Midterm Flashcards
Handel’s Messiah is an example of an
Oratorio
The name of a small group of soloists in a concerto grosso is
Concertino
What was Bach’s background?
Musically talented family
What was Handel’s most famous piece of orchestral music?
“Water Music”
How do we know that Handel did not speak English fluently?
His text setting in his “Messiah”
Who is the author of this
“is the great chain, that draws all agree,
and drawn supports upheld by god or thee”
Alexander Pope
What was one of Pope’s specific targets in his criticisms?
rampant commercialism
What was the prevailing attitude of the Rococo art style?
indifference
What was a key difference between Baroque and Rococo art?
The Rococo art was more feminized
What was Jonathan Swift’s attitude toward humanity?
anger and pessimism
Swift’s “Modest Proposal” is characterized by its
chilling rationality
what influenced 18th century Neo-classicism?
- Ancient Greek Sculpture
- Ancient Greek Architecture
- Ancient Greek Literature
What are four characteristics of the Encyclopedie?
- It challenged traditional authority of the church and monarchy
- Produced by Denis Diderot
- Took more than 15 years to complete
- Contained articles by Rousseau and Voltaire
In addition to being philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was also an
amateur musician
Who were the targets of Voltaire’s “Ecracez l’infame” (Crush the Infamous thing)?
-Christians
A minor symphony by Mozart was probably influenced by what literary style?
Sturm and drang
A notion that a woman of the lower classes could be the more intelligent than aristocratic men was found in what work of art?
Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro”
What was the surprise in Haydn’s Surprise symphony?
the fortissimo chord in the second movement
Which composer had the greatest influence on Haydn’s oratorio?
Handel
What features are common of Romantic visual art?
- exoticism
- fascination with fragment
- fascination with supernatural
- fascination with death
What artist is known as the most political and propaganda painter?
Goya
What was the French Realist movement concerned about?
everyday and commonplace subjects
What biographical detail did Byron, Keats, and Shelley all have in common?
they all died young
Who wrote this excerpt? “And then my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils”
Wordsworth
What artist emphasized “art for art’s sake”? He also gave his paintings musical titles and spearheaded the impressionistic movement
James Whistler
What was a distinguishing feature of Eakins’ painting “Portrait of Miss van buren”?
casual and candid poise of the sitter showing more character
Who wrote this excerpt? "so huge, so hopeless to conceive as these twice befell. Parting is all we know of heaven. and all we need of hell"
Emily Dickinson
What was a characteristic of Beethoven’s music early in his career?
- retained classical movement format
- momentary disruptions
- focused mainly on smaller genres like piano sonatas and string quartets
What is Beethoven’s piano sonata in c-sharp minor commonly called and what makes it “fantasia” like?
ubiquitous triplets throughout
What unifies all four movements of Beethoven’s 5th symphony?
the rhythmic motif of short short short long
Tory Satirists:
Pope, Swift, Dryden, Dr. Johnson
Wrote mainly in heroic couplets (Rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter)
Believed that man was good but could be corrupted
Important works:
Essay on Man
Alexander Pope
Unleashed his “savage indignation” upon those he deemed worthy
Hated humanity, used biting satirical criticism to express his views.
Important works:
Gulliver’s travels
A Modest proposal
Jonathan Swift
Encyclopedie
Conceived by Denis Diderot.
Instituted by the rational humanists (ever wary of the current establishments) to put knowledge directly into the hands of the general populace. Articles were contributed by many people, generally experts in their fields.
Contains many works by Rousseau and Montesquieu.
Believed humanity was good but society was bad- promoted the idea of the “noble savage”
Believed in God but didn’t trust the church
Lousy composer
Important works:
Emile
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Believed very strongly in the importance of freedom of thought
Signed off many of his letters “Ecrasez l’ infame” or crush the infamous thing, referring to superstition
Believed in God as a creator, disliked church.
Important works:
Candide (written partially in reaction to Leibnitz’s everything is for the best philosophy)
Cultivate our Garden
Voltaire
Dealt with the unknown and the supernatural. Tried to shock its readers.
Sturm und drang
Heavy focus on personal expression, fragmentation, and mystery. Shows fascination with the exotic and the supernatural
Romantic Poetry
One of the lake Poets Principally wrote about the relationship between humans and nature “emotion recollected in tranquility” Important works: Tintern Abby We are seven
Wordsworth
Considered crazy
Was an author, a painter, and a publisher
His genius was only recognized after his death
Important Works:
Jerusalem
Songs of Innocence
Blake
Mad, bad, and dangerous to know
Died young
wrote many epic poems.
Many operas were based on his works and his life
Lord Byron
Sad personal life Expelled from Oxford Drowned under curious circumstances Important works: Ozymandias
Shelley
Died of tuberculosis Most of his poetry deals with death, not always in a pessimistic way Most stable of the three Important works: Ode to a nightingale Ode to Autumn
Keats
Used the flowery style of Jane austin, but focused on the social issues of the day
Wrote in different dialects to represent different social classes
Wrote in segments that were published in journals to make more money!
Important works:
Oliver Twist
Charles Dickens
Novel
Didn’t trust the church, but believed in God
Important Works
The three Hermits
“War and Peace”; “Anna Karenina” & “The Three Hermits” - individual devotion is possible/even better than organized religion
Tolstoy
Transcendentalists
Henry Thoreau
Ralph Waldo Emmerson
One of the first authors to develop a characteristic american style. Wrote frequently in the first person Wrote war poetry Important works: Songs of Myself Songs of Parting
Walt Whitman
Wrote for herself, frequently didn’t title her poems.
Wrote about death
Wrote in ballad meter
Try singing to the tune of amazing grace!
Very informal tone
Emily Dickinson
Know about his style, his fascination with gothic horror
Important Works:
The oval portrait
The raven
Edgar Allan Poe
emphasized rejection of Classical & Neo-Classical forms and attitudes; interest in nature, individual emotions and imagination; revolt against social/political rules and traditions
Romanticism
Bach’s 5 Major Cities
Arnstadt – organ/keyboard Muhlhausen – organ/keyboard Weimar - orchestral Cothen - orchestral, kappelmeister (more secular) Leipzig – religious music
Who was Water Music composed for?
Elector of Hanover (King George I)
Father of Symphony
Haydn
Symphonic Form
Fast, Slow, Medium, Fast
Beethoven Middle Period
Starts breaking out of established forms. Particularly with extended codas (endings to pieces), linking movements with themes throughout, moving directly from one movement to the next.
Some scholars call this his “Heroic Period.”
Symphony #5 is a good example
Beethoven Late Period
Now his music really breaks out of classical forms and focuses more on expression. Completely deaf at this point.
Ritornello
Recurring chorus or refrain
