Finishing up the test discussion and talking through various issues related to pieces of music, we then dived into Wagner's Tristan and Isolde. Unfortunately not everyone was present which made me hesitate a little since I wanted everyone to experience the same music. But I pressed forward and we listened to the Prelude followed by Liebestod.
From its inception through the development of chant, polyphony, key signatures, instruments, and finally Romantic music, from the pen of master composer Richard Wagner, there came a piece of music that blossomed forth as the crowning achievement of all that is Romantic--Tristan and Isolde. Yet that same piece, though shining as the epitome of the age, also projected a future that we are still in today. A quick study of the "Tristan" chord reveals a complicated structure emanating from chromaticism and suspensions. This hint of emancipation from tonality ultimately took us to atonality and finally music of today known as "tonality with an attitude!" This pivotal chord, richly romantic but mysteriously ambiguous, acts as a catalyst for future musical innovations while establishing the Romantic period in music, a period frothy with emotion and bathed in human expression.
As stunning and rather bold as this statement is, it is actually the expression of unbridled passion that occurs in Liebestod where we find Wagner at his finest. We listened carefully and intensely to Liebestod, with its 6-5 suspensions, its stunning motion, breath-taking harmonic rhythm, motivic development, and mostly its sense of direction and purpose, all surrounding a gripping, even monumental expression of love and death. Marvelous piece for sure and unforgettable once experienced.
A short discussion on church modes followed with the encouragement to study the Middle Ages articles on www.lcsproductions.net.
So if the purpose of music is to elicit, express, cleanse emotions, have we as musicians achieved this purpose?
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Music is emotion. As humans I think it is impossible to completely separate your emotions from what you may be doing creatively with a piece or song that you work on and develop for a performance. Emotion, if utilized correctly, allows for a gripping, personal connection to music. Music is also a great way of communicating emotions that cannot be expressed with words. (As you said earlierer, a cleansing of emotions). I find it very difficult to believe that any musician could not have achieved this purpose, which is a rather bold statement in and of itself. Regardless of motive, ability, or knowledge, music is the portrayal, expression, and yes cleansing of emotion. I believe all people use music and view it in this way, they just may not realize it.
ReplyDeleteRound three of trying to post:
ReplyDeleteMusicicans only achieve our purpose of expression when we fully embody the music. Especially in vocal music, you must live the text and the character to have any hope of doing the music justice. Any piece can be moving, it's all in the hands of the performer.