Works Trivia Flashcards
Year of Wagner’s Die Walkure:
1870 (first performance in Munich); 1876 (first performance of Der Ring des Nibelungen in Festival Theatre in Bayreuth)
Characteristics of Mahler’s Symphony no. 4:
contains some of Mahler’s most joyful and luminous passages
Year of Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps:
1941
Which Part work are we studying?
Cantate Domino canticum novum (O sing to the Lord a new song)
Specific form of Mahler’s Symphony no. 4:
can be viewed as modified strophic wit a rondo-like design
Tempo of Part’s Cantate Domino canticum novum:
slower tempo
Which Tchaikovsky work are we studying?
Romeo and Juliet Overture
Performing forces of Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire:
- set for a female reciter (mezzo soprano in German-translated from the original French) and a chamber music ensemble of 5 players using 8 instruments: piano, flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin/viola, and cello
- Der Mondfleck uses voice, piccolo, clarinet in B flat, violin, cello, and piano
Which Brahms work are we studying?
Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) - fourth Movement: Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen (How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place, O Lord of Hosts!)
Which Mendelssohn work are we studying?
Violin Concerto in e minor, op. 64, first movement
Performing forces of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite:
large orchestra with expanded percussion
Historical context of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture:
- romantic composers drawn to the works of Shakespeare, particularly to Romeo and Juliet
- often referred to as a overture-fantasy
Performing forces of Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem:
soprano and baritone soloists, SATB 4-part chorus, orchestra
Historical context of Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps:
- created against the dismal background of a prisoner of war camp (WWII), as he was drafted into the French army and capture by Germans in 1940
- among the prisoners were 3 other French musicians: a violinist, a cellist, and a clarinetist. Wrote chamber music piece for them, soon added piano part
- composing this helped sustain him through this time
- concert took place in 1941 in front of 5000 prisoners from France, Belgium, and other countries
“Wozzeck” juxtaposes the characters how?
- juxtaposes the realistic characters of Wozzeck and Marie against a back drop of “types”-characters sketched so broadly that they are almost cartoonish in their make up (The Captain, The Doctor, and The Drum Major)
- contrast adds much needed humour and allows the audience to empathize more easily with the main characters
Historical context of Verdi’s La Traviata:
- initially considered a failure
- Violetta is one of the most beloved characters in Italian opera. Verdi was moved to write some of his most beautiful bel canto melodies for this character
Characters of Verdi’s La Traviata:
- Violetta Valery (coloratura soprano): a courtesan in 19th century Paris
- Alfredo Germont (tenor): a young aristocrat
- Giorgio Germont (baritone): Alfredo’s father
- Baron Douphol (baritone): Violetta’s lover
- Flora Bervoix (mezzo soprano): Violetta’s friend
Performing forces of Ligeti’s Atmospheres:
large orchestra without percussion
Specific form of Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem:
- Rondo Form (A-B-A’-C-A”)
- lyrical choral melody unifies 5-part rondo structure
Specific form of Schumann’s Dichterliebe:
- strophic
- first 3 verses are set to the same music (strophic)
- strophic structure altered in 4th verse
Tempo of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau:
allegretto
Form of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau:
- resembles sonata form
- based on 2 motives in the manner of a first movement of a sonata, without subjecting itself to the Classical tonal plan
Tempo of Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire:
- Der Mondfleck: Sehr rasche (very quickly)
- O alter Duft aus Märchenzeit: Bewegt (with motion)
Genre of Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem:
Sacred choral music
General structure of Wagner’s Die Walkure:
3 acts
General structure of Liszt’s La Campanella:
set of 6 masterpieces for piano
Year of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture:
1870 first premiere date
Genre of Webern’s Symphony op. 21:
- orchestral music, chamber symphony
- although title reflects a genre popularized by the first Viennese School, the work itself represents a departure from 18th and 19the century symphonic practice
Genre of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau:
solo piano work
Which Prokofiev work are we studying?
Romeo and Juliet, Suite no. 2, op. 64- Act I Scene 4: “The Montagues and Capulets: The Capulet Ball”
Performing forces of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto:
solo violin and orchestra
Genre of Smetana’s Vltava:
symphonic poem (tone poem)
Source of text for Wagner’s Die Walkure:
A fusion of Norse mythology and an epic medieval poem called the “Nibelungenlied” (The Song of the Nibelungs): a complex story involving gods and mortals
Characteristics of Liszt’s La Campanella:
- transcended the limitations of the keyboard
- main theme requires light touch (staccato) to imitate bell
- highly virtuosic style
- each variation builds and becomes more elaborate and faster than the previous until dramatic closing in loud octaves
Meter of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite:
- 4/4 in introduction, A section, A’ section
- 3/4 in B section
Meter of Schumann’s Dichterliebe:
2/4
Year of Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire:
1912
Source of text of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau:
includes an excerpt of a poem by Henri de Regnier which translates as “The river god laughs at the water as it tickles him”
Tempo of Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem:
Massig bewegt (moderately fast)
Historical context of Smetana’s Vltava:
- Bohemia was caught up in a surge of nationalist fever that culminated in a series of uprises agains Austrian rule in 1848, Smetana joined
- Ma vlast: cycle of 6 symphonic poems inspired by the beauty of the Bohemia countryside, rhythm of Bohemian folk songs/dances, and pageantry of its legends
- Vltava: Bohemian river Moldau (Vltava in Czech) becomes a poetic symbol
Plot summary of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau:
inspired by the noise of water, the waterfalls, and the brooks
Genre of Liszt’s La Campanella:
Piano music, etude
Context within whole work for Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite:
abbreviated version of what Prokofiev included in the ballet for the ball scene
Which Schumann work are we studying?
Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love), op. 48: Und wussten’s die Blumen (In the Lovely Month of May)
Source of text for Part’s Cantate Domino canticum novum:
- language: Latin
- Psalm 95 of Catholic bible
- Psalm 96 of Protestant bible
Year of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto:
1844
Meter of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra:
- non-symmetrical (irregular) rhythm and changing meter (alternating between 2/4 and 5/8, also 3/4)… unpredictable charm
Context within whole work of Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire:
- Der Mondfleck is the 4th text in 3rd group
- O alter Duft aus Märchenzeit is the 7th text in the 3rd group
Genre of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite:
Originally composed for ballet, later reworked into orchestral suites
Performing forces of Berg’s Wozzeck:
voice, orchestra, children’s chorus
Meter of Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem:
3/4
Specific form of Ligeti’s Atmospheres:
according to Ligeti, overall form is like a single, broad arch with individual sections melting together
Ravel’s Jeux d’eau was dedicated to:
Gabriel Faure
Performing forces of Part’s Cantate Domino canticum novum:
- SATB chorus, organ
- voices often paired SA and TB
- changing textures: 1 voice, 2 voices, and 4 voices
Which Messiaen work are we studying?
Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet for the End of Time)- 2nd movement: “Vocalise, pour l’Ange qui annonce la fin du Temps” (Vocalise, for the Angel who Announces the End of Time)
Genre of Ligeti’s Atmospheres:
orchestral music
Year of Part’s Cantate Domino canticum novum:
1977, revised in 1996
Historical context of Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem:
- rooted in protestant tradition
- not religious in a conventional sense, composed because of the deaths of Robert Schumann (teacher and friend), and mother
- desired for music to have universal appeal: chose biblical text but avoided any specifically Christian references
- Originally wanted to call the work “A Human Requiem” because he didn’t want any nationalist sentiments to be assumed
Source of text for Mahler’s Symphony no. 4:
4th movement: Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Youth’s Magic Horn)
Year of Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem:
1868 (6 movement version), 1869 (7 movement version)
General structure of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra:
- 5 movements, called a concerto because of its tendency “to treat the single orchestral instruments in a ‘concertina’ or soloistic manner”
- virtuoso is the entire orchestra
Year of Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra:
1943
Performing forces of Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps:
- clarinet, violin, cello, piano
- unusual instrumentation was dictated by the circumstances of his confinement (violin and clarinet brought, cello without 1 string, old broken piano found at camp)
Structure of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto
- 3 movements, combine old classic ideals with new ideas of unity (3 movements played without pause)
- reference back to 1st movement occurs in 2nd movement, hinting cyclical form
Performing forces of Smetana’s Vltava:
orchestra
Who was Liszt’s La Campanella dedicated to?
Clara Schumann
Which Schoenberg work are we studying?
Pierrot lunaire (Moonstruck Pierrot), op. 21- Nos. 18 “Der Mondfleck” and Nos. 21 “O alter Duft aus Marchenzeit”
Meter of Webern’s Symphony op. 21:
2/4
Form of Part’s Cantate Domino canticum novum:
4 sections
General structure of Webern’s Symphony op. 21:
- 2 movements, based on the same tone row
- takes just under 10 mins. to play entire symphony
Tempo of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto:
- allegro molto appassionato (very fast and impassioned) in exposition
- agitato (varied moods and dynamics) in development
- più presto (faster tempo) in coda
General structure of Messiaen’s Quatuor pour la fin du temps:
- 8 movements
- angelic song from 2nd movement returns in the 7th, 5th and 8th movements are linked by their spiritual message; 1st and 3rd movements use bird songs
Specific form of Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Overture:
Sonata form:
- introduction
- exposition
- codetta
- development
- recapitulation
- coda
What makes Liszt’s La Campanella physically challenging to play?
- technical difficulties
- exceeds natural span of hand
- right hand must pivot back and forth very quickly
Source of text of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite:
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Meter of Wagner’s Die Walkure:
endless melody
Ravel’s Jeux d’eau was premiered by:
Ricardo Vines
Which Liszt work are we studying?
La Campanella (The Little Bell) from Grandes etudes de Paganini
Year of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau:
1902 (date of premiere)
Language of Verdi’s La Traviata:
Italian
Which Bartok work are we studying?
Concerto for Orchestra-4th movement: Interrupted Intermezzo
Year of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite:
1936
General structure of Berg’s Wozzeck:
- 3 acts with 5 scenes in each act
- 3 acts usually performed without intermission
- 5 short scenes linked by brief orchestral interludes
Historical context of Schumann’s Dichterliebe:
song cycle written during his year of song (1840) at very fast speed