Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Fugato and butt-sniffing
I've been trying to figure out why Albinoni > Vivaldi. Both use the same general orchestral patterns, but Albinoni has more ... heart? spice? umami? Not sure what to call it. Vivaldi is like a bowl of rice and onions. Lots of separate items to chew, but they're only two types of item. You encounter rice and then you encounter onions and then you encounter rice and then you encounter onions. Albinoni is more like a good stir-fry on a bed of rice. Atrocious metaphor but I can't do any better.
A uses fugato a lot, providing anticipation and surprise. (Oh, I recognize that melody! I know what's coming next... No! It's not the same!) Even when A's pattern is more or less Vivaldian, there's more substance. Each repetition of the melodic line pulls in a new intonation, giving a sort of plot structure.....
Life is like that. You can see it condensed into one minute in this cute clip of pug vs ducks.
We start with a mix of puzzlement and curiosity and fear, as the ducks make unexpected moves in response to butt-sniffing. (Oh, I know what's coming next. No!...) Then the herding melody makes a brief entry, only to be pushed back down by fear and perhaps internal puzzlement. (What am I doing? I've never done this before!) Finally the herding melody takes over and organizes the other emotions. (Aha! This is what I'm for.)
A uses fugato a lot, providing anticipation and surprise. (Oh, I recognize that melody! I know what's coming next... No! It's not the same!) Even when A's pattern is more or less Vivaldian, there's more substance. Each repetition of the melodic line pulls in a new intonation, giving a sort of plot structure.....
Life is like that. You can see it condensed into one minute in this cute clip of pug vs ducks.
We start with a mix of puzzlement and curiosity and fear, as the ducks make unexpected moves in response to butt-sniffing. (Oh, I know what's coming next. No!...) Then the herding melody makes a brief entry, only to be pushed back down by fear and perhaps internal puzzlement. (What am I doing? I've never done this before!) Finally the herding melody takes over and organizes the other emotions. (Aha! This is what I'm for.)Labels: Grand Blueprint
¶ 5:01 AM
