Overview of Western Musical History

**The placement tests will be largely Baroque through Romantic. Earlier information is included for your reference, but dont dwell on it. 21st Century music is a separate test. Ancient music (Pre-history-ca. 400AD) ca. 1200BC Greek civilization begins Pythagoras theoretician (mathematics, concept of vibration, octave divided into mathematical ratios) Greater Perfect System - tetrachords 313 AD1: Edict of Milan Christianity legalized by Emperor Constantine, Christianity diffused across Europe. 325: Council of Nicea (modern Nice, France) establishes uniformity in Christian practice, 2 types of service emerge (Eucharist/Mass and Divine Office/Canonical Hours) o Mass divided into Proper (specific to calendar day) and Ordinary (common to every mass) o Ordinary of Mass: Kyrie Eleison, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus/Benedictus, Agnus Dei 392: Christianity becomes the official religion of Roman Empire 476: Rome falls (Western hub of Roman Empire) Political void filled by: Eastern Roman Empire, the Moors, Holy Roman Empire (Franks, Charlemagne), Christianity Middle Ages (ca. 400/4762-ca.1450) fuzzy/foggy transition from ancient music Martianus Capella (fl. ca. 435) formulated the 7 liberal arts, a.k.a. the Trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the Quadrivium (geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music). Boethius Roman intellectual, misinterpreted Greek theory, 3 types of music (mundana, humana, and instrumentalis) Pope Gregory the Great (540-604) reorganized Roman chant and established chant as official Rite of Church to unify Christianity ca. 800-ca. 1000 early notation system emerges Chant used by church to evangelize largely developed regionally, spread with notation. Medieval church modes Cleonides came up with names from Greek city/states, Boethius transmitted (and misinterpreted), mode of chant determined by final note, authentic mode, plagal mode, later Ionian and Aeolian modes added. All subsequent dates are AD. 476 AD marks the fall of the Western Roman Empire; however, some scholars cite the beginning of the Middle Ages as closer to ca. 400 (the transition is not exact).
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Additions to liturgy: Tropes (textual additions to existing chant), Sequences (a trope that has become independent of original piece), Liturgical Dramas (a play intended to be inserted into the liturgy). Hildegard von Bingen nun, early composer of chant (80 surviving), liturgical drama Ordo Virtutum Guido DArezzo Micrologus, musical staff with letter names, system of hexachords, Guidonian hand (mnemonic device: Ut queant laxis, Resonare fibris, Mira gestorum, Famuli tuorum, Solve polluti, Labii reatum)solfege born. Conductus: non-liturgical Latin song ca. 900s - Golliard songs (Golliards were first wandering musicians), tradition continued by Bards, Jongleurs, Minstrels, Troubadours (S. Fr.), and Trouveres (N. Fr.), and Troubairitz (women). Courtly Love concept The Crusades (1095-1270) ca. 900-1100 Development of early polyphony Progression of Medieval Polyphony: 10th cent. Musica Enchiriadis by Abbot Hoger, 11th cent. Micrologus by Guido DArezzo and Winchester Troper ascribed to Wulfstan of Winchester, Early 12th cent. Aquitanian Polyphony, Late 12th cent. Notre Dame Polyphony (Lonin - Magnus Liber Organi and Protin), 13th cent. Ars Antiqua Franco de Cologne (Ars Cantus Mensurabilis and mensural notation) and Petrus de Cruce, 14th cent. Ars Nova Vitry and Machaut and Trecento, 15th cent. Burgundians 100 Years War (1338-1453) Papal Avignon (1309-1403) Black Death (1348) Great Western Schism (1378) Age of Discovery Polo, de Gama, Columbus, et al After Notre Dame school (13th cent.) polyphony no longer tied exclusively to church Conductus genre Discant Clausula genre Motet genre

ca. 1450: end of Medieval period, beginning of Renaissance foggy transition 1453: fall of Constantinople (capital of eastern Roman empire), invention of the printing press Flowering of intellectual and artistic activity Reawakening of interest in Classical antiquity, the arts and humanities, poetry, painting, sculpture, and music (arts that had been relegated to monks) Renaissance began in Italy and spread outward (that was where the money was)

Humanism idea that humans are at the center of the universe, rededication to human over spiritual values, fulfillment in life rather than afterlife, expression of full range of human emotions, enjoyment of the pleasures of the senses 1501: first printed music Increasing secularization from this period on (remember this is relative) Polyphonic Mass Plainsong Mass, Motto Mass, Cantus-firmus Mass Evolution of Renaissance Music: Transition early 1400s Burgundians, Binchois, Du Fay, Dunstable, Landini; Late 1400s Ockeghem, Obrecht; Turn of the Cent. Josquin, Issac, Mouton, Brumel, De la Rue; Mid 1500s Gombert, Clemens non Papu, Willaert, Victoria, Morales, Guerrero; Late 1500s Palestrina, Byrd, Victoria, Morales, Guerrero Music in Renaissance: Humanist interest in intensifying meaning of text, Development of expressive and rhetorical powers of music, Music not for salvation but for entertainment, Music shifts as a discipline from the sciences to the fine arts, Composers viewed as artists worthy of recognition Early Renaissance styles: North (French and Netherlands) serious tone, rigid structure, intricate polyphony, smooth/flowing rhythm; South (Italy and Spain) clearly articulated phrases, distinct rhythms, simple homophonic texture, spontaneous mood Renaissance theorists: Tinctoris, Gaffurio, Glareanus, Zarlino Tuning Systems: Traditional Pythagorean tuning (all intervals based on 3:2 ratio, C#Db), Just Intonation (pleasing to the ear rather than mathematical ratios, both perfect and imperfect consonances were pure)Mean Tone and Equal Temperament 200 years later Martin Luther (1483-1546) objected to selling of indulgences, selling of church services, selling of church offices, excessive veneration of saints, growth of religious holidays when no business could take place, use of writings other than the Bible as source of religious truth, celibacy of clergy, withdrawn nature of monks and nuns lives from society; 95 theses nailed to Wittenberg Cathedral Oct. 31, 1517; 1521 Diet of Worms; May 25, 1521 Edict of Worms Luther deemed heretic and works banned Luthers Reforms The Chorale Protestant Reformation is a conservative reaction to excesses of Renaissance practices of Catholic Church Anglican Church (Henry VIIIs divorce) Anglican Services morning prayer, mass, evensong; church music service and anthem Counter Reformation, result of Protestant Reformation (series of reforms) 1545-1563: Council of Trent banned sale of church offices and indulgences, nudity in art, musical instruments in church, secular tunes in polyphonic mass, married church singers, sequences banned

Palestrina saved polyphony in W. religious music by demonstrating that text can be understood in a polyphonic setting (polyphony ban was on the table) Palestrinas style: a capella, clear declamation, restrained part writing, point of imitation, both sacred and secular music 16th century Madrigal not related to trecento madrigals, through-composed, music overtly illustrated words Florentine Camerata and Birth of Opera

ca. 1600: end of Renaissance, beginning of Baroque period Clear/dry transition (related to birth of opera) Development of opera: ca. 1600 Increasing secularization/humanism Visual arts excessive ornamentation, architecture passion for spectacular, music a rough bold sound Arts funded by church in an attempt to encourage piety among faithful and persuade heretics (Protestants) to return to the fold (propaganda). Baroque Art subject is altered, rearranged, transformed to suit emotion; visually and emotionally appealing to capture viewers attention and imagination. (**Pendulum between emotional and calm/intellectual: emotional Middle Ages, intellectual Renaissance, emotional Baroque, intellectual Classical, emotional Romantic**this is a broad trend and there are numerous individual exceptions within each era). Age of Absolutism: absolute monarchs enjoyed absolute power by logic of divine right; music, architecture, and art reflected and celebrated this concept. Doctrine of Affections (affections = states of the soul) people believed spirits or humors in body harbored emotions, and that music could bring the humors into better balance (ancient Greek concept of balance). Basso Continuo or through bass polarity between two essential lines (bass and melody), bass line provides continuous foundation for melody above. Figured Bass numerical shorthand placed with bass line, indicated unwritten notes to fill in above indicated note Major and minor Tonalities Renaissance modal harmony gave way to Baroque tonal harmony, modal polyphony emphasized 3rds and 6ths through counterpoint, tonal polyphony constructs tertian chords By 1600, Ionian and Aeolian modes predominated, became major and minor scales Italian Stile Concertato Baroque music marked by strong contrast between voice and instruments, instrumental and choral ensembles, soloist and choir Poly-Chorality music for multiple choirs Giovanni Garbrieli Barbara Strozzi

Baroque Instrumental Color brilliant colors, diversity of sound emphasized, varied ensemble common (broken consorts), orches. soon dominated by new violin family, levels of volume and articulation now specified, idiomatic writing for instruments and voice Baroque Musical Styles: Early Baroque 1600-1650 north Italian; MidBaroque 1650-1700 Italian styles spread throughout Europe to France, Germany, and England; Late/High Baroque 1700-1750 mature styles of Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel. Claudio Monteverdi transitional figure, concert madrigal, first operas of high artistic value (relative) Opera antecedents Intermezzo or Intermedio (pastoral, allegorical, or mythological interludes staged between acts of a play), Madrigal cycles, Pastoral poems about idyllic love, Pastorales, Liturgical Dramas, Mysteries. Florentine Camerata 1570s and 80s Count Giovanni Bardi hosted informal academy of scholars at his palace in Florence; discussed literature, sciences, and the arts; musicians performed new compositions Girolamo Mei composer, sought music that approximated vocal declamation (high level rhythmic speech) of ancient Greek tragedy, believed single melody moved listener through natural expressiveness of vocal registers, etc. Vincenzo Galilei (Galileos father) member of Camerata, used Meis theories to attack complex Renaissance counterpoint (simultaneous melodies, texts, rhythms contradict each other) Monody and emphasis on solo voice Jacopo Peri (first opera Daphne 1597, and Euridice 1600) established formal structure of alternating arias (songs, emotional development) and recitative (prose, plot development) Giulio Caccini (La nuove musiche) Monteverdis operas (LOrfeo 1607) Emergence of virtuoso solo vocalist First Public Opera House: Teatro San Cassiano opens 1637, operas written for public audiences rather than upper class, income (opera becomes lucrative industry) Alessandro Scarlatti Arcangelo Corelli Henry Purcell Jean-Baptiste Lully monopoly on opera in France, grand opera (emphasis on spectacle), ballet in opera, Tragdie Lyrique (reconciled drama, ballet, and music; long mythological plots) French Overture (ABA form) slow majestic opening in duple, homophonic sections, dotted rhythms; middle section: fast triple meter with fugal imitation; return to slow dotted A section 1650s harpsichord replaced lute as chamber instrument of choice Core Dances Allemande (Ger., common time, moderate), Courante (Fr., lively, metric ambiguity), Sarabande (Sp., slow, stately triple, strong 2nd beat

accent), Gigue (Irish, fast triple), Menuet/minuet (moderate triple), Chaconne (duple), Gavotte (Fr., moderate duple) Terms: agrment = ornaments, tombeau = instrumental comp. commemorating someone after death, ordre = group of pieces with loose key assoc. similar to suite, rondeau = form based on alteration of main theme with subsidiary couplets, style bris (broken style) = discontinuous texture in which chords are broken apart and notes enter one at a time. Rameaus treatise on harmony 1722 derived principles of harmony from laws of acoustics, chord was primal element, based on intervals in the basic divisions of string lengths, theorized extended tertians, coined basse fondamentale, triads have different functions in each key allowing modulations on pivot chords, operas. German Baroque Thirty Years War (1618-1648) series on on again off again battles between Protestants and Catholics for political control and religious dominance of Europe; conflict between Orthodox and Pietist Lutherans in sources of church music; Lutheran Church cantata compromise Heinrich Schtz leading Ger. comp. of 17th cent. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) 1703-1717: comp. mostly organ works, organist at Arnstadt (03-07), Mhlhausen (07-08), and Weimar (08-13); 1717-1723: music director at court of Prince of Cthen, comp. mostly secular instrumental music; 1723-1750: Cantor of St. Thomas School in Leipzig, comp. cantatas and church music Fugue Exposition: subject, answer (real or tonal), counter subject (sometimes), link (optional), subject (in 3 part), answer (in 4 part); Episode: fragmentation of subj./answ., circle of 5ths, sequences, etc.; Middle Entry: recurrence of subject/answer, stretto (optional); Episode: ibid; Cadential material/possible coda. BWV = Bach Werke Verzeichnis (catalogue of Bachs works), publ. 1950 by Wolfgang Schmieder, numbering system is thematic not chronological! Well-Tempered Clavier, Brandenburg Concertos, fugues, inventions, sinfonias, suites, cantatas, chorales Antonio Vivaldi virtuoso violinist, comp. of cantatas, motets, oratorios, operas, sonatas, and concertos George Frideric Handel most prominent Ger./Engl. Composer of late Baroque; influenced Classical style; operas (over 50), oratorios, instrumentals music, etc.; 1703: moved from Halle to Hamburg; 1706-1710: traveled to Italy, learned Italian style (conventions of Italian opera); 1710: court at Hanover; moves to England; 1720s comp. operas for Royal Academy of Music. Oratorio non-staged religious dramatic work (unstaged religious opera), plot/text usually derived from Old Testament Opera Seria (serious opera) fully sung Italian opera based on historical or mythological sources, featuring high and noble characters (royalty, heros, gods), required highly trained virtuoso singers

Castrato male singer whose larynx and vocal folds have remained small due to castration, among the most important and well-paid musicians in Europe.

ca. 1750: end of Baroque, beginning of Classical period foggy transition stylistically (somewhat arbitrarily marked by J.S. Bachs death) Baroque: overlapping phrases, polyphony; Classical: transparent, simple structure, melody over alberti bass, homophony Enlightenment 1730-1770: if one can write it down and define it, then one can control it; emphasis on humanism, social sciences Era of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven Increased urbanization, pursuit of knowledge, science (you must prove that it exists), equality of man Classical Style: noble simplicity, balance, formal perfection, diversity between unity, seriousness or wit, and freedom from excess. o Galant style songlike melodies; short, even phrases, symmetrical, organized; everything graceful, transparent, in fashion, light, in good taste; understood by everyone; homophonic; that which is pleasing to the ladies. o Empfindsam style/stil N. German; direct/intimate form of expression; sentimental/sensitive; unexpected harmony; chromaticism; speechlike melodies; homophonic textures; appogiaturas or sighing figures; nervous, uneven rhythms Principles of rhetoric applied to musical form; periods consist of idea and a concluding thought much like in oration; music is used to communicate (like rhetoric); statement and answer. Idea that music is more specific than human speech. Baroque belief: music affected humors so music had different moods to balance them; Classical belief: mood changes constantly (result = much contrast within a single movement). Pietro Metastasio main poet associated with Opera Seria; love triangles; idea of enlightened ruler; libretti on ancient Greek subjects; written for upper class audience; depicts monarchy in positive light; morality; da capo arias (ABA) 1720-1770: Opera Seria is most important type of opera (composed until 1800). Types of Seria plots: conflicts of human passion, love against duty, stories based on historical figures; convention in casts and structure (6 stereotype characters). Intermezzo performed between acts of a serious opera or play; comic characters given their own separate story; lower class person getting the edge over upper class person; contrasts with grand/dramatic Seria plots; sometimes parodied Seria plots; small cast (2-3); music less vocally difficult; cast are actors 1st, singers 2nd (reverse is true in Seria); more open to changes of emotion; simple plots, comic situations; lack of tradition; gallant style.

Types of Comic Opera: French Opra Comique 18th cent. light Fr. comic opera with spoken dialogue instead of recit., 19th cent. opera with spoken dialogue whether comic or tragic; German Singspiel singing play/opera featuring spoken dialogue interspersed with songs, choruses, and instrumental music; English Ballad Opera 18th cent. comic play featuring songs in which new words are set to borrowed tunes, spoken dialogue rather than recit., pre-existing songs with a new story; Italian Opera Buffa 18th cent. Italian comic opera sung throughout, intermezzo is included under this umbrella term, wide spectrum of characters, central role is comic bass, fastpaced simple recit., surprising twists and quick changes of emotion o Commonalities: spoken dialogue (except for buffa), intended for lower and middle classes, actors 1st (singers 2nd), easy to sing, simple orches. (orches. generally not as good), crude comedy. Terms: Pasticcio (patchwork) = work created by patching together songs/arias by different composers around a loose plot, Suitcase Aria = aria previously sung by a singer that is arbitrarily inserted into the opera they are currently performing, Aria Cantabile sentimental aria, Aria di Portamento aria chiefly composed of long notes, Parlante Aria speaking aria with neither long notes or excessive ornamentation (choice aria of bassos), Aria di Bravura a show off agility aria. Glucks opera reforms overture sets mood of opera, less florid vocal style, focus on expressivity of text, accompanied recit., fluid transition between recit. and arias, simplified plots, fewer characters, chorus and dance important, orchestra more important.; Orfeo et Euridice 1762 Dramma Giocoso (jocular drama): term used after 1748 to designate comic opera in Italy. o Characteristics serious and sentimental elements, usually 3 acts (2 long, 1 short), quick twists of plot, colorful opening numbers to catch interest, many ensemble numbers, ensemble finales, Ex: Cosi fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro o Character types: Parti Serie high voices, heightened passion or melancholy, accomp. recit. and da capo arias (Don Ottavio, Donna Anna); Parti Buffe usually bass or baritone, dry recit., ensembles, song forms, simple folklike melodies (Leporello, Masetto, Zerlina); Parti di Mezzo Carattere complex character moving between buffa and seria stereotypes (Don Giovanni, Donna Elvira) Sonata Form binary form (section 1 modulates from I to V or i to III, section 2 modulates from V back to I or III back to i), thematic material isnt important to 18th cent. concept of sonata form (discreet motives not required to be deemed a sonata) Domenico Scarlatti comp. symphonies, sonatas Franz Joseph Haydn: 1732-1809 o Childhood: age 5 music lessons; age 8 choirboy; age 16 dismissed, teaches himself, has some lessons from Porpora

o 1757 music director for Count Morzin; 1761 (big break) assistant music dir. for Eszterhzy family, comp. mostly church music; stays with Eszterhzys for almost 40 years; 1768-81 Strum und Drang focus; 1775-80 mostly concentrated on opera b/c Eszterhzy opera house was completed; 1780-on concentrated on public concerts. o Wrote many symphonies (father of symphony b/c he wrote so many), operas o Music seems familiar; very melodic, folk melodies Sturm und Drang style from German literary movement after 1750, idea of non-conformity, knowledge was the ultimate goal (not fitting in), a hero against society, shift to German aesthetic (mainly Fr. and It. before), idea that nature is not something that can be controlled, artistic aim = to frighten/shun/overcome with emotion o Musical characteristics of style: minor mode, extremes of dynamic, remote key areas, technical difficulty, pushing into ideas of theatricality, wild melodic leaps, jagged syncopations, tremolo (Ex: Haydn Piano Sonata in Cm fast rhythms, full texture, chromaticism, strong dissonances) Keyboard Sonata becomes more important with rise of pianoforte (available 1720s, not common until last quarter cent.); vs. harpsichord player has more control over how hammer hits strings, metal soundboardmore strings under more pressurelouder dynamics. Rondo Form multiple recurrences of a theme in tonic with contrasting episodes; Ex: ABACA, ABACADA, ABACABA, ABACADABA, etc. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: 1756-1791 o 1756-1772 Child Prodigy: age 5-6 comp. small keyboard pieces; age 7 3 sonatas and short pieces; age 8 first symphony, 7 sonatas; age 12 5 symphonies, 2 operas, several masses o 1772-1780 Salzburg: 3rd concertmaster (unpaid) at Archbishops court in Salzburg, wrote church music for court, commissions elsewhere (mostly opera) o 1781-1791 Vienna, freelance musician: 1787 court comp. of chamber music, 1790 Kapellmeister at St. Stephens o Mozarts style is a synthesis of various styles and influences: comic and serious, Italian and French, gallant and learned, poished and emotionally deep, form and content, Bach, Haydn Haydn = successful court musician, Mozart = not successful court musician until the end of his life, Beethoven = successful independent composer. Before French Revolution (1789-99), patrons determined what music was played; after Fr. Revol. public determined what music was played Rise of middle class, increase in number of amateur musicians, more music written for amateurs Ludwig van Beethoven: 1770-1827 3 Periods

o Early: court in Bonn 1770-1802 current genres and styles, took acknowledged masters as models, some indications of mature composer but mostly conventional. (cont. in Romantic Period section) ca. 1800: end of Classical period, beginning of Romantic period foggy transition Beethoven (1770-1827) Continued o Middle: in Vienna (Heroic Decade) 1802-1814 called heroic b/c many works depict struggle and triumph, mostly instrumental works, testing abilities in larger more public forms (symphony, concerto, opera). o Late: music more introspective and difficult to play 1814-1827 personal crisis from 1815-20 (wrote almost nothing); stronger sense of tranquility, introspective, more complex from 1820-27. Significance of Beethoven: transformed Classical genres (still wrote in same genres as Mozart and Haydn), 1st independent composer, works more intellectually significant than predecessors, works invested with more weight (Beethoven 9 symphonies, 1 opera in 4 versions; Mozart 60 symphonies, 19 operas; Haydn 100 symphonies, 15 operas) Romanticism from Roman medieval adventure novels; something written in this style was deemed romantic (began as literary movement). Romantics reacting against conformity (structural symmetry, etc.) Emotion more important Romantics longed for a return to the simple life (wake of Industrial Rev.) Idea that nature couldnt be controlled (vs. 18th cent. mentality of controllable nature) Individualism more important than Enlightenment idea of brotherhood of man (masonry, see Magic Flute) Idea that music tells a story Music was the most important art of the Romantic age b/c its so vague (instrumental music) Night time more important than the day (day = reality) More interaction between composers and authors/poets German Lied important new genre of song o Literary texts of high quality o For romantics song (music and text) was more powerful than text alone o Poets wrote poems with the intention that theyd be set to music o Idea that singing is more natural than speaking o Meant to be performed in intimate environments o Strophic, modified strophic, and through-composed song forms Enlightenment Order vs. Romantic Disorder o Learning, logic, following rules, symmetrical structures vs. asymmetrical structures

o Preference for standard forms vs. intentionally fragmented forms o Search for universal truths and integrated social behavior vs. individual truths and high value of individualism o Impose human civilization on nature vs. respect for power of nature (rejuvenating qualities) Der Freischtz 1st true Romantic opera o Relationship between natural and supernatural worlds, nature as destructive force but also source of renewal, focus on distant past, clear delineation between good and bad characters (redemption for good char.) Bel Canto (beautiful singing) Manner of singing; Goals: beauty of sound, mastery of breath control, agility, apparent ease in high and/or fast sections, tasteful ornaments, smooth legato phrasing, even tone throughout range; voice more important than orchestra; prominent mid-17th cent.-19th cent. Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti Italian bel canto opera composers Giuseppe Verdi operas rooted in bel canto, dramatic realism (music and staging supports and enhances drama, story and pacing maintain listeners interest, scenes of spectacle integrated into drama), singing styles and voice types appropriate to characters, dramatic continuity - large units of dramatic organization (arias, recits., ensembles) begin to blur increasingly from early to mature late style. Richard Wagner and Gesamtkunstwerk (total art work) o Shift from Romantic opera to Music drama o Marks conceptual break with past not just a new opera, but a new genre. o Integrates music and drama all elements (poetry, design, staging, music, etc.) are essential and equal in a unified art work Leitmotif (leading motif) o Theme or coherent musical idea (rhythm, texture, etc.) o Clearly defined to retain its identity even when modified o Represents a person, place, idea, or state of mind o Returns unaltered, altered, or combined with other motifs to suggest a new dramatic situation o Allows for communication of non-musical ideas through music o Allows orchestra to contribute to story/characterization o Inner aspect: thoughts, foreshadowing, hidden meanings Wagners Style o Singers declaim text as one part of a rich orchestral texture (voice less important than bel canto) o Orches. conveys story with leitmotifs o Constant harmonic shifting/instability o Endless melody, constant fluidity o Orches. larger than before o Highly declamatory, dramatic vocal style Verdis human dramas vs. Wagners philosophical dramas

Program Music: Berlioz, Liszt, Wagner o Music that attempts to express or depict one or more non-musical ideas, images, or events. o Program indicated by a suggestive title or preface o Liszt: a preface added to a piece of instrumental music, by means of which the composer intends to guard the listener against a wrong poetical interpretation, and to direct his attention to the poetical idea of the whole or to a particular part of it. o Beethoven: more the expression of feeling than painting. o Form is often affected by the program o The music is about something/tells a story Absolute Music: Brahms, Hanslick (critic) o Music is not explicitly about anything; no words, descriptive titles, stories, etc. o Wagner: music requires the fertilizing seed of words; music lacking this was absolute or empty (negative connotation). o Hanslick: absolute music transcends the earthly; music has no subject beyond the combinations of notes we hear, for music speaks not only by means of sound, it speaks nothing but sound. o Walter Pater: all art constantly aspires towards the condition of music. Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (1830) famous programmatic symphonic work Ide Fixe term invented by Berlioz; fixed or recurring idea; specifically associated with the qualities of the beloved; appears in each movement; undergoes transformation at each restatement representing the progress of the story; provides thematic unity. Nationalism o Use in art music of materials that are identifiably national or regional in character. o Gives peripheral countries a voice (outside of Austro-German, Italian, French traditions) o Written by a people of a region for the people of that region o Draws on local conventions, folk elements, instrumental sounds, etc. o Used in operas (national language, stories), and symphonic poems Exoticism o The evocation of a place, people, or social milieu that is perceived to be profoundly different from the accepted norm in its attitudes, customs, and morals. o Way composers of central traditions evoke remote regions. o Evocation of non-European locales by European composers for European audiences. o Established differences through strangeness and allure (exotic locales viewed as seductive yet dangerous)

Nationalism vs. Exoticism similar approach: evocation of geographic location/region, different result: Nationalism is authentic, more meaningful for the culture being evoked; however, Exoticism is constructed, probably meaningless for the culture being evoked. Bedrich Smetana Czech nationalist composer, Ma Vlast (my fatherland) Bizet, exotic opera Carmen (1875) musical signs of otherness: modes/scales, harmonies other than M/m, non-functional chromatic coloration, bare textures, distinctive repeated rhythmic/melodic patterns, unusual instruments

ca. 1900: end of Romantic period, beginning of Modern period Very foggy transition Modernism a mindset/belief in progression; whatever we do now is better than what came before Confidence in progress (things have to be better) Confidence undermined by advances in science (Einstein, Darwin, Freud) World War I - new technology that accomplished horrible destruction Rules, assumptions, prohibitions in art called into question (nonrepresentational painting, non-linear narratives, experimentation with elements of music) Mechanical universe model destroyed; historical models rejected Artists insist on modernity and anti-traditionalism through radical experimentation and innovation. Originality rooted in past but transcending it Novelty at any cost Modernist traits in music o Freer-than-ever occurrence of dissonant harmony (doesnt need to resolve); chromatic saturation o Removal of reinterpretation of transitional tonality o New emphasis on the expressive power of sound itself o Openness to change and experimentation in musical resources o Dissolution of traditional genres and medias Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) conductor, composer o Songs: emphasize literary element, expression shared between accomp. and voice, rich harmonic and tonal language, scored for orchestra o Symphonies: radically extended concept on symphony, personal statements that convey life experiences, radical approach to instrumentation (many instruments; usual and imaginative instruments, techniques, combinations), extremely detailed performance notes Richard Strauss (1864-1949) also conductor and composer, ca. 1900 focused on opera Atonality

o Absence of tonality or absence of a key; weakening or suppression of the defining conditions of tonality. o Development Wagner: extreme chromaticism to displace tonal centers; Debussy: eliminated Classical formulas, new vocabulary for chords; Stravinsky: combined tonalities (polytonality); 1910: constant chromaticism that suppresses any sense of a tonal center (chromatic saturation); 1921: twelve-tone method overrides any reference to tonality. Expressionism German-Austrian artists (Munch, Kandinsky) o Distorted representations of real objects to reflect artists feelings about his surroundings and himself. o Harsh colors, macabre images, distorted figures, irregular shapes, jagged lines o Express intense psychological states o Not external world, artists inner turbulence o Unconscious thoughts/emotions o Herman Bahr: man screams from the depths of the soul; the whole era became a single piercing shriek Pierrot lunaire 1912, Moonstruck Pierrot (Pierrot = clown figure from Commedia del arte tradition) 21 poems by Belgian symbolist poet Albert Giraud; poet invents gruesome fantasies using moonbeam to symbolize aspects of himself. Sprechstimme (speaking voice) o Use of voice mid-way between speech and song o Approx. reproduction of pitches, general contours o Instead of sustaining a pitch, falls away from it o Effect: exaggerated declamation o Indicated with an x in place of note head o Low range (pushes range boundaries for deliberately strained sound) Schoenbergs 12-tone Method o Method of composing with 12 tones that are related only to one another o Determines pitch and intervals only o Pattern of notes (or row) can appear in four forms: Prime (P) = basic form, Inversion (I) = intervals inverted, Retrograde (R) = backwards, Retrograde Inversion (RI) = intervals inverted and backwards. o Row in any form can be transposed o Row can be used successively (melody) or simultaneously (countermelody or harmony) in any octave with any rhythm. o Democracy of pitches; hierarchy of tonal centers destroyed Schoenberg believed that he was continuing where Brahms left off (natural progression). Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) early works (to 1908) are very Romantic, middle works (1908-1915) are atonal, late works (1923-1951) are composed through 12-tone method (systematic was of achieving atonality).

Anton Webern (1883-1945) distinct version of Schoenbergs 12-tone method characterized by austerity, transparency (silence as meaningful as notes, frequent dissonances are more colorful than harsh), exactness (variety of sounds and distinctions, detailed performance instructions, wide spectrum of dynamics, extreme registers and techniques), brevity (entire output fills 3 CDs), and an interest in Renaissance music. o Pointillism Impressionist technique from 1880s; artist places dots of color on canvas and the viewer merges them into recognizable objects; uses only primary colors; parallels Weberns music. o Pointillism in music melody of sound colors, pitches of sound in different timbres, sounds in apparent isolation, interest in succession of sounds. Alban Berg (1885-1935) no formal music training, opera focus (Wozzeck, Lulu); style: Schoenbergs techniques used with freedom, tonal sounding rows, warmth of feeling, humanized abstract procedures, music is lush and Romantic-sounding (though atonal), operatic characters are expressionistic yet are treated sympathetically. Schoenberg, Webern, and Berg constitute the Second Viennese School (the implied prolific first Viennese school includes Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven). Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) o Russian themes and sounds o Influenced by Debussy interest in sound color o Rhythm irregular patterns and accents, syncopation, unexpected silences, polymeter (simultaneous use of different meters), frequent use of ostinato o Tone color and melody divides melody between instruments, many oct. jumps, melody fragmented, unusual combinations of instruments in novel ways o Harmony bitonality (simultaneous use of 2 different tonalities), ostinato in one key and melody in another o Form very simple, doesnt develop ideas, block form (sections that proceed from one to the next, clear delineation) Primitivism and Fauvism centered in Paris 1900-1910, interest in primitive art, respite over European art, primitive images, brilliant color, bold brush strokes, exaggerated features, overt sexuality, mythology; expressed musically through irregular accent, polymeters, polyrhythms, ostinato figures, etc. Bla Bartok (1881-1945) Hungarian comp., folk music interest, first true ethnomusicologist (recorded folks songs of Czech peasants with Edisons phonograph) o Style is a synthesis of elements: Western contrapuntal textures, thematic development, and forms (sonata, concerto, quartets) and Eastern melodic contours, irregular meters and rhythms, and

harmony derived from the character of the melody (whole-tone, pentatonic, modal, diatonic, etc.) Benjamin Britten (1913-1978) child prodigy, British comp., pacifist, opera focus; style: simple, clear, widely accessible, fits English language; humanitarian concerns reflected in music (War Requiem, Billy Budd, Peter Grimes gay persecution allegory in opera) Socialist Realism o October Revolution of 1917: Communists came to power, uncertainty for musicians; music associated with privileged class and individual imagination and is therefore incompatible with proletarian and collectivist values; economic devastation o Stalin ruled 1922-1953 sought centralized control over the arts, est. Union of Soviet Composers (1932-57): gave musicians a voice (albeit a censored one), overseen by Zhdanov o Zhdanovs policy of social reform modern styles and nonrepresentational art rejected by the state; concentration on programmatic or texted works glorifying the worker, Revolution, etc.; art should be geared to understanding of the masses; musical works should not deviate from norms of harmony, rhythm, form, etc. Dmitri Shostakovitch (1906-1975) born just before the Revolution, died 14 years before the collapse of Communism in Russia; 1930: leading Russian comp., 1932: opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District (Wozzeck influence), 1936: chaos instead of music review in Pravda (Truth), 1937: 5th Symphony A Soviet artists response to just criticism (conforming or subversive?) Aaron Copland (1900-1990) sought to develop a distinctly American sound, incorporated jazz and rural American subjects o Style: folk music quotations and imitations (stepwise, diatonic, familiar sounding melodies), pure intervals, triads with mild polytonality, evokes grandness of American landscape, textures of clear and luminous orchestrations (separates 4 families of instruments, solid bass, thin middle, clear soaring high, fresh wideopen sound) Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) comp. and organist, Catholic faith/mysticism, love of nature (transcribed and used birdsong in works), invented scales, Modes of Limited Transposition transpose it twice and it repeats itself, beyond tonality, Non Retrogradeable Rhythms pallendrome rhythms, sound and color. Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) idea that experience of performance is central to music; music stressed objectivity, traditionalism, and craftsmanship; wanted to define musics role in society; wanted to write music that amateurs could play/understand; disliked Romantic Expressionism (though that one can always hear a tonal center)

o Gebrauchsmusik music for common use (for amateurs and young people); high in quality, modern in style, challenging yet rewarding to perform o Neue Sachlichkeit new objectivity, avoidance of Romantic expression, focus on musical procedures (motivic development and polyphony of independent lines) o Unterweisung in Tonsatz craft of musical composition, 12 notes arranged in order of diminishing degree of relationship to the 1st tone, chords in order of increasing tension o Harmonic fluctuation alternating consonance with dissonance Charles Ives (1874-1954) insurance agent (important figure) and comp.; style: traditional elements (esp. traditional genres), ideas steeped in mystical notions (Transcendentalists), experimental ideas (polytonality, stacking intervals, synthesis and collage, cumulative form, stylistic heterogeneity); thought that one shouldnt distinguish between Classical and popular forms; idea that music should be described as an action not a thing (musicing). George Crumb (b.1929) unusual manner of notation, influenced by Debussy in his attention to timbral detail, and by Bartoks sonority, numerical symbolism and structural symmetries Electronic Music 2 types: instruments that produce sound electronically, and tape music Electronic instruments Theremin (1920s Leon Thermin), Ondes Martenot (1928 Maurice Martenot), Electronic Sackbut (1946 Hugh le Caine), Moog Synthesizer (1964 Robert Moog), Modular 100-series (1963 Donald Buchla), Meletron (tape loops important for rock bands) Musique Concrte music prepared from recorded sounds both natural (i.e. birdsong) and man-made (i.e. traffic); term originated with Pierre Schaffer in 1948 to distinguish between music made from concrete sound objects and the more abstract medium of notation. Norman McLaren (1914-1987) filmmaker, experimented in field of optical sound tracks on animated sound Alexina Louie (b. 1949) eastern sounds and avant-garde techniques; traditional structures of Back, Mozart, Mahler, etc.; contemporary harmonic language with emphasis on expression and communication John Cage (1912-1992) student of Henry Cowell and Schoenberg, influenced by eastern philosophies; challenged core concept of music by forcing listeners to consider unusual sounds as music; music represents radical departure from the past; four approaches: sound experiments, chance music, indeterminancy, blurring boundaries; referred to music as happenings. o Prepared piano grand piano whose sound has been altered by placing obects between strings, dramatically alters acoustical characteristics, range of sound timbres rather than progression of pitches

o Chance Music sounds are determined randomly but are notated precisely o Indeterminancy aspects are unspecified or notated vaguely leaving decisions and outcomes to the performer or situation Krzysztof Penderecki (b. 1933) one of foremost Polish comp., focus of texture and sound, interest in new sound, capacity for powerful emotional expression, unusual/atypical orchestral articulation techniques (Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima 1960) Minimalism reaction in 1960s against increasing complexity in 20th cent. music, simple patterns and repetition, regularity of pulse, clear structures, transformation by slow incremental change, tonal, rhythmic, extreme repetition, focus on process rather than result, an approach to music; taking an object, contemplating it, turning it slowly, different aspects emerge (Terry Riley, Andy Warhol) Phase or Process Music two individuals start playing the same pattern, one accelerates until the two are out of phase, transforms music into something different, keeps shifting until the two players are back in phase. Transformations of Minimalism in the 1970s and 80s movement from a process to accessibility, minimalist ostinatos combined with traditional melodies, faster transformations of material, influence of non-Western music (jazz, rock, etc.) Postmodernism Deliberate return to the past, new accessibility, genre mixing and collage, irony, humor, self-parody, tonality, exploration of surface characteristics