Analysis of Music for 18 Musicians and Symphony No. 40 in G Minor by Mozart

Music appreciation means understanding the values of different styles of musical compositions. Classical music is an art which was known for its forms ranging from sonata form, themes and variations form, to concerto form. The essay provides an analysis of different approaches to listening to melody from the perspective of its peculiarities. Hence, two artworks based on their form and the musical elements will be analyzed. One can argue that listening to form of the music distracts from the tune itself.

Symphony No.40 in G minor by Mozart which is a form of Classical Music represents certain set of acts for forming a composition. Sonata consists of three parts including exposition, development, and recapitulation. Melody and pitch are produced by step movement with leaps. Oboes and bassoons create harmonic filling and sustained chords. From the perspective of texture and timbre, the composition is mainly dominated with homophony. The rhythm is provided by a 4/4 Molto Allegro tempo, which is very fast. A clear pulse is easy to follow (GCSE Music Analysis).

Music for 18 Musicians is listened to not for understanding the form but for relaxing. The piece of art was created by Steve Reich from 1974 to 1976. This melody is unique since it has a consistent pulse. Another important aspect is the use of human breath used in the clarinet performance. This tune consists of a cycle of eleven chords. The resulting 11 sections called pulses use chords as their base. The augmentation of the harmonies and sounds is an important factor in this artwork (Music for 18 Musicians).

In conclusion, based on the analyzed compositions, one can state that it is more exciting to listen to music of recent times than to compositions of the Classical period that contain certain forms necessary for understanding.

References

Anthropophobia. (2016). GCSE music analysis – Mozart-Symphony No.40 in G Minor. Retrieved from https://spinditty.com/genres/Music-GCSE-Mozart-Symphony-No40.

Wikipedia. (2018). Music for 18 musicians. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_for_18_Musicians.