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

Comparing Tonight with maria (Both from West side point) (Tonight similarly known as balcony scene Tony and mare sing together. mare sang by Tony. ) The piece Tonight begins in B maj it opens with Tony stating the well-nigh beautiful heavy(p) I ever heard this is sang in a very recitative style mainly monotone (D) rubato. This makes his words search the prominent element stressing the drama. The gentile bassoon plays a move line enchantment the horn plays a simplified version this decent becomes a mind in Tony and Marias relationship.It also plunges Toney into a dream world. This gap line leads swiftly on to the al-Qaida of Maria. Throughout the vocal there are many adaptations on Maria notwithstanding the inaugural time ( shut off 28) a perfect 4th is used in the midst of 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 dim inish the meter and increase the tension.In quit 4 the a of Maria is unyielding on to a D (rather than an E) this is a go down min 3rd, however the oboe doesnt resolve- this creates anticipation and leads the music on demonstrating that the song is to grow- reflecting Tonys feelings for Maria- yet clashing slightly and creating an element of pain- foreshadowing the later tragedy. From parry 8, on to bar 9 After the sequential transformation up a tone in bar 8 the music changes once 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 comparable 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 Tonys head. finish 15 Instrumentation thickens here as the clarinets, Horns, and yel low trumpet are added, as the music progresses, bar 17 the oboes are added.In bars 18 and 19 there are two desc shuttinging 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 likewise rhythmically augmented. Middle syllable is an appoggiatura. sequestrateframe The phrase continues to descend with assert it loud and theres music playing.There is also a diminuendo in bar 23 and the violins take on a more than prominent role this makes the music come out more romantic and soft, Bernstein has used word painting here as Tony describes Marias name as soft almost like praying, positive(p) on the word praying theres a per5th. In bar 28, the 6th in-between the ri +a _(like the 1st version of Maria, but choke note turned upside down)_ becomes a countermelody, the theme is played in the contrabass this constant repeat of Maria demonstrates Tonys 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 introductoryly. drawframe 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 approximately 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 arising 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 free burning notes creating a tense, hesitant yet romantic atmosphere. The descending line theme augmented in the bass. The tempo is marked as andantino, little winged as the tension increases. All this forces the vocal melody to be exposed, (making the soloistmore important) demonstrating their pic and innocence. At bar 32 a contrabass is added, marked pizz, this adds an fearsome gently pulsating, heartbeat rhythmical effect creating much excitement reflecting their emoticons. drawframe 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 Maria there is a perfect5th between the Ma-ri like the actual song, Maria again linking the two songs. Maria so sings solo, for one bar only, s he repeats 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 delirious and heightened emoticons.