Weber and Berlin Flashcards
1
Q
Weber general and Freischütz musical style
A
- 4 operas including Euryanthe which was suppose to be the first ‘great German opera’ – throughcomposed but can still discern clear numbers
- Melody infused with German folk music – assimilated rather than quoted
- Rhythm is very elastic with reliance on hemiola
- Overused diminished seventh chords in making demonic atmosphere e.g. in Der Freischütz
- Atmospheric use of winds especially clarinet and French horn
- Act II finale of Freischütz is typically Romantic with string tremolos, spectral harmonies and trombones/low woodwind instruments.
2
Q
German opera general
A
- Not much successful German opera before Weber except Die Zauberflöte and Fidelio
- Freischütz first promise of musically and dramatically integrated German opera
- German operatic singing also opposed to Italian bel canto
- Favoured acting and gesture over vocalism e.g. Wilhelmine Schröde-Devrient (who originated roles of Agathe in Freischütz and heroine in Fidelio.
3
Q
Freischütz general and German-ness:
A
- 1821 premiere in Berlin’s newly renovated Schauspielhaus
- Libretto by Johann Friedrich Kind
- Plot uplifted German ideals about everyday people (Volk) – lots of hunters and bridesmaids choruses, folk melodies and dances
- Also emphasis on forest (Wald) and values of simplicity and fidelity
- Big focus on the supernatural (Max makes a pact with demonic forces – the black hunter Samiel)
- Musically could be set against other foreign types – first proper German Romantic opera
- J.P Schmidt (critic) described it as a product of a ‘patriotic tone-poet’
4
Q
Freischütz response due to social conditions: nationalism and not nationalism
A
- Product of the age of Metternich
- German nationalism had been supressed by regimes of post-Napoleonic German confederation
- The opera presented audiences with a work rooted in national identity
- Reviews emphasised its specifically German accomplishment
- Contrasting view (20th century) against German nationalist reading
- Became German national opera not because people understood Weber’s German opera ideals but because they could find, in the opera, their own image of what it meant to be German (TUSA)
5
Q
Freischütz tonal planning:
A
- C major and Eb major, and brass and horns to represent the forest and the Volk
- Darker powers/demonic world represented by C minor and F# minor – separated by interval of tritone; low strings, clarinets
- Early traces of the leitmotif
6
Q
Freischütz structure and melodic style:
A
- Singspiel but also with some recitatives
- More than a hint of Italiante melodies
- E.g. Agathe act II aria ‘leise leise’
- Adapts Rossini’s aria structure (slow-fast model)
- Simple tune in first section is simple tune which embodies German Romantic ideals of folklike piety
- Latter section (imagining joy of wedding) is more Rossinian fast elaborate melody with thumping bass and chord pattern
7
Q
Alternative, anti-nationalist view of Freischütz
A
- Arose in 20th century as a reaction of all the grief associated with German nationalism
- Focused instead on its cosmopolitanism and dependence on foreign models
- HERMANN ABERT: Foreign influences on the work emphasised, especially mélodrame
- Reminiscent of sentimentality of Méhul and emphasised picturesque depicitons
- Weber conducted lots of French works and saw them as prototypes for his conception of German opera
8
Q
Dahlhaus two views of Freischütz
A
- Saw it as a variant of opéra comique from which the characteristically romantic features arose
- Bridesmaids’ and hunters’ choruses have echoes of opéra comique which the whole notion of national romantic music hunges on
- Any Germanic colour is ‘ethnic coloration’ – as the couleur locale is found in French works - National interpretation reflective of reception rather than composer’s intention
- Historical factors like Wars of Liberation meant rise of German national passions (fighting against Napoleon)
- Therefore they wanted the opera to be a national symbol
- Friedrich Wilhelm III conservative/repressive measures meant people were unhappy with him – he favoured Spontini (made him Schauspielhaus director) so the people championed Weber as a national figure in response
9
Q
Berlin General
A
- Most music in court before 1800s
- Effect of Napoleon entering Berlin 1806 – political regrouping
- Music starts shifting to centre of city instead of court
- Growing middle class
- More demand for entertainment.
10
Q
Berlin Institutions
A
- Königliche Oper/Hofoper (commissioned by Frederick II in 1740s)
- Singakademie – Carl Theodor Ottmer (1827)
- Schauspielhaus – Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1821)
11
Q
Choral Concerts and Singakademie
A
- Founded in 1791 and modelled on Academy of Ancient Music in London
- Concert hall superior to all others
- Subscription concerts; revival of Matthew Passion
- Independent of Royal Kapelle (because of Philharmonic Society) – so cheaper
12
Q
Berlin Concert life
A
- Berlin concerts divided into those meant to serve ‘art alone’ and those given as charity/benefit concerts not for musicians
- Benefit concert programmes had to be appealing to everyone – they reduced in number and became part of additional events, as regular soirées happened
- Profitable place for musicians to visit
- Soirées and concerts started by Carl Möser
13
Q
Berlin Salons
A
- Designed to introduce musicians to prominent members of society
- Or for new musical works e.g. Mendelssohn
- Herz Beer ran one (Meyerbeer’s dad)
- Mozart operas or oratorios performed
- Contemporary music performed as well (less fixed than concert hall programmes)
14
Q
Berlin Private Concerts
A
- Start of century lack of concerts (political events)
- 1819 new hall built by Schinkel
- Subscription concerts happened lots – as well as soirées
- Big focus on social aspect of the concerts
15
Q
Berlin Opera
A
- Hofoper/Royal opera put on a lot of Italian opera
- 1820 appointment of Spontini – improved the social standing of orchestral musicians (better pay)
- Premiere of Weber Der Freischütz at Schauspielhaus in 1821 – first challenger of Italian opera supremacy
