Musical Analysis; Comparing ‘Tonight’ with ‘Maria’; West Side Story.

Comparing Tonight with Maria (Both from ‘West side story’) (Tonight also known as balcony scene – Tony and Maria sing together. Maria – sang by Tony. ) The piece ‘Tonight’ begins in B maj; it opens with Tony stating â€Å"the most beautiful sound I ever heard† this is sang in a very recitative style; mainly monotone (D) – rubato. This makes his words seem the prominent element – stressing the drama. The gentile bassoon plays a descending line – while the horn plays a simplified version ~ this ‘decent’ becomes a theme in Tony and Maria’s relationship. It also plunges Toney into a dream world. This opening line leads swiftly on to the theme of ‘Maria’. Throughout the song there are many variations on ‘Maria’ – however the first time (bar 28) a perfect 4th is used between the ‘Ma + ‘ri’; the ‘a’ is a dissonant – yet is warmed by the sound of the horn (emphasising the ri-a). The instrumentation is thin here- mainly heterophonic , working with the triplets which diminish the rhythm and increase the tension. In bar 4; the ‘a’ of Maria is resolved on to a D (rather than an E) – this is a descending min 3rd, however the oboe doesn’t resolve- this creates anticipation and leads the music on demonstrating that the song is to grow- reflecting Tony’s feelings for Maria- yet clashing slightly and creating an element of pain- foreshadowing the ‘later’ tragedy. From bar 8, on to bar 9; After the sequential transformation ‘up a tone’ in bar 8 the music changes again as if onto an ‘Aria’ section. It does so on the ‘Ma’ to the ‘ri’ – The ‘ri’ is sang on an A natural (appoggatura) –making a dim 5th. The instrumentation thickens here, timps and double bass are also added , the bass plays pizz, and its rhythm goes slightly Latin – similar to much of the dance music throughout the musical – and all this creates a colourful image in the listeners head – reflecting the image of Maria in Tony’s head. Bar 15; Instrumentation thickens here as the clarinets, Horns, and trumpets are added, as the music progresses, bar 17; the oboes are added. In bars 18 and 19 there are two descending lines linking and building up to the 6th variation of ‘Maria’; the flute is added in bar 19, and the trombones are added in bar 20. Full orchestration on the 6th variation of Maria; this variation of Maria is a descending phrase, as it moves down a tone each time: Also rhythmically augmented. Middle syllable is an appoggiatura. {draw:frame} The phrase continues to descend with â€Å"say it loud and there’s music playing†. There is also a diminuendo in bar 23 and the violins take on a more prominent role – this makes the music seem more romantic and soft, Bernstein has used word painting here as Tony describes Maria’s name as soft â€Å"almost like praying†, plus on the word ‘praying’ there’s a per5th. In bar 28, the 6th in-between the ‘ri +a’ _(like the 1st version of Maria, but last note turned upside down)_ becomes a countermelody, the theme is played in the contrabass; this constant repeat of ‘Maria’ demonstrates Tony’s worship for her. In bar 48, the theme is demonstrated in thicker texture again – it leads to an operatic recitative style line from Tony ppp (while the accompaniment is simply semibreves) far from the ‘Latin style dance atmosphere’ demonstrated previously. {draw:frame} Finally in Bar 51 there is one more variation of ‘Maria’ – reminiscent of the first version – but with a per5th (ma-ri), the ‘a’(G) is held for about the last two bars; underneath this, an Eb is held making the ‘a’ sound like a discord. This creates a certain pain about the last note – foreshadowing future events, suggesting that its all going to end with pain. The balcony scene also begins in Bmaj – and opens with a descending line, reminiscent of ‘Maria’ – linking the two songs and making the ‘descending line’ a theme in their relationship. In bar 3 the theme from Maria is echoed in the violins. This opening piece of music (1-29) is very important; it acts as an underscore – reminiscing previous songs, as it gently continues and goes through many temporary modulations. In Bar 30 the vocals begin; (Only Maria sings) the instrumentation is thin – with violins holding sustained notes creating a tense, hesitant yet romantic atmosphere. The descending line theme ‘augmented’ in the bass. The tempo is marked as andantino, little faster – as the tension increases. All this forces the vocal melody to be exposed, (making the soloistmore important) demonstrating their vulnerability and innocence. At bar 32 a contrabass is added, marked pizz, – this adds an amazing gently pulsating, heartbeat rhythmical effect – creating much excitement; reflecting their emoticons. draw:frame} The vocal melody is still very exposed and prominent as it rises above the accompaniment in broken chords. In bar 37 Tony sings alone, as he says â€Å"Maria† there is a perfect5th between the ‘Ma-ri’ like the actual song, ‘Maria’ – again linking the two songs. Maria then sings solo, for one bar only, she re peats his name twice – echoing his actions, this makes the duet seem more conversational – enhancing the drama. Bar 42; Allegretto – always a little faster, the heart beat rhythm is still present – retaining the excited and heightened emoticons.