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Grade 12 Music History Romantic Period 20th Century Popular and Canadian Music The Romantic Era 1820-1900 • Beethoven (1770-1827) was the last great master of the Classic style and the first important Romantic composer. • period of national and colonial expansion, a time of consolidating the ideas of freedom and equality. • Nationalism: composers included folk songs from their own countries in their music. The Romantic Aesthetic • What is an aesthetic? A philosophical theory or idea of what is aesthetically valid at a given time and place: the clean lines, bare surfaces, and sense of space that bespeak the machineage aesthetic. (from dictionary.com) • Freedom: the artist should be able to say what he/she wants; freedom from the strictures of previous styles and disciplines. The first composer to work independently, free of aristocractic patronage, was Beethoven. • Individualism: Art/music is seen to be totally free from the restrictions imposed by earlier ages and traditions. Romantic Aesthetic continued… • Music as the Meeting Place of the Arts: Music was regarded as the place where all of the arts met, where ideas from literature and the visual arts found their most effective expression. There was great interest in composing music based on literary themes or settings of poetry. (e.g. Beethoven’s 9th Symphony which was based on a poem entitled “Ode to Joy”). • Aesthetic Argument: Musicians in this period were more involved in debating their positions on aesthetic questions than ever before. They wanted to have their opinion heard on where music should be headed. Themes in the Romantic Period • The Struggling Hero: a hero’s struggles against impossible odds to meet a particular challenge. • Faust: Faust is a medieval scientist who sells his soul to achieve superhuman illumination, but is saved by his love for Marguerite. (e.g. The Faust symphony of Liszt, The Damnation of Faust by Berlioz and others to many to mention). • Nature: Romantics thought of nature as an idealized, magical, and even divine world, the source of either tranquility and peace or overwhelming demonic power. (e.g. The Pastoral Symphony by Beethoven). Romantic Themes continued… • The Supernatural: artists enjoyed the effect of a shiver of horror in the audience. (e.g. Carl Maria von Weber’s opera Der Freischutz, whose midnight scene in the forest features tolling bells, demonic manifestations, and magic bullets; also Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain). • The Exotic: Distant lands, faraway places, glamorous and mysterious (e.g. the far east – used gongs and Chinese scales to depict). They were not interested in actually learning about another culture, they just wanted ways to suggest other cultures in their music (e.g. Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, which depicts the magical world of the Arabian nights). Romantic Themes continued… • The Middle Ages: The Romantic artists glorified the middle ages by suggesting beautiful damsels in distress, brave and selfless knights, wise kings, and demonic magicians. The legends of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table, the quest for the Holy Grail, and other medieval tales were revived, modified to fit Romantic specifications, and used over and over as thematic material in the arts of the nineteenth century (e.g. Wagner’s opera’s Tristan Und Isolde, and Die Meistersinger). The quest in the Romantic Period was for heroes larger than life, a shiver of fear, a wrenching tragedy, or a feeling of peace. New Musical Developments in the Romantic Period • The Virtuoso Performer: A new type of virtuoso performer emerged, whose displays of unheard of technical ability appealed to worshipping audiences. The first of these virtuoso’s was Franz Liszt who turned his piano sideways so the audience could see his hands and appreciate his noble profile. Another was Paganini, a violinist who so astounded people with his technical agility that some suspected him of being in league with the devil. Due to this type of performer, composers had to write music designed more for technical display than for musical value (e.g. from today: Classical: Yo Yo Ma; Rock performers etc.) • Developments in Instruments: The Piano: was made heavier and sturdier. It was more capable of a sustained, singing tone, and a wide range of dynamics. The piano was widely used, for solos, home use, accompaniment etc. • The Orchestra The orchestra in the Romantic period was greatly expanded. Sometimes the orchestra outnumbered the audience. The brass section became an independent group, equal with the woodwinds and strings. The addition of valves to the brass instruments made them much more agile and freed them from the support role they often played in the Classical period. The French horn was a particular favourite because of its heroic effect. Trombone and tuba were added to the orchestra which helped to make climaxes sound loud and exciting. The English horn, the bass clarinet and the piccolo all joined the standard orchestra, and only occasionally saxophones were used. The string section had to be greatly increased to keep up with the expanded brass and woodwinds. The percussion section was also expanded from the 2 or 3 timpani of the Classical period. The Romantic orchestra added a bass drum, a snare drum, cymbals, and castanests, chimes, gongs, and other exotic instruments for special effects. Overall the orchestra expanded from 30-40 players in the Classical period, to 70-80 in the Romantic period. Romantic Forms • Symphonies: Became twice as long as Romantic themes tend to be longer, and the more dramatic section of the symphonic form are greatly expanded. They tend to have moody or dramatic introductions, development sections, and long conclusions. Contains several movements. • Concertos: (Soloist with orchestra) Longer than in Classical period as time is needed for ample display of technique. • New Forms: program symphonies: organized around a literary theme; symphonic poem (tone poem): single movement work based on a literary or pictorial idea; overtures: incidental music for dramatic presentations; songs: a single idea or mood is painted, simply and briefly in a few pages of music. Romantic Forms continued… • Opera: Because opera is a combination of music, drama, staging, and costume, it truly represents the union of the arts so sought after in Romantic thought. Characters became less mythical and more representative of genuine human passion. Romantic opera plots are filled with mad scenes, unrequited love, murder, infidelity, and tragic death (Biggest composers: Verdi and Wagner). Romantic Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1840-1893 • Born in Russia, did not start formal music training until he was 23. • Matilda von Meck, a wealthy woman, decided to support him so he would be free to compose. The relationship lasted 13 years; they never met, but had lengthy correspondence. Tchaikovsky was also married to a former student, although briefly and this ended in a legal separation, which caused him great depression. • He achieved great success in Russia and in America and participated in the opening ceremonies for Carnegie Hall. • At the age of 53, he travel to St.Petersburg to conduct his Sixth symphony; while there he contracted cholera and died. • Although his training was in the standard European traditions, he also used folk themes or rhythms in his works (nationalism). Tchaikovsky’s Works • Tchaikovsky wrote symphonies (most famous: Sixth entitled: Pathetique), 10 symphonic poems (most famous: Romeo and Juliet), 8 operas (most famous: Eugene Onegin), ballet music (Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker), piano concertos, 200 songs, piano solos, and chamber groups. Romeo and Juliet • Romantic program music • Symphonic poem (one movement orchestral work, based on a literary theme) • Themes: doomed love, conflict between families, tragic feelings. • Approximately 20 minutes long 20th Century Music 1900-2000 • Revolutions in the field of transportation and communication have caused the globe to shrink, so that developments in one country immediately affect life in another. Changes take place so rapidly that we find it easier to characterize separate decades, rather than generalize about the entire century. • Technological Developments automobile, the airplane, the computer, man walks on the moon etc…century of war and violence. Technology revolutionized the way man wages war (bombing, nuclear war). 20th Century Aesthetic Individual Fulfillment • People in this century have been very concerned with individual fulfillment and lifestyle. • Choices with how to spend leisure time. • Self help programs, fitness centres, special interest groups. 20th Century Themes • More likely to deal with the victim or the anti-hero than with the hero • Anger, confusion, technology, violence. Characters • The main character of a novel or film is more likely to be neurotic than heroic • Demons with which he struggles are his own fears, or society rather than the dragons or evil wizards of the Romantic ideal. • Setting is more likely a decaying city than an exotic wonderland. 20th Century Themes Continued Vestiges of Romanticism • Still some typical Romantic impulses (themes) in 20th century art, music etc. (e.g. Superman, Star Wars). These themes are just not as popular. The City Versus Nature • importance of our remaining wilderness areas • background for a story is more likely a city than an exotic place (some exceptions of course e.g. “Lord of the Rings”) Other important issues… Technology and the Arts • new art media: film, photography and television • new industries: the movie business, the recording industry, the television industry Fragmentation of the Audience • Variety provides access but also splinters the audience into a bewildering array of special interest groups. People no longer watch the same things or listen to the same music. The choices are so varied that it fragments us. 20th Century continued… Elitism • the artist or composer no longer feels the need to appeal to a wide segment of the population. There is an elitist attitude that to produce a work of art that has a large appeal is to fail one’s responsibility to art. It is now possible to produce works of intellectual interest, removed from the demands of the popular market. Anti-Romanticism • One characteristic common to all of the arts in the 20th century is an attempt to move away from the premises of Romanticism and to discover new ways of organizing, structuring and judging artistic works. Constant change and discovery are the rule. 20th Century Music • 20th Century compositions are typically for smaller groups (e.g. chamber groups) • Percussion instruments come into prominence • Jagged rhythm (more percussive performance, less lyrically) 20th Century Techniques • the piano: can reach inside instrument and pluck the strings, or use fists and elbows to create “clusters” of notes, or add materials to the strings (e.g. paper, clips) so that the piano sounds like a percussion section • violin: can be asked to bow in strange places (e.g. on the bridge, below the bridge), use body of instrument as a percussion instrument • wind players: produce “multiphonics” (two sounds at once), or percussive key clicks. • Brass players: asked to speak through their instruments • Also many instruments become electrified (guitar, violin, piano) 20th Century Musical Style • Melody: melodies are now marked by wide leaps, irregular phrasing, and a conscious effort not to be stepwise and lyrical • Rhythm: much more of a crucial element; jagged, staccato rhythm patterns. • Impressionism: dissonant chords do not lead to resolution, but are used in series or “streams”. Some Impressionistic composers also use scales other than the standard Western scales to escape from their implied harmonic direction. • Polytonality: two or more tonalities at once, defying the listener’s ear to keep its sense of harmonic bearings in the traditional sense. • Pan-diatonic System: no distinction between consonant or dissonant notes. All notes are equally valid. 20th Century Musical Style continued… • Atonality: the total absence of a tonal center. Atonal music is liberated from any sense of harmony. All notes are equally important; there are no consonant or dissonant chords. • Twelve-Tone or Serial Composition: developed by Arnold Schoenberg; the fundamental principle is that all twelve notes of the chromatic scale are equal in importance; none takes the position of tonic or dominant. The 12 notes are arranged in a series or row selected by the composer and then appears always in that order with no note repeated, so that none takes precedence as a tonal centre Structure • Neoclassicism: This style revived the tight, logical structures of the Baroque and Classic periods, but in twentieth-century, usually pandiatonic harmonic idiom. Generally fun to perform and they exploit the possibilities of unusual combinations of instruments. • Aleatoric or Chance music: some elements of the musical structure are left up to the performers. It restores to the performer a role in the creative process. 20th Century Forms • Old Forms: Some forms from the past have persisted into the 20th century such as the symphony, concerto (although now showing new possibilities of instruments), opera (much different themes: anti-heroes, psychological drama, violence) • New forms: Musical Theatre, Popular Music (jazz, pop, rock, etc.). 20th Century Composer: Aaron Copland • Best known American Composer of the century (born in 1900) • Done a lot to establish an “American” style of music • Studied in Paris • Best known works: Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, Billy the Kid, A Lincoln Portrait. He also wrote scores for several films in this period, most of which were based on American literary classics: Of Mice and Men, Our Town, The Red Pony. • Unofficial spokesman of American composers and used his widespread fame to educate American audiences on 20th Century music. Copland’s Music • complex metres, syncopation, and ostinato patterns • bitonality (sounding of two different triads at the same time) • music is generally diatonic • melodies contain wide intervals and large leaps • uses hymn tunes, patriotic melodies, jazz or ragtime rhythms “Appalachian Spring” • first performed in 1944 • Plot: concerns the celebration of a young couple’s wedding and their moving into their new home in Western Pennsylvania in the 19th Century. It is a nostalgic look backwards at an idealized time when pioneer virtues and strengths were the guiding principles of people’s lives. • Melody has a “hoedown” feeling Popular Music Important Characteristics of Popular Music • Popular music is performer’s music, not composer’s music. In other words the important person in popular music is the performer. In record stores, popular music is listed by group or singer, not by composer like classical music is. • Popular music is created fresh and spontaneously each time it is performed (improvisation), whereas classical music is supposed to be performed exactly the way the composer wrote it (composer control). In classical music, each note is specified in the sheet music, whereas in popular music one only receives the basic melody, rhythm and chord patterns in the sheet music. Other types of Music… • Folk Music (Music of the People) • Simple songs whose words tend to be more important than their melodies. They have simple accompaniment, usually just one or two acoustic guitars. • Traditional songs of an ethnic group that have been handed down for generations in an oral manner (passed on by ear, rather than written down). • Generally performed by amateurs rather than by professionals, and has a strong tribal or ethnic significance Other musics… Art Musics of Other Cultures • People of Western cultures often think that Western European music is the only music that is worthy of study and admiration. However, other cultures have music that is complex and beautiful, which is performed by professional musicians. Western Art Music • Written and performed by professionals who have undergone long periods of training to develop the required skill. • Western art music is composer’s music. With our well-developed notational system, composers are able to specify the notes that are to be played, the rhythm, phrasing, tempos, and other elements. Elements of Music • Timbre-quality of the sound; tone colour; Sample adjectives are raspy, clear. • Melody- a series of individual notes heard as a coherent unit, which have a specific rhythmic shape. Two identical series of notes will sound completely different without the identical rhythmic arrangement. Some melodies are designed to be remembered and sung easily. These melodies usually move by step. • Rhythm-a general term for the way musical events are arranged in time. METRE – The arrangement of pulses or beats into sets of 2,3,4 or sometimes in larger sets of complex rhythm patterns. In 4/4 time, the important accented pulses are on the first and third beat of each unit or measure. In ¾ time, the major pulse is on the first beat in every set of three. The waltz is an example of this type of metre Elements of Music Continued • TEMPO – how fast or slow a piece is to be played. This can be very specific as in a metronome setting, or quite general as in popular music. • ie. tempo markings: Lento: very slow Adagio: slow, or leisurely Andante: Slow “walking” Moderato: Moderately Allegro: fast Presto: very fast • Dynamics- the volume level of music, and changes in that level. A gradual increase in volume is called a crescendo, and a decrease is called a decrescendo. • • • • • ppp: extremely soft pp : pianissimo (very soft) p: piano (soft) mp: mezzo-piano (medium soft) mf:mezzo-forte (medium loud) f- forte ff-fortissimo (very loud) fff- extremely loud <-crescendo >-decrescendo Underlying Elements of Music • Texture – used to classify music on the basis of the way in which different musical lines occurring at the same time relate to one another. • MONOPHONIC- one unaccompanied line (e.g. medieval chants). A solo voice or a group playing in unison (all playing the same thing) is a monophonic line. • HOMOPHONIC- a texture that has one prominent melody against which all other voices play accompanying parts. Much popular music is homophonic and this is evident in piano scores where the right hand plays the melody and the left plays the chords. • POLYPHONIC- a number of melodic voices. This texture predominates in Baroque music and in most kinds of jazz, in which the soloists’ improvisations are nearly always accompanied not only by chords from the rhythm section, but also by counter melodies from other soloists. Polyphonic texture is readily apparent from a glance at the score: all of the parts are playing melodic lines, and the chords or arpeggios of homophonic style are nowhere to be seen.