October 2, 2015

Michael C. Santayana

Charm

The composer Kevin Puts wrote the composition “Charm” during the era known as Modern America. The piece was written between January and June of 2012 and premiered May 9, 2012. The major influencing events in history that occurred at the same time this piece was created are yet to be determined because we are so close to this date that we do not have a full historical perspective on what the significant events might have been. The beginning is characterized by an edgy and optimistic sound, with fast paced diatonic major chords.  The number of instruments were played in a way that the sound seemed to grow and swell as it approached the climax with a well-developed theme. The primary instruments were woodwinds but the full orchestra was involved a robust but balanced way. The texture was very distinguishable and the overall visual effect or mood of the work is indeed charming, in every meaning of the word.

The role that texture plays in the work is by laying out its homophonic beginning. The texture has been used within the work in making the opening movement fast and distinguishable, while the piece moves forward, the woodwind adds a smoother thread to it. The artist used this element in the work making it an active and exciting piece.

The overall visual effect of the work was achieved by the use of the elements in the music. The motive was kept up at a good speed and the pitch grew with the change in tone color, the theme was so strong and kinetic near the climax that the listener felt the mood of the adventure, or was under a spell. The major diatonic scale was uplifting and the tonality was obviously charming and this tonality was a key note to the piece.

Kevin Puts is an American and the winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Silent Night. A professor who developed his skills in various schools including Yale. He has composed across America but he is now a professor at the University of Texas in Austin. Kevin Puts’ statement in the “Charm” was that school is charming. It’s telling a story of excitement. Particularly of his excitement as it relates to his school experience. This excitement for Kevin came in what he heard as a tone when driving back from a school in Scarsdale Middle School Band in Scarsdale, NY. It was a sort of middle-ages fantasy or a piece that means enchanting peril. It has a sense of imparting to the listener a positive, optimistic take on adventure. This relates to me and my life in the choices I make when I’m in school. Many people start inventing and creating ideas while still in college and before they even start their careers. The feelings I have when experiencing this music totally tugs on a sense of exploration and creativity. The artist chose to work in this manner and made these kinds of artistic decisions to push the listener out of their perspective and to share the inspiration he received from his school experience; his sense of excitement and discovery in school is contagious and is felt in the music.  The artist started with the melody and gave breath and width to the piece according to the time and place (clapping), however, some of the elements where built around the melody alone and magnifying the melody.

This work has value coming from a modern American who creates a mood of enterprise and invention. The overall impression of the performance was indeed charming, I sort of wished it could be my theme song. Some interpretations of the piece express the xylophone as the stronger piece. This performance of the piece can be overwhelming and can be played with a speed that smooths the texture and this effect emphasis on the xylophone detracts from the charm of  “Charm’.

If I don’t go to the symphony to be stimulated by the presence of live music, I would go just for the pleasure that the whole experience provides. The day of the symphony I woke up   feeling sick; the whole day my legs were sore and I had a headache and a grouchy attitude. The Music became the escape I have heard so much about. I physically felt better and even was carried away by the mood the music created, I felt whatever the piece felt. The worries of planet earth didn’t come to disturb me. However inconvenient the concert was that day, it was very much worth the trip. When the “Charm’ called for clapping, the performers could not help but smile at literally, how charming it really was. These University students enjoyed the performance after practicing it perhaps many times before. How could anybody not smile after a Composer introduces something so primitive in such a sophisticated genre? The feeling, as corny as it sounds, was “Weeee!”. We were clapping and it actually sounded musical!  A composer trying to surprise an audience will not easily succeed unless he does something bold. The collective clapping used overtone when suddenly, everyone in the orchestra started clapping; instrument by instrument, they would each return back to clapping. When the venue lets the composition do all the talking, as it did in this performance, the experience is so engaging that you forget so many petty and serious problems and your soul is lifted and transported at least for the time you are there.