Chapter 44. Sounding Literature: Orchestral Program Music by Mendelssohn and Grieg; Listening Guide 34: Mendelssohn: Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Listening Guide 35: Grieg: Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1, excerpts

Who wrote the play Peer Gynt and asked Grieg to compose incidental music for it?

Henrik Ibsen

Listen to the following excerpts and then click on the corresponding cards in the order in which they first appear in Mendelssohn's overture. Excerpt X 2:59 Excerpt Y 3:20 Excerpt Z 2:34

Y, Z, X

Match the following genres of program music to the correct description.

music written to accompany plays (Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream) Correct label: incidental music large-scale one-movement work for orchestra, also called tone poem (Debussy's Prelude to "The Afternoon of the Faun") Correct label: symphonic poem one-movement work for orchestra, independent of opera (Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet) Correct Label: program overature

This theme represents the Dance of the Fairies. T/F

true

Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream is descriptive of the characters and plot in a play by whom?

Shakespeare

Which describes the key and meter of In the Hall of the Mountain King?

duple meter and minor key

Hector Berlioz invented the symphonic poem.

false

Which instrument family is featured in the B section of Morning Mood?

strings

What describes the dynamics of the B section of Morning Mood?

sudden, dramatic changes from loud to soft

Common types of Romantic program music include the concert overture, incidental music, and the -.

symphonic poem

The - has a much freer structure than the -, the latter of which usually has a traditional Classical form.

symphonic poem concert

Nationalistic program music might evoke a country's landscape.

true

Which of the following statements apply to this excerpt from Mendelssohn's concert overture and which do not?

-It consists of four long chords. -It is the beginning of the piece.

Which of the following statements apply to this excerpt from Mendelssohn's concert overture and which do not?

-It features a slower version of the Royal Court at Athens theme. -The strings are primarily responsible for the melody. -It appears near the end of the piece.

Which of the following statements apply to this excerpt from Mendelssohn's concert overture and which do not?

-It is a dance. -It is Theme 3 of the sonata allegro form. -It features a musical gesture that symbolizes a donkey's braying.

Which of the following statements apply to this excerpt from Mendelssohn's concert overture and which do not?

-The Dance of the fairies theme is most prominent. -This is the development section of the sonata allegro form. -The brass instruments interrupt the strings.

Which of the following types of characters are represented by the themes in this section of Mendelssohn's overture and which are not?

-fairies -lovers -clowns (tradesmen acting in a play within the play)

Match the excerpts of Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream with the correct target descriptions. Not all targets will have matches. 0:31 0:26 0:25

0:31-The Royal Court at Athens 0:26-Dance of the fairies 0:25-The Royal Hunting Party

What describes the texture of Morning Mood?

A few instruments play a melody and the others provide accompaniment (homophony).

What is the form of Morning Mood?

A-B-A'

Match the instrumentation with the correct excerpt from In the Hall of the Mountain King.

Excerpt A - violins and woodwinds Excerpt B - full orchestra Excerpt C - low strings and bassoons

The instrument heard here at the beginning of Morning Mood is a French horn.

False

Drag and drop the appropriate words that describe Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Felix Mendelssohn's concert overture is based on a play by William Shakespeare. In the piece Mendelssohn uses various themes in sonata allegro form that also represent characters in the play, such as fairies—who are represented by Theme 1—and young lovers—who are represented by Theme 2.

Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor was admired and performed by which nineteenth-century virtuoso pianist?

Franz Liszt

From what traditions were the musicians in the "Mighty Five" seeking to free themselves?

French ballet German symphonic traditions Italian opera

From which of the following traditions were the musicians in the "Mighty Five" seeking to free themselves?

French ballet German symphonic traditions Italian opera

Match the descriptive words or phrases with the different elements of music as found in Morning Mood.

Meter - 6/8 Form - A-B-A' Texture - homophonic

From which of the following traditions were the musicians in the "Mighty Five" not seeking to free themselves?

Russian part song

Edvard Grieg represents the - nationalist school.

Scando

Which of the following statements correctly describe Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King?

TRUE - The music accelerandos. - The music crescendos. - The march features offbeat accents. FALSE - It is in a major key. - The piece remains piano throughout.

How does Grieg depict the troll daughters moving from marching to chasing after Peer at 1:40?

TRUE - The music is strongly accented. The orchestra plays fortissimo. FALSE - The music slows down. The orchestra becomes quieter.

Which words correctly describe how the low strings are played at the beginning of In the Hall of the Mountain King?

TRUE - pizzicato - piano FALSE - fortissimo - bowed

Match the descriptive words or phrases with the different elements of music as found in In the Hall of the Mountain King from Grieg's Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1.

Texture - homophonic key - minor meter - marchlike

Drag and drop the appropriate words that describe this excerpt from Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

This excerpt, which appears in the recapitulation, features both the Royal Court and Hunting themes, the latter of which is represented by a fanfare figure.

Drag and drop the appropriate words that describe the following excerpt from Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

This is the recapitulation of the sonata allegro form. It differs from the exposition in that the themes occur in a slightly different order and in altered and extended forms.

This excerpt from In the Hall of the Mountain King (the fortissimo section starting about one minute forty seconds into the movement), is strongly accented.

True

Who wrote the play upon which Mendelssohn's overture is based?

William Shakespeare

Listen to the following four themes and then click on the corresponding cards in the order in which they first appear in the exposition section of Mendelssohn's overture. Excerpt W (court) 0:31 Excerpt X (clowns) 0:22 Excerpt Y (fairies) 0:46 Excerpt Z (hunting)

Y, W, X, Z

Listen to the following excerpts and then click on the corresponding cards in the order in which they first appear in the exposition section of Mendelssohn's overture. Excerpt X (young lovers) 0:26 Excerpt Y (fairies) 0:46 Excerpt Z (clowns) 0:22

Y, X, Z

Listen to each excerpt from Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream, then match the corresponding cards to the sections in which they belong. Listening to the entire excerpts will help you. Excerpt W 2:09 Excerpt X (brass interruptions) 2:34 Excerpt Y 3:20 Excerpt Z 2:59

Y- exposition X- development Z- recapitulation W- coda

Match the correct word that describes the different elements of music heard in this excerpt from Mendelssohn's concert overture. (0:22)

character- boisterous dynamics- fortissimo melody- disjunct

What type of orchestral program music is Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream?

concert overture

Which of the following terms describes the genre of Mendelssohn's Overture?

concert overture

Match the correct word that describes the different elements of music heard in this excerpt from Mendelssohn's concert overture

dynamics- pianissimo articulation- staccato melody- conjunct

Which of the following were ways that composers of programmatic music portrayed nationalistic sentiments in nineteenth-century music and which were not?

evoking the country's landscape celebrating a national hero basing the work on regional folklore

In the twenty-first century, composers do not write nationalistic works.

false

Mendelssohn never created incidental music to accompany a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

false

The theme heard here represents young lovers. T/F

false

Which two instruments are prominently featured at the beginning of Morning Mood?

flute and oboe

Which of the following are true of Mendelssohn's career?

founder of the Conservatory of Leipzig conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig

What describes how the melody is played in the second half of the A section?

full orchestra

Match the descriptive words or phrases that describe Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream.

harmony- E major, with some themes in minor texture- predominantly homophonic tempo & meter- fast duple

Which describes the texture of In the Hall of the Mountain King?

homophonic

Which instrument is playing the main theme at the beginning of the A' section?

horn

- music is a type of program music and a predecessor of film soundtracks.

incidental

Although Grieg composed twenty-two pieces—including preludes and dances—as - music for Ibsen's Peer Gynt, he later extracted eight movements and combined them into two -, four movements each.

incidental orchestral suites

Which category of program music best describes Grieg's Peer Gynt?

incidental music

When nineteenth-century composers sought to glorify aspects of their homeland, this was considered an act of -.

nationalism

Which of the following describes the performing forces of Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream?

orchestra

Match the composers to their corresponding country or region.

russisa-borodin sweden-sibelius england-Elgar Czech-Dvor spain-albeniz

What is the form of Mendelssohn's Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream?

sonata allegro