Song

The song opens with a sweepingly catchy acoustic melody that seamlessly evokes a sense of nostalgic longing. This feeling of sadness and reflection permeates throughout the piece. While the arrangement is actually quite complex, the music appears stripped down to the casual listener; the song is centered around a mall lick performed simultaneously on acoustic guitar and sitar, which Is Introduced at the beginning and decidedly does not evolve into anything beyond this. The simplistic structure brings to mind a sensation of loneliness, which is heightened by Lemon’s yearning vocals.

The soothing melody can be described as dreamlike, and the petition is used to almost hypnotic effect, succeeding in ministering the concentrated listener into a peaceful, contemplative daze. The short length of the song Is somewhat Jarring (It ends just after two minutes) because Just as the listener has been subdued by the Infectious melody, they are abandoned by It just as quickly. It feels as though there should be more; as if there is something missing. I would argue, however, that this is exactly the effect The Battles intended, as it adds to the ambiguous nature of the song. The production of the song, courtesy of George

Martin, succeeds in bringing the contagious melody to the forefront of the experience, all the while allowing the rest of the instruments sufficient clarity. Ambiguity Is also achieved through the song’s lyrics, which describe a seemingly clandestine love affair between Lennox and an unnamed woman. The song opens with the line: “I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me”, suggesting that not only is the relationship mysterious to the listener, but also inconclusive to the man involved in it. The lyrics continue to outline a strained evening of the couple talking, ranking wine, and eventually going to bed in separate rooms.

Much speculation has been made as to what the song Is actually about, especially the final lines; “And when I awoke, I was alone, this bird had flown / So 1 11th a fire, Isn’t It good, Norwegian wood. ” Some believe that the fire being lit is a joint of marijuana, or that the man burns the house down after the woman makes him sleep in the bath. In The Battles Anthology, Lennox says of the lyrics: ‘Norwegian Wood’ was about an affair I was having. I was very careful and paranoid because I didn’t want my wife, CCNY, to know that there really was something owing on outside the household.

I’d always had some kind of affairs going, so I was trying to be sophisticated In writing auto a tall, out In sun a smokescreen way that you couldn’t tell. (196) Like many of The Battles’ innovations in sound, the incorporation of the sitar came from spontaneous experimentation. In The Battles Anthology, George Harrison recalls: I went and bought a sitar from a little shop at the top of Oxford Street called Antiaircraft – it stocked little carvings, and incense. It was a real crummy-quality one, actually, but I bought it and mucked around with it a bit.

Anyway;ay, we were at the mint where we’d recorded the ‘Norwegian Wood’ backing track (twelve-string and six- string acoustic, bass and drums) and it needed something. We would usually start looking through the cupboard to see if we could come up with something, a new sound, and I picked the sitar up – it was Just lying around; I hadn’t really figured out what to do with it. It was quite spontaneous: I found the notes that played the lick. It fitted and it worked. (196) “Norwegian Wood” is the second track on Rubber Soul, following the upbeat “Drive My Car” and is followed by the also light-hearted muff Won’t See Me”.

Song Of Solomon two significant minor characters BY Glossary In Toni Morrison book Song of Solomon, she Introduces characters that are significant in every situation then finds a way for them to help further develop the plot. The two characters that are the most interesting in the smallest way are First Corinthians and Empire State. These two are involved in very little dialogue and don’t appear often in the first three chapters. They aren’t faced with difficult challenges or help the main characters, which only questions of their existence.

This not only sakes them Important but Interesting while their characteristics are hard to read. First Corinthians, sister of Milkman and Magdalene Dead and daughter of Ruth and Macon Dead is kind of first introduced to us in the first chapter when the author says “The others, who knew that the house was more prison than palace, and that the Dodge Sedan was for Sunday drives only, felt sorry for Ruth Foster and her dry Daughters and called her son “deep. ” Reading this makes the author think – what Is wrong with the daughters? Is there something wrong with them or are they Just very observant and say very little?

Corinthians isn’t really mentioned again until chapter 2 where we get to see her interact with her family. During the car ride the author shows us through dialogue and other suggestive actions that Corinthians might not really like her family. “And that lawyer- what’s his name? ” Ruth looked around at Corinthians, who Ignored her. Why would Corinthians Ignore her mother? Did her mother do something wrong to her? In this chapter I think the author is trying to tell us that Corinthians does not really like her mother but likes her father or maybe she does not really like her father Just fears him enough to respect him.

This is shown when Toni Morrison writes ” She owns that place, Corinthians,” Ruth said. ” I don’t care what she owns. I care about what she is. Daddy? ” Corinthians leaned toward her father for confirmation. In that little scene one might say Corinthians Is halting at something but what? During the rest of the car ride Corinthians only tries to make conversation with her father. Empire State Is a very minute character in the first three chapters of the book. Even though he says nothing he comes as one who keeps to himself and could be hiding something. He’s presented somewhat like a criminal.

He is first introduced to us when Milkman goes looking for Guitar. Toni Morrison says “All but Empire State, who stood, broom In hand and drop-lipped, with the expression of a very Intelligent ten- year-old. ” Why does he not argue about the topic with the others? Is it that he does not care? Maybe it’s the fact that he is taking in everything that everyone is saying and using to decide what his next move is. He might be a criminal but nobody would ever guess that because he keeps to himself and acts like he’s mute. Way that would makes them seem quite influential.

We can use the dialogue and behavior of the characters to infer that they play a big role in the plot and might actually help the main character out in the end. Corinthians seems like she knows something nobody else knows, her tone is as if she is trying to tell us something. The way Toni Morrison presents her tells us that Milkman is going to need to find out something, something that could help him move on in the story. Empire State is someone that might be hiding who he really is or hiding something very important that could help Milkman sort out his thoughts about his family and the town in general.

Stephen Condense, who Egan his career as a composer and lyricist in 1954 (Condense 51 is the greatest composer of the 20th century. His influence on his peers and popular culture separate him from his contemporaries and distinguish him as the preeminent American composer of his time. Condense began his career under the tutelage of Oscar Hammerings Ill, father of American musical theatre (PBS). Although originally only a lyricist (providing the lyrics for the songs Hammerings wrote), Condense was encouraged to try his hand at musical composition as well (Swain 641).

Shoeshine’s big break, however, came in 957 when he teamed up with Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurent and Leonard Bernstein to provide lyrics for West Side Story. Running nearly 800 performances In its original run, West Side Story was a bona fide hit and immediately thrust Condense to the front of the American stage (Condense 7). Over the course of the next 50 years, Condense would compose music and write lyrics for over 20 shows, including Gypsy, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods.

In that time, he’s won more Tony awards than any other Broadway composer (Theatre Wing), received a Pulitzer Prize for Sunday in the Park with George, was honored with the Kennedy Center’s Lifetime Achievement Award and even an Oscar for Best Song (NP). However, It Is not Shoeshine’s accolades that distinguish him from his peers. Rather, it Is the enduring legacy of his work (in the theatre and In popular culture) and the complexity and musicality of his work that mark Condense as the greatest American composer of the 20th century.

In order for a composer to be considered important, his or her legacy must extend beyond the musical world. The 20th century saw many important musical figures, but none have had the wide-reaching cultural Influence that Stephen Condense has. HIS music and personality have Influenced television and movies In a way no other modern Broadway composer’s have. Shoeshine’s music is often featured on television shows and in movies, even when they may seem out of place. So far is his cultural reach that his name is synonymous with musical theatre, even for the uninitiated.

For example, several of Shoeshine’s songs have been used on Fox’s show Glee. Telling the story off suburban Ohio high school’s show choir, Glee has made Its name taking songs and creating “mash-ups” the shows latest season was the mishap of “l Feel Pretty’ (from Shoeshine’s West Side Story) and Talc’s “Unprinted. ” In fact, Glee utilized at least two other Condense songs as well (Entertainment Weekly). Glee is not the only television program to make use of Shoeshine’s work.

The hit BBC television show Desperate Housewives has used a Condense song title or lyric as the episode title for every episode in its seven seasons (BBC). Several songs have even been included in episodes (NP). Will Farrell sang the popular song “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music” when he appeared as a guest on David Letterman. The Fox animated show The Simpson, long considered arbiters of pop ultra relevance (Entertainment Weekly) also “Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music when Crusty the Clown’s show gets cancelled (Fox).

Crusty, sitting on a stage by himself, sings the song as huge lights spell out his name behind him, a reference to the eleven o’clock number “Rose’s Turn” in another Condense musical Gypsy. Shoeshine’s music remains relevant not only on television, but on the stage as well. There are currently over 300 productions of Shoeshine’s musicals being performed throughout the country (Review). In the past five years, six of his shows have been performed on Broadway (ASS). One, Company was recently performed at Lincoln Center with an all-star cast including Neil Patrick Harris and Stephen Collect (Holder).

The event was so popular that the production is going to be shown in theatres in June (Philharmonic). Shoeshine’s continuing importance in popular culture is one of the primary reasons he is the most important and influential composer of the last century. Though many other composers such as Irving Berlin and Leonard Bernstein received the same level of critical success, none has enjoyed the career longevity that Condense has. Neither Berlin nor Bernstein has written songs that eve achieved the same level of pop culture relevance that Condense has.

Although Cole Porter may have achieved a similar level of success in the sass (ASS), the fact that his songs are no longer as recognizable as Shoeshine’s indicate that Shoeshine’s are more important to American culture in the last century. However, in order for a Broadway composer to truly be considered “great,” they must do more than provide humbled tunes. They must also provide music that holds merit outside of the context of the musical they’re presented in; Shoeshine’s songs do Just that. His music is far more complex and original than that of his interpolates, further separating him from the pack.

One of the hallmarks of Shoeshine’s music is the use of dissonance (Condense 37). Dissonance, the use of chords that don’t sound “right” was, until Condense began experimenting with it, almost unheard of in musical theatre (PBS). It has, however, been used in musical composition for centuries (NP). Shoeshine’s use of dissonance illustrated how complex his compositions are; while many composers strive for melodies that are pleasant to the ear, Condense uses composition to further storyline and provide insight into the mood of the scene the music is used in.

For example, in the song “Take a Look, Lee” from Assassins, Condense uses dissonance to create tension leading up to the assassination of John F. Kennedy. While other composers (particularly Cole Porter and Irving Berlin) used music as a break from the action of a show, Condense uses it to further action (Condense 46). And create complexity. In Sweeney Todd, Toby, an orphaned adopted by the title murderer and his mistress Mrs… Love suspects Toddy’s murderous ways and sings “Not While I’m Around” to Mrs… Love. The song is sweet and often considered one of Shoeshine’s best “love songs” (Condense 152).

However, when the song is later sung y Mrs… Love who is looking to capture and kill Toby, the shift in key creates a far more ominous tone. Here, the same song with the same melody has a very different meaning and mood, thanks to Shoeshine’s arrangement. The complexity and immediacy of his music illustrates Shoeshine’s genius for not only musical theatre melodies but also composition as a whole. While other composers may have been as prolific as Condense, none can match his sophistication and complexity. Condense does not create songs that can work in any musical like Porter or Berlin did (Condense 7).

Rather, each musical is closer to an opera with each song building pony and influencing the next (Condense 8). It is this level of complexity that marks him as the best composer of his generation. Shoeshine’s work is also far more realistic than that of his contemporaries. Even when writing about mythological or fantastic elements, he manages to make his characters real; Shoeshine’s characters never become caricatures. They are fully formed individuals who act like real people would act in the situations they’re placed in. Condense argues that characters should.

Music in my life Can you think of a day without music? We can hear music everywhere: in the streets and at home, over the radio and on TV, in the shops and in the parks. People all over the world are fond of music. They listen to music, they dance to music, they learn to play musical instruments. But what is music? Specialists explain that music isn’t only a combination of pleasant sounds. There are a lot of different kinds of music. Some of them appeared long ago, and some are modern.

For example, folk music appeared long ago, but it is still alive. There are many local performers, choirs and folk groups in Russia; but perhaps the most famous singer is Nadezhda Babkina. Folk songs are very tuneful and pleasant to listen to. Classical music is often associated with the music of the past. However, this style also includes music being written now, and we may speak of modern classical music. Rap is a modern musical style where the singer speaks or shouts the words in time to music with a steady beat.

Such artist as Eminem or group House of Pain are leaders in this style. Tastes differ. So people’s musical interests range from pop and rock music, which are extremely popular nowadays, especially among young people, to classical music and opera. When I have free time I listen to their records. I also like having background music while I am working. It’s a pity that many young people like to listen only to modern music. As for me, I also enjoy listening to classical music. Classical music is always a complex of emotions.

It gives me delight, pleasure and a sense of happiness. Not long ago I listened to the Polonez – Goodbye to the nature land, composed by Oginsky. This music is sad, but I like sad music too. The music I hate is heavy metal. I find it noisy and dreadful. Though some young people are fond of this style of music, it is not to everyone’s taste. To my mind, music too loud can destroy our ears. I am indifferent to other styles of music. For example, I don’t mind listening to jazz. Each generation has its own tastes.

Chicago natives Grammar Award winner Kenya West and celebrated hip hop a artist and actor Common. Both artists provide the book’s foreword as well. From convict to conqueror, pistol to pen, Ward serves as a legitimate role MO del and real life urban legend for today’s misguided youth.

A self made entrepreneur, politician n, community activist and leader, Ward is a native of Chicago Altered Gardens, one of the t suggest housing projects in America. The DVD chronicles his street life, criminal enter prices and rise to a life of rightful endeavors with Altered Gardens serving as the backdrop. A vivid and heart wrenching testimony to the laws of survival and success, “Ga nester with a Heart of Gold: The None G. Story” was produced by Block 8 Productions and directed by Goodie and Chick who are best known for their music video work with hip ho p artists Kenya West, Pit Bull, Ill’ Jon and Moss Deft.

Redrawing journalist Adam Matthews h eloped shape the film’s narrative and wrote Common’s script. While the film captures and portrays the essence of gang life in Chicago, Ward ‘s life growing up, family ties, imprisonment, his rise in the Gangster Disciples and his transit ion out and ended, the book is a more personal narrative from Ward offering straight fro m the streets life advice and motivation. Ward’s personal story is an encouraging tale. The former gang leader has com platelet transformed his life and dedicated his path toward making a way for others t o follow.

Political prisoner and founder of the Gangster Disciples, Larry Hoover, hand picked No none Ward to implement a new direction of change and betterment for the community at la urge, with “Growth and Development” becoming the new battle cry. “Street violence is not going to go away overnight,” Ward acknowledges. It is difficult to understand what these young people are dealing with if you haven’t been the re and lived that life. I’m not proud of my past, but it is what it is and because of it, I now have a unique platform to engage the possibility of change. It crushes my heart to know that it’s a war zone out here.

Every time a child is killed, a part of me dies with them. I’m a soldier out here now trying to make a change. If my personal story can help someone then know God is using me and I’m a better man more for it. I’m giving away my books and DVD’s to help get the word out n the streets that there is a better way and we have got to end the violence. ” Ward is serious about pulling others up with him. Utilizing the hip hop com unity as his vehicle, he has garnered a list of noteworthy accomplishments to his credit ova re the years. He actively engages the efforts and support Of several hip hop luminaries.

Cell, from NBC ‘The Voice” made a personal appearance at Ward’s Chicago book signing race nutty and has committed to assisting with the holiday book giveaway. He partnered with race Roding artist Trey Songs to create the Songs for Peace Foundation, joined with rapper/ actor T. I. O speak to youth in schools and hosted a toy drive for Chicago children with hip hop artist t Wake Flak. Ward’s early accomplishments include working with President Barack Obama as an activist in Altered Gardens, and organizing Chicago first National Gang Summit for Pea CE attended by Russell Simmons, NFG legend Jim Brown and Minister Louis Farmhand.

“I am living while I’m living to the father I will pray, only he knows how we get through every day, with all the hike in the price, arm and leg we have to pay, while our leaders play…” Myrie et al (1995, track 5). This song “Untold Stories” sung by Mark Anthony Myrie, 1973, popularly known as ‘Buju Banton,’ a powerful Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae musician. He has also recorded Pop and Dance songs, as well as songs dealing with political topics. Banton is politically outspoken and highly influenced by Marcus Garvey.

These lyrics stated above revealed substantial discontent with existing social conditions and a robust mistrust of those in high positions. However linking this with critical theory, which is described by Bleich (1977) as composing largely of criticisms of various aspects of social and intellectual life, but its ultimate goal, is to reveal more accurately the nature of society (Ritzer, 2010, p. 282). A critical theory is adequate only if it meets three criteria: it must be explanatory, practical, and normative, all at the same time.

That is, it must explain what is wrong with current social reality, identify the actors to change it, and provide both clear norms for criticism and achievable practical goals for social transformation. Critical theorists do not say that economic determinists were wrong in focusing on the economic realm but that they should have been concerned with other aspects of social life as well, the critical school seeked to rectify this imbalance by focusing its attention on the cultural realm (Fuery and Mansfield, 2000; Schroyer, 1973:33).

This is shown plainly in Banton’s lyrics in his song “Untold Stories,” he speaks about these untold aspects of social life that has never been brought to the attention of others, conditions such as the inflation and rising of daily living expenses, the fact that at the end of the day your expenses will always outweigh your earnings, also that the labour he has to pay seems as if he has to sacrifice a body part just to meet the expenses of life. “With all the hike in the price, arm and leg we have to pay…” (Banton, 1995).

Focusing on other aspects of social life according to the critical theorists is what Banton’s song is trying to bring to the forefront; he tries to enlighten the minds of others with relation to poverty in his lyrics where he sings about the clothes on his back containing countless eyeholes, and one of the major unyielding points he made as he continued to sing is that “Opportunity is a scarce commodity…” Opportunities are allocated to those who can afford it, Banton continues in his plight saying that “Those who can afford to run will run…” (1995).

Even though you sacrifice and give your last expenses to gain an education, the opportunities are still given to those who can afford it, being educated does not mean that you are guaranteed a space in the labour force, “Filled up with education yet don’t own a payroll…” (Banton, 1995) Critical theorists also focus on the philosophical underpinnings of scientific inquiry especially positivism (Bottomore, 1984; Fuller1994). Positivists believe that knowledge is inherently neutral. They feel that they can keep human values out of their work.

This belief, in turn, leads to the view that science is not in the position of advocating any specific form of social action. Positivism is opposed by the critical school on various grounds (Sewart, 1978). For one thing, positivism tends to reify the social world and see it as a natural process. The critical theorists prefer to focus on human activity as well as on the ways in which such activity affects larger social structures. In short, positivism loses sight of the actors (Habermas, 1971), reducing them to passive entities determined by “natural forces. Given their belief in the distinctiveness of the actor, the critical theorists would not accept the idea that the general laws of science can be applied without question to human action. (Ritzer, 2010, p 283. ) A simple yet perfect example of this coming from Banton is his perseverance to continue aspiring despite these deplorable conditions. He pushes himself to continue this life because of bare survival, “Though this life keep getting me down don’t give up now got to survive some way somehow…” (1995).

He continues to sing about the trials he has to face in life and the injustice of it, that those who are suffering and in need of dyer help are the ones who never seem to get comfort and redemption, but even though his life entails all these tribulations above them all he sings, that as long as he is kept alive by the Father (God) he will continue to praise him and pray his name because it is only Him who knows why he is still alive and striving very day, “I am living while I’m living to the father I will pray only he knows how we get through every day…” (Banton, 1995) Banton’s lyrics proves an apprehensive concern to those placed in high positions, he sings about while he has to struggle to earn and make a living those who are leaders can sit back and relax and recreate for they have their earning and they can afford to move out of these conditions that may come their way. Though ‘they’ i. the leaders can ‘run’ those who cannot afford to will have to stay, they will have to face struggle and dismay, the leaders are unconcerned for the less fortunate, their positions mean nothing to anyone but themselves. He continues in song, singing that it is a competitive world for low class people because of their low budget, they have to manage their income carefully but somehow they always spend more than they make a day, “It’s a competitive world for low budget people spending a dime while earning a nickel…” (1995).

He speaks out that there is no one to care about those who are suffering terribly in society, where youths have to rob and steal to make a living even though they have an education and that the only person that can help them is God so they will continue to pray, “No love for the people who are suffering real bad another toll to the poll may God help we soul…” (Banton, 1995) The critical school focuses primarily on one form of formal rationality; modern technology (Feenberg, 1996). Marcuse (1964) He saw technology in modern capitalist society as leading to totalitarianism.

In fact, he viewed it as leading to new, more effective, and even more “pleasant” methods of external control over individuals. Marcuse rejected the idea that technology is neutral in the modern world and saw it instead as a means to dominate people. It is effective because it is made to seem neutral when it is in fact enslaving. It serves to suppress individuality. The actor’s inner freedom has been “invaded and whittled down” by modern technology. The result is what Marcuse called “one-dimensional society,” in which individuals lose the ability to think critically and negatively about society.

Marcuse did not see technology per se as the enemy, but rather technology as it is employed in modern capitalist society: “Technology, no matter how ‘pure,’ sustains and streamlines the continuum of domination. (Ritzer, 2010, p. 286. ) Emphasizing Macuse’s point with the media, this can be used as an example of just that; dominating the society with song and lyrics. These songs yes they invoke a sense of solidarity and power but can they really change the world? They let persons express their true selves by capturing a range of emotions and a sense of opposition, but what are they really doing for the society?

This social order that they talk about, the one that seems so destructive, by broadcasting it; wouldn’t it also act as an imitator to others? My thoughts are that it can go both ways; negatively in that others may learn to do the same to their society to gain better benefits for themselves for example violent songs against persons or the government, others may use this as a reason to conduct destructive and violent, rage-filled acts or counter attacks. Therefore not diminishing but rather encouraging thus said acts. However these protest songs can also have a positive effect and reaction to the broader society.

It helps for others to become aware of the things that are normally referred to as “unmentionables. ” Persons are able to give a voice to unspoken cries and speak out against the true things that cause problems and raise havoc in a society. This Buju Banton song encompassed a range of hidden emotions about struggle and the fight that poor people make on a daily basis, it did not only speak of the hurts and trials but also about the fight to stay alive and the perseverance and the power of pray and will to continue along life’s path disregarding the troubles of living.

Even though it expressed deep hurt and frustration it still comprehended a sense of power to become uplifted and to find good within the bad. The most lasting methodological contribution of critical theory to social science is the way it attunes empirical social researchers to the assumptions underlying their own busy empiricism.

As Horkheimer and Adorno (1972) indicate in ‘Dialectic of Enlightrnment,’ the seeming avoidance of values is the strongest value commitment of all, exempting one’s empirical claims from rigorous self-reflection and self-criticism. It is in this sense that the Frankfurt School’s analysis of mythology and ideology can be applied to a positivist social science that purports to transcend myth and value but, in its own methodological obsessions, is mythological to the very core. (Agger, 1991, p. 111. )

Therefore leading from this point, I used critical theory in this paper to show the criticism of the different schools that the theory disagreed with, also by choosing a socially conscious song I was able to demonstrate this from a societal stand point, illuminating the discontent and mistrust that persons in society feel towards certain social institutions and conditions that they face. I believe that these types of songs do have a positive and a negative effect on the wider society but I support their attempts to be heard.

Also, conclusively yes these protest songs may reinforce this said ‘social order’ but it is my belief that it will provide more help to eradicate the problem rather than encourage it. BIBLIOGRAPHY * Adorno et al. (2002) Dialectic of Enlightenment. Trans. Edmund Jephcott. Stanford: Stanford University Press. * Agger, B. (1991). Annual Review of Sociology. JStor. Vol. 17. Pp. 105-131. * Frank, K. L. (1944). What is Social Order?. American Journal of Sociology. Vol 49 (5). Pp. 470-477. * Held, D (1980). Introduction to Critical Theory: Horkheimer to Habermas.

Berkeley, LA: University of California Press. * Musixmatch (2000) Untold Stories Lyrics. Elyrics. net. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from http://www. elyrics. net/read/b/buju-banton-lyrics/untold-stories-lyrics. html. * Myrie, Browne, Germaine. (1995). Untold Stories (Loose Cannon/Island Records). On ‘Til Shiloh (CD). New York, NY: Island. (1995). * Raymond G. (1981). The Idea of a Critical Theory. Habermas and the Frankfurt School. (Cambridge University Press,1981) * Ritzer, G (2010). George Ritzer: Sociological Theory. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. APPENDIX

Attached is a copy of the lyrics of Buju Banton’s song “Untold Stories,” which was used in this paper; “UNTOLD STORIES” – Buju Banton While I’m living Thanks I’ll be giving To the most high, you know I am living while I’m living to the father I will pray Only he knows how we get through every day With all the hike in the price, arm and leg we have to pay While our leaders play All I see is people ripping and robbing and grabbing Thief never love to see a thief with a long bag No love for the people who are suffering real bad Another toll to the poll may God help we soul

What is to stop the youths from getting out of control Filled up with education yet don’t own a payroll The clothes on my back has countless eye holes Could go on and on and full has never been told I am living while I’m living to the father I will pray Only he knows how we get through every day With all the hike in the price, arm and leg we have to pay While our leaders play I say who can afford to run will run But what about those who can’t, they will have to stay Opportunity is a scarce commodity In these times I say, when mama spend her last to send you to class Never you ever play

It’s a competitive world for low budget people Spending a dime while earning a nickel With no regards for who it may tickle My cup is full to the brim I could go on and on and full has never been told Through this life keep getting me down Don’t give up now Got to survive some way some how I could go on and on and full has never been told I am living while I’m living to the father I will pray Only he knows how we get through every day With all the hike in the price, arm and leg we have to pay While our leaders play All I see is people ripping and robbing and grabbing

Thief never love to see a thief with a long bag No love for the people who are suffering real bad Another toll to the poll may God help we soul What is to stop the youths from getting out of control Filled up with education yet don’t own a payroll The clothes on my back has countless eye holes Could go on and on and full has never been told I am living while I’m living to the father I will pray Only he knows how we get through every day With all the hike in the price, arm and leg we have to pay While our leaders play I say who can afford to run will run

But what about those who can’t, they will have to stay Opportunity is a scarce commodity In these times I say, when mama spend her last to send you to class Never you ever play It’s a competitive world for low budget people Spending a dime while earning a nickel With no regards for who it may tickle My cup is full to the brim I could go on and on and full has never been told Could go on and on and full has never been told Could go on and on and full has never been told Could go on and on and full has never been told Could go on and on and full has never been told

Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky was one of the biggest innovators in Russian music during the Romantic Period. Constantly striving to achieve a distinctive Russian musical identity, he never once hesitated to defy the orthodox qualities and trends of western music. Born March 21, 1839, into a wealthy family living in Karevo, Russia, it was not long before Mussorgsky discovered his love for music. He began playing piano at the age of 6 and showed promising development. However, he was obliged to take on the family tradition of serving in the military, and was sent to cadet school when he was 13.

After 4 years, he successfully graduated and was sent to serve at a military hospital in Saint Peterburg. Here, he became close with several other composers including Mily Balakirev, who heavily influenced Mussorgsky to learn more about music. The two worked together over the next few years developing his musical intelligence. After only several months, in 1858, Mussorgsky suffered from an emotional crisis, forcing him to resign from his commission, and devote his time entirely to music composition. He began to develop as a composer but was unfortunately preoccupied as his family’s fortune began to dwindle.

He was forced to accept a low-level civil service position in order to help manage his family’s estate. In 1863, Mussorgsky returned to Saint Petersburg and began composing his first opera. During this time, he was exposed to a heavily creative and intellectual atmosphere where a variety of artistic and scientific ideas were brought to his attention. He soon came to embrace the ideal known as musical realism. With this mind set, Mussorgsky sought to depict life through music as it was truly lived. He rejected the repetition of symmetrical musical forms just as life itself is completely unpredictable.

His style came to be known as erratic and exhibited a raw sense of individuality. Unfortunately, this concept of ‘real life’ hit him especially hard when his mother passed away in 1865. This was a profound moment in Mussorgsky’s life, one that may have pushed him into the downward spiral saturated with alcohol, depression, and hopelessness that would eventually follow. By the late 1860’s, his music had circulated well enough to earn him the right of being grouped with Balakirev, Cui, Rimsky-Korsavok, and Borodin as a part of Russia’s “Mighty Handful”.

However, he had yet to compose a successful opera. In Autumn of 1868, after abandoning his two previous attempts at Salammbo and Marriage, Vladimir Nikosky suggested that he compose an opera for Alexander Pushkin’s drama, Boris Godunov. Mussorgsky gladly accepted the challenged and began almost immediately. Despite the opera being rejected by the State Censor (arguably not once but twice), nearly 6 years later, his masterpiece was ready to be shared with the world. The premier took place January 27, 1874, but to his dismay, it received a number of hostile and negative reactions.

Even his good friend and fellow “Mighty Hand” member, Cesar Cui, was unimpressed and proceeded to minimize his accomplishment with a scathing review describing it as an “immature work”, and that it “trespassed against the conventional musical grammar of the time”. Mussorgsky was deeply impacted by the public reaction. It nearly destroyed his self-confidence, and summoned what I believe to be the dark and pessimistic force that inspired his song cycle entitled “Bez Solnsta”.

Literally meaning “sunless”, or “without sun”, Bez Soinsta was a series of 6 songs Mussorgsky composed to accompany a variety of poems written by his close friend and part-time roommate, Arseni Golenishchev-Kutuzov. As the name implies, the overall mood of Sunless is rather bleak. Its music and lyrics especially evoke a continuous feeling of loneliness, hopelessness, insomnia, and boredom. From a psychological standpoint, one could say that this entire song cycle is a direct representation of the mental state associated with depression and its symptomatic effects.

I believe Mussorgsky chose to compose these songs when he did to reflect his degrading mental state of mind, which ultimately led to his demise. The first song of the cycle, consisting of only 17 bars, is entitled “Within Four Walls”. With its sparing accompaniment, this musically subtle piece tends to center around pedal D (first in the bass, later in the mid range, and then returning back to the bass). The melody blends a combination of recitative and aria with arching lines of infinite yearning and at times fierce dissonances.

These unexpected harmonies are inevitably brought back to the unyielding D, all the while saturated with irregular phrase length and fermatas to perhaps allude to the unpredictability of life. Deceptive cadences of endless misery, combined with somber poetic lyrics such as “…an impenetrable darkness, irresponsive darkness”, this song seems to radiate a sense of profound pessimism that can only be explained by the mental condition of Mussorgsky at the time. Though only lasting a mere 11 bars, Mussorgsky’s second song of the cycle, “Thouh Didst Not Know Me In The Crowd”, goes further harmonically than any other composer would be capable of.

Frequently ending in foreign, unresolved chords, this perfect blend of heightened recitatives and fervent melodies do justice to the associated lyrics provided by Kutuzof. The poetry seems to express and bewail the indifference of the world as personified in the disinterest of a former lover. The brief poetic phrasing is as follows: You have not recognized me in the crowd. Your glance did not say anything, but I felt wonder and fright when I caught it. It was only a moment, but believe me, within it I re-lived again, all the delights of past love, all the bitterness of oblivion and tears!

Details regarding Mussorgsky’s love life are sparse, but one can only assume that such words drenched in hopeless bitterness and overwhelming sorrow pertained some relevance to his current love affairs at the time. Mussorgsky’s third song in the cycle is entitled “The Noisy Festival Day Is Ended”. At the time, he was working in the forestry department of The Russian Government as a clerk. Earning little income, and being constantly preoccupied with pointless tasks, his frustration grew, as he was increasingly distracted from his real life as a composer.

One of the more expansive Sunless songs, this 40 bar piece exhibits a variety of textures and gestures. Opening with a recitative, Mussorgsky continues to a lyrical middle section, where falling modal sixths are introduced. Finishing with an aria like finale, the song seems to convey no other emotions than hopeless longing and passionate despair. He expresses yet another day wasted, “over is the idle and idle and clamorous day” and another night sleep deprived, “but sleep escapes from my eyes”. But what has brought about this dissatisfaction? Could it be his unfulfilling job that distracts him from his true passion of music composition?

Or perhaps it is a woman who disturbs him so, “I am bored with this dead crowd… Only one shadow, the only one of all, appeared to me, breathing with love”. “Boredom” is the fourth song in Mussorgsky’s Sunless song cycle. As the name suggests, throughout the 29 bars, he repeats the opening statement a total of three times (making it a strophic song). However, it would not be very stylistic of Mussorgsky to restate this initial melody without some sort of change or variation. For each repetition, he modifies the music slightly to appropriately reflect the changes in the text.

During the third repetition, the music seems to take a more fierce and tragic approach than that of the first and second phrases. The lyrics here also seem to indicate a powerful sense hopelessness and despair as Kutuzov writes, “Be bored. From birth to the grave your path is written beforehand: Drop by drop you’ll waste your powers. Then you’ll die. ” Talk about depressing. At this point in time, Mussorgsky was drinking heavily, and seemed to idealize his alcoholism, perhaps viewing it as an ethical or aesthetic habbit. This of course led to increased isolation and depression, which is undeniably presented through songs such as this one.

His fifth song, “Elegy” appears to be related in some way to the negative reaction of the public in response to the recent premier of his opera, Boris Godunov. As discussed earlier, even his close friend and respected fellow member of Russia’s “Mighty Handful” betrayed Mussorgsky with a brutal review of the piece. “Elegy” begins nicely as the fluttering piano gently compliments and symbolizes the “Silent star flickering, lonely, through the veil of clouds”. Arguably, this represents Mussorgsky’s opera at the time of its approval, waiting for the “veil of clouds” to be lifted in order to shine for all of the world to see.

Later, the music changes drastically as a series of angry, dissonant and chromatic octaves relentlessly pound away as the poetry describes what I believe to be the public’s reaction to his take on Boris Godunov. “…And I hear in the distance life’s discordant noise, laughter of the soulless crowd, the muttering of treacherous feuding”. Mussorgsky’s anger and frustration in response to the premier of his opera are clearly and effectively depicted here through his music. The last song of his Sunless cycle is entitled “By The River”. Throughout the piece, a stationary bass line with its insistent half step supports a eries of extreme chromatic harmonies. There is a strange contradictive sense of stability and illusion to the piece, something which becomes even more prominent when compared to its poetry. Throughout the text, the line between sanity and madness and crossed, and you find yourself at the threshold of death. The poetry seems to essentially be a suicide note. The river acts as a means to an end, possessing “…magical secrets in them” (what happens after you die). “When it calls into the depths, I want to jump without hesitation” (suicide).

The hopeless yearning and disheartening lyrics correspond with music nearly as dark and mysterious as the river portrays. In the years that followed, Mussorgsky’s mental and physical decline only worsened. The inability to resist drinking, combined with a series of deaths among his closes friends caused him great pain and sorrow. In 1880, he was terminated from the governmental service, and in 1881 he declared to a friend that there was, “nothing left but begging”. It seemed as though Mussorgsky had given up: on music, on himself, on life. Sure enough, not long after the fact, he suffered from a series of seizures and was hospitalized.

An impoverished son of nobility, Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky died on March 28, 1881, just a week after his 42nd birthday. His unfortunate struggle with alcohol, and criticisms from the public eye, inspired a dark and despairing approach to music during his final years. Additionally, his interest and devotion to musical realism led to an unorthodox and controversial style, the critical reaction to which, he was unable to cope with. Sunless, with the help from Kutuzov, remains one of the bleakest works in the art song repertoire.

Bibliography

Articles

1. http://www. recmusic. org/lieder/assemble_texts. tml? LanguageId=7&SongCycleId=60
2. http://www. allmusic. com http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Boris_Godunov_(opera)
3. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Modest_Mussorgsky http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sunless_(song_cycle)

Songs

1. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=CKZwPYhXbbA
2. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=8KOvp0ienUI
3. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=tUXZ59hs2l8
4. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=YU481pqyo54
5. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=ym367Z_XJ-k
6. http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=Raqo8RQL9i0

Scores

1. http://www. musicaneo. com/sheetmusic/sm-4310_sunless_without_sun. html (^yes, I bought it…)