Mass amounts of Mass

So it's been a mozart mass listening day. Mass K49 was written in 1768 when Mozart was twelve and it sounds like it. Very crappy piece of mass. The strings just double voices, the voice lines are very unsingable, and the melody is harmoically boring. Then Mass K192, the "little credo mass." I think this is my favorite of the ones that i've listened to today. There are a lot of motives that reapear throughout. This mass is very catchy. I always come away from listening to it humming sections of it. The Mass K317 is the "coronation mass." This mass, going along with it's title, is very regal. It has the feel of a french overature with the dotted rhythms. It has very loud ornamentation and often the voices sing in unison. The last Mass I've been studying is the Mass K427. This is Mozarts last Mass other than the requiem, and he never completed it. In this mass Mozart models his music after Handel and Bach, the two composers that he was informally studying at the time.

YAY for mass!

Copland in iTunes

I decided to write on pieces that I already had on my iTunes. I often forget how much music is right there in front of me. I listened to a recording of Copland works. The works on this CD were Fanfare for the Common Man, Rodeo (the four parts), Billy the Kid, and Appalachian Spring. Fanfare for the Common Man, which the University Band brass and percussion section will be playing on our spring concert and recording, utilizes harmonies quite typical of Copland. The beginning starts off with percussion and adds trumpets. As the piece goes on, he continues to layer the texture with other instruments, providing a bass for the brass. Noted for its, high legato brass passages, the recording that I have of the Minnesota Orchestra is played brilliantly. Rodeo is a fun, energetic piece written for the symphony. It is most noted for its Beef commercial theme song. Appalachian Spring utilizes many of the same open harmonies with open 4ths and 5ths that marks Copland’s music. The melody is often recognized as the “Simple Gifts” melody. Sometimes there is great music sitting right in front of you in your iTunes and every so often, it is good to explore just what is actually on your iTunes.