The Benefits of House Music
Gabby Sandoval, Events Manager and Liaison
Music is a universal language that undoubtedly unites us all, under the various rhythms, beats, tempos, and instrumentals that are found to be appealing to our ears. One genre in particular under the title of “house music” has found its way into many college dorms, parties, gatherings, and cars. While house music is popular for its diversity in artists and song choices, it also provides benefits to the human body.
Gabby Sandoval, Events Manager and Liaison
Music is a universal language that undoubtedly unites us all, under the various rhythms, beats, tempos, and instrumentals that are found to be appealing to our ears. One genre in particular under the title of “house music” has found its way into many college dorms, parties, gatherings, and cars. While house music is popular for its diversity in artists and song choices, it also provides benefits to the human body.
The beats per minute (bpm) in music is linked to a human heart rate. So, the higher the bpm in music, the higher your heart rate is. The more your heart rate increases, the more excited you and your body get. Beats per minute (bpm) plays a fundamental role in how humans process music; and house music has an average speed of 120 to 130 BPM. Studies show that music that lies between 90 to 150 BPM produces greater feelings of happiness and joy as well as diminishing emotions associated with sadness. This relates to the pleasure it is to listen to house music.
Research by The Glasgow Insight Into Science and Technology (TheGIST) showed that when it comes to house music specifically, the build-ups and drops are intensely “rewarding” for the body. This is because when we hear a build-up in music, our body anticipates a crazy drop coming up and therefore prepares for it, leaving you feeling excited and tense. Your body responds to that drop by releasing a dopamine hit which satisfies your brain in a positive way.
TheGIST has also mentioned that the social aspect of listening and dancing to house music in a crowd is good for you. The reasons why are easy to guess, given that dancing releases endorphins and house music releases dopamine. With these elements combined, dancing to house music serves as an all around excellent experience. Humans are also social creatures, so when in a room full of others enjoying themselves and dancing, a collective positive mood can be produced. This is caused by our brains subconsciously mimicking the emotions of those around you.
A study conducted by the International Music and Talent Agency (MN2S) also researched how the brain reacts to house music and found that "The repetitive patterns and ambient soundscapes are unobtrusive and stimulating, aiding concentration without distracting,". This means that you can listen to house music while studying and gain some benefit from doing so.
While it feels physically rewarding to listen to house music, it is always refreshing to have science back up positive effects of listening to this kind of music. Whether you consider yourself a fan or not, house music is one of the best genres to throw on in the background at a small gathering, listen to while you're studying, or blast it through the speakers with your windows down when you just need to move.
Imagine Dragons Newest Album Shows Different Meanings in Music
Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer
Music is everywhere. We listen to it for many reasons, including focusing or calming our minds. By listening to music, you allow rhythms to flow into your ears while jamming out. Songs and albums are meant to have hidden meanings and messages. Anyone can listen to the lyrics of a song and process them in many ways. Songwriters try to have a hidden message in their songs or albums by saying what they truly mean in a more creative way. It is common that these messages get jumbled up causing misinterpretation. Trying to coax out information or meanings is hard to do, but it allows your brain to understand other ways to look at things. This also helps you find what songs are your jam. The band Imagine Dragons is a good example of putting meanings into their music. Imagine Dragons is an American rock band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is headed by lead singer, Dan Reynolds. The band has mostly upbeat and some mild to slow songs, often changing their pace in many different ways. They write songs that grab people’s attention. If the song is short and mournful, then people might feel sad singing along to the song. But, if the song is long and cheerful, people might feel happy and exuberated.
Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer
Music is everywhere. We listen to it for many reasons, including focusing or calming our minds. By listening to music, you allow rhythms to flow into your ears while jamming out. Songs and albums are meant to have hidden meanings and messages. Anyone can listen to the lyrics of a song and process them in many ways. Songwriters try to have a hidden message in their songs or albums by saying what they truly mean in a more creative way. It is common that these messages get jumbled up causing misinterpretation. Trying to coax out information or meanings is hard to do, but it allows your brain to understand other ways to look at things. This also helps you find what songs are your jam.
The band Imagine Dragons is a good example of putting meanings into their music. Imagine Dragons is an American rock band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is headed by lead singer, Dan Reynolds. The band has mostly upbeat and some mild to slow songs, often changing their pace in many different ways. They write songs that grab people’s attention. If the song is short and mournful, then people might feel sad singing along to the song. But, if the song is long and cheerful, people might feel happy and exuberated.
Imagine Dragons often disguise messages in the songs that they write and play. Their songs sound like they are happy, but in reality they are often not. Dan Reynolds often hides his cry out for help in his songs or lyrics. He sings about things that are a part of his life story and communicates that sometimes, people who are supposed to be happy with their life, really aren’t that happy. Anyone in the world can feel hidden emotions in their life, just like how the meaning of songs can be hidden. His newest album Loom is a perfect example of this.
Dan Reynolds often talks in his lyrics about being lonely, despite his fame. In his song “Fire In These Hills,” Dan Reynolds sings about feeling trapped, alone, tired, and scared while he does not want to open up to anyone. Despite the song being upbeat, he sings that “the more we try and the more we fail,”. This tells his audience that people can have high standards, and when you meet them they can lose interest or pull away. This is how people can become lonely.
In another line, he sings, “I’m so tired, can I please come home?”. This line communicates that high expectations can cause you to become tired and want to disconnect from the outside world. Many people expect Dan Reynolds and Imagine Dragons to be the best, putting pressure on him to constantly perform well. In his song “Gods Don’t Pray”, he says that “fortune is unfortunately volatile” and talks about how fame or fortune can be taken away from you, because of how high the expectations are. Reynolds is widely popular, but still feels like he has to constantly outdo himself to meet up to these high expectations. This can cause him to second think himself, and live in fear of being judged.
In these songs, Reynolds often talks about heartbreak and abandonment. In the song “Nice to Meet You”, Reynolds talks about wanting to talk to someone, but there is a divide between them. With this song, he tries to say that you need approval from yourself before others. Having approval from yourself means that you know that you are moving forward and taking your own advice to things. This is important in life because it allows you to be more independent.
In the song “Wake Up”, Reynolds talks about struggling on the inside and not showing it. In this song, he feels like he is “spinnin’-in-in’” and in the chaos of life, you struggle and feel like you can break apart from people or relationships. The song “In Your Corner” Reynolds talks about loyalty despite abandonment. An example of that is in the lyric “Gonna burn this down, every sober day,”. Reynolds shows that he is turning to substance abuse to cope with feeling abandoned by the people in his past and present life.
In the song “Take Me to the Beach”, Reynolds talks about independence, blocking out the world, relaxing, and doing his own things. He says that on this “people-pleasing' planet…you can have the mountains. I’ll take the beach,”. Reynolds wants to be independent and do his own relaxing, away from the expectations of the world.
In the song “Eyes Closed” Reynolds talks about independence and following what you believe by ignoring the expectations of everyone else. He sings, “I will spend these days as an island. Alone and far away,”. He wants to turn away and be alone in his life. In order to achieve this solidarity, he cuts himself off from his friends and family. This is his solution to getting away from the pressure of others. He also talks about wanting to change his mindset.
In the song “Kid”, Dan is talking about keeping your motivation up, despite facing struggles, and tells people to “take your losses as a win”. In that lyric he is stating that even if you lose at first, you can still find a way back to win later. The bottom line is that you have to keep fostering your motivation, despite the inevitable challenges you will face in life.
This album by Imagine Dragons is an example of how important it is to interpret more than one meaning in music. Everyone can interpret it in many ways, but I feel like the album is about how everyone struggles in life and it is okay to not meet high expectations. This is something that everyone can relate to, including myself. As he is singing it, people are dancing and rocking out, often completely ignoring the overall message. I can relate to this, because I feel cheated by people misinterpreting me in more than one way. I know I am not alone in this feeling, So, remember that it is okay to talk about it by singing about your own grief and pain. This is the overall message that Dan Reynolds is conveying in his album Loom.
A Tree Falls: A New Album
Austin Price, Editor in Chief
David. W Jacobsen is a singer / songwriter that continues to add onto his extensive musical collection with his recent album release, A Tree Falls. This album debuted on December 3rd, 2024, a year after his previous album, Music for the Masses, was released to listeners.
Austin Price, Editor in Chief
David. W Jacobsen is a singer / songwriter that continues to add onto his extensive musical collection with his recent album release, A Tree Falls. This album debuted on December 3rd, 2024, a year after his previous album, Music for the Masses, was released to listeners.
Click here to read my review of Jacobsen’s previous album, Music for the Masses
When given the opportunity to listen and review another one of his albums, I immediately jumped at the chance. I adore music and coming from a family of professional pianists and singers, I have a deep appreciation for music used as an artistic forum for expression, investigation, and reflection. The process of creating music, from writing the lyrics to making edits in post-production is an immense task, and one that each artist approaches differently. When I first listened to Jacobsen’s work last year, I instantly felt unique aspects of his music shown through unfiltered lyrics and explicit notes. This same feeling overcame me when listening to A Tree Falls.
Personally, I believe music is often censored way too much. Honest reflections on mental health, global conflict, political issues, and religious connotations are minimized by the music industry to keep up with the sensitivity of audiences and to increase their approval rates. I enjoy honest artists. I enjoy the bombastic attitude of Jacobsen’s music and the unapologetic outlook he has on life. Because of his unfiltered presentation, A Tree Falls continues the legacy of art without restrictions, evident in his previous work.
A Tree Falls is an album made up of 7 songs, with a full running time of 32 minutes and 59 seconds. The album is primarily made up of piano centric ballads, complete with humorous dialogue and elements of pathos. A Tree Falls is an album about being ignored. According to Jacobsen, the primary question that the album asks is "If a tree falls in a forest … does anyone give a @$#!?". Throughout the different tracks, a unanimous answer is given. The answer is no. If a tree falls in a forest no one gives a @$#!? And no one cares.
With the album proposing a bleak answer to a popular question that all of us face in our lives, it instills listeners with both hope and with reluctant resolve on the challenges of life. The album introduces a menagerie of situations in which we ask ourselves, “Does anyone really care about me?”
The opening track, “No Expectations” reveals the relentless self-doubt and questioning we face when being abandoned or ghosted in a relationship. Jacobsen sings with tones of expected disappointment, demonstrating the exhausted cycle of one-sided relationships. It shows the toll of neglected and unrequited feelings of love that we find in romantic situations. When reflecting on this track, Jacobsen demonstrates the awful truth that connections fray over time. This could be caused by distance, time, or various levels of dedication to the relationship. But, no matter what the cause, it hurts all the same when we lose those connections that once fueled and inspired us.
The next song I’d like to dissect is track 5, “Don’t You Call Us”. This is my personal favorite track of the album, mainly because of its relevance to today’s job market, but also because it pokes fun at the ridiculous process of job interviews and rejections. In addition, this track is a reenactment of situations I have faced in my personal life and was something I needed to hear.
“Don’t You Call Us” is about the outdated procedure and generic rejection shown to hopeful applicants for jobs in today’s market. Nearly halfway through the song, Jacobsen reads a paragraph out loud to listeners while the initial instrumentals remain consistent. The process for creating this song involved the examination of various, real job rejection letters that Jacobsen has received throughout his life. This level of vulnerability enhances the relatability of the song with listeners. Jacobsen says “I took multiple rejection letters and combined them. Every sentence was taken almost verbatim from an actual rejection email.” Spoken with false sincerity and artificial cheerfulness, Jacobsen reads the rejection letters, mimicking the attitude of hiring managers and business heads.
My favorite part of the song comes right after Jacobsen’s reading of the letters, and that is the sympathetic words of support, spoken by others to try and comfort you when you don’t get a job. Rather than read these programmed responses himself, Jacobsen gave the phrases to his wife to recite, giving her a special appearance on the album. This was a personal touch that showed the support Jacobsen’s wife has for his musical career, and parodies conversations many of us have had.
The final track of the album, aptly titled “A Tree Falls”, is over 13 minutes long, and is a raw representation of the struggles many artists face. Jacobsen says, “This is a song for anyone whose artistic aspirations are unrecognized, unfulfilled, and likely to remain so.” Jacobsen conducted this track using a variety of inspirations, but a major one was Harry Chapin's 13-minute epic, "There was Only One Choice." Both Chapin’s song and Jacobsen’s track show the crippling challenges artists face. While they are fueled by creativity, they are sustained by recognition. Sadly, most artists are not properly recognized, making an artist’s dream a discouraging nightmare.
Something I love about this final track is that it’s realistic. It’s angry, frustrated, desperate, and melancholy. It shows the grim reality many artists face, without censorship or placation for the audience. This is what makes Jacobsen’s work so insightful. It approaches both the highs and lows of life with the same amount of energy and attention.
A Tree Falls shows the shadows of society. The shadows of rejection. Something we can’t escape, and something we hate to confront. Jacobsen’s album allows listeners to meditate on their own experiences, and the nuances of their lives. While our situations differ, we often experience the same feelings of rejection, loneliness, jealousy, and sadness. However, Jacobsen presents these feelings with neutrality showing the validity to the mixed emotions of humanity. A Tree Falls is an anthology of poetic pieces and life lessons and can be appreciated by anyone who’s ever lived a normal life that offers both ups and downs. It gives validity to dark feelings we have, showing authenticity and humility.
To listen to A Tree Falls, visit the following links:
The Rush of A Concert
Juliet Buckley, Staff Writer and Social Media Contributor
As an eighteen-year-old girl when I look back and reflect on my life, I find music in every single area and memory. I believe that I have adored music since I came out of the womb. There have been so many times where I cannot recall a memory until I hear a song that I liked around the time of the memory. Because of this, I have made it my mission to attend as many concerts as possible.
Juliet Buckley, Staff Writer and Social Media Contributor
As an eighteen-year-old girl when I look back and reflect on my life, I find music in every single area and memory. I believe that I have adored music since I came out of the womb. There have been so many times where I cannot recall a memory until I hear a song that I liked around the time of the memory. Because of this, I have made it my mission to attend as many concerts as possible.
There are different aspects of my concert connoisseuring. I typically think about things like who is the artist, when did I start listening to them, and who am I going to see them with. However, I have never thought too hard about it from the perspective of where I am going to sit. Maybe when I first started going to concerts I did, but very quickly I found that my favorite thing about attending is the actual music. The blaring, chest rattling, loudness of it all. I hit my peak at a concert when I can literally feel my chest vibrate from the giant speakers. It is such a rush that I can only get from a concert. It doesn’t matter how much I actually like the artist; I can feel the emotion in the bass, and it is almost enough to bring me to tears. For me, a concert is a reminder that I am alive, and that life will always go on.
Everyone I see in concert I tend to really like and have a very strong connection to their music. Earlier when I said I think about factors like “when did I start listening to them”, I mean how much does their music matter to me. As I have described, concerts are a very emotional thing for me, and I have found attending them is a healing experience.
When I was a little girl, I adored Taylor Swift. I used to pretend I was her and recreate her music videos. However, as I got older, I didn’t necessarily listen to her as much, I was no longer intrigued by her. I had still listened to her new albums here and there but when she announced her expansive high demand tour, I knew I needed to go see her. I grew up listening to her, so many of her songs I was able to place on a moment in my life. Her music was a reminder of all the good memories I had from being little. So, I fought my way through the army of other individuals who also shared a similar connection and I bought my tickets. That concert was truly magical. It healed a piece of my inner child and was an experience that I will never forget.
Now, one of my favorite things about going to a concert are the moments leading up to the actual performance. The excitement and adrenaline run rampant throughout my body as the stage is set and it is exhilarating when the artist does finally come out. This moment of absolute perfection is giddy, even though it may later lead to “post-concert depression”, the experience after the concert high has worn off.
On September 26th, 2024, I saw Malcom Todd, Ravyn Lenae, Kevin Abstract, and Omar Apollo. These artists performed at Red Rocks Amphitheater and though I have been to a lot of different venues, it was my first time at this one. I was so excited because I absolutely adore Omar Apollo, and have grown such a love for the opener's music as well. This concert had been in the making for quite some time. I had gone to school that day, proceeded with my routine as usual, and rushed home to get ready. I listened to Epps' music as I did my hair.
It was finally time to head to Red Rocks. My boyfriend and I piled into the car with anticipation and expressed our excitement. The drive up to Red Rocks is breathtaking. I adore the way the mountains look picture perfect. It is like looking at a painting and it is soul soothing. I could not have felt more grateful to be alive than I did at that moment. It is crazy to me the way I sometimes feel so defeated and exhausted with life and everything going on. But then I have moments where I feel so exhilarated and at peace. I typically find myself in these moments when I am attending a concert.
Being in row five at Red Rocks for this concert was so surreal. Omar Epps' performance was amazing. His choreography was performed well, and you could clearly hear how strong his voice was. The visuals were ethereal and the way the concert just transformed so beautifully over two hours was so exciting to see. The scenery and the weather were absolutely perfect that night. It was warm, but not too hot. The breeze was blowing, but it wasn’t cold. It could not have been more perfect for the music and the visuals of the concert. I felt like I was on a different planet.
Hearing Omar perform songs that I have listened to the last couple of years as I have transitioned into different areas of my life is so fulfilling. I can look back at that time of my life and whether it was a good time or a bad time, I can see the music. I can feel the music. I can reminisce on how much I have grown and sit with who I am now. I know it might sound crazy how close I hold music to me and my life. But in the darkest times music speaks for me. It is a healthy way for me to decompress and track my progress in life. Going to concerts gives me a sense of hope and a reality check. It shows that life might really not be that bad. For how could it be, when such beauty is right in front of us?
This feeling isn’t even about the artist, it is about feeling the music. It is seeing a crowd that is entirely diverse and different from one another, come together to hear music and dance and express themselves. It is about the scenery; Red Rocks could not have been more beautiful. It is about the vibration that rattles your chest. All of this is a reminder that you are alive.
The New Listener’s Guide to Taylor Swift’s Album Collection
By Austin Price, Editor in Chief
Taylor Swift is one of the most elite, successful, and well-known musical artists in our world today. Swift made history with her seamless transition between the genres of country music and pop music. In addition, Swift has also explored the indie and folk musical genres. She has received accolades for her songwriting, artistry, and entrepreneurship, all of which have majorly influenced the music industry and popular culture. Taylor Swift has released 10 original studio albums, 4 re-recorded studio albums, 5 extended plays, and 4 live albums. With such a massive amount of published material, I would argue that Taylor Swift is a genre all on her own. She certainly has enough music to support it.
By Austin Price, Editor in Chief
Taylor Swift is one of the most elite, successful, and well-known musical artists in our world today. Swift made history with her seamless transition between the genres of country music and pop music. In addition, Swift has also explored the indie and folk musical genres. She has received accolades for her songwriting, artistry, and entrepreneurship, all of which have majorly influenced the music industry and popular culture. Taylor Swift has released 10 original studio albums, 4 re-recorded studio albums, 5 extended plays, and 4 live albums. With such a massive amount of published material, I would argue that Taylor Swift is a genre all on her own. She certainly has enough music to support it.
As a die-hard Taylor Swift fan, I understand that her vast amount of music can be overwhelming and hard to follow. And so, I present to you a beginner’s tour of Taylor Swift’s work. You might say that I present to you a listener’s guide to Taylor Swift’s extensive album collection. Hopefully, this will break down her infinite catalog of work, and help dissect this wide library of songs, filled with heartbreak, hope, love, and joy.
The albums will be in chronological order, but with the Taylor’s Version albums replacing the original recordings. So, while the date may be different, the records are listed in the order that they were released, but with Taylor’s Version albums in place of the initial albums. This means we will go through 10 albums. Let’s get started.
Album: Taylor Swift
Release date: October 24th, 2006
Vibe: Childhood innocence
Personal favorites: Picture to Burn, Our Song, Should’ve Said No
Best lyric: “Was it worth it? Was she worth this?” (Should’ve Said No)
Summary: Kicking it off with our first album, Taylor Swift, Taylor shows her country music roots with songs of childhood innocence, adolescent feelings, and immature emotions as she writes a narrative of a young, country girl, finding love for the first time.
Album: Fearless (Taylor's Version)
Release Date: April 9th, 2021
Vibe: Highschool crush
Personal favorites: White Horse (Taylor’s Version), You Belong with Me (Taylor’s Version)
Best lyric: “Now it's too late for you and your white horse to catch me now.” (White Horse)
Summary: This is the ultimate high school album. With songs dreaming of running away with the high school quarterback and comparisons to the timeless love story, Romeo and Juliet, this album is perfect for that teenage angst when you think you know everything about love.
Album: Speak Now (Taylor's Version)
Release date: July 7th, 2023
Vibe: Young love
Personal favorites: Mean (Taylor’s Version), The Story of Us (Taylor’s Version), Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version), Haunted (Taylor’s Version)
Best lyric: “I've never heard silence quite this loud.” (The Story of Us)
Summary: This album takes us from the chaos and drama of high school to the stage in your life where you’re technically an adult, but you still wish you were a kid. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) brings songs of broken fairytales, shattered dreams, and lost promises, all of which were destroyed by the harsh realities of the real adult world.
Album: Red (Taylor’s Version)
Release date: November 12th, 2021
Vibe: Day-to-day life in love
Personal favorites: Red (Taylor’s Version), I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor’s Version), We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor’s Version), Holy Ground (Taylor’s Version), Sad Beautiful Tragic (Taylor’s Version), All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)
Best lyric: “And I guess we fell apart in the usual way and the story's got dust on every page.” (Holy Ground)
Summary: Just as the seasons of weather change, so do the seasons of love. Red (Taylor’s Version) breaks out of the imaginary love ballads and enters a more realistic, day-to-day romance with a reflection on the seasons of life and how change impacts love. It is a bittersweet album.
Album: 1989 (Taylor's Version)
Release date: October 27th, 2023
Vibe: Beach party with your lover
Personal favorites: Blank Space (Taylor’s Version), Bad Blood (Taylor’s Version), Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version), Wonderland (Taylor’s Version),
Best lyric: “Cause darling I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.” (Blank Space)
Summary: 1989 is arguably Taylor’s top party playlist. With upbeat lyrics, fast paced tempos, and clever narrative, this album is the musical embodiment of the “it couple”.
Album: Reputation
Release date: November 10th, 2017
Vibe: Revenge
Personal favorites: Don’t Blame Me, Gorgeous, This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
Best lyric: “You’ve ruined my life by not being mine.” (Gorgeous)
Summary: Reputation is the ultimate revenge playlist. Complete with soundtracks for sabotage and schemes, Reputation is the badass of the album collection.
Album: Lover
Release date: August 23rd, 2019
Vibe: Puppy love in the honeymoon phase
Personal favorites: The Archer, Paper Rings, Death By A Thousand Cuts
Best lyric: “All the king's horses, all the king's men, couldn't put me together again.” (The Archer)
Summary: Lover is an album written by someone in love, for those who are in love. Lover hosts meet-cute love stories, reflections on society’s stereotypes, and a feeling of joy colored with shades of bubble gum pink.
Album: Folklore
Release date: July 24th, 2020
Vibe: Fables and fairytales
Personal favorites: the last great american dynasty, august, invisible string
Best lyric: “Time, mystical time, cutting me open, then healing me fine.” (invisible string)
Summary: Folklore is the perfect album for rainy days and walks in the forest. Taylor tells fictional tales of whimsy and wonder in this fantasy album, built for fables and folktales to be shared around the campfire.
Album: Evermore
Release date: December 11th, 2020
Vibe: Cabin in the woods
Personal favorites: Willow, Champagne Problems, long story short, marjorie
Best lyric: “Never be so kind, you forget to be clever. Never be so clever, you forget to be kind.” (marjorie)
Summary: This album was built for Colorado girls. Wrap up in a cozy flannel, make some hot chocolate, and enjoy this magical album with tales of witchcraft, true love, and life lessons. The album is complete with gentle vocals and haunting melodies.
Album: Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)
Release date: May 26th, 2023
Vibe: Late night thoughts
Personal favorites: Vigilante Shit, Mastermind, The Great War, Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
Best lyric: “Draw the cat eye, sharp enough to kill a man.” (Vigilante Shit)
Summary: Midnights is a compilation of late-night thoughts, deep regrets, new ideas, and most of all dreams, both good and bad. Undertones of maturing revenge and parting thoughts give this album both a nostalgic look at the past and a hopeful view of the future.
The Musical Journey of Jewish Music by Sémplice
By: Kamil Wojciak, Staff Writer
Sémplice, a group of musicians, performed six centuries worth of music (that ranges from the Renaissance to contemporary times) by Jewish composers. This performance was on February 27th, started at 7:30 PM, and was located at the Claver Recital Hall.
The main aspect of this performance was to show the audience the history of the Jewish music that we have today. After the round of introductions of the group members, they started with songs from the Renaissance era. The musical pieces played for the Renaissance era were composed between the 1400s and the 1600s. One famous composer from this period whose pieces were played was Thomas Lupo (“The Elder”), a violinist and musician for the King of England from 1603 to 1627. Thomas Lupo is important because he highly contributed to the growth of fantasias (musical compositions that rely on improvisation) and gave more recognition to the viol (a bow stringed instrument similar to the cello). The main instruments Sémplice played for the Renaissance era were the recorder, violin, lute, and cello.
After playing pieces from the Renaissance era, they immediately transitioned to the Baroque era; the era that is chronologically after the Renaissance era which began around the 1600s and lasted until the mid 1700s. The first song played by Sémplice for the Baroque era was by Abraham Caceres (Casseres), a Jewish Dutch composer known for most of his works found in the early 1700s. During this era, the music of Jewish culture greatly expanded and evolved with the implementation of trio sonatas and the newer technology that accompanied music. For the trio sonatas played by Sémplice, the recorder and violin played the contrasting melodies, and the lute and cello played the bassline and harmonies for the pieces. Additionally, the harpsichord, an instrument that is part of the keyboard family, was used for part of the Baroque era songs.
One great example of music through which Sémplice showed the evolution and growth of Jewish music up until the Baroque era was their performance of George Frideric Handel’s trio sonatas. Handel, basically one of the pioneers of the trio sonata genre and the implementation of the harpsichord into trio sonatas, is the pure embodiment and representation of the Baroque era.
With all the pieces from the Renaissance and Baroque eras completed, the performance took a brief intermission for the final part: the Klezmer genre. For the final part of the performance, Sémplice members changed their outfits and instruments to accompany the contemporary pieces coming up. Personally, this was my favorite part of the whole performance, with its more modern roots (being from the 1900s) and the upbeat tone that differs from the Renaissance and Baroque eras of music. Instead of the common violin-based pieces the Renaissance and Baroque eras focused on, the Klezmer genre deviates from the common instruments by adding in the clarinet, tuba, and even the accordion. With its new instruments and unique musical tone, Klezmer received a rise and resurgence in the 1970s.
Finishing off the performance with a fun Klezmer song that included the audience’s participation, Sémplice caused the audience members to leave the concert hall with happy faces and great knowledge of the history of Jewish music. Sémplice provided a performance that highly exceeded expectations; one that was both entertaining and educational.