Concert Report #1

On October 20^th, I attended “The Oktoberfest: Fall Opera Scene Recital” at the Maxwell Performing Arts Theater. It featured performances by the ASU Opera Ensemble. It was directed by Patti Myers and the piano accompaniment was provided by Phillip Streetman. Although I have studied and taken lessons in classical music all my life, I have not had much exposure to opera music so I thought this would be a great opportunity. The program featured a range of vocals with a majority of female vocals, and there was piano accompaniment. The performances varied from arias with a solo performer, duets, to ensembles in different combinations and the performers were Garry Grant, Thomas Reed, Ashley Thom, Jaclyn Londino, Jennifer Morey, Malcolm Verbeck, Nancy Chafin, Larissa Roman Rodriguez, Sarah Price, and Kate Pendleton. As for the time periods of the compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Engelbert Humperdinck, Johann Strauss Jr., and Otto Nicolai, it was centered around the mid-1700s to the early 1900s.

The program started off with The Magic Flute, Act I, which was performed a quintet of the characters Tamino, Papageno, First Lady, Second Lady, and Third Lady. The piece switched from solo, duet, and quintet performances. The vocals ranged from bass, baritone, tenor, to soprano, which created a beautiful blend of polyphonic melodies. The second piece was an Act II duet from The Magic Flute featuring Papageno and Papagena. It was a light and playful piece that stirred laughs in the audience. The male and female vocals complemented each other and the colorful melodies created a very light-hearted atmosphere. Act II, Scene 2 of Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck featured three characters: the Sand Fairy, Hansel, and Gretel. Having a basic knowledge of the classic children’s tale made it easier to follow the storyline in the piece. The other pieces up to this point were more difficult to follow since they were scenes taken out of an opera.

Next in the program was Die Fledermaus, “Farewell” which was a trio from Act I featuring Rosalinde, Adele, and Eisenstein. The theatrical aspect of this piece had a great effect on the piece since it aided the audience’s understanding of the storyline. The dialogue between the characters created a blending of bass tones and soprano tones and because of the dynamic contrasts that set the mood, different emotions such as anger or joviality were expressed. The fifth piece was an opening duet from Act I of The Merry Wives of Windsor with the characters Frau Fluth and Frau Reich. The two female performers’ voices blended together to create a duet with The last piece in the program was musical selections from Act II of Die Fledermaus. The entire ensemble participated in the piece at various points and in various groups within the introduction, arias, ensemble and aria, and the finale. The party atmosphere started off with some dialogue and then it led to some solo performances which portrayed the characters’ contrasting personalities. Through the tone and speed of the pieces, it indicated the type of mood and the emotions being conveyed.

One piece in particular that stood out to me was the opening duet from The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act I. Ashley Thom’s and Jaclyn Londino’s blending of vocals created compelling emotions and through dynamic contrasts, varying slow and rapid rhythms and melodies, the emotions of the characters were well-conveyed. The story line is about Sir John Falstaff who is courting two wealthy married women, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. When he sends both of them nearly identical letters, they compare them and decide to seek revenge. The duet featured the two mistresses reading their letters out loud, and the call and response all throughout the piece was very well-articulated. The piece started off at a steady tempo and once the characters became enraged and were formulating ideas to seek revenge, the tempo, rhythm, and dynamics and pitches increased to indicate the change in mood. This one stood out to me because as the mistresses became progressively infuriated while comparing their letters, the amount of drama kept on building up. The call and response was well-executed and it goes to show that opera has the ability to convey strong emotions, drama, and dialogue through the different tone of voices. One’s emotion and the atmosphere can be determined by the speed of the tempo and rhythms, dynamics, and timbres involved.

My favorite piece was the duet of Papageno and Papagena from Act II of The Magic Flute. The theatrical elements such as the two characters chasing each other around the stage and their facial expressions along with the two complementing male and female vocals created a very entertaining atmosphere. After the first piece, which was not as upbeat, it was surprising to hear the rapid, playful melodies of the duet. Although I enjoyed all of the pieces and could not say that I disliked any of them, the quintet in The Magic Flute, Act I did not stick in my memory like some of the other pieces did. I found that the more upbeat and catchy songs such as the duet with Papageno and Papagena made a better lasting impression and I could remember more details.

The abilities of the performers were astounding and I enjoyed having the opportunity to see the kind of talent that students at Augusta State University possess. Plus, there were some students from HUMN 2002 performing that night too so it was great seeing them perform. I noticed that the abilities of the performers did affect the music because the emotional impact and connection to the audience is crucial. For example, the strong soprano arias throughout the program featured beautiful vocals which portrayed the storylines. Overall, I am glad that I attended this performance because I was able to learn from this listening experience. The performance provided a glimpse into the world of opera. The blending of dialogue, emotions, and drama are very entertaining to watch and the fact that it was performed by an opera ensemble from our own campus made me appreciate it even more. It goes to show that you do not have to go very far to witness such talent.

Word Count: 1,028

Extra Credit Blog #1

On Friday, I attended the presentation of “High and Low: What is Excellence in the Arts” that featured Franklin Einspruch, who is an art writer, speaker, and cultural critic from Boston. Einspruch began by defining the word “excellence” as the act of excelling, surpassing, and outdoing. One of the issues he brought up is the question of what makes one piece of art superior over other pieces? Einspruch questioned whether it is a matter of objective quality or subjective perception. It can be a matter of opinion and taste and he said that it was somewhat of a conspiracy theory where people passively absorb notions of culture and society. As for the objective quality, he said that if people fail to see the beauty within a popular and well-received piece of art, they can be seen as blind, ignorant, or naïve. Einspruch revealed that excellence is not within the object or within us. It is dynamic, not subjective or objective.

I liked the point that he made about duplication. He showed a painting on the projection screen and then in the next slide, it was duplicated. He stated that it changes completely when an image is duplicated because we automatically start trying to make comparisons and figuring out the differences between the two of them. An individual painting will have a greater effect upon us. Another great point that was made was about how some artists create multiple copies of the same piece of art that have minor variations. The second one is usually not as good and with each additional piece, it begins to lose its initial quality. The first version was created out of inspiration and emotion, without anything to compare it to. Paradoxically, the only way to find out which qualities are worth keeping is to do something entirely different. There were elements of HUMN 2002 that he mentioned in his presentation such as the sublime. Einspruch stated that a high artist should keep the sublime in the back of his mind but should strive towards excellence and hope that the sublime will sneak into his artwork. He also mentioned economy of form, which made me relate back to Japan’s period concepts. Additionally, Einspruch showed the painting, “Luncheon on the Grass” by Monet and it was interesting to think that I would not have recognized it if we had not learned about it in HUMN 2002. All in all, I am glad I attended the presentation because I feel more informed about the critique of art. It provided a look into the complex elements involved in the many facets of art.

Word Count: 434

Nineteenth Century

How does one’s subjectivity of experiences in his or her inner life construct reality? In the Nineteenth Century, there was a newfound focus on reality, harsh living conditions, and the lower class. With the lens turned upon realistic conditions, the works of literature, art, and music began to depict realistic inner lives. Instead of the melodrama and intense emotions of the previous Baroque and Romantic eras, inner life is conveyed as accurately as possible. Along with a focus on realism, there is an emphasis on the subjectivity of experience and the recognition of the limitations of any point of view. Experience is greatly valued and the focus is turned away from meanings that transcend individuals and the abstraction of reality. The poem, “Spleen,” by Baudelaire, Rigoletto (Act III) by Verdi, and A Bar at the Folies-Bergè by Manet all embody the concepts of realistic inner lives and subjectivity.

One thing that I had not paid much attention to prior to this lab was my usage of clear transitions. I felt disorganized while writing my interdisciplinary midterm exam essays so I do not think that my sentences and paragraphs flowed very well. I often feel overwhelmed with all of the information I want to make sure I will convey so instead of thinking rationally and forming coherent transitions, my sentences become too choppy. It felt like I was listing off facts and information instead of trying to convey my point. This time around, I tried my best to create a smoother flow in order to emphasize my two period concepts of “realistic inner lives” and “subjectivity.” I had trouble formulating a good question and thesis to tie together the concepts of the pieces.

As for note-taking, I have been diligent about taking notes in class because personally, I retain information better when I can refer back to my notes while writing blog posts, doing reading questions, studying for music and art analyses, and planning for my essays. This time around, I decided to print out the Baudelaire poems so that I can annotate the pages instead of reading off of my computer. Throughout class discussions, I have underlined and written notes in the margins and it has helped me gain a better understanding and retain the information better. I feel like the connections that we make in class can become crucial information when it comes time to start planning for essays. Instead of struggling to remember what concepts applied to the pieces, I can just refer to my notes and see which period concepts I have jotted down and elaborated upon.

Word Count: 430

Pre-Exam Jitters, and It's Not From My Coffee

Since it has been approximately five months since the last interdisciplinary essays that we wrote in HUMN 2001 last semester, I read over the guidelines once again over the weekend to refresh my mind. Over the course of the past few weeks, the task of sorting through all of the material that we have covered so far, and planning out two essays seemed like a daunting task. I have to admit that I was dreading it but I knew that I could not keep on putting it off. With three exams and a paper due this week, I wanted to start planning as soon as possible. One of my goals for HUMN 2002 is to keep up with the material and start preparing sooner. I made the mistake of not spending enough time in the preparation process and having to cram everything into a short amount of time.

After reading the guidelines, I began brainstorming to see which periods and cultures, and which works of literature, art, and music I felt the most comfortable with. Then, I wrote down possible themes that could be integrated into the thesis, and after a process of elimination, I think I will be settling with writing about China and Romanticism. I figured that if I pick works of literature that I feel most comfortable with and manage to find works of art and music that support the same period concepts, I would feel more comfortable. I feel that Analects by Confucius, and Faust by Goethe would be great pieces to write about. For the list of possible China essay themes, I wrote down the Value of a Nature and a Way, Harmony, Cultivated Insight, the Social Nature of Reality, Flexibility, and Existence as Change. As for Romanticism, I may choose to focus on the Sublime, Power Emotions/Moods/Experiences, Revolt Against Strict Forms/Escape, and the Imagination. My next step is to make graphic organizers to help me keep track of important points, and then write drafts of both essays. I feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the concepts but I just need to make sure that I can seamlessly incorporate them into the literature, art, and music. Lastly, it should be interesting to be typing the essays on laptops instead of hand-writing them. I always had the issue of time management and wanting to write more than I could write within the allotted amount of time. Hopefully, I will feel at ease once I have finished the planning and drafting process of the two essays, and until then, I am determined to continue with the preparation process!

Word Count: 434