Thursday, October 24, 2019

A rigorous musical analysis of Kylie Jenner’s ‘Rise and Shine

By Kyle Macdonald and Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM

Kylie Jenner has gone viral for singing a musical wake-up call to her daughter, Stormi. And as always, when a moment of music is resonating around the world, we’re here with the analysis.

Kylie Jenner, 22-year-old billionaire and professional Internet Person, sang a lullaby to her daughter, Stormi – and now, the video has gone viral.

Jenner’s original lullaby, entitled ‘Rise and Shine’, has been breaking the Internet for a grand total of 72 hours. It’s literally only second on the viral scale to Jennifer Aniston’s Friends reunion selfie (here’s our classical version, if you missed it).

But why is ‘Rise and Shine’ proving to be so popular?

Let’s begin with our transcription.

Jenner chooses a loosely swung triple metre for her magnum opus. The click of the light switch is ever so slightly anticipated, coming in just before the line’s anacrusis.

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In a true mezzo register, the melody moves from the tonic to the third degree of the scale (an E), before a swung D as we return to the tonic.

But in a surprise cadenza, Jenner chooses not to settle on the tonic, instead falling down from the C in a subtle portamento and ending on a raspy dominant.

Harmonically, Kylie plays it safe, opting for the key of C major – second inversion. Throughout the line, her vocals demonstrate a tentative, wavering timbre underpinned with a strength that emerges in the second syllable of the lyric.

‘Rise and Shine’ as Gesamtkunstwerk

The German term Gesamtkunstwerk is translated as ‘total work of art’. It’s an idea that began during the enlightenment and later advanced in Richard Wagner’s writings on music, aesthetics and philosophy.

Gesamtkunstwerk is the theatrical act that brings together all or as many art forms as possible: poetry, staging and music in free-flowing drama. Wagner’s Ring Cycle is often used as an example of this aesthetic.

In Jenner’s dramatic vignette, we begin in a darkened room, the flick of the light bringing narrative drama to the Spartan stage and barred cot.

There’s poetry in the ‘rise and shine’ text, and of course now-iconic music. So, is it Gesamtkunstwerk? Ja.

The best covers of ‘Rise and Shine’

Since Kylie premiered her opus, musicians the world over have been keen to put their own spin on ‘Rise on Shine’.

Yesterday, musician Suzy Jones demonstrated how ‘Rise and Shine’ would sound in nine-part harmony, by added a choir to the track.

A pianist and a singer extended the line, morphing Jenner’s simple melody into a fully-fledged musical theatre ballad for soprano voice.

There was also this violinist, who got bored of practising...

Even Ariana Grande sampled Jenner’s line.

Best of all, jazz pianist Charles Cornell (see his excellent work on Cardi B’s videos here) has now treated us to an excellent extended harmony version. We are in awe.

A 12-year-old reviewed an orchestral concert ...

... and it’s brilliantly accurate

Young boy with autism sings "Hallelujah" with 'the voice of an angel'

By Maddy Shaw Roberts, ClassicFM London

This young boy’s review of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra’s latest gig is completely unpretentious and beautifully accurate.

A 12-year-old boy has thrown into question pretty much every classical concert standard, in one adorably frank review.

Like, why does everyone clap for so long? Why does the conductor jump around so much? And how come snack-rustling is such a no-no? (Answer: probably so you don’t get people doing this...)

via GIPHY

Madeleine Chapman, a staff writer at The Spinoff, had the brilliant idea of taking her nephew Harper to see the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra for the first time, and getting him to review the concert.

On Thursday, Harper flew from Wellington to Auckland to see the orchestra perform Ravel’s Boléro as part of their New Zealand Herald Premier Series.

“When I was very small, I used to sit in the hallway at home with my closest siblings and we would ask our brother Bernard, a teenager at the time, to play songs on the piano,” Madeleine writes. “We would name a song we liked from the radio, try to sing the melody, then Bernard would play something resembling it on the piano. He had taught himself how to play.

“Nearly two decades later, I often find myself sitting on the floor next to a piano, asking Bernard’s son Harper to play a song. He’s 12 years old and taught himself how to play by watching YouTube tutorials. It’s strange and exciting to see a tween showing such a genuine interest in classical music, while also taking advantage of technology to help him learn (he now gets lessons from a real-life human too).”

Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Picture: APO

Read Harper’s wonderfully honest review below.

“I had never actually been to see a proper orchestra so it was quite the experience. The Auckland Town Hall was very grand. When we arrived, it was very crowded. All the people seemed very high class. A lot were past middle aged. My aunty pointed out a famous author but I hadn’t heard of him.

“We took in snacks and drinks from the dairy across the road but when we sat down I didn’t see anyone else with any drinks. We had to be really quiet with them.

“I thoroughly enjoyed how the orchestra hooked us in with their sweet harmonic sound. On the left they had high instruments playing in high octaves and on the right there were big, low instruments like drums and cellos. The piano and the conductor were in the middle. The conductor was very excited and jumping around a lot. It was a bit funny, he would make gestures at certain players to make them sound better.

“My favourite part was Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major, II; Adagio assai. It was very touching, the pianist actually had a tear when he finished playing it. And another one I liked was Boléro. It was like a small flower blossoming, repeating over and over and getting louder and louder.

A double bassist has written lyrics for Ravel's Bolero – and they're just hilarious

Credit: Jonathan Jensen

“I really liked the cellists and the pianist. I liked how the cellists plucked at the strings, the violinists did that too. And I liked how the pianist connected with the music. He smiled in the upbeat parts and looked sad during the low parts.

“The music was all great but there was just so much clapping that it kept disrupting my thoughts on the pieces. It felt like the audience clapped for like five minutes after one piece. I stopped and restarted clapping three times just because everyone was clapping for so long.

“I liked that there were intervals but the songs went by really fast, like when you have fun and time goes by quickly. The show was two hours but it felt like less than one hour. People left quickly afterwards. If they had kept playing I would have stayed.

“Overall, I was touched by the music. Sometimes I listen to music on my phone or the TV and then when I put my headphones on it sounds way nicer. Hearing it played live was a whole other level. I would definitely go again but I think they should put cushions on the seats.”

Harper, we wholeheartedly agree and hope you continue to enjoy many more classical concerts. Just don’t forget that travel cushion next time...