Exploring Genres

Today I completed this exercise, which I began on 29th October. Exploring some less familiar genres has been an interesting and rewarding experience. I chose four genres, and listened to three pieces in each. In choosing the pieces to listen to, I tried to select works that I hadn't heard before, or in that same context before. Below I have detailed my findings.


Contemporary Classical

Title Of Piece: Lament For A Hanging Man
Composer: Mark-Anthony Turnage
Details: A piece in three movements for soprano and ensemble. There was no discernible straightforward structure or melody that I could make out. It very much gave me the impression of a dreamscape, and as such something to be experienced, rather than hummed along to. It seemed like a fusion of genres, with elements of jazz, opera and instrumental classical. There were haunting soprano vocals interspersed with percussion, woodwind, brass and others. I also noticed large areas of silence in the music, along with shifts between quiet and unrest which helped give a quirky and disjointed feel to the piece.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this piece, I think it was effective at drawing me into a strange, offbeat world, quite apart from reality.


Title Of Piece: Different Trains
Composer: Steve Reich
Details: This work also consists of three movements. The subject matter was clear from the titles of the movements: - "America-Before the War", "Europe-During the War" and "After the War". The music for the most part takes the form of strings executing a paradiddle rhythm, giving the effect of a moving train. The background accompaniment also consisted of electronica loops. Throughout the work you can hear pre-recorded samples of train whistles, air raid sirens, and fragments of speech. There will also be sudden changes of tempo. I felt the third movement was the more melodic of the three, but it still had a similar repetitive and relentless feel to it.

My Thoughts: I did enjoy this piece and was certainly intrigued by it. I question whether I could listen to this kind of music for extended periods of time, as it is so relentless in its forward movement. It is a work which I gained more appreciation of when I did a little reading of its background. The vocal fragments you can hear are taken from interviews of people giving their accounts of before, during and after the war; including holocaust survivors. Between 1939 and 1942 Reich used to travel by train between his divorced parents. Many years later he realised that as a Jew, had he been in Europe at that time he could have been making very different train journeys. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Different_Trains (accessed 29/19/12)


Title Of Piece: Mantra
Composer: Karlheinz Stockhausen
Description: I listened to a selection of tracks of this piece, namely bars 1-2, 3-10, 151-188, 299-323, 530-577, 884-887. In some aspects this felt similar to the Turnage piece, in terms of dissonance and a free structure. It was predominantly piano (which I later learned was two pianos) with some occasional percussion (cymbals, woodblock). It seemed to keep a similar pace thorough the parts I listened to, but with some variation of dynamics.

My thoughts: There was not enough variety here to keep me interested for long, I couldn't imagine listening to the whole work, which is of considerable length.

Overall Response To Genre: Overall I think that with some further listening I could definitely find some favourite works amongst contemporary classical music. I think it's important for me not to expect it to be like Beethoven or Mozart, and to keep an open mind with regards to some of the innovations I have heard (for example using sound loops and electronica in classical music). I feel there is a connection between these types of works, and Tone Poems by earlier composers - an intention to create a story or scene.



Early Music


Title Of Piece: Mass For Four Voices
Composer: William Byrd
Details: I picked this piece as it was rated most popular of Byrd's pieces on Spotify. It was four male voices with no instrumental accompaniments. It was a very pleasant sounding piece, with lovely harmonies and cadences. It was possible to pick out individual voices and follow their melody line.

My Thoughts: An atmospheric piece, very typical of what I'd imagine the average person would conjure up if asked to think of early church music. Although as a non-religious person myself I prefer secular music, I'd probably take the opportunity to see a work such as this performed in a cathedral or similar venue.


Title Of Piece: Solfaing Song a 5 for 5 viols and lute
Composer: Thomas Tallis
Details: A very warm sounding piece for a small group of string instruments. It seemed to me that the lute in the piece was playing a similar role as the harpsichord in the baroque period. Short, at 2m33s, it was in a major key at a moderate speed. It was almost fugue-like in parts, swapping small melody sections between the viols and the lute.

My Thoughts: A very easy listen, and not too dissimilar to what you might hear in the later Baroque period, but still obviously Renaissance. I feel I could comfortably listen to more of this kind of work.


Title Of Piece: The Lady Russell's Pavane
Composer: John Dowland
Details: A slow, stately piece for solo lute fitting the style of 'Pavane'. A nice, melodic piece in a predominantly major key, although I could hear short minor excursions.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed this piece, and would like to hear more solo lute, perhaps something of a higher tempo. It had a nostalgic feel to it, and probably typical of what an average persons perception of 'early music' would be.

Overall Response To Genre: As previously stated, my preference is instrumental secular music, and early music is dominated by sacred vocal works. However with that being said, I found I enjoyed all three pieces on their own merits, and certainly intend to explore this genre more in the future. I particularly enjoyed hearing music featuring the lute, and would like to listen to more music featuring 'obsolete' instruments, such as this, and the recorder.



Opera


Title Of Piece: Pa-pa-pa-papagena from "The Magic Flute"
Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Details: An upbeat piece featuring an operatic duet, with plenty of melodic imitation between the voices and the orchestra. Lots of character, with dramatic changes of tempo and dynamics.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this piece, and listened to it four or five times whilst collecting my thoughts on what I was hearing. I had recently read an article in BBC Music magazine discussing "The Magic Flute", and this piece was specifically described as "one of opera's most memorable duets"; as such I was keen to listen to it myself. I very much look forward to seeing this piece in context, as I now have a DVD of a performance of The Magic Flute which I will be watching soon. As much as I enjoyed this music, I think watching this piece as part of a performance will be even more beneficial. It seems to me that it is not as strong a stand-alone as, for example, Puccini's "Nessun Dorma".


Title Of Piece: Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from "Nabucco"
Composer: Giuseppe Verdi
Details: I don't remember hearing a piece with such a contrast between the introduction and the main body of the music. The piece begins with a suspense building skirmish with strings and woodwinds taking pot-shots at each other. After about 30 seconds and a brief moment of silence, there is a short dramatic outburst from the orchestra, which then falls away again leading to a very mellow chorus in triple time.

My thoughts: I haven't listened to an operatic chorus before, my little prior experience of opera has consisted of solo performances. I enjoyed the contrast between the first minute of the performance and the remainder, although I think my preference at this point lies with solo or duet pieces.


Title Of Piece: Habanera from "Carmen"
Composer: Georges Bizet
Details: This aria opens with an interesting four-note repeating pattern played by cello, and is shortly joined by the mezzo-soprano and what I think is plucked strings mimicking the cello rhythm. There is short dramatic outbursts of chorus, as well as longer passages.

My thoughts: I enjoyed the quirky rhythm that is prominent throughout. Despite being created by a French composer, it has a definite 'Spanish' flavour to it, which is explained with some quick research; the score for this piece was adapted from a composition from a Spanish musician. I liked the contrasts between the muted strings and mezzo-soprano, and the louder outbursts of chorus and orchestra.

Overall Response To Genre: I'm glad I took the opportunity to delve for even a short time into the operatic repertoire. I enjoyed what I heard, and intend to hear more. As previously mentioned, I think that seeing these pieces performed in context, with the visual aspect as well as the audible will be a great benefit. As each of the pieces I chose were performed in a different language (German, Italian and French), making a connection with the libretto and the story behind it is impossible.



Folk


Title Of Piece: Whiskey In The Jar
Origin: Irish
Details: The song starts off very mellow, with piano, acoustic guitar and what appeared to be a tin whistle. At the chorus the song becomes more upbeat, when a bass drum starts to keep a regular beat with a tambourine on the off-beat, with a solo male singer, and some light backing vocals.

My Thoughts: I have previously heard cover versions of this song, played by bands such as Metallica and really enjoyed them. This folk version had a strong Irish feel to it, and the music and lyrics combination certainly evokes imagery of that part of the world. This is the kind of thing I'd like to see live if I was visiting Ireland, but can't imagine listening to it for regular recreation.


Title Of Piece: The Farmer Went To A Fair
Origin: Czech
Details: A short, upbeat song featuring whistles, tambourines, and I think some string accompaniment. There is also a solo male vocal.

My thoughts: I could easily imagine a small group of buskers playing this song at a Czech country fair. I wasn't able to associate with the lyrics due to the language barrier.


Title Of Piece: Scarborough Fair
Origin: English
Details: A performance consisting of accoustic guitar, what I believe is banjo accompaniment, violin and a male solo vocal. Also had what I think was tin whistle in parts. This song had a constant tempo, with little variation in dynamics.

My thoughts: The instrumentals sounded very good in this song, however there was not much variation, with the emphasis being placed on the strong lyrical content. The story is about two former lovers who vow to take each other back if they can perform a series of 'impossible tasks'. The melody of this tune was very reminiscent of medieval times.

Overall Response To Genre: I found this genre the most difficult to listen to and critique, as I have no prior experience to go by, and they are generally very simple tunes. I purposely chose songs that were 'traditional folk', as opposed to contemporary or classical artists who have incorporated folk into their work. I found these folk songs were excellent at portraying their region of origin, and I would actively seek out such performances when travelling to other countries. Although I could definitely see myself using this music for inspiration in my own future compositions, I don't think I would listen to it for listening's sake.