Harmonic Structure and Melodic Structure of the Song - Essay Example

5th January Introduction With the growing need to send information as well as entertain the audience, musicians have embarked on providing pieces of music that provides various constituents of styles. In their efforts to inform the nocturne genre, James Field and Frederic Chopin have established quite a number of short pieces that can be accessed from any part of the world. Some of the pieces that John Field, an Irish pianist has produced includes on "Fal Lal La" for piano A major, The two slaves dances" for piano G major, Nocturne NO 9(8) for piano E flat major and Nocturne No. 10 in E Minor among others. On his part, Frederic Chopin who played an important role of popularizing and expanding the nocturne produced pieces such as Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op 9, No. 1, nocturne in G-minor, Nocturne in C-minor and Nocturne in A♭ among others. This paper seeks to discuss the harmonic structures, melodic and phrase structure as well as other constituents including texture and timbre that Nocturne No. 10 in E Minor by John Field exhibits. Being noted as one of the individuals who substantially contributed to the development of Russian piano school, Field emphasized on lyrical expression and use of quality harmonic structures. One of the notable structures of Nocturne No. 10 in E Minor is that it used harmonic language that Field applied to shift modes among the audience. The melody ensured that it maintained proper and appealing melodic structure through the use of simple ABA and ABAB. This was achieved by ensuring that the right hand utilized simple orientation while the left hand played broken cords. Nocturne No. 10 in E Minor is also a melody that is structured quartally thus making to be understood by the listeners in an effective way1. Within the first bar, the melody creates slowly but clear harmonic sounds. As the melody continues, listeners can enjoy the increasing sounds of the keys while the player becomes more focused at making the lines become more harmonic. While most of the melodies by John Field are attractive and appealing in nature, Nocturne No. 10 in E Minor adds a component a chromatically decorated melody as one of its characteristic texture. One of the notable aspects that are depicted by the melody is that towards the end of the piece, there is much richer figuration that is made attractive by the agitato. The last piece also provides a dram that is lacking at it’s entirely on the first piece. In the last bars as compared to the first ones, there is a change in the speed at which the keys are being played, resulting to a change in the harmony of the melody. This is a major aspect that makes the listeners to remain attentive and enjoy the music. Field also uses the ostinato concepts or the rhythmic figure that is focused at making the melody to trigger scenes that fails to provide a dynamic visual action2. The rhythmic pattern that Field adopts is also aimed at making the melody simple but quality since they are easy to use. It is worth to note that even though the ostinato makes the composition more attractive as well as provision of contractual textures; their overuse can result to monotony an aspect that may affect the quality of the music. This is one of the reasons that make Field to regulate the usage of rhythmic figures in the Nocturne No. 10 in E Minor as well as his other pieces of music. Another notable harmonic structure of this melody is that it provides a colorful harmonic expressions as well as improved mood of the listeners without the use of text. This in turn has made listeners to feel motivated by the way the singer makes the piano to be part and parcel of the listeners. It is worth to note that within the music industry, the composers as well as the singers are the ones who contribute to the success of their music. In this regard, music owners have adopted various ways of improving their music as well as making them to look appealing to the listeners. An important constituent that is exhibited by the melody and that has positively impacted on the nocturne genre is the rhythmic harmonic schemes that became common in other nocturne that Field and other earlier pianists used in their composition and performance. Based on the fact that Field was a major pioneer who introduced piano variations on folksongs in Russia, his earlier melodies were used as a model by other melodies such as Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. As Field continued to undertake concerts in Russia and other neighboring countries, he collaborated with other contributors in the piano industry thus making the nocturne genre to remain competitive up to date. The aspect of clear sounds and well organized rhythms especially at the middle of the melody provides an interesting experience that makes the listeners to feel that their moods have been positively affected. As noted earlier, Nocturne No. 10 has adopted the aspect of romance. As a romantic music, it resulted to the evolution of the formats, musical ideas and genre that became common during the classical period. This did not mean that other composers were not aware of how to create an aspect of romance in their music, but Field role ensured that other composition brought about the feeling of romance clearly for the audience. As the result of the accompanimental figures and ostinato there arises double stemming which results to melodic lines. To deal with issue, Field used the aspect of melodic pedaling that resulted to improved harmony of the Nocturne No. 103. In this way, the composer also exposed other pianists on the way they can deal with the challenge of double stemming among other problems during the composition and performance of the melodies. Field has adopted the aspect of specificity. In this way, he has made his melody to be clear to the audience through the online avenues. While most of the pianists are aimed at creating a strong connection with the listeners, Field used his music as an opportunity for personal expression. This is a concept that most of his followers in the piano industries adopted. With the increased demand for piano melodies in the Russian market as well as the artistic nature of the Saint Petersburg city, Field realized that an opportunity existed. He became aware that by creating strong awareness among the listeners of Nocturne No. 10 E Minor, he needed to undertake a number of concerts across the region. Up to 1808, Field was performing reissues of old works, however this changed in 1809 when he started to perform newly composed piano melodies. Through various performances in the city of Saint Petersburg, he became renowned an aspect that triggered live performances by other pianist across the region. With the increased performances in major cities, nocturne genre became more prominent in the Russia entertainment industry not only in Russia but also in other countries globally. As a way of presenting his music including the Nocturne No, John Field used an influential structure that did not strictly follow the Sonata form, a large scale musical structure. As a result, his presentation was easily emulated by Fredric Chopin and Franz Liszt. While Fredric made the piano nocturne to be well known globally, Franz published an edition of the nocturnes that were based on rare sources from Russia4. In the 19th century, piano concerts that Field undertook occupied a central place in making the society to be interested in the local music. Additionally, the composers could now come up with more ways to compose and present their music due to the support that they achieved from the listeners. The harmonious impact that Field depicted in his music made other pianist to emulate him an aspect that resulted to a step higher as far as piano music was concerned. According to Franz Liszt preface edition of John Field’s music “the half-formed sighs floating through the air, softly lamenting and dissolved in delicious melancholy. Nobody has even tried this peculiar style, and especially none of those who heard Field play himself” The reputation that Field enjoyed whenever he performed the Nocturne No. 10 E Minor and other music in the various concerts was due to his poetic use of keyboard, his appealing delicacy of nuance, and production of a singing tome while using the instruments5. As noted earlier, Field adopted intimate expression while he was performing unlike other pianists who were focused at enlarging their power and the range of the instrument. Thus, Field played a vital role of bringing the real picture of past and modern nocturnes. According to Moscheles, another great composer-pianist who got an opportunity to hear Field in 1831, he described him as a great pianist due to his enchanting legato, beautiful touch, elegance as well as tenderness. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that Field made great contribution in nocturne genre. Even though he was not the one who invented the genre, he developed it and associated it with piano. Through the melody, Field has used different techniques such as changing the speed at which he utilizes his left and right hands, creating different harmonies among the bars and lines, and use of homophonic texture within the bars. As a romantic melody, Nocturne No. 10 in E Minor used rhythmic harmonic schemes that allowed the listeners to feel as part of the music. Additionally, the chromatic decorations that the melody adopted created an encouraging environment for lovers and other types of audience. While more pianists who emulated the approaches that were used by Field emerged, the nocturne genre took other forms that were characterized by innovations. The use of ostinato was one of the notable styles that Field used during his performance. Likewise, his performance appealed to the audience due his expertise as well as timbre during the concerts. Apart from the various tours he did across Europe and other parts of the world, Field imagination during the composition of his music cannot be overlooked. Such imagination has significantly contributed to the development of nocturne genre. Works cited Brown, M & Hamilton, K. The Nocturne. Grove Music Online Julian, H. John Field and the Alternative History of Concerto First-Movement Form in Music and Letters vol. 92 no. 1, 2011.Print. Kostka, S and Payne, D. Tonal Harmony. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995. Print. Majella, B. John Field in Context: a Reappraisal of the Nocturne and Piano Concerti. Dublin: University College Dublin, 2013.Print. Wolff, S. Der Tod und das Mädchen: analytical and explanatory notes on the song D. 531 and the quartet D. 810 in Badura-Skoda and Branscombe, Schubert Studies: Problems of Style and Chronology (1982), 43–71. Read More