Pierrot Lunaire, Op. 21, No. 8 Nacht Flashcards
What responses do Expressionist artists seek to depict?
Emotional
What does Expressionism confront?
Human reality
What is a common feature of Expressionism?
Uneasiness
What does Expressionism depict the destruction of?
The trust between humans and th world
Expressionism is seen as a way of conveying?
Inner reality or truth
What were three prominent Expressionist painters in Germany and Austria?
Franz Marc, Max Beckmann and Egon Schiele
What notable Expressionist artist was born in Russia but came to Germany to hone his craft?
Wassily Kandinsky
What is the most widely recognized Expressionist painting?
The Scream
Who painted The Scream?
Norwegian Edvard Munch
Who used himself as a model for a number of self-portraits that made him seem stressed or even anguished?
Arnold Schoenberg
What musical style is the first that many think of when they hear the term avant-garde?
Expressionism
In all Expressionist works what dominates over consonance?
Dissonance
What city was the hub of musical Expressionism?
Vienna
What was Arnold Shoenberg’s landmark achievement?
Erwartung 1909
What is Erwartung about?
One singer accompanied by orchestra narrating her experience of searching for her lover at night, stumbling through a dark forest finding his corpse and suffering a mental breakdown
Alban Berg, Anton Webern and Arnold Shoenberg made up what school?
The second Viennese School
WHat was Webern’s best example of Expressionism?
Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op, 10
What is Berg’s most celebrated Expressionist work?
The opera WOzzeck 1917 to 1922
What is a common them in Expressionist music?
madness
What does Pierrot luanire translate to?
Moonstruck Pierrot
What has been blamed for bizarre behavior?
The moon
WHat are two stock figures in commedia dell’arte?
Harlequin and Colombine
Who was Pierrot in commedia dell’arte?
A mischief maker who would get into trouble and land on his feet, he was painted with heavy white make-up and dressed in a white costumes
How many poems did Giraud publish in French describing the various misadventures of Pierrot?
50
Who translated Albert Giraud’s 50 poems from French to German?
Otto Erich Harleben
What is a song cycle?
A set of vocal pieces connected in some way, by musical motifs or by texts
What happens in Pierrot lunaire?
He gets drunk on moonbeams and sobers up as the sun rises
Who commissioned Schoenberg to write Pierrot lunaire?
ALbertine Zehme
What did Zehme expect Schoenberg to compose for Pierrot lunaire?
A piano accompaniment
How may players when in the group that produced Pierrot lunaire?
Fiive
How many instruments were used in PIerrot Lunaire?
EIght
What are the eight instruments used in pierrot lunaire?
Cello, piano, flutist, piccolo, clarinet, bass clarinet, violin, viola
What instrument does the flutist double with?
The piccolo
What instrument does the clarinetists also play in Pierrot Lunaire?
The bass clarinet
What instrument is the violinist expected to play at times in Pierrot Lunaire?
The viola
What is sprechstimme?
When notes are half spoken, half sung
What subtle Expressionist message can we glean from the voice seldom relating to the instruments in Pierrot Lunaire?
That we are each alone in the world
How does Schoenberg divide up his 21 songs?
into threee sets of seven each
What pattern does Giraud use in his poem?
ABACA
What are Reisenfalter?
Black moths or butterflies
What is a passcaglia?
When new melodies appear over a repeating bass line
How long is Schoenberg’s passacaglia bass line?
Three notes long
What is an ostinato?
A short pattern that repeats many, many times
WHat is fermata?
When performesrs sustain a particular note longer than its written value
How is the cellist asked to play in Pierrot Lunaire?
On the bridge
What is the effect of the cellist playing on the bridge in Pierrot Lunaire?
IThe strings cannot virate very freely and the cello’s timbre sounds glassy and chilly
What is word-painting?
When a composer set the music so that it illustrates the literal meaning of a particular word
What word is word-painted in Nacht?
Duft
What does duft mean?
Fragrance
What is the only word in Nacht performed by conventional singing rather than by Spreschstimme and what does it mean?
Vershwiegen which mean mutely
Who called Pierrot lunaire the solar plexus of the 20th century?
Igor Stravinsky
