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C O U R S E L E C T U R E Opera and Oratorios: Constituent Parts Notes taken on November 27, 2015 by Edward Tanguay |
Handel started out as a composer of operas
learned about Italians produce music
moved to oratorios later
his audience moved with him
very like the music of operas
is a wonderful creation
the harpsichord plays while people talk
it's real-time, things move forward
at some point, when you get to an interesting moment, time stands still, the orchestra begins to play, some character steps out of the circle and begins to sing a beautiful song, often accompanied by the supportive voices of other actors
when that is over,the harpsichord begins to play again, the actors engage in more recitative, action moves forward, and then someone steps out and sings a beautiful song again
talking, song, talking, song
the songs are like freeze frames which enable a particular character to express how he feels at a particular point
it's not designed to be realism, but a story structure specifically designed to explore different states of human emotions within a narrative
a musical expression of that emotion
there tend to be choruses in 18th century opera, but they tend to only sing at the beginning and end of acts and are not integrated in the plot as in other musical genres such as oratorios
choruses are not a big deal in operas but are a very big deal in oratorios
18th century physicians believed that the emotions are governed by the four bodily humors
three musical parts of oratorios
1. recitative or talking