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CHAPTER 21
1. What is the difference between exoticism and nationalism? Why do you think Chopin
was considered a nationalist composer whereas Robert Schumann was not?
Exoticism emphasizes otherness and outsiderness for an audience of insiders (e.g., Gottschalk in
Europe). While this process highlights strange and foreign nationality, it is not the same thing as
nationalism, which consists of embodying nationhood in more “universal” forms (e.g., Chopin’s
Ballade in G minor, which tells the story of Poland without using specifically Polish-sounding
musical material, which would be exoticizing). Exoticism points out what makes a nation
different; nationalism conveys what makes a nation united.
Chopin was considered a nationalist because his nationality (Polish) did not actually exist at the
time, at least on maps. His identity was thus tied to being an oppressed outsider. Schumann was
not considered a nationalist because his origins and compositional style (German) were seen as
universal and “unmarked.” Because of its dominance, German music was seen as simply
“music,” while that of marginalized nationalities was marked with national/ethnic difference
(e.g., “Polish music”).
2. Which works of Chopin are overtly “Polish,” and how is the Polishness expressed
musically?
Chopin’s most characteristically Polish works are his krakowiaks, polonaises, and mazurkas, all
of which are based on native dance forms. Polishness is expressed through exotic rhythms (to
Western European ears), including syncopation (krakowiak) and strongly accented triple meter
(mazurka). Further, mazurkas often feature tonic or tonic-fifth drones associated with the Polish
bagpipe (duda). More abstractly, the perceived Polishness of Chopin’s music was simply the
result of the composer’s well-known Polish roots; audiences heard him as a Polish composer,
therefore, regardless (despite) the actual music. The biography of the composer creates different
contexts of interpretation for the listener.
3. Describe the musical form of Chopin’s Ballade in G Minor. How does this form express
narrative content? In what respects is it a nationalistic work?
The Ballade in G minor uses elements of sonata form to achieve a forward-thrusting, goal-driven
momentum that is at once traditional and highly idiosyncratic. It begins with a hushed and gentle
mood and builds to a dramatic, intense conclusion. Its narrative content comes through in the
regular repetitions of the main themes, which musically mirror the recurring stanza structure of
ballad poetry. Every time a theme is repeated, it is transformed to reflect the development of the
narrative. The Ballade is loosely modeled on the nationalistic poetry of Chopin’s Polish
compatriot Adam Mickiewicz. While the piece does not employ any specifically Polish musical
elements, it was heard as a universal statement of Polish empowerment: Nationalism thus
transcended the exotic.
4. How did American political and cultural conditions affect the attitudes toward music
and art in the United States?
America in the middle of the nineteenth century was a young country with an ambivalent
relationship to European-style art music. Americans looked to Europe for artistic guidance, and
many major composers and performers visited the U.S. (e.g., Jenny Lind’s highly-publicized
concert tour of 1850). However, America’s democratic and non-hierarchical culture—founded
upon its revolutionary history—viewed the European split between “high” and “low” culture
skeptically. Italian opera (in English) and Shakespeare co-existed with popular theater and
minstrelsy on the American stage.
5. Why was Gottschalk perceived differently in Europe than in the United States? What
types of works did he write for the two different audiences?
In Europe, Gottschalk was perceived as an exotic “other”: He was an American and (more
specifically) a Louisiana Creole. For this audience, he wrote music showcasing aspects of his
faraway birthplace, particularly elements of African-American music (e.g., Bamboula, La
savane, and Le bananier). In America he was also perceived as “other,” though of a very
different type: Gottschalk to Americans was representative of European sophistication and class.
In his U.S. concerts, he performed sentimental parlor-piano compositions intended for domestic
consumption (e.g., The Last Hope, The Maiden’s Blush, and The Dying Poet).
6. Why was Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar considered the first true Russian opera? What does
it mean to say that his work was “nation-embodying”?
A Life for the Tsar was not technically the first Russian opera, although it successfully
synthesized a number of elements that led many to consider it a first (and a uniquely “nationembodying” first at that). Glinka employed a Russian folk idiom that evoked traditional singing
styles while rarely quoting them directly. Rather, he blended source materials (the sound of the
Herderian “Folk”) with the latest international compositional techniques to create an “organic
unity” that simultaneously projected Russianness while also adhering to universal (i.e., Western
European) values. It was “nation-embodying” because it asserted Russian’s musical presence on
the European stage in a language that was both different (exotic) and familiar (universal).
7. Describe the various influences on A Life for the Tsar, from Italian opera, French opera,
and Russian folklore. In what respects was this opera politically and socially conservative?
A Life for the Tsar synthesizes influences from a diverse range of sources. From Italian opera,
Glinka adopted virtuoso vocal numbers, accelerating tempos, and ensemble finales; from French
opera, recurring themes, choruses, “grandness,” and ballet; from German opera, counterpoint,
harmonic complexity, and opulent orchestration; and from his native Russia, melodic material
derived from folk models. Despite the stylistic diversity of the work, however, the opera was
politically and socially conservative in its conformity to the “official nationalism” propagated by
Tsar Nikolai (the Tsar even suggested the name of the opera). The opera’s plot deals with the
creation of a national mythology that served ideological purposes; it musically encapsulates
national conflict by representing “us” (Russia) versus “them” (Poland); and it promotes
submission to authority, both political and religious.
8. What is innovative about the way Glinka uses folk songs in Kamarinskaya?
Kamarinskaya is based on two Russian folk tunes, a dance song and a lyrical wedding song.
Noticing the similarities between the two, Glinka structured his orchestral fantasy as a “mash up”
of the two: While they begin in contrast, the two pieces gradually merge, the one morphing into
the other. The piece exhibits a high degree of motivic saturation (à la Beethoven), placing
Russian folk sources into the context of the most advanced compositional practices of the day.