Prelude No. 15 in Db Major - F Chopin Fredric Chopin was born in Poland in 1810 which influenced his music to use polish folk tunes and dance rhythms, he died in Paris in 1849. He did more than composing by performing and teaching music, he also composed a lot of piano music and had a reputation as a ‘tragic’ romantic composer, because he was ill a lot and died young. It is often referred to as the ‘raindrop’ prelude because of the repeated quavers, the pedal note, and the falling melodic phrases. This piece comes from a set of 24 preludes that Chopin composed, one in each of the 12 major and 12 minor keys, This Prelude was written in 1839 USE OF THE PIANO Throughout most of the prelude, Chopin uses the middle to the lower ranges of the piano, with only occasional phrases played with the higher range of keys.
Typically when it comes down to choosing whether I like a book or a movie about the book, I will choose the book. However, though the book The Great Gatsby added a bit more detail than the movie did, the soundtrack from the movie is what really drove me towards liking the movie more. The desire of the soundtrack was to blend the music of the Jazz Age associated with the 1922 setting of the story with a modern spin, and in my opinion, was done perfectly. I chose three songs from the soundtrack to mash up and sing/play on the piano. The first song is a major musical motif in Baz Lurhmann’s 2013 Great Gatsby, and the title is “Young and Beautiful”, sung by the amazingly talented Lana Del Ray.
In deep, Parker and Gillespie are strong and attractive, compared to soft Mingus. It is easier to see Mingus solo are occupied 16 bars while Parker and Gillespie each take on 36 choruses. Nevertheless, “All the things you are” are shocked classical jazz world. The modulations in this song are extremely unique for a pop song of the period, and present challenges to a singer or improviser. It not only emerged in countless films and other kind of media, but also drew jazz lovers’
Count Basie “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” Count Basie was born in 1904 in Red Bank, New Jersey, and grew up playing the piano. He was a leading figure of the swing era in jazz and formed the Count Basie Orchestra, which was one of the first big bands made. The band reached fame with hit songs such as “One o'clock Jump” (1937), “Jumpin' at the Woodside” (1938), and “Taxi War Dance” (1939). However, I will be focusing primarily on the song “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” and educate you with an in-depth description of the piece. It was recorded on August 22, 1938 by Decca Records, whom he had a record deal with.
Throughout his prolific career, Franz Liszt fashioned many solo piano pieces from the works of other composers, perhaps most notably the symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven and the lieder of Franz Schubert. Many of his own works he also arranged for piano solo, particularly his vocal music—for example, his settings of three Petrarch sonnets were included in the second volume of his Années de pèlerinage. The best examples are, however, his Liebesträume. Whereas Liszt’s vocal music is largely neglected, his piano arrangements on the other hand enjoy a far better reputation and presence on recital programs. Both the vocal and piano editions of the three Liebesträume (Dreams of Love) were published simultaneously in 1850.
Radio exposure brought him to the attention of bandleader Harry James, with whom Sinatra made his first recordings, including "All or Nothing at All." In 1940, Sinatra joined Tommy Dorsey’s band. After two years of chart-topping success with Dorsey, Sinatra decided to strike out on his own (Frank Sinatra: the Boudoir Singer, 2011). In the 1940s Sinatra embarked on a solo career and became the idol of “bobby-soxers,” teenage girls who swooned over his crooning, soft-voiced singing. He appeared in such film musicals as Anchors Aweigh (1945), Till the Clouds Roll By (1947), and On the Town (1949).
Beethoven had written a good half of his songs by 1811 and much before Schubert was even born. In their personal lives, they both had the strong support of their friends, and similarly, they were both unmarried. While Schubert was considered primarily a Romantic composer, he also was an important figure in Classical music similar to Beethoven. Although Schubert’s music was considered “subjectively emotional in the Romantic manner, poetically conceived, and revolutionary in language”, his music was cast in the “formal molds of the Classical school”. Beethoven’s music was heroic in tone while Schubert’s music was said to allow the “poetic work of art to shine through and illuminate”.
MUS105 History Analysis Assignment 1 Bohemian Rhapsody Bohemian Rhapsody (written and arranged by Queen’s lead vocalist and pianist, Freddy Mercury) had a great impact on the world, and to this day very few popular songs are as musically perceptive and as brilliantly constructed. The song’s frequent referencing in popular culture has made its success endure several decades, but compositionally, it is just as attentive and rewarding as any art music from the 20th century. The lyrics within the introduction have many different interpretations which guides the context of the rest of the piece. The most popular interpretation is that the protagonist is confessing to his mother that he killed a man, and he clearly regrets it once he faces his own punishment or death. The song starts with thick A Capella vocal harmonies based around the cycle of fourths (as shown above) for the first four bars.
The Unnoticed Success of Astor Piazzolla Miami Dade College MUL 2380 – Jazz and Popular Music in America The Unnoticed Success of Astor Piazzolla Now regarded as one of the most prolific folk composers in recent history, Astor Piazzolla’s modern take on the traditional Argentine tango has found its way into both concert halls and dance clubs, performed by a wide range of instruments and ensembles and featured on over 321 different recordings to date. In 1985, the composer and performer won the “Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires” award, recognizing his contributions to the worldwide accessibility and popularity of Buenos Aires tango. Appearing on television and radio multiple times and featured in the New York Times throughout his career, the depth and breadth of Piazzolla’s popularity prior to his death in 1992 is undeniable. Referred to during his lifetime as the “contemporary master of the tango” and the “father of the ‘new tango,’” and serving as a benchmark for all other tango composers after his death, Piazzolla’s music has undoubtedly earned a permanent home somewhere in the gray areas between classical, pop, jazz, and ethnic music. Despite Piazzolla’s steadily growing popularity during his lifetime, however, the majority of scholarly literature written about Piazzolla definitively declares that success, and particularly his success in New York City, eluded him until just before death in 1992.
To play music on the phonograph the operator was required to rotate a hand crank and essentially wind the machine up in order for the record to play. The second piece I found at the museum was an Edison phonograph that dated back to 1905. During this time period and around the time that John Tarleton College was founded, popular music was becoming more accessible to the American public. Jazz and Ragtime were among the most popular genres of music at this time, and in 1899, Scott Joplins song Maple Leaf Rag was the most popular Ragtime song purchased on sheet music. Phonographs and gramophones were becoming more of a staple in the homes of America and in order for the musician to record their sound, they had to sing or play their instrument directly into the large cylinder horn found on these