Vi son sposa e amante
I enjoyed this piece, as it had a kind of bright feeling to it. It seemed to be a question-answer sort of piece, with the winds (like oboe and flute) playing for a short time, and the strings answering, then later the singer and the winds alternating with the strings providing support for the singer. However, I did not like the "note-iness". I thought the singer had too many notes and perhaps made it slightly less enjoyable to listen to than it would have been. This was perhaps intentional though, as the title roughly translates to "I am a wife and lover." The trills and various ornamentations sound like the demands of a wife and calls of a lover. This song was part of the opera La fiera di Venezia, translated to the "Fair of Venice," and seems well-suited since the piece has a bustling atmosphere reminiscent of the marketplaces.

La scuola de' gelosi
La scuola de' gelosi translates to "The school of jealousy," and it seems to be reflected in the way the piece is written. It starts out normally, but then gets a little slower as if the woman is pondering something and is being jealous about it. It is interesting to note that this occurs as the music gets softer and mostly only the strings are playing. Certain words such as "crudel" (meaning cruel) are accented with a large volume and more instruments as if to emphasize just exactly how jealous this woman is. Then there are periods of anger where the music is more abrupt followed by a calming down period, and I thought that was a very clever use of instruments by Salieri.

Requiem mass in d minor
Just by listening to the first two notes, I could tell it was some sort of depressing song, because the notes were played very darkly and in a minor key. I noticed that Salieri didn't necessarily use a minor key, but maybe one of the church modal scales. What added on to the darkness was the echoey male chorus -- death, followed by the higher woman voices - angels, and the frightening ostinato and low bass chorus in the background. The oboe as sort of the main instrument also made it sound sad because the oboe naturally has a less-happy timbre. I thought it was confusing when for a moment near the middle there was a key change to a Major key with a more happier sound, but perhaps that adds on to the sadness since it provides such a contrast against the sad parts. Salieri's usage of the combination of ominous strings and mournful winds such as oboes really brought this piece to life (or death...)

Salve Regina
This piece definitely has a very royal and majestic sound to it. The 3/4 tempo makes it more official, sort of like how it made the French overture sound like a piece fit for an emperor. The large chorus and strings seem to be essential for creating royal pieces, which is probably why Salieri added them. I found it nice that Salieri had the strings do a sort of answering accompaniment to the singing. That is, after the singers finish a phrase, there is a small part for the strings to play. However, other than that, I did not find this piece too interesting or exciting. Obviously it would be something played in the court of the Queen or perhaps at official gatherings, and therefore would not be allowed to be "fun." I also thought that the large chords and many instruments, while grand-sounding, cluttered the music a lot and made it hard to listen to.

La passione di Gesù Cristo
I thought it very appropriate for a male to sing, as the title does, after all, relate to the Jesus Christ. It was somewhat of a recitative, as the male lead singer wasn't really singing more than saying words with a tune to them, and the instruments would accompany much like they do in recitatives. As a religious piece, Salieri followed the convention of using chorales. However, he sort of mixed things up with other genres, as chorales usually progress chord by chord without much ornamentation, but Salieri adds extra turns that make the piece sound slightly more interesting to hear. Perhaps it is just the style of music that I don't particularly enjoy, but having everything in unison doesn't seem to keep my attention, and the standard chord progressions are very predictable. But this is reassuring too, especially when Salieri ends with a final authentic cadence.

Fugue for string quartet
I thought it was very cute that each instrument entered a measure after the previous one, and started a 4th or 5th below the previous. This composition is the fugue at its most basic level, just the repetition of the subject over and over by different voices. Because of this, I did not find the piece captivating to listen to. I noticed that the violin, viola, and cello did not really have different parts, as they mostly played the same melody at different pitches, and only occasionally did the lower instruments play a supporting role such as playing the same note for a couple of measures. Essentially, I did not like this piece because of its repetitiveness, and perhaps Salieri didn't either, hence the reason why he did not create so many fugues. At this point in time in music history, the violin quartet was becoming a standard, so perhaps Salieri thought it appropriate to write such a piece, or he was commissioned.

Concerto for flute, oboe in C Major
When the piece first began, I was confused as to why it was called the concerto for flute and oboe, as I could not hear any flutes or oboes, but then realized it was a nice introduction that prepared the audience for the arrival of the winds. I liked how Salieri alternated between focusing on the flute, then the oboe, then both of them together as they played the melody. Listening to the piece, I imagine children chasing after butterflies in a field. The flute and oboe represent the butterflies fluttering away in the sky, daintily avoiding the children's grubby hands. The children, on the other hand, stomp through the grass trying to catch up with the butterflies. The rapidly moving violins are like the feet of the children moving across the field.

Ouverture to Der Rauchfangkehrer
Being Salieri's few German singspiel and the only funny one, Salieri portrays the humorous attitude very well with his music. This singspiel tells the story of a chimney sweeper, and this image can easily be imagined with the violins moving up and down the scales as the broom sweeping up and down. The cutesy wind instruments sound like the chimney sweeper tip-toeing around and sweeping, and the louder string and trumpet parts are when the sweeper dusts off the chimney. I think it sounds very suitable for an overture to a comic performance, since it is very jolly-sounding and prepares the audience for an exciting and funny singspiel ahead of them. I liked the many contrasts in dynamics and instrument usage, especially when the strings and brass alternate between holding the important parts. The ending is also very bright and makes me feel like standing up and applauding.