VOCAL MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

---Parallelisms of music and literature were evident in all forms of vocal music. Composers interpret
poems, mood, atmosphere and imagery into music.
---Opera became increasingly popular during the romantic period. It is a musical composition having all
or most of its text set to music, usually characterized by elaborate costumes, scenery and choreography.
COMPONENTS:
1. LIBRETTO – the text of an opera. Librettist and the composer work closely together to tell the
story
2. SCORE – The book that the composer and librettist put together.
 Musical notes
 Words and ideas to help the performers tell the story
 Overtures, preludes, prologues, several acts, finales and post ludes
3. RECITATIVE – declamatory singing used in the prose parts and dialogue of opera. Different roles
in operas are created taking into account different types of voices.
4. ARIA – an air or solo singing part sung by a principal character. A beautiful aria can bring an
audience to its feet and decided the fate of an entire opera.

--- Vocal quality of a singer or opera character is also expected

MALE VOICE:
Tenor ---- Highest male voice
Baritone ---- middle male voice, lies between bass and tenor; common male voice
Bass ---- Lowest male voice
FEMALE VOICE:
SOPRANO ---- Highest female voice
 COLORATURA----highest soprano voice
 MEZZ-SOPRANO---- Most common female voice; tone is darker or deeper
than the soprano
ALTO ----Lowest female voice
5. DUET , TRIO AND OTHER ENSEMBLE
6. CHORUS
7. ORCHESTRA
8. ACTS ---- main division of an opera.
9. SCENE ---- Setting or Place

---Dynamics and vocal embellishments were used to further affect the way singers sing.
MUSICAL TERMS:
*A CAPELA ---- one/more singers performing
*CANTIABILE ---- In a singing style
*CAPO ----head, the beginning
*CODA ----closing section appended to a movement or song
*DOLCE ----sweetly
*FALSETTO ----a weaker and more airy voice usually in the higher pitch ranges
*GLISSANDO ----sliding quickly between 2 notes
*PASSAGIO ----parts of a singing voice where register transition occurs
*RUBATO ---- slight speeding up and slowing down of the tempo of a piece at the discretion
of the soloist
*TESSITURA ----the comfortable singing range of a singer
*VIBRATO ----rapidly repeated slight pitch variation during sustained note, to give a richer/
more varied sound.
COMPOSER OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
1. FRANZ PETER SCHUBERT
--- Developed lieder so that they had a powerful dramatic impact on the listeners.
EX: GRETCHEN EM SPINNRADE
ERKLONIG
ELLENS GESANG III “AVE MARIA”
SCHWANENGE SANG “SWAN LAKE”
2. GIUSEPPE VERDI
---His characters are ordinary people and not those of the royal family like those found in
German Operas
EX: OBERTO FALSTAFF
LA TRAVIATA OTELLO AND AIDA
RIGOLLETO
3. GIACOMO PUCCINI
--- He drew material from everyday life, rejecting heroic themes from mythology and history
EX: LA BOHEME MADAME BUTTERFLY
TOSCA TURANDOT
4. RICHARD WAGNER
--- Introduced new ideas in harmony and form, including extremes of chromaticism .
--- He was an advocate of “music drama”
EX: TRISTAN AND ISOLDE DIE MEISTER SINGER
PARSIFAL

5. GEORGES BIZET
---Became famous for his operas
--- His famous opera is “Carmen”. However, when Carmen first opened in Paris, the viewers
criticized in horrible ways that resulted in poor audience attendance
--- But became one of the most popular operas ever written
 WESTERN CLASSICAL PLAYS/ OPERA
THEATER
---- Means “place of seeing” but it is more than the buildings where performance take place.
---- to produce theatre, a playwright writes the scripts, the director rehearses the performers, the
designer and technical crew produce the props to create the scenes and actors and actresses perform
on stage.

ANCIENT THEATER
*Greek
*Roman Theater
GREEK THEATER
*IT BEGAN 700 B.C with festivals honouring their gods. Dionysus – the god of wine and fertility, has a
religious festival called “the cult of Dionysus” to honor him,
3 TYPES OF GREEK DRAMA:
TRAGEDY SATYR PLAY
COMEDY
1. TRAGEDY
--- Form Greek word tragos “goat”, ode “song” referring to goats sacrified to Dionysus
before performances or goat –skin worn by performers
--- It dealt with tragic events and has an unhappy ending, especially concerning the downfall
of the main character.
---Thespis was the first actor and introduced the use of masks and was called the “Father of
Tragedy”.
SOPOCLES, EURIPIDES, AECHYLUS
--- Are the three well-known Greek playwrights of tragedy.
2. COMEDY
---Plays were derived from imitation.
---Aristophanes wrote most of the comedy plays
EX: LYSISTRATA
CYCLOPS by EURIPIDES
3. SATYR PLAY
--- Contains comic elements to lighten the overall mood or a serious play with a happy
ending
--- a short lighthearted of the tragedies
ROMAN THEATER
---Started in the 3rd century. It had varied and interesting art forms such as festival performance of
street theatre, acrobatics, the staging of comedies of Plautus, and the high verbally elaborate tragedies
of Seneca.
--- TRIUMVIR POMPEY --- was one of the first permanent theatre in Rome, whose structure was
somewhat similar to the Theatron of Athens.
--- The themes for roman theatre plays were chariot races, gladiators and public executions. The romans
loved a good spectacle. They loved to watch combat and admired blood sports and gladiator
competition. The more realistic violence, the more it pleased roman audiences.
MEDIEVAL THEATER
--- 500 C.E -1400, theater performance were not allowed throughtout Europe, to keep the theatre alive,
ministrels, through denounced by the church performed in markets, public places, and festivals.
--- Churches in Europe started their own theatre performances during Easter Sundays with biblical
stories and events. Some plays were brought outside the church due to their portrayal of Adam.

RENAISSANCE THEATER
--- Characterized by a return of classical Greek, Roman arts and culture.
--- mystery plays formed a part of religious festivals in England and other parts of Morality plays and
University drama, were formed to recreate Athenian tragedy.
--- WILLIAM SHAKESPEAR- Poet, playwright and actor regarded as greatest writer and dramatist in the
world
EX: ROMEO AND JULIET CLEOPATRA
HAMLET MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
--- BALLET – formalized dance originated in Italian Renaissance courts
EX: LE PARADIS OF AMOUR – A piece of work presented at a weeding
BALLET DES POLONAIS (1573) – To honor the Polish Ambassador who visited Paris for
enthronement of King Henry in Poland.
BAROQUE THEATER
--- Marked by the use of technology in Broadways or commercial plays. Theatre crew uses machines for
special effects and scene changes which may be changed in a matter of seconds with use of ropes and
pulleys.
EX: VATEL (2000), FARINELLI (1999), ORPHEUS
NEOCLASTIC THEATER
---Characterized by its grandiosity. Costumes and sceneries were highly elaborate. The concepts of play
were to entertain and to teach lessons.
--- The concept of decorum was applied in this period; classical concepts and appropriate social
behaviour must be observed.
*PIERRE CORNIELLE – “Father of the French Tragedy”
EX: THE CID
*JEAN-BAPTISTE POQUELIN – “Moliere”
EX: TARTUFFE AND THE MISSANTHROPE
*JEAN RACINE – Simple approach to action and linguistic rhythms and effects
EX: ANDROMANCHE AND PHAEDRA
ROMANTIC THEATER
--- Melodrama and operas became popular. Characterized a dramatic work that puts characters in a lot
of danger in order to appeal to the emotions and orchestral music or song was used to accompany the
action
---Opera is an art form which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and
musical score
---VICTOR HUGO
EX: LES MISERABLES
NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS
--- GEORGE BIZET
EX: CARMEN
 ACTIVE RECREATION

RECREATION
--- The Activities you voluntarily participate in during your free time
PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES
--- Activities that requires you to burn extra calories
LESS PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES (PASSIVE)
--- Activities where you don’t need to exert effort
INDOOR
--- Activities that can be done inside your house
OUTDOOR
---activities that can be done outside
LIFESTYLE
--- The way you live your life in an everyday basis.
LIFESTYLE CHANGE
--- is the best way of preventing illness and early death.
GENES
---these are inherited traits from your parents.
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
---One factor being overweight or obese.
HEALTHY DIET
--- You can maintain a healthy weight.
HELP Philosophy:
*HEALTH – Those who believe in the benefits of healthy lifestyle are more likely to engage in healthier
behaviour.
* EVERYONE – Healthy lifestyle can be practiced by everyone “health for all”
*LIFETIME – The longer healthy lifestyle are practice, the greater the beneficial effects
*PERSONAL – No two people are exactly the same. Your personal need is the basis of your lifestyle
change.
INDOOR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES
1. BADMINTON
--- originated from the game “poona” that was played by English army officers stationed in India
during the 17th century.
2. VOLLEYBALL
---The game developed by William Morgan in 1895 at Holyoke Massachusetts.
---the game was called “mintonette”
3. ZUMBA
---Zumba dance is an alternative indoor recreational activity with fitness benefit claims
--- It was discovered by Alberto “Beto” Perez, a celebrity fitness trainor of Columbia
OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES
1. HIKING
--- Is going on an extended walk for the purpose of pleasure and exercise.
2. ORIENTEERING
---An outdoor navigational recreational activity using specially drawn and detailed maps. It
requires navigational skills to navigate from point to normally moving at a speed
3. MAP
--- A picture or representation of the earth’s surface. It includes a compass rose that shows
direction.
4. COMPASS
--- An invaluable tool that every backpacker should know how to use
--- It is a magnetized needle floating in a liquid and responding to the earth’s magnetic field
consequently revealing directions.