Comparing Opera And Big-Band Jazz

There are multiple different genres of music that each have a certain sound or represent a certain time period in history. The two genres that I have selected are Opera and Big-band Jazz. These are two very diverse genres that have different musical elements, such as melody, rhythm, etc. The Opera piece is Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Act III, Opening and Lament by Henry Purcell and the Big-band Jazz piece is Strayhorn: Take the A Train, by Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Opera was very popular during the Baroque Era from the 1600’s to the early 1700’s. First gaining popularity in Italy, early opera was widely used for royal weddings or other important ceremonies. However, later in the sixteenth century in England, “stage plays were forbidden because
Back in the time period of slavery, many West African tribes developed the first roots of jazz as a way to distract them from the hard, unfair treatment they were facing. In the mid-1900’s, a new form of Jazz known as big-band jazz was sweeping the United States. This type of jazz would play popular dancing tracks so people could do more than just sit and listen. The new unique sound really got people out of the Great depression blues. Jazz has many different styles of songs such as, work songs, ring shouts, and spirituals (Dell ‘Antonio et al., 2015). Blue notes are a very popular elements in many jazz tracks that just draw people into the music and make it more relatable. Strayhorn: Take the A Train by the Duke Ellington Orchestra has a rhythm that just makes one want to swing. The musical style is a part of the modern era. The tempo throughout the piece is very moderate or moderato with a dynamic I would classify as mezzo-forte. Melodies of this piece are very conjunct, the beat just makes you want to tap along. The form of this piece is A-A-B-A, which repeats with each chorus. The harmony in Strayhorn: Take the A Train would best be described as consonance. The piece is very smooth and not harsh sounding in the least