Rachel+Staffin+RP+Post+1

I: I'm writing a lit review paper on a work of choral music because I love analyzing music. I like studying how the words fit with the music and how the emotion is portrayed through the choices of chords, voices, and articulations. I'll probably pick a piece that was controversial for its time period so there will be quite a few reviews available that I can read to get a sense of how it was received and how it effected the music of the culture. The lit review functions to lead me towards other people's analyses and it lets me dip my own oar in.

II: How did the opinion people had when ___ was first released compare to the way they see it now? //What different techniques did the musician use to convey certain emotions?**// III. I know that composers often pick a existing poem for their lyrics and then write the music to match their words. For example, if the words are about death, the chords may be low and crunchy; if the words are about the Lord, the chords are usually full and triumphant; if the lyrics describe loneliness/emptiness, there is often an open fifth or an unsatisfying ending.

IV. I want to research this question because I love analyzing music. I like studying how the words fit with the music and how the emotion is portrayed through the choices of chords, voices, and articulations. I've been increasingly involved with music, especially choir, for the past few years and I'm taking Theory next year, so want to try analyzing a piece by myself and expose myself to new pieces while I'm at it. This could go in one of two directions; I could end up focusing more on the composers techniques or what people are saying about it. But I feel like I could easily go for both because the two play off each other very nicely. I guess my only concern might be not being able to pull as much out of the piece that I would like considering I haven't taken theory yet and can't yet fully analyze the chord structures and how they are used to portray certain emotions or have a certain effect on the listener. Music is a huge part of my life and I want to learn everything I can about it, and I want to learn how to study it, which I can do by studying how other people study it... yeah I think that was English.