Test #4 (Lecture 13)

Question 1

describe serial composition

Answer 1

• established unit of music (called row or series) of 12 different pitches
• can be varied repeatedly to provide structural basis for entire work
• can construct large-scale forms that ere structurally coherent despite lack of tonal centre

Question 2

what are three other terms for serial composition?

Answer 2

12-tone technique, serialism and dodecaphony

Question 3

What are Schoenberg’s 3 basic functions of the 12-tone row?

Answer 3

1. avoid creating impression of a principal/main note (tonic or key area)
2. enable motivic unification of work, with series or row working as motive
3. emancipate the dissonance, eradicating distinction between consonance and dissonance

Question 4

describe serial composition in its strictest use

Answer 4

no pitch is repeated until the other 11 have been stated in that particular row

Question 5

What are the Four Basic Forms?

Answer 5

1. Prime (P): basic form of row
2. Inversion (i): invert direction of interval while maintaining its exact distance
3. Retrograde (R, backwards): begin with last note of row, read right to left
4. Retrograde Inversion (RI): invert retrograde form

Question 6

Describe Schoenberg’s thoughts on serial composition

Answer 6

• deeply rooted in tradition
• every worthy work was a “working out” of a basic musical idea
• termed process “developing variation” –> an idea grows and evolves over the work (Bach, Beethoven)
• advocated idea of “musical prose” rather than rhymed, metered poetry as it was comprehensible and memorable
• organicism; work seem as a living organism

Question 7

out of the 3 from the Second Viennese School, whose application of serial technique was most complex and concentrated?

Answer 7

Webern

• often made use of sub-units of 12-tone row
• synthesizing devices such as canons, passacaglias

Question 8

describe neoclassicism

Answer 8

• continuing tonal tradition in 20thC
• flourished after WW1
• aesthetic movement in which earlier styles were deliberately imitated within contemporary contexts
• classic refers to anything from distant past
• nostalgic in flavour

Question 9

what are some characteristics of neoclassicism?

Answer 9

• return to tonal idiom
• return to conventional genres and forms of baroque and classical eras
• return to ideal of absolute music
• general tendency towards transparent textures, light orchestration, small ensembles
• preference for concise expression, avoids grandiose and bombastic gestures

Question 10

who are some composers who embraced neoclassicism?

Answer 10

• Prokofiev
• Stravinsky
• Copland
• Hindemith

Question 11

describe new objectivity

Answer 11

• aesthetically “cool” in character–> detached, unsentimental, surreal
• understatement and objective view are emphasized
• emotional content denied

Question 12

how does the Leitmotiv function in Wagner’s opera?

Answer 12

• leading motives represent characters, ideas, elements of the plot
• often in orchestral part

Question 13

explain Stabreim in relation to Wagner’s operas

Answer 13

• he wrote his own texts
• staff rhyme
• German poetry device
• a lot of same sounds or starting letters in one line
• alliterative

Question 14

what is meant by “endless melody” in Wagner’s music dramas?

Answer 14

fluidly continuous

Question 15

describe Gesamtkunstwek

Answer 15

• Wagner’s approach to art
• unified art work
• musical works implemented all styles of art
• thinking about all parts of the opera