Impressionism, Expressionism, Chance & Electronic Music Flashcards
What is Impressionism?
style of music that highlights suggestion and atmosphere
Where is Impressionism derived?
from an 1872 painting of Claude Monet, “Sunrise in the Paris Salon”
When was Claude Debussy born?
August 22, 1862
When did Claude Debussy died?
March 25, 1918
Where was Debussy born?
St. Germaine-Laye near Paris
What age was Debussy when he entered the Paris Conservatoire?
11 yo
He was the Father of Modern School of Compositions.
Claude Debussy
What title was Debussy given because of his numerical musical composition which includes orchestral music, operas, ballet songs and other vocal music?
Father of Modern School of Compositions
Name a work of Debussy.
Suite Bergamesque Claire de Lune L'enfant prodigue La Mer Nocturnes Prelude of an Aftrenoon of a Faun
Which work of Debussy did he win an award in the 1884 Prix de Rome?
L’enfant prodigue
Debussy was accepted to a scholarship to which academy?
Academie des Beaux-Arts at Villa Medici
When was Maurice Ravel born?
March 7, 1875
Where was Ravel born?
Ciboure, France
Which ethnicities were Ravel’s parents belong?
his mother is Basque
his father is Swiss
When did Ravel die?
1937
Where did Ravel die?
Paris
Ravel suffered what disorder?
Aphasia
Which Impressionist composer uses Appoggiaturas?
Maurice Ravel
What is Appoggiaturas used for?
it creates suspension
What age was Ravel when he entered the Paris Conservatoire?
14 yo
Name a work of Ravel.
Bolero
La Valse
Miroirs
Ma merel’oie
Characteristics of IMPRESSIONISM
Harmony, Rhythm, Tone Colour
Impressionism’s Harmony is…?
Indistinguishable; chords overlapping
daydreamy, floating feeling
Impressionism’s Rhythm is…?
lacking in central rhythm
doesn’t give a tapping-your-feet feeling
Impressionism’s Tone Colour is…?
insturmentation retains subtle flavour of Impressionism
dream-like, magical atmosphere
What era was melody less important?
Expressionism
It sought to express disturbed conditions in the mind.
Expressionism
It is the answer of the Germans to the French Impressionism.
Expressionism
It has a hyper-expressive harmony.
Expressionism
It is better performed with instruments than sung.
Expressionism
When was Arnold Schoenberg born?
September 13, 1874
Where was Arnold Schoenberg born?
Vienna, Austria
Which Expressionism Composer had lessons with Alexander von Zemlinsky?
Arnold Schoenberg
Who began studying violin at age 8?
Arnold Schoenberg
Schoenberg studied the violin at what age?
8 yo
Who composed a string sextet entitled, Transfigured Night?
Arnold Schoenberg
Who suffered from triskaidekaphobia?
Arnold Schoenberg
Who is the leader of Contemporary Musical Thought?
Arnold Schoenberg
Who introduced the twelve-tone technique?
Arnold Schoenberg
What is the Twelve Tone Technique?
arrangement of twelve chromatic pitches in series that provides the melodic and harmonic basis for a musical composition.
These are notes that are numbered.
Pitch Classes
What do you call the arrangement of twelve chromatic pitches in series that provides the melodic and harmonic basis for a musical composition?
Twelve Tone Technique
What are Pitch Classes?
Notes that are numbered
Name a work of Schoenberg.
Pierrot Lunaire Six Little Piano Pieces Serenade Ode to Napoleon Bonaparte Five Pieces for Orchestra
When was Igor Stravinsky born?
June 17, 1882
Where was Igor Stravinsky born?
Oranienbaum, Russia
What job did Stravinsky’s father have?
A bass singer at the Imperial Opera
What did Stravinsky study at the St. Petersburg University?
Law and Philosophy
Where did Stravinsky study law and philosophy?
St. Petersburg University
At age 20, to whom did Stravinsky show his early pieces?
Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian composer)
At what age did Stravinsky show his early pieces to Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov?
20 yo
Who commissioned Stravinsky to write a musical piece for a ballet with elephants?
George Ballanchine
When was Stravinsky commissioned to write a musical piece for a ballet with elephants?
1942
What was the musical piece commissioned by George Ballanchine for?
A ballet with elephants
Name a work of Stravinsky.
Oedipus Rex The Firebird The Rite of Spring Symphony of Psalms The Soldier's Tale
The percussive use of dissonance, polyrhythms, and polytonality made Stravinsky known as the…?
destructive modernist par excellence
Characteristics of EXPRESSIONISM
Harmony, Rhythm, Tone Colour
Expressionism’s Harmony is…?
uses atonality (lack of tonal centre) feelings of anxiety, rage, alienation, etc.
Expressionism’s Rhythm is…?
balanced and generally understated
doesn’t encourage swaying with music
Expressionism’s Tone Colour is…?
polyphonic and dense
arouses strong emotions
What do you call the music involving the use of electronics, such as recording and editing on tape?
Electronic Music
What era did new instruments emerged, like the Theremin, the Ondes Martenot, and the Hammond Organ?
Electronic Music
What is the most important development of art music?
Electronic Music
Stages of the Development of Electronic Music
Magnetic Tape Recording
Synthesizers
Electronic Computer
In 1947, a group of music technicians in a Paris radio station started to experiment with musique concrete. Who led the group?
Pierre Schaeffer
When did a group of music technicians in a Paris radio station started to experiment with musique concrete?
1947
What do you call the music that is made up of natural sounds and sound effects
that were recorded and altered
by changing the speed of the records?
Musique Concrete
What is the name of an analog programmable electronic music synthesizer created by the RCA Corporation in 1955?
Radio Corporation America Electronic Music
What do you call a device for combining sound generators and sound modifiers in one package?
Synthesizer
What are the first synthesizers developed during the 1st stage?
RCA electronic instrument
Theremin
Moog
What do you call a sound generator that features a graph representation of the shape of any sound wave.
Electronic Computer
What device translates the graphs into a series of numbers into a sound playable on a tape recorder?
Digital Analog Converter
Which instrument is the most flexible of all electronic instruments?
Electronic Computer
Who was the French born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the US?
Edgar Varese
Who is the Father of Electronic Music?
Edgar Varese
Which composer has a style that is characterised by dissonance and asymmetrical
rhythm?
Edgar Varese
Which composer invented the technique “organised sounds”?
Edgar Varese
These are the elements of music that were grouped together to produce a new kind of sound.
Organised Sounds
Which composer gained the title “Stratospheric Colossal of Sound” due to his advanced tape-sound music?
Edgar Varese
Varese had a title for his advanced tape-sound music. What was the title given to him?
Stratospheric Colossal of Sound
Name a work of Varese.
Hyperprism
Density 21.5
Poeme Electronique
What do you call a performance all determined by elements of chance or unpredictability?
Chance Music
It comes from the word Latin word alea, meaning dice.
Aleatoric Music
What do you call a performance that is sometimes left to the determination of its performers?
Aleatoric Music
What does alea mean?
Dice
When was John Cage born?
September 5, 1912
He was one of the prominent avant-garde composers of the 20th century.
John Cage
Other term for chance music.
Aleatoric Music
This type of music is frequently found in some opera choruses.
Aleatoric/Chance Music
Which composer was an American music
theorist, composer, pianist, and philosopher?
John Cage
What is the full name of John Cage?
John Milton Cage Jr.
Name a work of Cage.
4’33’’
It is a three movement composition with a duration of 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence.
4’33’’
Tacet comes from the Latin tacere which means…?
to be silent
It is written in a music score directing an instrument or voice not to play during a movement.
Tacet
