The third part is even slower yet, but has a new sense of cheer to it. As the soloist sings with the instrument, you begin to get into and expect this peaceful melody to continue, when all of a sudden Bach adds in the whole choir in an instant going at a quick tempo. The notes are also crisper then before adding feelings of excitement. Throughout the parts, imitative polyphony is used, as the lines are independent yet sound together harmonically. The color and tone of the various voices and instruments flavour the melody and all appear to contribute to each other.
In his review of Callas in La Traviata Winthrop Sargeant touches upon an earlier review he had given on Callas’s performance in Norma where he commented on her vocal ability by saying “Its tendency to wobble slightly in its highest notes disturbed me a bit”. This vocal wobble is also mentioned in Book 1 p 178 and is described as “Rather aggressive”. However, later in the La Traviata review Sargeant states that the wobble seemed to add “Intensity to her singing” once you had become accustomed to it. It’s amazing when this happens; an apparent flaw becomes an asset, “Hers is not a pure, innocent voice but a fiery conveyance for female passion”(Sargeant, in AA100 Assignment Booklet, 2008, p. 24). Winthrop Sargeant expresses in his review that Callas gives a “Highly personal interpretation of Violetta” this compounded by “An
However, the third song concertino for clarinet, played by Frank Bencriscutto. He did prove his talent in playing clarinet, but he was really nervous. I feel like he is too nervous to breathe. The Piece I Enjoyed the Most: Celebrations Reason: it was the first song of the whole concert, which is also my favorite one by John Zdechlik. It was beautiful melodies, the brisk pace of hearty, full of a kind of vitality and vigor up.
Later, the strings came in as an accompanying section along with the guitar playing chords. After the English horn finished the melodic solo, Mr. Williams played the melodic line, which is almost identical to that of the English horn. Mr. Williams’s solo was very melancholic, yet uplifting. Both the soloist and the orchestra were very sensitive to harmonic changes and drama during the movement. The cadenza was very impressive musically and technically.
He reminds me a Jack Nicholson in all his magnificent roles. Following a few bars of pastoral music, Faust's opening narrative is wonderfully recieved. It seems Faust is peaceful and rejoicing in the spring time. The flutes make for the most amazing sounding birds. Coupled with glorious harp interjections, the music cause me to tear up in joy.
All in all I was simply satisfied with major mediocre performance of the mariachi group. Their program consisted of Ron Nelson’s Rocky Point Holiday and Eric Whitacre’s The Seal Lullaby–both instantly enjoyable; an appealing arrangement of Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino Overture; H. Owen Reed’s catchy La Fiesta Mexicana and Carnival; and John Astacio’s marvelous Frenergy. The selections were nicely varied and well-prepared. The excellent conductors included Micah Ewing, Avious Jackson, and Mason High School Band Director Robert Bass, plus world-renowned clinician, conductor, and adjudicator James F. Keene, who also guest conducted the John Hersey
I enjoyed listening to them and not being startled every 30 seconds by the drums pounding in or the horns suddenly sounding out of no where. In this sense, I very much enjoyed listening to this orchestra in a different way then I enjoyed the other musical performances we went to see. When Joshua Bell came out to do his solo, it was actually very funny because he completely changed the mood of the night by playing “Yankee Doodle” on his violin. The whole mood
She does not display a wide vocal range. In a truly modern diva style, the lyrics are very prima donna-like; demanding money, replacing love. ‘The stereotypical diva…. is someone with great vocal facility and an ability to convey the emotional nuances of the music to her audience.’ (Moohan, 2008, p. 163), which Callas does beautifully in the extract from Tosca. At 1:10 she sounds desperate and becomes more distraught.
The rhythm and tempo become over the top and in my opinion, it goes from amazing piano work to what seems to just be noise. The Island track wasn’t so bad and I really enjoyed the overall texture of this song. His music again becomes far too erratic when the Rubric track begins to play and I just couldn’t get into it. Even though I didn’t much like this selection, I can appreciate the work and dedication it takes to compose this
Texture: This song consisted of a polyphonic texture. As I could hear the two different melodic lines, again, the voices of the men were greatly emphasized and the talent they acquired could not go without being noticed. Dynamics: As the men sang this song they maintained the same dynamics the whole time. The movement was just over seven minutes long and featured a mezzoforte dynamic because of the loudness of their singing voices. As the concert began I thought they would open up with something