Chuck Mangione - Feels So Good and Don Ellis - Pussy Wiggle Stomp (I COULDN'T DECIDED!!!!!)

Feels So Good --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMGyk5bXNAc&list=PLhRTOVD95hC3bw1jmk0kcTZWhISWXuXD4

Pussy Wiggle Stomp -->

Concert Report: Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra

For my third concert report, I decided to attend a concert featuring the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra on Sunday, November 16th at 4:00 PM. The orchestra was conducted by Jeffery Meyer. The orchestra performed two compositions. The first was Gunther Schuller's Concerto No. 2 for Tuba and Orchestra which highlighted Dr. Aaron Tindall, the assistant professor of tuba and euphonium at Ithaca College, School of Music, on the tuba. The orchestra concluded the program with Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 3 in F major, Op. 90.

The first piece by Schuller begins with a dark harmony in five solo string basses and is then answered by the solo tuba. The piece encompassed many modernistic ideals and twentieth century music throughout each movement. Not only does the composition highlight the tuba, but it focuses more on each and every lower-pitch instrument as well. This reverberates back to how sound color was expanded during the time period, giving music its unique tonal quality as well as its unconventionality. I also took note of how sporadic some the melodic phrases from each section of the orchestra were. Each one would enter at completely random moments in a movement thus creating chaos that resembled society during the twentieth century. Overall, listening to this piece I felt as if I was in an old horror film. While the lower-pitched instruments had the melody, the higher-pitched instruments, specifically the violin section, played high, screeching notes that juxtaposed the lower-pitch instruments and formed an atmosphere that was spooky, frightening and quite unsettling. The piece concluded with an emphatic mercado note creating a loud BANG along with a loud CRACK in the background that sounded like the crack of a whip. I don't know if that was intentional or not, but for me personally it definitely punctuated an already ominous, eery composition perfectly.

I found my spirit being revitalized during the final piece by Brahms since it was much more lively than the previous composition. I also heard a more romantic style in the music as the melodies were longer and flowed more. Unlike Schuller's concert, Brahms' symphony featured the highter-pitched instruments, in particular the clarinet, which I felt connected to the overall theme of freedom in the music. The higher the instruments played, the more I felt as if I was flying higher to greater altitudes in the sky. The first movement establishes the grandiose theme of the piece with its wistful melodies. The second movement is more warm and lyrical as it yearns to return to the melodies from the first movement. Both the second and third movements establish a single pure atmosphere that eventually blooms into its full character. The second piece is more pleasant as the clarinet section is most prominent. Whereas the third movement brings out the cello section more and is more intimate, personal and passionate. All of this comes together and leads into a fourth and final movement that is dramatic and forceful. For me, the fourth movement transforms the composition into a tranquil world that its listeners are hypnotized by.

To conclude, the performance by the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra was mind-blowing. I honestly thought I was listening to a professional orchestra. I currently play in the campus band here at Ithaca, and I think we sound pretty good for a bunch of non-music majors. But when hearing this performance, there's no contest. No doubt I would absolutely attend another program by the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra. 

HW 15: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and 20th Century Modernism Short Essay

The twentieth century was a period of highs and lows. Technology flourished as radio, telephones, television, satellites and computers were assimilated into our everyday lives. We now had a vast repertoire of tools for communication. Medical science prevailed greatly by defeating numerous infectious diseases while developing complex surgical procedures for expanding one's lifespan. On the other hand, we endured much turmoil through the economic downfall of the Great Depression. We had to suffer through a two world wars as well as wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. To put into simpler terms, the twentieth century was an era of drastic contrasts. As for the music of the time period, twentieth-century music quite avant-garde and diverse due to the much experimentation by musicians. The tonal system was revamped entirely. The length of compositions varied from very short to very long. Sound color advanced with new instrumentation. Iconic Russian composer Igor Stravinsky's music best embodies the characteristics of twentieth century music and society itself. The Rite of Spring, one of Stravinsky's most famous compositions, portrays twentieth century aesthetics of modernism such as juxtaposition and stratification through the piece's dynamics and its melodies.

Part I of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is littered with juxtaposing elements. From 3:30-5:10 is where there is a great deal of contrast between melodic phrases. Frequently throughout this section of the piece, we hear a soft, gentle melody at first. That melody is then contradicted by the ensuing bombastic string of eighth notes. Stravinsky does this for the purpose of scrambling his listener's moods and building up tension. The contrast of two opposing sides in the music also relates to the juxtaposition of society during the twentieth century. Particularly in the United States, despite technological advancements and booming economies, our country was still off fighting overseas at the same time. While at home we were thriving in our blossoming nation, our brethren were away from home and were being slaughtered by the thousands on the battlefield. There was also a similar contrast within the field of medicine. While there was significant growth in medical science in the twentieth century, science was not able to combat with the AIDS epidemic during the 1980s. On a broader note, the title of the composition juxtaposes the music itself. When we think of the title, The Rite of Spring, just by itself, we imagine something more warm, joyful, peaceful and celebratory since the title literally means the ceremony of the season of spring. Instead we get very dark and serious music that brings unsettlement to our ears.

Another common theme highlighted in Part I of The Rite of Spring is the theme of stratification. From 2:00-3:05 we hear layers upon layers of different phrases from various instrument sections. Not only does each layer of sound produce an ambiguous atmosphere, but more importantly it creates utter chaos. The twentieth century with out a doubt had its moments of insanity. With world wars, the war on drugs, the Great Depression and deadly diseases sweeping the nation, there was never a dull moment. Life was so sporadic and unpredictable; you never knew what would come next. Similar to the melodies played in this section. All of the motions of the melodies prove to be very erratic and as they jump in at completely different times, mixing and jumbling together, and forming a clutter of confusion that leads its listeners to wondering when will all of this be made more clear.

On the whole, Igor Stravinsky's timeless composition The Rite of Spring accurately represents the ideals of twentieth century modernism with its juxtaposing dynamics and its spontaneous melodies. Aside from these aspects, Stravinsky's piece also evokes new sounds from instruments, specifically from the bassoon in the exposition. The bassoon is usually played in the lower register, however in this tune, the bassoonist plays the melody at such a high register for the bassoon that it almost sounds like an oboe. This feature of the composition resembles how the new technology of the twentieth century affected society. Whereas this new sound on the bassoon augmented the music's sound color, the new inventions of technology during this time gave an uniqueness to everyday life for humanity.   

(My Outline)