Exercise: Exploring Genres

Whilst I would consider my musical taste to be eclectic, I feel as though I lack experience in the Jazz and Opera genres and wanted to spend a little time researching, writing and listening to pieces within these genres.  My research can be found below.

Jazz: 

Miles Davis, Blue in Green (1959) found on Spotify

I found this song to be extremely melancholic.  It really reflected the emotion of the piece with a gentle and flowing sounds from the saxophone.  

John Coltrane, Giant Steps (1960) found on Spotify

In contrast to Davis’ Blue in Green, I found Giant Steps to carry a wide range of emotion throughout the piece.  It begins with similar melancholic tones to Davis’ work, but later explodes in a joyous ‘toe-tapping’ rhythm.

Duke Ellington, It Don’t Mean a Thing (If you ain’t got that swing) (1931) (vocals Irving Mills) found on Spotify.

The vocals in this piece gave this song a whole new feel from the last piece.  The ‘bouncing’ rhythms almost create a mischievous feel to the song and certainly provided a beat for swing dancing. 

Opera:

Benjamin Britten, Gloriana, Op.53/Act 1 Scene 1-2. The Tournament (1953) found on Spotify.

Having very little experience of the opera genre, I was surprised to hear the similarities to our current version of musical theatre.  Despite the differences in vocal styles, both genres use the songs to ‘tell the story’ and portray emotion to the audience.  

George Frideric Handel, Hallelujah from Messiah (1741) found on Spotify

Having visited Handel’s London house earlier this year, I was keen to learn more about his operatic works.  His biblical opera Messiah, provides more of a feel of choral music than traditional Opera, but once again, conveys the emotions and joy of the subject. 

Giacomo Puccini, Turandot: Nessun Dorma Act 3 (1926) found on Spotify

This piece carried a more traditional operatic feel to it, with a very powerful vocal score.  Much like Britten’s Gloriana I found this piece to give a melancholic, but somehow optimistic sound. 

Overall I found this exercise gave me a good insight into two genres with which I previously had very little experience.  Much like any genre, I have found a wide range of ‘sub-genres’ and styles within each, but each carried a story and emotion through the music.  I was surprised when choosing quite random pieces of the above artists, that I had previously heard a lot of the music through film, TV and advertising.