Jono Starsmore (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
furnaceface) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2014-05-27 08:08 am
furnaceface) wrote in fandomhigh2014-05-27 08:08 am
Entry tags:
Music Appreciation, Tuesday, Period 2
It had taken years of experience with some of the island's stranger points for Jono to be able to stand at the front of the classroom and deliver a lecture without so much as a fidget, given some of the things he'd gotten up to with his co-teacher last week.
//You're probably at least aware of the stones that a good many people around the island wound up carrying around for a few days last week. If you aren't… I'll teach you how to use a radio. If you're in a class about music appreciation and don't know how, I apologize profusely; I've let you down as a teacher.// Thanks for that, Jono. //These crystals, whatever they were, toyed with people's emotions, left people bouncing from relaxed to frustrated to anxious and… so on. And that set the topic for today's class quite neatly. This week, we'll be talking about the emotional aspect of music- music that's written specifically for the purpose of appealing to a person's feelings.//
Hannibal, on the other hand, was his usual unruffled self. Why should he worry what the students might think, so long as it didn't interfere with class? "A lot of the earliest music we have is religious - not because it's the first written, but because the church best preserved their own - and was written to glorify and worship God. Even once people began preserving more secular music, there was often an emphasis on that, so several of my examples are from religious music."
//A very modern example would be any music that's written to be played on a film's soundtrack. A film's score is intended to enhance the mood of any given scene within the narrative, helping to move an audience to tears or leave them gripping the edge of their seats.//
Hannibal queued up his first song. "This one is the 'Dies Irae', part of the Requiem Mass by a composer named Giuseppi Verdi. I won't tell you the lyrics; in this respect they are unimportant. The song is meant to evoke the wrath and fear of the end of days." He smiled over at Jono. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's been used in a movie or two."
//They used at least part of it in the Y-People films,// Jono replied thoughtfully as he listened to the song play. //And several others. I recognize it, yes.// He let the song play through, and then nodded, satisfied. //Speaking of songs meant to evoke wrath and fear, there's one from a recent superhero film that you might be familiar with- that one about the man in spangles and his estranged boyfriend.// Or, you know, best friend. Whatever the case was, there. //This one plays whenever one of the film's major antagonists shows up, and it's… gritty, is a good word for it. Angry. Tortured. Oppressive. There are moments throughout that I swear the music is screaming. There are others where it drags me in and makes me want to.//
"From an entirely different emotion, although still religious, there is the feeling of rejoicing and victory." Hannibal chuckled. "I was going to attempt to expose you to something a bit less clichéd, but this one is a classic for good reason. It is called the Ode to Joy."
Once it had finished playing, Jono reached for the top in a stack of CDs to his name and, in a minute, he was hitting play. //Most people know this one,// he said, speaking over the Space Battles theme as it started up. //This one sets the mood for one of the most successful franchises in film history. It's loud, strong, immediately gripping, informing those listening that they're about to witness an adventure.//
He let the song play through, and then reached for another soundtrack that he was not in the least embarrassed to have on hand, thank you. He owned a music shop. He'd pull out themeta for Lion King soundtrack if he bloody well pleased.
//This one, on the other hand, comes at the end of the story it's a part of. The hero has saved the day, everything is resolved, and this music is meant to give the audience a sense of satisfaction, even closure, as the film wraps up its last few loose ends.//
"This next one is neither specifically religious, nor particularly old," Hannibal said next. "Arvo Pärt wrote this in 1977 after the death of another composer, Benjamin Britten, whom he admired a great deal. It was written to mourn and honor him - the "Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten".
//It should be noted that vocals can be used in the same way as instruments,// Jono added, //to great effect. The last Arachnid Guy film had music written for the main villain with lyrics whispered underneath the rest that essentially told the audience how to feel, or, at least, how the character on the screen was feeling at the time. But one doesn't need to understand the lyrics in order to grasp the depth of emotion within them. Music can be just as poignant and meaningful in tongues you don't understand as it is to the native speakers of that language, if it's done its job well. Some composers, such as Yoko Kanno, have actually made up entire nonsense languages so that their music can speak for itself.//
He started the next song, from the soundtrack of a Japanese anime, and sat back to listen.
"Of course," Hannibal finished, "not all songs are designed around a specific occurrence or emotion. There are those who feel that any emotions generated should come purely from the audience, without benefit of prior associations. Some songs have only a musical description as their title, and you are welcome to any interpretation of emotion that you give them. So, this is Telemann's Trumpet Concerto in D-Major. Each movement has a description of its tempo, but no specific emotion attached to it."
He leaned on the desk and smiled at the students before he hit Play. "Listen to it, and see which emotions you think it conveys, if any. Then we can discuss it and the other pieces - what things are conveyed by different tempos and keys - the speed and the tones used? Do different instruments sound happier or sadder or more angry? That will be our discussion for today."
[Open! Post is, as usual, rife with the YouTube links.]
//You're probably at least aware of the stones that a good many people around the island wound up carrying around for a few days last week. If you aren't… I'll teach you how to use a radio. If you're in a class about music appreciation and don't know how, I apologize profusely; I've let you down as a teacher.// Thanks for that, Jono. //These crystals, whatever they were, toyed with people's emotions, left people bouncing from relaxed to frustrated to anxious and… so on. And that set the topic for today's class quite neatly. This week, we'll be talking about the emotional aspect of music- music that's written specifically for the purpose of appealing to a person's feelings.//
Hannibal, on the other hand, was his usual unruffled self. Why should he worry what the students might think, so long as it didn't interfere with class? "A lot of the earliest music we have is religious - not because it's the first written, but because the church best preserved their own - and was written to glorify and worship God. Even once people began preserving more secular music, there was often an emphasis on that, so several of my examples are from religious music."
//A very modern example would be any music that's written to be played on a film's soundtrack. A film's score is intended to enhance the mood of any given scene within the narrative, helping to move an audience to tears or leave them gripping the edge of their seats.//
Hannibal queued up his first song. "This one is the 'Dies Irae', part of the Requiem Mass by a composer named Giuseppi Verdi. I won't tell you the lyrics; in this respect they are unimportant. The song is meant to evoke the wrath and fear of the end of days." He smiled over at Jono. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's been used in a movie or two."
//They used at least part of it in the Y-People films,// Jono replied thoughtfully as he listened to the song play. //And several others. I recognize it, yes.// He let the song play through, and then nodded, satisfied. //Speaking of songs meant to evoke wrath and fear, there's one from a recent superhero film that you might be familiar with- that one about the man in spangles and his estranged boyfriend.// Or, you know, best friend. Whatever the case was, there. //This one plays whenever one of the film's major antagonists shows up, and it's… gritty, is a good word for it. Angry. Tortured. Oppressive. There are moments throughout that I swear the music is screaming. There are others where it drags me in and makes me want to.//
"From an entirely different emotion, although still religious, there is the feeling of rejoicing and victory." Hannibal chuckled. "I was going to attempt to expose you to something a bit less clichéd, but this one is a classic for good reason. It is called the Ode to Joy."
Once it had finished playing, Jono reached for the top in a stack of CDs to his name and, in a minute, he was hitting play. //Most people know this one,// he said, speaking over the Space Battles theme as it started up. //This one sets the mood for one of the most successful franchises in film history. It's loud, strong, immediately gripping, informing those listening that they're about to witness an adventure.//
He let the song play through, and then reached for another soundtrack that he was not in the least embarrassed to have on hand, thank you. He owned a music shop. He'd pull out the
//This one, on the other hand, comes at the end of the story it's a part of. The hero has saved the day, everything is resolved, and this music is meant to give the audience a sense of satisfaction, even closure, as the film wraps up its last few loose ends.//
"This next one is neither specifically religious, nor particularly old," Hannibal said next. "Arvo Pärt wrote this in 1977 after the death of another composer, Benjamin Britten, whom he admired a great deal. It was written to mourn and honor him - the "Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten".
//It should be noted that vocals can be used in the same way as instruments,// Jono added, //to great effect. The last Arachnid Guy film had music written for the main villain with lyrics whispered underneath the rest that essentially told the audience how to feel, or, at least, how the character on the screen was feeling at the time. But one doesn't need to understand the lyrics in order to grasp the depth of emotion within them. Music can be just as poignant and meaningful in tongues you don't understand as it is to the native speakers of that language, if it's done its job well. Some composers, such as Yoko Kanno, have actually made up entire nonsense languages so that their music can speak for itself.//
He started the next song, from the soundtrack of a Japanese anime, and sat back to listen.
"Of course," Hannibal finished, "not all songs are designed around a specific occurrence or emotion. There are those who feel that any emotions generated should come purely from the audience, without benefit of prior associations. Some songs have only a musical description as their title, and you are welcome to any interpretation of emotion that you give them. So, this is Telemann's Trumpet Concerto in D-Major. Each movement has a description of its tempo, but no specific emotion attached to it."
He leaned on the desk and smiled at the students before he hit Play. "Listen to it, and see which emotions you think it conveys, if any. Then we can discuss it and the other pieces - what things are conveyed by different tempos and keys - the speed and the tones used? Do different instruments sound happier or sadder or more angry? That will be our discussion for today."
[Open! Post is, as usual, rife with the YouTube links.]
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