional expression. It was then that the symphony and the opera were developed into the high arts they have become.
Comparison of the Works
All four works used full orchestra, but only Handle used choral voices, and only Puccini used a female soloist. As a song of praise the Messiah succeeded entirely and evokes strong emotions in the listener, even though baroque music was more about form explorations and deviating from the more somber character of previous music. It is as exciting a piece as this period produced. By comparison, Mozarts piano concerto was much quieter entertainment for mere entertainment, probably in a large drawing room, rather than in a hall. Puccinis opera, Madama Butterfly, is typical of the romantic period, though not typical of opera. The New World Symphony by Dvorak brings musical style up to its highest level with a full progression of themes which almost tell a story without words and magnificent exploration of sound and rhythms in a very carefully created framework designed to elicit a strong emotional reaction from the audience. This symphony is not listened to but rather, it is experienced .
Baroque: The Messiah by Georg Friederich Händel
This wonderful orchestral chorale was typical of the Anglican anthem tradition, created for performance inside the church. That is had religious content and purpose falls right in line with this period. Like much baroque music it is lively and joyful with a whole tapestry of interwoven melodies. It is performed by full orchestra with a large chorus.
The Messiah begins with only orchestra. Strong notes outline the themes which will be explored almost in a fugue and then lively string and horns complicate the melodies like a tapestry of dozens of different threads. Once the chorus begins to sing, the simple themes are sung and then refined and complicated with several variations each. The themes are sung sequentially in a canon form with male and female voices augmenting the complex hymnal form. It is almost as if Handel was trying to create the illusion of a heavenly chorus of angels backed by the strings commonly heard in the Royal courts for fancy balls. One very interesting aspect is that often the voices and the strings are playing in different time signatures, that is, the voices are slow with fast string melodies or vica-versa. Another thing to note is the relative absence of instrumental or vocal solos or even section solos.
The Messiah is really quite exciting, very much in the baroque tradition, which was first considered very bizarre for its liveliness and complexity. The progression of chorales tell the story of the birth, death and resurrection of Christ and sing praise to the Lord. The Pastorale sections give a quiet time for meditation, as the strings carry the various melodic themes in a slower, almost dreamy style. The piece explores a whole range of musical styles and forms until the Alleluljia chorus crowns it with all the voices and instruments in the final praise and message of joy. What follows this is almost like the conclusion to an essay, a gathering up of all the various tempos and styles with different themes that finally conclude with the resounding Amen.
Classical: Piano Concerto in G Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
This piece of piano music heavily accompanies by full symphony orchestra is much calmer by contrast with Handels Messiah or Dovraks New World Symphony. It is quiet and dreamy with the very complex melodies that became almost synonymous with the names of Mozart and Bach. The music is much lighter in tone, almost a parlor piece of entertainment, while the Messiah was much more serious in its purpose, even with all the liveliness and joy expresses within the work.
The tempo varies throughout the concerto and the melody is passed among instruments and sections, especially highlighting the strings and woodwinds. Each section is introduced with the piano, and then it is embellished by the strings and finally fully explored by the other sections of the orchestra. When the themes are carried by other sections, the piano often accompanies with arpeggios.
The first movement is characterized by flowing melodies like something floating on the air or down a stream. It is almost dancing music in parts, but was meant as a parlor entertainment for afternoon or early evening. It was likely not played with the full orchestra we are used to hearing today, with a much smaller group. As in most concertos of this period, the melodies are played in sequence and they are elaborated and then played in several variations by different sections of the orchestra. The structure of the entire concerto moves like a story, from the beginning introduction to the definition of the characters and finally through the introduction of the problem to its effects, to the reaction of others and finally to the climax and the ending. The music itself is very clear, and the overall concerto follows a clearly defined structure.
Romantic: Madame Butterfly
Puccini created a wonderfully successful opera in Madame Butterfly, though the success was not immediate, as the premier at La Scala in 1904 was a disaster. (Smillie 2009) This opera is highly emotional and includes several recurring themes that have become familiar to many people who have never seen nor heard an opera. It is now one of the three most popular operas of all time, and is considered a required part of any good opera companys repertoire.
The music of this opera has much of the excitement of the Baroque, all of the fine attention to form and technical expertise of the classical, and yet, some of the highest emotional content of any music ever written. Even the odd portion which are written in the diatonic scale are fit perfectly into the whole structure, and they act as a stimulus for fear and suspense.
Aside from the story line, the music builds to an emotional peak along with the story. The character of Madame Butterfly is the main voice of the theme heard at the end of act two. She sings this as a duet later on with her lover/husband, Pinkerton. The themes of the story are very emotionally charged: inter-racial marriage, love, faithfulness, geishas and cultural divides. Madame Butterfly is a geisha at the beginning of the story, which was seen by westerners as a synonym for prostitute, though it was far from the truth. Madame Butterfly meets Lieutenant Pinkerton and they fall in love. They marry under the Japanese tradition and Butterfly has even converted to Pinkertons Christian religion. Pinkerton leaves her afer some months, and does not return for three years. Butterfly turns down an offer of marriage from a local prince, saying she is married to Pinkerton, the father of her son. When Pinkerton returns, he brings his American wife with him. Butterfly commits suicide, knowing that Pinkerton can take him back to America if she is dead.
The recurring lyrical theme Butterfly sings during the night of waiting is the aria, Un bel di vedremo. This is one of the themes which even popular audiences recognize, though they may not know its origin. It is musically very pleasing and beautiful, with flowing melody and faultless bridging of the various parts. However, it is one of the most power pieces of music ever written. One need not know the language or even the context to hear the emotion in the song. Done well it makes the hair rise on the neck and shivers run up the spine. It is used in several places throughout the opera, but is mostly remembered as Butterflys aria and the duet with Pinkerton.
Romantic: New World Symphony by Antonin Dvorak
This marvelously complex, yet highly emotionally charged symphony shows the benefits of both the classical forms and the romantic emotionalism. It has all the excitement of Baroque canons and the beauty of carefully crafted themes of the classical period. It begins with a few quiet steps, punctuated by short musical phrases on solo instruments and develops into a heroic exploration of the first theme, consisting of three melodies and moves quickly into the second set of themes played on strings and echoed by horns and woodwinds.
There are four movements and each one catalyzes feeling in the listener in response to the beauty and power of the complex musical score. It is labeled adagio (slow) and allegro molto(medium quick). The first one ends in a powerful melody played by all of the instruments.
Then the second movement is the most familiar to listeners from its use in Walt Disneys Fantasia, as it begins on a set of two quiet notes on horns, continues with a marvelous solo on oboe echoed on strings and horns. Then the same themes is repeated on different groups of instruments, louder and stronger, followed by a quiet variation on strings that leads to a more harmonic repetition with woodwinds, horns and strings. The second part leads to an exploration of a blended theme and sets of chord progressions like steps along a wire. The third theme is more solemn on strings using bows short quiet staccato stroke on the strings and light pizzicato in the background. Then the fourth part begins like birdsong, mostly on brass and horns with string filling ion the body as all the themes are reprised. Then the oboe repeats the first theme quietly echoed on strings and fading away gently until the rest of the strings return in melodic fullness punctuated by the oboe once more. Finally the horns repeat the beginning notes of the movement falling on string arpeggios and culminating in a rising chord progression falling to low notes quietly stroked on the bass. This movement is labeled largo (very slow), but it is only very slow by comparison and though some parts are strong and filled with deep bass sound, it is not heavy.
The third movement is quick and uses short stroked notes and a powerful blend of all sections of the orchestra with lots of drums. It progresses into a set of three themes almost Arabian in character, using most of the groups of instruments and sections I unison throughout the movement. It is labeled sherzo
The final movement begins on a very strong theme played by brass and horns, with variations on the strings to give it fluidity. It then moves into a galloping theme on strings with horns punctuation and settles into a quiet solo on oboe once more with strings supporting with counterpoint and competing harmony, then taking over the melody and moving it into a stronger theme with horns setting the rhythm. It tails off into a quieter section with oboe and strings once more and quiet pizzicato until the piccolos and flutes pick it up and the horns compete with their own repartition of the their movement themes, echoes by string. Then the second movement themes are repeated on various instruments in groups, joined together by chord progressions, first very strong and loud, then more quietly bridging to a lyrical section on strings that builds to flowing section which anticipates another crash of power coming. The horns introduce this last part with repeated triple notes until the second movement themes take over once more. They build top full power and then lead into quieter section solos repeating the theme once more until the strings begin the last slow and powerful melodic theme variation with the full orchestra joining in with very strong horns until the last set of quick strokes ends the symphony on one long last note, almost like a sudden sunset in the ocean.
Conclusions from Comparison
These four works from three distinct musical periods are all very different, but they all have some similarities. All four works are highly emotionally charged, though the Mozart is less so than the others. All four works are carefully constructed with careful attention to form and each tells a story in music. By listening to these four works in sequence one can follow the development of music through the three periods, though it might be difficult to draw the lines, since each of these is an example of the highest form of its time, and therefore, encompasses elements of all the others.
My Reactions to New World Symphony
Walt Disney saw the power of this piece and used it to depict an idyllic population of mythical creatures as they experience a powerful storm. One thinks of the new world at the beginning of this planet, before man when watching this film segment. I can understand this, since I can picture the same sorts of things when I close my eyes and listen to this music. Its beauty makes me hold my breath at times and nearly cry at others. I especially love the sound of the oboe and the power of the full horn section in the third movement. I really cannot wait until I can hear this symphony performed live. I chose these three pieces of music because I like them, but this is my favorite of the three. The wonderful complexity keeps me following mentally the melodies, harmonies and the way Dvorak wove them skillfully together in a musical tapestry of the birth of the world.
References
Dvorak, Antonin, 1893, New World Symphony , DVORAK: New World Symphony / TCHAIKOVSKY: Romeo and Juliet, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Naxos Music Library. Web.
Handel, Georg Freiderick , The Messiah, HANDEL: Messiah (Choruses), Bratislava City Chorus; Capella Istropolitana; Krecek, Jaroslav. Web.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1787, Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, Op. 9, K. 453, MOZART: Piano Concerto Nos. 9 and 17, Bern Bernardi, Mario; CBC Vancouver Orchestra; Cheng, Angela ardi, Mario; CBC Vancouver Orchestra; Cheng, Angela. Web.
Puccini, Giacomo, 1904, Un Bel Di Vedremo, Madame Butterfly
Smilie, 2009, Opera Explained: PUCCINI Madama Butterfly. Web.
Order from us for quality, customized work in due time of your choice.