Classical Opera and Popular Music - Essay Example

Task ical Opera and Popular Music Music has evolved over time from basic forms of art to more complex forms that are in use today. Today, music exists in various forms, but all music is concerned with showing emotion or passing a particular message. Music and art are based on imaginations and they enable people to depict the society as it is since they are used to deliver messages and they are sources of entertainment. Music and art enlighten the mind and bring attention to issues affecting the society. The combination of sound and rhythm are particularly important in music as they enable people to relate to music and drive out the desired intention. Historically, music has been used to make life lively, entertain people and pass messages to the community. Music has gone through stages from the simple forms of art to the complex technologies that are used today to come to compose and record songs. This paper will discuss the evolution of music from the classical opera style to the modern popular music, and elaborate on the similarities and differences of the two music forms. Classical opera was introduced by the Greek and Roman societies, and was related to their scientific and cultural practices of the time. During this time, there were no inventions in drama and music (Naxos). However, religion and tradition had great influence on music of the day since during occasions related to the two there were performances that highlighted music. Classical opera is a form of art that incorporates lots of orchestral, lyrical and theatre techniques. Classical opera evolved over time and combined dissimilar genres to be become a form of music. Although it was performed on stage by using the stage, acting and costumes, the words in the operas were sung in order to make the audience more attentive so that they could get the message being passed and enjoy the performance. In classical operas, there existed two forms of singing, recitative and aria types of dialogue. Recitative operas consisted of harmonic conversation that was not accompanied by melody and the aim of this singing was coming up with a plot. Aria reefers to music that was accompanied with a melody and emotional attachments meant to capture the eyes and ears of the audience. In the early nineteenth century, the two forms were joined to form the arioso style, which combined melody and singing. Another component of opera is musical accompaniment, which was used to set the mood for the performance, and this enabled the audience to connect the scenes in the opera. Classical Opera music first came into existence from performances called ‘intermedi’, which were started to celebrate important events such as weddings or holidays (TheatreHistory). The performances were accompanied by simple musical accompaniments that had single lines of melody for catching the attention of the audience. This practice was known as monody and had originated from a prior style known as madrigal, which was a form of singing that used a polyphonic strategy but became outdated. The performances of this age of opera were undermined by some irrelevant scenes, and this stunted advancement of drama and music. A German composer, Christophe Gluck came in to help people fix music into lyrics and he played a significant role in the advancement of opera. This made performances to be dramatic since there was a relation between the performance and the musical background. This purged the recitative opera and music was used for expression. One of Gluck’s compositions was the Orfeo ed Euridice, which was a tragic based mythology from Greece that is still performed in cinemas today (Fuller). In this composition, he made action important in performance since they could help people associate with the scenes. The audiences were prepared for the later scenes from the preceding scenes and this significantly improved drama. The other famous opera is the Magic Flute in which singing was accompanied by dialogue, and this enabled people to relate to the scenes and created mood for performances. In the nineteenth century, the beauty of voice was discovered and started being used in the operas. Beauty of voice made the audience enjoy the performances hence this was a further development of the opera style. Over the years, the piano came as one of the accompaniment of music, and this revolutionized the music industry to great heights in the years that followed. Modern music is used for various purposes, which include entertainment, pleasure, as a business and for occasions. Popular music is composed of various genres and is distributed to the listeners through the music trade. The early nineteenth century saw the rise of popular music, which embraces an association of sounds, attitudes and an industry that under sees its advancement. Popular music includes rap, blues, rock and other genres of music, and it is different from the classical music that originated from the Greek and Romans. Popular is concerned with retention and familiarity hence people are able to remember the words in the songs. Popular music is complex, incorporates rhythm, and beats to make music appealing to the audience. Popular music came into existence because they could serve a lager purpose than the classical operas, which were specific. For example, ‘twinkle twinkle star’ by Mozart is easy to remember hence its one instance of popular music. Composers of popular music will take the current trend in the music industry and be creative to create words in a rhyme then come up with music that is appealing to the audience. Popular music today has become a business venture, and people are engaging in music to become successful in life. It incorporates many instruments and voices so that any performance of music is demanded by the listeners. There are numerous differences between the classical opera style and popular music but it is clear that the two are connected in one way or the other. Both forms utilize the stage by making it presentable to the audience. However, popular music is advanced since performers use advanced technology for lighting and having different effect. Classical opera forms also utilized the stage but the early forms did not make much use of the stage, but concentrated a lot on passing the desired message. The earlier forms of classical opera did not relate the visual elements of stage production and music, but with the development of music, they were able to relate the two in order to get the audience informed. Popular music relates visual elements of stage production and music and this way captures the attention of audience. The stages are more sophisticated than the one used in the classical opera performances since they use modern technology, which makes the effects more appealing. In both the classical opera and popular music performances, music is used to create mood and to tell a story. However, popular music has advanced from the past since rhythm is used to great extent to pass the intended message. Rhythm was an obstacle in the early classical opera styles, but the later stages introduced rhythm to make the performances better. The audience in popular music and classical opera forms play a significant role in what the composer decides to present. Since the composer aims at pleasing the audience, they will try to tailor their performances according to the needs of the audience. In the past, pleasing the audience was the main aim, but today, business has come in the music industry, and musicians are more interested in the gains they get from their compositions and becoming popular. There is profound relationship between classical opera and popular music and it is evident that the latter has developed from the classical opera. First the purpose of music is the same since it has been used for entertainment and passing of messages (Shuker, 10). Both forms are used during occasions to entertain the audience. The classical opera styles used have become used today in the popular music industry only that advancements have been made. Popular music uses rhythm and actions to enable the audience to understand the message they are passing, and this strategy was still used by the composers of classical operas (Campbell, 8). Therefore, it is clear that the modern forms of entertainment such as Rock has originated from past forms of art, which have been improved over time to create complex forms appreciated by the audience. Works Cited Campbell, Michael. Popular Music in America: And the Beat goes on: popular music in America. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2008. Pp 2-17. Print. Fuller, Richard. Classical Music (1750-1810). GCSE Music Notes, January 14, 2010. Web. October 12, 2011 Naxos. A-Z of Opera. Naxos, October 12, 2011. Web. October 12, 2011. Shuker, Roy. Understanding Popular Music. New York: Routledge, 2001. Pp 1-27. Print. TheatreHistory. Origin of the Opera. TheatreHistory, 2002. Web. October 12, 2011. Read More