The piece is being played by bagpipes only, and they are all playing the same in the same pitch. The bagpipes give it a kind of haunting air, somehow making it fitting for a funeral. I chose “Amazing Grace in Cherokee - Native American” to honor my husband’s ancestry. The piece is also played slowly (adagio). The dynamic level is initially soft (piano), with only instruments. The dynamics are raised to moderately soft (mezzopiano), with the addition of female singers, for three verses. The introduction of male singers and bagpipes do not have a noticeable change to the volume. Near the end of the piece, the singers hum a verse which brings the dynamic level back to soft (piano). They end with only instruments, keeping the volume at soft (piano). The rhythm for this piece is also slow (adagio). The theme is repeated seven times; three times with the female singers, three additional times once the male voices are added and hummed once. The cadence is not as obvious as with the bagpipes, however it is still there. This version’s harmony also reflects consonance. The texture is homophonic. The piece combines vocals and instruments. This adaption includes several different timbres. It begins with percussion instruments, tambourines, drums and piano giving us the beat, but not the melody. Female singers (one mezzo-soprano and one contralto) are added to the instruments and the theme is repeated three times. After a few moments of instruments only. When the females return, they are joined by male singers (one tenor and one baritone) for one verse. Bagpipes are added for two more verses. The group hums one final repetition, before ending with just the instrumental; percussions and bagpipes. There are only a few similarities. In both of the videos, Amazing Grace was played slowly (adagio). In each rendition the majority of the piece is performed with a moderate volume, and end softly (piano). The cadence is noticeable in each piece. Both harmonies reflect consonance, the performances are smooth and without tension. Bagpipes were played in both versions. There are many more differences.
The ‘Amazing Grace Bagpipes” video is considerably shorter than the “Amazing Grace in Cherokee - Native American” recording. The bagpipe version is very simple, bagpipes only. The other uses a more complicated style, instruments along with vocals. Even though both are done mostly with a moderate volume, the bagpipes are moderately loud (mezzoforte) whereas the Native American version is performed moderately soft (mezzopiano). The cadence is not as obvious in the second piece as with the bagpipes. The ‘Amazing Grace Bagpipes” recording’s texture is monophonic where the “Amazing Grace in Cherokee - Native American” video’s is
homophonic.