A critical comparison of “Madam Butterfly” and “Lullaby of Birdland”

Compare and Contrast

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Compare and Contrast

Paper gives a critical comparison of “Madam Butterfly” and “Lullaby of Birdland” these are two different tracks performed by Leotyne Price and Sarah Vaughan respectively. The pieces were produced at different times to entertain the audience and deliver message to them.

To begin with, “Madama Butterfly” is a very interesting song by Leotyne Price. Here, a singer uses a spin to voicing. She tactfully blends soprano and tenor sounds through the song. In doing this she produces a romantic piece with a tremendous melody. This enables the song to have a linear succession of musical tones. In this regard, artist establishes a higher pitch mainly characterized by stable frequencies. These are also the same elements observed in Sarah Vaughan’s song. As a female solo, she brings out the song so clearly and distinctly, probably better than Leontyne Price. Thus her song becomes more eclectic and heavier than the song of her counterpart. The use of these techniques enables the two singers to generate pleasant tracks (Kliewer, 2005).

Besides, there is an admirable use of accompaniments by each of these artists. In the “Lullaby of Birdland” there is the use of instruments such as a piano, saxophone, drums and violin. These are professionally played (Narveson, 2004). Each of them came out so distinctly to produce a harmonious trade in which the artist would use a transition in playing the track as required. On the other hand, Sarah Vaughan incorporates violin in her song. It was also clearly organized and enabled her to create a sweet sounding song with a structural sounding. All these instruments played a very important role in helping the song to produce a structural sound and pleasant melodies. In deed, these are the instruments that kept me glued to the songs right from the beginning to the end.

In addition, the dramatic spin of “Madam Butterfly” enabled the artist to achieve a harmonious chord. Sound was well balanced especially by the frequent use of the dissonant and consonant sound effects. As a result, there is a variation of relaxed and tensed moments at internal levels throughout the song. The same elements are imported in the “Lullaby of Birdland” in which Sarah Vaughan demonstrates her extraordinary talents. Her classic jazz appears to be smoother than the one in “Madam Butterfly”. In other words the two artists produce very captivating tracks which are more thrilling than any other I have ever come across. The tracks have a quite sounding effect with an appropriate duration and pressure. Thus, the songs appear pleasant and pleasurable to enjoy throughout its presentation (Narveson, 2004).

I would like to agree that “Lullaby of Birdland” is a well organized romantic jazz which was played by Sarah Vaughan in an excellent manner. I was so delighted by the way Sarah Vaughan projected her voice in order to put across her message. Everything was done in a harmony with the instruments used. Her instrumentalists must be given through the audition to prepare for this recording. As a result, the song attained a quality sound along side with attractive tone colors. Meanwhile, “Madam Butterfly” is also a perfect piece sung by a female solo voice alongside the accompaniments. The melodious, rhythmic and sound elements are in a constant recurrence. Thus, the song came out with quality timbre making it enthusiastic all through.

In conclusion, I would like to commend Sarah Vaughan and Leontyne Price for demonstrating their artistic traces in these trucks. Even if Leontyle Price appeared shortly and out of tune, her song still comes out distinctly flamboyant. The pulp tone in her presentation grants her piece a peculiar lyric with dramatic accent. These are entertaining songs which embody.

References

Kliewer, V. (2005). Melody: Linear Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music. Englewood Cliffs,

New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Narveson, P. (2004). Theory of Melody. London: Barrie and Rockliff.