Music 4 Final
Joseph Joachim
(1831-1907) -Violinist who performed in Johann Brahms's Violin Concerto in D major, III. (1878)
What musical device accounts for most of the music in Ives' "The Rockstrewn Hills Join in the People's Outdoor Meeting"?
-Fragmented form -juxtaposition
Olivier Messiaen, Quartet for the End of Time
-French composer, drafted in service in 1939 -Captured by German forces in 1940 invasion of France -Later, church organist and educator at the Paris Conservatory: ---One of the main founders of post WWI music -Composed in the prison camp A "vision of the Apocalypse": ---made allusion to end times-Book of Revelations -In 8 movements -For the instruments/musicians available: ---Violin, Cello, Clarinet, Piano ---"Modular" orchestration
What political and economic events shaped Western Europe in the mid-19th century?
-Growing middle class and and industrialized lower class -Crop failures, draught Germany/Italy as collections of small states -Unification as a means of consolidating power and economy
Vaslav Nijinsky
Choreographer for Ballet Russes( worked on Rite of Spring)
"Music Drama"
First advanced by Richard Wagner; was intended as a return to the Greek drama; consist of one long orchestral web instead of the alteration of recitatives, arias and ensemble in traditional operas.
Lied/Lieder
German song 19th c. by Shubert, special genre for voice and piano; domestic music making. German word for "Song."
Describe how Schubert sets Goethe's poem in Erlkönig; how does Schubert deal with the multiple characters present in the poem?
He has one person using 4 different voices as characters, the story evokes fearful nature and the supernatural; it's through composed in a major key, but the demon kills his son
Describe the poetry used in Pierrot Lunaire. How does this poetry relate to commedia dell'arte traditions? What kind of character is Schoenberg's Pierrot?
revolves around Pierre, beginning with him drunk under the moon and its light.
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828) -choirboy in vienna, musician entire life. -published songs and taught musicians, deeply affected by Beethoven -Created Lied genre, shift music toward mystical nature EX: Erlkonig
Hector Berlioz
(1803-1869) -born in Paris -Doctor but quits for music -Does program music, experimentation in orchestration; loved beethoven, -Symphonie Fantastique, most well known for his program music
Richard Wagner
(1813-1883) -ambitious German opera composer, fails in Paris, choirmaster in Dresden. -very poor, massive debt. -exiled for participation in 1848 protests but later supported by "mad" king who pays off his debts. -king builds own private opera house for Wagner in Bayreuth. reevaluates his music in exile and self consciously finds new style. - Founder of new style, Gesamptkunstwerk. -seen as a threat in Italy because the opera is an Italian tradition as Germans are known for their instrumental music
Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901) -Wagner's "rival", had mixed praise/hatred for Wagner. -began career as a contract composer in Milan and composed numerous operas (20ish) from 1831-1853 ("years in the galley) -gains fame with 3 operas: ---Rigoletto (1851) ---Il trovatore (1853) ---La Traviata (1853). -Becomes a national icon in Italy and eventually elected to Italian Parliament. -Promotes Nationalism in Italy, involved in revolution in 1848.
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897) -Reject Wagner/Berlioz's music. temper the unbridled emotionalism of Romanticism -Moves to Vienna at an early age -only wrote four symphonies( the first took over 20 years!) ---when composing he made a deliberate choice to look backward and build upon " classical music."
Gustav Mahler
(1860-1911) -Works primarily as a conductor -set the standard of modern conductor: ---radically intense expression; ---incredible length of time;"ironic" funeral march; -"frère Jacques" in minor, imitation
Claude Debussy
(1862-1918) -Occupies border area between 19th and 20th c. styles -studied at Paris Conservatory of Music beginning at age 10 -orchestra pieces focus on whole sound rather than single instruments, took job playing in trio for patron of Tchaikovsky -turned against Wagner and German music -later musical style reflects influences of impressionist painters and symbolist poets -famous for innovations in orchestra and piano writing, -died of cancer in Paris during WWI German bombing
Arnold Schoenberg
(1874-1951) -Grew up in Vienna, largely self-taught in music, versatile (painter, writer, etc.), pursued chromaticism and atonality, -Jewish, forced to leave Germany when nazis came to power, spent rest of life in LA, -first great teacher of all composers since Bach, taught at UCLA. -Leading expressionist in music. -Pioneered "emancipation of dissonance". -Developed serialism. -Invented sprechstimme ("speech song")
Charles Ives
(1874-1954) -First important American nationalist composer and a major modernist composer. -Many songs have American subjects. -Radical ideas about music: ---believed idea of music was more important than sound. -Graduated from Yale and took job in insurance, Composed in spare time. -Largely undiscovered untill the 1950s -regarded among the first to be experimentalism
Igor Stravinsky
(1882-1971) -"birth of modern music" -Born near St. Petersburg, Russia -Moves to Paris after first success -Lives in Paris until 1939 -Moves to Los Angeles -Early music greatly influence by Older Russian composers -Russian folk music
Sergei Prokofiev
(1891-1953) -Composed the score for the film commissioned by the Russian State "ALexander Nevsky" -Sergei Eisenstein (1898-1948) Composed a film called " Alexander Nevsky" with the score composed by Sergi Prokofiev which was a direct warning against German Aggression.
Olivier Messiaen
(1908-1992) -French composer, drafted for service in 1939. -Captured by German forces in 1940 invasion of France. -Later, church organist and educator at the Paris Conservatory. -Composed in the prison camp.
Olivier Messiae
(1908-1992)) -French composer. -Captured by German forces in 1940 during invasion of France. -Later became a Church organist and educator at the Paris Conservatory. -Composed in the prison camp.
John Cage
(1912-1992) -post-war radical experimentalist whose philosophy was that all sound is musical material. -Father of "chance" music
Luciano Berio
(1925-2003) -Italian composer, noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled Sequenza) and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.
Steve Reich
(1936 - ) -minimalism. -His notion of process involved determining large scale form and small scale details simultaneously. -Composer of "Drumming."
How can the post-War works of Cage and Messiaen be seen as a reaction to the devastation of the War? What 'mission' do these two works have in common?
*For John Cage:* ---Materials of urban life presented as music ---War forces a period of reevaluation ---Anything big is a reminder of the war and military action; have to approach idea with skepticism -"Use only quiet sounds" *For Messiaen:* ---Completely rejects emotional function of music: much more objective ---Refusal to continue musical traditions ---Refusal of expression/authorship *What they had in common:* ---Propose a new way of working and living ---Artists reconsider the way they make art ---New language not tainted by traumatic events ---Wipe out the past, start from scratch
Hector Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique, V. [CD4 - Tracks 5-11]
-"Dreams of a Witches' Sabbath" -program music → programmatic use of idée fixe -Sounds: unusual, burlesque, supernatural, unearthly, funeral bell tolls -Five movement symphony for a massive orchestra -Gives a 'story' that describes the 'action' of the symphony: · I. "dreams, passions" - loose sonata form · II. "A Ball" - dance movement in triple meter · III. "Scene in the Country" Slow, lyrical movement · IV. "March to the Scaffold" - "finale" · V. "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath" - unusual addition!
Olivier Messiaen, Mode de valeurs et d'Intensités
-"Mode of Durations and Intensities": ---major and minor as mode -For Piano Solo -no poetic, no religion -A method for dealing with abstract qualities of sound -Does not use conventionalized forms or harmonies -Constructs complex system that will account for its own structure -Automatic composition: ---Set parameters -Systematic composition: ---Each pitch assigned a duration, articulation, dynamic ---Cycles of pitches determine form and content ---Assigns different markers -Completely rejects emotional function of music: much more objective -Refusal to continue musical traditions -Refusal of expression/authorship
Claude Debussy, "Clouds" from Three Nocturnes [CD5 - Tracks 13-18]
-"Nocturne" a musical form evoking the night: ---"Clouds" "Festivals" "Sirens" -"Poem" by suggestion; contrasts with program music: ---Depicts "the unchanging aspect of the sky..." -Writing outside of major/minor keys. -"Pleasure is the only law": ---Only work to please your own ear. -Book suggests "ABA" form, but blurred edges, free-form. -Truly rejects conventionalized form. -Innovative, subtle orchestrations ("blurred colors"). -No Cadences.
Charles Ives, Orchestral Set No. 2 "The Rockstrewn Hills Join in the People's Outdoor Meeting" [CD5 - Tracks 33-34]
-"Orchestral Set" - independent pieces, not a symphony! -Lay unperformed until 1967 Fragmented form -Juxtaposition of clear, "quoted" fragments: ---Dance music, Ragtime, March music, Church Hymns ---The "familiar" in unexpected settings
What materials are at play in the third movement of Mahler's Symphony No. 1?
-"ironic" funeral march à "frere Jacques" -in minor, Imitation -The irony is that the funeral is based on a children playground song childhood lament, perhaps reflecting Mahler's own experiences as an abused child. -Bassoon solo -Tuba solo -Low register flute -Dance-based music (with parody) -In streets in Vienna, self-quotation from a song about lost love - Eventual overlay of all of these elements - Fragmentation structure / juxtaposition
What was unusual or remarkable about Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique? What changes does he make to the standard Enlightenment era symphonic form?
-5 movements for massive orchestra -gives a story that describes the action of the symphony. -Autobiographical perspective, built upon idea fixe (obsession)
Give an example that demonstrates "tragicomedy" in Verdi's Rigoletto.
-Act III, Quartet " Bella figlia dell'amore: ---To show how evil the duke when the duke is seducing a prostitute, Rigoletto and daughter saw from outside ---Rigoletto is a vengeful spirit to kill him, planning to assassinate the duke ---Daughter -> heartbroken ---Duke seducing prostitute 4 radically different emotionally and it happened simultaneously -We see the humorous, lighthearted Duke singing in a very happy, catchy tune about the fickleness of women (the comedic part) while on the side Rigoletto plots murder and his daughter is heartbroken (the tragedy).
Describe (very generally) the plot and construction of Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung.
-Alberich, a dwarf, forges a magical ring from gold he stole from the Rhinemaidens. -Wotan steals this ring in order to pay off his castle instead of offering his daughter, Frieda. -Alberich then curses the ring to bring death to whoever holds it. -The two builders, Fafner and Fasolt receive the ring as payment but soon after Fafner kills Fasolt. (Incest and stuff) -Siegmund and Seglinde's son Siegfried goes to rescue Brunnhilde who was put on a mountain by her father Wotan because she tried to save Siegmund, but failed. -Siegfried takes his magical sword, Nothung, and kills Fafner who has the ring. Then he goes to the mountain where he rescue's Brunnhilde. -When Siegfried goes back down the mountain he is drugged and immediatly forgets Brunnhilde. -He goes back to the mountain to capture Brunnhilde and the Hagen kills him because he wants the ring. -Brunnhilde then throws the ring into the Rhine river and Hagen drowns trying to save the ring. -Brunnhilde then kills herself by jumping on Siegfried's funeral fire/pyre
Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto: Act III, "La donna è mobile" [CD4 - Tracks 12-14]
-An aria -- about how easy women / his womanization: ---strophic form -- orchestra introduces each of the strophes ---recitative ---intended as a "pop" hit; catchy and simple, very well known melody in the 19th century.
In what ways does Debussy's music reject musical conventions? What innovative musical devices is he most well-known for?
-Avoids sonority, themes and motives fragmentary and tentative, vague harmonies, clouded tonality; ---Employed pentatonic scale, whole-tone scale, "Emancipation of dissonance"
Describe the setting of The Rite of Spring. What scenes does Stravinsky's ballet attempt to depict?
-Based on a fantasized "prehistoric Russian ritual" - Slavonic rite -Two parts: ---"The Adoration of the Earth" ---"The Sacrifice" -Highly unconventional dancing(almost mechanical): ---stomping that resembles machines or primitive people. ---This style of dancing shocked audiences who came expecting to see ballet.
Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto
-Based on a play of Victor Hugo: ---"tragicomedy" with radically contrasting emotions in the Italian opera tradition ---Rigoletto (Duke's jester) pokes fun at Duke for his seduction of women but his own daughter ends up being seduced.
Describe the way in which Giuseppe Verdi made a living
-Begins career as a contract composer in Milan. -"Years in the galley": ---Composed 19 (of his 28) operas from 1836-1853 -Achieves fame with 3 massive successes: ---Rigoletto (1851) ---Il Trovatore (1853) ---La Traviata (1853) -Success allows him to choose his projects -"retires" in 1871
What about the original choreography to The Rite of Spring was controversial? How was this piece received in its first performance?
-Choreography matched the music -Glorified prehistoric (unenlightened/instinctual) thought -Dancers dancing in rigid and mechanistic manors: ---evokes image of machine ---Most dancing is done by uniform groups--unification: military? -evokes 20th century man in military -Depicts prehistoric time with modern world
Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring
-Collaboration with Diaghilev and Nijinsky. -Ballet (music and dance). -Based on a fantasized "prehistoric Russian ritual" -Two parts: "The Adoration of the Earth" / "The Sacrifice" -Highly unconventional dancing. -**Rejects Romantic sentimentality and emotion: ---Music only expresses itself. ---Sound doesn't tell happiness unless we imagine it. -Avoids conventional forms and harmonies -often static and repetitive, prioritizes rhythm. -Most dancing is done by uniform groups--unification: military? ---evokes 20th century man in military. -One year before WWI -Depicts prehistoric time with modern world.
Johannes Brahms, Violin Concerto in D major, III. [CD4 - Tracks 37-42]
-Continuation of classical era; meant for enjoyment. -Rondo Form (def. section A repeated several times with new section presented between each repetition [Section A can be repeated in variations]): ---A B A' C B A" -Allegro Giocoso, ma troppo vivace → "jolly" (the overall timbre is light and happy). -Theme A imitates gypsy music -Solo violin plays the theme in double stops -Music pace increases leading into B: ---episode B melody → emphatic upward scale in violin, with inverted motive below it in orchestra. -Timpani (type of percussion instrument) are added at the second B episode -Short Cadenza before the Coda -Coda starts with a march like transformation
VI. Dance of Fury for the Seven Trumpets
-Depicts the trumpets announcing the catastrophies of the Apocalpse -Depicting trumpets without using trumpets -Entire ensemble in unison throughout -Rhythmic irregularity (as metaphor?): ---not march-able
Describe the way in which Alexander Nevsky was designed as propaganda. What political situation did this film address?
-Film commissioned by Russian state -Film issues direct warning against German aggression -Story of Russian heroic Russian peasants defending homeland: ---Peasant farmer leaves family to become legendary general ---Leads small army of peasants and beats German army -Explicitly a tool for political manipulation: ---Pulled from circulation with 1939 non-agression pact ---Movie is completely censored/removed ---Re-circulated following German invasion in 1941 -Sculpting evil in music as way as identifying German forces -In 1948, Russian composers (including Prokofiev) formally issued statement of censure, saying they broke Russian law by music they composed
Steve Reich, Drumming Part I
-For 4 percussionist playing (the same) 8 bongos -Additive process -Phasing process: speed up tempo ever so slightly so 1st drummer goes ahead of 2nd drummer. -Resultant patterns -Subtractive process: ---Notes taken out one by one -Limited materials: ---Only 4 pitches! ---Only one instrument! -Repetition: ---Only one "melody"/rhythm! -Use of clear process -Listener exploration?
How does Reich structure his piece Drumming Part I? What kinds of musical processes does he employ?
-For 4 percussionist playing (the same) 8 bongos. -Additive process. -Phasing process: speed up tempo ever so slightly so 1st drummer goes ahead of 2nd drummer. -Resultant patterns -Subtractive process: ---Notes taken out one by one ---Limited materials (only 4 pitches!) ---Only one instrument
What images structure the final movement, "Praise to the Immortality of Jesus"? How is this image represented musically?
-For violin and piano -Large violin solo, counterpart to the violoncello solo of the 5th movement. Why this second eulogy? ---It is especially aimed at second aspect of Jesus, Jesus the Man, the Word made flesh, immortally risen for our communication of his life. ---It is all love, Its slow ascent to the acutely extreme is the ascent of man to his god, the child of God to his Father, the being made divine towards Paradise.
Describe the way that Verdi constructs his famous ensemble "Bella figlia dell'amore" in Act III of Rigoletto.
-Four emotions expressed simultaneously: ---it begins with a fast section in which the Duke presses his attentions on maddalena while she jokingly resists. ---Meanwhile outsides, Gilda is horrified;these recitative-like exchanges are sung to a lively continuous orchestral melody that propels the action forward-one way Verdi blurred the distinction between recitative and full-fledged melody ---The fast section then comes to a stop on a loud, expectant chord with all our singers joining together
What unusual device does Messiaen use throughout the "Dance of Fury for the Seven Trumpets"? How might this musical technique represent the images described in the title?
-Full quartet -Rhythmically, the most characteristic piece of the series. The four instruments in unison imitate gongs and trumpets (the first six trumpets of the Apocalypse followed by various disasters, the trumpet of the seventh angel announcing consummation of the mystery of God) -Use of added values, of augmented or diminished rhythms, of non-retrogradable rhythms. -Music of stone, formidable granite sound; irresistible movement of steel, huge blocks of purple rage, icy drunkenness. -Hear especially all the terrible fortissimo of the augmentation of the theme and changes of register of its different notes, towards the end of the piece. -Toward the end of the movement the theme returns, fortissimo, in augmentation and with wide changes of register. -Unusual device is the additive rhythms that is played by all four instruments in unison
How did this political climate affect the lives of both Wagner and Verdi?
-Giuseppe Verdi's name became an acronym for the Italian liberation movement. It was a patriotic acronym for king — Vittorio Emmanuele, Re d'Italia. -Richard Wagner was thrown out of Germany in 1849 for inflammatory speeches he made from the revolutionary barricades in the town of Dresden.
How does Berio's Sinfonia, III. relate to the past? What is the basic premise of this work?
-Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection", III: ---The skeleton ---Proposing an answer to the meaning of life ---Throwing it into the protest -Rejection of abstraction. -"Commentary" on Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2, "Resurrection": ---Used as its "skeleton" or frame -Packed with musical and textual quotation. -We cannot be abstract anymore-we need to come face to face with the past, -We can't ignore our past!
How did the life of Franz Schubert differ from earlier Viennese composers like Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven? What community supported his work?
-He was different because he was born into a poor family in Vienna and lived there most of his life. -He capitalized on selling and publishing music to the general public. -He wrote nearly 700 lieder during his lifetime and died when he was 31 years old.
Describe Charles Ives' musical influences and musical training. How did he make a living? What did he value most about music-making?
-His father was a military band leader who also helped with experiment. -He acquired a musical education at Yale. ---However, he worked as a salesman and church organist and went largely undiscovered until 1950s.
How was it that the often-in debt Richard Wagner was able to compose and develop his life's work, The Ring of the Nibelung?
-His fortunes changed dramatically when he gained the support of the young, unstable, and finally mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria. -Thanks to Ludwig, Wagner's mature music dramas were at last produced
What new ideas about opera did Wagner theorize during his time in exile? What did Wagner dislike about early 19th century opera?
-In terms of opera, Wagner is famous for his novel concept of the "total work of art" (Gesamtkunstwerk) and his development of a special operatic technique, that of the "guiding motive" (leitmotiv). -Opera, he complained, had degenerated from its original form as serious drama in music — Wagner was thinking of ancient Greek drama, which he knew had been sung or at least chanted — into a mere concert in costume. -He particularly condemned arias, which were certainly at the heart of Italian opera, as hopelessly artificial Frowned upon improvisation by the singers. He wanted to be in total control of the drama; he wanted it to be -Gestamtkunstwerk, a cohesive work of art of which all the elements served a purpose.
What aesthetic principles were most valued in the Romantic era? What does it mean for something to be considered "sublime"?
-Individual emotional expression, and innovation, against standardization, turn to nature, mystery and supernatural; not "merely beautiful", Not "merely representing emotions defined by words". -Because of its abstract nature, music can be a pathway to the transcendent. Sublime: beautiful, but terrifying/dangerous/. -Something that can evoke emotions and thoughts of beauty, but there is an element of danger/mystery to it.
Charles Ives, The Unanswered Question [CD5 - Track 35]
-Influence of transcendentalist poets and philosophers: ---All of nature is divinely created-appreciation of nature/distrust of government ---Inspiration from Emerson's The Sphinx ---unsolvable mystery is nature -Program music: 3 Different instrumental Groups: ---String quartet (or orchestra), Trumpet soloist, Flute quartet. -Strings: "Silences of the Druids": ---unresponsive sphinx/nature ---no matter how much man works against it, always mysterious. ---slow, static, unresponsive ---Conventional harmonies -Trumpet: "The Unanswered Question of Existence": ---Trumpet plays exact same thing every time ---Always repeats the same "question" ---Pitches unrelated to either harmonic zone ---Moves at its own pace (own tempo/own character) -Flutes: "The Invisible Answer": ---Flutes represent humanity ---Humans try to answer this question of existence ---Increasingly agitated texture and dissonant harmony, Invisible answer become fighting answer. Take fragments of trumpet's part and "mock" it -Representing human beings -Multiple speeds and harmonic worlds simultaneously -Contrasts with Gustav Mahler-Ives takes same question but much more cynical response ---humans annoyed with question and eventually give up entirely
Luciano Berio, Sinfonia, III. In ruhig fliessender Bewegung
-Large orchestra w/ 8 voices -rejection of abstraction -premised upon inability to deny history by presenting weight of history as musical content: ---used a ton of references both musical and textual quotations
What technique does Wagner use to create continuity in his music over very long periods of time?
-Leitmotiv -Motivic fragments identified with particular people, emotions, events, or objects that recur and transform according to the dramatic action. -Precedents? -New musical "time" -No Recitative or Aria in Wagner
What stance did Mahler take in relation to the music that came before him? What musical techniques is he most well known for?
-Mahler continues in the spirit of romanticism, but in a developed, distorted way: ---His music has somewhat of a "bitterness" or "darkness" to it. The text refers to his music as "romantic nostalgia" where we hear techniques of romantic music in his work, but we also hear something different. ---One of his well-known techniques is his way of presenting distortion. ---In his Symphony No. 1, III we hear the distorted version of Frere Jacques in a minor key at a slower tempo than the original childhood song. ---He plays his Frere Jacques theme in the beginning straight up, but after that we don't really hear the theme in the same way; we hear distorted versions of it.
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 1 in D major, III. [CD5 - Tracks 5-12]
-Massive orchestra, ~100 players. -Packed with musical references: ---Street/Folk Music, older classical music, his own music ---Sounds of nature ---Often presented with an "ironic" twist. -"Ironic" funeral march; "Frere Jacques" in minor, imitation -Dance-band music ("With Parody") -Self-quotation from a song about lost love -Eventual overlay of all these elements -Fragmented structure/juxtaposition -Funeral March, imitation: ---Muted bass ---Bassoon ---Tuba ---Low flute
Describe the conditions in which Olivier Messiaen composed his Quartet for the End of Time. What biblical story did Messiaen look to as inspiration for this music?
-Messiaen was 31 years old when France entered World War II. -He was captured by the German army in June 1940 and imprisoned in Stalag VIII-A, a prisoner-of-war camp in Görlitz, Germany (now Zgorzelec, Poland). -While in transit to the camp, Messiaen showed the clarinetist Henri Akoka, also a prisoner, the sketches for what would become Abîme des oiseaux. -Two other professional musicians, violinist Jean le Boulaire and cellist Étienne Pasquier, were among his fellow prisoners, and after he managed to obtain some paper and a small pencil from a sympathetic guard (Carl-Albert Brüll, 1902-1989), Messiaen wrote a short trio for them; ---this piece developed into the Quatuor for the same trio with himself at the piano. ---The piece is scored for clarinet (in B-flat), violin, cello, and piano
What lasting influence did Pierrot Lunaire have on 20th century composition?
-Pierrot Ensemble -Timbral composition -Atonal composition -Miniature forms
Richard Wagner, The Valkyrie, Act I, Scene 1 [CD4 - Tracks 18-23]
-Plot: Meeting of Siegmund and Sieglinde (siblings). Attempting to evade capturers Siegmund stumbles into Sieglinde's dwelling → they fall in love -Begins with quick recitative by Siegmund followed by slow sounds of the cello -Leitmotiv: ---Seigmund's leitmotiv: a descending scale that is a transformed version of the theme of the storms played by cellos at the beginning of the piece (ominous sounding) ---Sieglinde's leitmotiv: violins that rise gently and falls -The leitmotifs signify when each character is about to speak
Public Reaction to Igor Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring
-Premiere a riotous mess/ scandalous success: ---fight between people wanting to listen and people thinking it's garbage ---Because of dancing? ---Music unconventional, but audience liked Stravinsky's earlier music ---Couldn't show his face in public for months after ---Organizer: "exactly what I wanted"--->maybe he provoked audience for more press?
In what ways is Reich's music "minimal"? What aspects of the music are 'limited' or 'stripped down'?
-Reich was influenced by fellow minimalist Terry Rilley, whose work in C combines simple musical patterns, offset in time, to create a slowly shifting, cohesive whole. Reich adopted this approach to compose his first major work, It's Gonna rain.
What kinds of music did Nazi Germany reject? Why was this music so threatening? What music did they promote?
-Rejecting modern art, foreign art as anything that deals with abstraction was banned from presentation. -Glorification of a strictly German tradition. -propaganda: they don't want democracy to become popular like jazz
What influences did Debussy ultimately reject and even rebel against?
-Rejects both of academics at conservatory and Wagner -Influence of 1889 World's Fair in Paris -Influence of "Symbolist" and "Impressionist" artists/writers -Innovative orchestral works -No symphonies or program music! -Free-form "symphonic poems"
Franz Schubert, Erlkönig [CD3 - Track 22]
-Romantic Era -Through composed -evokes fearful nature / supernatural: ---the erlking, an evil spirit that only the child can see, scares the child as he pleads for his father's comfort -4 different "voices" sung by one singer, with 3 in minor key and 1 in major (unusual use of major/minor keys) -piano → horses galloping with speed -Based on a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Sergei Prokofiev, Alexander Nevsky, "The Battle on Ice" [CD5 - Track 36]
-Score for film by the same name, Alexander Nevsky: ---Set in the 13th century, Alexander, the hero who has defeated the marauding vikings, is called upon to unite the Russians forces to defend against the invading Germans. ---Original soundtrack repurposed into a cantata (more appropriate for concert) -"The Battle on Ice" - climactic scene where the Russians and Germans meet on the frozen surface of a lake and duke it out: ---vivid sound-pictures of the battle action ---Sustained, minor-mode string chords, ominous drum rolls, a rising tremolo melody in the cellos, and strange, scraping noises from the violas set the shivering tone. ---German battle call - trombone ---Russians lure in Germans into the lake while most of their forces are on the flanks. Dynamic swells, texture grows. German chant. Climax → Battle music. Russians close in on the Germans.
How did Brahms and Mahler react to program music? What makes their symphonic music different from program music?
-Some pushed forward with ever bolder expression and technique (think of Wagner). -Others searched for new vitality in modes of expression that by now seemed traditional (think of Brahms).
What musical devices make Stravinsky's writing in The Rite of Spring particularly unusual and unique?
-Very large orchestra, emphasis on unusual colors -Avoids conventional forms and harmonies -Harmony serves to create a color, object that gets repeated in different contexts: ---Instead, often static and repetitive -Composed in large blocks with frequent 'cuts' -Prioritizes rhythm -Often employs fold or folk-like melody
Describe some of the events of 1968. What made this year particularly significant as a political and cultural milestone?
-Vietnam & The Tet Offensive. -Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia. -Martin Luther King Jr. -Robert F. Kennedy. -Waves of Protest: We don't need to be at war: ---Paris/Sorbonne ---Democratic National Convention, Chicago ---Miss America Pageant-heavily protested by woman's rights ---Stonewall Riots-Gays and lesbians staged that they exist
VIII. Praise for the Immortality of Jesus
-Violin and Piano only -"ascent of man towards God" -Static/Stoic piano & Hyper-expressive violin -Conventional harmonies -The last movement: big finale usually...not the case for this: Instead it is a duet for violin and piano
How did Gustav Mahler make a living? What effect did his work have on this profession?
-Works primarily as a conductor -Eventually conductor at Vienna Court Opera highest honor of a conductor -Doesn't have performing experience -Born Jewish, but forced to convert -Sets the standard for the modern conductor
What impact did the actress and singer Albertine Zehme have upon Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire?
-Zehme commissioned Pierrot Lunaire, requesting melodrama and poetic recitations accompanied by music, with poems by Albert Giraud. -originally meant for voice and piano.
How did Steve Reich seek to make his music more comprehensible to the listener? What does he mean when he says "I don't know any secrets of the structure that you can't hear"?
-a statement against the "implicit ascendancy" of the composer over listener. -considered a pioneer of "minimal music" ; simple music, characterized by a strong, steady pulse and strictly diatonic and tonal harmonies.
John Cage, Sonatas and Interludes, Sonata V.
-affected by events of war -Experimentalist in the tradition of Ives -Sound radically different -Early music for percussion orchestras -All sound as musical material (leaves in trees) -Materials of urban life presented as music -War forces a period of reevaluation -Anything big is a reminder of the war and military action ---have to approach idea with skepticism -"Use only quiet sounds" -Re-imagines sound of piano For Prepared Piano: ---Almost completely different instrument ---"untainted" by history ---invents musical language from scratch -Jungle sounding
How did John Cage's music change after WWII? What new instrument became a central part of his compositional practice?
-affected by events of war. -Experimentalist in the tradition of Ives. -Sound radically different -Early music for percussion orchestras. -All sound as musical material (leaves in trees). -Materials of urban life presented as music. -War forces a period of reevaluation. -Anything big is a reminder of the war and military action: ---have to approach ideas with skepticism. -"Use only quiet sounds" -Re-imagines sound of piano, For Prepared Piano: ---Almost completely different instrument ---"untainted" by history ---invents musical language from scratch -Jungle sounding
What was unique or innovating about Wagner's opera house in Bayreuth? What purpose did these innovations serve?
-constructed specifically for him and for The Ring of the Nibelung. -The opera house had no boxes or special seating so every person in the room had an equal view of the performance. ---the stage had two levels, one for the performers and one for the orchestra, which was lower. ---This made the performance seem more mystical, as the audience could not see where the music was coming from. -The opera house was much larger than it needed to be not only to accommodate the large orchestra, but also to enable quick set changes by hiding the sliding sets within the walls to the side of the stage. -Additionally, the lights were dimmed in order to encourage the audience to focus on the drama instead of interacting with each other. ---Here we see an example of where we got the idea of going to a show and sitting quietly and watching/listening with focused attention, whereas before this point people went to operas to socialize with the opera as background noise.
Describe the unusual orchestral and vocal forces required for a full performance of The Ring.
-he orchestra consisted of several brass instruments such as the tuba and the trombone: ---126 players (vs. 86 players of Symphonie Fantastique of Berlioz) ---Greatly expanded woodwind, brass, and percussion sections o Included brass instruments designed by Wagner ---"Heroic tenor" and "dramatic soprano"
Describe the components and "program" of Ives' The Unanswered Question. What is so unusual about the way this piece is put together?
-influence of transcendentalist poets and philosophers -program music -strings: "silences of the druids": ---slow, static, unresponsive conventional harmonies -trumpets: "The Unanswered Question of Existence": ---Always repeats the same "question" ---unrelated to either harmonic zone -flutes: "The Invisible Answer" ---increasingly agitated texture and dissonant harmony representing human beings, multiple speeds, and harmonic words simultaneously
How did Beethoven's legacy shape the way we think about Western music today?
-music free of function -unity fetishized, meant to be deciphered
Giuseppe Verdi, Rigoletto: Act III, "Bella figlia dell'amore" [CD4 - Tracks 15-17]
-quartet. -begins with a fast section followed by a slow section. -recitative-like exchanges: ---sung lively, continuous orchestral melody that propels the action forward; in doing this verdi has blurred the distinction between recitatives and melodies. -the fast section comes to a stop on a loud, expectant chord with all 4 singers joining together. -the slow section begins with the duke singing (almost sounds like Don Giovanni). -Usual song people dance to in classical age balls in movies.
Arnold Schoenberg, Pierrot Lunaire, No. 18 "Der Mondfleck" [CD5 - Track 27]
-texts from: pierrot lunaire: roundels bergamesque (albert giraud, 1884): ---writes in the perspective of the artist and pierrot and pierrot represents himself as an artist ---zheme wanted to perform these poems and did a melodrama recitation -structure: 3 parts, each with 7 movements (21 in total): ---mystical significance with numbers -instrumentation: (5 instrumentalists): ---violin/viola, cello, flute/piccolo, clarinet in A, B-flat, and bass clarinet, piano ---was originally supposed to only be voice and piano
What is the idée fixe? What role does this device play in the Symphonie Fantastique?
-the term to denote the recurring theme in Symphonie fantastique (1830) -a programmatic work depicting the life of an artist; the theme represented the artist's obsession with his beloved. -Unlike most symphonies of the time, whose movements each were built from distinct themes, the Symphonie fantastique was marked by a persistent theme—the idée fixe—that surfaced in various forms in all five movements of the work, although not always as the main theme
Concerto
A large composition for orchestra and solo instrument.
Schubertiad
An event where all the artist gather and perform Schubert's music.
How did the work of Ludwig van Beethoven affect the musicians of the Romantic period?
Beethoven's legacy: - Artistic purpose; music free of function - Image of 'tortured artist' and 'inspired genius' - Each work is an individual expression (composed only 9 symphonies) - Unity fetishized - He was the first one who make the artist at the center - Each work is a masterpiece ; he/ artist is a hero He is struggling to express his geniuses during his deafness -recurring theme that "haunts" the rest of the symphony. Ex: da-da-daaaaa is heard throughout the 5th symphony, not just in the first movement.
Contrast Berio's view of history with that of Messiaen or Cage; how does history inform each artist's work?
Berio's View is that there is an inability to deny history. he rejected Abstraction: -Older history defined his art Abstraction=refusing the literal meaning of things in Art. Oliver Messiaen was the opposite of Berio: -He refused to continue musical traditions -Did abstract Art -Looked to the future for inspiration in his Art
How did Johannes Brahms approach this problem of "lateness"? What stance did Brahms take in relation to the music that came before him?
Johannes Brahms disregarded the "lateness" of the Romantic era and instead built his music upon an "outdated" classical style of music, which also caused him to condemn modern compositions or "Music of the Future".
Prepared Piano
John Cage experimental technique, where he used random items like screws, strips of paper, rubber and placed them between strings in a piano to create different sounds.
Entartete Kunst
Literally,"Degenerate Art", a term used in Nazi Germany to denigrate modern art, which the regime asserted had a corrupting influence on the national culture.
Second Viennese School
Name given to composer Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils Alban Berg and Anton Webern; represents the first efforts in twelve-tone composition.
What political ideas gained prominence during the Romantic opera period?
Nationalism, democracy, radical political thought
Where and with whom did Stravinsky craft his first major ballets?
Paris, with Ballet Russe.
Sergei Diaghilev
Producer for Ballet Russes(worked on Rite of Sping)
Ballet Russes
Russian Ballet Company in Paris. Producer Sergei Diaghilev and Choreograpaher Vaslav Nijinsky. Stravinsky's three "Russian" ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), The Rite of Spring (1913) Two parts: "The Adoration of the Earth" and "The Sacrafice" Highly unconventional dancing
Conservatory
School where musicians go to train. They were institutions of preservation: art of the past
For which political cause did Verdi become an artistic icon?
The Unification of Italy led by the upper middle (art-consuming) classes Italian Liberation Movement.
Process
The hallmark characteristic: every piece seeks to start from nothing again and find its own system. There is a clear beginning and end point (just like the artwork). The listener must be on same footing as composer. Goal is for everyone to know how a piece of music works (against Messaien). It determines large-scale form and small-scale details simultaneously. Easily perceptible, transparent; Gradual change (has to happen very slowly).
What does it mean to use the term "late" in reference to music at the end of the 19th century?
The term "late" to the end of the Romantic musical art-form, which made Romantic artist face the reality of the growing Modern world, which was more attracted to the "Music of the Future".
How did Verdi view the work of Wagner? What role did the idea of nationalism play in his consideration of Wagner?
Verdi wrote about how "germans should stick to writing German music" and that any self-respecting Italian that used Wagner's techniques was committing an "artistic crime."
Sprechstimme
Vocal style developed by Schoenberg, mixture between singing and speaking ("speech song")
How did the German public react to the traveling exhibitions of Entartete Kunst? What did many artists and intellectuals do in response to Nazi persecution?
["degenerate art"]: ---exhibition of bad art ---goes around like circus to show how ugly music and art was ---traveling exhibitions 1937-38 for its emphasis on individuality and complexity -often, the Jewish heritage of many artists -Public interest: ---backfire-all this art had been censored ---great deal of genuine interest -Massive emigration of artists abroad
Rondo
a musical form consisting of one main theme or tune alternating with other theme or sections (Ex: ABACA, ABACABA)
Leitmotiv
a recurring musical theme appearing usually in operas but also in symphonic poems. It is used to reinforce the dramatic action, to provide psychological insight into the characters, and to recall or suggest to the listener extramusical ideas relevant to the dramatic event. Motivic fragments identified with particular people, emotions, events or objects that recur and transform according to the dramatic action.
Idée Fixe
a recurring theme or character trait that serves as the structural foundation of a work. It is traceable to the composer Hector Berlioz, who used the term to denote the recurring theme in his Symphonie fantastique (1830).
Gesamptkunstwerk ("total art work")
a work in which all these elements are united in the service of drama.
Phasing
adjusting tempo slightly (accelerating), makes it sound out of order and chaotic but the musician is just one note ahead of the other musician. His first note becomes her second note.
Cadenza
an improvised passage for the soloist in a concerto or sometimes other works. Concerto cadenzas usually come near the ends of movements.
Tragicomedy
dramatic work incorporating both tragic and comic elements -Intense contrasts of emotion -Continues seamlessly radically contrasting emotions
Experimentalism
exploration of previously unknown aspects of musical sound
How did Messiaen's music change after WWII? What new procedures did he employ to structure his music?
he refused to continue musical traditions as well as expression and authorship.
Describe the text of Erlkönig; how does this text engage with various themes of Romanticism?
it deals with the supernatural, a rising theme of Romanticism, by having a "demon" that kills the son as they are running through a forest
Program Music
piece of instrumental music associated with a story or other extra-musical idea.
Coda
the concluding section of a piece or a movement after the main elements of the form have been presented; common in sonata form.
Quotation
used by Luciano Berlio in Sinfonia III. Quotes many outside texts (ex. Samuel Becketts: "The Unnamable," James Joyce: "Ulysses," and protest slogan etc) and music (ex. Gustav Mahler Symphony No.2 "Resurrection" and music demanded by the voices) within his symphony.
Systematic Composition
used by Oliver Messiaen. Each pitch was assigned a duration, articulation, and dynamic. He created cycles of pitches determined form and content. With this songs sounded scattered with no flow, the song makes no attempt to go anywhere. But it was his resistance towards continuing musical traditions.
