concert report MaG

Posted: August 14th, 2013

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Concert Report

            The music concert was known as the Guitar Ensemble. The concert was held in the evening at a local restaurant. There were several performances in total. There were different kinds of songs in the performance with varied tunes. The concert was lively, and the hall was filled with fans. Guitars were the main instruments used in the performances with other instrument additions such as the flute and the piano to accentuate the melody and harmony of the performance. Guitarist Bryan Johanson and his team performed all the pieces. The performances were excellent, and they managed to entertain the audience for the entire evening.

During the evening, there were several songs performed. The first was Shenandoah by Bryan Johanson. Shenandoah is a classical anonymously composed folk song. The second tune was Mountain Songs composed by Robert Beaser. This song was a combination of flute and guitar. After the Mountain songs, the other performance was Easy Winners. Easy Winners is a song initially composed by Scott Joplin. After a long and entertaining evening, the performances climaxed with another folk song by Bryan Johanson. The Hard Times was a classic tune initially written by Stephen Foster. All the stage performances took around two hours after which the concert ended.

The first song performed during the concert was the Shenandoah. This classical American folk song was performed by Bryan Johanson. The composer of the tune is unknown, but the tune itself is popular which led to its adoption as the state song in Virginia. Shenandoah is a classical folksong originally composed as a work song. The instruments used in Shenandoah were exclusively guitars and a piano. The performance took a classical homophonic style with only one melodic line. In a typical classical approach, the tune was performed with compact melodies. The harmony was however, structured in a complex way. The chords were dominant tonic and subdominant. Johanson put up a wonderful performance showing why he has always been regarded as an exemplary guitarist and composer.

The last tune performed during the night was the Hard Times composed by Stephen Foster. The song is a ballad with a strophic tune. The main instrument used in this tune was the guitar. The tune takes the form of a three part song. Johanson and the band began by slowly blending the songs elements and transforming them into the main melody. They finally wound the song into a Toccata. Since it was strophic, the guitar tunes were easily recognizable with a consistent melody and a repeated chorus. The guitar tunes were adapted into modal-tonal structures. The harmony was more diatonic than chromatic. There were instances where there was a broken chord progression. The style was unarguably classical with a highly rated performance save for several instances where there was a lack of harmony. The performance by Johanson was however, below par considering Foster’s quality and status as a magnificent composer.

The concert was a wonderful experience and the music was interesting. The free flow of melody and the danceable tunes lifted my high spirits. The best piece was the Shenandoah it was perfectly delivered, and the melody was superb. The flow and the highs and lows made it more lively and entertaining. The mood changes and the uniform melodic flow made the song sweet and appealing. The other songs were also entertaining except Mountain Songs, which I found a little too difficult to decipher. It was complex and varied with a lot of freedom rather than a uniform free flowing melody. I however, considered the evening well spent since the music had revitalized and lifted my moods.