Author Archives: jennifer waldman

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Number of Posts: 2
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About jennifer waldman

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Preview- Haydn, Bartok, and Beethoven at Dweck Auditorium (4/14)

Pieces:

  • Joseph Haydn – string quartet in C Major Op.76/3 “Emperor”
  • Bela Bartok – string quartet No.4 Sz 91
  • L. v. Beethoven – string quartet in C Major Op.59/3 “Rasumowsky”


Venue:Brooklyn Public Library: Dweck Auditorium, Brooklyn, New York

Performers: Minetti String Quartet

  • Maria Ehmer, violin
  • Anna Knopp, violin
  • Milan Milojicic, viola
  • Leonhard Roczek, cello

http://youtu.be/Rc34Jr9udlU

Both Beethoven and Haydn established names for themselves as composers during the Classical Era. However, Beethoven being born almost 40 years after Haydn in the year 1770, transitioned into the era of Romanticism as well, in which he successfully composed works representative of this new age of music and reason. Contrastingly, Bartok had not been born until both of these composers had passed, Beethoven 54 years prior and Haydn 72.

Due to this small, but substantial gap in time, upon listening to Bartok’s piece I will be interested to see how Bartok takes a more modern approach when writing his string quartet. The piece of his that will be performed, String Quartet No. 4 Sz 91, was written fairly recently in the year 1928 and features large amounts of pizzicato. I will probably find myself comparing and contrasting his work to those of the earlier time periods and seeing which elements he kept of these eras, which elements he discarded, and which modern elements he decided to add in composing this piece.

As for Beethoven’s peice, It is said that upon completing the “Razumovsky” quartets that he had gained a new self confidence. Beethoven used to make sketches within his music and in the finale of the third “Razumovsky” quartet he wrote amidst these sketches “In the same way that you rush into the whirlpool of society, so it is possible to write operas despite all social hindrances- let your deafness be no more a secret- even in art.” (Cooper 2000, 167) Beethoven must have been exceptionally pleased with these works of his. As I listen to these pieces after reading this quote I will most likely focus on why I think Beethoven felt a new found sense of confidence and pride in his work after he finished writing this piece.

In Haydn’s piece we see a bit of a lyrical approach in the composition. When Haydn was writing his String Quartet Op. 76/3 “Emperor” in C major he was making a transition to vocal works such as writing a mass for Pincess Maria Hermenegild Esterhazy, an oratorio entitled The Creation, and several other vocal works. “It is easy to imagine that the connections to song, aria, and the learned-style traditions found in Op. 76 may owe something to that circumstance.” (Grave 2006, 302) While writing this piece, Haydn implemented strategies in his composing that had been used for years or were “tried-and-true”, but he was also aware that those listening to his music were becoming increasingly more sophisticated as well as expressing “thirst for novelty”. (Grave 206, 303) When listening, I will focus on how Haydn made his piece novel as well as how he kept it traditional to please listeners.

Sources:
Cooper, Barry. Beethoven. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print.
Laki, Peter. Bartók and His World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1995. Print.
Grave, Floyd K., and Margaret G. Grave. The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2006. Print.

Caught Me Thinking by Bahamas

Rhythm:
Each time a new measure begins we can hear the bass come in very strong (strong beat). There are 4 notes between each of these bass notes making this song a duple meter. I would say the tempo of this song is andante as it seems to be at a walking pace.

Timbre/Instrumentation:
This song is made up of guitar, bass, percussion, and vocals. It is a very happy sounding song which unexpectedly contrasts the not so happy lyrics. The singers voice is very soft and calm which adds to the joyful sound of the music and again contrasts the melancholy emotions he describes. The melodic guitar riff (0:15-0:31) that is repeated several times in the song is also a very pleasant and happy sounding sequence.

Melody:
I would say that in this song their are 2 melodies that switch back and forth between each other. The first melody would be the singers voice. This is the part of the song that everyone is focused on, mainly listening to, and singing along. However there are several instances when the vocals drop out and a new melody takes the lead. When the vocals are not present the melody is the happy guitar riff that repeats several times throughout the song (0:15-0:30, 1:19-1:34, 2:25-3:00).

Harmony:
The song is in a major key and in harmony through out the entire piece. There is consonance within the entire song and no instances of dissonance except for in the beginning when the guitar slides up the scale. There are also no key changes through out the song. When the vocals are the melody, they are accompanied by either bass and percussion or bass, percussion, and guitar. When the guitar is the melody it is accompanied by percussion and bass.

Dynamics:
The dynamics of this piece is mezzo forte, or medium loud through out the entire song.

Texture:
This song is homophonic. There are 2 melodies, but they are only played one at a time with accompaniment.

Form:

  • From 0:00 to 0:14 there is an introduction to the song.
  • The actual song begins at 0:15 and this section (A) continues until 0:48 where the chorus begins. The vocals are introduced during this period, however I don’t believe that automatically signals a new section because the song is still following the same general pattern just with lyrics now included.
  • At 0:48 the chorus begins, section B, and at 1:19 returns back to section A with the guitar riff we heard earlier and into the same vocal patterns as before until 1:50.
  • At 1:50 the chorus comes back, section B, until 2:25 where it then returns the section A for the remainder of the song.

This makes the form of the song ternary because sections A and B are both repeating back and forth throughout.



Comments:

"I've always loved this song and I also had a hard time being able to tell whether it was homophonic or polyphonic. I feel like it's a little bit of both at certain times if that's even possible lol Most of the time I think it's homophonic, but at times like 1:15 I think it's polyphonic with the vocals and guitar parts both carrying their own melodies."
posted on Feb 22, 2013, on the post Sound Garden- “Black Hole Sun”

"I really like your song choice. I'm a kid cudi fan myself and i love the strings in the back and the use of a soft background chorus, but I think the song is duple meter instead of triple meter."
posted on Feb 22, 2013, on the post Dan Black ft. Kid Cudi- Symphonies

"I also really liked the guitar in this song and the singer has a really pretty voice, but i feel like the tempo is maybe a bit faster than a moderate slow tempo."
posted on Feb 22, 2013, on the post Afterlife – “Cry”