Analysis of Symphonies of the 18th Century: Beatrice di Tenda, Erotica, and Missa Papae Marcelli - Essay Example

Beatrice di Tenda Beatrice di Tenda is an opera in two casts, a tragic opera by Vincenzo Belini. The composition is from a libretto by Felice Romani. The piece received the first performance on March 1833 at the Teatro La Fanice, Venice (Ze-Lian & Drew, 2008). Guditta Pasta was the one in the title role during this first performance. In later years, the opera went through a number of changes and modifications. The most notable of these modifications that led to the revival of the opera was the 1961 revival by America Opera Society (Yang, 2011). The chorus of the opera plays the most vital role in relaying the message the composer intends to put across. Unlike in Bellini’s earlier operas, the chorus comments on the action of the protagonist and also advises and comforts him in the true spirit of Classical Greek Drama. Although the initial performances of the opera did not present a good reception of the audience, it was Pasta’s outstanding display of the piece that overcame hostility of the public towards the opera. The piece became one of the operas by Bellini to be published in full score during the composer’s lifetime. Symphony No 3 in E-Flat Major (Opera 55) by Ludwig van Beethoven is also known as Erotica. The musical work is a revival of Van Beethoven’s middle period (Zhu, 2009). It is a musical composition n of immense structural rigor and emotional depth. Analysts regard the composition as a mature display of classical style of the late 18th Century. The symphony defines some features of romantic style that would later hold sway in the 19th Century. In performing the symphony, the composition requires that the performance uses 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 clarinets, 3 horns and 2 flutes (Yang, 2011). Performance also requires the use of two trumpets in E-flat and C, and strings. The performance takes approximately 52 minutes. Hans Pfitzner, a German composer composed Palestrina in 1886. The composition was first performed in 1917the composer refered to the opera as Musikalische Legende , meaning the music legend. It was written in honor of a Renaissance Period legend, Giovani Pierluigi da Palestrina (Yang, 2011). The composer honored Palestrina for saving the art of contrapuntal music from the 16th Century church. Palestrina saved polyphony from the church through his composition of Missa Papae Marcelli (White, 2007). Hans’ composition relayed a political view of the Renaissance time and the period of European Reformation. The Premiere was conducted by Bruno Walter in 1962. Given the political stance of the performance of Palestrina, the conductor expressed hope that despite the dark experiences of the day, he was confident that the piece would last forever. He noted that Palestrina had all the elements of immortality, and was sure to influence the lives and decisions of many composers to come. The major differences evident in the three pieces introduced above for the discussion are in their plot, performance and theme. Most notably, the themes of the operas and a symphony chosen for the discussion differ in nature and degree of display. The themes range from tragedy lives that the characters live from the beginning as heroes and end up paupers and losers (DuBois, 1990). There is a display of romance, both deep rooted romance and shallowly expressed romance. Further, there is a display of political theme. Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Erotica defines the features of romantic style of the 18th Century that would become the norm of the 19th Century. Through the plot of the opera, Beethoven explores the literary, artistic and intellectual period that started in the second half of the eighteenth century and gained more strength towards the Industrial Revolution in Europe. In part, the movement was a revolt against political and social norms during the Age of Enlightenment and a public reaction against scientific rationalization of nature (Zhu, 2009). Beethoven’s Erotica displayed a great deal of revolution against the happenings of the time. The first movement of the symphony is a ¾ time in the sonata allegro form (Zhu, 2009). The first movement opens with 2 E-Flat major chords that the whole opera plays (Yang, 2011). The playing of the chords develops and establishes the tonality upon which the rest of the opera is built. Cellos and fifth bar of the melody introduces the first theme. The symphony then introduces a chromatic note (C#) which introduces and sustains harmonic tension of the piece. First violins with a syncopated series of G’s forming a triton with C# of the cellos finish the melody (Ze-Lian & Drew, 2008). Palestrina by Hans Pfitzner discusses the composer’s depiction of the political relationship between the Council of Trent and Hans Pfitzner. The com poser bases his depiction of this political period in light of several other German composers to come up with an informed picture of the Renaissance Period. Han’s work borrows heavily from the composition of Paul Hindermith, Mathis der Maler (Ze-Lian & Drew, 2008). The opera outlines ideological and musical conservatism of the composer. Some scholars interested in this particular composition of Hans such as Gottfried Scholz depicts the title character for the opera as a surrogate for himself. Palestrina is one of the most successful operas ever composed by Hans. It is still performed in most German-speaking countries due to the political theme it represented that still reflect some scenarios in the modern day political world. Revivals of the opera abroad is, however rare (Zhu, 2009). Beethoven introduces a development throughout the piece characterized by astounding harmonic and rhythmic tension caused by dissonant chords and lengthy passages of syncopated rhythm. The composer introduces some other novel theme in the development section and breaks the classical tradition since the development section only functions with existing material (Ze-Lian & Drew, 2008). The second movement displays the discontentment of the composer with the political events of the Romantic Period. It is a funeral march in C minor and a trio in C major (Yang, 2011). This second movement fugatos and lasts around 18 minutes. Beatrice Lascaris de Tenda is a tragic opera in two acts. Right from the beginning of the performance, there is tragedy. Filipo attends a party at Castle Binasco in Italy (DuBois, 1990). He is shadowed as always by the sinister Rizzardo. The man is tired by all people around him showing obeisance to his wife. Filippo’s sycophantic courtiers empathize with him and suggest that all the servants of Beatrice be plotted against him. The chorus of the opera plays the most vital role in relaying the message the composer intends to put across. Unlike in Bellini’s earlier operas, the chorus comments on the action of the protagonist and also advises and comforts him in the true spirit of Classical Greek Drama (White, 2007). References DuBois, W. E. (1990). Music of the 18th Century, 19th Edition. Washington DC: Neptune Publishers. White, K. (2007, Sept 13). Small classes can be a challenge too. Chicago, Chicago, USA. Retrieved Nov 17, 2013, from As public schools struggle with growing class sizes, parochial schools often face the opposite problem. Yang, S. Q. (2011). Analysis of Symphonies of the 18th Century. New York: Swindler Publishers. Ze-Lian, L., & Drew, M. S. (2008, Dec 21). Fundamentals of Multimedia: Music and Operas. Literature Journal , 90-109. Zhu, A. G. (2009). Contributions of Operas in Political Growth of Europe. Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, University of Hong Kong. Read More