Opera time signature
Pam
signature is? Also, how can you figure out the time signature of an
opera? For instance, I am looking for the time signature of "Old Joe
has Gone Fishing" by Benjamin Britten.
Thanks in advance if you're able to help, and please email faxoli@
hotmail.com
Pam
Slrdsyj
>Date: 11/11/03 10:52 AM Eastern Standard Time
>Message-id: <f8f0cb04.03111...@posting.google.com>
>
>I don't know anything about opera, and I am wondering what a time
>signature is? Also, how can you figure out the time signature of an
>opera? For instance, I am looking for the time signature of "Old Joe
>has Gone Fishing" by Benjamin Britten.
>
The one way to figure out the time signature of an opera - if you do not
have a score or any sheet music before you - is mainly by counting. It is not
always easy. As a matter of fact, an opera usually has more than one time
signature, depending on the music written for parts of the plot, or for certain
scenes, or simply for variety within a musical passage of the opera.
J.Venning
news:f8f0cb04.03111...@posting.google.com...
Time signature is a musical connotation that is not exclusive to opera:
it is the means by which a composer denotes how his music is to be played,
or sung. It is always associated with "key signature". The time signature of
a particular passage tells the performer how many beats there are to a bar,
and how long a duration those beats should last. I don't have my score of
"Peter Grimes" with me, but it just happens that we are rehearsing this
particular work at the Danish Royal Opera, and I have just called the chorus
master (Kaare Hansen - nice man), who told me that it is in 7/4. The
interesting thing about such time signatures is that the conductor can't
really beat 7 beats in a bar (we'll all be confused), so he will beat twice
2 and once 3. I hope this helps.
J.
Valfer
indication of the beat, and it's value, in a measure. It's expressed
as a fraction, the numerator giving the number of beats to the
measure, and the denominator the value of a beat. The simplest, or
"common time" is 4/4 - four beats of a quarter to a measure. Waltzes
are commonly in 3/4. Look for it at the left of the staff, although
sometimes one staff may contain more than one time signature. If you
find a letter "C", it means "common time". A "C" with a vertical line
through it is cut-time, or 2/2. Music is full of these shorthand
notes.
An opera consists of a number of musical pieces, each with its own
musical values. Therefore, one cannot give a single time signature to
it.
Valfer
faz...@hotmail.com (Pam) wrote in message news:<f8f0cb04.03111...@posting.google.com>...
Andante teneramente
> If you are referring to musical terms, "time signature" is the
> indication of the beat, and it's value, in a measure. It's
> expressed as a fraction, the numerator giving the number of beats
> to the measure, and the denominator the value of a beat. The
> simplest, or "common time" is 4/4 - four beats of a quarter to a
> measure. Waltzes are commonly in 3/4. Look for it at the left of
> the staff, although sometimes one staff may contain more than one
> time signature. If you find a letter "C", it means "common time".
> A "C" with a vertical line through it is cut-time, or 2/2. Music
> is full of these shorthand notes.
>
> An opera consists of a number of musical pieces, each with its own
> musical values. Therefore, one cannot give a single time
> signature to it.
As my teacher never failed to point out, it's not the letter C, it's
a semi-circle. Since the middle ages a way of expressing "time
signatures" with circles, semi-circles open at the left/at the
right, all of them with/without vertical line developped of which
only the signs for 4/4 and 2/2 have survived.
Sorry for the nit-picking.
To the OP:
Sometimes the time signature changes very quickly. Strawinsky does
this very often (Sacre du Printemps, Histoire du Soldat...). Or the
1st movement of Bartok's "Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.
I'm not so sure about operatic example at the moment. Wasn't there
something in the scenes with Ping, Pang and Pong in "Turandot"?
(though still quite "harmless" compared to the Stravinsky examples).
--
Regards
Alan Watkins
Old Joe Has Gone Fishing is in 7/4 time, a fairly unusual classical
metre but quite common in rock music. Genesis and Pink Floyd often
use it. Estimated Prophet by Grateful Dead is also in 7/4 and I think
Supplication is as well.
There may be others I do not know. A great deal of music has changing
time signatures. Prokofiev sometimes changes at three or four bar
intervals and Rachmaninov's Variations on a Theme of Paganini is a
counting nightmare (at least for percussion). Ives wrote in
extraordinary time signatures including 14/12 and 16/12 and there is a
song marked four and a half over four instead of 4/4.
Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins
Kind regards,
Alan M. Watkins
jszostaksr
Actually, that goes for the whole bloody opera. Sang it with Vickers in two
different seasons (powerful, brilliant-his role absolutely - and I saw the
old BBC production once with Pears) also saw it once with Ben Heppner
(extraordinary).
The rest of the first production of the Vickers' 'Grimes' cast was Teresa
Kubiak, Lili Chookasian, Sir Geraint Evans, Tim Nolen. Brilliant...utterly
brilliant.
Sorry to digress...
Jon E. Szostak, Sr.
"Pam" <faz...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Valfer
favorite example of multiple time signature changes is the last page
of music Narraboth sings in Salome. The time signature changes
several imemes in a seemingly random manner. It's a wonderful
depiction of a mind coming unraveled. Unfortunately, it is also a
terribly difficult bit of music to keep together.
Valfer
Andante teneramente <ky...@gmx.de> wrote in message news:<Xns9430EC8...@127.0.0.1>...
