Chapter 19: The Rise of Romanticism

Question 1

Describe the characteristics of Romanticism and the goal of romanticism.

Answer 1

-Liberty and equality = change in human values
-Romantic - “romance-like” novelistic
-Concentrates on emotional conflict/climax
-Uniqueness of the individual
-Goal: emotional stimulation (not aesthetic satisfaction

Question 2

List the themes of Romanticism.

Answer 2

-Longing/Yearning (usually if that object is unattainable)
-Love (often hopeless or unrequited)
-Death (and the mystery of death)
-Religion/supernatural
-Politics
-Nature (especially if it’s in conflict with or threatening human life)

Question 3

What are the techniques of Romanticism?

Answer 3

-Ruggedness (frequent dissonance; bright, aggressive timbres)
-Abrupt change/sharp contrasts (extremes in dynamics; harmonic progressions move abruptly to unrelated chords)
-Unpredictable (surprise and instability)
-Overloading (emotional expression that has overwhelmed rational control; excessive chromaticism or dynamics)
-Organic Thinking (grow as if alive; blurred cadences; related movements)

Question 4

Discuss Romantic Lied.

Answer 4

-important Romantic genre
-Song for solo voice and piano based on a German poem
-2 types (Strophic and Ballad)

Question 5

What is the difference between strophic and ballad lied?

Answer 5

Strophic (verse based)
-Symmetrical melodic phrasing, light texture, simple harmonies
-Poetic interpretation through tempo, dynamics, timbre, articulation
Ballad
-Narrative, dramatic texts
-Irregular poetic phrasing
-Through-composed

Question 6

Who is known as the creator of 19th century lied?

Answer 6

Franz Schubert

Question 7

Discuss Schubert’s style.

Answer 7

-Lyrical melodies
-Harmonic color
-Surprise
-Unexpected modulations
-Shift in mode
-Melodic thinker

Question 8

What type of accompaniment do we associate with Schubert’s music?

Answer 8

Broken chord

Question 9

What was Schubert’s stance on composers vs. poets?

Answer 9

Believed they were equal in setting the tone/having a personal interpretation of the piece

Question 10

What was Schubert good at combining?

Answer 10

Melody, opera, drama, poetry

Question 11

What was Schubert’s song cycle? Librettist?

Answer 11

Winterreise
Wilhelm Müller

Question 12

Italian Opera

Answer 12

-Romantic movement came slowly
-19th c. opera - opera seria and opera buffa (no change)
-Gioacchino Rossini

Question 13

Gioacchino Rossini

Answer 13

-Italian Opera
-Principal Italian composer - early 19th c.
-The Barber of Seville
-Otello

Question 14

Compare/Contrast Rossini’s Italian operas: the Barber of Seville and Otello.

Answer 14

The Barber of Seville
-his most famous opera
-opera buffa
-greater lyricism and vocal improvisation
Otello
-Dramma - serious opera
-Subject matter - Shakespeare

Question 15

Trace German Opera

Answer 15

-Mozart
>Magic Flute
>1st German Opera
>Singspiel
-Beethoven
>Fidelio
>Singspiel/Melodrama
-Weber
>Free Marksman
>Singspiel/Melodrama
>Reminiscence Themes

Question 16

Discuss Carl Maria von Weber’s contribution to German Opera.

Answer 16

The Free Marksman
-Singspiel
-German folk heritage
-Fairytale of humans and superhumans (good vs. evil)
-Wolf’s Glen scene - striking Romantic moment in operatic literature⭐️
-Melodrama
-Reminiscence Themes

Question 17

Reminiscence Themes

Answer 17

-Weber (first to use)
-recurring melodies serve as connections between dramatic ideas
-Wagner (characteristic of his writing)
-F. W. Jähns (Weber’s biographer) invents term “Leitmotif”

Question 18

Leitmotif

Answer 18

-Musical tag or label
-Unifying device
-Same thing as reminiscence themes
-Term invented by F. W. Jähns (Weber’s biographer)
-Recurring theme or musical idea
>Person
>Place
>Thing
>Idea
>State of Mind
>Supernatural force