Music Assignment Instructions
Please write short essays of 300-500 words discussing the following topics.
When talking about musical compositions, please make sure to find out and include in your essay A DATE OF COMPOSITION (This will be one way to acknowledge the number of years each of these works continues to live in people’s hearts after it was created).
When discussing a review/article, address author by name.
Do not use word “song” for any kind of music you are describing. Song is a composition for voice and piano/accompaniment. Use a general term like “piece,”, “work,” “composition.”
Be aware that composer is a person who wrote the music, those that you see in the videos are performers.
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Part 1 (300-500 words):
Watch this film: Bach: A Passionate Life (Gardner, 2013).
Describe the main ideas of this film and what you learned from it. What were the most striking or unexpected things you discovered about Bach?
Part 2 (300-500 words):
Listen to this work (start at about 2:18): Bach, Concerto for 2 Violins in D minor, BWV 1043 performed by Vladimir Spivakov and Clara-Jumi Kang, violins (both play on Stradivari violins!)
What is your perception of this music, what emotions do you experience when listening to it? Try to describe the character of this music by words and spot those musical elements that help to create this character.
Finally, listen to another performance by David Oistrakh and Yehudi Menuhin, substantiate which performance you favor: – Bach Double Violin Concerto – Yehudi Menuhin And David Oistrakh.
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Part 3 (300-500 words):
Read the NYT article by Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim “Choosing Emotion Over Virtuosity.” (attached below)
Discuss the main thoughts presented in the article and your reactions to them as well as critiquing the writer’s style in describing music and performance.
