Japanese Noh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUTG6N0KFj4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Quqqc1shAtU
The Noh play is a slow motion play and most of the actors play as slow as the theme song goes; to try and mimic the slow weightless floating of the music. The music group in the background known as the hayashi consists of three different drums and a bamboo flute. The drums have an unusual pattern and the flute always plays in and out of the melody freely. The play is mostly about the queen, king and the bad guy. They wear the traditional clothes and in the back ground are pretty much simple. The music although limited in instruments surprisingly enough can make several different melodies and sets the mood for the whole play. Another thing is the open area that the stage sits in; that is the seating is around the stage or in front of it which seems quite open. The actors’ movements seem predicated on the music, like he is playing off of the hayashi. Another thing that was noticeable is the masks the actor(s) wear. The masks painted have a deep meaning and represent the center emotions that underlie the play. The actors movements are often slow and graceful; the whole play as a matter of fact is a slow moving story without words and is entirely dependent on the actor’s abilities and the musicians.

Classical Indian Music

Pandit Bhimsen Joshi sings through this long piece with his aged voice quite methodically. His voice vibrates with the instruments and sometimes the instruments vibrate to imitate him, this imitation is highlighted usually by higher notes. Very rarely does the background singer even hymn a note, the entire ten minute piece is sung primarily by Pandit. The song itself is seemingly void of a meter and just floats on, quite similar to Gregorian chant. The difference between the two primarily comes from the musical accompaniment. The instruments themselves are different with two guitar-like instruments, a conga, and a music box of some sort which bears a little resemblance to the accordion if it were shaped like a box. The texture of the piece is polyphonic with long melismas on certain words. The conga isn’t introduced until about one minute into the piece and from then on keeps a steady pulse for the group to play around with slight variations in his patterns. The notes are ambiguous as far as the mode is concerned, it is difficult to determine if the notes are major or minor because they seem to blend and are altogether somewhere in the middle. Even the cadences are very unpredictable and seemingly blend with the music as they all are one piece rather than many separate parts it’s all just one flowing piece of music; in and out as it pleases.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghIwsPNJlP0&feature=PlayList&p=3786E62F6052A973&index=0

Googoosh music

Googoosh in Hamseda Medley is drawing musical aspects from what seems like Spanish music. There is a steady beat with a constant flute to accentuate notes and the texture is mostly homophonic. On top of that Googoosh is holding notes and adding extra notes on some of the words. Definitely an experienced singer because she holds notes very quickly and can end them just as fast. Her tempo is very fluid like. She hits her high notes to fill in the silence after the flutes’ pauses. The majority of the song is in the major scale. Her voice’s ability to extend a note and raise it is opera-like while at the same time not as high and tiring on the ear. The background music was very catchy and made my feet want to dance because of the flickering uplifting notes. The music is very unlike many other Iranian artists of today’s time like afshin, andy, and arash. They sing in traditional Iranian music while googoosh has had plenty of time to develop her style and expand her style. Most Iranian singers would be lucky to last as long as she does in the Persian music industry. She has recreated herself over and over to fit the time and now the time conforms to her.

Music concert

When I got there at 8:35, there wasn’t a lot of student there yet. The music was definitely lively although it wasn’t that loud. The music piece was called ballad of the three rivers and it was played with three instruments. The instruments were vital to convey the message and the main melody was provided by the violin and the clarinet. The background or supportive melody was the piano. The piano was played by Michael McVay, the clarinet by Winston Stone, and violin by Ronald Neal. The music was minor and happened to be played excellent by the performers. The audience’s main group was UTD students and their families while the second largest group happened to be an older audience. The room wasn’t that big but since the audience filled it and the sound quality was good it was a good fit. The timing of the concert was perfect for the scores being played and the lighting had dampened after the eight o clock cue. Overall I enjoyed the concert very much however I did enjoy the first piece the most because of the piano background sound which offered a nice soft melody for the violin and clarinet to play for a nice homophonic sound.