Download Study Guide for Midterm 2

Music 27: Midterm 2
Review
Exam Format
1. listening: based on an excerpt from the listening list (30 sec to 2 min long); a series of
short-answer questions about musical features, meaning and expression.
2. ten multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blanks questions
3. one short essay based on material from study guide; format of this identical to the first
miderm. Write about two paragraphs for each, supplying as much musical detail as
possible.
Listening List
Schubert, “Erlkönig”
Schumann, Dichterliebe, Song 1, “Im wunderschönen Montat Mai”
Schumann, Carnaval (“Florestan” and “Eusebius”)
Clara Schumann, “Er ist gekommen”
Chopin, Ballade No. 3 in Ab major
Liszt, “Sposalizio” from Les Années de Pélèrinage Year 2, Italy
Verdi, La traviata: duet “Un dì felice” and Violetta’s aria (Ah! fors’è lui… sempre
libera) from Act I
Wagner, Die Walküre: love duet from Act I (“Winterstürme…” and “Du bist der Lenz”)
Mahler, Symphony No. 1, third movement
These are the pieces of music you should be familiar with and be prepared to
answer questions about. One question on the miderm will ask you to recognize
short excerpts from one or more of these pieces and name the piece and
composer. You may be responsible for additional pieces or sections of pieces in
your section--check with your GSI.
Terms and vocabulary you should know and be able to use correctly
* all of these terms are explained either in the lecture slides or in the readings (or
both). If you are unsure how to define or use a term, ask professor Smart or your
GSI now. It won’t work to go looking for definitions in places like Wikipedia,
because you may find a definition that only makes sense in the wrong context.
romanticism
theme and variations
program music
word painting
Lied, Lieder
song cycle
strophic
through-composed
modified strophic
virtuosity
etude
ballade
character piece
miniature
aria
cabaletta
duet
coloratura
Leitmotive
Gesamtkunstwerk
endless melody
Ideas, Concepts, and Listening Skills
Prepare in advance to write about these musical and conceptual questions by
listening to the pieces on the listening list REPEATEDLY and by studying the
lecture slides, assigned readings, and your notes from lecture.
•
how does Chopin’s music for solo piano sound and behave differently from
Schumann’s? from Liszt’s?
•
how did the the technological improvements made to the piano in the early
nineteenth century encourage the rise of virtuoso performer/composers like
Chopin and Liszt? how did these developements to the instrument change the kind
of music that was composed? For either Chopin or Liszt, you should be able to
point to and describe three musical effects of techniques that are related to the
technology of the piano.
•
discuss the importance of virtuosity in the music of the nineteenth century, both
for voice and for piano. What composers exploited virtuosity most? What kinds
of emotions and effects were made possible by virtuosic performance?
•
be able to define romanticism and list its main characteristics. be able to write a
short paragraph about what musical (and, for the songs, poetic) features of each
piece are romantic
•
Is virtuosity a part of romanticism, or is it opposed to the values and ideals of
romanticism?
•
Why do the personalities and life experiences of composers seem to become so
important in the nineteenth century? Why do we suddenly see so many
composers who were also top-rank performers? Be ready to provide examples
and discuss how they are different from each other.
•
for each of the Lieder we’ve studied, be able to talk about the musical techniques
that are used to depict elements from the poetry. How does the piano part (or the
voice) evoke rippling water, stormy weather, blossoming flowers, etc.?
•
explain the differences between a strophic song and a through-composed song and
to give an example of each. Why might a composer choose to set a poem in
strophic form? why might s/he choose through-composed instead?
•
in the Lieder we’ve studied, who seems to be speaking or singing? Should we
hear this speaking character as the poet or the composer, or as some imaginary
character? Give reasons from the poem and the music to support your opinion.
•
in Carnaval, what musical techniques does Schumann use to characterize his two
alter egos, Florestan and Eusebius?
•
in the Verdi’s La traviata, how does the composer use music to convey the
distinct qualities and personality of each main character in the duet?
•
what does coloratura mean to Verdi? how does he use it to convey character and
emotion?
•
how do Verdi and Wagner approach opera differently?
•
what reforms did Wagner want to make in opera style and drama? what specific
musical and dramatic techniques did he invent to make this a reality?
•
how does the Leitmotive work to promote Wagner’s vision of what opera should
be and how listeners should relate to opera?
•
discuss Mahler’s use of the particular instruments of the orchestra, and
combinations of instruments, in his First Symphony (3rd movement). What
unusual effects are used, and what are they used to express?
•
The Mahler movement, Liszt’s “Sposalizio,” and the two movements from
Carnaval (Florestan and Eusebius) are examples of program music. What is the
“program” in each? What techniques does each composer uses to convey
elements of the program--compare and contrast.
•
why might some composers (such as Mahler) have been reluctant to present their
works to the public as program music, while others (such as Schumann) seem to
want to permeate their instrumental music with words and ideas from beyond
music, and even to write every detail of their own lives and personalities into their
music? which approach seems more successful to you and why? should
instrumental music be “about” things, or should it stand on its own as sounds and
structures?