Analysis Of Raphael Ravenscroft s The Moonlight Sonata...

It is my belief that every instrument has an anthem, every instrument has an instantly recognizable piece that forms its epitome. Whether it be Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata for piano, Raphael Ravenscroft’s ‘Sax hook’ in Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street, or G.C Colemans’s Amen Break which has been referred to as â€Å"Six second drum break that shaped 1500 songs†, every instrument has this end goal to strive for, for violin, this piece is Mà ©ditation Religieuse. Mà ©ditation, the dramatic interlude from the opera Thaà ¯s by French composer Jules Massenet, like no other piece so thoroughly shows off the range and passion that —in the right hands— a violin can execute. No longer confined to the realm of the Opera; Massonett’s Mà ©ditation has taken on a life of its own as a soloist piece. As a consequence, almost all of the great violinists of the modern age have graced it with their own unique spin such as: Jascha Heifetz, Andre Rieu, and —of course— Joshua Bell. Joshua Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana on December 9th,1967. Bell’s interest in music was discovered at the age of four when his parents bought him a violin after finding Joshua making music my stretching rubber bands to different lengths on dresser drawers. At the age of 12 Bell he became serious about the violin when he attended the Medowmount music camp in Westport, New York. Joshua was discovered to be a prodigy, and â€Å"at t he age of 14 he made his orchestral debut at age 14 with the Philadelphia Orchestra—becoming