Analysis Essay

    1. What is your subject? Internet video of a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (4th Movement). https://archive.org/details/JapanEarthquakeReliefConcertBeethovenChorale-2011     2. Why have you chosen this subject? I have watched it several times. It is a moving performance done by Japanese musicians and singers right after the earthquake/tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011.   3. Identify a possible thesis question? Why does this video have such a deep effect on me?   4. What is the answer to your thesis question? This video has such a deep effect on me because of the situation surrounding the performance, the quality of the musicians, and the quality of the singing.   5. What three factors make your thesis valid? 1. The situation. 2. The quality of musicians. 3. The quality of singing. FGC 2   6. For each factor, describe the evidence you will provide that supports your claim: Factor 1: Description of the earthquake that hit Japan in March of 2011. Factor 2: Note the particular parts that move me and compare to other performances of Beethoven’s 9th . Factor 3: Note the particular parts that move me and compare Japanese to Western culture.   7. Define your subject: My subject is a video of a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, 4th Movement by the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo, Japan. This the orchestra performance occurred weeks after the devastating earthquake that hit Japan in March of 2011. The video records the whole symphony, but the part that I am focusing on is the 4th Movement.   8. Based on your definition, what is the theme of your essay? Art.   9. Define your theme: Art is a part of human experience that involves the creation of image, sound, language or product that is unique in some way. Art allows for human expression and creation that gives individuals and groups some sense of feeling or purpose.   10. Identify at least two important characteristics of your theme: --1. It is a unique human creation. --2. At its best, it can give humans a sense of worth and purpose, even in the worst of times. FGC 3 11. Why should I as your reader care about your subject and thesis claim that you’re making of it? This video shows the enduring strength and beauty of the human spirit. Through a playing of Beethoven’s great symphony, the NHK Symphony shows that despite a horrific event that killed thousands of its fellow citizens, the musicians and singers give a performance for the ages that transcends the tragedy and misery that followed the earthquake.