Week 5 - 19th Century Music and Nationalism Flashcards
Where does Nostalga come out of
Comes out of romanticism and to the romantic period
Romanticism and Nationalism
Romanticism was about the individual and self-expression, the individual gives to the world and the world will be diminished without them!
Something else was happening: not only was it about the individual but also about a new collective
We don’t say “I am a farmer” or a musician…Now we start to think about all of us as a society
What is a Nation
A political entity
What is a State
A state is soil
How is a nation different?
a nation is defined by a collective culture, a combination of customs, languages, religions music, etc.
When did italy become a unified state
Italy became a unified state in 1861! Same with German, it became a unified state in 1871!
across the region we know as Italy, people shared customs in the mid 19th century and so unification collected these similar nationhoods until it became one state
What is the danger with the “I” becomes “We” becomes “They”
The danger with the “They” is that we can create wars with them
How can we create unity across a nation
an “imagined community” : people we have never met but with whom we have connection. The imagined community is essential to nationhood.
What is the only thing universal about music
The only thing universal about music is that every known culture makes it
Why is the concept of universal music problematic
The idea that there is a universal music is ethnocentric: a single and partial worldview that is asserted on behalf of a nation that seeks dominance by representing itself as universal and impartial
Napoleonic war and 1803-1815
During the Napoleonic War (1789-1799) and again in 1803-1815, France invaded much of Europe
Countries across Europe are trying to push back and resist France. What happens? The develop a stronger sense of unity, of nationhood
Up until this point, wars were often fought by mercenaries
What’s a mercenary? Someone hired by a foreign army rather than enlisted by one’s own country. A hired killer
Then in the 19th century, people started to enlist for their own “homeland”
As a result, there were more patriotic feelings because I’m fighting on behalf of someone or something
Romanticism
The Romantic period brings bout patriotism and the unification of lands
Strength in numbers: unification because you have a better chance if you are all together
Here we get back to nostalgia: nostalgia was first a name for soldier homesickness, especially for Swiss soldiers. It was first a medical diagnosis, and now is a common feeling
Romanticism Music
Romantic composers were writing music of their home, and so they became representative of Nationalism. They were looking for ways to discover unique styles.
Composers did this in 2 ways:
1) The were interested in folks songs
2) They were also interested in developing specific musical styles
What were the 2 big swings of Romanticism
Symphonies and miniatures
What is a mazurka
a Polish folk dance in ¾ time, usually with a lively tempo and with strong accents on the 2nd and 3rd beats
dramatic, it pulls at your emotions, it has “rubato”: “robbed time.” You slow down and speed up. Each time it’s expressive and different!
Who is Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)
One of the first nationalistic composers
One of the big composers of piano music in the 19th century, wrote only for piano
Where did Chopin move to
at the age of 21 he moved to Paris, so he looked back to Poland to find inspiration
How many public performances did Chopin have
only about 30 public performances. He played piano but only had 30 performances, different from Mozart or Beethoven, very few compared to his predecessors
How did the piano change
The piano had pedals added to it
Allowed for more rhythmic freedom
Allows rubato: robbed time
Romantic features of Nocturne in E-flat Major
1) Longing with leaps that are “yearning” at opening and at 0:27
2) Rubato, slowing down and speeding up (0:27)
3) More homophonic but also more ornamentation
- take lots of liberties! Individual expression
