Performance: Once Upon a December – Theme from Disney’s “Anastasia”

Decisions, decisions!

So… let’s start with why I have chosen this piece for my performance task. I love the lyrical melody sung with such an angelic yet haunting tone. Although, I am a violinist (not a singer) I have found an arrangement of this piece for the violin and piano. Lyrics will not be a part of this performance, however, I do believe that the variety of colours the violin can produce compliments the enchanting mood this song offers. Techniques such as word painting which obviously cannot be portrayed on the violin, but through my interpretation, I will be able to incorporate other string techniques to portray the musical ideas, complimenting with the mood and story of the film. Like how pictures go hand in hand with some writing, so does music and film, and in this case, “Once Upon a December” is an effective theme portraying the magical story.

Analysis:

Here are some observations I’ve made whilst having a watch (and listen!) of the scene from the film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyUBdLm3s9U

I used the music concepts brainstorm worksheets from our class as a general listening first…

From the first listening, what struck me the most was the mood in which the music itself was able to portray the ‘fairytale’ imagination. Notably, the use of performing media has already caught my excitement and sense of curiosity right from the introduction of the song. I’ve used “The Spotting Process” storyboard provided in one of the class activities to use as a template for my analysis whilst watching with the visual scene as well to try and formulate some insights with appropriate terminology.

The most compelling feeling is being able to connect with the characters with the effectiveness of music and soundtrack, and the way the scene is played out. “Anastasia” is one of my favourite Disney films and to have such an identifiable theme says many things about the way audiences connect with the film and the music.

My own performance notes:

To shape up my thoughts, I have annotated the score and put in some of my interpretations on how my performance can reflect the characters and the mood.