Baroque Opera Development and Cultural Values Essay Example for Free

Baroque Opera Development and Cultural Values Essay â€Å"Derived from the Portuguese barroco, or â€Å"oddly shaped pearl,† the term â€Å"baroque† has been widely used since the nineteenth century to describe the period in Western European art music from about 1600 to 1750† http://www. baroque. org. Following the Renaissance, the baroque period was known for its expressivity of boldness, extravagance, overall balance, and use of heavy use of ornamentation. These features can be seen in everything from the clothing styles, to the architecture, and in particular the arts. The baroque period is generally divided into 2 timeframes, the early baroque period (1600-1680) and the late baroque period (1680-1750). In terms of music, the early baroque period notes a new interest in the use of monody. Monody is the use of one voice or instrument, typically accompanied by basso continuo. The Renaissance period is known for its use of polyphony. In the late baroque period, concerto grosso became the more popular style written. Concerto grosso shows two groups of instruments or voices in contrast to each other singing or playing lines back and forth, thus introducing the first melody and harmony performances. The key instrumental form of the late Baroque period was the concerto grosso, which reflected the contrast between two groups of instruments. The two groups either alternated with one another or play together. A majority of the baroque music composed was for the church, royalty, and the social elite. This may have clouded the composer’s true vision for their music, as their works were dictated by the payer’s taste. â€Å"The greatest legacy by the late Baroque period was the creation of operas and oratorios, considered greatest and most magnificent is Handels Messiah, and J. S. Bachs St Matthew Passion† http://www. usicedmagic. com. An opera is a story that is performed by singing. The plot is expressed by speech-like songs called recitatives and arias which are more indicative of the mood or feeling at that particular moment in the performance. â€Å"The first surviving opera was Jacopo Peri’s Dafne, based on a libretto by Ottavio Rinuccini and performe d in Florence in 1598; the earliest opera still performed today is Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607). The subjects of the first operas are all taken from Greek myth, reflecting the genre’s close alliances with attempts to recreate the music and drama of ancient cultures, nd were performed solely in aristocratic circles for invited guests† http://www. baroque. org. In the 1630s the first opera houses were opened in Venice, Italy. The audience dictated what the performers would sing and how it was performed. The crowds typically liked the arias, so that is what was primarily performed during that time. This led to a decline in dances and choruses in Italian opera. By the early 1700s, two styles became prevalent, operas with a serious tone (da capo aria) and operas with a comedic tone (opera buffa). As the baroque period and its operas progressed, the styles became more dramatic. This led to the changes and popularity of the oratorios and the cantatas. Oratorios began as small religious-based operas and ended up being huge productions mixed with non-religious texts. The cantatas began as very small secular operas performed as duets, trios, and quartets. They were performed by amateurs and professionals. As time went on, they became incorporating orchestral accompaniments and primarily performed by professionals. â€Å"Essays in classical oratory by Quintillian and Cicero provided a model for Baroque actors, as did posture and gestures taken from both classical and contemporary paintings and sculpture. Rhetorical gesture was designed to accompany individual words of text, rather than to display the pervading emotions† http://www. operaatelier. com. Baroque operas were difficult to perform due to the density of the text to be performed. To effectively convey the emotion to the audience the performers had to vividly perform to evoke emotion from the audience while maintaining the structure of the baroque style. This proves a challenge even for today’s performers. The singing style was heavily ornamented and exaggerated by the use of vibratos, dynamic changes of volume, and many other techniques. Not only was the introduction of the opera a demarcation of the baroque, but the instrumental solos and orchestral pieces as well. Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel were great composers of instrumental masterpieces. Handle’s music for the royal fireworks is a great example of the baroque style orchestra. The instruments are played with staccato (short â€Å"poppy† style with a hint of separation between notes), lots of variation of volume, trills, etc. These all are methods used by the musicians to ornament the song. There were also layers of different instruments at varying times, and a contraposto style expressed between the different sections of the orchestra. It’s almost as the different sections are talking back and forth to one another. Another great example of a baroque masterpiece is Bach’s Toccata Fugue in D minor. This was written for the pipe organ by Bach, but there is no surviving copy in Bach’s own handwriting. Several masters have rewritten the work and that is how it survives today. The piece begins with a few short notes followed by a single long note. The sounds are soon followed by the accompaniment of long deep bass tones. Throughout the song there are arguments and accompaniments between the harmony and melody of the deep rumbling bass and the high shrills produced by the pipe organ. At times the song is soft and beautiful, other times the song is strong and loud, displaying aggressive dissonance. This truly is a magnificent piece displaying all of the classic signs of the late baroque evoking emotion from all listeners. The song is still very popular and used in many ads and movies today. As listeners’ tastes grew and changed, so did the style of music. Audiences began to prefer a new melodic expression of clean musical architecture which is quite different from the heavily ornamented and opulent baroque style. This new preference ushered in the new classical style and the age of Hyden and Mozart. â€Å"Although the baroque period ended over 250 years ago, vestiges of the era can be heard everywhere. Some of the most influential and beloved compositions are regularly performed in concert halls, and a wealth of recordings make the baroque available on demand. Many of the musical genres still in use today, like the oratorio, concerto and opera, originated in the period. Twentieth century composers such as Ralph Vaughn Williams, Igor Stravinsky and Benjamin Britten paid homage to the baroque in their works. Its influence can even be heard outside the realm of art music: the free movement between solo and group in jazz is sometimes compared to baroque music, and snippets of Bach and Vivaldi frequently appear in the solos of heavy metal guitarists. And the spirit of the baroque—an unwavering belief in the power of music to touch people’s lives—changed music history forever† http://www. baroque. org.

Graduation Speech: Become People With Passion -- Graduation Speech, Co

Christmas Eve in Princeton, N.J, usually fulfills the picture-postcard promise of Christmas. And it was so, on that one particular Christmas Eve long ago. A light snowfall kissed the quaint Princeton houses, and door-to-door carol singers made their way to one particular door. The violinist's home. "O little town of Bethlehem," the boys sang, "how still we see thee lie..." In moments the door opened, and the gentle violinist stood in the doorway to greet the carolers. "Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by..." The musician turned away, turned back into the house. Shortly he returned with his violin! The great man, the gentle old musician, accompanied the midnight carolers on his beloved instrument through each verse of the age-old hymn. Then, without a word, the young people turned away silently, and the old man slowly closed the door. And if this true story, if it is made more wonderful, it is not because a seasoned violin was brought out of retirement for one l ast spontaneous recital, but because the violinist himself has the best reason of all not to celebrate that snowy Christmas scene. The great genius was a Jew, and so revered was he that the very presidency of Israel once could have been his. But here is the rest of the story. Musicians will tell you, every great genius has his idol. This violinist's idol was Mozart. Once, a friend asked the violinist to comment on modern times. When the musician was a boy, wars were fought with rifles and cannons. Now the entire world might be devastated. What did that mean to the old man? The violinist hesitated, sat back thoughtfully in his chair. "It would mean," he said at last, "that people would no longer hear Mozart." For him, this most deeply conveyed the end o... ...lace for an answer. But, fellow graduates, you are here now, and I want to tell you that you do not have to live with the hopeless view that comes from this story. The one thing that Einstein was lacking was a relationship with the God I serve, who is Jesus Christ my Savior. If this genius would have allowed Him to answer his deepest question, he would have experienced a hope that would know no ends. Graduates, classmates, friends, the same hope that Einstein lacked is open for you to have. It is a choice you must make, to receive it or not, but I would be a selfish, inconsiderate person if I didn't share with you the hope that I have at the last opportunity that I will ever have to speak to each and every one of you. Class of 2012, I pray that you will become people with passion - passion for pursuing your dreams, and passion for the One who can give you hope.

A Report on Customer Care Improvement By Robert L Fousler

Following the article in the Standard Newspaper dated 8/07/1998 on â€Å"Customer Care Improvement by Robert L Fousler (MD) Consultant s for Effective Training, I am in total agreement with him concerning the points that he has put forth concerning Customer Care within business organizations. Customer Care is an important point in management and should be carried out by any manager within any business organization irrespective of what departments he is directly of indirectly in charge of. It is important to note that a business or organization cannot effectively attract customersclients if it cannot deal with its internal clients. In any business/organization, internal clients are the employees within the organization. Mr. Fousler mentions that in Kenya, many industries in the market and developing from a â€Å"Sellers† market into a â€Å"Buyers† market. This means that the only difference between one Seller and another will be in the quality of the service rendered to them. In addition to this, the expectations and demands of clients have been increasing and have been rapidly dynamic over the past five years and in order for you to please, and indeed, maintain a client then the services rendered to them should be adequate and ready to fulfill their needs. Most service industries, if not all, are all client/customer oriented and they depend on the client to pay for their services that are intangible. With this in mind, it is in their best interest to ensure that the services they offer are useful to the client and that the Customer Support is highly advanced and effectively operational. In reference to this, it is important for organizations, particularly those in the service industry, to realize that their future success is dependant on managers viewing their staff as the most important assets they have and that everything depends on how they work as a team. He goes on to mention that Customer Care skills should not only be offered to staff in service-oriented organizations but to all organizations in general. If people can serve one another and each department serving the other, then the Customer Service skills will be extended to the â€Å"External† customer. He also highlights the importance of Customer Care in any organization and says that it is not wise to train only certain sections in the organization since everything everyone does in the organization has an impact on the client in one way or the other. Therefore, everyone must be included in Customer Care oriented seminars because they create awareness in staff of the importance of gaining such skills. After the training has been undertaken, then the most important task is to implement it. This includes maintaining a high level of outgoing commitment and insists that this can only be done by each department having â€Å"Ownership† of the process, so that Customer Care is supported by committed individuals and teams rather than just by management. He says that one way of promoting the training is to have an incentive to bolster the training that has been carried out. An example would be to give gifts or rewards to those who improve the most in the service they give to both internal and external customers. Under Evaluation, he says that it is not easy to quantify but one good approach would be to do a â€Å"Before† and â€Å"After† survey of the complaints received from External customers.

Analysis Of Construction Of The The Bluest Eye And...

In this literary criticism , â€Å"Construction of the ‘Racial Identity’ by Gaze and Blindness in The Bluest Eye and Native Son†, Md. Abdul Karim Ruman explains how the identity of African Americans are constructed in The Bluest Eye, as well as the racial effect of this construction. Ruman begins by defining some key terms, such as â€Å"gaze† and â€Å"panopticon†. He looks at ‘gaze’ in the cultural sense, not only defining it as â€Å"the desire of one person that constructs the identity of another who is gazed†, he explains through which means the gaze is implied and employed, in films, posters, school, literature, media, newsreels, newspaper reports, consumer goods, advertising, and pop culture. After defining the term ‘gaze’, Ruman explains the concept of the panopticon, created by Michel Foucault. The panopticon is a type of model for a prison, in which the prison guard or overseer is in the center of an array of open yards and prison cells. From any angle, the guard can see, ‘gaze’, or ‘look at’ any of the prisoners. Whether or not the guard is actually judging each move of the prisoners matters less than the fact that they are completely and constantly under watch, with every move th e possibility of scrutiny. This idea of a panopticon creates a â€Å"persistent self-monitoring and self-regulation†, causing the prisoners to internalize the disciplinary regime that they are under. The idea behind the gaze and panopticon is that through the both of them, they create an overwhelminglyShow MoreRelatedThe Effects of Scientific Racism on Black Women Essay5776 Words   |  24 Pagesmotherhood, showing the eurocentric view of African motherhood and contrast this with Another historical issue I will investigate is the governmentally coerced sterilization of women of colour in North America. I will particularly focus on Native American women, women of African descent and Puerto Rican women. I will look at the historical influence of governmentally funded sterilization from the beginning of the eugenics movement, a movement, which originated through scientific racism, inRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 PagesELEVENTH EDITION MARKETING MISTAKES AND SUCCESSES 30TH ANNIVERSARY Robert F. Hartley Cleveland State University JOHN WILEY SONS, INC. VICE PRESIDENT PUBLISHER EXECUTIVE EDITOR ASSISTANT EDITOR PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE MARKETING MANAGER ASSISTANT MARKETING MANAGER MARKETING ASSISTANT DESIGN DIRECTOR SENIOR DESIGNER SENIOR MEDIA EDITOR George Hoffman Lise Johnson Carissa Doshi Dorothy Sinclair Matt Winslow Amy Scholz Carly DeCandia