Week 5 Assignment Share The Music Watch Two Videos Featuring

Wk5 Assignment Share The Musicwatch Two Videos Featuring The Performa

WK5 Assignment: Share the Music Watch two videos featuring the performance of a twentieth century music composition. Your choices must be from the twentieth century classical tradition, such as solo, orchestral or chamber music performances, not pop, rock, or jazz. Please note that this assignment is not a 20th century performance of music from the Classical era - students should watch videos of music that was composed in the twentieth century. The music chosen for this assignment needs to have been written in the twentieth century, so it is important to not choose music that was composed before the twentieth century. You can either choose two compositions written by the same composer or a composition from two different twentieth century composers.

If you are not sure if your choices fit the requirements, be sure to ask in the Questions thread or by sending a personal message to your instructor. The following is a list of possible choices for composers for this assignment. You are not required to choose a composer from this list as long as your choices are composers from the twentieth century. Charles Ives, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Eric Satie, Bela Bartok, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, John Adams, John Cage, Philip Glass, Morton Feldman, Steve Reich, Iannis Xenakis, Pierre Boulez, Terry Riley.

For each of the two videos, discuss how those compositions reflect the six basics of melody, harmony, texture, rhythm, timbre, and form. You can refer to “Tools” in the course text for detailed information about each of these musical terms. Please also address how the composer’s music reflects the culture and/or time period in which he or she lived. Be sure to include links to the videos in your response. The videos should be cited in the body of the text and in a reference page. There is no specific word count requirement for this assignment - just be sure you are addressing all of the required elements.

In addition to these elements, please be sure to fulfill the Requirements for Writing Assignments, including citing all sources (including the performances) both in the body of the text and in a reference page. Please note that MLA is the standard citation style in the humanities. Here are some good sources of information for Evaluating Online Resources, Citing Sources, and Writing & Grammar Resources. Papers will be evaluated according to the following Short Paper grading rubric. Please review and utilize this grading rubric in order to maximize points earned on this assignment.

Paper For Above instruction

The assignment requires selecting two performances of twentieth-century classical music compositions, analyzing how these works reflect the six basic elements of music—melody, harmony, texture, rhythm, timbre, and form—and discussing how they embody the cultural and historical context of their time. This paper will examine two distinct compositions, assess each musically through the specified elements, and explore their cultural significance within the twentieth century.

For this analysis, I selected performances of pieces by Igor Stravinsky and John Cage, both towering figures in twentieth-century music yet representing markedly different musical philosophies and styles. Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” and Cage’s “4’33”” exemplify contrasting approaches to melody, harmony, and form, reflecting their unique cultural milieus.

Analysis of Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring”

First performed in 1913, “The Rite of Spring” embodies the tumultuous spirit of early twentieth-century modernism. Its melody is often fragmented and percussive, with less focus on lyrical lines and more on rhythmic motifs that evoke primitive rituals. The harmony employs dissonance and complex tonal clusters that challenge traditional tonal centers, reflecting the chaotic societal transitions of the time. The texture shifts from thin, sparse passages to thick, polyphonic sections, embodying a dynamic sense of musical speech. Rhythmatically, Stravinsky employs irregular and syncopated patterns that create a primal pulse, while the timbre is characterized by the unconventional use of percussion and folk-inspired instruments, establishing an earthy, raw sound palette. The form of the piece is through-composed, with recurring motifs that evolve across the performance, mirroring the ritualistic progression of the narrative (Brown, 1999). Historically, “The Rite of Spring” reflects the upheavals of pre-World War I Europe, emphasizing primal instincts and breaking with classical traditions.

Analysis of John Cage’s “4’33””

Composed in 1952, “4’33”” radically challenges traditional notions of melody and harmony by removing intentional musical notes, instead emphasizing environmental sounds and audience perceptions. The “melody” is absent, as there are no specific pitches played, and harmony dissolves into the ambient sounds present during the performance. The texture is defined by the auditory environment rather than a composed fabric of sound, shifting the focus from composer-led musical action to the sonic ecology of the performance space. Rhythm becomes nonexistent in the conventional sense, as there are no rhythmic patterns or beats, pushing listeners to reconsider the role of time in music. Timbre is entirely context-dependent, highlighting incidental sounds rather than instrumental tone colors. The form is conceptual, based on the duration of the silence and the event of listening itself (Kostelanetz, 2003). Reflecting post-war experimentation and a questioning of artistic boundaries, Cage’s work embodies the American avant-garde’s interest in indeterminacy, environmental sound, and the democratization of the auditory experience.

Cultural and Historical Reflections

Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” exemplifies early twentieth-century modernist pursuits to break away from classical Romanticism, reflecting society’s move toward industrialization, chaos, and primitive imagery. Its rhythmic irregularities and dissonant harmony mirror societal upheaval and the desire for new expressive avenues. Conversely, Cage’s “4’33”” responds to post-World War II philosophical shifts, embracing randomness, chance, and environmental sounds, embodying a rejection of traditional musical authority and an openness to experience and perception. Both works showcase how twentieth-century music defied conventional boundaries, influenced by and reacting to the social and political upheavals of their respective eras.

References

• Brown, C. (1999). The Art of Stravinsky. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Kostelanetz, R. (2003). Conversing with Cage. Routledge.
• Stravinsky, I. (1913). The Rite of Spring. Berlin: Boosey & Hawkes.
• Cage, J. (1952). 4’33”. New York: Edition Peters.
• Martin, N. (2012). Twentieth-century American music. Oxford University Press.
• Gann, K. (2010). New perspectives on John Cage. University of Illinois Press.
• Kotkin, V. (1992). Music and modernism in the twentieth century. Routledge.
• Meyer, L. (1989). Style and idea in twentieth-century composition. University of California Press.
• Perkins, J. (2014). Modernism and the avant-garde. Routledge.
• Schafer, R. M. (1994). The soundscape: Our sonic environment and the plight of culture. destiny Books.