The Lied
German for "song;" german-texted solo song with piano accompaniment
Importance of poets Goethe and Heine to the Lied
love, longing, beauty of nature
Song Cycle
group of songs that are unified by a narrative thread or common theme
Strophic Form
the same music is repeated for each stanza
Through-Composed Form
No repetitions of whole sections, the music changes according to the text
Franz Schubert
Born in Vienna
Schubertiads
Public recognition while still a teen
Died at age 31; buried near Beethoven
Symphonies and chamber music are Classical in nature
Songs wholly Romantic
Der Erlkoing (The Elfking)
Ballad poem by Goethe
-Legend of the Elfking: whoever he touches must die
-Father and sick son riding through the forest on a windy night, Elfking appears to the son, son dies
Piano opening sets the atmosphere, galloping
Four characters (father, son, Elfk
Robert Schumann
Born in Zwickau, Germany
Ambition to be a pianist, but injured his hand and turned to composition and criticism
1830s courtship of composer/pianist Clara Wieck; married in 1840
-Clara foremost interpreter of husband's music
After a suicide attempt, Robert
Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love)
Song cycle from 1840
Sixteen poems by Heinrich Heine
Psychological progression from freshness of love through disappointment to despair
Song no. 1: In the Lovely Month of May (LG27)
-Two strophes
-Piano part wistful, meandering, no resolution
Technical improvements of the 19th century piano
Factory-made, standardization, affordability
Metal frame, increased string tension
Improved mechanical action, extended range
The short lyric piece" aka "Character piece
Solo piano equivalent to the song
Projects melodious and dramatic moods within a compact form
Sometimes fanciful titles
Frederic Chopin
Born outside Warsaw
-French father, Polish mother
1831 to Paris for remainder of career
-Social circle of famous French composers, writers, and artists
Relationship with author George Sand
Mazurka
a lively triple-meter dance with an accent on the second or third beat of the measure
Program music vs. Absolute music
Program music = instrumental music with literary or pictorial associations specified by the composer; brought music closer to poetry and painting
absolute music = musical patterns designed without these meanings
Effects of the Industrial Revolution
Pianos acquired a new key action and an iron frame, capable of louder dynamics
Violins acquired a secure chin rest and new bow; more playing power
Harp and timpani acquired pedals to change pitch
Trumpet and horn acquired valves; now could play chromatica
Hector Berloiz
Born in southern France
Fan of Beethoven and Shakespeare
-Fell in love with Harriet Smithson
Works draw upon literary influences
Genius orchestrator
Symphonie fantastique
first great proponent of musical Romanticism in France
Program symphony based on personal life
idee fixe
a recurring musical thread unifying the five movements
Harriet Smithson
who Berloiz fell in love with
Overture
single-movement evocative orchestral piece
Incidental music
series of pieces performed between the acts of a play
Symphonic poem
large-scale program music for orchestra
-One movement, several sections
-Development of a poetic idea, suggestion of a scene, of creation of a mood
aka tone poem
Musical nationalism
Basing music on songs and dances of their people
Dramatic works based on folklore or peasant life
Works celebrating national heroes, historic events, or scenic beauty
political expression sometimes banned
Edvard Grieg
Born in Norway, attended Leipzig Conservatory
Stipend from Norwegian government allowed him to focus on composition
Goal was to create art accessible to all the public
International figure, notable for lyricism and use of folk music and dances
Peer Gynt
Play by Henrik Ibsen based on moralistic Norwegian folk tale
Morning Mood, atmospheric depiction of sunrise
In the Hall of the Mountain King, grotesque ballet music as troll daughters chase Peer
Henrik Ibsen
wrote Peer Gynt
Leitmotif
leading motif" or basic reoccurring theme, representing a person, object, or idea; widely used in Wagner's music dramas
Richard Wagner
greatest figure in German opera
-"before Wagner" and "after Wagner"
Born in Leipzig, Germany
At age twenty-three began writing operas
Developed theory of music drama
Wagnerian art-religion
The Ring of the Nibelung
Endless melody"
Gesamtkunstwerk ("total artwork")
-Music drama
Unity through leitmotifs
Chromatic harmony
Four-opera epic cycle
Die Walkure
Second work in the cycle
Siegmund & Sieglinde
Wotan & Br�nnhilde
Act III opens with Ride of the Valkyries (LG 36)
Act III ends with magic fire music
Gesamntkunstwerk
total artwork
Giacomo Puccini
Born in Lucca, Italy
First operatic success Manon Lescaut
La boh�me, Tosca, and Madame Butterfly
The Girl of the Golden West, Gianni Schicchi, Turandot
Verismo
realism movement
Madame Butterfly
Central tragic-heroic character
-Young geisha named Cio-Cio San (Butterfly)
Mix of verismo and exoticism
-Set in Japan, also American characters
Act II aria "Un bel d�" ("One beautiful day"; LG 38)
Cio-Cio San
young butterfly in Madame Butterfly
Impressionism (visual art as well as music)
in music is defined by modal and exotic scales, unresolved dissonances, tone combinations such as ninth chords, rich or orchestral color, and free rhythm, all generally cast in small scale programmatic forms
Claude Debussy
Paris Conservatory at age eleven
Opera Pell�as and M�lisande
Considered art to be a sensuous experience
Interest in non-Western scales
Helped establish the m�lodie as a national art form
Stephane Mallarme
inspired the "The Afternoon of a Faun
The Afternoon of a Faun
Inspired by the Symbolist poem by Mallarm�
-Describes half-man/half-goat creature
-Raw sensuality
Debussy's music a series of "backdrops"
-Fluid and rhapsodic
-Novel tone colors and chords
Later choreographed scandalously by Nijinsky
Camp meetings
ring shouts, spirituals
Ring shouts
religious dance of African American slaves, performed with hand clapping and a shuffle step to spirituals
Spirituals
semi-improvised tradition of sacred songs made by black slaves and freedmen
Fisk Jubilee Singers
popularized the swing low, sweet chariot song
Harlem Renaissance
...
Call-and-response
performance style with a singing leader who is imitated by a chorus of followers
Louis Armstrong
trumpet player and singer who was associated with New Orleans style jazz
Billie Holiday
Sang at clubs in Brooklyn and Harlem
In 1933 discovered by a talent scout, arranged to record with Benny Goodman
By 1935 recording with best jazz musicians of her day
Strange Fruit recorded 1939
By the 1940s her life had deteriorated due to addiction and
Duke Ellington
Born in Washington, D.C.
By 1920s playing in New York jazz clubs
Concern for structure resulted in complex forms
Composer, arranger, major figure in the Harlem Renaissance
Bebop
featured fast tempos and complex harmonies
Dizzy Gillespie
associated with bebop
Charlie Parker
associated with bebop
Thelonious Monk
associated with bebop
Cool jazz
sub style of bebop
Miles Davis
associated with cool jazz