670 Standard Essay 4

Standard 4: The teacher of PK-12 music has skills in listening to, analyzing,
describing, and performing music.

As a music teacher, it is my job to understand how to listen to, analyze,

describe, and perform music. I need to be able to teach my students the vocabulary
in music, both technical and symbolic. In one of my college classes, we had to buy a
music dictionary. While I started using this book only for assignments, I quickly
realized that I could use that dictionary in my solo literature. If I saw a word/phrase
I was unfamiliar with, I would look it up in the dictionary and write that into my
music. It is also important to understand music visually and aurally. My aural skills
courses taught us how to understand music aurally. How to listen for what the next
pitch is, hear it in my head, and then create that note. This is applied in both the
singing of the class as well as when I am playing my primary instrument. My music
theory classes taught us to analyze music visually, and also aurally. We had to
analyze chord progressions, identify non-chord tones, suspensions, etc. We would
also have to listen to recordings and identify when we heard specific chords,
modulations, suspensions, etc. In my music history classes, we learned about
composers, the time period they came from, and the style of music that was around
during the composers lifetime.
My students will benefit from my instruction because I know how I want to
teach my students about analyzing, describing, and performing music. Any time we
perform a song, I would like to have some historical context on the piece. Who was
the composer? What era were they from? What was happening in the country at the
time? We will also take simple songs and learn how to analyze basic chord structure
and identify basic parts of music that stand out (like modulation). To get the
students interested in applying this new knowledge in their own music listening on
their own time, we could use examples from pop music. It is important that I, the
teacher, know how to listen to, analyze, describe, and perform music.
 Artifact 1:

Historical Background

Composer

Gustav Holst was born in England and showed musical talent from an early
age on the piano and the violin. Problems with neuritis and asthma forced Holst to
focus on the piano. His early employment as a church organist and choir director
created a lifelong interest in choral music, while studying composition at the Royal
College of Music, Holst was heavily influenced by the music of Wagner and Ralph
Vaughan Williams. Holst had met Vaughan Williams in 1895 and they became
friends, which began their habit of playing their newest compositions to each other.
During this time Holsts neuritis worsened, and he gave up the piano for the
trombone, believing it would both improve his lung capacity and give him greater
insight into composing for orchestra.
As an adult, Holst was a complex persona: friendly in private but not so much
in public.; eager to write music for schools but a member of the Hammersmith
Socialist club; and intensely interested in earlier British composers like Purcell but
keenly interested in Hindu philosophy. He had many failures as a composer,
especially in his operas. Many of his compositions for orchestra were viewed in
Britain as too esoteric and complex for audiences to understand. This rejection,
coupled with a grueling schedule as lecturer at Harvard in 1932, affected his nerves
and health to the point that he was sometimes ordered to take vacations; he was
eventually diagnosed with a duodenal ulcer.
A year before attending the Royal College of Music, Gustav heard Richard
Wagner's Gtterdmmerung under Gustav Mahler at the Covent Garden. He was
overwhelmed by the lush sonorities. Reinforced by the friendship of a fellow student
at the College, Fritz Hart, Gustav became an ardent Wagner enthusiast. Once after
hearing Tristan and Isolde in the gallery, he walked all night through the streets of
London with his mind in a whirl. Another overwhelming experience was hearing the
Bach Mass in B Minor at the Three Choirs Festival in Worchester in 1893. He was so
taken aback by the choruses that he felt as if he was floating about the crowds. It
was one of the few memorable musical events in his young life thus far.
When he was hired as the Director of Music at St. Pauls Girls School in
Hammersmith, Holst had little time to compose his music. One of the few major
successes in his life was The Planets, which was lauded both in Britain and abroad.
Many consider The Planets to be his best work, but his daughter Imogen Holst, says
that his Hammersmith: Prelude and Scherzo to be his best work.

Composition

Little is known about the origin of First Suite in Eb except the year of its
composition, kept in Holsts source notebook under the page for the year 1909. No
printed parts existed until Boosey and Co. printed a set of parts in 1921, and no full
score existed until 1948. In the 1948 score, Boosey added parts. This edited score
was the only authoritative version until the Colin Matthews edition of 1984.
Although it wasnt until 1920 before the first known performance of the First
Suite in Eb took place, the piece instantly gained respect and acclaim. Most
professional conductors say that this piece is the first original work for the concert
band genre, and is still a cornerstone of band repertoire today.
The piece features a 16-note melody passed through the band, with 15
variations on the melody. The first movement begins with a baseline similar to that
of Henry Purcell and William Bell. The last note of the first movement is one of the
most famous Eb chords in all of musical literature. The second movement features
solos for the cornet, oboe, and clarinet. Many textures are also presented in the
movement. The third movement is a march that starts quickly after the second
movement. The brass performs the first theme; and the woodwinds play the second.
The movement ends with both themes together and a crescendo to the final note.

Historical Perspective

Prior to 1909 there were only a few original compositions for band excepting
marches, transcriptions, and novelty repertoire. Gossecs Symphonie Miliatire en
Fa (1974) and Berliozs Symphonie Funbre et Trimphale (1840) are two of the few
examples of serious music that composers wrote exclusively for winds and
percussion. These early compositions were written for groups like the Guard
Republicaine of Paris, and from that time until the 20th century, military bands and
the professional bands of Sousa, Gilmore, etc. were the only notable groups
performing this type of literature. Although the Suite contains a march, it is part of
an organic whole in three sections, all composed of original material.
The Suite was revolutionary in its treatment of the parts of the band as
soloists. Earlier music for band included numerous doublings, and it was expected
that there could be any number of players on one part. Holst, however, envisioned
the Suite in Eb as a collection of soloists, and there are frequent instances of de facto
chamber music.
The other two notable composers of early 20th century British band music
are Gordon Jacob and Ralph Vaughan Williams, and they wrote nothing for band
until after the 1920 premiere of Holsts Suite. In many senses, this composition is
the progenitor of music for concert band as we know it.

Technical Considerations

In the first movement rhythmic demands are modest; however, coupled with
the allegro moderato tempo marking, the 16th note passages in the woodwinds at
measure 40-49 make for some physical and mental challenges. Solos are generally
easy, with moderate ranges for all instruments except horn, which leaps to a high G
at a soft volume in measure 58. In considering other instruments with extremes of
range, trombone 1 must play a high Ab in measure 32, the tuba must play the F an
octave below the staff at measure 57 and cornet 1 and trumpet 1 have a written C2
at the last chord.
 The second movement features an Eb clarinet 8th notes accompaniment at
vivace. Eb clarinet 2 has a cue written for it, but another Bb clarinet could play this
part if needed; the notes would be no higher than written A2. In general, rhythms
are not difficult in this movement, but maintenance of the tempo will be a problem,
since the pulse remains the same throughout the 142 measures.
Rhythms in the final movement are easy except for the final woodwind Eb
scale in 8th note triplets. Throughout the entire suite percussion technical demands
are light to medium. Knowledge of the Eb major, C minor, Ab major scales is
important. For the best understanding of the second movement, the contrast
between the minor scale and the Dorian mode could be explored. The Dorian mode
(movement 2, measures 67-98) has half-steps between scale steps 2-3 and 6-7.
The passages arent hard, but precision is required to sound clean and give a
good representation of what this masterful work is about. This song has been
performed thousands of times and it takes remarkable technical precision and
musicianship to make the performance truly memorable.

Stylistic Considerations

The first movement is a great study in contrasting styles, since each

presentation of the theme allows considerable opportunity to demonstrate a
musical style. The tempo should not be too slow a range of quarter note equals 96-
108 shows both the expressive qualities of the composition and the intent behind
the tempo marking of Allegro moderato.
The second movement has two basic styles: a light, detached style similar to
a bowed staccato, and gentle legato. The main stylistic consideration throughout the
movement is the attention to the last note of phrases in the accompaniment. Care
should be taken to ensure the endings are not abrupt.
In the last four measures, the accompaniment must be performed both softer
and lighter in articulation as the line ascends to the last C2 in the clarinet.
The 3rd movement should be performed with slight detachment or lift, with
emphasis on tone control. Because many groups will find it easy to play beyond
their ability to control volume, encourage the brass to rehearse no louder than forte.
The trio is a broadly written legato. Groups can show maturity of musical
expression both by performing 8 measure phrases and by the addition of subtle
crescendos and decrescendos throughout the phrase. Since phrases in the trio are
mostly in four-measure segments, consider conducting in four, with each beat one
measure long. This will encourage increased attention to long phrases and legato.

Musical Elements

Melody: Holst creates a strong monothematic presence throughout the Suite. It is

easy to trace this unifying idea by comparing the first notes of each theme. Holst
uses major, minor, and modal melodies in the Suite, and a short unit comparing the
half and whole step patterns of these modes is a worthwhile exercise, since Holst,
Vaughan Williams, and Jacob all freely incorporate these types of scales into their
compositions. Every instrument has melodic in this composition.
Harmony: The harmonic language is not complex. Of special interest to conductors
and theorists is the second half of the development in the third movement (measure
97), where C is prolonged through a progression featuring a rising chromatic line.
The progression is C major, Db major7, D7, F#7 (all over the base note C), and C
major.

Rhythm: Throughout the First Suite in Eb there is a steady pulse and consistent
feeling of meter. Each movement is consistent in its treatment of duple or triple
meter, and the pulse is consistent throughout each movement with the lone
exception being the end of the third movement. Holst provides a feeling of pulse
through his preference for tuba and low reeds in this role. There are neither odd
tuplet rhythms nor hemiolas in this composition.

Timbre: In many ways, the timbres in this work are consistent with the writing of
British music for band in the early 20th century. Flutes are primarily written in
unison, even in the upper register. There is a lot of cornet and trumpet in the
scoring, and these instruments constitute a soprano brass voice in four or five parts.
Tuba and euphonium are frequently doubled to form a bass line, but euphonium has
many places where it is the primary tenor melodic line. This is taken from the
British brass band tradition, where the baritone/euphonium timbre is potentially as
important a melodic voice as cornet. Holsts innovation shows in the variety of
timbres he uses. There is great contrast in every movement to provide opportunities
for solos. Holst also writes some instances of de facto woodwind quintet, brass
ensemble, and chamber music writing.

Form and Structure

Form: Passacaglia (theme and 15 variations). The theme and all variations are in Eb
major except variations nine and ten, which are in C minor, using an inversion of the
theme. All phrases are eight measures long except for those in variation 13
(measure 105-113) and variation 15 (measure 122-131). The passacaglia passes the
melody throughout the band.

Rationale: Knowing the background of a composer/piece of music helps the

performer know how to properly perform the music. This is an essay I wrote in my
conducting class over Gustav Holsts First Suite in Eb.
 Artifact 2:

I thought it was interesting how both performers acted throughout the

performance. For the first half, they were both stationary and stiff as boards. Being

stiff and stationary though, they were able to maintain great eye contact with the

audience. And even though they both seemed to be nervous, as their body language

indicated, they both sung confidently and projected their voices. After intermission,

they both seemed much more relaxed and walked around the stage, leaned on the

piano, etc.

The performers worked really well with their accompanists. There were a

few times (very short times) where I felt that the singers were pushing the

accompanists and visa versa, but overall they worked extremely well together.

I felt that the recital was interesting, a large part of that due to the props that

Paul used. I liked the song Paul sung with his accompanist that used the table,

chairs, and glasses. I could be wrong, but I dont think Paul was sitting straight up.

He still had good posture, but he wasnt sitting straight up and he was still able to

sing with great tone and project his voice.

Another thing that I thought was interesting was the use of emotions that the

performers used. They seemed to range from sad, to loving, to angry. I thought they

did a very good job of using their emotions and still enunciated everything clearly.

I felt that Ariels voice was vibrant and sharp (not note-wise sharp, sound-

wise sharp) and Pauls voice and smooth and full.

Rationale: This is a concert review I did over a vocal recital my freshman year of
college (with the performers names redacted). This shows my ability to analyze and
describe a performance, and what factors led to my opinions.