Author Archives: Karen Lu

Summary of Activity on this Site

Number of Posts: 2
Number of Comments: 5

Preview- Verdi at New York Carnegie Hall(3/28)

Pieces:

–  Giuseppe Verdi “Ad una stella”

– Giuseppe Verdi “Lo spazzacamino”

– Giuseppe Verdi “Il tramonto”

– Giuseppe Verdi “Brindisi”

Date: March 28 2013

Venue: Carnegie Hall, Manhattan, NY

Performers:

Lawrence Brownlee, Tenor

Martin Katz, Piano

 

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyV8Qbe-_x4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8zMCAKWdMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8k4QwjaQ1g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rsciRaJVtE

 

Guiseppe Verdi was born in the Romanticism period, and was greatly honored as one of the most famous Italian opera composers in his time. The pieces I will analyze are “Ad una stella”(To a star), “Lo spazzacamino”(The chimney-sweep), “Il tramonto”(The Sunset), and “Brindisi”(Toast).

After reading American Theological Inquiry, I become aware that Verdi had not leaded a delighted life because he witnessed the death of his wife and children in his middle age. Since then, he alienated himself from the Catholic Church as he was not able to acquire relief from the religious practice. Verdi’s operas are known for their outstanding conflicts, as Verdi stated, “There is one thing the public will not tolerate in the theater: boredom.” Through the conflicts, Verdi’s operas were notable in stimulating excitement, joy or sadness. Verdi is also known for his unique techniques in organizing most of his reputable operas. 

One similarity among these four operas is the accompaniment—piano. “Ad na stella” has an andante tempo in contrast to “Brindisi” and “Lo spazzacamino” which have allegro tempo and a theme of joyful celebration. “Il tramonto” has relatively long libretto, in which it depicts the scenery of countryside to emphasize peace and quietness, yet the theme is sadness because the young lady has lost her lover, and the last part of the opera focus on describing her melancholy.

Bibliography:

American Theological Inquiry. Jul2012, Vol. 5 Issue 2, p59-65. 7p.

Shakira- “Waka Waka”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsjFQMMU5Vg

This song has a very upbeat style, and the main phrase “waka waka” has been repeated a significant number of times to emphasize its importance (“waka waka” means “do it” in African language). The music has a duple meter, with an allegro tempo. Since it incorporates the use of drums to produce a very strong accompaniment, its texture is homophonic. There is a major change at 1’04, as a cymbal-like instrument is introduced to add more variation to the melody. Furthermore, the new vocalist at 2’12 generates a unique kind of exotic sensation to its listeners.

Comments:

"The introductory notes keep repeating a number of times before singer starts. The song has a duple meter, with an andante tempo. The timbre of the singer is soft, dark and gentle. Piano is the main instrument within the piece, and is being played at a moderate dynamics. The singers’ intensity of sounds varies, using crescendo to stir up listeners’ emotional response. I would say the texture is relatively simple, most likely is a ternary form."
posted on Mar 1, 2013, on the post Adele – “Someone Like You”

"Rhythm The song has a duple meter, with an andante tempo. Instrumentation Instrumentation involves the use of violin, viola, and drums. There are several singers involved, a male voice and 2 females’. The timbres of their voices are very soft, gentle and appeasing. Melody The song has a major scale, mostly played by the violin. Harmony Sound of the drums serves as accompaniment. Texture The texture is homophonic, because its style is vocal plus a variety of instruments. Dynamics The song has an “ms” volume in the dynamics scale. Form From my point of view, the song has a ternary form, because it mainly has three sessions, with the final session repeating the first."
posted on Feb 28, 2013, on the post We Found Love- Lindsey Stirling- VenTribe

"I like the symphony a lot because it has a very beautiful and comforting melody, and I am particularly captivated by the session played by the violin. I think you could do some further analysis on the instruments that have been used, and how they are combined together to generate the effects and feelings that are brought to the audience"
posted on Feb 22, 2013, on the post Yanni- “Nightingale”

"At the beginning I was tempted to describe the song as polymorphic, but then I think you were right because the male vocal can be seen as an accompaniment to the main female vocal. I like this version much better than the original one because the melody is very soothing and peaceful, yet positive and gratifying."
posted on Feb 22, 2013, on the post We Found Love- Lindsey Stirling- VenTribe

"I like your thorough analysis on this song especially on the instrument session which I have some difficulty to target the kinds of instruments that have been used. And I agree that the song has used major scale, with very little dissonance."
posted on Feb 22, 2013, on the post Caught Me Thinking by Bahamas