Week 7 - Drama and Modernism etc: Class 1 Flashcards
Where did many failed revolutions occur
Europe
When did the failed revolutions mostly take place
1848
What is the industrial revolution
Amazing for technology and changes (trains, instruments were changing too - think about the piano)
Why was there a loss of home
because many of them were now moving into cities
What were the politcal failures based around
Class struggle and freedom
resulted in realism in europe
The Third Class Carriage
Not what was promised by the revolutions and the industrial revolution.
This image is realism: what is actually happening rather than a Romantic image
Coubert, “Bonjour” image
More realistic
When did the quest for freedom continue
The end of the 19th century but was more known and familar
Why is nationalism central
More people moving around and remembering “home” (chopin)
Nationalism is also a result of the loss of memories
Why was there new interest from Japan in the middle of the 19th century?
In 1854 Japan was less isolated from the West and there was much more interest in this new land and culture
Western societies were looking to gain resources to fuel their new industrial economies etc
Why did Japan lower their bounderies to the US
so both countries could take advantage of China.
Also, they permitted American men to marry Japanese women with fewer restrictions to lure Americans to Japan.
What was the arrangement that Westerners men could cancel
A law that allowed Westerners to marry Japanese women
The men could cancel the arrangement at any time, but Japanese women were bound to their for 999 years.
Where/when did composers hear East Asian music for the first time
The World’s Fairs in Europe showcased world music and in Paris 1867 and 1889 at the World Fairs, composers hear East Asian music for the first time and were captivated by these sounds
What is a pentatonic scale
scale with 5 pitches, or a 5-note scale
What were the 3 types of Japanese scales
- Japanese mode
- Hirajoshi pentatonic scale
- Sakura pentatonic scale
What was “The Mikado” doing to Japenese culture
Not taking Japan seriously, using representations and stereotypes
What is “japonaiserie” aka the “Japan Craze”
using Japanese culture and items like swords or other objects rather than coming to know Japan through human relations
What is “commodity racism”
Using a culture’s objects in a cheap and racist way
What was “The Mikado”
A hugely popular london play that played 672 performances
It was saterical, not meant to be taken seriously
What was the new opera trend in Italy
“Verismo” or “truthism”
With opera this meant meaningful and passionate emotional simplicty
Who is Giacamo Puccini (1858)
His popular operas were La Boheme (1896) and Madame Butterfly (1904)
What is La Boheme about
Poor students and artists living in Paris (realism)
What is the plot of Madame Butterfly
sympathetic to her (she is young, poor and in love with Pinkerton) which unsympathetic to Pinkerton (he doesn’t care, he doesn’t come for her for 3 years)
Musically, what did Puccini do?
1) Puccini uses at least 11 Japanese folk songs and generated “Japanese-sounding” themes. This was a genuine attempt.
2) He incorporated sounds he heard from Japanese musicians and enlarged his percussion section to include gongs, Japanese bells and other instruments. He wanted to be musically authentic!
What did the Aria “Throughout the World” in Madame butterfly encorperate
Puccini uses “The Star Spangled Banner” as he reveals himself as a male chauvinist who talks about Americans travelling the world conquering women. Pinkerton is arrogant and he closes the aria with the line “America Forever.”
