Modern Era Part One Flashcards
Impressionism in Music
Late 19thand early 20th-century French style associated most closely with the music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel; often programmatic
Expressionism in Music
Early 20th-century German style; marked by extreme dissonance, angular melodies, irregular rhythmic groupings
Atonality
Music that has no tonal center; no sense of key
Serialism
A compositional approach developed in the 20thcentury by the Second Viennese School; any number of musical parameters (such as pitch, rhythm, dynamics, tone colour) are organized using a specific ordering (set) that undergoes manipulation
Indeterminacy
a 20th-century development whereby composers introduced elements of chance and randomness into their scores and/or performances; also called aleatoric music
Graphic notation
visually descriptive approach to music notation; symbols and shapes outside the realm of traditional notation used to convey microtonal pitches, texture, articulation rhythm, and tempo
Neo-Classicism
A post-World War I style marked by a return to absolute music and traditional formal structures
Minimalism in Music
A style of music that evolved in the latter half of the 20thcentury; generally characterized by the seemingly endless repetition of short melodic patterns, complex cross-rhythms, and a return to tonal/modal principles
Symphony
A multi-movement orchestral work; developed in the 18thcentury, especially by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven
Cyclical Structure
Material heard in one movement recurs in later movements
Symphony NO.4 Mahler Genre, composition date, source of text, language, structure, performing forces
Genre- Symphony
Composition date- 1899-1901
Source of text- Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn)
Language of text- German
Structure- four movements
Performing forces- large orchestra with soprano soloist for the fourth movement
Symphony No. 4 Mahler one point each section
Introduction: Marked Sehr behaglich (very comfortably)
-begins with clarinet very softly
Verse1: mezzo-soprano, more expansive version of the theme
-melisma on heaven
Verse2: word painting for little lamb achieved by a two-note “bleating” figure played by oboes
Verse3: concludes with another version of the descending melodic line
Gustav Mahler dates
1669-1911
Mahler compositions
9 symphonies, unfinished 10th (resurrection, tragic, etc), lieder, das klagende, das lied von der Erde
Impressionism in Music
Late 19thand early 20th-century French style associated most closely with the music of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel; often programmatic
Whole Tone Scale
A non-traditional scale employed by composers of the late 19thand 20thcenturies; consists of six different pitches, all spaced a whole tone apart
Pentatonic Scale
A scale consisting of five different pitches; can be rendered easily by playing the five black keys on the piano
Jeux d’eau Genre, Premiere date, Translation of title, Dedicated to, Premiered by
Genre- solo piano work
Premiere date- 1902
Translation of title- Water Games
Dedicated to Gabriel Fauré
Premiered by- Ricardo Viñes
Jeux d’eau key, key, form, tempo, meter
Key- E major
Form- resembles sonata form
Tempo- Allegretto
Meter- C
What is Symphony No.4 in G Major 4th movement about
-About a child’s optimistic and naive view of heaven, describing the bountiful feast prepared by the saints
Maurice Ravel dates
1875-1937
Ravel life
-Born in France, in the village of Ciboure, moved to Paris three months later
-Began piano lessons at age seven
-entered Paris Conservatory
-First published work was a piano solo
-Grew in popularity as a composer
-Maintained a comfortable lifestyle
-Began WWI military service as a military transport driver
-Mother’s death slowed his creative output
-Taxi accident (brain damage detected years later)
-Final years had failing health and reclusive behaviour
-Died in Paris after brain surgery
Musical style Ravel
-expanded tonal language includes modes, pentatonic, whole-tone scales, parallel chord streams, unresolved seventh and ninth chords, and polychords
-humour and gentle, even naive, charm is evident in some works
-attraction to American jazz evident
-had a natural affinity for Spanish music because of his mother’s Basque heritage; Spanish influences revealed in works such as Rapsodie Espagnole, Boléro, etc
-Thin textures, contrapuntal writing, traditional forms (neo-classicism)
Ravel compositions
Rapsodie espagnole, piano concerto for the left hand, menuet antique, bolero
Twelve Tone Music
A method of composition developed by Schoenberg; an approach used to organize atonal music
Expressionism in Music
Early 20th-century German style; marked by extreme dissonance, angular melodies, irregular rhythmic groupings
Atonality
Music that has no tonal center; no sense of key
Second Viennese School
musical style forged by Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern; encompasses atonality, Expressionism, and often the twelve-tone method
Inversion
rewriting a melody upside down
Retrograde
rewriting a melody backward
Tone Row
Fixed order of the twelve chromatic pitches; the basis of a twelve-tone composition
Canon
From the Latin for “law”; strict imitation of a musical line at a fixed interval throughout
Klangfarbenmelodie
German for “tone-colour melody”; individual notes of a melody are distributed among several instruments and often over a wide range; a concept developed by Schoenberg in the early 20thcentury
Sprechstimme
German for “speech-voice”; a vocal technique developed by Schoenberg and used for the first time in his song cycle Pierrot Lunaire; the singer/reciter performs what sounds like “pitched speaking”
Pierrot lunaire op 21 genre, composition date, language, german, translation of title, source of text
Genre- song cycle
Composition date- 1912
Language- german
Translation of title- Moonstruck Pierrot
Source of text- twenty-one poems by Albert Giraud
Die Mondleck key, form, tempo, meter, translation of title, performing forces, text summary
“Die Mondleck” (no.18)
Key- atonal
Form- Rondeau
Tempo- Very quickly
Meter- 3/4
Translation of title- The Moonfleck
Performing forces- voice, piccolo, clarinet, violin, cello, piano
Text summary (story)- Pierrot is upset by a white fleck on his black jacket. He doesn’t realize it is a moonbeam and rubs the spot.
Die Mondleck summary
-brisk angular melody
-flickering effect
-contrapuntal devices such as three-voice fugue
O alter Duft aus Marchenzeit key, form, tempo, meter, translation of title, performing forces, text summary
Key- Atonal
Form- Rondeau
Tempo- Bewegt (with motion)
Meter- C
Translation of title- “O Scent of Fabled Yesteryear”
Performing forces- voice and eight instruments
Text summary- A nostalgic Pierrot basks in warm sunlight, dreaming of life’s happy possibilities
O alter Duft aus Marchenzeit
-Melodic lines are more flowing and lyrical, a traditional sound that hints at tonality
-Wistful and dream-like quality of the text is depicted through the parallel-third writing and the use of triads
Schoenberg dates
1874-1951
Schoenberg life
-Born in Vienna, Austria
-Family struggled financially after father’s death
-Schoenberg left school and worked at a bank for five years to support his family
-played cello in an amateur orchestra
-Married Mathilde
-Moved between Berlin and Vienna several times in his early career
-Attracted private students in Vienna
-Earned very little money as a teacher and composer
-Served briefly in WWI, left him depressed and slowed his musical output
-Moved back to Berlin to be master-class instructor
-Moved to Los Angeles
Schoenberg musical style
-supported atonality and developed the twelve-tone method
-contrapuntal textures, chamber-like sonorities
Schoenberg’s music can be divided into four stylistic periods
-Post-romantic, programmatic elements, lush orchestration
-Expressionist, marked by rejection of tonality, polyphonic, dissonant procedures
-Twelve-tone, composed using twelve-tone, used classical forms
-American, greater stylistic diversity, more liberal twelve-tone composition
Schoenberg compositions
-Pelleas und Melisande, three piano pieces, gurre-lieder
Cluster Chord
A dissonant chord consisting of major and minor seconds; often employed in atonal music
Expressionism in Music
Early 20thcentury German style; marked by extreme dissonance, angular melodies, irregular rhythmic groupings; explored deeply psychological themes
Wozzeck genre, composition date, language, source of plot, libretto, and structure
Genre- Expressionist opera
Composition date- 1922
Language- German
Source of plot- 19th- century play Woyzeck, by Georg Büchner
Libretto- prepared by the composer himself
Structure- three acts; five scenes in an act
Plot summary of Wozzeck
Plot summary- Wozzeck, a soldier, is subjected to Captain’s taunts and the Doctor’s dietary experiments. His wife, Marie, has been unfaithful to him. Wozzeck meets Marie by a pond, and he stabs her to death. When he returns to search for his knife, he wades into the water and drowns.
Act 3, Scene 4 notes
-To open the scene, a six-note repeated chord is played by woodwinds and horns; the chord recurs throughout the scene in different guises
-Extended harp passage rises from the depths at the mention of the “blood-soaked moon”
-frenetic, angular vocal line covers a wide range
-a backdrop of dialogue between doctor and captain, dense, six-note chord formations swell chromatically
Alban Berg dates
1885-1935
