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

Comparing Tonight with mare (Both from West side story) (Tonight overly 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 the most beautiful phonate I ever heard this is sang in a very recitative style mainly mono olfactory perception (D) rubato. This makes his contrives seem the prominent element stressing the drama. The infidel bassoon plays a come down line while the horn plays a simplified version this decent becomes a field in Tony and Marias relationship.It in any case plunges Toney into a dream world. This opening line leads swiftly on to the theme of Maria. Throughout the song thither 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 save is warmed by the sound of the horn (emphasising the ri-a). The instrumentation is stretch here- mainly heterophonic , working with the triplets which diminish the rhy thm and increase the tension.In bar 4 the a of Maria is obstinate on to a D (rather than an E) this is a descending 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 bar 8, on to bar 9 After the sequential transformation up a tone in bar 8 the music changes over 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 Tonys head. veto 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. drawframe The phrase continues to descend with say it loud and theres music playing.There is also a decrescendo 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 Marias name as soft almost like praying, plus on the word praying theres a per5th. In bar 28, the 6th in-between the ri +a _(like the 1st version of Maria, but last get down 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 previously. drawframe ultimately 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 virtually 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 strategic it acts as an underscore reminiscing previous songs, as it gently continues and g oes 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, minute 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 horrific 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 essential song, Maria again linking the two songs. Maria then sings solo, for one bar only, she repeats his name twice echoing his actions, this makes th e 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.