Professorname
Music:Two Contrasting Live Performances
Withoutany doubt, music forms a significant element that describes culturesof people from divergent walks of life. It involves artwork thatclearly demonstrates intrinsic values of certain individuals orgroups of people. Even so, it is important to note that differentpeople tend to be identified with various kinds of music. One couldsay that music as the artwork has been in existence ever since mancould speak and or communicate orally. Over time, a good number ofstudies have been undertaken for purposes of determining howdifferent kinds of music affect people. This is over and above theneed for investigating why certain kinds of people associate morewith some types of music. This paper involves comprehensive reviewsof two different occasions of live performance. The discussionendeavors to confirm that exposure to various kinds of music not onlyinfluences people differently, but it also remains a crucial factorin the determination of their personal traits and or personalities.
Thefirst live performance is a church choir, “United Praise MassChoir” while the second performance is that of a famous Americanartist, Beyoncé, who engages in pop music. The two live performancesare of a contrasting nature. While the performance of thechoiris of ensemble gospel music, the one by Beyoncé is of the pop (orR&B) genre. According to the common knowledge, people whoassociate closely with gospel music tend to be of a conservativenature, with high regard for matters of morality and spiritualism. Onthe other hand, those who associate with the pop music are seen asbeing more of liberal and outgoing nature. Undeniably, gospel music,as demonstrated seems to be of significant influence on the spiritualand or religious spheres of a person. Alternatively, more lively popmusic, as in the second performance by Beyoncé seems to activate thephysical and or carnal capacities of listeners in a significantmanner.
TheChoir concert was titled “Take me to the King,” after a song byTamela Mann with the same title. The performance was conducted insidea church building, the Miracle Temple Church of GodinNorwalk Connecticut. This first performance involves members of aband that are on stage even so, they are formally dressed and thatthey are highly organized. In this live performance, the audiencealso participates by singing along and making some dancing movementsas the show goes on. The performers are very calm and focused on theperformance. Indeed, it is evident that the observation above impliesa sense of harmony coupled with joie de vivre, displayed by both theperformers and the audience.
Also,the performance employed ostinato, which could be noted as repetitiverhythmic patterns of various instruments that were being used itinvolved a pattern of 4/4 beats. The instruments included a drum set,harmonica, bass guitar, piano, and trumpets. Then again, the membersof the choir included both men and women dressed in brightly coloredsuits and floral prints. I must confess that I did enjoy theperformance very much, I made sure to cheer and dance along withother members of the congregation in the church. Overall, I observedthat the music played in the performance was of symphonic nature.
Onthe other hand is the performance by American pop musician Beyoncéin May 2016. The performance was at Miami’s Marlins Park, and itwas the beginning of the musician’s “Formation World Tour”performances. In the performance, the artiste did perform some of hermost prominent songs including “Crazy in Love,” “Sorry,”“Flawless,” “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” “Me, Myself and I,”and “Daddy Lessons” among others. There were sounds of eruptinghorns as the performance progressed. However, the performance seemedto be a little gothic and desiccated. Even so, the audience seemedthrilled with the show. The musician took the stage with some dancerswhile in wooden boxes that resembled caskets. As the performance cameto the end, the stage was submerged in water albeit the musician andthe dancers continued to stomp and dance thereon, splashing the waterin all directions. In some way, this act depicted a situation ofsomeone trying to free himself or herself from challenges in life.The performance had a distinct centerpiece on display a massiverotating tower that acted as a jumbo screen. Also, there was a videointerlude and several dancers were suspended in the air during theperformance. The audience was cheerful and lively at the same time.Indeed, this performance involved significant use of electricalinstrumentals, as well as direct addresses to the audience.
Fromthe information above, one can note that the art form depicted in thesecond performance involves the best depiction of modern cosmopolitancultures and civilizations as it exhibits contemporary pop music. Thefirst performance, on the other hand, associates with conventionalartworks of religion. Critical interest in both performances,however, remains on the uniqueness of the melody or music performed.It is apparent that both genres of music displayed associate withdifferent cultural capacities of the audience. Whereas the firstperformance seems to implore thinking of religion and or spiritualismon a somber mood, the second performance demonstrates an equallyimportant message of popular culture, amusement, and entertainment,in a buoyant mood. Without any doubt, both performances demonstrate asense of human values. Even so, the first performance does emphasizeon the sovereignty on community or national level while the seconddoes so from a personal perspective. For this reason, one might arguethat modern artworks (like pop music) promote the independence of theperson while conventional religious artworks promote devoutness amonghuman communities.
WorkCited
Aldridge,Gudrun and David Aldridge. Melodyin Music Therapy.London: J. Kingsley, 2008. Print.