Test 1 Flashcards
What is modernism?
a series of artistic revolutions against the old traditions and convention
What does modernism embrace?
the industrialized present, science and technology, belief in progress
When did modernism last?
Late 19th century to mid 1960’s
What is the origin of post-modernism?
originates in the 1960’s when architects mixed styles in a playful way
What is the meaning of post-modernism?
mixes elements from different cultures and periods, questions the autonomy of the individual, questions the objective basis of knowledge
What does post-modernism reject?
modernsim, mainstream culture
When did impressionism start?
1860’s
What are the characteristics of impressionism?
-emphasis on the effects of light, shadows and colour, more artistic liberty on the actual subject
When did expressionism start and end and why?
Started in the late 19th century and ended in the 1930’s due to the Nazi party being elected
What are the main characteristics of expressionism?
- focuses on emotions
- primitive and striking artwork
What did dadaist artists reject?
the traditional forms of art
Where and when did dadaism start?
Zurich, Switzerland in early 20th century
What are the two words that best describe dadaist art?
nihlistic, antiaesthetic
Where and when did minimalism originate?
New York in the 1960’s
What is minimalism?
extreme simplicity and repetitiveness
What movement was minimalism rebelling against?
expressionism
What is polytonality and give an example?
simultaneous use of 2 or more key in a composition
Charles Ives Holidays IV Washington’s Birthday
What is atonality and give an example?
the absence of tonality, key and pitch center
Alban Berg Altenberg Lieder no. 1
What is serialism and give an example?
a rhythmic pattern that repeats over and over for a significant length of the composition
Arnold Schoenberg Piano Piece opus 33a
What is integral serialism?
serial techniques to other parameters of music
What is indeterminacy and give an example?
when the composer leaves certain aspects of the music unspecified
John Cage Waterwalk
What are microtones and give an example of a piece that uses them?
An interval that is smaller than a half step
Harry Partch 11 Intrusions no. 2 Study on Archytas Enharmonic
What are extended techniques and give an example of a piece that uses them?
unorthodox methods of singing or playing your instrument
Luciano Berio Sequenza III for woman’s voice
What is musique concrete and give an example?
music that utilizes everyday sounds as raw material in a compostition
Edgard Varese Poeme electronique
What is floating tonality?
it implicates a tonic chord without using it directly
What is progressive tonality?
a piece that starts in one key and ends in another
What advancements is Gustav Mahler responsible for?
- progressive tonality
- dissolution of tonality
- breakaway from harmony
- contrapuntal texture
- using sounds from everyday life
What were Debussy’s advancements to music
- used new scales, octatonic, whole tone, pentatonic, modes
- sonority of a chord is more important than its functional role
- contrasts between longer pitch collection
- exotic influences from spanish and javanese gamelan music
What is javanese gamelan music?
large ensemble of percussionists, indonesian music
What did Bela Bartok use from folk music?
- folk rhythms
- folk modes (whole tone, octatonic)
What did Bartok do that was symmetrical?
- forms, A B C B A
- organisation of pitch collections, E and E phrygian
What other innovations did Bartok use?
- polymodality
- non-functional tonality
What were Bartok’s influences?
- classical: Beethoven and Liszt
- contemporary: Strauss, Debussy, Stravinsky, Schoenberg
- Hungarian folk music
What are Stravinsky’s important ballets?
Firebird, Petrushka, the rite of spring
How did Stravinsky use pitch collections?
-used octatonic scales, tetrachords, suddenly changing pitch collections, non-functional tonality
What were Stravinsky’s contributions to rhythm?
-constant changes in meter
Who did Arnold Schoenberg teach?
Alban Berg and Anton Webern
What did Schoenberg do during his tonal period?
used developing variation: initial idea of the piece is gradually altered and becomes the basis of the material for the whole piece
What did Schoenberg do during his 2nd period?
- changed the meaning of dissonance
- dissonance is only less familiar consonance
- dissonance doesn’t need to resolve
What is Schoenberg’s 3rd period involve?
- serialism
- 12 tone schromatic scale
- tone row
What are the 4 forms of a tone row?
- prime: original version
- retrograde: played backwards
- inversion: intervals go in the opposite direction
- retrograde-inversion: backwards and upside down
What was Stravinsky bring back in the 1920’s to 40’s?
Neoclassicism
What is a fortspinnung?
motif is developped into an entire musical structure using sequences, intervallic changes or simple repetitions
