Assignment 5: Listening Log

Brandenburg Concerto No.5 in D major, BWV 1050 (Bach, Johann Sebastian)(1721)

The harpsichord’s cadenza towards the end of the first movement of this piece really changes the dynamic of the composition.  My initial thoughts on this piece were that it seems quite clumsy in nature.  A number of the instruments seem to be playing the harmonic tones, but often the timing seemed to be shifted slightly. 

This became apparent as a theme in the cadenza with the harpsichord's increasing tempo giving the piece a frantic and tense feel.  The clumsy timing that I had noticed earlier really gave the whole piece a sense of imbalance and the feeling that it may all collapse.  However, when the Orchestra rejoin the harpsichord, the piece one again regains a sense of balance and order. 

Three Little Words – Sonny Rollins (1965)

Sonny Rollin’s saxophone cadenza at the end of Three Little Words gives a fantastic insight, not only into the theme and nature of the song, but also the character of the saxophone – not to mention the skills of the player.  The saxophone's light, bright and agile nature make it a contrast to the harpsichord cadenza heard in Bach’s Bradenberg Concerto which carried a more sinister and hectic feel.  However, in this piece, despite the complexity of this entirely improvised cadenza, it still echoes the overall feeling of the composition. 

Beethoven Piano Concerto No.5 Emperor in Eb Major Op. 73

The cadenza in this piece was a very different form, and from my research I understand it to be very precise in its nature.  From earlier studies of tempo and dynamics I understand that Beethoven was quite particular about the way in which his music was interpreted, and as such, carefully notated the cadenza for the beginning of this piece, unusually accompanied slightly by the Orchestra. 

Unsurprisingly, Beethoven’s carefully notated cadenza in this piece is a beautiful example of the piano’s range and ability and perfectly fits every element of this composition.  However, there was a clear difference in the improvised cadenza, such as Rollin’s, and Beethoven’s carefully crafted lines.  Given the original nature of the cadenza in the Italian Aria it seems that this style of ‘crafted cadenza’ could almost be argued to be more of a part of the original composition that an added cadenza.

Richard Wagner ‘Prelude’ Das Rheingold 

Recording found on Spotify

Although I appreciate the extreme use of the Eb Major chord in the prelude to this opera, I could not help to find the majority of this piece to be extremely flat and boring!  Due to the intrigue and complexity of Wagner’s other works I can only imagine that this feeling, for me, was due to the overuse of the suspension of the dominant.  Of course in later sections of this opera the music ‘comes alive’, but this Prelude seems to maintain a stationary feeling.

However, my initial feelings aside, I found it incredibly interesting that this piece could make use of many variations of the dominant and introduce a number of slightly contrasting sections to ‘offset’ the dominant.  Of course, towards the end of this Prelude, there is somewhat of a flourish across the Orchestra.  In the last minute of the piece each instrument seems to begin building and waking, each adding textural and harmonic complexity to the piece.