In these two Eastern European scenes, talk about the similar and different instruments (like your previous assignment), and then discuss other interesting things you noticed in the film.
In the first scene, the musicians met outside their homes, but they were all dressed in suits as if they were in a higher social status than the rest of the people. I noticed there was a violin; however, it seemed to be out of tune. This goes back to previous lectures when Professor Talusan mentioned how in different cultures, the musicians tune their instruments differently than musicians in the west. There was also a high pitched flute, an accordion, and a santur. In this scene, the musicians were ornamenting and improvising the basic melody.
The second scene took place in the train station. In this scene, the instruments were completely different than the ones in the first scene. There was a vase, where the musician produced sound by covering the opening with a flat or cupped hand and then hitting the vase on the side. I've never seen such an instrument so it was really interesting to me to see it be part of an ensemble. There was also a young man playing the spoons and another playing a violin. Two more people were playing a guitar and a cello. There was also a dancer who produced sound by clapping on his leg just like the Samoa men's body percussion ensemble. Another difference between the two scenes was that in the second scene, the Roma people were using their voices as an instrument, whereas in the first scene, it was strictly instruments making music.
However, the most interesting scene to me was when the young boy walks up to the old man who's playing a violin with one string instead of an entire bow. He would actually alternate between using the bow and the string. I have never heard such a sound, and my western ears were not used to such a rough sound. At first, the sound bothered me, but after reading the text of the song, I realized the significance of the rough sound and came to appreciate it. The song was about freedom after living a rough life under a tyrannical government. The sweetness of freedom was accentuated by the use of the bow, and the roughness of captivity was accentuated by the rough sound that was produced by using a single string.
1 comment:
I really liked your last paragraph, noticing how the violinist changed the timbre (by using one string only) to reflect the text of the song. You should start with an opening statement, maybe pointing out how timbre and emotion are related, and then organize the essay from there (do this in your final paper).
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