Noh Theater

For an example of a Noh performance I found this video. I would like to note some of the portions of Noh tradition I understand and observe some that are culturally oriented. As you watch the performance, you can observe that there are four men playing various instruments, actors wearing masks, and a group of men that sing and chant. That being said first let us look at the instruments. One man plays an aerophone called the nohkan. This bamboo flute is used to further express the singing/chanting. The nohkan also provides some melody to the ensemble. From the audiences perspective, the man to nohkan's left is playing the ko-tsuzumi. The ko-tsuzumi is a drum held over the shoulders and has chords that the drummer uses to change the pitch of the drum. Once again, to his left is the o-tsuzumi's player. This drum is held near the waist of the player. Finally, the fourth istrument to the left of the o-tsuzumi is the taiko drum. The taiko drum is in the drummers lap as he plays it. The actors wear noh masks which are used in part by the actors to define the role and express the mood. The way the actors move is also used to express the mood of the play. And the singers chant and narrate the play. The plays are well known by the actors and are for this reason not rehearsed together. The actors know what movement to take next based purely on the music. The backdrop, masks, and words chanted tell the audience the plays meaning.

Hindustani Music

I found this video as I searched for a Hindustani piece of music. The video ends rather abruptly so it is not the entire piece unfortunately. It was filmed during a festival. It seems that the focus of this particular piece is the vocal talent. I do not believe she is singing lyrics but rather is focusing on the pitch she is singing. You can hear the Sitars being played softly throughout the performance. Near the end of the piece you get a more elaborate performance by the Tabla. The video gives credit to a harmonium being played though I can not differentiate it during the performance.

Music Blog 3

I attended the "An Evening of Latin Music" concert that was held just lasts Friday. It was held in the Conference Center's auditorium. The setting is relatively nostalgic since that is one of the rooms where I attended the UTD orientation. Also, that is the place where most of my calculus tests were held. The music was supposed to be primarily Latin in origin though the first half felt rather Jazzy since there was a piece by Milhaud and some other Jazz during the first half of the performance. Personally, I thought the pianist during the Jazz performance was exceptional considering he played what seemed a flawless program without overpowering the other players. At first I thought it odd that the audience was applauding during the Jazz performance. Later, however, it was explained to me that the audience is supposed to applaud if they enjoyed the solo during a Jazz performance. The second half had more of a Latin feel ending with the "Tango di Tango" which was really well performed especially by the accordionist. The final piece "Tango di Tango" was very dramatic. From the first notes of the piece it felt as though there was a heavy tension in the room. The musicians clearly had put a lot of effort into perfecting that piece.