Style and Genre in the Symphony Flashcards
What is the Galant Style?
Music written for the entertainment of the affluent and wealthy. It was found in the late Baroque and Early Classical Periods.
What characterizes Galant music?
Galant music typically wasn’t original or new; composers arranged typical musical figures to be graceful, elegant, and engaging.
What are the characteristics of Galant Composition?
Clear, elegant, and uncomplicated style; diatonic harmony; proportioned musical forms with clear tonal regions; periodic melody lines with ornamentation.
What is Empfindsamer Stil?
Very similar in style to the Galant style but intended to be more personal, with less ornamentation and wider shifts in dynamics.
What does Sturm und Drang translate to?
It translates as ‘Storm and stress’ and is associated with turbulent, unstable ideas in music.
What are the features of Sturm und Drang music?
Mostly in minor mode, large contrasts in dynamics and textures, and designed to be incredibly dramatic.
What is ‘Beethoven’s shadow’?
‘Beethoven’s shadow’ refers to Beethoven’s towering influence in the early 1800s and the subsequent dispute about the future of music after his death.
What are the two sides of the War of the Romantics?
The dispute was between programmatic music and absolute music.
What is Programme Music?
Programme symphonies are intended to tell a story based on various themes such as stories, poems, or historical events.
What is an example of Beethoven’s programmatic music?
His third symphony, the ‘Eroica’, alludes to heroism, and his sixth symphony ‘Pastoral’ is overtly programmatic.
Who are the three composers most associated with Programme Music?
Hector Berlioz, Richard Wagner, and Franz Liszt.
What is Franz Liszt credited with developing?
The tone poem, a single movement work for orchestra that tells a story through music.
What is Absolute Music?
Music for music’s sake, with a focus on abstract and absolute forms rather than programmatic content.
Who was Eduard Hanslick?
Aesthetician critical of Wagner, Liszt, and Berlioz, arguing that music is most powerful when abstract.
Which composers are associated with Absolute Music?
Brahms, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, and Schumann.
What did traditional Absolute composers achieve?
They developed and pioneered traditional sounds with more complex structures and ambitious harmony.
Who are some composers associated with Nationalism?
Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana, Edvard Grieg, and Isaac Albéniz.
What techniques did Nationalist composers use?
Embedding folk themes and national melodies into their symphonies, leading to unique modes and rhythms.
What is a common feature of folk music used by Nationalist composers?
The use of drones.
