ch17 vocab and composers Flashcards
program music
a piece of instrumental music associated with a story or other extramusical idea
program symphony
a symphony with a program, as by Berlioz.
étude
a piece of music designed to aid technical study of a particular instrument.
idée fixe
A fixed idea, an obsession; the term used by Berlioz for a recurring theme used in all movements of one of his program symphonies.
lied
German for “song”; a special genre of Romantic songs with piano (so be sung and played at home).
nocturne
“Night piece”: title for Romantic ‘miniature’ compositions for piano, etc.
orchestration
The technique of writing for various instruments to produce an effective total orchestral sound.
concert overture
An early 19th century genre resembling an opera overture—but without any following opera.
overture
An orchestral piece at the start of an opera, oratorio, etc.
polonaise
A Polish court dance in a moderate ‘triple meter’
song cycle
A group of songs connected by a general idea or story, and sometimes also by musical unifying devices.
strophic song
A song in several ‘stanzas’, with the same music sung for each stanza; as opposed to ‘through-composed song’.
through-composed
A song with new music for each stanza of the poem; as opposed to ‘strophic song’.
waltz
A 19th century dance in ‘triple meter’.
Schubert
Die Erlkönig (1815)
R. Schumann (1810-1856)
Dichterliebe
C. Schumann (1819-1896)
“Der Mond kommt still gegangen”
a character piece by Schubert (1797-1828)
Moment Musical, No. 2
Schumann
Carnaval
Chopin (1810-1849)
Nocturne in F-sharp, Op. 15, #2
Berlioz (1803-1869)
Symphonie Fantastique (1830)
One of the most important “miniature” genres of the Romantic era.
lied
one of 3 characteristic features of the lied:
- -accompaniment (usually piano)
- -poetry (composer’s response to poetic imagery)
- -mood (performers share emotional insight with listeners at home)
Erlkönig is based on a poem by:
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Cast in the old storytelling ballad form dealing with death and the supernatural.
Erlkönig
What two things help hold the long song of Erlkönig together?
1) piano’s continuous triplet rhythm until the very last line.
2) some telling musical repetitions: agitated riding motive and a desperately strained phrase sung higher and higher by the boy as he appeals to his father.
A symphony of two movements and sketches for a scherzo
Franz Shubert’s “Unfinished Symphony” in C
Love poems that trace a psychological progression from cautious optimism to disillusionment and despair.
“Dichterliebe”, R. Schumann
Who is the poet that inspired the 16 poems set to music by R. Schumann?
Heinrich Heine (he reacted with bitter irony against Romanticism, acknowledging his own hopeless commitment to its ideals.)
What piece and composer…uses musical phrases that achieve beautiful rhythmic matches for the song’s extra words such as slower for ‘drunten’ (down), livelier for ‘funkeln’ (light/sparkle) and very slow for ‘still’ (silently)?
Clara Schumann, “Der Mond kommt still gegangen” (The moon has risen softly…”)
What is a ‘character piece’?
A short Romantic piano piece that portrays a definite/particular mood, hinted at by an imaginative title supplied by the composer.
Two examples of character pieces
Felix Mendelssohn “Song Without Words” and Franz Schubert “Moment Musical No. 2 in A-flat”
a set of twenty short character pieces that portray masked guests at a Mardi Gras ball.
“Carnaval” by R. Schumann
pieces that feature a languid serenade; dark, secret lament or a musical contrast such as a distant procession, passionate encounter or dance fragment or folk song…free use of chromaticism for a liquid quality…
musical elements heard in any one of Chopin’s 21 nocturnes
A fantastic piano virtuoso and
composer of orchestral music namely, program symphonies and symphonic poems.
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
An example of a concert overture
Mendelssohn’s “Songs Without Words” was inspired by Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream”
An unpublished romantic composer of private oratorios and weekly home concerts.
Fanny Mendelssohn (1805-1847)
It spelled out movement by movement what the music was depicting in grandiose compositions characteristic of Romanticism as its musical miniatures.
Berlioz’s program symphony as in Symphonie Fantastique: Episodes in the Life of an Artist (1830)
What is Dichterliebe “A Poet’s Love” (1840) an example of?
a song cycle from the Romantic Era
Two general points regarding early Romantic era German composers:
1) strongly influenced by Beethoven’s music;
2) deeply influenced by literary Romanticism
Goethe, Schlegel, Novalis, Richter, Shakespeare
literary poets, novelists and playwrights admired by the Romantic composers
What’s the difference between a ‘lied’ and a ‘song cycle’?
‘lied’ is a small, fragile expression of the “miniature” song; ‘song cycle’ is a larger more comprehensive sequence of “miniature” songs that can be sang alone or in the sequence.
