Ballade Analysis

Before the contemptuous contemporary ensemble began playing the first song, they explained that it would be played and performed using a multiphonic technique with the saxophone. This was explained before the group began playing to get some background information on the composer and how the song would be played. The piece started with the dynamics of the song being loud or forte. The percussion began with a repeated beat and then a loud, long hold note of the saxophone. In between the playing of the drums and saxophone there was a stroke of sound by the cymbal. As this continued the tempo was andante. Then it would change again from andante to Allegro. There were some parts of the song that would sound more alive and it had a consonance feel,
Ballade: The first movement started with the bassoon and the percussion. Then there was some plucking of the cello strings with an adagio tempo. Then the guitar and woodwind instruments begin to play and they sound similar to other instruments playing. The tempo of the song is adagio and the dynamics sound quiet and soft or piano. Then this changes and it starts crescendo with all the instruments playing together. The music sounds like folk tale or like the Mulan movie, such as having water drops and it is calming. The song dynamics change again and the music begins decrescendo as it fades out. Here is where I thought that the song was over but it continues on. It began with the woodwind instruments and bouncing the cello stick on the strings. This was a weird way of playing but I enjoyed seeing
I did not know what to expect. I had not been to any classical music performances before and I did not know what was going to happen or how long it would be. I was happy to go to the concert because it is very close to my house and I was thankful I did not have to drive far away. I thought the concert would be more of a formal type event but I was surprise that it was pretty relaxed and casual. It was pretty fun and laid back. When I first arrived, the space was much smaller than expected. I thought the concert would have taken place in a bigger theater but it was a small stage. Which was okay because the performance felt more personal and I was able to see what was going on because I was closer than I would have been in a larger place, however at one point where I was sitting I was not able to see only hear what was being played. The concert was fast and brief. There was no waiting around for it to begin. It had a lot of interesting things that happened when the music was performed that I had not seen or heard before like the performance of the Flowering, composed by David Macbride. This was the first time that I heard someone play a song on flower pots instead of just banging them to create noise. Everyone there was dressed pretty casually however, there was one audience member that I saw that was wearing a suit and tie. The audience was very quiet and respectful. Toward the end of the performance there was a lot of audience