Reflection on Belioz' Symphonie Fantastique Performed by The Houston Syphony - Assignment Example

?Time and Place of the performance Famous French composer’s Symphonie Fantastique was performed in Jones Hall on Friday October 26, at 7:30 pm. The stage was set for a beautiful rendition of one of the compositions in Symphonie Fantastique: March to the scaffold. The concert’s timing was appropriate for the type of composition chosen. The auditorium started filling up fast and the stage curtains dropped to reveal the performers dressed in tuxedos and gowns. Instrumentations and Performers There were a total of 55 performers on stage with each group distinctly oriented to identify itself individually from another group. The orchestra ensemble consisted of brass and wind section, a string section and a percussion section. The string section occupied the front part of the stage facing towards the right wing and the conductor in the centre, raised on a podium. The cello and viola section filled up the other side of the stage facing the left wing and the conductor. The brass section occupied the farther end of the stage with instruments flutes (doubling piccolos), oboes (doubling cor anglais), clarinets (doubling E flat clarinets) and bassoons. The front row of the brass section consisted of horns, cornets, trumpets, trombones, tubas and ophicleides. The percussion sections consisted of timpani, cymbals, suspended cymbal, tenor drum, bass drum, bells, in scale C and G. The percussion section was located on the back left corner of the stage. There were a total of 10 instrumentalists in the brass section. The stage was set for what was to unfold as one of the finest love renditions of Hector Berlioz’s masterpiece composition Symphonie Fantastique. The version of the composition that was played live in front of the audience was a little dissimilar from the ones played in school orchestras. Program Contents The magnificent instrumental masterpiece, a thoroughly appreciated and celebrated musical wonder in France especially in its heartland capital of Paris, consisted of 5 movements that took charge of the flow and narrative of the composition. It consisted of the following 5 movements which were played on the evening of 26th October 2012: 1. Reveries – Passions (Daydreams – Passions) 2. Un bal (A ball) 3. Scene aux champs (Scene in the Country) 4. Marche au supplice (March to the Scaffold) 5. Songe d'une nuit de sabbat (Dream of a Witches' Sabbath) It was observed that the symphonies consisted an odd number (5) Symphonie than the conventional 4 symphonies composed in the Romantic Era of musical proliferation. 1. Title and composer of each selection on the program: The title of the musical movement is: “March to the Scaffold” 2. Genre: The Genre of the piece if Program Symphonie (Orchestral). It is a piece of program music. 3. Style of each selection: The style of this movement is 20th Century. Contemporary 4. Date of composition: The movement was composed in 1830 5. Performers: The performers were members of the Houston Youth Symphony Sinfonia Orchestra member. 6. Any characteristic or unusual sounds in the music 7. Your personal understanding of the music and your reaction to the work and its performance 8. The sources of information used for this report if any. (Ohio Link Music Center 1) Description of the Musical Piece in detail: The movement “March to the Scaffold” begins with root note/ anchor note E in the major scale with the wind section starting the performance. Percussive sounds filled up the background with cymbal strokes and bass drum stroked to set the rhythm and tempo. The wind section and percussion section gradually increase the amplitude, slowly building up the mood and intensity of string and percussion strokes. This finally gives way to the string sections, in which the violins in the mid-range frequency dominate the overall sound. The phrasing of the notes is such that there is descent from the middle octave to the lower octave. The brass section is distinct and can be clearly identified playing the bass notes with the string instruments beautifully complementing the timbre and filling up the background. There are two lines playing simultaneously in the mid range frequency of the string section (violins) in harmony with one another. The brass section catches up at the background now. The brass section and the string section take turns in coming to the forefront and going to the background in regular intervals. The characteristic descent from the high to the medium to the lower octave is heard again this time with string, brass and percussion section. What did you find most striking and memorable? The most striking and memorable feature of the musical piece is the way it fits into the entire Symphonie Fantastique and the periodic repetition of the descent in major scale from higher to the lower octave with all three sections (wind, string and percussion) playing in their full brightness. The musical piece was thoroughly enjoyable in witnessing the precise performing skills, the accurate playing of instruments, impeccable timing of strokes, brushes and overall combined playing to the directions of the conductor. I liked the performance because of the flawless rendition of Hector Berlioz’s movements as well as the individual virtuoso of each and every musician in the troupe. Their stage presence was also worth witnessing from the arena. Reveries – Passions (Daydreams – Passions) As suggest by the name this musical piece does its best in portraying the intense passion of mankind. It musically tells the tale of love, ambition, attachment and determination of mankind when passionate about something. Dominant 7th and 9th chords rendered by string and instruments set up a meditative mood. The composition is based on triple meter and at times it rises to 4-fold speed with fast strokes of the string section followed by a sudden drop in tempo and a free flowing pattern. The melody is wavelike with rises and falls characteristic of entire series of 5 movements in Symphonie Fantastique. Un bal (A ball) This movement is more sombre and reflective in nature. Staring in the lower octave with a mellow humming of the cellos and violas it sets the tone for the rest of the composition. The background is filled with shrill strokes of violins and clarinets playing softly. Violas and cellos dominate the first 1 minute of the composition giving way to a stanza played by violins and the wind section. The most striking feature of the composition is the soulful amalgamation of harpsichord with the rest of the orchestra bringing a theatrical and a kind of an emotional wave represented melodramatically. Scene aux champs (Scene in the Country) The style of this movement is Classical. The Genre is Orchestra. It is of a free flowing rhythm, polyphonic in nature. The movement is triple meter in medium tempo with dramatic elements like build up and fading out. The melody of the composition is wavelike in nature rising and falling in amplitude. The overall composition flows smoothly from the lows to the highs and gradually melting into the lows. At times it has sudden death of sound when the amplitude of instrument plummets into total silence followed by the gradual flickering of piccolos and other wind instruments. The composition has heavy influence of lower frequency instruments like cellos, bass and baritone sounds of violins. There is a sort of conversation developed between the string and the wind section. The chord progression changes with every distinct stanza and it ends with a climax of violins, brass instruments playing in the high frequency range. Bass drum and cymbal strokes dominate the end. The Scene aux champs is one of the most enlightening of all the symphony’s 5 movements. It is both the musical core of the entire collection of 5 movements as well as the dramatic boundary-wall between the charm of the first two sections and the maliciousness of the last the last two sections. Songe d'une nuit de sabbat (Dream of a Witches' Sabbath) This movement is the last one out of the collection of 5 movements in the musical symphony. It has the characteristic beginning of low humming violas and cellos creating a mood of anxiety and apprehension. The haunting low trembling sound of the violas followed by the trembling sound of percussion make one anticipate an intense experience. The Style of the movement is ‘Romantic’. The Genre is ‘Instrumental. The movement is polyphonic in nature. It is wavelike in melody. (Ohio Link Music Center 1) Work Cited Ohio Link Music Center. “March to the Scaffold”. 26 Apr. 1999. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. http://music.ohiolink.edu/handle/2374.MUSIC/28954?value=Steinberg,%20Pinchas&type=artist&focusscope=&mode=browse Read More