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@jessezavada
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Blog 13
FINAL THOUGHTS!
Well I'm so happy to finally be done with the paper! I feel like I did a fairly good amount
of research, and learned a lot about Handel and what happened in his life. I learned a
lot about operas in Italy, how they were expected to sound, and how Handel changed
them
to make his own style. I also learned about how music of the time was so set on it's
style and form, and that Handel was one of the big people that took risks and made his
pieces his own.
I was happy with my final grade and the way I ended everything. I think that my grade on
my paper will definitely help my grade, as well as these blog posts. Now for the final.. I
have been studying a lot for it, and to be honest.. I'm pretty nervous about it. I
definitely will prepare as much as I can for it, but I know there's a lot to learn. I am
mostly concerned with the listening sections; those have always been tough for me. It's
harder for me to memorize names and composer and dates, but once I get past that,
I can answer questions about polyphony and the style of the piece. So for the most part,
I'll definitely be looking over everything I can for the test, and just hope for the best!
Overall I think I learned a lot from this class. As scared as I was about taking it, I got
through it, and I think I've done pretty well! Once you get past the whole "this music
is so old, how does it affect me" thing, you actually get into the music, and see how it
DOES affect us, and how music has changed over the centuries. It's also interesting to
learn about all the different styles and instruments that composers used to use that, for
the most part, we don't use anymore. I'm excited for Music History 2, and have to start
thinking about what piece I will choose for my paper!
Blog 12
Well, this week's blog topic is conclusions. And unfortunately, I do not have a conclusion
yet. I have to take the time to go back this weekend and actually write on the piece, rather
than so much of Handel's life. With that being said, I don't really have too much to say for
this blog, that us, at least until after this weekend is over. I plan to meet with you
tomorrow to discuss my paper, and where to go. Then I plan to write about my paper,
including details about the opera's background, what the story is, and different important
musical things. I will then conclude my paper with an overview of the important things
of the opera, and how Handel has impacted the world of opera, giving examples of this.
Other than that, that's all I really can say about the conclusion. I do look forward to us
meeting tomorrow, and to my writing and hopefully completion of my paper this
weekend!
Blog 11
Well for my title, I think I need to think of something creative but not too abstract. As of now it’s just Giulio Cesare, which obviously isn’t very good. But I was thinking of something more along the lines of describing Handel and his legacy of opera music writing. The only thing is I don’t want to sound too drastic or over the top with anything. “Handel- The Greatest Opera Composer Ever”. Or maybe “George Frideric Handel, One of Opera’s Best Composers”. Not too sure if those are quite up to par, but they are the best I have come up with thus far.
As for my introduction, I do think my first paragraph was pretty sufficient, with an opening idea and a good thesis statement. But obviously more will change as I continue to edit and re-draft:
George Frideric Handel was born in Halle on February 23, 1685 to a German family of Georg Handel and his second wife Dorothea Taust. Georg Handel was a surgeon and was sixty three years old when George was born. Georg had always intended for George to study law, and hoped that one day he would become a lawyer. But George’s interest in music began early, and Georg refused his son to practice any sort of instrument. Georg saw nothing in art, and didn’t want his son having any interest in it, or even think of creating a career out of it. “Music was an elegant art and a fine amusement; yet, if considered as an occupation, it had little dignity, as having for its subject nothing better than mere pleasure and entertainment.”
But little did Georg know that his son would one day become one of the best known musicians and would be considered the greatest opera composer of all time. The works of George Frideric Handel have changed music throughout history, and one of his best known Italian opera’s Giulio Cesare is just one of the many that exemplify the reason Handel is considered one of the greatest opera composers ever.
Blog 10
For this week’s blog, I decided to look up some of the operas of Handel, and I decided to listen to his very first one, Almira. It was premiered in Hamburg at the Theater am Gansemarkt on January 8, 1705. The opera has no spoken dialogue, and was revived again on June 4, 1994. Giulio Cesare was written much later and premiered in London at King’s Theatre on February 20, 1724. I decided to listen to an aria from both, so I could try and compare them in similar aspects.
The aria from Almira starts off with an instrumental section, but very scarce. The soloist has a lot of runs and tricky passages, and then the vocalist comes in. The parts are put together in a call and response form, where the singer sings a similar passage, and the instrumental answers. The two come together and are in harmony, and most of the “answers” from the instrumentals are the same passage over and over. The singer’s vocal lines are fairly high and complex, and are more than I was “expecting”. For some reason I thought because this piece was older and Handel’s first opera it would be less “difficult” or sound more of a “new” piece; but I have clearly been proven wrong.
The aria from Giulio Cesare I listened to is “Va tacito e nascosto”, and at first it sounds as though the aria from Almira is much more advanced, but as Giulio Cesare goes on, I think it’s clear which one was written first. “Va tacito e nascosto” starts off with two voices talking with each other, and one instrument behind it. But as the sound picks up, it becomes much more uplifting and complex. There is a large symphony behind them, and they together have a large sound. I’m not sure if it’s that this one may have a sound that I personally prefer, or if it is actually better. But the second one is definitely catchier, and the melody lines are more complex.
I think it’s cool to compare two pieces that Handel has composed, to get a sense of where he started and where he went, in regards to his writing. I am excited to listen to more of his operas, and really see everything he has done!
Blog 9
So I just realized I never wrote a blog during Spring Break, because I didn’t think we had
anything due; so I apologize for that. But I haven’t missed any of the other ones! haha.
Anyhow about the brain dump; well I had a really good Spring Break. I thought a lot
about my paper actually, and how much more I’ll need to work on it. I think I have a
pretty good start on it, and have a lot of good resources, but I definitely need to get
started with it.
I’ve been listening to my piece more and more, and have tried to start looking for a
libretto. At first I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to understand everything
that’s happening in it, and that I wasn’t going to be able to find enough information. I
do think after reading through my sources again and listening more I will be able to
write enough for my paper. I’ve come to find that really anything I can get my hands
on is valuable knowledge about Handel or the opera itself, so I’m definitely up for
continuing searching and learning as much as a can about them.
My thesis statement is.. a little weak; it definitely will be improved, and I can assure that
it will grow as a write the paper. Also I intend to extend my outline, and make things
less vague. I’m excited and a little intimidated to actually start writing the paper, but
I’m sure that once it starts going it will be good. I’m also excited to get a libretto, and
get a good understanding of what the full opera is about!
Outline Blog 9
Jesse Zavada March 2, 2012
Outline
George Frideric Handel
History
Handel’s early life
Handel’s early compositions
Music
Handel’s operas
Locations
Handel’s traveling and studying in different areas
Handel’s newly influenced writing styles
Giulio Cesare
History
Handel’s early writings on Giulio Cesare
Dialogue
Handel’s actual script, with a story line
Overview
Handel & Giulio Cesare
How Handel’s early writing affected him to compose Giulio Cesare
What Giulio Cesare means to me
MUH3211-01 Blog 8
After reading over my past blogs and looking at my piece again, I feel like I
understand it a little more. Handel may not have been the biggest name in Italian opera,
but he certainly was a known composer and had a lot of well known writings. With that
being said, I do think Giulio Cesare does encompass characteristics of Italian opera and
the genre itself. Some important characteristics I've started to see commonly portrayed
in my research has been less arias and more musical pieces, less comical scenes, and a
more basic plot line. And obviously I don't know all of the opera (and will need to read it
soon, as I've been discussing..) but I do feel the opera meets this criteria. Another
important factor I've noticed is the fact that although Handel foreign, he
still wrote wonderful and well liked operas.
Some of these characteristics have been seen in the scenes that are in the book, in
the fact that in the dialog there is more of a focus on the business agreement between
the two main characters, and not necessarily a drama. They are more concerned about
"important" things, rather than gossiping or telling jokes and hanging out. I think this
approach may have been taken to show more of a change in the operas, and to bring
a more sophisticated appearance to them; since most people that went to the operas
in those days were wealthy and sophisticated as well.
I've been having a tough time coming up with a thesis statement, but I suppose
I'll give it a shot. "This paper will discuss the details behind the music and words of
Handel's Giulio Cesare, how it influenced Italian opera of the time, and how it brought
the wold of opera to where it is today". Hopefully I'll be able to find enough information
on how this particular opera was influential to the world of opera, but so far I feel like
I've got a good start!
MUH3211-01 Blog 7
The more I listen to this piece, the more and more I love it (by the way I plan to write on Esesguisti and V’adoro, pupille, which are the two selections in the book). Starting with Eseguisti, the dialog between Cleopartra and Nireno is very bright and “loud” sounding. I use the word loud not necessarily as a bad thing, but it’s the way I hear their voices; Cleopatra is discussing with Nierno if the order had been executed, and where Caesar currently was. The dialog in makes sense but I need to read through more of the script to really get a feel for what is going on. But the piece itself is very uplifting and pleasant sounding. It sounds like they’re talking about deal or an agreement made between them and rather than sounding dark and mischievous, Handel chose to make the melody and harmony major and happy.
Scene 2 begins with more dialog between Nireno and Cesare, where they discuss more of the deal and when Lidia is coming. Then a beautiful “sinfonia of various instruments” is heard in the background. This section has an amazing and beautiful sound, filled with numerous string instruments, and has a very elegant and classy sound. This leads right into a brief aria between Cesare and Nireno, where they discuss how beautiful the music was. We then transition right into V’adoro, pupille, where Cleopatra, dressed as Virtue, professes her love and adoration for Cesare. Cesare accepts it says that nothing can match what she has said to him.
So really, I’ve learned a little about what’s happening in the story but I need to get a more definite understanding about who is who, and why Cesare is being adored; and who that business deal is about! My favorite part is how Handel sets music to the text, and how evenly everything flows together. The best section is the instrumental at the beginning of the second scene.
MUH3211-01 Blog 6
After listening to my piece this week, I got dug more and more into what this piece
really sounds like. In Eseguisti, Handel uses mostly polyphony, since there are two lines of
music, one of them being the singer and the other the strings. “The standard elements of
an operatic scene from this period are present: dialogue in simple recitative accompanied
by continue, followed by a da capo aria introduced by the orchestra”, says the book. So
knowing that this opera isn’t as old as homophonic chants and has at least a “busier”
melody line accompanied by instruments is a promising aspect of this piece that should
make it a little more interesting and have a little more to talk about than some others! I definitely think this piece can be analyzed using “common theory”, which may be due to the fact that this piece was written in 1724, and music theory had definitely developed quite a bit by then.
An important factor is that although Eseguisti is not necessarily a slow moving piece and still has a lively sound, Scene II Nireno, e poi Cesare definitely picks things up and gets the piece moving. Some of this may be due to the addition of instruments (including oboe, viola, harp, basson, etc.) or just because it is a short recitative to prepare the listeners for V’adoro, pupille. And in the play, they discuss how beautiful and overwhelming the music is, and which leads them into Act II, and Cleopatra expressed her love for Cesare. So not only is music used to tell the story and express drama, but it is also used as a segue between scenes, and is even recognized in the story, which I think is cool! Also some of the text in the opera is hard to follow, so I think it’ll help if I get another source that maybe summarized the story line, just so I can get a full view of everything that happens.
MUH3211-01 Blog 5
Well I’m glad this week did not require any more searching for sources! Mostly because I think I exhausted the Internet and library for as much information I could get on Handel and Giulio Cesare, and am excited to start learning more about the actual piece! (Quick question, as I’m looking at the piece, I’m assuming I’m doing the entire opera, correct?). Obviously I’ve never listened to this opera, so it’s nice to actually just listen to the piece and try and picture how it looks on stage.
I think the best thing about the opera is the rhythm and real sound of the piece. It has an intense energy and amazing sound, as well as very lyrical lines. And the melody line is actually pretty busy for such an “old” piece; reading the music while listening to the piece, it moves very quickly. The accompaniment isn’t lacking this energy either however. I like how Handel was able to incorporate a lot of instruments into this opera, and really build drama and suspense when needed. The song almost has a Baroque feel to it, and it makes it sound like a very fancy and sophisticated piece.
After looking at my sources, book number two and the two websites referring to music of the time and how the operas were written were good to read, because they helped me understand some of the questions I do have about the piece. Most of the rhythm and melody lines are pretty easy to follow and aren’t too hard to understand, and the book actually helped explain a lot as well. I think most of my beginning research will come from the book, learn some of the basic facts about Handel and the opera, and then go from there back to my other sources.
MUH3211-01 Blog 4 (for some reason it's not letting me double space this one..)
After doing some more research on Giulio Cesare I have found a few more sources that I am pretty happy with. My sources were all online, because I figured I already had a few books (although obviously you can never have enough!). My first site is an article from The Metropolitan opera, entitled “Synopsis Giulio Cesare”. As the title suggests, this article primarily deals with explaining everything that happens in the opera, and narrates the story which is broken up into three acts. I think it’s important to at least read, if not actually watch the opera so that I get a good sense of not only what this sounds like, but what it actually looks like, as well as how it’s all put together with the story line.
My second source is rather short and from a random website I found, entitle “ItalianCulture.net”and discusses Italian Opera. Handel wrote the opera Giulio Cesare in the time of Italian opera, so I figured it’d be helpful to learn more about the styles and writings of that time. The website informed me that Italian musical theater began in the 17th century in Medici, Florence. It became very fashionable to go to the theatre and opera was its own entertainment in the Carnival time. Some of the themes authors and poets used were classical mythology.
Source three is entitled “Handel and Italian Opera”, which mostly discusses how Handel affected Italian Opera and some of the different ones he composed. Apparently Handel and some friends founded the company Royal Academy of Music, which helped the production of Italian operas in 1720. It then further discusses some of the other organizations that were formed around the same time, that Handel, although German, was a huge competitor when it came to composing Italian operas, and then closes with a few more discussions of some of his famous operas.
My fourth source may in fact be a repeat, so I’m not too sure if I’ll use much from it, but it is entitled “Baroque Composers and Musicians George Frideric Handel”. The reason I say this is because it looks like it may be another biography, but in fact it does seem to talk about his operas and all the places he traveled too. It seems as though this one focuses on the operas of Handel but also some of the other works he did and the works of other composer’s operas, at the time.
My final source chosen for this blog is entitled “HANDEL: Giulio Cesare in Egitto”. This source discusses, yet again, the opera Giulio Cesare but with more detail as to the actual live show. It gives information about when the first performance was, who the characters are and what their voice parts are, and a little more background about the opera and why the story is being told. I think if there are to be things that are repeated the analysis of the opera is best, because everyone has something different to say, and the opera can be explained in many different forms.
MUH 3211-01 Blog 3
Well since I finally found sources, I can begin to write my blog! I have decided to write
on Giulio Cesare by George Frideric Handel. The first book that I got is entitled Memoirs
of the Life of the Late George Frederic Handel, by John Mainwaring. For starters, I find it
odd that the title of this book says the “late George Frederic Handel”, when in fact he
died in 1759 and this book was written in 1964. But whatever the case, the book seems
to address the subject in the form of a biography, and uses fairly old English. The book
definitely is chronological, and gives a brief introduction at the beginning on his life.
The beginning section deals with his life, how he grew up, and where he was going.
Then there’s a section called the “Catalgue of the works of George Frideric Handel”
where it lists all of the works he’d composed. I think this book will be a great source on
the history of his life, and a good figure of the things he’s worked on.
The second book I checked out was The Life of Handel by Victor Scheolcher, written
in 1979. Rather similar to the last book, but this book is a little larger and goes into
larger detail than the previous. It talks about his life and how he began writing, and
then rather than just a list of pieces it talks about how he wrote them and why he was
writing them at the time. So I think this book will be good to refer to more for music
and the pieces he wrote. It also has a large list of references the author used when
writing the book, so that would be a good place to check if I can’t find more resources.
Book three is entitled Handel by Winton Dean and was written in 1983. Obviously I
may need to hit the library again a few more times, because I have yet another book
focusing on the life times of Handel. This book discusses his life in Italy, London and his
studies; it also discusses things he did in opera, oratorios, keyboard and chamber
music, music for orchestras, church and vocal chamber music, and even his character
and personality! This would be a good resource for, again, details into his music and all
the different types of genres he composed in, and also maybe how he was as a person.
I’m interested to read the section about his character and personality, to maybe learn a
little bit 1985, more about how this composer lived.
The fourth book is Essays on Handel and Italian Opera by Reinhard Strohm, and was
written in 1985. This book talks about Handel’s “Journey as a European experience”, so
probably more history information, but it also talks about his operas and opera career.
It discussed his opera seria and also him as an opera producer. This book includes a lot
of scores of the pieces he’d written, which I’m sure will be helpful to look at when I’m
trying to compare operas.
And my fifth book is our textbook! So I think I have a good start on getting
resources, and I definitely need to find some more focusing on his specific pieces, and
maybe one even on the opera Giulio Cesare.
MUH 3211-01 Blog 2
Jesse Zavada
Blog 2
MUH 3211
13 January 2012 The first piece I chose to discuss is Resvillies vous, a ballade written by Guillaume Du
Fay in 1423. You may be asking yourself, why did he choose this piece? Well I began
flipping through the music of the Anthology and this happened to be one that caught
my attention. The previous owner of my book wrote in the margin next to the line that
reads “contratenor” the words “written for an instrument”; I believe this was one of the
reasons I decided to give this piece a try, because so far the music I’ve listened to in
this class hasn’t contained anything but voices.
After listening to this beautiful piece of music, I realized that this was a good choice.
The song in English is entitled “Awake and be merry”, and tells the story of the marriage
of Carlo Malatesta and Vittoria Colonna. This song really sounds like a true Church
song because of the sound of the voice. The version I listened to had a nice string and
recorder/flute solo and emphasized a true feeling of peace and harmony. The book
mentions that the piece contains elements of 3 of the traditions of the fourteenth
century, including French Ars Nova, Ars Subtilior, and the Italian Trecento. I love that
Du Fay was able to combine all these in a peaceful fluid piece.
The second piece I looked at was La Messe de Nostre Dame: Kyrie by Guillaume de
Machaut. I chose this piece because it is very different from the last one, not only in
sound by also in writing. I’m not usually a big fan of Church old Mass cycles such as
these, but the harmonies that are used are really just breathtaking. Being a musician,
one of my favorite things about the human voice is it’s ability to harmonize and blend
with others to create consonance and dissonance. And back in the days before
instruments or a real structured music system, people only had their voices and these
large churches. I love the way this piece is written with the four parts, and how certain
ones change more than others. I also love that it is able to encompass that “Church”
feeling that I described in the previous piece, without using more than two words.
These were two very random pieces, but I love that I was able to find similarities
between them although their time frame difference. I think both have qualities that I
can learn from when examining new music and definitely have qualities that only stay in
music of this time.
MUH3211-01 Blog 1
Well for the first blog I am supposed to talk about myself. So i guess the best way to begin something about ME is to introduce myself; my name is Jesse Lee Zavada, I am 20 years old, and I am from Fort Myers, Florida. I am a Commercial Music Major and I play the piano; I have been playing the piano since I was six in the first grade, and am trying to learn the guitar now. I came into FSU wanting to be a piano performance major but soon realized I wasn't as passionate towards playing classical music for the rest of my life, as much as I wanted to perform modern and popular music. I have been playing Beethoven and Rachmaninoff for as long as I can remember, but always remember wanting to play things I'd hear on the radio and in Church instead sometimes. And now that I am finally in College, I have learned how to play more popular music, and that I can do either one. As much as I didn't like taking the class Sightsinging, it has really helped me develop the ability to listen to music and be able to identify pitches and chords progressions. So now I can listen to popular songs on the radio (or even a lot of Classical pieces) and easily figure them out on the piano, and not have to look at the sheet music.
So why am I in this class? Well to be honest, I'm in this class because it's a requirement. And I've heard from all my friends that took it last semester that it's really hard. So I'm a little intimidated. BUT I do remember talking to my mom about it over Christmas break and her saying that it really might not be that big of a deal, and how much I might really get out of this class. She explained that not only are modern and Classical music important to study and understand, but so are older and "lesser-known" music. We can learn so much from the music that came before the music we now know, and we can see and learn how music changed throughout time. So I supposed that's a hopeful way to look at this class!
This semester I hope to grow more and more everyday as a person and as a musician. I feel I have grown so much in both of these ways throughout my college career, and am excited to see myself continue to grow. The more people I meet and the more I perform will only help me grow everyday into the person I am suppose to become.
Fun Fact?? My YouTube page. Just for kicks. (I always tell people about it haha; gotta publicize!)
:)
http://www.youtube.com/jessezavada
Saturday July 16: Outside of the Cathedral in Salzburg, Austria