George Friedrich Handel’s “Overture” to the Royal Fireworks Music boasts a majestic stately opening that presents a melody and homophonic texture. Repeating this melody immediately in a similar form, Handel provides a subtle but poignant reharmonisation of the melody. Where the first statement presents more triadic harmony, the second adds more extensions or tension notes […]
Many of Chopin’s Nocturnes follow a ternary structure, or ABA form, where melodies of the A-section repeat and flank a different middle section. Interestingly, however, Chopin’s Nocturnes often implement subtle embellishments to each repetition of these A-themes. His first Nocturne Opus 9, Number 1 is a good example of these melodic variations. Taking a closer
Mozart, when introducing a theme in his Sonata form movements, often repeats the melody with subtle variations. For example, in his E minor Violin Sonata (K. 304, I have an extended analysis of the first movement of this piece here), he changes the texture from monophonic to melody and accompaniment. In his D Major Sonata
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYqfTcI3Ztk&t=9s&ab_channel=AnyOldMusic Paul Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (1897) is a musical composition based on a poem, of the same name, by 18th-century German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Goethe was a product of the later Enlightenment. However, he had a profound impact on the European 19th-century and Romantic culture. For instance, Dukas is only one of many composers
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Paul Dukas (Music Composition Techniques Analysis) Read More »
A few months ago, I shared an analysis on the Hal Leonard arrangement of John Williams’ Flag Parade cue from the first Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace (1999). With these types of articles and videos, the objective is to unearth structure, concepts and techniques of composition via analysis. Occasionally, as I present today, I like to try and
Learning from John Williams – Recomposing Flag Parade Read More »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYUPk1vKxQk&ab_channel=AnyOldMusic Witold Lutosławski’s Chantefleurs et Chantefables is a song cycle for soprano voice and chamber orchestra, completed in 1991. Textually, the songs use the poetry of twentieth-century French surrealist Robert Desnos (1900 – 1944). A series of children’s poems, compiled and published posthumously in 1955, under the title Chantefables et Chantefleurs (Lutosławski reverses the title
Chopin’s 20th Nocturne in C#-minor, published posthumously, is a brooding piano solo that boasts, unsurprisingly, facets quintessential to Chopin’s Nocturnes. These qualities, in Chopin’s nocturnes, have long fascinated me as a composer. Simple in design and modest in development, they demonstrate that complexity and quality are not synonymous. Instead, it is about doing enough and
Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp Minor, F. Chopin – Composition Analysis Read More »
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0QZ7LVWDps&t=1s&ab_channel=AnyOldMusic Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers is an opera set on the South West coast of Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. Perhaps indicative of an incredibly cosmopolitan society during this time, despite the subject matter and Smyth being English, the opera’s initial libretto was in French. However, Smyth had difficulty securing a performance for a French-speaking audience. As
Orchestrating a Swashbuckler: The Wreckers Overture (Ethel Smyth) Read More »
Analysing Bach’s Badinerie, I discuss texture, harmony, tonality and melody. It is a treasure trove of composition technique presented by the prolific master and 18th-century musical craftsman Johann Sebastian Bach.
Badinerie (Orchestral Suite No. 2 – B-Minor) – J. S. Bach – Composition Technique Read More »
Bernard Herrmann’s “Walking Distance” is full of different orchestration and composition techniques. Last week we focussed on some of those orchestration techniques, such as reorchestration. This week we are looking at the composition. However, just like with the orchestration, we will have to be selective. Therefore, I have selected two short cues to look at in