Download Music of WWI

By: Wendi Asper
Prior to the War…
 Before the start of the war, composers had followed the
flow from romanticism, meaning their music had
flowing rhythms and free phrases.
 Romantic composers included Beethoven,
Tchaikovsky, and Schumann
 This style of music is considered “Impressionist”
music
 An example of this type of music is Claude Debussy’s
Claire De Lune!
Impressionist Music
 Impressionist music is characterized by exotic scales
(whole tone, archaic church modes), unresolved and
ambiguous dissonances, parallel chords, softer sounds;
smaller, non-traditional forms.
CLAIR DE LUNE…
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcpamvLB2JU
During WWI
 By 1905, WWI was on the verge on encompassing all of
Europe due to the alliance system they had going at
that time.
 The music style of this time was called “Expressionist”
music which is where the composers rejected the
standard tonality and style and totally changed the
way people viewed music.
Expressionism
 Arnold Schoenberg was the composer who created
“atonal” music. The 12 notes in a musical octave were
each picked at random and from that form he would
create a melody and turn it in to a composition.
 Total anarchy of notes results in a chaotic sound with
no traditional organization, melody or harmony
 It sounds like a child at a piano, playing random notes!
Neo-Classicism
 Otherwise known as “primitivism” was considered the
anti-romantic style which aimed for realism rather
than idealism and form over emotional content.
 Often times, this type of music sounds primitive and
dissonant.
 The Composer of this style is Igor Stravinsky.
Igor Stravinsky
 Stravinsky was born in Russia near St. Petersburg and
studied at the St. Petersburg conservatory with famed
Russian composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Early in
his career, he was commissioned to compose three
ballets for the Ballet Russe. Other that “Rite of Spring”
the other well known ballet composed by Stravinsky
was “Partushka” which was considered a comedy and
was written BEFORE Rite of Spring.
 This change in the ballets that he wrote, goes to show
what type of conflicts were approaching Russia during
this time
Rite Of Spring
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
gZbMOq_Ge8&feature=related