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On Friday, February 1st I had the privilege of watching UBC Opera’s production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) at the Chan Centre for Performing Arts. It was my first time watching an Opera and it was certainly a memorable experience. After learning about the Three Act Structure of Opera Seria and having no prior exposure to Operatic music, I showed up expecting a Three Act Structure and was quite surprised to see that the first page of the program stated that this was an Opera in two acts. The specific structure is called a Singspiel and content alternates between spoken prose and singing that can be heard throughout the Opera.

The opera opens with an overture played by the orchestra and transitions seamlessly into the first aria of the Opera sung by a Tenor. This mirrors the typical Opera structure we learned about in class, specifically how most operas open with an Instrumental overture that serves as an introduction and usually helps introduce the next excerpt in the work, as we discovered in our in-class analysis of Dido and Aeneas (Overture, followed by Wayward Sisters). Another familiar element that I recall was spoken about in class was the fact that women who appear in threes are never a good sign in Operas, which made me more alert to the Three Ladies and the Three Spirits. Overall the performances were incredibly impressive but I have to admit it was hard to focus on engaging meaningfully with the music when the text was sung in German and I was mostly busy trying to understand the plot by reading the English surtitles provided, which allowed me to understand what was happening plot-wise but made it hard to take notes of the specific details of some of the pieces.

My favourite piece from the performance has to be the iconic aria “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen”. I didn’t recognize the piece at first but later in the aria actually began to realize that this was a piece that I already knew, which made me excited and made it easier to pay close attention to the specific musical details that were happening. This aria is impressive, to say the least, and it was interesting to just have heard the piece in passing and compare it to an active performance of it. The soprano who portrays the Queen of the Night hits all the notes flawlessly and effortlessly, and executes my personal favourite part: the part where the words end and the soprano sings the short notes at an incredibly high pitch. Listening to the piece in context, I was able to see how the plot was made significant through the compositional choices that Mozart made. Those short, piercing high notes are sung like the Queen of The Night is painting an image of stabbing Sarastro by hitting him with these incredibly precise repeated high notes (executed perfectly by the Soprano.) Another thing that I found fascinating about this aria is the interaction between the orchestra and the Queen of the Night, in particular, the use of a lot of imitations in some parts and how sometimes they even echo each other exactly.

Overall, UBC Opera’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute was a great First Opera to attend. The students put on incredible performances and it was impressive to see how much talent UBC has and how capable they were of putting on such an amazing production.

On February 13, 2019 I was provided the amazing opportunity to go and appreciate the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, Gabriel Fauré, Franz Liszt and Sergei Prokofiev’s performed by David Jalbert on the piano.  I found this experience to be enriching and more enjoyable to listen to since we have been learning about different textures and forms of music from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque.  I was completely blown away by the speed and dexterity of which Jalbert was able to move around, up and down the keyboard.  He is incredibly talented and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to see a piano performance live.  There is something about being in the atmosphere and the room of a theatre space that is strikingly different than just listening to songs that have been previously recorded.  The beautiful sounds of the piano filled the Barnett Hall and I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t be able to sit there for another hour listening to the sweet sounds of the keys.  Moreover, there were many elements of the four works that Jalbert performed in which I would have never noticed if I hadn’t been educated and informed of the specific elements to listen for in the songs.  There were four songs that Jalbert beautifully performed:

1. Toccata in C minor, BWV by Bach
2. Nocturne No. 2 in B major, Op. 33 No. 2 by Fauré
3. Légende No. 2 “St-François de Paule: marchant sur les flots” by Liszt
4. Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Op. 29 “After old notebooks” by Prokofiev
   1. Allegro molto sostenuto
   2. Andante assai
   3. Allegro con brio, ma non leggiere

There were three songs that Jalbert performed that I felt I was able to connect with on a more intellectual level stemming from the concepts we have been learning in music class.  In Bach’s Toccata in C Minor, the use of imitative polyphony was very evident.  It was in this moment that concepts from the course provoked me to wonder:  Since Bach was a Lutheran composer of the Baroque era, why was he using imitative polyphony?  Was this evidence of the old entering the new – or perhaps evidence of “Second Practice”?

Légende No. 2 “St-François de Paule: marchant sur les flots” by Liszt and Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Op. 29 “After old notebooks” by Prokofiev greatly reminded me of what we have been learning about Purcell and Opera Seria or perhaps Händel’s Oratorio, “Israel in Egypt”.  I felt that when listening to these pieces, that there was a story being told. Likewise to these two works, there was emotion and expression put in to the music such as pounding sounds on the bottom half of the keyboard to demonstrate feelings such as impending doom or a sort of heaviness.  This contrasted light, quick moving melodies on the top of the keyboard, demonstrating more happy and sprightly feelings.  This also reminded me how Purcell and Händel’s works were put on in small spaces with low-budgets and how the music had to demonstrate emotion within itself through its texture and form.

All in all, I found this to be a fruitful experience.  I am looking forward to attending many more concerts in the future and being able to apply all my new knowledge towards the appreciation of music.

Last Sunday, on February the third, my friends and I attended the UBC Opera’s rendition of Mozart’s “Die Zauberflote” at the Chan Centre. We made it a little late to the show (maybe 15 minutes?) and thus were placed in the upper seating as to not disturb the audience. Pleasantly enough, I think that the upper seating was the best we could have gotten – especially because we were planning on sitting at the bottom! From our birds-eye view we were able to see not only the mainstage and its actors without hindrance, but also the orchestra in their pit in front of the stage. With the orchestra being mostly unobstructed, I was able to visually see when the music was being played in monophony or homophony, or when something was being played imitatively and by what groups, among many other things.

This play is from the baroque period and is called a “singspiel” because of its alternation between spoken prose and singing. I recognized that a lot of the music scores were very emotional and complex, making me really believe that it was from the baroque. Some songs were high energy with lots of imitative polyphony, while others were more somber and serious , with their instruments playing homophonically. In the first performance we saw, we saw the Queen of the Night preform “O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn” – a dramatic performance of two back-to-back songs. This performance was memorable because of how the singer led the orchestra on as they quasi-imitate and play off of her tones and pitches. When they did so, it’d create a lovely sound as all the sounds were being played in a homorhythmic fashion. Apart from these instances however, the song was not very polyphony, as the voice was always leading and was the most interesting part of the music. This was emphasized when she sang melismatically and back and forth up and down (I forget/don’t know the term – educate me!) while hitting crazy high pitches; the actress was very well trained and talented! At the end of the performance, a feeling of awe and satisfaction rushed over the crowd and a tremendous applause erupted from the audience. Bravo!

The ensuing songs were less dramatic but very varied, with some with a lot of energy, and others calm and smooth. I think some of the most interesting pieces here featured strong masculine voices. It gave good contrast to the dramatic songs of the Queen. I enjoyed the piece with Sanastro, the head priest, singing in his temple alongside his fellow churchmen and choir. Sanastro had a heavy bass voice that was well accompanied with other low-frequency instruments such as the cello.

However, those pieces did not compare to the Queen of the Night’s first performance, and her later performance of “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen”. In this piece, the Queen was telling her daughter, Prima (a protagonist), to kill Sanastro. The Queen places a dagger in her daughter’s hand and ends her scene. This performance was comparatively dramatic as her first, although this time was filled with more anger and rage. The set was lit a vivid orange as the Queen and her daughter performed, and the Queen was definitely the most powerful person on the stage. Just like in her first piece, the Queen  hit crazy high notes, although this time she did so with a stab.

All in all it was an excellent performance by UBC Opera and was a great introduction into live opera music. I recommend my fellow peers to check out other opera performances as they are a great venue to exercise the knowledge gained in our music appreciation class. I have taken the liberty to list some local events. Check them out!

The Singer Behind the Song – February 19, 2019

La Boheme – February 14-24, 2019

Faust – April 27 + May 2 + May 5

Cheers!

Tyson Fisher

I had the opportunity to attend “Light and Perspective” at the UBC School of Music’s Wednesday Noon Hours. This afternoon in particular was filled with contemporary pieces. I did not expect what was to come. It was more than your average performance. Combining light, sound, and feeling – I didn’t just hear the performances, I experienced them.

The first performance was brought to us by Paolo Bortolussi and was for flute and electronics. This composition is entitled “Among Fireflies” by Elainie Lillios. This piece made me feel as though I was in a jungle, partly due to the effects of the electronics. I sensed the presence of all sorts of animals. It was not your typical flute piece, rather than just playing the flute, the artist made use of the flute in ways I never knew were possible. He used the keys in unconventional ways and made unusual noises into the flute. Bortolussi made much use of his body and played with his all. It was truly a cacophony of sounds. It felt to me that I was in the presence of more than just fireflies. I saw crocodiles, felt a Jeep pull up in the jungle, and heard elephants of different sizes. It was one way of exploring a distant land.

The second performance was brought to us by Megumi Masaki and was for the piano. This composition is entitled “Epiphanies” by Douglas Finch. Masaki has a particular interest in exploring how image, text, sound, and movement can be combined in live performances using multimedia – this definitely showed through the performance. Masaki not only played the piano, she narrated a video at the same time, plucked the strings of the piano, and took advantage of her body movements. This was quite a comprehensive performance. This piece made me think, mainly due to the narration and peculiar video scenes. The sounds that came from the piano were both pleasant and yet jarring at times. Some homorhythm was present in this piece.

The fourth performance was brought to us by Paolo Bortolussi and Jose Franch-Ballester and was for flute, clarinet, interactive video, and audio electronics. This compostion is entitled “Spark and Sizzle” by Keith Hamel.  Interestingly, the interactive video has a display of colour that changes as the flute and clarinet play. The more excitement in the performance, the more excitement in the video. This was something I’d never seen done before and was rather fascinating. There truly was a ‘spark and sizzle’ to this piece – stimulating not just the ears but also the eyes. There was a mix of monophony and polyphony present in this piece, creating great textural interest.

This event was a great experience of a genre of music that I had not yet explored. It was different to say the least. I learned that music can be explored in different ways. It definitely broadened my horizons. Also, I saw a display of creativity. I would recommend that my peers attend such an event.

I had the pleasure to attend Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s concert featuring Debussy, Buckner and a contemporary Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy’s work. The conductor of the night was Bramwell Tovey who has led the VSO group for more than 18 years so far and has had great achievements both domestically and internationally. I have always been obsessed with the opportunities of experiencing classical music in concerts and I enjoy playing some easier pieces myself on a piano, with not much expertise.

It was interesting how the concert had a notable emphasis on the charm of harp in a homophonic setting. The guest harpist Heidi Krutzen collaborated with the strings of the orchestra and presented the lovely yet ritualistic “Danse sacrée et danse profane” to open the performance. It was an elegant pair of dance pieces composed by the French Impressionist composer. During the pre-concert talk, it was mentioned that this dance piece was requested from an instrument manufacture to market a modern type of harp that they newly developed and was around ten-minutes long in total. The particularly slow and flowing “Secret Dance” was followed by the faster and more celebratory “Profane Dance” with no break in between. The harp was leading the melody for most of the time while the strings have simpler and more repetitive rhythm. The poetic and ethereal texture of the music was decorated with some occasional higher notes from the harp bringing a little extra vitality. The seamless connection between the strings and the harp brought the audience a pleasant sense of harmony.

The second piece was “En el escuro es todo uno(In the Darkness, All Is One)” by Kelly-Marie Murphy and was created for harp and cello based on the songs by Sephardic Jews. The piece was in four movements, “Lamenta”, “Si Veriash a la rana”, “Yigdal #2” and “Noches, noches, Buenos noches”. To my surprise, the music was not that difficult to appreciate and the composition was rather intriguing. It utilized the variety of the voices of an orchestra and was designed to be polyphonic. It was my first time in a concert to witness the percussions playing a big part of leading the melody. There was even a vase-like instrument that I still could not figure out what it was. The sound of clapping was integrated as well. While the first and the last movements remained slow and atmospheric, the second movement was fast and lively.

The third piece was “Symphony No.6 in A Major” by Anton Bruckner. Last year, I listened to his “Sinfonie Nr. 7 E-Dur” in a concert setting by Vienna Phiharmoniker and was blown away by the dramatic and energetic style of Bruckner’s work. This time, I came in with some similar iconic expectations and found the experience rather gentle and consoling. During the pre-concert talk, the host mentioned that the No.6 was the only symphony that Bruckner has never revised after completion and he was quite satisfied with it. The unusual harmony in this piece reflects the positive circumstance of the composer at that time who was gaining increasing respect and financial stability. Nevertheless, the overall impression was still sublime and powerful. It created more of a sacred atmosphere than the previous two pieces.

Overall, the event was rich in content and gave me a more concrete comprehension of Debussy and Bruckner’s work. VSO was an amazing orchestra and I shall look forward to attending their next performance. It was refreshing for me to appreciate a concert with a critical approach which was encouraged by our MUSIC 326 course. It has subtly empowered me to take away more from musical experiences.

Attending an orchestral concert featured in Debussy and Bruckner music on a rainy Friday night was a great pleasure. Being a huge lover for Debussy’s piano music and always curious about Bruckner’s symphonic works, I decided to partake in this concert almost immediately. The program includes Debussy’s famous chamber piece for the harp and strings: Danses Sacrée et Profane, and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 6 in A Major. A brilliant Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy’s newly prized symphony, En El Secure Es Todo Uno (In the Darkness, All is One) was also highlighted in this concert, bringing about a brisk touch of contemporary symphony works. Something extraordinary about this concert is that conductor Maestro Bramwell Tovey returned as VSO Music Director Emeritus after paying his loyal service to VSO for eighteen years. 

During the pre-concert talk, musician Nicolas Krusek conducted a brief interview with Kelly-Marie Murphy about her new symphony work that was going to be unveiled that night. She told us about her inspirations about this piece, which was dedicated to the Sephardic repertoire. Once she talked to her daughter’s singing teacher, who was a Jewish and was accordingly recommended the music of Sephardic Jews. These people were expelled from Spain in 1942, spoke Ladino, which became the language of her title later, creating music that was full of emotions. As her symphony unfolded, we catch a glimpse of the Sephardic music’s elements. 

Although this piece was written for cello and harp with chamber orchestra, the composer noted, the percussion instruments were crucial to the Sephardic music. Therefore, in this piece, she boldly added clapping, twanging and other exotic sounds to mimic percussion instruments, ushering the audience into the Sephardic music’s atmosphere. 

The first piece opening the night was Debussy’s Danses Sacrée et Profane. As a representative of the Impressionist composer, Debussy was renowned for his revolutionary spirit in the experiment of the musical form. This short symphony written for harps and strings revealed the characteristic of Debussy’s music and adopted an innovative instrument called the chromatic harp. This particular harp used in this performance only had forty-six strings but ranged six and a half octaves. In addition, seven pedals which could be raised or depressed were used to add three possible pitches on every string, filling up the absent chromatic intervals. 

This opus was divided into two parts, as suggested by the title: the first section represented the secret dance, while the second referred to the profane dance, a more natural and humane theme compared to the former. The first one was slow, serene, with a unison melody performed by strings accompanied by harps, and the second was more lively, presenting a recognizable thematic disparity. Like Debussy’s other works, Danses Sacrée et Profane returned to the initial theme several times, eliciting a sense of harmony, tranquility, and satisfaction. The harpist was Heidi Krutzen, who was a leading harp artist in Canada. 

The Bruckner Symphony No. 6 in A Major consisted of four movements: I. Majestoso (A major); II. Adagio: Sehr feierlich (F major); III. Scherzo: Nicht schnell – Trio: Langsam (A minor); and IV. Finale: Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell (A minor – A major). It might not be widely performed as many Bruckner’s other symphonies, but it represented the character of Bruckner when he was most confident as a composer. It was also one of his few works that he didn’t revise throughout his lifetime. Like Bruckner’s other symphonies, Symphony No. 6 in A Major was majestic, an idiosyncrasy of Bruckner’s music largely due to his organist background. This symphony had a clear multilayered structure, brimming with tension, relief, dreary grayness and vivacity. The inexhaustible momentum of trying to find the shining truth reminded us of Bruckner’s philosophical reflection on his music. The piece ended with concord of strings and lingered for a few seconds in audiences’ head before they realized to applaud with cordial approval. 

On the whole, the experience of musical appreciation with Maestro Tovey was highly enjoyable, informative and eye-opening. The conductor Maestro Tovey has won my heart as a truly respectable and prestigious musician with high musical standards. I look forward to attending his next concerts and hearing more of his Debussy and Bruckner repertoire. 

Attending Fire and Grace with William Coutler on the guitar and Edwin Huizinga on violin was an amazing experience. My first realization as they started playing their first piece, Prelude rom Cello Suite No. 1, was that I have never listened to musicians play so passionately and precisely with absolutely no music sheets or music stands in front of them. My background in music includes private piano lessons, and heavy involvement in my high school concert, symphonic and combo bands. Even though I’ve been in music for over 18 years, I can’t imagine memorizing more than nine pieces to be played back to back, let alone playing them well. I was absolutely blown away.

With the combination of the classical guitar along with the violin, Fire and grace performed a Bach piece with a Celtic, new age twist. Such a classic song with an energetic vibe was perfect to excite the audience and appreciate both of their talents and individual music personalities.

The main piece of their performance was a new suite called Liquid Gold, in which they just finished creating a film about, including snippets of their discoveries and inspiration in Europe. This combined four Bach movements, each with an Irish jig in-between, for a total of 8 pieces. I am not completely familiar with all the jigs and Bach pieces, so I listened closely so I could follow when the Bach movement switched to an Irish jig. Through our new teachings of musical textures, I noted that the Irish jigs often started and ended monophonically, and homorhythmically, whereas the Bach movements were indefinitely homophonic. The Bach pieces usually had the violin in the foreground, with the classical guitar as accompaniment (based on the piano version of Robert Schumann). I appreciate how Fire and Grace transitioned from one movement to another, as well as which specific movements they picked. For example, in the middle of the suite, they went from an Irish jig to Bach’s movement “Gigue” which was a nice play on words.

As I listened and enjoyed each piece, I understood why their duet name of “Fire and Grace” fit their type of playing so well. Especially with the Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1, the passionate, smooth, on-going melody coming from the violin was so strong beautiful, truly giving the sense of grace. In the meantime, Coulter was bringing an energetic and vibrant accompaniment with the guitar, giving a sense of a fire – however, more like a controlled fire. Throughout the next few songs, I loved how this dynamic changed. Coulter later in the performance took on a solo for a song called “An Daingean”. I’ve never heard this piece before, however I absolutely fell in love with it, and his arrangement of it. I couldn’t help but be completely immersed in his sound, following every phrase and beat. It reminded me of a beautiful piece that could be danced to, or played at a wedding. I would definitely have this piece played at my wedding – but only by someone as captivating as Coulter.

Overall, I was completely amazed of the talent that Coulter and Huizinga have. Their dynamic, music personalities and completely stage presence was memorable. I look forward to learning more about Bach pieces as we progress the course.

I had the opportunity to watch the Vancouver Chamber Choir perform at Shaughnessy Heights United Church on January 25, 2019. As a former choir singer, with experience in chamber and jazz ensembles, I have watched the Vancouver Chamber Choir perform many times; however, as a result of MUSC326’s fruitful discussions about musical texture, I came into this performance with a critical eye and curious mind. The group, on that evening, welcomed guest conductor Erick Lichte, who hails from Oregon and is a published composer and arranger. The theme of the show that evening was “Love and Mercy”, the idea being that sacred and secular works both share in the common theme of adoration and love. The theme was explained in relation to each song during the breaks in between works, and the music was woven together such that most of the sacred material was in the first half, and most of the secular work was located in the second half of the evening.

The first song the Choir sang was called Kyrie, composed by Einojuhani Rautavaara, and takes its text from the part of the mass asking for forgiveness from God. While the text was traditional, the arrangement was anything but that. The work featured the middle voices repeating “Kyrie eleison” utilizing dissonant harmonies and close intervals in order to create a constant pattern throughout the whole work and to emphasize the polyphonic texture of the work. This pattern allowed a smaller subset of higher sopranos to have a musical “conversation” with the basses, back and forth. Many of the concert’s songs involved this kind of grouping for musical effect; for example, the next song, Beati quorum remissæ arranged by Zachary Wadsworth did this as well. At first a small subset of the choir walked off-stage, and roughly half the choir was left on the stage. They began to sing, in English, the words of Psalm 32, in a minor key. All were singing different notes in a homophonic texture. After one verse, they would settle on a minor chord and hum, while the subset that had walked off stage sang Latin lyrics (of the Beatitudes) in a major key. This contrast made it seem as though these voices were coming from the heavens, and was fascinating not just from a listening standpoint, but from a visual one as well; the Vancouver Chamber Choir wanted to provide an interesting experience for all senses. Another instance in which the Choir provided this all-encompassing sensory experience was in the song A Drop In The Ocean composed by Eriks Esenvalds, a Latvian composer inspired by Mother Theresa. The song began with whistling, mimicking wind, after which the women of the choir came in all at different times (imitatively and polyphonically) chanting The Lord’s Prayer in Latin. From the wind and chanting came a single soprano soloist singing the Prayer of St. Francis by herself, while the men’s voices became prominent by singing low notes representing the “despair” and “darkness” present in the prayer.

While sacred works were a major focus of the evening, secular works about romantic love were also featured, and performed beautifully by the Vancouver Chamber Choir. One of my favourite choral composers, Eric Whitacre, was featured in the collection of secular works; his piece “A Boy and A Girl” was beautifully done by the Vancouver Chamber Choir. The song, like many Whitacre compositions, starts its verses with a homophonic texture, with all rhythms and words happening at the same time. Then, about halfway through each verse, all the voices danced on top of the words and exploded into a beautiful polyphonic texture. Another secular work that caught my attention was Love is Here to Stay by George Gershwin, composed by Vernon Duke, particularly poignant because this was the last song that George Gershwin wrote prior to his death in 1937. This particular work was a vocal transposition of jazz music, with bass singers representing bass guitars and colourful chords throughout.

Overall, this performance by the Vancouver Chamber Choir was beautifully structured and conducted wonderfully, and I was fortunate to attend. The show was also very accessible, such that even people who aren’t familiar with classical music could enjoy every aspect.