test 4 Flashcards
What are the years of the Romantic period
1825-1900
What does Romantic music highlight like never before
human emotions
Describe the technical improvements of instruments
valves on brass instruments, stronger piano, new instruments (like saxophone)
How did democracy influence the Romantic period?
Better education led to better musicians and composers writing harder pieces
What did public concert halls lead to?
Bigger orchestras with greater dynamic abilities and greater care in orchestration
What inspired the composers?
literature and poetry of the day, authors drawn to the more whimsical side of life; individuality expressed over all
love, longing, fleeting nature of happiness, beauty of nature and “bohemian nature” are all examples of what?
Favorite topics by Romantic authors
German Art song, solo voice and piano, sets Romantic poetry to music
Lied
Describe the characters and music in Erlking
All sung by 1 person, fathers voice is a little lower, son’s is a little higher, erlking is more calm and reassuring, and narrator
triplet piano represents horse galloping.
form is “through-composed”=Song structure that is composed from beginning to end, without repetitions of large sections.
Collection of lieder that fit together as a set, using a narrative thread or descriptive theme
Song cycle
Most important keyboard instrument of the Romantic period
piano
Piano music led to rise of what
virtuoso concert performer
Technical improvements of Pianos in Romantic Period
Louder due to metal bracing, easier to play fast due to hammer mechanisms, bigger range (7 octaves)
Sonatas (multi movement)
Single movement
Piano concertos
Chamber piano music
Forms of piano music
Tempo Rubato
Borrowed or robbed time, elasticity of tempo
Romantic traits:
Memorable, singable melodies, longer melodies than before, more expressive harmonies, often using chromaticism dissonance, Form is less predictable, often longer
Program music
instrumental (nonvocal) music with pictorial associations
Absolute music
instrumental music with no pictorial associations
Incidental music
Music intended to accompany a stage play
Concert Overture
a single movement, programmatic work for orchestra, often with a literary program
Symphonic poem
a single-movement, programmatic work for orchestra,that develops a poetic idea, suggests a scene, or creates a mood
Program symphony
a multi-movement, programmatic work for orchestra
Hector Berliozs “symphony fantastique”
invented the term idée fixe (fixed idea) term for a recurring musical idea that links different movements of a work.
melody is transformed to suit the plot of the story line
Thematic transformation
Romantic symphony: absolute music
composers wrote fewer but longer symphonies
Expanded Classical Form:
longer first movements and developments,
2nd and 3rd movements often switched (slower 3rd movement)
4th movement longer
Edvard Grieg
Nationalism in music, Norwegian composer, wrote music based on Norwegian folk tales
What types of Opera styles were in France?
Grand Opera, Opera Comique, and Lyric Opera
Serious historical themes, huge spectacles
Grand Opera
Smaller, spoken dialogue (ex: Bizet’s “Carmen”)
Opera Comique
Somewhere between Grand Opera and Opera Comique
Lyric Opera
Love of supernatural blended with natural forces, love for nature. C.M von Webers Dur Freischutz
Germanic National Style
Longest tradition of the 3, Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, the masters of bel canto style.
Italian National styles
Beautiful singing style
bel canto
Verdi
cultivates a uniquely national style
verismo
realism
exoticism
interest in far away lands
Richard Wagner
single most important figure of late 19th century, leads into late 20th century concepts of tonality and harmony
Music Drama
Opera that integrates music and theatre completely
Gesamtkunstwerk
total artwork; combines music, poetry, drama and gesture
Ring of the Nibelung
cycle of 4 operas, based on Norse mythology and German Epic poem, the Nibelungenlied
Wagner’s style
more separated receptive and aria (not a numbers opera) “endless melody” orchestra was focal point, used huge group, especially in brass, Leitmotif: musical symbols of specific characters, objects or ideas. Harmonic language based on chromaticism , paves way for 20th century dissonance
Basic Romantic Style Traits
Melody: singable, longer, more expanded, wider range, more chromatic
Rhythm: more elastic (rubato), overall more complicated
Harmony: more chromaticism, stretches the limit of tonality, more expressive
Form: expanded traditional form or abandoned them altogether to favor freer forms
