West Side Story Song Analysis #3

one hand one heart
the whole song is a musical rendition of the vows two lovers make on their wedding day, albeit this time there is a lot more focus on the idea that death will not not part them, which is a foreshadowing to events to come. the music as it is is a duet, meaning it must be sung by at least two people, preferably not more and hopefully between two people who see nothing but adoration in each others eyes

somewhere
this is a song of hope and somewhat of yearning. the hope is within the words and the fact that maybe there is a place where they can live in peace. the yearning comes from the meaning, they do not know if there is such a place where they can gor or even how to find it, so they are somewhat pleading for a direction for which they must go. the music of this song starts soft but then builds up to a point where it is very bright and cheerful near the middle, but then dies down to give the two lovers the peace they want.

West Side Story Song Analysis #2

"tonight"
this scene parrallels the scene in romeo and juliet commonly known as the balcony scene, as seen with te whole looking out the window to have a secret rendesvous. both maria and this song are very focused on the idea of love and the pure infatuation the two have for each other, but maria is about tony, and this song is about both of them. i feel pretty is the alternative to maria.

"i feel pretty"
this song shows how "odd" maria feels after having met tony, her love is so strong that she does not care what other people think or view her for no matter what she is pretty because she's loved by a pretty wonderful boy. the other girls view her as crazy for seeing things they cannot see, we think she's crazy because she's in love with a man she cannot be in love with.

West Side Story Song Analysis #1

"America"

this song is sung by the Puerto Rican members of the new york culture. anita is specifically the character that is singing about America, and the song expresses her feelings of longing towards returning to Puerto Rico, but on the other hand some of the other members of the group have no such feelings as life back home was plenty more worse than whatever they had to deal with in the states.

"Maria"

Tony is singing very  bluntly about his obsession of a girl he has just met and learned the name of. the name of the girl was Maria, as hinted by the title of the song and his continuous mention of that name. his obsession is shown by how he repeats the name. the beauty of the girl he met is also expressed in the song, mentioning  "how wonderful a sound can be".

west side story plot analysis

summary

1. Explain the roles of the gangs and how they felt about each other.

the gangs represented the two families in romeo and juliet and in both represent a feeling of fear and resentment towards something that is different to each other but at the same time are so similar.

2. Why do you think it would have been difficult for Maria and Tony to be in love?

their love was limited by the fact that they belonged to warring families. if they did get past that problem, there was still the interracial problem that the two may have faced on the larger scale, given that such a thing is still looked down upon today.

3. What differences between the groups creates problems between them? 

i personally think it is what makes them similar that creates the problems. they are both gangs that are looking for a place to call home and as such there is competition between the two. but racial and cultural differences also contribute to their anger, and the fact that the sharks are part of a minority creates resentment towards those who seem more priveliged.

s2: Listening Activity #2+3

TITLE: Candide Overture

COMPOSER: Leonard Bernstein

PERFORMER: London Symphony Orchestra

very exciting and happy, it felt very comic and jovial. it made me think of a circus troupe or a group of performers. it seemed very playful between its more active parts as well as the lighter ones. the lighter sections still had that happy feel but was less ostentatious.

i liked the music because of how it made me feel, it is the kind of music that sort of inspires people to do something fun.

the music was very fast paced throughout which is what mostly why it felt light. even if the music was heavy to play, the tempo of the piece made sure that it was more of a dynamic shift rather than a loss of the lightness of the music.

it pretty much was a full symphony orchestra, with things like woodwind, orchestra and band but it is important in terms of making these three distinctions in the song. the woodwind was used for the smallest and lightest part of the songs, the string orchestra kept tempo and the band created the happy and jovial mood to the piece. whenever any one section had a "solo" part it was clear as to what their purpose was. and when they all came together it was a magnificent collection of different elements. to put this into what i think in choir terms, it would like instead of the entire choir doing the same dynamics throughout the song, but rather each choral section has their own tempo and dynamics from the rest of the choir.

TITLE: New York, New York from On the Town

COMPOSER: Leonard Bernstein

PERFORMERS: Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly & Jules Munshin

also a very happy jovial piece and what stuck out to me this time was the sharpness of the words along with the speed of the song. the singing and the musical interlude have that same light feel of the previous song, but unlike the otherone this one is created by short notes along with the fast music.

i didn't mind this one but i have a sort of preference to the other Bernstein pieces. it is hard to think as to why this is, only that i feel that this one is not as nice for me as the other two.

what was dynamically pleasing were the staccatos that would build up in tempo before exploding into a long high note. it was also interesting of the changes in key's each time the singers sung, it gave it a mood as if the singers were building in excitement as the song progressed.

S2 listening activity 1

TITLE: Chichester Psalms, Mvnt. 1

COMPOSER: Leonard Berstein

PERFORMER: Bow Valley College Chorus & Orchestra

Their music felt empowering, not just because of the music itself but how, with the choir, they did more decrescendos, by that i mean they start off a phrase very loud and strong and then keep a steady volume throughout. the crescendos were more of a buildup that was being used throughout the song.

I personally enjoyed the music. I liked the inclusion of an orchestra, but what made it good was that the voices of the choir were strong and loud enough for them to be heard over the other instruments. In a way i am not sure if our choir could achieve a balance of volume like they did. might be something worth looking at later.

I already mentioned the dynamics of the crescendo and decrescendo. In terms of vocality and consonants, the focus seemed more on the notes rather than words. I know that the piece was not in English but i still had trouble hearing consonants in the piece.

i could hear a strong soprano and bass section, but i could not distinguish a tenor and alto section, if there was one. in terms of other instruments there were snare drums and xylophones which gave it a sort of powerful yet graceful feel to the piece as well. overall it sounded like a very positive song and was not really happy but strong.