Exam #2 Flash Cards
Romanticism
Mode of thought that emerged in the late 18th/early 19th centuries and placed importance on imagination and subjectivity over reason and objectivity (although reason was still respected).
Nationalism
-Idea that one embraces true identity through common language and culture. Included shared literacy and musical traditions. Folk elements began to make their way into works.
-Examples include:
=Chopin native polonaises and mazurkas.
=Verdi in Italy
=Wagner in Germany
Idealism
System of thought based on the idea that objects of the physical world are a reflection of ideas in the mind. Played a key role in the rising popularity of instrumental music.
Noumenal vs Phenomenal:
- Noumenal = spiritual, ideal world (what could be)
- Phenomenal = actual, current world (what is)
Absolute Music
Coined by Richard Wagner. Purely instrumental music. “Ab” comes from Latin for “separate” or disconnected. Music for music, it’s not about anything in particular.
Programmatic Music
Any instrumental work that in one way or another is connected with a story or idea that lies outside of the music. This could be text, poetry, or even just a title.
Scherzo
Italian for “joke,” a movement type that supplants the minuet in multi-movement works such as symphonies, quartets, and sonatas. ABA form. Much faster than the minuet and almost “humorous” in musical gestures.
Fugato
Passage in a movement and/or work that begins like a fugue, but doesn’t sustain itself after a series of initial entries.
Example: Beethoven’s “Eroica,” 1st movement. Fugato is utilized in the development.
Heiligenstadt Testament
Document that Beethoven wrote exploring the sources of his pain and misery during his midlife. Almost like a diary entry. It was hidden all his life from 1802 until his death in 1827. He describes his feelings on his inevitable deafness.
Concert Overture
Single-movement work for orchestra associated with a programmatic idea of some kind. The genre grew out of the performance of opera overtures without the opera itself. Instead, they’re performed in concert halls.
Lied(er)
-German term for song. Lieder is the plural.
-There were many contemporary listeners and performers.
-It became popular genre during first half of the 19th century.
-Found prominence due to rise of German poetry and growing availability of the piano.
-Fell into 3 categories:
= Strophic (each verse is set to the same music)
= Modified Strophic (music varies from strophe to strophe, but stays pretty much the same)
= Through Composed (No recognizable pattern of repetition)
-Song Cycles were collections of lieder.
Parlor Music
Music labeled as such because it was performed in the parlors of homes in the 19th century. Songs were strophic, sentimental, and melodically/harmonically straightforward.
Character Piece
Brief work for solo piano that aims to create a mood or “character” of a particular person, idea, situation, or emotion. These are specified sometimes, but sometimes not. Earlier on in the 19th century, these pieces were simple in structure and usually very brief and almost exclusive to piano at the time.
- ABA, AAB, ABB patterns
- Felix/Fanny Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Gottschalk all had character pieces.
Rubato
Literally translates to “robbed time.” Practice of performing with slight increases and decreases in tempo not otherwise indicated in the score.
Bel Canto
Translates to “beautiful singing.” Term used to describe Italian opera in the first half of the 19th century. It emphasized lyrical melodic lines, legato phrasing, and a seemingly effortless vocal technique, even when music was technically very difficult. Voice was emphasized over orchestral accompaniment.
Cabaletta
A fast closing section of an aria.
Example: Act I, Scene 5 of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, where the music starts slower, and ends faster with a more “lively” conclusion.
