Listening Journal

Ashley Black Cannova

December 6, 2018

Dr. Price

MU448-2B Orchestration
Johannes Brahms

Symphony No. 4, Mvt. IV

1885

This Baroque-inspired symphony has four movements. The fourth (chaconne) is composed of

variations over a repeated bassline.

I really like this piece. Its fortissimo moments are grandiose and expressive. I absolutely love the

horn part around the 4:30 mark as it builds and then brings the strings in and then the

woodwinds. I really liked that particular moment. And then the beginning is reinstated with a

very “in your face” fortissimo.

This piece draws a lot from baroque composes, using elements such as rising scalar motion

leading to an octave leap.

Brahms uses chromatic passing tones to draw out his phrase to 8 bars. This finale has 31

variations over this 8-bar theme.

Brahms ends the piece with a series of variations and a quickly moving coda-similar to

Beethoven’s Eroica. The last bars consist of a fast and syncopated version of the Theme, then a

series of five cadence gestures beginning with three-note upbeats, all confirming E minor. The

last of these is extended, winding downward. The final two chords strongly punctuate the arrival

with a timpani roll.

Gustav Mahler

Kindertotenlieder, No. 1

1901

This movement is titled “Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n,” Means, “Now would the sun so

brightly rise.”

Based on poems by Friedrich Rückert, this orchestral song cycle is about children that have died

and grieving parents. The text here is supposed to be bitterly ironic, as it talks about the sunrise

that a child will never see. The haunting, melancholy musical ideas portray this sadness and

irony well.

The solo horn and oboe in the beginning measures create a melancholy tone. When the solo male

voice enters and then the string section parallels his voice it reminds me of a sigh of sadness.

This texture happens again when the soloist sings “Heil! Heil” There is an almost immediate

shift in the first 15 measures from D minor to D major, never staying predominately in one

center but returning to D minor. At the end of the first movement, the vocal part repeats the last

few words of the poem, and, instead of providing the same cadence as in m. 77, the vocal line

ends on F instead of tonic.

AABA Song form keeps the song simple but allows for a changing relationship between the text

and the melody. The final chord is D minor (tonic) which in my opinion brings sad resolution to

the text.
Claude Debussy

Nocturnes, No. 1: Nuages

The title of this, “Nuages”, means “clouds” or “sunless”. The blurb in the anthology speculates

that this could be an allusion to a cloudy day or to the text of a “passionate dream” of springtime

or “a series of hopes, desires, delusions.”

The opening image is a pattern of alternating fifths and thirds, giving the melody a weak sense of

direction. This paints a musical image of clouds drifting kind of aimlessly. The figure has a lot of

ambiguity, whether it the direction of the melody or the rhythms. The 6 beats per measure can

be felt in 6/4 or in 3/2.

Overall form is ABA’.

The melody can be identified by the Asian-sounding, pentatonic B section.

Krzysztof Penderecki

Threnody

I remember the first time I heard this piece. My Music Appreciation professor at a community

college had everyone in the classroom sit quietly and not make a sound as he set up the horrific

scenes of fear, panic, and death and proceeded to play Threnody.

It was gut wrenching to hear the instruments mimicking sounds of B-52’s, missiles being

dropped, and screams and cries of agony of those below about to meet their merciless fate.

Observing the actual orchestral score is an interesting fete as well. It is as chaotic as the music

itself.

I was watching the newest Twin Peaks and in one of the latter episodes, this entire piece was set

to a sort of German Expressionistic cinematography. It was boring to watch someone’s idea of

art played out with this piece that captures such intense emotion. The graphic score is very

interesting to follow along with. I definitely think that Penderecki captured the sounds of planes

and screams of the Japanese that awaited their death, with dramatic perfection.
Michael Daugherty

Red Cape Tango

The echo of the muted horn in the beginning is a nice effect. I really enjoyed listening to

this piece. The build up with the horn in the beginning to the strings was interesting with the

sliding sound of the strings mimicking the title of the piece. The use of castanets emphasized

that tango feel as well. I liked when the timpani took over the rhythm in the middle section.

I did not realize until after hearing this piece that it was inspired by Superman. “This movement

in particular deals with the death of the super hero […], most notably in the Latin Sequence of

the Mass for the Dead, Dies irae.”

(https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3079/#description-content-main)

Overall, I really enjoyed listening to this piece.

Richard Strauss

Also sprach Zarathustra

Composed: 1896

Also sprach Zarathustra, once among the less frequently performed Strauss works (Stanley

Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey film did give it an immense boost), now firmly

ensconced in the standard repertoire, is a tone poem, i.e., a free-form symphonic piece that either

tells a story or, as is the case here, suggests the moods of a literary text.

As having performed one of his Four Last Songs, I hear moments in this piece that sound are

reminiscent of the song cycle. It is very “Straussian”, if you will. Around the nie and a half

minute mark, he takes the violins to the very top of their register. While researching Strauss and

his orchestral works, I remember reaeding that when he would sit at the piano to compose he

would use the entire keyboard not staying in one area but rather floating all over the instrument.

This piece reminds me of many of his pieces in that it sounds like waves gaining momentum and

becoming almost a great big rush of extasy before crashing down to regain it’s greatness once

more.
Aaron Copland

Appalachian Spring

1944-1945

This piece always makes me think of just a classic American sound. Therefore, the title is

appropriate for sure. I really enjoy listening to this piece. There is inevitably a smile that comes

across my face when I listen to this.

This piece starts with a slow and soft introduction, creating an atmosphere of peace and beauty.

The horn section brings about this bright quality to the piece. The first allegro section is a sudden

burst of unison strings and is a quick and vibrant contrast with the slow and steady introduction.

Toward the end of the piece, the borrowed tune of “Simple Gifts” is heard. The way Copland

captures this section really creates a feeling of simplicity- of simpler times. I love how he ends

the piece in a similar manner that he started it- gently and quietly.
Igor Stravinksy

The Rite of Spring

Solo bassoon in the beginning is a key identifier of this piece.

I wrote a paper about his orchestration set to a ballet. This caused a riot because it was unlike any

ballet that had been performed. The mixture of primitive sounds with tribal or chant-like dancing

was out of the ordinary to say the least. At rehearsal 13 when the string section is tutti, it repeats

that tribal and primitive and barbaric sound. For his time, this piece was very significant in

standing out among the crowd so to speak.

The ranges of the instruments are not expansive within this piece (limited).

The build up to rehearsal 35 and 36 right before “The Abduction” in rehearsal 38 is unnerving. It

stays this way for 8 or so measure before fading to a few woodwinds trilling at 48 (Spring

Rounds).

One of my favorite parts of the entire piece begins at rehearsal 49 and continues to 53. The deep

penetrating contrabass and cello with the solo bassoon and brass is beautiful. Then the violin

section bringing a legato overarching line solidifies the beautiful sound of the string section

while the bass keeps that pulsating rhythm going.

Repetitive rhythmic patterns

Irregular meters

The pizzicato throughout emphasizes the primeval dance like rhythm.

In the section called The Glorification of the Chosen one, the music clearly evokes a sense of

impending doom with the harsh sound of timpani. The bass and cello hold a drone note that

reminds me of a Gregorian or Buddhist chant (“om”).

When the repetitive rhythm is reintroduced in the ritual of the ancestors, the tambourine is also

brought in.

Then there is another section of primeval rhythms as the build up leads to the final measure of

the fortissimo arpeggiation to signify the sacrificial death.

Haydn

String Quartet Op. 76, No.3

1796-1797

This string quartet theme and variations (AABBCC) is homophonic in texture. The first

variation the lower variation carries the theme with the upper violin playing quicker moving

notes. In the second variation the cello carries the theme. In variation three the viola plays the

theme while the other instruments interplay. Finally, in the fourth variation, the higher violin

plays the theme in polyphonic texture. I like that Haydn gives each instrument the main theme as

almost a solo. It is like each instrument has its own voice for a brief moment. I like when the

high violin has the main theme. It has a lullaby quality to it.

Thanks to Haydn, I did not know that C Major could be so interesting.

Johann Stamitz

Sinfonia in E flat major

I like this piece because of its crescendos and decrescendos throughout.

The sudden textural and dynamic changes are reflective of the German concept during this time

of “Sturm und Drang”.

When I was reading a bit about this piece, I discovered that his symphonies influenced Haydn

and Mozart as well as other composers.

I like the constant tremelo of the strings in the allegro section. This piece constantly moves. I

don’t really know what else to say. It is pretty repetitive yet not long enough to get bored…
Claude Debussy

Six Sonates

1915

Debussy is considered as France’s leading Modernist composer.

I researched a bit behind the piece and read that Debussy composed this toward the end of his

life. He originally wrote this piece for flute, oboe, and harp but ultimately chose violin because

he thought it would be a better combination.

I really enjoyed listening to this piece with its many swells and shifts in a central pitch. I have

sung a couple of pieces by Debussy and one of my favorite things is his seamless and fluid shift

in tempo. Yet he retains this dreamy state with each scale and arpeggiation. He definitely

captures moments of this dream-like atmosphere using the harp in this piece. This piece

definitely shifts tempo and meter rather frequently. Another aspect of this piece is its unclear

tonal center at times. This is pretty typical of Modernism. The score is also loaded with different

expressive markings.

I like how the violin is introduced on the same note the flute is playing (E) in m.3. The tempo

picks up creating this dance like feeling with all of the instruments. I love the way the harp

begins this pick up of speed for a brief moment while the flute and viola sustain E, F, (viola) and

A (flute). Then it regains this fortissimo section briefly before returning to yet another rhythm

and meter and expressive marking.

The ending is beautiful and creates this sense of “how did we end up at this tonal center?”

Nonetheless it resolves beautifully.

Three Shanties

Malcolm Arnold

I really enjoyed listening to these pieces. The instrumentation was interesting me so that is why I

chose to journal this particular piece. I am glad I did because it was a fun piece to break up some

of the monotony of the others previously journaled.

The first movement employing “What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor?” It turns dark for a

moment before regaining its high spirits with an almost tango-like sound for a brief moment.

He plays the complete them and then interjects random moments without completing the them

which provides a layer of humor. I heard a quite a few downward arpeggios which seems to be a

motif within the first part. The first was in the clarinet while the horn is playing accented notes.

The up and down motion between the flute, clarinet, and bassoon are reminiscent of the upward

and downward waves of the sea.

Then the second piece I had to look up because I was not familiar with it, uses the tune “Boney

Was a Warrior”. I liked the triple meter feel of this one. It begins with a muted horn solo with

only sustained notes along in the other instruments. Right after the horn’s line, you hear the flute

playing the melody in its lower register which was interesting to me because it was intentionally

composed in its lower range. After a grand pause the piece ends with the muted solo horn.

The last movement, based on another one I had to look up, called “Johnny Come Down to Hilo,”

is funny and full of quick tempo changes! Sometimes hard to keep up, I had to listen to it twice. I

really like this movement because it’s a whirlwind of all instruments yet not chaotic in sound.

This piece was overall fun to listen to because of its humor and playfulness.