Lauded as “the piano bard, the piano rhapsodist, the piano mind, the piano soul” by composer-pian... more Lauded as “the piano bard, the piano rhapsodist, the piano mind, the piano soul” by composer-pianist Anton Rubenstein, Chopin’s works for piano continue to sustain their relevance among modern-day pianists, even 150 years after his death. Chopin’s E Major Prelude in particular, a twelve-measure work for piano-solo, uniquely communicates the experience of an extended, arduous journey in less than 90 seconds and without words. This paper will effectively examine how such a brief piece can communicate the emotional weight of a long journey built off of traditional Western tonality (and beginning to extend beyond it).
Throughout the early 2010s Japanese electropop song “Spinal Fluid Explosion Girl” by Rerulili, f... more Throughout the early 2010s Japanese electropop song “Spinal Fluid Explosion Girl” by Rerulili, feelings of metric entrainment and certainty become repeatedly jostled by perceived shifts in the hypermetric structure and the instrumental texture. Unlike most other electro pop songs, the piece blends Verse-Chorus structure with stylistically unexpected Pre-Choruses and metrically unexpected shifts and transitions. As a result, the piece becomes a battle between a brightly punching rave-meter and unexpected subversions of that meter.
Throughout Stephen Sondheim’s “The Worst Pies in London” from Sweeney Todd, Sondheim uses irregu... more Throughout Stephen Sondheim’s “The Worst Pies in London” from Sweeney Todd, Sondheim uses irregular accents and beat patterns to alternate between Mrs. Lovett’s scattered mania and her sweetly uncanny shopkeeper eccentricity.
The musical theme of Gabriel Fauré’s “Pavane”—delicate string harmonies woven together through mo... more The musical theme of Gabriel Fauré’s “Pavane”—delicate string harmonies woven together through modal sequences—can be easily recognized by most people today. Both connoisseurs of Classical music (and complete strangers to it) can recognize the allure of Fauré’s simple yet compelling orchestrations by ear alone. But its humble, hummable melody and its plucked, sparkling textures are more than merely “enjoyable to the ear.” With this single piece, Fauré unites the European Classical tradition of Greek fables with the sonic texture of the 1887 Belle-Époque (trans. “Beautiful Era”). And in doing so, the composer Fauré and the poet Montesquieu weave together a cheeky French tone poem that criticizes the social vices of 1887 French excess and incontinence (through stories about Greek mythology).
Lauded as “the piano bard, the piano rhapsodist, the piano mind, the piano soul” by composer-pian... more Lauded as “the piano bard, the piano rhapsodist, the piano mind, the piano soul” by composer-pianist Anton Rubenstein, Chopin’s works for piano continue to sustain their relevance among modern-day pianists, even 150 years after his death. Chopin’s E Major Prelude in particular, a twelve-measure work for piano-solo, uniquely communicates the experience of an extended, arduous journey in less than 90 seconds and without words. This paper will effectively examine how such a brief piece can communicate the emotional weight of a long journey built off of traditional Western tonality (and beginning to extend beyond it).
Throughout the early 2010s Japanese electropop song “Spinal Fluid Explosion Girl” by Rerulili, f... more Throughout the early 2010s Japanese electropop song “Spinal Fluid Explosion Girl” by Rerulili, feelings of metric entrainment and certainty become repeatedly jostled by perceived shifts in the hypermetric structure and the instrumental texture. Unlike most other electro pop songs, the piece blends Verse-Chorus structure with stylistically unexpected Pre-Choruses and metrically unexpected shifts and transitions. As a result, the piece becomes a battle between a brightly punching rave-meter and unexpected subversions of that meter.
Throughout Stephen Sondheim’s “The Worst Pies in London” from Sweeney Todd, Sondheim uses irregu... more Throughout Stephen Sondheim’s “The Worst Pies in London” from Sweeney Todd, Sondheim uses irregular accents and beat patterns to alternate between Mrs. Lovett’s scattered mania and her sweetly uncanny shopkeeper eccentricity.
The musical theme of Gabriel Fauré’s “Pavane”—delicate string harmonies woven together through mo... more The musical theme of Gabriel Fauré’s “Pavane”—delicate string harmonies woven together through modal sequences—can be easily recognized by most people today. Both connoisseurs of Classical music (and complete strangers to it) can recognize the allure of Fauré’s simple yet compelling orchestrations by ear alone. But its humble, hummable melody and its plucked, sparkling textures are more than merely “enjoyable to the ear.” With this single piece, Fauré unites the European Classical tradition of Greek fables with the sonic texture of the 1887 Belle-Époque (trans. “Beautiful Era”). And in doing so, the composer Fauré and the poet Montesquieu weave together a cheeky French tone poem that criticizes the social vices of 1887 French excess and incontinence (through stories about Greek mythology).
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With this single piece, Fauré unites the European Classical tradition of Greek fables with the sonic texture of the 1887 Belle-Époque (trans. “Beautiful Era”). And in doing so, the composer Fauré and the poet Montesquieu weave together a cheeky French tone poem that criticizes the social vices of 1887 French excess and incontinence (through stories about Greek mythology).
With this single piece, Fauré unites the European Classical tradition of Greek fables with the sonic texture of the 1887 Belle-Époque (trans. “Beautiful Era”). And in doing so, the composer Fauré and the poet Montesquieu weave together a cheeky French tone poem that criticizes the social vices of 1887 French excess and incontinence (through stories about Greek mythology).