Author Archives: ria soni

I went to see the Cantate Burlesque concert, which was an early music ensemble on the 29^th of March 2019 at UBC. The concert was held during the noon hours in the Barnett Hall of the music building. This concert was an opera style performance featuring the guest artists Lucy smith singing soprano and Jacob Gramit singing baritone. The performance consisted of two main pieces namely the Concerto in D major by Lionardo Leo (1694-1744) and the Cantate Burlesque BWV 212 by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

The Concerto in D major by Lionardo Leo was primarily encompassed with string instruments. The ensemble consisted of 4 violins, one cello and one harpsichord. The harpsichord revived in the 16^th century was a main feature in music during the Baroque era, providing this piece with a clear, easily distinguished melody. The tune starts of at a moderate pace and slows down for a short while in the middle. Its as though it consists of three movements as there are brief pauses in between the piece that has an air of silence. Majority of the sections use a polyphonic instrumental structure consisting of the different string instruments at different pitches creating a contrasting sound.

The second piece performed was the Cantate Burlesque BWV 212 by Johann Sebastian Bach. This section was in the form of opera, popular during the baroque era. The piece began with a classic instrumental overture, which was common during the 17^th century for the implementation of which JS Bach was well known. I felt a sense of dramatic irony while watching the rest of the opera as it combined a comedic sensation with extreme dramatic exaggeration, which was a common style in the late 17^th and early 18^th century known as the opera Buffa, which we studied in the classical music era section of our class. This style became increasing popular during the Baroque era so we can see why it was incorporated by one of the most iconic musicians of the time. The piece starts out with a fast pace instrumental composition, which eventually advances to full aria and then a recitative. The entire piece goes back and forth between these two forms of expression, which were a common practice in the opera seria genre that came into existence in the baroque era. The traditional nature of da capo aria in which the first section comes full circle and is repeated toward the end is quite clearly visible in JS Bach’s composition. Lastly the recitative sections, which sounded like dialogue, helped me follow the narrative of the performance.

Overall since this is the first ever opera I attended and genuinely enjoyed I feel it was successful in opening up a new avenue of interest for me. This was primarily due to the previous knowledge we encountered in the course that allowed me to deconstruct the performance and understand the movements on stage. I could also clearly see JS Bach’s style of composition due to the thorough analysis encountered in class. Also the instrumental music that accompanied the soprano and baritone voices was melodic and set the expectations of a movement, giving the audience a clearer picture.

I went to see the Brazz concert on the 6^th of March 2019 at UBC. The concert was held during the noon hours in the Barnett Hall of the music building. It encompassed seven pieces of music in totality that featured a jazz instrumental sound.The ensemble consisted of  five trumpets, four trombones including a bass trombone, three french horns, , a piano, a tuba, drums, a euphonium, a percussion and a bass however it was missing the saxophone which is key brass instrument at a jazz concert. The pieces were energetic, fast paced and were primarily lead by the trumpets and trombone with either one performing a solo in each of the seven pieces . The ensemble was lead by Fred Stride who played a double role as a pianist as a result of which his conductor duties were minimally expressed. Following the same reasoning unlike a conductor in a contemporary ensemble who stands at he head of the orchestra he resided at the piano.

The first song performed is called “Sleeping Bee” by Arlen, which was an energetic piece that kick started the show. This fast pace beginning is similar to that established in the concerto exposition in the 18th century during the Mozart era that we have studied in class. This grandeur continued and expanded in the following piece, Fanfare for the Common Man by Copeland. This piece contrasted the previous one as it took on a more dramatic renaissance flare. The religious undertones took me back to 15^th and 16^th century music. The loud rhythmic pounding of the drums created a ceremonious ambience reminding of a ritual. The piece was slow paced in comparison with the previous song that was upbeat and fast paced. This piece heavily featured the percussion and brass instruments giving it a well-rounded homophonic effect. The next piece, which was the “Jitterbug Waltz by Waller focused on the piano and xylophone rather than the entire ensemble. There was a repetitive harmonic pattern almost like a bass ostinato by the xylophone popular in the Baroque era that was repetitively ingrained into an enchanting tune played by the piano. After this came “El Camino Real” by J.J. Johnson, similar to the first piece with an upbeat jazz rhythm. The last three songs Higher Groovin’ by Stride, Nite Life by Nelson and Close Your Eyes by Petkere involved a larger range of the ensemble and came of as more conventional in my eyes.

Each piece featured a solo with the rest of the ensemble acting as an accompaniment. This allowed the audience to get a clearer picture for that brief part of the tune. My personal favourite part was the solo as it allowed me to focus on one instrument unlike the other sections which came across as distracting. Furthermore this ensemble involved many intricate musical features that we have studied in class that I began appreciating due to the concert. It helped me envision these features in a real life setting through a contemporary take on more classical music.

I went to see a concert with David Brown performing on bass and Jeremy Berkman on trombone called Friends in low places on the 27^th of March 2019 at UBC. The concert was held during the noon hours in the Barnett Hall of the music building. All the pieces performed were relatively contemporary showcasing the creators of our time. Between pieces the artist acted as MC’s giving a brief description of each piece of upcoming music, which was helpful in distinguishing the tunes and further analyzing them.

Before the concert began the two artists played a short melody with a brief exchange between the two artists, imitating a conversation. Two different pitches were reached with one instrument attaining a high pitch and the other instrument reaching a low pitch. This contrast in sound created by opposing melodies is similar to what we have studied was incorporated in Mozart’s sonatas and later used as a basis to advance the musical genre by Beethoven.

The first song performed was a selection from Arie Musicali, Book 1 (1630). It integrated a guest artist on harpsichord named Christina Hutten. The piece maintained a relatively slow pace through its entirety with a mixture of instrumental homophony and polyphony. Three movements were performed with a break of ten seconds between each movement. This music best reflects the baroque era studied in the course as the harpsichord added precision to the lines of melody.

Another inspired part of this concert was its inclusion of student talent. Three pieces by UBC music student were performed by this duo, namely “The Encounter” by Carmyn Slater (1999), “The Ground Beneath Us” by Robert Humber (1995), as well as “The Night Tides” by Taylor Hall (1997).

“The Encounter” by Carmyn Slater is about a sinister encounter expressed through a trombone based on being alone when your not. It invokes a feeling of dreariness through an extremely low pitch and slow pace. Furthermore the piece as a whole has a monophonic structure through most of it as each instrument plays different parts. There seems to be two separate themes and two keys similar to that of the 18^th century music we have covered. Towards the latter half of the piece the instruments pick up the pace until it comes to a screeching halt.

On the other hand another tune performed of a completely different nature was “Lawns” by Carla Bley who is a leading women in Jazz. This piece had a lighter rhythm and tempo which induced a calm almost nigh time feeling amongst the audience. The piece had amazing clarity and was easy to follow however from the knowledge I have of jazz I found it difficult to categorize it in that genre.

Overall I quite liked the concert as it portrayed a broad selection of music from a variety of artists of varied ages, which instilled in me knowledge of the different genres. Also the music was easy to understand and interpret which made it an enjoyable experience for an audience consisting of people with different levels of musical knowledge.

On March 28^th 2019, I attended a concert at UBC in the noon hours featuring the UBC Jazz Ensemble. Since this was the last performance by the group for the academic year of 2018-2019 it featured a guest soloist on the Baritone Saxophone named Chad Makela. He is a well-rounded baritone saxophone player who specializes in jazz music across North America; therefore his addition to the ensemble was much valued by the performers as well as the audience. This was one of my first times at a jazz concert and I was happily surprised to hear such upbeat music that made me want to tap my feet.

The symphony consisted of a string quartet along with brass and percussion instruments, which was is a style of orchestral symphony developed in the 18^th century accentuated by Mozart. Throughout the performance the drum and cello players maintained a steady rhythm that allowed the other instruments to control the developing sound through contrast and reconciliation. The conductor, Fred Stride seemed to play a miniscule role yet was a prominent feature on the stage, guiding the symphony through minute gestures.

The first song performed is called Tiptoe by Thad Jones, it was a compilation of bass, trombones, piano and drums. The melody was a largely high pitched and upbeat composition with allotted solos for the piano, trumpet and drums. The exposition begins with a fast passed movement that plunged the audience straight into the music. This polyphonic instrumental structure soon merged into a singular rhythmic homophony that eliminated the noise and clutter that the first section enveloped. As the piece advanced the pace slowed down just as the 2^nd movement began at a moderate pace.

The second piece Easy to love by Cole Porter followed a similar structure and rhythm, as the first one, leaving the audience feeling like it was a continuation. However between the second and third piece the trumpets replaced the saxophones on stage and Chad Makela joined the ensemble.

The third piece Celebration Suite by Bob Bookmeyer was by far my favorite. Chad Makela maneuvered the saxophone to play in harmony with the other instruments, which is unusual as he was used to playing as a soloist. He worked against and with the brass instrument players such as trombones, trumpets as well as piano sounds creating a rage of pitches to enthrall the audience. This piece consisted of four movements, “the jig”, “slow dance” “remembering” and “Two And”. In the slow dance section Chad Makela performed a solo in which he played his saxophone exactly according to the rhythm of other bass players creating a homophonic sound, which was highly enjoyable. He was lead by the trumpet players who set a base for each section of the movement. Remembering on the other hand was the only movement in the entire performance that consisted of a slow pace and sad undertone led by the pianist and followed by the orchestral ensemble.

For my first ever-Jazz concert my experience was largely satisfying. In the beginning the symphony of disparagingly diverse sounds created a mild confusion regarding the rhythm and theme, which left me bewildered, however as the pieces picked up my hesitance cleared up.

I went to see a concert with Mark Takeshi McGregor performing on flute and Adrian Verdejo on guitar called Toward the sea on the 20^th of March 2019 at UBC. The concert was held during the noon hours in the Barnett Hall of the music building. The pieces were composed of multicultural sounds from Japan, Argentina, Mexico and Canada that opposed mainstream conventions. Most of these tunes strayed away from repetitive bars and keys, different from the western classical music format consisting of verses arranged in a poetic manner that we have focused on in class. The flute often created harsh low sounds using large gushes of breath that emerged as obstructions to the smooth melody created by the guitar.

The first song performed is called Towards the Sea (1981) by Toru Takemitsu. According to the performers Takemitsu was a great composer in the classical music tradition form 1930 to 1996 and was knows as the Debussy of Japan as he created colourful impressionistic scores of music. The piece influenced by the novel Moby Dick is composed of three movements, the night, Moby Dick and Cape cod. The first movement called the night creates a sense of a nocturnal environment. The movement itself has dubious and dark undertones that guides the symphony and leaves the audience picturing mystical and enchanting scenes. This sense of imagery that the movement successfully captures ties in with the 19^th century music goals that mark the transitional phase into a narrative structure of music namely the programmatic genre. The second movement Moby dick is a casual exchange between the alto flute and the guitar that gives of a feeling of censorship and withdrawal from absolute engagement. Lastly is Cape cod, which has a lighter balance of tones with sparks of haste that insinuate urgency and brings the piece to a screeching halt.

Duo I (1992-93) by Ignacio Baca-Lobera And Verdigris (2006/18) on flute and guitar by Jocelyn Morlock succeeded toward the sea in that order. Jocelyn rewrote Verdigris from flute and harp to alto flute and guitar specifically for McGregor and Verdejo. This piece showcased the flute as the primary instrument and creates the imagery of subtle creatures coming to life post sunset. Both these songs were similar to the first item performed in terms of lack of structure and rhythm yet a creation of a story through the simple exchange of the two instruments.

Lastly Histoire du Tango (1986) by Astor Piazzolla was performed. This piece is largely influenced by the history of tango music of Buenos Aires Argentina as our most pieces by Piazolla. The narrative in this case showcased the inspiration by cataloging the history of tango through comprehensive structure and smooth melody. This was the first piece that I took a liking to as I could follow the rhythm and understand the music. This piece consisted of four movements, Bordel (1900), Cafe (1930), Nightclub (1960) and Concert d’aujourd’hui. The chronological sequence of events intertwined with personal information allowed the audience to connect to the piece and therefore the performers giving them insight into the artist’s life, which was a trademark of the search for self-identity in 19^th century music practice.

The music was a mix of exploration of new techniques of musical composition as well as incorporation of popular 19th century styles. It left me bewildered in the beginning and as time went on it began to form an absolute image. I have never encountered this form of music before and it was therefore a highly educational experience that challenged my thoughts and forced me to think outside the box.