Mimi's aria and madamina- a discussion of angst and simplicity
...ly unknown angst. The pitch in Mozart’s Catalogue Aria is also quite representative of the simple perfection sought after in classical music. Set in diatonic D major to impose emotional irony of the cruelty of the words sung as opposed to what the cheerfulness of the music conveys, much of the music has constant repetition of the same note to imitate conversational tones (the accompaniment using chords based on a tonic → dominant relationship, changing the chordal structure by pedal point as well as arpeggio in the absence of voice in an ascending and descending shape to constantly modify the simple but ever-changing droning quality of the chords). Excerpt 3: Even so, the more augmented and legato sections of the chorus as opposed to the allegro verses of the music make greater jumps pitch-wise, lending further to the airy and fun emotions conveyed by the piece. Each section of the melodic vocal line is also repeated before moving to the next in true classical structure, Excerpt 4: the repeated version sounding much more complete than the original, and the result of Madamina created by Mozart is the perfection of sound created by the simplicity of the music so characteristic of its classical origin. In Mimi’s Aria by Puccini, the pitch is certainly seeking angst through complexity previously unknown. With the melodies much easier to sing (the piece is set in D Major), the accompaniment is able to evolve and become much more chromatic. The main melodic phrase is repeated throughout the music (see excerpt 2), echoed also in the accompaniment (though sometimes ‘talking’ in monotone for a more personal conversational effect) and the melody takes on a definitive structure with set relationships between each different phrase, developing itself without the need for simply a repetition so common of the classical period. The chordal accompaniment has also become much more complex, becoming more free and no longer relying on such obvious chord progressions, and the overall result is much more emotive and provocative – the attainment of angst- through complexity in Puccini’s Mimi’s Aria. In Mozart’s Madamina aria, dynamics and expressive techniques are also used to emphasize simplistic perfection. The most easily notable addition is how the orchestra remains softer and more staccato while the vocal sings, creating a surrealistic undertone of laughter to match the gloating vocal at the female’s miserable situation (again, contributing to the emotional irony of the music), while each instrument claiming a different phrase to ‘say’, Excerpt 5: and than joining the orchestra as a whole to reiterate each of these statements afterwards. Although softer than the voice overall, repetition of dynamic change is frequent every several bars, though softer in effect than the previously dominating terraced dynamics of the earlier periods. In the chorus, however, is where the orchestra regains its opulence, sfortzandoing, slurring and crescendoing towards the ends of each phrase to triumph. With this repetitiveness, this predictability, the overall effect of Mozart’s aria Madamina is simplistic perfection. Dynamic and expressive techniques in Mimi’s Aria by Puccini show complexity of emotional angst through obvious evolution from previous periods in music. No longer littering the music with dynamic signs because it hadn’t been done before, instead there are more descriptive options rather than straight signed instruction, leaving space for the composer to truly interpret the music and put in as much emotion as possible, Excerpt 6: though space must be left to bring out the intended emotions through the dolce and legato so attributed to the character singing. This evolved level of complexity creates much angst through heightened emotions conveyed in Puccini’s Mimi’s Aria. In Mozart’s Madamina, tone colour is also used to help achieve the aim of simplistic perfection. The instrumentation (vocal, piano, violins, cello, double bass, flutes, bassoons, cornets, clarinets, and oboes) is typical of the classical orchestra, which consisted of 30-40 instrumentalists, and of which the piano was gradually replacing the clavichord and harpsichord. This combination creates a much bigger sound, previously unheard of (although it had not yet graduated from chamber music to symphony) in both volume (allowing for greater and even more subtle contrast in written volume and through numbers) and fullness of tone colour- a bright yet majestic yet dramatic effect. This obvious evolution removes the necessity to substitute complexity in order to reach such a polished sound, Mozart’s Madamina aria resulting in the simple perfection. The tone colour in Puccini’s Mimi’s Aria is used to great effect when combined with the voice, particularly the woodwind and strings. The violin and cello are used to create a sense of sweet longing at the suffering of the main character, and the warm air spread by the high notes of the flutes create a sense of her sweetness and imagined freedom. Unused before, we see an introduction of the French horn and saxophone in romantic music. The whole orchestra combines to give rich meaning to the music, and the overall effect on Puccini’s Mimi’s Aria is to create a very touching piece of music filled with desire, yearning and angst. Texture in Mozart’s Catalogue aria is consistently homophonic, with the instruments accompanying the voice with chords (triads based on tonic and dominant relationships). The segments in which each instrument dominates (phrases by each to give different ‘voices’ to the libretto (see excerpt 5)) add a unique mixture of harmony each time, with effects on density varying from airy to rich. The different parts move simply together a third or fourth apart, creating the illusion of simplicity to aid the voice, and in doing so Mozart creates a feeling of perfect balance and simplicity in his Catalogue aria. In Puccini’s Mimi’s Ar...