Composition I, English 1010, Extra Credit
Ms. Beverly Mitchell
12 November 2013
DUELING PIANOS My daughter and I attended the “Dueling Pianos” concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville, Tennessee on October 25, 2013 at 8 p.m. which is a classical series of concerts sponsored by AEGIS Sciences Corporation. We were very excited about going to the Nashville Symphony. The Nashville Symphony Chorus included: Kelly Corcoran, chorus director, Christina and Michelle Naughton, pianists, Kelley Nassief, soprano soloist, and Russell Braun, baritone soloists. We were casually dressed and planned for a cold evening in downtown Nashville, Tn. As we walked up to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, we noticed a huge fountain outside the entrance gates overflowing with water. Many lights lit up the area and the beautiful ornamental building with large pillars and marble everywhere was just spectacular. We took several pictures as we walked up to get our tickets. There were many people and patrons of the arts, I suppose, there to watch the same concert as Adriana and I. We checked our coats in, which my daughter enjoyed doing because she had never done that before. I enjoyed watching her face light up at so many different things that were new to her for the first time. Many people were dressed up and others were casual. I enjoyed watching many elderly couples walk up holding hands and enjoying a beautiful night out on the town with their significant other. We arrived early to take in all that we could before the concert began. We went to the café and had a snack and sat in their tree lined courtyard. After that, we headed upstairs to the top floor to the Conductor’s Conversation Lecture to hear Giancarlo Guerrero, Nashville Symphony Center Conductor, speak about all the pieces that we would see and hear tonight in the concert hall. He was very knowledgeable about all the earlier composers and the time periods of many era’s starting at about 1803. The room we were in was filled with chairs and they all were taken, but what I noticed the most was all the pictures on the wall of older composers and other distinctive people that I was unfamiliar with. This was also, a beautifully decorated room with large, white pillars and ornate gold decorations. I can only assume by looking at the women in the room that they had spent the day at a beauty salon getting their hair all fancied up just for tonight’s concert. Some women were dressed in elaborate shimmering gowns and the men in tuxedos, while other couples were dressed very casual, like my daughter and I. As we listened to Giancarlo Guerrero paint us a picture of times gone by, he actually took us through his storytelling of famous composers and famous family’s that hosted musical exhibitions in their home. He also referenced the ocean with the waves moving back and forth, as if we were actually there on the ship experiencing everything that would take place during the era of seafaring. As the conductor concluded with his stories of composers and musical, influential families back when orchestral performances had become popular, I became very excited to experience this moment with my daughter and to be part of the audience of “Dueling Pianos” in Concert at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
MUSICAL SELECTION # 1: Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage Cantata for Chorus and Orchestra, Op. 112, Ludwig Van Beethoven
NAME AND DESCRIPTION OF MUSICAL ELEMENT # 1: Dynamics – level of volume, high/low.
This piece resembled a calm and gentle sea, but with large waves of “CRASHING” chords, sung in full unison. This piece starts in an extreme pianissimo with spurts of fortissimo chords which conveyed a mood of softness and loudness. The dynamics then switch to a more consistent, joyful forte when the choir and orchestra performance became louder. The dynamics changed as more instruments were introduced. The sound of both harps playing simultaneously was