The Celebrating the Moon Festival Music in China - Essay Example

Prof. Horn MUS 100 Concert Paper The Arizona played host to the most anticipated Moon festival. On 21 September the 544-sitter hall was full to capacity ready for the day’s event. The main performer was the Symphony orchestra who together with other groups performed eighteen pieces. The Symphony orchestra, lead by Dr. Thomas Cockrell performed a special concert titled “Celebrating the Moon Festival: Music China. “ other pieces included , “Heaven Earth Mankind” an art by the Symphony composed in 1997 and performed by the same group on the events day. The variations in performance provide a wide range of genre in all pieces performed. The instrument used at the performance was violin and each was tasked in producing a specific performance and adding value to the day’s performance. Fusing the orchestra with the Chinese traditional instruments gave it a fusion that uniquely displayed diversity in the music world. The group gave an excellent show as it gave an instrument version of the song. As much as many pieces where displayed at the event, our focus will be on “Heaven Earth Mankind” by the symphony orchestra lead by Dr. Thomas Cockrell. It represented all genre and represented diversity in the performance an analysis of the performance showed how other pieces represented a single genre. The theme being the moon festival, the piece was ideal as a fusion with the Asian instruments gave it an excellent outcome. Other notable instruments where the Harps which played the harmony and the cellos which where tasked in ensuring the rhythm was as per planned. The Cockrell‘s led group utilized the three instrument in ensuring a success to their performance. The most notable of them all was the violin representing each voice category. An excellent event disserved an excellent performance and that is what the symphony orchestra gave. The instruments took turns in providing a breathtaking moment. Just like a sea wave, the violin variably changed the mood. The beginning was a little bit slower maybe to create attention. As the climax approached, the violin became louder and rapid representing a dancing mood. The bridge of the performance saw only the sopranos play their instruments. As the title of the performance suggests, a heavenly mood was engulfed into the room. Some minutes later, the other instruments joint the wagon. Two minutes later, they stopped and before the audience had applause, they picked again and this time they played them rapidly until the conductor signaled the end of the performance. Other pieces where equally entertaining but differed in terms of the instrumentation and the tonal variation. On analysis, the essay will focus on the meter of the music based on n the ‘human Earth mankind ‘performance by the symphony orchestra lead by Dr. Thomas Cockrell. The performance had a simple meter in that the instruments produced. It had a 2/4 time, in that each beat had two notes thus classified into a simple duple, the direct indication of two beats per measure. This was evident in all instruments used at the performance especially the violin. The combination of the instruments to produce a systematic pattern signified the beginning of the performance. The other pieces where similar to it except for the special performance of the theme song. Where a 4/4 was recorded. This was due to the combination of different instrument and the fusion of the music, where the Chinese music combining with the western music produced a four beat per measure. It was significant in that it signified the end of the performance. The four beats per measure also referred to as simple quadruple this is according to musictheory.net. Meter of the music is important as it enables the artist fuse and compose songs depending on what the beats entails. The concert was a life experience in that one had to appreciate the Chinese culture and there existed a cultural exchange. In terms of music genres, there was the aspect of new ones emerging evident when the symphony orchestra performed with Wang Liping. In that, Asian music was fussed with Jazz to produce a completely new aspect to the music world. In was evident how music is evolving and there is need to extent the classification of the music to accommodate the new trends. The third thing learned at the concert is that music is a universal language where people from all works of lives are all united by the power of music. Diversity is what makes music interesting and that is what ‘Celebrating the Moon Festival: Music China’ displayed. At the concert, the group performance seamed interesting as compared to solo performance. Music entails a wide range of factors. ‘Ear satisfaction’ defines is what defines a successful music concert or event. All aspects should be incorporated by the organization to ensure positive feedback. In organizing cultural events, all backgrounds must be considered. Diversity brings abut new concepts that drives the listeners from their traditional ways of perception. The theme of the event should reflect what is being presented and the target audience should be given priority in terms of entertainment. The order of performance should play a vital part in preparation of the main event. Music represents life events and summarizes them in a systematic manner. The “Celebrating the Moon Festival: Music China“, provided a platform in which Asian culture was fused with the modern day western performance to produce an all rounded cultural performance. A natural way of bringing together different conflicting cultures is by fusing both cultures in a musical way and that is what ‘Celebrating the Moon Festival: Music China’ brought to its audience. Diversity through music is the new trend in the entertaining industry and considering all the musical aspects including instruments then finding a well-choreographed performance requires determination. The nature of performance depends majorly on the audience response. Instruments in music also plays part in ensuring entertainment is enjoyed to the fullest. The concert at the Crowder hall provided a magnificent display in which all the five hundred and forty four audiences had something to smile about after the performance. Work Cited “ Simple and Compound Meter”. Music Theory. n.d. web. 15 Feb. 2014 Read More