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Keehn Blog Post #5

ALPHORNS! 1. Alphorn history is something that is specific to Switzerland and rightfully so because they have the exact culture and geographical landscape to use them. I learned here that these alphorns are made from the native trees there in Switzerland. I also learned that this alphorn shop has been making alphorns for many many years and the man that owns it now has inherited it. One other thing I learned was that the alphorn was given its name by tourists which was actually very surprising to me. 2. There were a few things that I found really interesting about the creation process of alphorns. One of these was the fascinating way they glued the two pieces of the bell together after crafting both sides. This must be done with extreme precision to make them look like what they do at the end of the process. Another really cool thing was the milling machine. This machine took a block of wood and milled it into a specific mouthpiece with extreme precision. This was really cool to watch because of this. 3. It was a little different to play the instrument outside in the Swiss Alps instead of in an enclosed room. It added aesthetic effect to playing it and made for a really cool sound. 4. We did encounter some music in Switzerland along the way, even though we were only there for a short time. One street band brought an alphorn with them and played it at one point which was interesting to see as they weren't the best players. They also played a guitar and sang a little. Other than that, there is always popular music from the United States that you hear walking around the town. It seems that US pop culture influences other countries quite a bit. 5. I think tourism plays a fairly large role in the perception and the historical outlook of the alphorn. Historically we know the alphorn to basically be the musical instrument of Switzerland and knowing this makes people want to come to Switzerland to see them and hear them. This interest then deepens the historical meaning of the alphorn as the instrument of Switzerland. These two kind of work hand in hand to make the alphorn the official Swiss instrument.

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Keehn Blog Post #4

City of Mozart I did not try the Mozart kugel. It didn't seem like something I would like. 1. Mozart does not have any living descendants. We saw his family tree at the Mozart house in Salzburg. 2. I don't remember seeing anything in the letters at the house that we hadn't talked about in class already. I probably did not read enough to gain anymore actual information. 3. I think the letters definitely help us get a better perception of the actual qualities of Mozart and help define him. However, they might also build up some of his more negative qualities like his cockiness and facts about his sex life. 4. The concert we attended at the castle was pretty great. The food was awesome and the instrumentalists were very good, even when the audience was not. I like the last or near the last piece the most because we had heard it before and it was cool to hear it in person and so close. 5. The differences between the tourist crowd and regular German crowd was quite shocking. The audiences for the Mahler concert and the opera were just like u would expect for a German audience. They were quiet, attentive, and clapped a lot at the end. The dopy tourist crowd at the castle was pathetic. A third of the audience left halfway through the concert. Of course we also had the drunk lady who couldn't just hold her dang glass in her hand. If that is how audiences were in Mozart's time, I can surely see why he wanted to leave. I'm sure they were not that bad in his time but if there was no establishment like the one in Munich I could see why he would get frustrated.

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Keehn Blog Post #3

Tannhäuser 1. Wagner hated the idea that people would go to the opera and sit across from each other like we did in that opera house. He also hated the idea that the richer you were, the better seat you would have in the opera house. This meant people of poorer stature might not be able to see the entire opera, which happened to us. The divide between the poor and the rich is strongly represented everywhere in today's society. We see it everywhere we go and it's hard to get around because of our capitalistic society. We see a system more similar to Wagner's in movie theaters today as well as church. Here all seat are basically the same and you do not sit across from one another. 2. I think the seating arrangement we sat in for this opera was ridiculous and quite appalling. First of all, your performing an opera created by someone that wanted the exact opposite of what your doing which is too ironic to handle. I don't think I would even pay 20 euros for some of the seat that were available in that theater. With a traditional seating we could have actually seen most of the play and followed closely by Wagner ideals. 3. I think these two guys hit it off so well because they were so different from everyone else and had extreme ideas. They both were kind of free thinkers and produced things no one else could so they were a lot alike. 4. I generally enjoyed the tannhäuser opera. It was the first opera I have attended and was fairly fun except for not being able to see half of it. I think the voice of Wolfram was overall the best and I enjoyed hearing some of his songs. I am not a huge fan of clapping for 20 minutes as I do understand that they actors and actresses deserve some credit but 20 minutes is just ridiculous. I would much rather hear like 10 more minutes of music or something and then clap for a little.

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Keehn Blog Post #2

1. The most fascinating instrument I saw at the museum was the box trumpet. This instrument was especially interesting because of its connection to engineering. A really cool feature of this instrument was that the tubing of the trumpet was winded around and attached to the outside of the instrument's shelling. This made it impossible to take apart the instrument and look inside. I think this gave the instrument a sense of wonder and discovery. The way the museum used X-rays to look inside the instrument was really cool and the videos of the inside piecing itself together was very cool. 2. Like I said above, this kind of brought the music world much closer to science and engineering. This was definitely a really cool and interesting piece because of these scientific aspects that the museum needed to use to discover what was actually inside this instrument. Culture was definitely expressed through the instruments as you could see the different examples as we went forward in the timeline of the brass instruments. One example could be some of the trombone that we saw in the middle of the tour. These were the ones with really cool windings and patches that weren't exactly used to help produce sound, but just to make the instrument look better or high class. Of course this could represent the culture of some of the wealthier people during that time. So this was interesting because I am fairly interested in history and this was a cool sort of timeline through the history of the brass instrument where we could see different cultures through the instruments. 3. I probably wouldn't say that my perception really changed after going to the museum as we already knew a lot about Wagner and his anti Semitic ways. We knew going in that Hitler enjoyed Wagner so hearing that his first reaction to his Wagner's opera was positive wasn't very surprising. 4. I think it was interesting that we visited a place where Hitler had once visited. However I don't think it was as impactful as visiting Dachau or the Nazi rally ground. Because these placing consisted of so much negative energy and suffering, they weigh a little more when visiting them. But I am sure hitler visited the grave of Wagner and stood pretty close to where we were standing which definitely has an impact on us.

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Keehn Germany Blog Post #1

1. Before going to the Beethoven museum, I expected it to have a few Beethoven relics and some cool historical Beethoven pieces. I was really surprised by the amount of historical relics included in the museum. I was especially shocked with their possession of the most famous painting of Beethoven, and that it was the real painting. In regards to the concert, I expected a fairly good performance of Moonlight. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how good this guy actually was and was quite impressed. I enjoyed hearing the third movement live as it is really cool to watch it being played with the many finger movements that are involved. 2. Listening to the piece I knew was very easy because I could follow along with the spots that movements changed and knew what was to come next. When hearing the piece I did not know, it was somewhat difficult to listen too. Although it was a alright piece, I found that I did not enjoy it as much as Moonlight. 3. Hearing and seeing Moonlight live was much cooler than just hearing a recording. Obviously the third movement just stands out as the one everyone remembers. But seeing that live gives a whole new meaning to the word difficult. I can't imagine how difficult that movement is to play and seeing it live just really enhances that. 4. It was hard to tell that this piano was any different than that of the modern piano. I didn't notice any difference when I was listening to the concert. I am sure that if I was a musical major or something like that I would have noticed a difference, but I could not. 5. I think it should probably influence this in some way. We can't ignore the fact that the piece was intended to be played on one instrument and is then being played on a somewhat different instrument. So we definitely have to make some sort of change when using in different instrument than the one intended.

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Blog Post #20

Interests

I think that the alphorn concert on a mountain will be the most interesting and stunning. Of course being on the top of a mountain is already going to be an unbelievable experience as well as visually stunning. However, hearing the alphorns on top of a mountain and echo off the sides of another mountain will be audibly appealing. I enjoyed the music of the alphorn to an extent so I think it will be something cool to see and hear and probably remember for a very long time. I am also looking forward to seeing the 500 year old brass instruments because I enjoy hearing brass instruments and brass instrument themselves.

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Listening Post #5

The Alpine Symphony

1.       This article tells us to expect a large fanfare like symphony with great ups and downs. The work will represent some young adventurers setting out at dawn to climb a large mountain. The music will be fairly uplifting and colorful until they are driven back by a vicious thunderstorm which are represented by falling intervals and an inversion of the rising theme heard during the ascent. All the previous sights (their themes in song) are played in reverse.

2.       He tells us to feature a large amount of instrument including like 12 horns. The piece is meant to represent nothing short of the Alps. We hear cow bells and some pastoral lyrical melodies that are played on an alphorn.

3.      

4.       Nacht (Night) – 0:44

Sonnenaufgang (Sunrise) – 4:17

Der Anstieg (The Ascent) – 6:00

Eintritt in den Wald (Entry into the Forest) – 8:21

Wanderung neben dem Bache (Wandering by the Brook) – 11:27

Am Wasserfall (At the Waterfall) – 14:48

Erscheinung (Apparition) – 15:20

Auf blumigen Wiesen (On Flowering Meadows) – 15:50

Auf der Alm (On the Alpine Pasture) – 16:52

Durch Dickicht und Gestruepp auf Irrwegen (Through Thickets and Undergrowth on the Wrong Path) – 18:55

Auf dem Gletccher (On the Glacier) – 21:03

Gefahrvolle Augenblicke (Dangerous Moments) – 22:25

Auf dem Gipfel (On the Summit) – 23:55

Vision (Vision) – 29:40

Nebel steigen auf (Mists Rise) – 32:50

Die Sonne verduestert sich allmaehlich (The Sun Gradually Becomes Obscured) – 33:21

Elegie (Elegy) – 34:02                      

Stille vor dem Strum (Calm Before the Storm) – 36:05

Gewitter und Strum, Abstieg (Thunder and Tempest, Decent) – 40:20

Sonnenuntergang (Sunset) – 44:06

Ausklang (Quiet Settles) – 47:13

Nacht (Night) – 53:57

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Blog Post #19

Alphorn Music

I thought playing the alphorn was fairly fun and I also enjoyed others struggle trying to play it. Fortunately for myself, I used to play trumpet when I was younger so playing the alphorn wasn’t as difficult as it might have been for others in the class. The alphorn was somewhat similar to the trumpet but also different in some ways. You had to use a little more air flow to produce the notes on the alphorn, mostly because of its sheer length. In the end, I enjoyed playing the alphorn because I haven’t played any horn since about sophomore year of high school and I enjoyed hearing myself play again. As far as others go, it was pretty funny watching others try and make sounds on the horn. Most people seemed to catch on to it pretty fast however. I also enjoyed listening to Gholson play in a duet with Dr. Lee. The horns can make some pretty cool sounds when played together, however, I did notice that they can also make some fairly raunchy sounds sometimes. There were a few times where I almost cringed at the sound, maybe because they missed a note, or that’s because of the instrument. I hope it is the latter though.

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Blog Post #18

Alphorn Imitators

1.       The author uses sources like: human bone found in tribal Latin America and in the Himalayas (physical evidence), The Old Testament, and a Roman mosaic dating from the 1st century at Bosceaz.

2.       To classically-attuned ears, the presence of these unusual notes in alphorn music creates a haunting, other-worldly effect. I don’t really hear it in the piece, but I am sure it is there somewhere. The note produced at the 11th harmonic falls above the normal note used in classical music for fa, and in the alphorn repertoire, this note is now referred to as the ‘alphorn fa’. The strings imitate the note with two different notes adjusting it both upwards and downwards for maximum effect.

3.       The country of Switzerland was under French occupation for eight years after Napoleon invaded. Switzerland was in turmoil and it was a region more divided than united.

4.       It is played by an English horn. The English horn is again given an alphorn melody with an echo provided by an offstage oboe. I don’t think it really sounds that similar or evokes the spirit of the alphorn. It doesn’t have the same low bellowing tone that the alphorn brings into the music. Same thing with the Wagner piece.

5.       It does have more meaning because we find that a piece that is played with an alphorn, or at least made for one, is actually about the alphorn.

6.       I think the oboe is playing the alphorn melody but it also could be a French horn. It seems to present a clam, peaceful message with maybe some echoing around the pasture.

7.       I think the French horn makes a better alphorn imitation. It sounds more horn-y (lol) to me whereas the English horn sounds too much like a woodwind instrument or an oboe.

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Blog Post #17

The Alphorn

I know that the alphorn is a large older type of instrument that you blow into to make sound. They are an instrument usually found in Europe, possible specifically in Eastern Europe but I am not exactly sure. I haven’t heard that much music played by the alphorn but the music I have heard has usually been quite simple. I think there might be some stereotypes that the only people that play alphorns are old, Germans in a lederhosen on top of a mountain. At least that’s what I think of when I picture someone playing an alphorn.

I don’t think my picture of someone playing the alphorn has changed since reading this article but it has changed my perception of the horn a little. It is interesting hearing about someone sort of modernizing the alphorn for jazz and funk music. However, as I was about halfway through the article I thought to myself that there must be some people that dislike Burki and her modernization of the alphorn, especially the change from wood to carbon fiber. Since wooden alphorns offer better sound quality, some might want to keep the tradition in the Swiss Alps. Mr. Kolly of the Swiss Federal Yodeling festival had exactly the type of opposition I expected.

I actually did not know that Ricola was a company from Switzerland, so that was new. In the second video, I couldn’t help but hear a really piercing sharp/flat sound at the end of a verse, twice. I think it is the same note. In the third video, I was very surprised with how small the woman was who was playing the alphorn. I would expect someone larger to play it so she must be very good, which by the sound of it she is. Although, again we see it with Eliana Burki, a small person playing a very large instrument. It must take tons of practice. I enjoyed the first music video by Burki. I think it would probably be very catchy and a song to sing along too if I spoke the language. I think it is quite interesting how in each of the music videos they have her or the whole band carrying around the large alphorn in or out of the scene. The second video featured more of the alphorn but I think I enjoyed the first one more. However, I definitely have never seen or heard the alphorn played this much or in this way.

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Blog Post #16

Lost music 

I think that, yes, these works should be performed because they give us a sense of the time period and struggle they were made in. The people playing the piece and the place does matter, but not necessarily the time. These performances could not be done by anyone that’s discriminated against group of people at some point. The performance must also be in the correct situation or place so that it may be accepted by people. It is probably so far removed from the source at this point that we shouldn’t worry about it. I think that we should hold performances of these pieces because it shows that we care for the things that happened in these camps and we respect these writers and composers for sticking to their music. These types of pieces could be used anywhere, if they are actually good, and then also used to remember those affected by the Holocaust.

Right away something I found very interesting in the first article was how this guy directly stated how subjective being an opera singer in Europe is. He even stated that he has experienced singers with ugly voices who have made fabulous careers. I thought it was interesting how much the author of this article emphasized heath and allergies. He suggests that this is something you should treat before entering the profession but I usually think of allergies as something that sticks with you for life. In regards to the second article, I thought it was interesting that the author laid out a usual plan of pieces judges will try to hear during an audition. Why wouldn’t they be different depending on the position or judges? Another interesting thing was the fact that the author believes that having these types of careers in Germany and Europe are mostly based on being in the right place at the right time.

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Listening Post #4

Messiaen

In the first movement is played by all four instrumentalists but the clarinet seems to stand out the most. It seems very haunting but also seems somewhat fluttered. This might be a representation of birds fluttering around. The second movement starts out very angry with all four instruments playing. It emphasizes large strikes on the piano and seems somewhat scattered. It also takes a break from being angry and scattered and the two string instruments (cello and violin) play together without the clarinet. The piano is also played in the background. “The Abyss of the Birds” is the third movements and it involves only the clarinet. This movements is a slow moving flowing piece with sudden fluctuations in speed. The fourth movement is only played by the violin, clarinet, and cello. It is uplifting and fun and seems to be the dance like movement. The Fifth movement is only played by cello and piano and is slow and sad. It is a series of odd phrases that don’t seems to fit together in a singular beat. Movement number six is played with all four of the instruments. They play in unison through most of the movement and is again very dance like and lively. In the seventh movement, we see the cello and the piano playing together again. However, towards the end of the movement, we see the other two instruments join in to play a kind of reoccurring feel of melody. The eighth movement is played by the violin and piano. It is a movement of slow moving lines and soft melody.

The chapter we read tells us that this movement is about birds and mimicking their sounds. In the beginning of the movement, the melody is really soft, almost inaudible. To me, this reminds me of the sun rising in the morning. Then the clarinet starts to play very fluttery, all over the place notes and melodies. This could be Messiaen trying to mimic the bird noises that he hears right after the sun rising in the morning. This conforms to the story in the chapter we read about Messiaen and his love to work the morning shift so he could see and hear the sun rise.

In this video the artist portrays Messiaen’s description of the rainbow that covers an angel very well. He paints a picture of a person is many different colors. The artist also paints a picture in black and red paint to symbolize the swords of fire. The other picture is hard to decipher but it also looks like it could depict swords of fire. However, this one has more bright colors whereas the other has mainly red and black. Something I think the author portrays very well is the clutter and appearance of disorganization, but somehow keenly organized, of the piece. As he paints he makes it seem that he is totally array and disorganized. However, when the final piece is finished, like say the first painting of the person, it shows that he was actually very organized and needed to be or else it would have looked a lot different. This is the same with Messiaen’s music. The second part to the video portrays a religious meaning. It shows how we can be wiped clean of our sin if we except Jesus into our lives. We can start a new life without sin in this way.

Overall this work is interesting yet dull in my mind. Although I do think there is a lot of meaning behind the music, I find the music quite boring. Also, the fact that it was created in a prisoner camp in Germany gives it some importance. But most of the music puts me to sleep and the rest just seeks our of place and erratic.

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Blog Post 15

The Three (or four) Musketeers

The Quartet for the End of Time was very important and was created from some very interesting coincidences. Oliver Messiaen meets three musicians that have all been drafted into the army during World War 2. Messiaen met two musicians named Etienne Pasquier and Henri Akoka. Pasquier was a child prodigy who started playing cello at the age of five. On September 3, 1939 Pasquier was mobilized into Lorraine, an eastern region in France. Eventually, after returning from the hospital, Pasquier was transferred to the citadel of Vauban where he became the corporal of music and he met Messiaen. Henri Akoka was a musician who played in various bands and anywhere live musicians were needed. IN 1939, Akoka was mobilized and sent to play in a military orchestra at the citadel of Vauban near Verdun. Here he met Messiaen and Pasquier. The three were forced to flee when Germany launched a blitzkrieg against Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. They were captured by the Germans and sent on a forty-three-mile march to the vicinity of Nancy. Akoka first played “Abyss of the Birds” after being captured for Messiaen and Pasquier. This would be one of the movements of the Quartet for the End of Time. The last member of the Quartet was Jean Le Boulaire. Messiaen, Pasquier, and Akoka met Jean in Stalag VIII A, the prison camp they were held at.

The composer, Messiaen, has his story about the creation of this piece of work but the author believes differently because of a few things. First off, Pasquier’s story is entirely different and it is the one that is told in this article. Another huge reason is that Akoka was the only one of the four original performers of the Quartet who had brought his instrument with him. Since he was a clarinet player, and Pasquier’s story states that “Abyss of the Birds” was written well before Stalag VIII A, this makes sense. What I found very interesting and somewhat hilarious is the story about how Messiaen got his musical scores taken from him by a German officer. While naked, Messiaen was so mean to the officer that the officer was afraid and gave the scores back to Messiaen. I’m sure this story has been exaggerated quite a bit but it is still funny nonetheless.

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Blog Post #13

Music in Dachau

Dachau was the longest running concentration camp in Nazi Germany. However, music was actually a large part of concentration camp life for all people, not just the Nazi camp leaders. There were different kinds of musical activities that took place in Dachau, both forced and voluntary. There is proof that the following musical activities existed in Dachau: orchestral concerts, cabaret performances, communal singing, choirs, church music, and forced singing. Like other concentration camps, forced singing was a regular part of the daily marches and roll-call. The camp authorities often demanded that the prisoners sing German marches and nostalgic songs. Inmates would also have to perform private concerts for SS officers. It seems like this camp and concentration camp system was a lot like how our prison system is now. Prisoners would perform extra tasks and receive bartering items such as cigarettes and extra food. One of these extra tasks would be performing some of these private concerts or parties. Some of the more well-known pieces that were played in Dachau were “Fridericus Rex” and “Bruder, zur sonne, zur freiheit!”. What I think is funny and interesting (although still awful) is the fact that the camp authorities installed speakers in the corners of the Dachau cafeterias in order to distract from the paltry offerings. Another place music was used inside Dachau was during interrogations for torture. Music was added to torture to camouflage the sadistic torturing of prisoners. All in all, the amount of music used inside Dachau is surprising to me. I was not aware of how much it was actually used.

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Blog Post #11/12

Finishing Wagner/German Composers in Nazi Germany

These days people everywhere get up in arms about anything they can. With Wagner’s music, we get another example of this. Wagner is one of the most influential composers of all time and lived in the 1800’s until he died six years before Adolf Hitler was even born. During Wagner’s time and in the area he lived (Germany and Switzerland), it wasn’t uncommon to be anti-Semitic. There were a lot of people who blamed the Jews for many of their problems and we see it again and again in the history of Europe. I think it is very unfortunate that Hitler and the Nazi regime ended up choosing Wagnerian music to be the sort of musical symbol of the regime. So, just because one bad person used another man’s music to represent something bad, even if it’s really bad, doesn’t mean we can’t listen to it. It’s a classic 21st century possible overreaction with misplaced anger. Granted I do agree that people who went through these horrors in the holocaust, as well as family members of people who did, are permitted (like Levine says in the article) to the emotional responses they have. However, I think the anger/revenge/vengeance emotions is misplaced when directed towards Wagner’s music. This type of thing happens a lot these days; where a group of people misdirect their anger instead of using it to accomplish something or directing towards the actual object that they should. In the situation where you want to perform an opera of Wagner’s, the audience does matter. So it would be tough for Israel to start playing these Wagnerian operas again after banning it for so many years. First, of all it would be hard to get many people to come and watch and second, it might be difficult to find people that want to participate in the opera itself.

In the case of the five musicians who were alive during the Nazi regime, there are definitely some parallels when comparing them to the scientists alive during the regime. One of the first parallels I noticed was the fact that some people were caught in the middle. Like Peter Debye and Planck, Wilhelm Furtwangler was distraught when the Nazis started to kick out Jews from musical performances. He even sent a strongly worded letter to Goebbels which increased his popularity abroad, even though it was obviously an unsuccessful endeavor. Richard Strauss was also alike these types of scientists as he frequently worked with Jewish composers and had many Jewish friends. Although he is known to be an anti-Semite and to have worked with the Nazi regime, he was exonerated for any ties to the regime in his denazification trial. In my opinion, Herbert von Karajan is a lot like Werner Heisenberg. They both were a small part of the Nazi regime in their younger years but grew to defy them as they got older. However, neither of them ever really lost that tie to the regime. Carl Orff is a lot like many of the scientists in Germany that were close friends with Jews and collaborated with them extensively. Comparing them further, Orff ended up having difficulties working and such but was still able to find work. Paul Hindemith is probably the composer of these five that has the least affiliation to the Nazi regime.  Based on these articles, he is probably the least guilty of collusion because of ties to Jewish people. One could also argue for Wilhelm Furtwangler as well with his countless letters and oppositions to the regime. It is hard to say which of these composers would be the guiltiest of collusion as most of them at some point revolted in some way against the Nazi regime and all were exonerated in denazification trials. If I had to choose one I would say that Strauss was the guiltiest. I say this because the article states that “Strauss was generally on good terms with the Nazi Party”.

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Listening Post #3

Wagner Opera

The first scene started very slow and soft and slowly got louder until the dancers entered the stage. The stage was blank when they entered with no props, just the floor. A man entered with a harp as a prop and he looked confused about something. Then it seemed like he thought of something and the music got uplifting and loud. At this point the man has not sung anything and he is not dancing with the harp. Then we could finally see some props on the stage with some woman dancing and a man that enters and dances with one of the woman. The staging for this is pretty crazy with all the forest looking pieces and the clothing which is barely clothing at all. I think that the man in the beginning is supposed to be seeing this or dreaming about this in some wat. It is possible that this is supposed to represent his daughter with a man or his wife with a younger man. This could be true because of the music during this scene, minor key. There is also some woman dancing with what I think they want to make it look like: blood. Also, the young man is dancing with all of these woman in blood like costumes. This whole thing is quite different and out of the box so it is really hard to get a grasp on the meaning of it. Towards the end of this scene everyone including the man gets covered in a red tarp possibly signifying death or pain. Then, these grim reaper looking guys are walking around while the woman’s arms stick up over the tarp. Then it comes to an end with three people dancing in weird costumes which maybe signifies that life lives on after calamity. Also, the two young people wake up and begin dancing again. Wow, I really don’t think I have any clue what this opera is going to be about. Maybe it will be about this older man’s life and him trying to separate the two younger people that were dancing with each other.

The second video starts with music and no dancers or staging. The piece sounds familiar as we have probably listened to it at some point in class. In comparison with the other video, this video also takes a long time to get to the first sighting of a dancer or even a prop. The first sighting of dancer comes in the form of an odd set piece that is a long cylinder. There are many woman dancing around with each other in the cylinder. There is also a man in the middle of all of the woman who I suspect is Tannhauser. Also compared to the other video, all the men and woman are wearing very tight clothing, or none at all. This scene is a little different in that it doesn’t seem to be a centered around specific people. The first video, the dance was centered on two young people, whereas this has a large group of people dancing in a tube. Both videos were very chaotic as a lot was going on with a lot of different people being involved in the scene.

In the first aria, it seems that in the beginning, the man is signing about his love for the woman. But then he says that his love overwhelm him so he must flee from the kingdom. Then the woman sings about how she cannot believe what the man is saying. She then thinks that it is her fault and says “In what ways has my love been lacking”. The man explains that there is no else in the world more beautiful than her. However, he then goes on to sing that he misses the woodland breeze, clear blue sky, the fresh green meadows, and song of birds and bells. So, he must flee from the kingdom, and he asks her to let him go. He pleads that she not be angry with him. She will not let him go. I think that she then asks him to marry her. She says “Revel in union with love’s own goddess”. I am not totally sure if this is actually what she is saying. I would describe this style as operatic singing with renaissance feel (artistic and about love). This does seem to go along with the story.

In the second aria the woman is singing about someone that she is greeting or seeing again for the first time. She states that she was sad when he departed and how happy she is now that he has returned. She wants the man to receive her greeting. The music seems very uplifting as well as the body language and singing of the woman, which coincides with the story.

In the third aria, the man is singing about death right off the bat. He says that darkness covers the land, and envelops the valley in its somber shroud. Then the man sings about a star in the distance that’s bean pierces the gloomy shroud. The star shows you the way out of the valley. Maybe he is signing about the North Star (Polaris) which supposedly used to navigate during the night back in the days without cell phones. In the beginning the man is signing with a very dark context which falls in line with what he is signing about, darkness and death. However, it seems to stay at this kind of dark, gloomy tone throughout the piece. But, it seemed like he was singing about something positive towards the end of the scene.

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Blog Post#11

Wagner and Me

This documentary followed the escapades of Stephan Fry who learns everything there is to know about Richard Wagner. He first visits the opera house specifically built to house Wagner operas. It is very interesting to see the actual building we read about knowing how long it took Wagner to get his dream to come together. Of course the magnificence of the actual building is quite fascinating. Fry then delves into the early life of Wagner as well as his run-ins when he was a part of the revolutionary groups. When Wagner was first exiled from Germany, he fled to Switzerland where a relationship with a rich woman sparked his creativity. Discussion of Wagner’s anti-Semitism led to talk that Wagner needed some sort of enemy or weird kick to get him going, in order to write the music that he did. Fry then visits the house that Wagner once lived in to learn about the notes that sparked the revolution of modern music. Wagner was in tremendous debt continuously throughout his life. Fry then visits Neuschwanstein and talks about how Ludwig built it in Wagner’s image. He then goes into the Nazi regime and Hitler and how he liked to listen to Wagner. Wagner’s marriage to Cosima was what finally brought him to create his dream in Bayreuth. One interesting this is that Wagner didn’t have enough money to put in anything other than wooden floors. However, they make for a wonderfully resonant sounding board so they have never replaced them. During the video, I saw some of the German trumpets that are played sideways with rotate valves instead of regular valves that we talked about in class. Hitler routinely visited Bayreuth to partake in the festivities and is seen by some to have tainted the music of Wagner. However, Stephan Fry believes that Wagner’s music is fundamentally good.