As opposed to a research paper, this assignment is intended to help you sharpen your skills in thinking and writing about music experienced while witnessing a ‘live’ performance.
Although your original observations are the main focus, it is important that you demonstrate the knowledge and vocabulary below.
Be sure to watch the concert here and follow the instructions below;
In reference to the video above please follow the following instructions;
Briefly introduce the event (venue, performers, occasion, etc.)
Choose one piece/movement and listen to it in terms of musical style. What does it tell you about the characteristic qualities of the composer and the genre?
What aspects of the piece reveal it to be representative of a particular historical period? How does this type of listening affect your experience of the piece?
Choose another piece/movement and listen to it in terms of tone color. Do the dynamics/articulation/textures vary? What effect does the variation or lack thereof have on the listener?
Choose one piece/movement and listen to it in terms of its form (patterns, repetitions, contrasts, recurrences, variations of material). Summarize the results.
How well can you do this during a single hearing of the piece? Is this type of listening rewarding to you?
Out of the three pieces compare one of them to a Beethoven or Mozart piece using the three Copelandian modes of listening.
What is the relative value of these different modes of listening? What other modes of listening can you imagine? What would you prefer?
When referring to a particular spot in the piece, make sure to include a timestamp. If you consult written materials, give proper references in the paper. Feel free to write in the first person.
Utilize as much vocabulary below as possible when describing the performance;
Neumes
Plainchant/Gregorian chant
Textures: monotony, homophony, polyphony
Call and response (antiphony)
Motive
Movement
The Well-Tempered Clavier
Syllabic/melismatic
Word painting
Basso continuo
Recitativo secco/accompagnato
Aria
Symphony
Opera,
Madrigal,
Motet
Prelude
Fugue
(Oratorio)
Viennese classicists: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
Sonata form: Exposition (T1, T2), Development, Recapitulation, Coda.
(Organum)
(Rondo)
ostinato
Basso continuo
crescendo/diminuendo
accelerando/ritardando
Opera seria/opera buffa/drama giocoso
String quartet
Instruments of the orchestra (name instruments in each section: strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion)
Mazurka
Lied
Ternary form – ABA
Absolute music/program music
Idée fixe
Tempo rubato
Extended technique
col legno
Gesamtkunstwerk
Leitmotif
Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath/titles of the other movements
Second Viennese school: Schoenberg, Berg, Webern
Character piece
Nocturne
Bitonality
Sprechstimme
Tone cluster
Prepared piano
phasing
Improvisation
Syncopation
Rhythm Section
Bebop
Acousmatic music
Live electronic music
Musique concrete
