Orchestral Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Orchestral Music - Essay Example Stylistically, the prelude is improvisatory in nature. The prelude can also refer to an overture, particularly to those seen in an opera or an oratorio. Prelude can be referring to as a preface. It can stand on its own or introduce another work. Overture in music is the instrumental introduction to a dramatic, choral (1911encyclopedia.org) or, occasionally, instrumental composition. It is used as an opening to a larger dramatic work such as an opera. Overture also referred to collections of movements, known as suites. (wikipedia.com). A sinfonie is a musical composition, the extended and used for orchestra. It does not imply a specific form. There are sinfonies that are tonal works in four movements with the first in sonata form, and it is often described by music theorists as the structure of a classical (reference.com) sinfonie. The very first preludes were lute compositions of the Renaissance era. They were free improvisations and served as brief introductions to larger pieces of music or particular larger and more complex movements; lutenists also used them to test the instrument or the acoustics of the room before performing. In the 17th century in France the keyboard preludes started. During this century the duration of each note is left to the performer. The first composer who embrace the genre is Louis Couperin, and harpsichord preludes were used until the first half of the 18th century by numerous composers including Jean-Henri d'Anglebert (1629-1691), lisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729), Franois Couperin (1668-1733) and Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764), whose very first printed piece (1706) was in this form. The last unmeasured preludes for harpsichord date from the 1710s. Prelude in the 17th century in Germany led to a sectional form similar to keyboard toccatas Johann Jakob Froberger or Girol amo Frescobaldi. Outside Germany, Abraham van den Kerckhoven (c.1618-c.1701), one of the most important Dutch composers of the period, used this model for some of his preludes. Southern and central German composers did not follow the sectional model and their preludes remained improvisational in character with little or no strict counterpoint. In the second half of 17th century prelude are being paired with figures in the same key. Preludes were also used by some 20th century composers when writing Baroque-inspired "suites". Such works include Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin (1914/17) and Schoenberg's Suite for piano, Op. 25 (1921/23), both of which begin with an introductory prelude. Ludwig van Beethoven wrote two preludes, Op. 39; each one cycles through all of the major keys of the piano. Evolution of Overture Overture was formulated during the 17th century. As a musical form overture begins with the works of J-B Lully (1911encyclopedia.org). He devised the scheme that constitutes the typical French overture up to the time (1911encyclopedia.org) of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Friderich Handel. This French ouverture consists of a slow introduction in a marked "dotted rhythm" (1911encyclopedia.org), followed by a lively movement in fugato style. The slow introduction was always repeated, and sometimes the quick movement concluded by returning to the slow tempo, (1911encyclopedia.org) usually with new motivic material but occasionally recapitulating the opening, and this combined fast-slow material was sometimes also repeated. The operatic

The International Guide of Foreign Currency Managementby Shoup Research Paper

The International Guide of Foreign Currency Managementby Shoup - Research Paper Example (Goldstein, 1992) Currency and its management determine the economical footing of the State and as such must be strictly controlled by the Government. Strength and value of a States currency is affected by several contributing factors. These factors may be intentionally implemented or developed as a result of external impact. This was seen in South Africa in the 1980’s when the price of Gold had significantly fallen in addition to other financial challenges faced by the government during the same period. As a result what was seen in South Africa was a drastic devaluation of the Rand in comparison to the American dollar. (Murison 2003) South Africa never fully recovered from the devaluation of the Country’s currency. Currency management operates on three basic tenets according to JP Morgan’s â€Å"Active Currency Management for Institutional Investors†. These are; market dynamics which refer to the foreign exchange market where it is inefficient and offers potential alpha due to the high proportion of non-profit seeking participants. Secondly there is consistent return which requires active currency managers who are able to generate consistent and modest returns throughout the market cycles. Finally there is diversification which refers to the returns of active currency managers who are not highly correlated with traditional asset classes. JP Morgan in Passive Currency Management (2011) identifies three ideal steps at the strategic level for passive currency management. Firstly, there is the need for the modelling of the foreign currency plan based on the risks identified in each business and determining a hedge ratio for the sensitive areas. Secondly, there is the need to cover the exposures of the assets through the use of various hedging techniques that are appropriate in the situation. Thirdly, there is the need to execute and monitor the plan with regards to transaction costs. JP Morgan emphasised that the most popular hedging te chnique for passive currency management is the use of forward currency contracts. Fabozzi (2008) assesses passive currency management techniques and identifies three main elements of this currency risk management approach. First of all, the management takes a standard currency hedging and roll it over through the life of an investment. Secondly, it is not flexible and cannot be changed even if external conditions change. Thirdly passive currency risk management involves the continuous conversion of the home currency to a given currency on a frequent basis. Currency risk exposure was later categorized into three groups by Zubulake, 1991who sought to determine preventative measures. These are; the translation which refers to the uncertainty of converting foreign denominated assets to local currency. Where there is uncertainty on the foreign market then the stability of the currency is threatened since sectors such as banking and real estate remains stagnated. The second category of ri sk exposure is that of transactional risk which detail the effects of fluctuations in exchange rates on revenues, expenses and profitability. Risky transactions have the potential to restrict the spending and trading ability of the population. Spending and trading being two of the main means of currency circulation will significantly impact on the Country’s economy when restricted. Thirdly, there is the economic exposure currency risks which assess the effects of fluctuations in a Country's currency over the long-term macro economics of the country, namely, prices, competition and export. As such, measures must be implemented to ensure that where there is exposure the