20th Century Music

Question 1

What was the 20th century’s reaction against Romanticism

Answer 1

Early-20th-century music was the product of a reaction against Romanticism  Sought to escape refinement, adopt primitive, uninhibited, spontaneous style o Turned towards non-Western sources (Africa, Asia, eastern Europe) for primal, powerful rhythms, and fresh concepts

Question 2

What is Expressionism?

Answer 2

Expressionism was German response to Impressionism  Explores the worlds of the subconscious, hallucinations, and dreams o Artists: Kandinsky, Klee, Kokoschka, Munch o Composers: Schoenberg, Berg, Webern o Musical characteristics:  Expressive harmony  Extreme ranges  Disjunct melodies

Question 3

What is Neoclassicism?

Answer 3

Revival of balance and objectivity in the arts o A return to formal structures of the past o Began in the early 1920s o Composers preferred absolute to program music

Question 4

What is rhythmical complexity in the 20th Century?

Answer 4

Revitalization of rhythm o Polyrhythm, polymeter, changing meter, irregular meters

Question 5

Describe melody in the 20th Century.

Answer 5

Becomes instrumental, not vocal, in character  Abounds in wide leaps and dissonant intervals

Question 6

Describe harmony in the 20th Century

Answer 6

Beyond traditional systems of tonality o Polychords, polyharmony o New Conceptions of Tonality  The major-minor system was no longer dominant http://ibscrewed4music.blogspot.com/  It was expanded, combined, and avoided  Perceived drive toward the tonic is weakened  Polytonality: presentation of two or more simultaneous keys  Atonality: abandonment of tonality, all 12 tones are equal in importance

Question 7

What is the tone row method of composing?

Answer 7

Also known as serialism or dodecaphonic composition  Atonal method devised by Schoenberg  Strict system based on and unified by tone row  Tone row: arrangement of all 12 chromatic tones  Forms of the row: transposed, inverted, retrograde, retrograde inversion

Question 8

What is meant by the Emancipation of Dissonance?

Answer 8

 Extreme dissonances become a normal part of the sound  No obligation to resolve to consonance  Texture: Dissonant counterpoint  Sparse linear texture (counterpoint)

Question 9

Describe the 20th Century orchestra.

Answer 9

 Leaner, smaller orchestra  String section no longer the “heart” of the orchestra  Composers favored the darker instruments (viola, bassoon, trombone)  Emphasis on rhythm brings percussion to the foreground  Piano becomes an orchestral instrument

Question 10

What aspects of form are presented in the 20th Century?

Answer 10

 Composers revisit Classical ideals of tight organization and succinctness  Revival of older forms (toccata, fugue, concerto grosso, suite, etc.)  Formalists valued form over expressiveness

Question 11

Describe Stravinsky’s Music throughout his 3 periods.

Answer 11

o His music reflects changing trends (post-Impressionism, classicism, serialism, etc.) o Leader in the revitalization of rhythm o Considered one of the great orchestrators o Early works  His music reflects nationalism  Reacted against the restless chromaticism of Romanticism  Three ballets for the Ballets Russes, The Soldier’s Tale o Neoclassical period  Oedipus Rex: opera-oratorio  Symphony of Psalms: for chorus and orchestra  The Rake’s Progress: opera based on a series of engravings by Hogarth o 12-tone music  Threni: Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah

Question 12

Describe Stravinky’s Royal March from ‘The Soldier’s Tale.

Answer 12

o Small-scale theater work

o Written near the end of WWI, while Stravinsky was in exile in Switzerland

o Folk tale by Alexander Afanaseyev adapted by C. F. Ramuz

 Commentary on the composer’s exile from his homeland

o Scored for 7 instruments, 3 actors, and a female dancer

o Neoclassical elements abound: tonality, traditional forms, etc.

 Ternary form

 Inspired by a memory of a bullfight band

 Rhythmic intricacies and polyrhythm provide humorous backdrop

 Spanish-dance melody (paso doble) is heard in the A section