Music Report #2

The ASU Wind Ensemble performed at the Maxwell Performing Arts Theater on November 22th, and was directed by Dr. John Wojcik. The opening piece was Fanfare and Flourishes by James Curnow, which was written in the early 1900s. It had a very triumphant and upbeat melody that was driven by the strong rhythms. The woodwinds led the fanfare melody and a new melody was introduced by the brass section. The blending of polyphony created a magnificent introduction to the program.

The second piece was the Puszta, written in 1987 by Jan Van der Roost, which included the Andante Moderato, Tranquillo, Allegro Molto, and Marcato-Presto. It is a suite of four gypsy dances that have the same feel of authentic folk dances and this one in particular caught my attention. The syncopated beats of Hungarian folk dances have always been my favorite and I was able to hear a lot of musical details within this piece. Dr. John Wojcik described the piece as a folk dance with Hungarian flavor. The Andante Moderato started off with some flourishes in its somber beginning and the tempo picked up and progressed into a fast-paced melody that included syncopated rhythms highlighted by the tambourine and percussion section. It continued on to the Tranquillo, an even-paced, legato melody, after a few minutes and then went back to the Allegro Molto, which was a quick melody. It had a variety of timbres, including trombone, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, with a prominent percussion section. The timpani drove the melodies and syncopation, emphasizing the Hungarian feel. The Marcato-Presto had some of the same recurring melodies and themes and like many Hungarian folk dances, it ended with a flourish. The contrast between the even, somber melodies with the frenzied, syncopated melodies was heightened by the changes in dynamics. Back in high school, I was in a symphonic orchestra and a chamber orchestra and we played a few Hungarian dances and we focused on keeping steady rhythms to drive the melody. The changes in tempo in the performance were precise and distinguished the four suites of the Puszta very well. As a result, this piece was my most favorite piece of the program. I really enjoyed the Hungarian rhythms and the performers did a great job with the execution of the piece.

Next in the program was Canzon in Echo by Giovanni Gabrieli, which was originally written in the late 1500s, and then arranged by Mr. Garafalo. The whole piece featured steady melodies with a call and response effect, hence the “echo” in the piece’s title. One section of the woodwinds would play the melody and another section, such as the brass section, would respond by echoing the same melody. The piece after that was the Sun Dance, written by Frank Ticheli in the late 1900s, which Dr. Wojcik described as a “light song that is fun to listen to.” The mellifluous melodies blended together beautifully and the piece had an airy, joyful feel. Purple Carnival, written in 1933 by Harry L. Alford, is a march that was influenced by Sousa. It had the elements of a fanfare with its dignified, powerful, and playful flute melodies. The last piece of the program was American Barndance, written by Richard Saucedo in the late 1900s. The piece had Americana rhythms and melodies, with sections alternating from quick, dance-like rhythms to soothing melodies. While listening, I could imagine the fun atmosphere of people dancing at barndances. The beginning of the piece featured one person on percussion and some woodwinds, which modulated to a hazy, flowing melody with triangles and chimes. It then progressed to an uneven meter and ended with a powerful conclusion.

Overall, I am glad that I attended the Woodwind Ensemble concert since it has been a few years since I have been to any music ensemble concerts. It has made me appreciate woodwinds music and the concert demonstrated how a woodwinds ensemble can perform many different genres of music due to the diversity of instruments within it.

Word Count: 665

Analysis Paragraphs

Throughout the past labs, we have been working on formulating strong analysis paragraphs by looking at examples, critiquing them, and learning about the elements that are required. One of the most important factors is having transitions to allow thoughts to flow and connect to the next. I noticed that the excellent essay examples always had strong transitions and that was what separated it from the adequate essay examples. Because there has been strong emphasis on it, I am planning on utilizing more transitions for the final interdisciplinary essay exam. Another helpful point is to start wide and narrow down to specific details, creating a funnel-like effect. I feel like I can conceptualize the task better when I think about that analogy. After presenting the thesis, it should be broken down to the two period concepts, its significance within the culture or time period, and then supplemented with more details.

In an art analysis example that we looked at, the critique included that it needed more expansion to illuminate the thesis. Also, more features should have been picked out to help support the analysis and to make the thesis clear. Additionally, we took flexibility as an example of a concept that has multiple definitions and we could even state that we will expand on all of them within the essay. Concepts can be exhibited differently in literature, art, and music, so it should not be limited.

I think that I have been doing fairly well with picking cultures and times periods to which I feel comfortable writing about. Usually, I will pay attention to which works of literature that I understand the best throughout the semester, make connections to the period concepts, and see how the art and music relates. Although I feel like I understand the concepts for the most part, my connections and analysis can definitely be stronger. With a significant amount of material to work with, it can often seem overwhelming and it is a matter of filtering through and focusing on the ones that are relevant to the subject of the essays. I need to make my analysis paragraphs stronger by developing a clear line of thought and keep it consistent throughout my essays. The review of this process has been more helpful than the one in HUMN 2001 because I was still getting used to the format and process last semester. However, I am glad that I have stayed with the same professor because it would have been difficult adjusting to a different style of teaching and grading. Now that we have taken a look at what is required to attain a good grade through the use of example paragraphs and instructions for analysis, I feel like I have a better grasp of the task.

Word Count: 459