八年级英语Module 5 Section 1 Background Readings

八年级英语Module 5 Section 1 Background Readings1Music Music is a natural intuitive phenomenon operating in the three worlds of time, pitch, energy, and under the three distinct and interrelated organization structures of rhythm, harmony, and melody. Since the music phenomenon is natural and intuitive, humans can also virtually perform and hear music in their minds, without even learning or understanding it. Traditionally, one of the major difficulties in defining music has been to use the word to try to describe all activities and things related to music and/or sound. For example, scores only bee music through performance(s), or when (recorded) performances are replayed. While music is a natural intuitive phenomenon, posing, improvising and performing it are art forms. Also, listening to it can be a source of entertainment, while learning and understanding it are disciplines. For analogy, walking is an activity that uses the natural and intuitive phenomenon of gravity, but walking is not gravity. Using the term gravity to represent all things related to gravity does not help define the term. The same is true for music. See Definitions of music and the What is music? section located below.2. Western musicWestern music is a broad category of music that includes all musical genres that use a 12-note chromatic scale, including Western classical music, rock and roll, and many other forms of popular music. The word Western may be misleading; although much of this music came from Europe and North America, important contributions have e from places like Russia, Japan, and Australia. Western music developed out of the creatively fertile framework of Western philosophy that had its birthplace in ancient Greece. Pythagoras experimented with intervals of sound based on small integers, which we recognize today as the 12-note chromatic scale. From these logical roots developed the chants of early Christian tradition, first monophonic, and later polyphonic and including instruments.3. ViennaVienna is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine states. With a population of about 1.6 million, Vienna is the largest city and the cultural and political centre of Austria. Situated on both sides of the river Danube, Vienna is 60 kilometres (37 miles) from the Austrian-Slovak border, i.e. also from the Slovak capital, Bratislava. Vienna is surrounded by the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is one of the best-known cities in Europe and has a prominent place in the history of Western civilization, world culture and history. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as other United Nations Offices and many international institutions and panies, are located in Vienna.4. Music, theatre and opera in ViennaArt and culture have a long tradition in Vienna, in the areas of theatre, opera and the fine arts. Aside from the Burgtheater which, together with its branch, the Akademie theater is considered one of the best theatres in the German-speaking world, the Volkstheater and the Theater in der Josefstadt also offer high-quality theatre entertainment. Also, there is a multitude of smaller theatres, often equal in quality to their larger counterparts and in many cases devoted to less mainstream forms of performing arts such as modern, experimental plays or cabaret. Vienna also offers a great many opportunities for fans of the opera: The Staatsoper and the Volksoper offer something for everyone, the latter being especially devoted to the typical Viennese operetta. Concerts of classical music are performed, among others, in the well - known Great Hall of the Wiener Musikverein and in the Wiener Konzerthaus. In addition, various concert venues offer concerts aimed at visitors, featuring the best known highlights of Viennese music (particularly the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Strauss). In recent years, the Theater an der Wien has bee widely known for hosting premieres of musicals. The most successful by far was Elisabeth which was afterwards translated into several foreign languages and performed all over the world. With the opening of the Haus der Musik in 2000, Vienna also has a Museum of Sound for all ages now. Finally, many Roman Catholic churches in central Vienna feature performances of religious or other music, including masses sung with classical music and organ.