During Wednesday’s seminar, we were presented with the opportunity to discuss the opera, “Turandot”, as well as meet Professor Sirrota. With Professor Kahan, we talked about everyones various perspectives, and answered any unresolved questions about the opera. During the opera I was very fascinated by how much power the conductors had, and how well they orchestrated the whole event. Elisa pointed out how the entire orchestra left the play much before they could be recognized for their stunning performance. We also talked about how servants were traditionally given no worth, and as a result they thought very little of themselves. The professor pointed out something that I never thought about during the opera, the librettos have to put in a substantial amount of effort to match the script to the specific time frame that the play would take place during. I noticed during the opera how even the music had a chinese flare. She explained it was because they were all played in the fourths intervals. I was amazed to learn how different perspectives regarding different races resulted in certain music being played when they came on stage.
During the second half of class, we were joined by our renowned guest speaker, Professor Sirrota. He told a delightful story of he became inspired to write such an incredible piece. It all started with an epiphany he had eighteen years ago, when he was almost instantly able to recall the first time he heard a musical piece. He was able to remember an old childhood memory of a man singing a song to some children, and it later went on to become a brave anthem for the people of Israel. The variations of the songs were quite interesting to hear, it was my first time listening to these tunes. I like how they are so gentle on the ears, and the harmony is very serene. His piece is a set of variations that he explained go on the “benjamin britain model”, its melody and harmonic possibilities showed great different combinations. He taught us how we could detect the repetitions in the variations, and how the other instruments came together. He doesn’t have a theme at the beginning, but then a theme emerges from the introduction.
Learning about all these elements in music served as a very good introduction to the Staten Island Philharmonic that I will be attending on Sunday. Now I am confident that attending this performance will be a memorable experience, one that I will remember for years to come.
