We slid back over to an earlier time and began talking about the Renaissance. Although not necessarily those most exciting topic (especially compared with John Cage or Karlheinz Stockhausen), one cannot deny the inherent beauty in much of the music nor its influence on later generations. The congruent independence of polyphony lends itself to opportunities for both collective and individual expression of line. Never is this more true than much of the choral music of the Renaissance where beauty, shape, text, and form come together in glorious emotional and musical highs. While we learn the academic impetus behind the music of the Renaissance, and consider its unending influence, let us not ignore its remarkable ability to effect us through rich and sensitive polyphony.
The Renaissance period is an exciting time musically due to two pervading concepts that occurred. One is the methodical but certain progress from modality to tonality. This happened as musica ficta became more prevalent and as composers wrestled with its ubiquity in polyphony. Eventually a consistent use of musica ficta in the same melodic location formed a new key with the necessity for a key signature. The second event, while not necessarily musical, created a musical environment that exists to the present time. That is the Reformation and Counter Reformation. With the events of the Reformation ultimately leading to Protestantism and the Counter Reformation causing a resurgence of Roman Catholic piety, composers found themselves in a mild quandary, whether to write music in the traditions of the past or push forward with something new.
We talked about some facts regarding the period including some scholarship of the time. I pointed out the value of knowing something about Tinctoris and Zarlino, and discussed the concept of Cantus Firmus. We then waded into the world of Renaissance polyphony by singing a motet of Victoria. Separating the Renaissance into sacred music and secular music, we discussed the madrigal, the motet, the mass, and dance music. We mentioned many composers of the time and talked about text painting, modality, the polychoral music of Gabrieli, and the beauty of much of the music of Palestrina.
We did attempt to point out the distinction between composers who adopted a "traditional" approach to the music as opposed to those who pushed for something new. Gesualdo was mentioned and a brief reference to Monteverdi, who will need to be discussed further.
We listened to several examples of the music and left the room feeling warmed by the beauty of polyphony of the Renaissance (at least I hope so!). So who is your favorite composer of the time period. Is there a place for this music in churches today?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Day Eight
Today is musical theater day with emphasis placed on the music, influence, and significance of Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein's music is understood better by an understanding of his worldview and his genius. As a first-class pianist, conductor, author, speaker, and composer, Leonard Bernstein's complete brilliance including originality, creativity, and personal charisma found an audience that reached an entire world. While his legacy may be the Overture to Candide, which happens to be the most played orchestral work in the world, and the music from West Side Story, it is in the areas of music theater, symphonies, choral music, and chamber music that he excelled.
But the music cannot be understood without addressing Bernstein's worldview and the philosophy that led to his eclecticism. His commitment to writing music that could relate to all age groups, religions, cultures, and nationalities gave him a type of universal religion not far from a variation of pantheism. This unusual collectivism gave his music a blend of sophistication mixed with popular culture. Musicians embracing music primarily for entertainment often find Bernstein's music to be overly-complicated, academic, and unusual. Cultivated musicians, conversely, often believe Bernstein's music is geared for a wide audience and therefore leans on the simplistic side and is given to cultural idioms of the time period.
Ironically, in a way, these criticisms are justified particularly when one studies only pockets of Bernstein's output. Yet taken as a whole, Bernstein's music is extraordinary in its complexity, beauty, energy, and creativity. It is perhaps his Mass, written for the opening of the Kennedy Center, that demonstrates his eclectic spirit as well as his controversial originality. We listened to several part of this engaging work, and I pointed out the usage of mixed meter, rock inflections, jazz idioms, and the religious qualities of the work. I encourage you to acquire a recording and listen to it; yet I also must qualify that it contains some inappropriate language. The work is guaranteed to make someone upset! But it also contains beautiful and shimmering music that exemplifies his style and his philosophy.
We listened to Chichester Psalms, part of Symphony No. 2, and a few measures of Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs. These selections demonstrate mastery of harmony, counterpoint, melody, and orchestra. They further show Bernstein's eclectic incorporation of jazz idioms, religious worldview, and dramatic emotional content. We concluded our Bernstein discussion with a brief look at West Side Story and his love of music theater.
The next few minutes we discussed Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Frederick Lowe, Andrew Loyd Webber, and Cole Porter. Obviously many others contributed to American music theater, which may be a form of opera, and Broadway continues to be a vital part of American culture today. We spent a few minutes discussing the role of harmony in music theater with the reminder that songs containing rich harmony tend to "rise" to the top as music and withstand the test of time for excellence.
We now jump backwards to the Renaissance for a couple of days of discussion of polyphony and development. It promises to be fun for all!
But the music cannot be understood without addressing Bernstein's worldview and the philosophy that led to his eclecticism. His commitment to writing music that could relate to all age groups, religions, cultures, and nationalities gave him a type of universal religion not far from a variation of pantheism. This unusual collectivism gave his music a blend of sophistication mixed with popular culture. Musicians embracing music primarily for entertainment often find Bernstein's music to be overly-complicated, academic, and unusual. Cultivated musicians, conversely, often believe Bernstein's music is geared for a wide audience and therefore leans on the simplistic side and is given to cultural idioms of the time period.
Ironically, in a way, these criticisms are justified particularly when one studies only pockets of Bernstein's output. Yet taken as a whole, Bernstein's music is extraordinary in its complexity, beauty, energy, and creativity. It is perhaps his Mass, written for the opening of the Kennedy Center, that demonstrates his eclectic spirit as well as his controversial originality. We listened to several part of this engaging work, and I pointed out the usage of mixed meter, rock inflections, jazz idioms, and the religious qualities of the work. I encourage you to acquire a recording and listen to it; yet I also must qualify that it contains some inappropriate language. The work is guaranteed to make someone upset! But it also contains beautiful and shimmering music that exemplifies his style and his philosophy.
We listened to Chichester Psalms, part of Symphony No. 2, and a few measures of Prelude, Fugue, and Riffs. These selections demonstrate mastery of harmony, counterpoint, melody, and orchestra. They further show Bernstein's eclectic incorporation of jazz idioms, religious worldview, and dramatic emotional content. We concluded our Bernstein discussion with a brief look at West Side Story and his love of music theater.
The next few minutes we discussed Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Jerome Kern, Frederick Lowe, Andrew Loyd Webber, and Cole Porter. Obviously many others contributed to American music theater, which may be a form of opera, and Broadway continues to be a vital part of American culture today. We spent a few minutes discussing the role of harmony in music theater with the reminder that songs containing rich harmony tend to "rise" to the top as music and withstand the test of time for excellence.
We now jump backwards to the Renaissance for a couple of days of discussion of polyphony and development. It promises to be fun for all!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Day Seven
Okay, I got a little behind so this may be brief. Not only that the class period itself was rather brief due to the Fall revival. Yet we needed to discuss Xenakis and John Cage a little more. We listened to Xenakis and watched the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yztoaNakKok. While the students generally did not respond with shouts of acclamation, perhaps some did find some merit in the sound that matches the visual image.
But the point of the Xenakis excerpt is to relate the visual imagery and the architectural designs to the changes in sound. While our perspective may relate the sounds to fear or agitation, this is probably a socialized reaction and not necessarily associated to truth. Preference for particular sounds is certainly respected and acknowledged, but since the human spirit has a great capacity for creativity, respect for the original, including textures, should be given to the person who wrote the music. In this case--Xenakis.
Our discussion took us to John Cage and his views of sound and silence. Perhaps in the end, the ambiguity of what is music is actually liberating and oddly enriching. Furthermore, maybe by increasing our awareness of music's potential and our ability to hear all around us as music, we grow as humans and as musicians. Maybe, too, such acknowledgment allows us to demystify the creative process and the organized system we know as music. At the same time, perhaps broadening our views of music helps us to give greater respect to the discipline, the cognition, and the skill of music regardless of its final product.
\
But the point of the Xenakis excerpt is to relate the visual imagery and the architectural designs to the changes in sound. While our perspective may relate the sounds to fear or agitation, this is probably a socialized reaction and not necessarily associated to truth. Preference for particular sounds is certainly respected and acknowledged, but since the human spirit has a great capacity for creativity, respect for the original, including textures, should be given to the person who wrote the music. In this case--Xenakis.
Our discussion took us to John Cage and his views of sound and silence. Perhaps in the end, the ambiguity of what is music is actually liberating and oddly enriching. Furthermore, maybe by increasing our awareness of music's potential and our ability to hear all around us as music, we grow as humans and as musicians. Maybe, too, such acknowledgment allows us to demystify the creative process and the organized system we know as music. At the same time, perhaps broadening our views of music helps us to give greater respect to the discipline, the cognition, and the skill of music regardless of its final product.
\
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Day Six
We began about 2 minutes late with almost all the class present and started discussing experimental music, post 1950. Any discussion of experimental music cannot be made without an understanding of two things: music of John Cage and a broad definition of music. A good video of John Cage helps articulate his view of music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcHnL7aS64Y. Cage's experiments in sound including prepared piano led the way to the "happenings" movement of the 1960s. Happenings were musical and extra-musical experimental events that qualify as sound or aural events in time (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happening). Happenings have led to performance art of today which seems to be reserved for nightclubs or college activities on certain campuses. But there is no denying the influence of the various musical experiments of the 60s.
If music is sound, regardless of its system or organization, and regardless of man's attempt to compartmentalize its role and purpose, then it stands to reason that music is only limited by man's creative spirit. With that in mind, we jumped into some sounds and music that are being performed today. The influence of John Cage cannot be overemphasized, but equal to Cage, although in a more traditional framework, is the music of Edgar Varese. We listened to Arcana and a little bit of Ameriques and discussed the sounds and approach of Varese. A bit strident at times, shocking, yet oddly sensitive, Varese's music opened the door to new sounds and textures for future composers.
The composers Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Babbit, Xenakis, and Stockhausen to name just a few have all been involved with experimentation and searching for new sounds and aural expression. A riveting recording of Kontakte by Stockhausen led us to a wide variety of opinions and discussion. Some students are uncomfortable with music that cannot be performed live. Others enjoyed the complexity of sound but tended to associate that with particular images. Kontakte then took us to a different kind of piece called Helicopter String Quartet by Stockhausen. Each member of the string quartet plays inside a flying helicopter where the sound is heard on the ground by the audience. We listened to approximately 6 minutes of the lengthy piece and all of us were pretty taken with the concept and the resulting sound. Perhaps this is due to the direct imagery of 4 helicopters, not sure though.
A quick shift of thought took us back to minimalism, landing on the music of Phillip Glass. We listened to a few examples and discussed his remarkable career in film music. Historically, minimalism grew out of the tension of the 1960s with a pulsating, process-oriented style exemplified by Terry Riley and Steve Reich. Eastern mysticism and subtle development in increments characterize minimalism. Beginning with early efforts including Einstein on the Beach, Philip Glass has had a tremendous influence on music. In an almost unprecedented rise, Philip Glass's career took a meteoric rise several years and he became one of the most sought after film composers of our time.
We concluded with comments about minimalism and other kind of music of today. It was not quite an earth-shattering day, but we did cover some modern material, leaving all us feeling both enriched and maybe a little confused. What is music? Is there a place for experimentalism in today's world? Do you like Minimalism in music?
If music is sound, regardless of its system or organization, and regardless of man's attempt to compartmentalize its role and purpose, then it stands to reason that music is only limited by man's creative spirit. With that in mind, we jumped into some sounds and music that are being performed today. The influence of John Cage cannot be overemphasized, but equal to Cage, although in a more traditional framework, is the music of Edgar Varese. We listened to Arcana and a little bit of Ameriques and discussed the sounds and approach of Varese. A bit strident at times, shocking, yet oddly sensitive, Varese's music opened the door to new sounds and textures for future composers.
The composers Ligeti, Lutoslawski, Babbit, Xenakis, and Stockhausen to name just a few have all been involved with experimentation and searching for new sounds and aural expression. A riveting recording of Kontakte by Stockhausen led us to a wide variety of opinions and discussion. Some students are uncomfortable with music that cannot be performed live. Others enjoyed the complexity of sound but tended to associate that with particular images. Kontakte then took us to a different kind of piece called Helicopter String Quartet by Stockhausen. Each member of the string quartet plays inside a flying helicopter where the sound is heard on the ground by the audience. We listened to approximately 6 minutes of the lengthy piece and all of us were pretty taken with the concept and the resulting sound. Perhaps this is due to the direct imagery of 4 helicopters, not sure though.
A quick shift of thought took us back to minimalism, landing on the music of Phillip Glass. We listened to a few examples and discussed his remarkable career in film music. Historically, minimalism grew out of the tension of the 1960s with a pulsating, process-oriented style exemplified by Terry Riley and Steve Reich. Eastern mysticism and subtle development in increments characterize minimalism. Beginning with early efforts including Einstein on the Beach, Philip Glass has had a tremendous influence on music. In an almost unprecedented rise, Philip Glass's career took a meteoric rise several years and he became one of the most sought after film composers of our time.
We concluded with comments about minimalism and other kind of music of today. It was not quite an earth-shattering day, but we did cover some modern material, leaving all us feeling both enriched and maybe a little confused. What is music? Is there a place for experimentalism in today's world? Do you like Minimalism in music?
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Day Five
We completed the Middle Ages discussion with a flare today, amidst further discussion on organum, the Italian Ars Nova, French Ars Nova and development of polyphony. We tossed around trouveres, troubadours, minnesingers, meistersingers, and minstrels along with a brief mention of the amazing invention known as the printing press. Quite a bit of time was spent talking about the merits of www.lcsproductions.net, an excellent and concise website that provides links, explanations, and definitions of terms.
We reminded each other of the different kinds of Masses, additions to the mass, the development of the motet, and the various dances used in secular music. Unfortunately, the mad race through the Middle Ages resulted in all of us having a peripheral and maybe superficial knowledge of the music of the time, but I reminded everyone of the number of resources available for additional research. We also discussed Guido d'Arezzo, and Musica Enchiriadis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musica_enchiriadis). It would be a good idea to know a little more about this for your future!
An abrupt stop and we jumped a few centuries to the present time. A philosophical discussion about the palette of musical opportunity and the eclecticism of today's musical world led us to listen to a variety of music. We heard a little Corigliano, Michael Martin Murphy, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, and stopped on Phillip Glass. Further discussion revolved around music for entertainment versus cultivated music. A couple of students mentioned that some music seems to bridge the gap between the two general styles and one student maintains that music will continue to "meld" the two distinctions into one.
We ended the lively discussion where everyone had a slightly differing opinion on music of today and the role of entertainment and cultivated music by landing on Phillip Glass and his extraordinary success in the film industry. An assignment was made to name 5 film scores by Glass. We will begin Thursday with a more indepth discussion of minimalism followed by the experimentalism of the the 1950's and 60s.
So what do you think is the difference between art or cultivated music and music for entertainment? Should we study music for entertainment at all in the college curriculum?
See you Thursday.
We reminded each other of the different kinds of Masses, additions to the mass, the development of the motet, and the various dances used in secular music. Unfortunately, the mad race through the Middle Ages resulted in all of us having a peripheral and maybe superficial knowledge of the music of the time, but I reminded everyone of the number of resources available for additional research. We also discussed Guido d'Arezzo, and Musica Enchiriadis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musica_enchiriadis). It would be a good idea to know a little more about this for your future!
An abrupt stop and we jumped a few centuries to the present time. A philosophical discussion about the palette of musical opportunity and the eclecticism of today's musical world led us to listen to a variety of music. We heard a little Corigliano, Michael Martin Murphy, Barbra Streisand, Michael Jackson, and stopped on Phillip Glass. Further discussion revolved around music for entertainment versus cultivated music. A couple of students mentioned that some music seems to bridge the gap between the two general styles and one student maintains that music will continue to "meld" the two distinctions into one.
We ended the lively discussion where everyone had a slightly differing opinion on music of today and the role of entertainment and cultivated music by landing on Phillip Glass and his extraordinary success in the film industry. An assignment was made to name 5 film scores by Glass. We will begin Thursday with a more indepth discussion of minimalism followed by the experimentalism of the the 1950's and 60s.
So what do you think is the difference between art or cultivated music and music for entertainment? Should we study music for entertainment at all in the college curriculum?
See you Thursday.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Day Four
Starting with the end, we listened to Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde by Richard Wagner. What musical elements in this marvelous piece did you notice? How did the piece make you feel? In what specific ways, does the piece represent Romanticism? It was different to jump ahead a few hundred years and suddenly discuss one piece in the Romantic period. Perhaps in the end, striving for an emotional response is what music is all about.
We began the day by jumping in the deep water of early music. Our talk was rather superficial and general, skipping through a few hundred years fairly quickly, but still informative. Becoming too detailed would prevent further necessary discussions of other great topics! We discussed monody, plainchant, plainsong, early notation, Gregorian chant, and church modes. We recited 7 of the modes in order: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Locrian, deliberately avoiding much discussion of the hypo varieties.
A brief talk of tropes, sequences, and conductus explained how music came to be added to the Mass and how composers were needed to develop these additions. Much of the additions were born out of practical necessity to have music during the Mass. Since text was also needed with the music, eventually the motet was developed.
Spending some time on meter and rhythm, we alluded to the rhythmic modes used in sacred and secular music and then looked at how meter signatures developed. It really is a fascinating study and explains where we get the C that most people call "common" time. For an indepth understanding, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensural_notation
Organum is an early type of polyphony that likely resulted from the overtones in a Cathedral. There are different kinds of organum and different approaches to organum including melismatic organum and free organum with varying types of motion used, syllabic, oblique, and contrary. Eventually the voices became more independent, resulting in what we know of as polyphony. Passing through French Ars Nova, the Italian Ars Nova, Trouveres, Troubadours and host of other terms related to early music, we landed on Machaut where we discussed Isorhythm. An understanding of Talea and Color is central to knowing what Isorhythm means and how it is used in music. We looked at an example of this, referencing the amazingly clever piece My end is my beginning by Machaut. I will send a pdf of this piece to you by email.
You may ask what is the value of this kind of clever approach to music? It has to do with unifying the elements of a piece. A piece of music becomes consistent within itself through its unifying elements. Otherwise we simply have a gushing of complex emotions without any consistency. Isorhythm is simply one way, albeit an excellent way, of giving a piece unity.
Another "exciting" day in music 4000. Please read the early music articles in www.lcsproductions.net. We will discuss the reading on Tuesday and then jump into some recent developments of music. See you then!
We began the day by jumping in the deep water of early music. Our talk was rather superficial and general, skipping through a few hundred years fairly quickly, but still informative. Becoming too detailed would prevent further necessary discussions of other great topics! We discussed monody, plainchant, plainsong, early notation, Gregorian chant, and church modes. We recited 7 of the modes in order: Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, and Locrian, deliberately avoiding much discussion of the hypo varieties.
A brief talk of tropes, sequences, and conductus explained how music came to be added to the Mass and how composers were needed to develop these additions. Much of the additions were born out of practical necessity to have music during the Mass. Since text was also needed with the music, eventually the motet was developed.
Spending some time on meter and rhythm, we alluded to the rhythmic modes used in sacred and secular music and then looked at how meter signatures developed. It really is a fascinating study and explains where we get the C that most people call "common" time. For an indepth understanding, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensural_notation
Organum is an early type of polyphony that likely resulted from the overtones in a Cathedral. There are different kinds of organum and different approaches to organum including melismatic organum and free organum with varying types of motion used, syllabic, oblique, and contrary. Eventually the voices became more independent, resulting in what we know of as polyphony. Passing through French Ars Nova, the Italian Ars Nova, Trouveres, Troubadours and host of other terms related to early music, we landed on Machaut where we discussed Isorhythm. An understanding of Talea and Color is central to knowing what Isorhythm means and how it is used in music. We looked at an example of this, referencing the amazingly clever piece My end is my beginning by Machaut. I will send a pdf of this piece to you by email.
You may ask what is the value of this kind of clever approach to music? It has to do with unifying the elements of a piece. A piece of music becomes consistent within itself through its unifying elements. Otherwise we simply have a gushing of complex emotions without any consistency. Isorhythm is simply one way, albeit an excellent way, of giving a piece unity.
Another "exciting" day in music 4000. Please read the early music articles in www.lcsproductions.net. We will discuss the reading on Tuesday and then jump into some recent developments of music. See you then!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Day Three
Today we continued discussing the tests and focused on the various terms. We also dealt with the list of pieces of music and did some listening at the end of class. We again covered a wide gamut of music including early music, serialism, and American musicals. In fact we discussed Richard Rodgers, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin. My questioning of the lasting value of Irving Berlin was gently questioned when a student pointed out that as long as we sang "God Bless America" and "White Christmas" Irving Berlin would always be remembered!
Our brief discussion of Gershwin took us to a funny story involving Ravel, followed by the acknowledgment of Porgy and Bess as the culminating work of Gershwin's career. Speaking of Ravel, we discussed Bolero and how it is used in helping autistic children. It has two themes plus rhythm and was composed in reaction to the excess development style preferred by the Germans. Ironically Bolero does indeed develop but not in the traditional way.
In discussing Richard Rodgers we listed several musicals including King and I, Sound of Music, South Pacific, State Fair, Oklahoma, Cinderella, and many others. He worked with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein and before that Lorenz Hart.
Our talk of early music revolved around Machaut and went into Gesualdo and finally Buxtehude. We spent some time on the Concerto Grosso concept in the Baroque and had a brief discussion of the Mannheim School which is considered the beginning of the symphony. The Stamitzes (Johann and Carl) were part of the Mannheim school and helped develop the orchestra, particularly the clarinet and the violin.
There are plenty of things left to discuss such as opera, lied, expressionism, modes, isorhythm, avant garde, and many composers, but at the same time we have had some healthy discussions. One thing we spent time on was neoclassicism. Of course, I tricked the class by playing Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. It sounds rather Mozartian at times but a careful listening reveals enough modernisms to take it out of the Classical period. Yet many composers of the 20th Century seemed to enjoy the "looking back" idea and adopted several of the concepts of the classical period. Probably the most well-known was Stravinsky who spent the middle of his illustrious career writing music in a neoclassic vein. Other composers who experimented with this idea include Respighi, Hindemith, Barber to an extent, Ravel, and Lukas Foss.
After listening to some music we ended rather stimulated to learn more music (at least that is my wish!). Time to discuss early music.
Our brief discussion of Gershwin took us to a funny story involving Ravel, followed by the acknowledgment of Porgy and Bess as the culminating work of Gershwin's career. Speaking of Ravel, we discussed Bolero and how it is used in helping autistic children. It has two themes plus rhythm and was composed in reaction to the excess development style preferred by the Germans. Ironically Bolero does indeed develop but not in the traditional way.
In discussing Richard Rodgers we listed several musicals including King and I, Sound of Music, South Pacific, State Fair, Oklahoma, Cinderella, and many others. He worked with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein and before that Lorenz Hart.
Our talk of early music revolved around Machaut and went into Gesualdo and finally Buxtehude. We spent some time on the Concerto Grosso concept in the Baroque and had a brief discussion of the Mannheim School which is considered the beginning of the symphony. The Stamitzes (Johann and Carl) were part of the Mannheim school and helped develop the orchestra, particularly the clarinet and the violin.
There are plenty of things left to discuss such as opera, lied, expressionism, modes, isorhythm, avant garde, and many composers, but at the same time we have had some healthy discussions. One thing we spent time on was neoclassicism. Of course, I tricked the class by playing Prokofiev's Classical Symphony. It sounds rather Mozartian at times but a careful listening reveals enough modernisms to take it out of the Classical period. Yet many composers of the 20th Century seemed to enjoy the "looking back" idea and adopted several of the concepts of the classical period. Probably the most well-known was Stravinsky who spent the middle of his illustrious career writing music in a neoclassic vein. Other composers who experimented with this idea include Respighi, Hindemith, Barber to an extent, Ravel, and Lukas Foss.
After listening to some music we ended rather stimulated to learn more music (at least that is my wish!). Time to discuss early music.
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