Parents Weekend: Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble Concert

During the parents weekend I attended the Symphonic Band and Jazz Ensemble Concert in Ford Hall. The band played three pieces, and the ensemble played five pieces. 

One song that the band played that I really enjoyed was called KRUMP(2007) by Scott McAllister . In the program it mentions that KRUMP is a dance movement inspired by hip-hop, African tribal rituals, pantomime and martial arts. The term  KRUMP is an acronym for Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise. The music piece was inspired by this type of dancing and performing. The piece started out with a very slow tempo and softer dynamics to give a more melancholy feel. This part could be seen as the struggles that the people were facing with violence on the streets before they were able to find krumping as an outlet. Then the piece slowly start to pick up in tempo and volume, showing that they are starting to discover their outlet for their anger. One part that I really thought was able to capture the essence of krumping was towards the middle of the piece when they had a long string of soloists that would stand up and perform their piece. Similar to the dance style the musician was never really alone in the solo, the band was always there to support them by clapping rhythmically at certain points in the music. 

This piece was definitely different from the styles that we have listened to in class. While I was able to hear some periods in the music, they were not emphasized by the style of the music. There were many points were you were able to hear some dramatic dynamic changes which reminded me of the Beethoven Eroica Symphony in the idea of the dramatic moment. Similar to Romanticism there was some emphasis on the individual, but in a very different way. While Romantic works value the individual who is separated from society such as the romantic hero, this song was able to showcase the individual speaking out as part of a community.

Another piece that the band played that I really enjoyed was called Molly on the Shore(1907) by Percy Grainger. This piece was written for a full band and 16 hands on 8 marimbas. I thought that that alone was amazing. This song was very similar to the folk music unit that we had at the start of the semester, it was inspired by Ancient Irish music. I was able to hear some periods throughout the piece, but I was so mesmerized by watching the eight marimbas that I don't quite remember where. The piece was much lighter than KRUMP but is did have many difficult runs for the higher instruments and especially the marimbas. 

The Jazz Ensemble was also quite amazing, their music could be compared more closely with the folk music. They were a smaller ensemble and each piece contained a feature of one or more of the players. It gave off a more community vibe as each of the musicians would feed off each other in style. Additionally many of the solos were memorized similar to how some folk players don't even use music they are just able to make up things on the spot for their pieces. 

It is really hard for me to pick one of the Jazz pieces that I liked the best because I thought that they were all amazing in their own right. One solo that I thought was amazing however was in a piece by Duke Ellington called Black and Tan Fantasy. In this piece there was an amazing trombone solo. The soloist stood at the front of the stage with a mute held up to the bell of his instrument and just went for it. There were octave jumps all over the place and mute flourishes that enhanced the sound and were able to create more dramatic dynamic changes within the solo. 

Overall I really enjoyed this concert and would definitely go to another one like it. The acoustics in Ford Hall were amazing and there were times in the concert where I couldn't help but smile. I was in the symphonic band and Wind Ensemble at my high school and we had concerts with music similar to the music that they played. In fact I even played a piece by Percy Grainger in High School called Irish Tune from a Country Derry. I enjoy listening to band music and really like the vast assortment of instruments that are in a band that I sometime feel an orchestra is lacking. I also really love listening to jazz music and find it very complex and interesting. I can't wait to attend their next concert.

Romanticism 

The rise of romanticism began around the 1790s. It valued the rise of the individual which correlated with alienation. 

In this painting, Wanderer Above the Sea Mist (1818), by Caspar David Friedrich, we are able to see many of the ideals of romanticism. We are able to see the alienation of the individual. The person in the picture while he is centralized in the painting is not necessarily the main focus of the painting. By painting him facing away from the observer the value is placed higher on what he is looking at. To further this we are able to see that the light is not focused on the man but on the nature. This is able to show the unknown of the future and the how romanticism valued the power and fury of nature. The tides are a uncontrollable force of nature that is able to cause destruction. Water is one of the most important things on the earth. It is able to devastate town and destroy lives, but despite that we are not able to survive without it. The painting is able to show the beauty and power of nature, and how we as humans are helpless and powerless in the face of nature. Additionally in the painting we are able to see the idea of the romantic hero. They rejected the established norms, were outsiders who went on their own individual path. Many times they were alienated and isolated from society. The man in the painting has clearly been alienated from society and has followed his own path. By gazing out on the powerful ocean he yearns for the unknown and the unknowable.

The 18th Century Phrase

The piece that I chose is the very famous Eine kleine Nachtmusik by Mozart. This song keeps a energetic feel and upbeat rhythm throughout the whole piece, in quadruple meter (4/4). There are a few parts where the tempo seems to slow down a bit and lower in volume to add to the dramatic effect of the piece (allowing the forte's to seem louder) but it will quickly return back to the faster tempo and forte/fortissimo dynamic. It is definitely not as dark as Beethoven's pieces. This particular piece was written for string instruments, but is not a string quartet. It starts out with the violins playing the melody, and then shortly after adds in the violas and chello's (and possibly bass) to add to the texture. I believe that the particular section that I chose is actually in sonata form. The first part of the piece that we hear is the Exposition. The first phrase in the exposition I believe is a sentence. We are able to hear the two basic ideas and then the continuation. I was a little unsure if it was actually a sentence because the continuation is a bit longer, but that I think is the coda. The first sentence ends with a imperfect authentic cadence that sounded to me like it was on sol. That is followed by a phrase that ends in what sounded like another half cadence ending on mi and then a perfect authentic cadence that comes back home to do. The second two phrases are able to combine to form a parallel  interrupted period.

Here is a diagram of the phrase structure that I heard:

I believe that the first sentence is just an intro into the piece, but it is still part of the first idea in the exposition

I said earlier that I thought that the piece that I selected was in sonata form. The part that I drew my phrase diagram was the first theme in the exposition(0-.30), we are then able to hear the moving part(.31-.47) that takes us to the second theme which is in a new key to add to the tension(.48-1.01), and then it transitions into a second, second theme(1.02-1.27) which then leads to the closing of the exposition(1.28-1.32), a small coda(1.33-1.35) and a repeat back to the beginning(1.36-3.13). After the exposition the piece then moves into the development(3.14-3.47) where we are able to hear much more tension and are able to notice many of the themes that were played in the exposition. This part of the piece adds the most tension and brings us to the recapitulation(3.48-end) which repeats the exposition but all in the tonic key. 

I think that this piece is a great example of enlightenment music. In the exposition we are able to hear the introduction of the music and many additional ideas that are added. The instruments are working out the musical ideas, like how the philosophes would debate and work out their ideas in the salons. When we get to the development we are able to hear how they are trying to solve the problem, and that they are coming up with many solutions that might work. We are able to hear this through the many different keys that they use to play the ideas that were presented in the exposition. Finally after a long time of debate they are finally able to get to he recapitulation which has taken all the ideas and resolved (solved) them. Even in the phrases that I diagramed we are able to hear the first idea and how it has tension, which is signified by an open cadence. Then it is able to be resolved through the use of a closed cadence.