Entry Of The Gods Into Valhalla Analysis

Become Ocean was performed by the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Delta David Gier. This evening was dedicated to being the 95th anniversary of the South Dakota Symphony. The theme for the evening related to water, whether that be the rolling tides of the waves, a bird swooping down to catch something, or a personal reflection that people made through associative listening. The music played had a serene and airy feeling that helped enhance the depiction of becoming one with the ocean. The opening piece for the evening was “Entry of the Gods into Valhalla” written by Richard Wagner. This specific song was taken from Das Rheingold and was written in the Romantic Era. “Entry of the Gods into Valhalla” starts with deep mysterious music

It remains quite repetitive until the end of the piece. “Entry of the Gods into Valhalla” is a piece of art that is performed in an instrumental fashion by an orchestra. Listening to this song reminded me of someone enjoy a day, and suddenly something goes wrong which inflicts a sense of fear. The music was quite soothing in the beginning, but towards the end began to put listeners on edge by the eerie sounds being produced. I think this was a great choice for the opening piece because it captured the listener’s attention. “La Mer” is a classical French piece of music that was written by Debussy in the twentieth century. The song begins with a disjunct sound caused by the different melodies and harmonies being played by different sections of the orchestra. Slowly out of the chaos brings a light, airy feeling that was accomplished by the help of a flute and violin solo. The excitement again grows causing a repetitive feel, but this time it is cultivated by the brass and the percussion sections that cause a tremendous increase in the volume of the piece. The song is halted, and proceeds as the cellos crescendo which seems to have a direct correlation to an increase in tempo.