Assignment 5: Reflections

Get your Waltz on!

My first thought when presented with this assignment was to write a waltz, as it would be easy to create a chord sequence with one chord per bar. I then decided to create a walking bass motif from the notes on the first beat of each bar; this motif follows a 16 bar sequence. I then added chords on top of this bass line, though this proved harder than I first imagined and there is a heavy reliance on inversions of chords IV, V and VI. The first section, Presto, uses this 16 bar sequence 4 times; each note in the bass sequence is accented. The melodic line is then constructed to try and disguise the sequence that follows underneath; the melodic phrases are of different lengths and I try to avoid ending a line at the end of a 4 bar group. Each melody passage works up to a fortissimo, accented crochet, dotted crochet, quaver motif but with no cadence underneath. The first section eventually winds up and leads to an anticipated perfect cadence, but instead the middle section is immediately introduced on a VIb chord.

The middle section uses the melodic ideas of the first section, but in 6/8 time with a broken chord motif underneath using the same 16 bar harmonic pattern. I got this idea listening to the Schumann Piano Concerto, where in the first movement he echoes melodic ideas he introduces in a simple time passage later in a compound time passage. I like this effect, as it creates a sleepy, lilting feel to the opening music; the legato style nicely contrasts the upbeat, detached first section. The left hand is written in an attempt to create a three in a bar feel below the definite two in a bar melodic line; an attempt to echo the waltz feel of the first section. Again, like at the end of the first section, the music winds up to the anticipated perfect cadence, but instead the opening music returns on a VIb chord.

The short reprise of the opening section sees the melodic line embellished while extra notes are added to the bass chords to add more colour. Unlike the 1^st passage, the 16 bar chord sequence is only heard once, with the last bar creating the perfect cadence which, after the previous interrupted cadences, comes as a bit of a surprise.

Prom 8: Britten, Lutosławski & Thomas Adès

In a previous issue of BBC music magazine they had an interview with Thomas Ades about the commissioning and premier of his work 'Totentanz', so I wanted to hear this particular Prom. The concert also featured two 20th Century pieces, Britten's 'Sinfonia da Requiem' and Lutoslawski's Cello concerto. Again, I wasn't able to listen to it live, but it was repeated on BBC Four this evening.

Lutoslawski's Cello concerto begins with the cello playing a series of open string D's very nonchalantly, followed by a long solo opening passage where the cello seems to rattle off a series of bespoke musical ideas, almost like a series of individual thoughts. A loud trumpet fanfare interjects, followed by a muted fanfare before more and more of the orchestra enter. Overall it was too dissonant for my liking; it felt more like a collection of notes rather than any really assembled harmonies. The musical ideas were also too sporadic for my liking; I never got the sense of any development of musical ideas, it was just one idea and sound after another. That being said, the range of sounds that Lutoslawski creating from the orchestra was very impressive; lots of instrumental techniques were required. At one point I thought a child was screaming outside only to realise it was the strings! Paul Watkins, the cello soloist, really expressed himself through his playing and his face, though the latter was somewhat off putting!

'Totentanz', meaning 'dance of death', depicts the idea that, regardless of rank, all humans are united by death. The music opens with very dissonant chords before the baritone, representing death, invites all humans to join in the dance of death. He is accompanied by three piccolos, whip, piano and strings in a high, dissonant, ghastly sounding figure, no doubt to strike fear into the listener. The mezzo-soprano represents all humans, and sings in response to each of death's statements. The music that accompanies the mezzo is less dissonant, sounding more familiar and easier on the ear, which makes it more relate-able. I get the impression Ades tries to create an unearthly sound to death's music while humanities pleading is more humane. Although not as sporadic as the Lutoslawski, I still found it very difficult to listen too. Like Lutoslawski is able to create a vast range of sounds from the orchestra, and even the vocal lines; the mezzo part in particular covered an enormous range. Although called 'dance of death' at no point did it feel like a dance, unlike Saint-Saens's piece by the same name.

Prom 13: National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America

I recorded the BBC Four showing of this prom where, unfortunately, they omitted Sean Shepherd's 'Magiya' and Joshua Bell's encore. I was, however, able to see the two big works of the prom, Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and Shostakovich's 10th Symphony. Whilst I know these works well, it was interesting to see Valery Gergiev's interpretation of them.

What always strikes me about Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto is the length of the melodic line; sometimes you free that one idea has been developed into a 5 minute long phrase, but it seems easy and natural. The sound Joshua Bell was able to produce was amazing and the clarity he gave to the virtuoso passages was stunning.

Shostakovich's 10th Symphony is probably my favourite symphony, partly because of its historical significance, but mostly because of what he is able to do with texture. You go from exposed solo wind passages in the 1st movement to a massive, whirling, full orchestral sound in the second movement. A seemingly empty texture returns in the 3rd movement; there are some haunting solos where you really feel you are reaching deep into the composer's soul and seeing his pain and anguish first hand. Given the numerous references to the DSCH motif it is clearly a very personal movement. The 4th movement begins similarly, but then erupts like the second movement into a dizzying climax, with one of my favourite timpani solos echoing the DSCH motif.

Prom 4: Les Siècles

I was on holiday the week before last so I missed the opening night of the proms, but the first I was able to see was the Prom by Les Siecles.

They played 'The Rite of Spring', which although not new to me, was different because, like all the other works they played in the concert, it was played on period instruments. Although playing on early 20th Century instruments doesn't create a wildly different sound to modern instruments, there was a rawer, more earthy quality to the sound; it didn't sound as pure as a modern orchestra sound which is somewhat fitting for Rite.

Their repertoire also included works from the 17th and 19th Centuries. I was impressed how the performers were able to switch instruments so easily as many must have required different techniques. Each piece they played had a very different sound to it as a result. By starting with the oldest piece, the sound became more familiar are the concert went on.

They played Lully's 'Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme' where the conductor kept time by banging a large staff on the ground as apparently was the tradition at the time. I found this somewhat off-putting at first, but I suppose this is no different to the role the percussion section play in modern orchestral works.

Research Point: Das Rheingold - Prelude

The prelude brings with a drone from the low strings and a horn call based on three notes of the triad. The lower strings and horn then exchange motifs before the lower strings begin to play arpeggio motifs to create a sense of movement; here Wagner is depicting the flowing of the Rhine. The upper strings then enter with a similar arpeggio motif with becomes faster and more elaborate.

Whilst it is the same for so many bars, Wagner uses dynamics, rhythm and orchestration to create a feeling of suspense and wonder. The music builds in dynamic and range, starting low and gradually increasing upwards. He adds more instruments and the motifs become more elaborate and faster. Towards the end you are just left waiting to see where the harmony is finally going to go; the entry of the soprano eventually breaks the mood and the music shifts to A flat.

When Bjork Met Attenborough

This was a documentary on Channel 4 this evening which followed Bjork developing her latest musical project, 'Biophilla', which aimed to harness the sounds of the natural world. She met with David Attenborough to see how sounds have shaped the natural world; from the evolution to birds to the sounds of the ocean. I found it interesting that Attenborough made an observation that the human larynx is far bigger than what is simply required for speech; he went on to suggest that singing, shouting or other vocalisations came long before speaking.

They also discussed the link music and the natural world has with mathematics. Whilst looking at some quartz, Bjork explained how she had used the structure of crystals as the inspiration for her song 'Crystalline'; their structure gave rise to the time signatures she used; 17/8 for the verses and 4/4 for chorus to create a contrast between the irregular 17/8 time and the more structured 4/4 time.

Bjork wanted to find a way to bring the universe's natural forces onto music. In 'Solstice', she uses a rotary, pendulum harp to symbolise the rotation of the earth, while the swing of the pendulum uses gravity to create the bass line; the instrument is a based on the Foucault pendulum.

She explained how she thinks of chords being like the earth's tectonic plates and how a slight change in pressure can move the plates together, apart or they slide against each other. She also thinks of lightning as being like arpeggios. In the song 'Thunderbolt', Bjork used a Tesla coil to play the arpeggio bass line to create the link between the visual lightning and the audible thunder.

Bjork wanted to find a way to use technology to make playing music more accessible. Instead of releasing an album on CD, she went on to create an interactive app where you could not only listen to the songs but interact with them; the app uses the touch-screen to change the shape of the music. The programme went on to show how these apps are used in music education in schools, making music education less formal and more accessible.

Although the film finished somewhat abruptly, I found Bjork's thought process and approach to composition fascinating.

Project 14: Improvisation on a dominant

I started by writing the bass line, which is based around a few simple rhythmic patterns. I then wrote the melody with varying length of phrase so that the resolution to the tonic chord never felt natural until the 16 bar.