Compare and Contrast Analysis

Compare and Contrast Analysis

Act 3 of The Valkyrie, opens with the eight Valkyrie sisters driving home the dead heroes on their horses. As the voyage moves slowly down the slope, Bruennhilde appears out of the blues and requests for a horse for a Sieglinde. Since the Valkyries have heard the news about the disobedience done by Brunnhilde, they refuse to grant her the horse. Brunnhilde thinks that eastwards will be the safest place. As such, she gives her the slinters of Nothung, enlightening them that this is the most important hero in her womb and tells her that she has to give him a name as Siegfried. Later, Sieglinde runs away before Wotan arrives. She hides behind her sisters, for she knows the wrath and terror that Wotan carries. Wotan disowns Bruennhilde, explaining that she will lie defenseless in a very long sleep and that whoever will find her first will be her husband. She has no option but to comply and asks Wotan to surround her with high walls that people will not manage to cross easily, but only the strongest of the warriors. The novel goes through a series of twists and fate that contribute to the aesthetic aspect of the story.

Act 3 of Rigoletto, on the other hand, opens with Duke walking into Gilda’s house, and upon not finding her, she is puzzled. His courtiers, however, return to give him news that there is need to worry since she is in his chambers. Duke is seen leaving in a hurry to his chambers. Rigoletto also enters as he pretends to search for Gilda. The courtiers learn that he is the father to Gilda, and even though they prevent him from going in. He begs them for mercy shortly before Gilda appears, and she runs to her father shamefully. When daughter and father are alone at the Duke’s courtship church, Gilda confesses that she has fallen in love and also tells her father about her abduction. Later, Moterone is led to the dungeons, and he promises to avenge them both. Gilda begs him that he spares Duke. The creation of this act is coined between these characters, and regardless, it not only makes sense but also enhances the cohesiveness of the novel.

The use of music is evident in a huge part of both actings. In Rigoletto, for instance, Verdi employs the use of extensive music in a large part of the play to enhance both the aesthetics as well as enhance the flow of the film. Some of these musical forces in the drama have been used to inject an aspect of emotion and reality of drama in the acting to make it even more realistic. Verdi uses two different arias, which the viewers later came to learn that are some of his favorites. The use of music in writing films and novels has been a common style that has been used over the years to not only break the monotony of the reader and viewer but also to keep the viewer alert to the looming event. Arguably, the music was used to seek the attention of the viewers, especially at the scene where Gild decides to sacrifice herself for Duke. The music here is to alert the viewers of the expression of love that is depicted by this character.

The element of music in The Valkyrie, on the other hand, has been used to enhance the performance by breaking the monotony and, at the same time, enhancing the flow of the film. The music that has been incorporated in the opening scene has been used to usher in the viewers to the film. As it open, there is a dead body that is being dragged down, and the music tune is a revelation of a kind of sadness that is explaining to the viewers that this scene is a dark one. The opening scene is a revelation of several dead bodies, and after a while, women flock the scene in a mourning mood that can be seen through their actions of dragging the dead back and forth. According to Wagner, “the stallion is kicking at my mare, the hostility alienates the horses” (3:20). Ideally, the singers are having a conversation regarding the music, and as can be seen, by the actions, they are trying to understand the cause of such deaths. Arguably, they are appealing to a mighty one to come to their rescue because the kind of hostility they have come across is not something they can counter. Music in this film is not only to enhance performance. It is also used to allude to the biblical stories of the killing of the first-born sons during the time when mosses were born. To a certain extent, the music is used to show the confusion that builds up in the process and express the pain that was felt by the mothers.

Explain how each father “loses” a daughter, what his reaction is, and the final outcome of each opera. Describe how the music intensifies emotions and drama in each opera. Cite specific musical numbers in your description.

The characters in the opera by Verdi act as ordinary people going through realistic situations. Little emphasis is put on the star system of performance as all characters in Verdi’s plays are named. These elements embody the traditions of the Italian opera. In this case, Verdi portrays the heart-rending scene of Rigoletto losing his beautiful daughter Gilda after he had mistaken her for the licentious Duke and plotted to kill him. He desperately cries out, ‘Ah, the curse!’ As per tradition, little focus is paid to the orchestra in Verdi’s act as the singers are the sole focus of the opera. In that case, it is evident that the chorus was important in his opera since they supported the main characters. Besides, in Act 3 of Rigoletto, all the characters sing about their emotions together in an ensemble.

On the other hand, Wagner chooses more fantastical and exaggerated settings, and the characters are depicted as having unnatural, almost supernatural qualities. These aspects epitomize the essence of German culture. For instance, the play features a supernatural being named Brünnhilde, one of the nine daughters of Wotan. While Wotan had been a proud but failing father, he changes from being emotionally walled-off to a broken father who is confessing everything to Brünnhilde. Unlike Verdi, the melodies in Wagner’s final act are continuous and meant to support dialogue between father and daughter. The continuous melodies reflect the complex emotions at play when Wotan loses his favorite daughter. The long stretch of very slow melodies is supported by overly animated images to reflect Wagner’s emphasis on the German art culture. Consequently, it shows that Wagner placed more value in the orchestral accompaniment and capacity to convey and match on-stage mood and emotions. As such, the melodies are always ongoing, and they distract the audience from caring about the failures of Wohan to focus on the emotional richness and honesty at play in the scene.

2. Discussion 1

Romanticism is defined as a movement that originated in the 18^th century, and it was characterized by the artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that came from Europe. Schumann and Schubert’s songs contained various aspects of romanticism. The works of Schumann and Schubert depict a series of romanticism characteristics. The nature of their songs also depicted aspects of romanticism. In other words, the songs were written in the form of tender melodies that gave them longing qualities that resembled aspects of poetry that had been written by many authors.  The music that was created by these people was basically a result, rather an expression of misery and talent. They expressed their inner emotions through their music, and that is why they have remained a unique lot ever since.

The songs by Schumann are considered to be of the Romanticism genre as they focus on improvisation to create artistically rich pieces. A song like Du bist wie eine blume is beautiful in its simplicity and amazing piano composition. The Dichterliebe is composed to reflect the mood changes from happiness to depression to acceptance and a magnificent Arpeges to conclude. Schubert’s compositions, on the other hand, do not sting to the heart as Schumann’s. His melodies are smooth, natural, and beautiful (Gray 67). The 21st Sonata by the composer is considered one of the greatest musical pieces ever written as it is so fluid and yet so soothing.

3. Discussion 2

Chopin is usually called the poet of the Piano since he made several pieces of piano musicals. Research has it that Chopin was the master when it came to pianos. Arguably, he could play the piano to produce a different melody for one single event. His love and passion for playing the piano could be seen on his face as he played the instrument. According to the people who saw him perform, he was an inspiration, and this could be achieved if a person heard his performance. Libbey supports that “As a pianist, his talents were beyond emulation and had an impact on other musicians entirely out of proportion to the number of concerts he gave only 30 public performances in 30 years of concertizing”. He artistically coined the chords to enhance the flow of the musical, and by interchanging the chords, he produced a nice melody at the end of the whole performance. Regardless of the fact that most of his pieces were short, he could use a five-minute piece to share with the world his feelings and emotions. He could range from happiness tunes to sad tunes, and all were befitting both his artistic personality as well as his effort in bringing out the best.

As the center of the romantic era artist, Chopin was always on the limelight of the best performances. He was called upon to perform in royal households, Warsaw public, where he first performed, and when he went to Paris for the revolution, he performed in almost every ground that he was given a chance since he was an inspiration to many upcoming artists. He later decided to settle and teach composing and performing music, in different platforms, most of which were the main centers where he becomes famous. After performing in several large concerts, he came to the understanding that not everyone in a crowd was fascinated with the art of playing the keyboard. Following his need to be necessary in the music industry, he opted to introduce the concept of Rothschild banking family, injecting new energy into the world of music and, at the same time, promoting his relevance.

Works Cited

Giuseppe, Verdi.  “Rigoletto.” YouTube, 16 April, 2017, Online. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYDI6MWkCW8&feature=youtu.be

Gray, Walter. “The Classical Nature of Schubert’s Lieder.” The Musical Quarterly, vol. 57, no. 1, 1971, pp. 62–72. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/740870. Accessed 25 Feb. 2020.

Libbey, Ted. “The Life And Music Of Frederic Chopin.” NPR.org, 2 Mar. 2010, www.npr.org/2011/07/18/123967818/the-life-and-music-of-frederic-chopin. Accessed 25 Feb. 2020.

Yuri, Moura. “Wagner: Der Ring Des Nibelungen.” Composed by Richard Wagner. YouTube, 2014. Online. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfcEfYN6PjU&feature=youtu.be