“They saw their injured country's woe;
The flaming town, the wasted field;
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, - but left the shield.”
Makes a pleasant sound [I love acoustic guitar as much as I detest its electronic counterpart!], and his skill at acting as his own percussion section is remarkable, but the novelty soon wears off, because -- like so much stuff that's come in in latter years -- the piece doesn't GO anywhere. Everything these days seems to use endless OSTINATO in one form or another.
Good music is always about contrast, which sets up a conflict, then finds its way after a series of episodes or musical excursions to a satisfying conflict resolution.
Consonance challenged by dissonance returning to consonance.
canon or round - one melody that chases itself at spaced intervals (Three Blind Mice)
fugue - one theme repeated in each of three or four voices with contrapuntal accompaniment (secondary melodies). It modulates (travels) to several closely related keys before returning to its key of origin
ABA - song form or aria
ABDAB - sonata-allegro form
ABACDABA - rondo form
OSTINATO - insistent, persistent repetition of a thematic, harmonic or rhythmic pattern with little or no variation.
Bolero is really a study in expert orchestration. Ravel takes one theme and repeats it over and over to be sure, BUT each time you hear it, the orchestration is subtly different. The rhythm remains constant, but the dynamic level and tone color changes with each repetition of the theme. The result is am extended piece with a hypnotic effect that builds relentlessly toward an intense and shattering climax. The entire piece is one long CRESCENDO.
We could Bolero is a novelty composition that employs a "gimmick," because of the bizarre and challenging limitations Ravel places on himself, but it still works well. Audiences continue to love it, if that's any criterion.
I, personally, prefer many of Ravel's more varied and expansive compositions. He was a creative, innovative genius of the first rank.
Makes a pleasant sound [I love acoustic guitar as much as I detest its electronic counterpart!], and his skill at acting as his own percussion section is remarkable, but the novelty soon wears off, because -- like so much stuff that's come in in latter years -- the piece doesn't GO anywhere. Everything these days seems to use endless OSTINATO in one form or another.
ReplyDelete-- the piece doesn't GO anywhere.
ReplyDeleteNobody listens to music, FT, to get to the end. ;)
Good music is always about contrast, which sets up a conflict, then finds its way after a series of episodes or musical excursions to a satisfying conflict resolution.
ReplyDeleteConsonance challenged by dissonance returning to consonance.
canon or round - one melody that chases itself at spaced intervals (Three Blind Mice)
fugue - one theme repeated in each of three or four voices with contrapuntal accompaniment (secondary melodies). It modulates (travels) to several closely related keys before returning to its key of origin
ABA - song form or aria
ABDAB - sonata-allegro form
ABACDABA - rondo form
OSTINATO - insistent, persistent repetition of a thematic, harmonic or rhythmic pattern with little or no variation.
So, no one can listen to Ravel's "Bolero"?
ReplyDeletePerhaps what FreeThinke is really lamenting is a lack of thematic development, not the use of ostinato particularly.
ReplyDeleteNot "lamenting" at all. Merely making astute observations from a well-informed perspective.
ReplyDeleteBolero is really a study in expert orchestration. Ravel takes one theme and repeats it over and over to be sure, BUT each time you hear it, the orchestration is subtly different. The rhythm remains constant, but the dynamic level and tone color changes with each repetition of the theme. The result is am extended piece with a hypnotic effect that builds relentlessly toward an intense and shattering climax. The entire piece is one long CRESCENDO.
ReplyDeleteWe could Bolero is a novelty composition that employs a "gimmick," because of the bizarre and challenging limitations Ravel places on himself, but it still works well. Audiences continue to love it, if that's any criterion.
I, personally, prefer many of Ravel's more varied and expansive compositions. He was a creative, innovative genius of the first rank.
I was just yanking your chain, FT... :P
ReplyDeleteI play geetar too!...woohoo!
ReplyDeleteMe three!
ReplyDelete