Bachs Musical Style

Bachs Musical Style For many music lovers, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 1750) is the greatest composer in the history of human civilization. People all over the world play his music and study his art. The value of his music can be expressed by Wagners famous phrase quoted in the Oxford Dictionary of Music: It is the most stupendous miracle in all music. Style is the soul of every composer. Similarly, a good grasp of the playing style of a piece of music is an important criterion to judge the success of a performance. To grasp the works style correctly requires accumulated practice and the serious study of every note and every phrase and an equally important understanding of work as a whole. The published works of Bachs are many and include most of the mature music forms of his era including orchestral and chamber music and large works for orchestra and voice. However, Bach did not write opera and this is an important point to make when studying his ‘style. He did not write opera because his employment in the ducal courts and education establishments occupied his creative time, and because he had an important role in the Luthern Church, a strict Protestant church which discouraged extravagance. The word ‘opera, even by Bachs time, had hints of ‘extravagance, mostly because of the social circus of the public who attended opera. The public was there to indulgence themselves, to dress up and to be seen. Of course, dressing up and being seen has always been a part of church going, and Bachs music always had entertainment purposes, but the main function of his music is to praise God and promote His teachings. Whether this purposes is conscious or not, Bach n aturally adopted a German Protestant Christian outlook, in his work, one which rejects all unhealthy factors, or the non-equilibrium factors which bring about unexpected enthusiasm. Bachs music is characterized by rational thinking and solemn emotion. His music is ‘behaved i.e. it is very structured and balanced. Bachs works for voice and orchestra are characterized by having strictly Christian themes. They include more than three hundred sacred cantatas and the world-famous large-scale oratorios of the St Matthews Passion and the St. Johns Passion. They were not written for the opera house but for the cathedral. Bach did write secular cantata, such as The Coffee Cantata (BWV 211), â€Å"Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht† (Be still, stop chattering), but even this lightly satirical work has a Christian instructional themes. A warning against the addiction of coffee its main theme is Honor Thy Father, one of the Ten Commandments of Moses. The narrator ‘Schlendrian sings in horror that his daughter doesnt listen to him, though he has told her one thousand times to stop drinking coffee. Together with the Protestant Ethic, three interesting hallmarks of Bachs music style are Imitation, Contrast and Improvisation. Improvisation is the opposite of Imitation. The stepping-stone from Imitation to Improvisation is Contrast. To get there we must start at the beginning. To get to the beginning we will look at Bachs work for keyboard. At the forefront of Bachs works is his music for keyboard. Much of his adult career was spent at the keyboard, in particular the crucial beginnings as the court organist and concertmaster at the ducal court in Weimar (1708- 1717) and the glorious finale in Leipzig (1723-50). Throughout his creative life he composed a large amount of keyboard music, such as â€Å"Toccata and Fugue in D minor†; â€Å"Das wohltemperierte Clavier† (The well-tempered keyboard, Prelude and Fugue; and the Goldberg Variations. Therefore to really to begin to understand Bachs musical style we need to look closely at his writing for keyboard. Here we find the beginnings of his style and also the full flowering of his genius. Although Bach originally wrote for the keyboards of the pianoforte and the cathedral organ much of Bachs music has been transcribed for the piano, and it is through the transpositions for piano that pupils in China begin their studies of Bachs style and music. Their starting point is not, of course, the mature masterpieces such as the Goldberg Variations but the beautifully direct and eloquently simple pieces he wrote for his own pupils. â€Å"Inventions and Sinfonias†, BWV 772-801, also known as the â€Å"Two and Three Part Inventions†, are a collection of thirty short keyboard pieces consisting of fifteen two-part contrapuntal pieces called ‘inventio (inventions) and fifteen three-part contrapuntal pieces called ‘ sinfonia. The two groups are both arranged in order of ascending key, each group covering the fifteen major and minor keys. They were written by Bach as technical exercises to develop his pupils ‘two-hand independenceà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ the ability to play independent parts of the music with each of their two hands. The autograph manuscript copy in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin includes Bachs own intentions under the heading ‘auffrichtig, or ‘Straightforward Instruction: â€Å"In which amateurs of the keyboard, and especially the keen ones, are shown a clear way not only (1) of learning to play cleanly in two voices, but also, after further progress, (2) of dealing correctly and satisfactorily with three obbligato parts; at the same time not only getting good inventions, but developing the same satisfactorily, and above all arriving at a cantabile [song-like] manner in playing, all the while acquiring a strong foretaste of composition.† The manuscript is dated â€Å"Anno Christi 1723† and signed â€Å"Joh. Seb. Bach: Capellmeister to his Serene Highness the Prince of Anhalt-CÃÆ' ¶then.† The important point to make here about Bachs style is that the starting point of the learning process and the creative process is ‘Imitation. This is very clearly the case when we look at the exercises themselves. The music, and the understanding of the music, evolves out of repetition and minor variations of the form. This ‘imitation is a part of the Protestant Aesthetic. It is the Protestant approach of ‘Say as we say and do as we do. But we note too that the function of Bachs ‘imitation is not ‘blind imitation it is deliberately intended to lead the player to ‘independence. Only when the pupil has mastered ‘imitation can he possibly proceed to the next level of musical understanding, which is ‘Contrast. In Bachs music contrast is shown in the whole and in the details. A good representative example is the 15 18 subsection of the first â€Å"two-part invention†, the contrast of strong and weak being a perfect match. Lively counterpoint voices are formed in contrast to fill the music with energy. The main theme is in coherent semiquaver notes; the counterpoint voice part is lively quaver notes. Different motive materials have different contrast,even in the same theme. such as 1 2 subsection in the eighth. This theme includes two motives, motive A is quaver note is a string of eight sub-note, whose staccatos are moving upward; motive B is a string of semiquaver note, whose staccatos are moving down. A motive is more active, B motives is more rounded, they have a sharp contrast. Evolving out of ‘contrast is ‘Polyphony, a texture containing two or more independent melodic voices. Polyphony has been described as Bachs crowning achievement (Bach Inventions, Chen Ming-chi series, World Publishing Company). Unlike melody, the polyphony of voices all maintain their independence. When more voices are added, and interwoven into the texture, in the same free and independent manner, the wealth of musical expression increases still further. Therefore, polyphony is a three-dimensional approach. It has a multi-faceted, multi-line, the multiplicity of complex thinking (quoted from the foreword in Piano Recital way, Zhao Xiaosheng, Hunan Education Press, 1981). Through polyphony Bach teaches us that harmony is not simply the accompaniment of a simple melody but a means to increase the wealth of our musical language. This union of melodies gives rise to new combinations of tones and consequently an increase in the variety of musical expressions. To the armoury of musical expression and ornamentations, such as trill, mordent, turn, appoggiatura, acciaccatura, improvisational ornamentality within a fixed space is an essential skill for every musician. Bach includes Improvisation as a part of Ornamentation. Improvisation is the opposite of ‘Imitation. After Beethoven, the detail of music scores became more and more specific and standard, and the space for musicians to play improvisational music is getting smaller and smaller. However, in Bachs works, this skill is indispensable. Bach did not often indicate the patterns of performing. An exception is the Clavier-BÃÆ' ¼chlein vor Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, written by Johann Sebastian Bach for the keyboard instruction of his eldest son, which gives Explanation of various signs, showing how to play certain ornaments correctly† but this is a rare exception. In Bachs time, the execution of ornaments often varied from country to country and from composer to composer. We l earn from the repeatedly revised manuscripts of the Inventions and Sinfonias that improvised ornamentation was encouraged, with the student expected to extend the logic through the entire piece. Thus, we come full circle. â€Å"The most stupendous miracle† of Bachs musical style, is that it teaches us that Imitation and Logic are the true pathways to Independence and Freedom.

Essay --

In the beginning of the play, Caliban and Prospero had a relationship similar to that of a father and son. Prospero took care of Caliban, and taught him how to speak. Caliban too, taught Prospero how to live on the island by showing him the places to get food. I feel that in the beginning, Caliban was naà ¯ve and innocent, with no ill intent. He truly felt that Prospero was his father, or a king, and in fact was a king that he loved. For instance, Caliban in Act 1, Scene 2 states â€Å"And then I loved thee.† Their relationship was one of love, and the want to help each other. After Caliban attempted to rape Miranda, Caliban’s and Prospero’s relationship changed drastically. Prospero became extremely hostile to Caliban, and insulted Caliban in their first conversation in the book in Act 1, Scene 2, â€Å"Thou poisonous slave, got by the devil himself. Upon thy wicked dam, come forth!† It is easily seen how their relationship has changed severely since then. Caliban, too, hurled curses at Prospero: As wicked dew as e'er my mother brushed With raven’s feather from unwholesome fen Drop on you both! A southwest blow on ye And blister you all o'er! Certainly, this would not have been the way they would have talked to each other if they had still loved each other. Their relationship was now one of loathe and revolt. Caliban became resentful and grouchy because of Prospero’s rejection of him after what he had done. However, Caliban, being a savage, was probably just heeding nature’s calls. After all, all of nature has a need to procreate, and Caliban was just following his instincts. Furthermore, Miranda was the only girl on the island who was of the right age to procreate, so thus Caliban’s actions were valid, to him at least. In addition, Calib... ...nces whereby Caliban’s actions affected his relationships with others, it was not due to sudden changes in character, but rather, due to the way he was brought up, and the impact of people’s actions on him which led to the final blow. Also, Caliban’s and Prospero’s relationship changed in various ways throughout The Tempest, where at a point it was a relationship of love, and at another time it was one of hatred. However, looking at the text as a whole, the overarching relationship the both had was still one of a master and slave. Even though they had a loving relationship in the beginning of the story, theirs was still one of superiority and inferiority. At the end of the play, their relationship returned to what it was initially. Hence, their relationship did not actually change throughout, but what changed was the way they spoke to each other throughout the play.

Can the Problem of Monarchy Be Considered Old-Fashioned?

Can the problem of monarchy be considered old-fashioned? A monarchy is a governmental system that has one person as the permanent head of state until he or she dies or gives up his or her position. Typically, the position of monarch is hereditary, as is the case with famous monarchies like that of the United Kingdom. The term is often used to refer to a system of government in which the monarch — such as a king or queen — has absolute authority, but many monarchies are limited or constitutional monarchies in which the monarch has restricted power and might even be mostly a figurehead rather than a ruler.So ,the question is whether the problem of monarchy can be considered old-fashioned or not? One aspect of a monarchy that is considered to be an advantage is that it can reduce or eliminate the struggle for ultimate power within the government. When the head of state must be elected, members of different political parties or factions will compete for the position. This o ften creates division and conflict within the government. If the head of state serves for life and his or her successor is already known, it might increase the unity within the government.Still, the monarchy system represents a cultural tradition for a country. In many places, even after the actual operation of the government has changed to a different system, a monarchy will be retained because it is an important aspect of the cultural and political history of the nation. The monarchs in these cases are living representatives of generations of rulers. They often are treated as figures of reverence. Moreover, the system of monarchy means stability even prosperity .As an example, our country was doing well during monarchy system until the Russian communist took it and stole the land from the legal owners (peasants, rich people or business men). Everyone needs a place where his or her family would be safe and a stable working place. This stability in society is definitely attracting m ore and more people on the monarchy’s side. Another argument, which may sound odd, is that people are more reluctant to trust a king or a queen as the ‘boss’ of the country rather than a president.Believe it or not people still have the idea of a king as a person who is standing on a big throne with a golden crown on his head, having a luxurious life and with an outstanding intelligence as well (image that was took from fairy tales I guess) while a president is just a simple tailored-suited person. In conclusion I think that most people do not regard monarchy as an old-fashioned system. Moreover I think that this system is gaining more and more popularity as we have been experiencing many other systems which did not bring us prosperity at all.

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams - 1525 Words

The Glass Menagerie, a family drama play written by Tennessee Williams, and published in 1945 tells a story of the Wingfield family as they struggles with choosing between one’s own personal dreams and accepting the reality of the family’s situation. The Glass Menagerie stresses the subject of failed endeavors to escape reality and to occupy an elaborate unsustainable fantasy world. â€Å"A blown-up photograph of the father hangs on the wall of the living room, to the left of the archway. It is the face of a very handsome young man in a doughboys First World War cap. He is gallantly smiling, ineluctably smiling, as if to say I will be smiling forever. (1) Mr. Wingfield, husband to Amanda and father to Tom and Laura, is one of the most significant characters in the play even though he is never seen. Tom frequently comments on the fact that he is similar to his father in many ways: TOM: I’m like my father. The bastard son of a bastard! (31) Mr. Wingfield worked a menial job at the telephone company and feels unfulfilled and like Tom, had the desire for adventure. In order to fill his quest for new experiences Mr. Wingfield abandoned his family. His picture, however, is prominently displayed in the Wingfield’s living room almost like a constant reminder. The more desire for adventure Tom expresses, the more Amanda compares Tom to his father. Tom begins to use this ‘willingness to abandon the family’ almost as an excuse. Tom starts to believe he carries the character trait forShow MoreRelatedThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams985 Words   |  4 Pageshardly catch it going. ¨ This quote by the author of The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee Williams, describes both The Glass Menagerie, a memory play, and the life of Tennessee Williams himself, for whom memories played a large role in his life. Within the play, many parallels can be drawn between the life of Williams and the life of Tom, the main chara cter, such as a disdain for factory work. In addition, several characters in The Glass Menagerie have a difficult time fitting into the roles that theirRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams Essay940 Words   |  4 PagesTennessee Williams was a renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning playwriter for his numerous plays throughout his career. One of such plays is The Glass Menagerie. After perfecting his play for many years, The Glass Menagerie was first introduced to Broadway on March 31, 1945. As a young writer, Williams lived vicariously through his plays. Throughout this play in particular, there are several allegories that pertain to Williams life. Although Williams had a relatively happy childhood, his life changedRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams986 Words   |  4 PagesTennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, is a classic drama about a young man who is tired of his dull and boring existence. Tom, the main character, struggles to deal with his fa mily, who is apparently holding him back in life. With the use of powerful writing techniques, Williams is able to captivate his audience and create a play that has stood the test of time. An excellent writing technique employed by Williams that contributes to The Glass Menagerie’s success is his use of plot. ThroughoutRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams932 Words   |  4 Pages THE GLASS MENAGERIE Name Instructor Institution Course Date The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams, the author in the play †The Glass Menagerie† that is based on his life that presents characters that, as caught animals in an cage, live in woeful states and just wish to unravel themselves from this state (Fisher, 2010). The primary clash in the story emerges through their longing to encounter a different world, but their condition opens them to life s unforgiving realities. LifeRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams1249 Words   |  5 Pagesthe outside world The Glass Menagerie is very interesting because William s play relates to alot of people and their situations, people can learn alot from it alot whether they connect to Amanda and her past or to Laura and her lack of confidence and being in a world of her own or to Tom and his internal conflict about abandoning his family or staying with them. Laura s life is all about her glass menageries what happens when her glass unicorn breaks? What happens when a gentlemanRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams1619 Words   |  7 PagesIsolation is prevalent in â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† by Tennessee Williams. This is presented in symbols such as blue roses and the glass unicorn, for they are imagined objects and only existent in another fantasy world. Williams incorporates such arcane symbols to draw out his characters, Amanda, Laura, and Tom, and how they cope with confinement. Most importantly, the symbols of the play represent how isolation debilita tes them psychologically in an attempt to connect with reality. The jonquils representRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee William1014 Words   |  5 PagesIn the play â€Å"The Glass Menagerie† of Tennessee William, he wrote a drama play to emphasize readers about the life is at a standstill the Wingfield family. Through of the Wingfield family, he uses many symbols which represent many things, but the important main symbolization is fire escape that shows three main characters; Tom Wingfield, his fire escape is the way out of Amanda and Laura. Amanda Wingfield, hope gentlemen callers to enter their lives, and Laura Wingfield, who wants in her own worldRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams1534 Words   |  7 PagesThe Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams Tennessee Williams, born Thomas Lanier Williams, wrote The Glass Menagerie, a play which premiered in Chicago in 1944. This award winning play, autobiographical in nature, represented a time in which Williams felt the obligation of his responsibilities in regards to the care of his family. Robert DiYanni, Adjunct Professor of Humanities at New York University, rated it as, â€Å"One of his best-loved plays...a portrayal of loneliness among characters who confuseRead MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams Essay876 Words   |  4 PagesIn Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, there is a collection of glass animal figurines that belong to Laura. Laura uses those figurines to escape her reality. The â€Å"glass menagerie† is also a metaphor because all of the characters have a metaphorical glass menagerie that they use to escape their reality. Tom escapes his reality by going to the movies, drinking, and writing poetry. Tom says, â€Å"I go to the movies because – I like adventure†¦ something I don’t have much of at work† (Williams 33)Read MoreThe Glass Menagerie By Tennessee Williams867 Words   |  4 Pagesdraw the line between getting what you want and doing what you are obligated to do? In The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, the main characters are torn between fulfilling their desires and aligning with their role in society. On the surface, Amanda Wingfield plays the role of a caring mother that would do anything in her children’s best interest. However, according to the play, â€Å"The Glass Menagerie†, you should never be fooled by the â€Å"Illusion of the truth.† She indeed values her children’s