week 15

The Rite of Spring was an immediate success.

False

Schoenberg searched for a new system of organizing music, and came up with a brand new concept of the 12-tone system.

'True'.

Scarcely any composers followed up on Schoenberg's idea of the 12-tone system.

False

to this excerpt from Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question. The brass instrument heard at the beginning and the end of this excerpt is different from the second time it returns at the end.

False

Which of these stanzas of poetry seems most expressionistic?

Heavy, gloomy giant black moths Massacred the sun's bright rays; Like a close-shut magic book Broods the distant sky in silence.

How does Sprechstimme differ from recitative?

In Sprechstimme, the voice does not maintain the pitch on each note but rather rises and falls as in speech.

to this excerpt from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring: Which of the following best describes the melodic character?

It consists of contrasting short fragments often repeated several times.

to this excerpt from Schoenberg's Pierre Lunaire. Which of the following best describes the vocal technique you hear?

The vocal part is performed in a manner that is halfway between speech and song (Sprechstimme).

to this excerpt from Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire. Which of the following best describes the vocal technique you hear?

The vocal part is performed in a manner that is halfway between speech and song (Sprechstimme).

Although there was a "riot" at the first public performance of "The Rite of Spring" ballet, the dress rehearsal with many actors, musicians, and various artists in attendance had gone very peacefully.

True

Charles Ives composed professionally, but sold insurance on the side so that his family could survive since nobody understood his music and the public did not recognize his genius.

True

Charles Ives once told a scribe who was trying to correct the dissonant sounds in his score, "Please don't try to make things nice. All the wrong notes are right."

True

Performances of The Rite of Spring as a ballet complete with dancers are quite rare. Usually the music is performed separately as a program symphony.

True

Music that has no harmonic center of gravity is said to be

atonal.

to this excerpt from Schoenberg's Pierre Lunaire. The harmony of this excerpt is

atonal.

to this excerpt from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring: Which of the following instrument(s) do you hear?

bassoon, amongst other woodwinds

After the first few bars of the premier of Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring some audience members:

began to shout loudly, and this turned into a terrific uproar.

When notes clash together, sounding unresolved, harsh, or "wrong," they are referred to as

dissonances.

What is another name for a scale that contains only five notes?

pentatonic

to this excerpt from Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question. Which of the following instruments do you hear?

strings

Expressionism in film is characterized by

surreal and gruesome plots.

How does ballet convey a story?

through movement and gesture

Stravinsky's Rite of Spring presents a narrative with very little repetition of the same music returning between sections, so it is said to be

through-composed.

to this excerpt from Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question. What kind of harmony do you hear?

tonal

What is expressionist about the words of Schoenberg's Pierrot lunaire, written by Albert Giraud?

It uses many dark, creepy images that unveil deep urges.

In Schoenberg's Pierre Lunaire, which character in the commedia dell'arte is always falling in love and suffering hopelessly?

Pierrot, the sad faced clown

Stravinsky's Rite of Spring was inspired by folklore from what country?

Russia

to this excerpt from Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire. Which best describes the harmony?

The harmony remains atonal.

to this excerpt from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Which of the following best describes the rhythm heard during the repeated chords?

The meter is mixed and the accents have no predictable pattern.

Which best describes the vocal technique of Sprechstimme?

The singer sings specific pitches and then changes the register of her voice.

In an expressionist work, psychological truth takes precedence over beauty.

True

The Rite of Spring is based on folk music.

True

Schoenberg taught at which universities in the United States?

University of Southern California and UCLA

to this excerpt from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. Concentrate on the repeated chords. The harmony created by these chords is

dissonant.

to this excerpt from Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question. What is the overall texture?

homophonic

to this excerpt from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring: When a piece of music has two simultaneous tonal centers (and consequent simultaneous harmonies), it is called

polytonal.

Some audiences rebelled against the new sounds, such as those composed by Arnold Schoenberg, and:

riots broke out at live concerts.

In the 1920s, Schoenberg developed

the 12-tone system, where all twelve tones treated with equal importance

to this excerpt from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring: It most likely comes from

the Introduction, which Stravinsky said "should represent the awakening of nature"

During and after World War II, Stravinsky lived in

the United States.

In addition to the metaphysical debate of the piece The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives, the contrasts between the different instrument groups could also represent

the conflict between old tonal music and new a-tonal music.

to this excerpt from Charles Ives: The Unanswered Question. The "question" in The Unanswered Question is asked by which instrument?

trumpet