Composer/Composition Review Project

Please read through requirements & using APA citation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please read through requirements & using APA citation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please read through requirements & using APA citation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Composer/Composition Review Project

This is your most important project of the quarter. Please select one composer/composition pairing from the list of four below to write a review on. Your first step of this assignment is to select a pair and post it the Composer/Composition Review Project Selection Discussion. Scroll down to Composer/Composition Review Project Paper Guildelines for the final step.

1. Toru Takemitsu, November Steps (biwa, shakuhachi, & orchestra)

Audio recording

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC_T4_HxTb4 (链接到外部网站。)

Concert Video in two parts (part 1/2)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CeDYLRK0ik (链接到外部网站。)

Concert Video in two parts (part 2/2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SakbvBWWBQ (链接到外部网站。)

2. Philip Glass, Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out of Balance) [Film Score]

Audio recording of the Film Sountrack

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBSQUg_BHeqX2n7ok-xQET_F-uMchsoCx (链接到外部网站。)

Full Film

https://vimeo.com/21922694 (链接到外部网站。)

3. Steve Reich, WTC 9/11 (string quartet and NORAD recordings)

I. 9/11: 单击以查看II. 2010: 单击以查看III.WTC: 单击以查看

4.John Luther Adams, Become Ocean (orchestra)

单击以查看

Composer/Composition Review Project Paper Guildelines

Write a detailed review, following the 7-part format below. The report should be at least 1,000 words long, excluding the bibliography and glossary.

Submit your assignment by uploading a document file via the “submit assignment” link on this page. Be sure to put your name and “Composer-Composition Review Project” in the name of the file and inside the document itself.

IMPORTANT: Make sure the writing is your own. Your paper will be passed through plagiarism software.

Format to use:

1. Heading

Your name:

Name of the work selected:

2. The Composer

Include 10 relevant facts about the composer of the piece you have selected into (a) well-written paragraph(s). This could include such things as nationality, time period and culture he or she lived in, type of personality, and so on, as well as musical characteristics of the period.

3. The musical work as a reflection of the composer’s life

Include 5 relevant facts about what the composer was doing, thinking, or feeling during the time he or she wrote the music on which you are focusing. The information should relate to what was happening in the composer’s life at the time and the impact the circumstances had on the motivation for or sound of the work.

Example:

Hector Berlioz – Symphony Fantastique
1. The composer was a strange man, in that the story-line behind the piece of music involved a man who was so deeply in love with a woman that he killed her when he could not have her. In the story, the man “loved her so much that in each place he saw her face in the crowd.” Thus, a “lovers theme” appears throughout the piece as part of the storyline. (Source – Leon Plantinga, Romantic Music, pg. 208 – 214)

4. Musical Observations [Three Sections]

In three separate lists, one for each of the three sections of your choice (three different areas in the work or one from each movement (like WTC 9/11) make a list of at least 10 musical events you can distinguish and describe in the first 2 to 5 minutes of the musical excerpt, and note the time at which they occur in the sound file. Label each section: Listening Guide 1, Guide 2, and Guide 3. Watch for high points in the music and note what musical sounds help make that section unique (timbre).

Important: Use at least five of the musical terms learned in class. Boldface or underline all of the musical terms you use. (Refer to the tip sheet, “How to Describe Music,” for suggestions on the kinds of comments to make.)

5. Meaning and/or Intent of the work

Write 1-2 paragraphs about the message or intent of the work as in connects to particular concepts (different for each work.) I’ve added some links to assist the start of your research. Feel free to dig deeper.

• November Steps, Toru Takemitsu

Address the idea of pluralism in the (Japan/European) musical fusion found in this composition. How did Takemitsu convey this pluralistic concept through this diverse musical combination heard in November Steps? Is Takemitsu’s approach to force both cutlures on top of one another or is each respected in their own musical space?

http://www.allmusic.com/composition/november-steps-for-shakuhachi-biwa-orchestra-mc0002380697 (链接到外部网站。)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_Steps (链接到外部网站。)

• Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out of Balance), Philip Glass

After viewing the full film, how does Glass’s film score support the scope of the film’s message? Do you feel the style of the music connects with the images? What ideas are raised in the film and how does Glass’s music provide context to those ideas? Without the film can Glass’s film music stand alone?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koyaanisqatsi (链接到外部网站。)

http://www.philipglass.com/music/recordings/koyaanisqatsi.php (链接到外部网站。)

• WCT 9/11, Steve Reich

This composition was composed almost a decade after the attack on on the World Trade Center (WTC) on September, 11, 2001. WTC 9/11 speaks to a significant event through music, explain to the best of your ability what Reich is trying to convey. Use the voice recordings from NORAD in the piece and the music itself to organize your thoughts.

Downloadable liner notes (words transcript included): WTC 9-11 notes.pdf

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/158063-steve-reichs-wtc-911-how-good-too-good/ (链接到外部网站。)

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/11/140144067/first-listen-steve-reich-wtc-9-11 (链接到外部网站。)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WTC_9/11 (链接到外部网站。)

• Become Ocean, John Luther Adams

Become Ocean is very much a meditation on the environment and environmental issues facing the human race. Considering the music and the quote following, devise a conclusion that connects the music to the aforementioned concepts.

“Life on this earth first emerged from the sea. Today, as the polar ice melts and sea levels rise, we humans face the prospect that we may once again, quite literally, become ocean.” ~ John Luther Adams

What was the composer trying to say or accomplish, and how is it communicated in the music?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Become_Ocean (链接到外部网站。)

http://cantaloupemusic.com/albums/become-ocean (链接到外部网站。)

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/08/water-music-3 (链接到外部网站。)

http://www.npr.org/sections/deceptivecadence/2014/09/28/350911062/an-inviting-apocalypse-john-luther-adams-on-become-ocean (链接到外部网站。)

Example:
Antonio Vivaldi – Four Seasons (Spring)
1. The music was written to depict the sights and sounds of spring.” The ones he included were birds chirping, a murmuring brook, and a summer storm, among others. Part of the fun of this piece is listening for the sounds of the orchestra that are meant to portray those images. (Source – Claude Palisca, Baroque Music, Pg 194 – 205.)

6. Bibliography

• List all of the sources you used in any part of your report.

7. Glossary

• List and define all of the musical terms used anywhere in your report.

Hints and Tips:

• It will be best if you can find articles specific to the piece you have chosen, but writings on similar pieces that utilize the same sounds and/or techniques can also be helpful.
• Finding writings on the exact piece you have chosen can be tricky. It will help to understand the full name of a piece (including any commonly used “opus numbers,” collection numbers or other identifying codes) as well of the spelling of the title and the composer.
• The composer’s society and culture often play a major role in the development of his or her music, so reading about both can give you helpful insights into the music. Consider how the music that you hear reflects the tastes, technological advances, and perspectives of its time.
• Good information is often provided in the CD notes or in promotional material.