Music EC-12 (Music History and Culture)

Question 1

Style and classifications of music

Answer 1

The style of music showcases not only the time and political or spiritual mood of the period, but also the composers and the mindset of the people. Music is meant to be listened to and, as such, can be repeated, expounded upon through different media, appreciated in different ways at different times, accepted as an individualistic part of the hearer, respected as a demonstration of a culture or belief system, and touted as a societal bragging right. Music offers these different abstract feelings, but its primary purpose and people’s eternal fascination falls back on the fact that music is created for people’s enjoyment. The styles of music are usually classified into chronological sections and referred to as Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Twentieth Century.

Question 2

Quality of Music

Answer 2

Music is difficult to label regarding good and bad as the biggest deciding factor of the quality of music is the listener. Defining any greatness in art by comparing the positive and negative aspects limits the artistic voice of the creator and the imagination of the audience. Critics have been in the business of defining the quality of art for centuries and have often made poor calls due to their inability to accept a new style or the enduring aspect of the composer and the audience reception of that style of writing. For any musician to become accepted, he or she must master a particular style or technique and perform or compose with a kind of genius that inspires others. To be considered great, music must be able to stand the test of time as being an indispensable example of
a kind of work for the period, country, or composer.

Question 3

Emergence of music

Answer 3

Music as an artistic expression became documented around the Middle Ages. Prior to this time, music was used as an equally contributing part of worship, poetry, and dance and served society by uniting a community to complete necessary labors, soothe mourners, express different emotions, and offer homage to a higher power. The older or ancient forms of musical expression set the foundation for the more disciplined arts of music since there was no musical notation for sharing these ideas until the Middle Ages. The Greeks with their love of the lyre established that musical foundation as surely as they did modern theories regarding culture and philosophy. Greek musical theory introduced intervals, or relationships between pitches, using a tightened string to show how the shortening of the string 3:2 or 4:3 could change the tone when plucked.

Question 4

Chants

Answer 4

The earliest notated music revolves around religion and worship where early Christians combined the styles of different groups, including Jewish worship, to create their own style. The Medieval Christian style is known as plainchant or simply chant that was monophonic, or written as a single melody with no harmonic accompaniment, written in one of the eight modes, or set scale patterns, as created by the Greeks. The rhythm followed the words themselves and was freely interpreted. Modern Latin masses and other Catholic services demonstrate this style of music. As the sixth-century pope Gregory the Great commissioned to have many of these chants written out, or codified, this body of work used in liturgy has been referred as Gregorian Chant. The secular music of the time did not possess the same haunting quality of the Gregorian Chant and also was not written down until the tenth century.

Question 5

Secular music

Answer 5

There was a rise in secular music of the tenth century with minstrels, or small groups of people moving across Europe, such as the French troubadours and trouvères, the German Minnesingers and Meistersingers, and the English scops and gleemen. This music, consisting of hundreds of monophonic melodies, was transcribed by monks and scribes and kept locked up in the libraries of scholars until the twentieth century. These secular pieces had lively rhythm even as monophonic tunes and often depicted love as the central theme. These very songs are often credited as the basis for the Western idea of romantic love since the music describes desire, frustration, yearning, and loss. The French musicians of the later Middle Ages described adultery which would later characterize the idea of courtly love.

Question 6

Polyphony

Answer 6

The music of the Middle Ages consisted of rhythm, melody, and words in a monophonic style, and the ninth century saw borne music that consisted of multiple vocal parts and melodic lines, or polyphony, moving in parallel intervals in the more hollow-sounding fourths or fifths. This style of singing is referred to as organum, which started the musical change still in existence today. The number of moving parts has increased, and the corresponding lines of music have increased in complexity and experimentation. The original melody of polyphony was selected from a chant and was extended and added upon. Languages
were combined for the multiple parts so that French would be the first line and Latin the second. Pérotin with his Sederunt Principes in four parts pushed the musical society forward into fully notated music that combined consonance and dissonance.

Question 7

Organum

Answer 7

The music theorists of the ninth century church began to experiment with the notion of two melodic lines being sung at the same time at parallel intervals and usually at the fourth, fifth, or octave. The sound created by this style of singing was referred to as organum and was developed over the following hundred years. One and two additional melodic lines moving in conjunction with each other and possibly overlapping were added by the eleventh century where the original chant melodic line was sung slowly on notes held out and called tenor. These additional melodies would cross each other to enrich the sound. The Cathedral of Notre Dame exemplified this music known as Ars Antiqua or “old art.” Eventually this style was replaced by the smoother sounds of the fourteenth century polyphonic music known as Ars Nova.

Question 8

Guillaume de Machautand

Answer 8

Guillaume de Machaut brought the polyphonic style of music to its full maturity in the fourteenth century with his new art style. Acting as both secretary and court composer for wealthy men, de Machaut composed music that was touted as the premier style and even produced the La Messe de Notre Dame, one of the early polyphonic works for the Ordinary of the Catholic Mass. This Mass combines the tonality of the traditional church modes with a more then-modern minstrel flair. Interestingly, de Machaut embodied the courtly love ideology in his personal life and his more secular music. His works created subtle relationships between the theme and the sound of words, and he brought polyphony to more mainstream musical audiences.

Question 9

Burgundian School composers

Answer 9

As a time of learning, science, and the arts, the Renaissance altered the artistic and political climate of Europe in the mid- fifteenth century. The transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance was bridged by the Burgundian School composers working for the dukes of Burgundy in the Brussels region. Guillaume Dufay, the most notable Burgundian composer, wrote secular and sacred music that had a more limpid sweetness than the music written for centuries before and in three parts instead of four. His sacred work consisted of Masses and motets, shorter sacred works, with an emphasis on the top melodic line and fuller sonorities for his adaptations of church modes. Dufay and other Burgundian composers would incorporate popular music in their polyphonic sacred works, which might combine a motet for the Virgin with a racy melody from a popular song about a mistress. The Church eventually forbade this style in worship.

Question 10

Motet

Answer 10

As a major musical style between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries, the motet has three major classifications. From 1200 to 1450, the motet referred to a tenor serving as the foundation for upper voices and a combination of those voices with the text. From 1450 to 1600, the motet referred to a genre of polyphony setting Latin texts to music. After 1600, the motet referred to a type of sacred music associated with church polyphony. The Renaissance motet focused on Biblical passages and used as ornamentation for the liturgy. After 1600, the motet came to symbolize a sacred vocal work designed for liturgy or devotion. The Catholic and Protestant churches used the motet different, and the style developed separately around the countries of Europe.

Question 11

Motif

Answer 11

As small as two pitches or as complex as entire phrases, a motive, or motif, is usually a short syncopated melody that is well defined enough to be recognizable even during any variations. The motives allowed for more development of an idea or emotion in a piece. Baroque music incorporated motives to set a continuous pattern in the music with the repeated sequencing and modulation. Beethoven used the motive most recognizably in the Pastoral Symphony. The opening theme introduces three motives that play a prominent role in the piece. The reversal of rhythm, pitch, and contour allows the three motives to be combined and moved around to enhance the quality of the piece. Sonatas will carry motives at the beginning to be repeated in the different sections of the work.

Question 12

Prince of Music

Answer 12

Flemish composer Josquin Desprez was called the Prince of Music and wrote 13 Masses, 100 motets, and 70 secular vocal works. His sacred polyphony contained four equal parts but with the otherworldly sound of the Burgundian School. He established the use of continuous imitation where voices would pick up the melodic motives of the other parts and incorporated this canon into his works, and the motets allowed Desprez more freedom with melodic experimentation. The secular work of Desprez combined lilting melodies with canonic backgrounds, using lively rhythms and almost jazzy syncopations, as in his “Scaramella” and “El Grillo.” Regardless, his sacred music epitomized music that was pure and spiritual.

Question 13

Renaissance

Answer 13

While there is debate about the inception of Renaissance music, most authorities will agree 1430 is an approximate beginning so as to match the accepted date for the historical Renaissance period. The ars nova, or new art, of de Machaut and Dufay allowed music to evolve into a newer style which was communicated to other parts of Europe through the travels of minstrels. Composers of the time did not feel that any work over 40 years old was adequate for their audience and sought to create a new birth, or renaissance, of music by connecting music and social aspects of culture such as humanism. These composers sought to explore chromatic and enharmonic styles of ancient music, set popular folk tales to music, rediscover the meter and rhythm of ancient music as in musique mesurée, and allow the syntax and pronunciation of words to be as prominent as the meaning.

Question 14

Renaissance dance music

Answer 14

As music was shared aurally with little to no training involved, groups would gather together to enjoy the faster paced music used to inspire dances and merriment. This instrumental dance music was prolific in the Renaissance, being composed and frequently improvised by different peoples of many diverse backgrounds. Much of the dance music of the Renaissance is attributed to certain collectors of those folk pieces, such as the dance music of Tielman Susato and the Terpsichore of Michael Praetorius. The work La Spagna is often attributed to Josquin Desprez and typifies the rhythm and sound of the Renaissance dance. The music was modified and improved upon by later composers, and much of the
sprightly rhythms found itself rejuvenated in the Baroque style.

Question 15

English madrigalists

Answer 15

The English madrigalists of the Elizabethan Age composed interesting secular music written in English, a language that is hard to set to music as it lacks the more singable styles of Italian and Latin, the hearty rhythm of German, and the lyrical quality of French. The madrigal is a poetic musical style or verse form that was usually pastoral and consisted of 2 or 3 stanzas of 3 lines and then a ritornello, or couplet set to different music and usually written in a different meter. The most notable English madrigalists are Thomas Campion, John Dowland, and William Byrd. The music of these madrigalists was often secular but included some sacred works as well, where the music is lively and then somber depending on the topic.

Question 16

Cantus firmus

Answer 16

The cantus is a plainsong chant and most often associated with sacred music. The cantus firmus is a freely interpreted polyphonic work usually based on an existing melody with variations in the work on meter, rhythm, and wording. This style of music dominated in the vocal music of sacred worship of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and was occasionally used in sixteenth century worship but mostly in instrumental pieces. The fourteenth century saw cantus firmi used in isorhythmic pieces where the pitch of an existing piece was used as the slow-moving tenor line. The speed of this line distinguished the style and subsequent sound of the music, and the use of the cantus firmus in long notes remained a technique into the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The highest line of the cantus firmus usually paraphrased an existing melody. Eventually, composers included the melodies of secular music into their cantus firmi.

Question 17

Baroque Period

Answer 17

Beginning about 1600, the Baroque era represented a musical retreat back to the dependence on words for the meaning of the work and the idea that music should be used to illustrate the words. Opera with is birth in the Baroque era and based on its dependence of the text was created as a model of Ancient Greek drama. The styles were classified as new music, or nuove musiche. The idea for a succinct and expressive kind of sound as a single melody with a harmonic accompaniment became the standard for Baroque music and was first used by the Florentine Camerata. This new texture is referred to as homophony and is an offshoot and compliment to polyphony. With the combination of melody and harmony, the Baroque era serves as the beginning of the musical evolution.

Question 18

Renaissance to Baroque

Answer 18

Musicians of the Renaissance had one style and one practice whereas the musicians of the Baroque period had three styles and two practices. Renaissance music equally balanced all voices and restrained the representation of words while Baroque music celebrated the polarity of opposing voices and attempted to affect the representation of words. With a modal counterpoint and diatonic melody in a small range, Renaissance music differed from Baroque which had tonal counterpoint and diatonic melody in a wide range. Chords driven by modality were merely by- products in Renaissance music whereas chords driven by tonality were self- contained pieces in Baroque. Renaissance harmony and dissonance were taken in intervals while Baroque harmony and dissonance were taken in chords.

Question 19

Opera

Answer 19

Operatic works are centered around the recitative, or singing that serves as a speech or declamation, which follows the natural rhythms of the written text. The harmony is used to give the audience the suggestion of changing moods and increase or decrease in tension. Since the opera is primarily sung, it differs from other theatrical productions and dramatic pieces where the music is used as an occasional accompaniment to the story. The musical accompaniment for an opera could include a full orchestra or just a small ensemble depending on the scope of the work and the composer’s preferences. While madrigals would perform mostly for their own amusement, operas are performed for live audiences and can be written by either playwrights or dramatists before being set to music or written by the music composer.

Question 20

Counterpoint

Answer 20

As a combination of 2 or more melodic lines, counterpoint can also be defined as the technical considerations involved in combining those melodic lines and their resultant sounds. The two lines may be written parallel in thirds but may include fourths for the sake of the key of the piece. The intervals of the work are measured and discerned by the ear, so more movement could be perceived than is actually occurring. Counterpoint as a property of polyphony is defined by its relationship to melody since the melody must have a perceived continuity independent of the rest of the work. The two lines must balance each other so that the audience may focus on one line, then the other, and then perceive the combined sound as one line. While counterpoint has a linear emphasis, harmony has a more vertical emphasis.

Question 21

Homophonic age

Answer 21

The harmonic principle took precedence over the polyphonic principle in the homophonic age where chords were no longer associated with counterpoint and contrapuntal results. Harmony controls Baroque counterpoint, and the melodies are overlaid onto a strong bass line and interspersed with top voice ornamentation. This harmonic expression was used to maintain the clarity of the tone and base the entire work on the hierarchy of chords and their relationship to the key. The entire grouping of modal scales was discarded for the more robust major and the darker minor tonality. The name Baroque was invoked to suggest a removal of bad taste in music and art, and the period can be divided into the early Baroque with Monteverdi, middle- Baroque with Corelli, and late Baroque with Handel and Bach.

Question 22

Jean Philip Rameau

Answer 22

The harpsichord was brought to public attention with the choral and chamber music composed by François Couperin, the leading French composer of his time, who is remembered for his vast amounts of harpsichord music written as suites, or “orders” in French, that comprised dance portions and different character pieces called such names as “Butterflies,” “Darkness,” “Goat-footed Satyrs,” and “the Mysterious barricades.” The music was known for its charm and graceful style while being sweetly ornamented and heralded a new direction for keyboard composers. Jean Philip Rameau also contributed to the harpsichord repertoire with his more gallant style of keyboard and chamber music. His work on chord rationalizations and relationships to the harmonic system constitute the majority of the modern study of music theory, and Rameau composed lavish operas and ballets very popular in the time.

Question 23

Claudio Monteverdi (1 of 2)

Answer 23

The Italian composer Claudio Monteverdi mastered the old Renaissance style and allowed for the transition between the Renaissance and Baroque musical styles. Monteverdi composed music while working as composer, string player, and singer for Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga of Mantua. His salary was often paid as a result of begging to his royal patrons, and he was included in the duke’s European travels so that he could absorb the different styles as he traveled. Monteverdi wrote madrigals for over 40 years in both Renaissance and Baroque styles, using a more adventurous harmonic sense as he explored dissonance and other unfavored musical practices. While critics hailed his work as insulting, Monteverdi’s popularity rose as audience members attended his performances in droves. Monteverdi invented the string tremolo where the bow rapidly repeats the same note, a technique that later inspired the pizzicato or string plucking.

Question 24

Claudio Monteverdi (2 of 2)

Answer 24

Monteverdi attended the 1600 production of Euridice, an opera by Jacopo Peri, and was introduced to this greater exploration of opera as a scenery play with characters and plot for his madrigals. His madrigals of 1605 incorporated a more monodic, or homophony created by solo and accompaniment, style where more soloists would be accompanied by a basso continuo, or continuing bass line not written out but understood to follow the chords. These madrigals were more like arias than normal madrigals, and Monteverdi produced his first opera L’Orfeo in Mantua in 1607 which has been touted as the first operatic masterpiece. His orchestras were broadened to include the violin and other strings, records, organ, harpsichord, recorders, cornets, sackbuts, guitars, lutes, and 11 soloists. He also wrote Vespers of the Blessed Virgin and was later accepted as maestro di cappella of the Basilica of St. Mark in Venice.

Question 25

Antonio Vivaldi

Answer 25

Antonio Vivaldi, the “Red Priest,” had originally started out as a violin virtuoso studying for priesthood. He accepted a secular music position in Venice and eventually left the church to be a music director, composer, and violin teacher at La Pietà, a musical observatory and girls’ orphanage, where he composed approximately 400 concertos that tended to sound alike, 49 operas, 90 solo and trio sonatas, and many cantatas, motets, oratorios, and other works. Vivaldi spent much time on the road, creating music that was crisp and driving with intense rhythm. The Four Seasons written in 1725 is probably his best-known work with its four solo concertos with moving melodies. Vivaldi uses flying scales and rhythmic chordal groupings in his work and allows all parts in voice and instruments to be interchangeable. Hi established the formal outline for the concerti grossi.

Question 26

Concerti grossi

Answer 26

Made up of three movements, concerti grossi serves as an outline for operas and other musical works of three or more movements. The fast-slow-fast progression begins with quick movements with dramatic changes between tutti or ensemble and solo sections as they pass through various keys. At the end of this section, the piece returns to the home key, a style greatly used in Classical sonata formats. The middle section contrasts greatly by using lyrical long-breathed solo melodies similar to opera arias where the soloists were expected to ornament their parts to their own design. The final section retains the speed of the music from the first section with grander flourishes and a more defining end to the piece.

Question 27

Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons

Answer 27

His best-known work which was rediscovered in the twentieth century and used most often as background music, The Four Seasons is a work made up of four programmatic concertos that follow the text of four separate sonnets. The music allows the sounds of the seasons to be heard, so the audience members can hear birds, breezes, dogs, and other typical outside sounds. Vivaldi’s genius in the Seasons is evident in how he creates the details of each season without allowing the piece to fall apart. Vivaldi’s 1712 L’Estro armonico, or “the Harmonic Whip,” opens with a concerto grosso that includes a concertino or solo group of violins and cello playing the first and last sections vigorously before the tutti ends the sections. The second section showcases the violin in a siciliano or lilting slow dance. The harpsichord plays throughout the D minor concerto and improvises the basso continuo.

Question 28

Johann Sebastian Bach

Answer 28

Born into an extraordinary musical family in Eisenach, Germany, in 1685, Johann Sebastian Bach influenced the entire musical world with his works and his genius. Starting on violin, Bach spent most of his childhood playing music on the organ under the tutelage of his brother. After singing in the church choir in Lüneburg, Bach stayed on as the church harpsichordist and violinist. A self-taught composer, Bach accepted a position as organist at St. Boniface church in Arnstadt and would include variations in his hymns. With several publications, Bach moved on to Mülhausen in 1706 before accepting a position as court organist and then concertmaster for Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Weimar. While arranging and copying parts of Vivaldi pieces for performances, Bach combined his German style with the Italian energy and rhythm. Bach became Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold in Cöthen and concentrated on secular music for court.

Question 29

Johann Sebastian Bach | Bach as a father and believer

Answer 29

Bach fathered 20 children with wives Maria Barbara, who died after birthing the seventh, then Anna Magdalena Wülken. His children acted as assistants and copyists as well as musicians in their own right. Early Bach pieces written under the patronage of Prince Leopold include The Well-Tempered Clavier and Inventions, but Bach’s organ pieces were often too difficult for most organists to perform. All Bach’s work is religious- based with a foundation of the Lutheran hymn or chorale, and even secular pieces are dedicated to God. The pieces themselves are vocal pictures, such as “Wie zittern un wanken” from the cantata Herr, Gehe nicht ins Gericht (Lord, go not in judgment) where the oboe repeats the same phrase and there is no bass or foundation for the piece. Bach mastered the art of polyphony and counterpoint and is celebrated for his fugues and canons such as “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.”

Question 30

Johann Sebastian Bach | Bach’s effect on music

Answer 30

Bach’s work was kept on hand by his sons and other music teachers, including Beethoven’s teacher who insisted on using Well-Tempered Clavier. It was Bach’s mastery of counterpoint that greatly affected Mozart, and Haydn was also influenced by Bach’s B minor Mass. Bach contributed to all genre of music in his day except for opera and exemplified his period’s ability to fully convey a certain feeling in his music. Bach left music with such works as his 6 Brandenburg Concertos of 1721, his “Air on a G String,” the 48 preludes and fugues of the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, the St. Matthew Passion, the B minor Mass, and others, giving audiences everywhere a taste of his genius and his incomparable technique.

Question 31

Fugue (1 of 2)

Answer 31

A fugue requires between 2 and 6 voices where the first voice is presented as a solo with a basso continuo and then answered or imitated by a second voice. The answering voice could be modified or exact per the composer’s intentions with the piece. The third voice enters with the tonic, and the fourth voice enters with the dominant. This continues until all voices are represented. Each voice continues with a countersubject or free counterpoint and moves to a cadence. The exposition is followed by an episode or motivic subject suggested by the counterpoint, which contrasts the original subject and is achieved by harmonic sequencing. After significant contrast, the fugue subject reappears in the tonic or related key. The final section is an incomplete or complete exposition in the tonic with a pedal point in the bass.

Question 32

Fugue (2 of 2)

Answer 32

As a conversation or rhetorical discussion, the fugue presents a proposition or topic, then possible contrasts which are refuted, a restrengthening of the original idea, and a conclusion. The finest examples are in Bach’s Art of Fugue where the answering material is derived from the original theme, or continuous expansion. Bach often viewed his fugues as people conversing together like a family or group does with their different voices raised in contribution to the whole. While a fugue is usually monothematic, some fugues can proffer multiple subjects to be discussed where each subject is interjected separately but finally combined and concluded at the same time. Fugues insinuate a fleeing and chasing with the theme and the responses. While Renaissance artists viewed fugue as a kind of imitation, Baroque composers saw the fugue as a total work with its own thematic material.

Question 33

Fugue in later music

Answer 33

Though Bach’s fugues had established the importance of the ability of the work to stand by itself; later musicians incorporate the fugue into sections of their overall work for a different kind of texture. In the finale of Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony K. 551, the final movement of Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata op. 106, and Beethoven’s quartets opp. 131 and 133, the fugue as presented in the sonata became the preferred way to resolve the tension and discussion presented in earlier parts of the piece. The nineteenth century saw the fugue as a developmental exercise, but it was included in works by Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, and Verdi. Twentieth century neoclassicism revived the fugue as a part of composition within larger works, as shown by Schoenberg, Berg, Bartók, and Shostakovich.

Question 34

Canon

Answer 34

As an imitation of an entire subject by different voices at fixed intervals of time or pitch, the canon allows the leading voice or dux to precede the following success voices or comes in every detail in a strict canon, while a free canon allows the comes to modify the dux with minor changes and accidentals. Canons can be independent pieces or parts of a larger work, as well as combined with independent lines or other canons. Canons can be classified on the time between each part’s entry (e.g., canon ad minimam or at the half note, canon ad semibrevem or at the whole note) and on the interval between each entry (e.g., canon ad unisonum or at the unison, canon ad epidiapente or at the fifth above). Examples include Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Canonic Variations on Vom Himmel hoch.

Question 35

Canon transformations

Answer 35

Canons can be transformed through inversion, retrograde, retrograde inversion, augmentation, diminution, and mensuration. Inversion, or canon per motu contrario, per arsin et thesin, occurs when the comes copies the dux but upside down. Retrograde, or canon cancrizans, al rovescio (crab canon), occurs when the comes repeats the dux in reverse. The retrograde inversion, or canon al contrario riverso, occurs when the comes repeats the dux upside down and in reverse. Augmentation occurs when the note-values of the comes are longer by a specific ratio. Diminution occurs when the note-values of the comes are shorter. Mensuration occurs when the dux is interpreted at the same time in different proportions so that the relationship between the different voices shifts due to the different note-values.

Question 36

Canon endings and combinations

Answer 36

Canons that are finite will have a discernible ending with additional notes on the dux to make up time between the first and final sections or an additional but short coda. Infinite canons, also referred to as perpetual and round, travel back to the beginning with an ending shown by a fermata, or corona. With the modulating or spiral canon, the dux ends in a different key and returns to the original key after 6 statements as shown in Bach’s Musical Offering. Canons that are combined with other canons are called compound or group canons and can indicate the number of canons in the description. A double canon has two, and a triple canon has three. A two-part double canon has four parts and can be referred to as a four-in-two.

Question 37

Domenico Scarlatti

Answer 37

As a child of the well-established and prolific Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico Scarlatti studied harpsichord and composition alongside his father and was appointed composer and organist of Naples royal chapel where Alessandro was music director. After writing 2 operas, Scarlatti was removed to Venice for several years before coming back to Rome to write music for exiled Queen Maria Casimira of Poland. Scarlatti was a harpsichord virtuoso in great demand and is said to have competed with Handel at a party. In 1713, Scarlatti was appointed music director at St. Peter’s basilica in Rome and moved to Portugal in 1719 where he discovered his own persona away from his father. Scarlatti gave rise to the rebirth of the harpsichord with his exercises written for Princess Maria Barbara of Portugal. He remained at court in Portugal and then Madrid.

Question 38

Domenico Scarlatti (Scarlatti’s contribution to Baroque music) (1 of 2)

Answer 38

The music of Scarlatti is shown to have a wildness, impulsive melodic changes, mysterious fanfares, and striking chordal and key shifts while bringing a great deal of spirit to the piece on an instrument that does not crescendo. His work prepares for the transition to the Classical period with the contrapuntal style of keyboard music as a new approach to the harpsichord. His works included soaring arpeggios and persistent repetitions of one note while bringing a more Spanish flavor to his compositions as the pounding left-hand accompaniments compare to the strumming of the guitar and the rhythms suggest castanets. All sonatas followed the binary form of 2 large sections repeated and possibly reconfigured in a different key before ending in the home key, similar to Classical sonata format, and is best shown in the Sonata in E major K. 380. The Sonata in E major K. 380

Question 39

Domenico Scarlatti (Scarlatti’s contribution to Baroque music) (2 of 2)

Answer 39

The main theme of the E major is played by itself at the beginning and then repeated in different registers. The theme is redone in an almost jazz-like way as the motive is repeated continuously in the right hand while the chords are played in an almost erratic progression in the left hand. The contrast part from the original theme occurs in a different key and is then followed by an esoteric horn call. This call develops to the end of the section, and the whole first section is repeated. The second section starts with the horn call and transitions back to the original key of the first section. An invigorating music sweep carries the piece to its final cadence.

Question 40

George Frideric Handel

Answer 40

While his music defines grand majesty, George Frideric Handel was a gluttonous slob who made his audiences revel in the glory of his music. Most well-known for his Messiah, Handel expounded on the music architecture as set forth by Bach to create his own improvisation and, thus, his own mark on music. Young Handel studied at the Halle Lutheran church with FW Zachow who was a well-known composer and organist of the time. After signing up for and dropping out of law school, Handel served as a violinist in the Hamburg opera house and occasionally filled in for the harpsichordist. His Florentine opera Rodrigo was not well- received, but his opera La Resurrezione performed in Rome won him instant fame where he won the moniker “the Saxon.” Handel would engage in private contests of improvised performances, but Handel’s only equal on organ was Bach whom he never met.

Question 41

George Frideric Handel | Handel’s relationship to the court

Answer 41

Handel had first accepted a position as music director for Elector Georg of Hanover, but he spent time in London and produced an Italian opera Rinaldo which enjoyed much success there though it was thrown together in 2 weeks from pieces of prior works. His stage dressing and antics were deemed extraordinary if somewhat unreliable, and Queen Anne offered Handel an annual stipend after hearing his Birthday Ode to Queen Anne so that he would consider staying on as her court composer. Handel stayed in London until Queen Anne passed and was succeeded by Georg of Hanover renamed King George I of England. Handel became an English citizen in 1726, writing opera for the more stylized audiences, and was named Director of the Royal Academy of Music. He composed 15 new operas in this office.

Question 42

George Frideric Handel | Handel’s contribution to the opera

Answer 42

The London audiences enjoyed the more spectacular showcases of the Italian opera, but Handel was forced to conform his music to the specific rules and tastes of the time. The audience was not so interested in complex plot lines as in phenomenal singing and interesting set designs. The arias were formal and emotionally static, revealing only one aspect of the character, and written in da capo, or “from the beginning,” style in an ABA standard outline. These pieces were often absurd though they did draw attendees’ attentions. Audience members were also loyal to specific performers and could engage in fights with little provocation. His operatic works such as Julius Ceasar and “Handel’s Largo from Serse are some of his finest examples in this genre.

Question 43

George Frideric Handel | Handel and musical dramas

Answer 43

Handel saw the Royal Academy of Music fold financially, but he was able to attract more attention with his three oratorios, or extended musical dramas with religious themes, Esther, Deborah, and Atalia. He went on to write 4 more magnificent oratorios: Saul, Israel in Egypt, Ode to Saint Cecilia, and L’Allegro, il Pensieroso ed il Moderato. These English oratorios helped reestablish Handel as a composer. The stories used in his works were usually well-known, and his command of the English language improved. While the stories reflected biblical themes, the presentation was never overly pious as they are productions for a concert hall with all the drama and color of an opera. Choruses rather than arias were his main focus in the style, and this choral style became a model for later composers.

Question 44

George Frideric Handel (Handel’s Messiah) (1 of 2)

Answer 44

The viceroy of Ireland invited Handel to produce a charity concert in Dublin in 1741. Handel borrowed parts of his own music and even pieces of others’ works and had his masterpiece ready in 24 days. The oratorio consists of three sections with parts for soloists, chorus, and an orchestra and is based on different stories from the Bible. At the London performance, King George II, greatly moved by the quality of the music, rose from his seat during the Hallelujah chorus and stood for the length of the piece. Other audience members rose as well, which started the audience tradition during this portion of the piece. Handel performed sections of the Messiah at various concerts in London, interspersed with original organ compositions. He was regarded as an exemplary musician and respected artist.

Question 45

George Frideric Handel (Handel’s Messiah) (2 of 2)

Answer 45

Handel incorporated the syntax of the verses in the background music for the text with drifting vocal lines for “astray” and twisting notes for “turned.” His “For unto us a Child is born” begins with a spirited treatment of the phrase in the sopranos only before the tenors take over and the sopranos move to exuberant roulades, or ornamental passages, with the tenors and basses following. The four parts build to “and his name shall be called” and then erupt with an explosive “Wonderful! Councilor! The mighty God!” as violins race above enthusiastically. The voices all climb toward a proclamation by the entire ensemble and is repeated numerous times to full effect. Handel’s understanding of vocal and musical manipulation allowed him to be commercially successful at his writing, and the piece is still played worldwide to appreciative audiences.

Question 46

George Frideric Handel | Bach and Handel

Answer 46

Bach was well-known for his sacred music, his predictable and exciting fugues and canons. His church music was grand and often parochial. Handel began his enterprise with opera and then transitioned into oratorio with simpler melodies and more concise configurations of structure while minimizing counterpoint and asserting homophonic textures. Bach played to the church and upper crowds while Handel attracted the middle-class audience members who preferred a less traditional sound. Bach laid the groundwork for musical expression, and Handel filled the concert halls with average people just wanting to be entertained. Both appreciated the performance styles and regulations of the harpsichord, and both excelled at manipulating the audience while putting on an incredible show.

Question 47

Pre-Classical Period

Answer 47

As the music of the Baroque period transitioned to a more highly ornamented style of instrumental music, the style referred to as Rococo colored over art in France with the refined and ornamented style of French composers Couperin and Rameau, the Italian composer Pergolesi, and brothers Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Johann Christian Bach. The expressive JC Bach sonatas later influenced Haydn and Beethoven, and the musical center became Vienna. The political pulse of the time leaned toward more philosophical thinking, and many artists were inspired to expand their creativity by the French and American Revolutions so that the traditional rules of music were challenged. Christoph von Gluck reformed the music of the opera and was in great demand from Marie Antoinette. After the French Revolution, extravagances were downplayed.

Question 48

Classical Period

Answer 48

Since the music created between 1750 and 1825 has served as such a fundamental basis for all music since and represents a kind of musical perfection, the period itself is referred to as classical. Correlated with the historic Age of Reason or Enlightentment, the music of the Classical period focused on simplicity, directness, and consistency where the images created would be objective with no unnecessary musical expenditures. The music was more democratic, focusing on all types and not just the wealthy. Music formats for the sonata, concerto, and string quartet became better organized and were exemplified by Haydn and Mozart. As Renaissance art gave over to the more dramatic Baroque, so too did Baroque stand aside for the more efficient Classical.

Question 49

Franz Joseph Haydn

Answer 49

Regarded as the Father of the Symphony and the String Quartet, Franz Joseph Haydn did not create either style but earned such titles through his fatherly demeanor. As a young singer and violinist, Haydn attracted attention and was employed as a choirboy where he practiced voice, violin, and harpsichord. He continued to work as a tutor and composer and was commissioned to write a comic opera as well as other small pieces for string quartets and divertimenti, or background music for wealthy people of the time. Haydn knew how to perform as a servant so that he could attract wealthy patrons and commissions, and he was eventually named music director for Count Morzin and composed over 100 symphonies in 30 years. Later he was employed by Hungarian Prince Anton Esterházy, where he composed magnificent pieces quickly and directed the opera house for the prince.

Question 50

Franz Joseph Haydn | Haydn’s role in symphony beginnings

Answer 50

While Sammartini and Stamitz first created the symphony from a Baroque Italian opera and a dance suite, Haydn took the free three-part movement and scored it for strings and some wind instruments. His work with the symphony allowed it to become the most significant form of Western music. Haydn would set out to liven up the third movement, usually considered an unnecessary instrumental piece, by speeding up the tempo and calling it scherzo or “joke.” His lighthearted approach would inspire Beethoven, who made it the standard in symphonic writing. By phasing out the Baroque basso continuo, Haydn revamped the orchestra to include pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, timpani, and strings. His strings section varied between 12 and 60 depending on the piece and the arena for performance.

Question 51

Franz Joseph Haydn | Haydn’s method for composing symphonies

Answer 51

Haydn moved away from the Baroque idea of using one mood and one idea for an aria by giving one movement contrasting melodic themes and rhythms and restoring some contrapuntal elements ignored by Rococo artists. His symphonies and string quartets were explosive with canons and fuguelike sections or fugato. He would compose regular dance music over the standard writing and unsettle a traditional two four-bar phrase with an extra phrase to throw off the expected rhythm of the audience. His harmony was simplified, and the chromatic sections were even more appreciable. Haydn’s goal was to achieve continuity as well as unity with a music that was constantly moving around, and he achieved this with his symphonic work.

Question 52

Franz Joseph Haydn | Haydn’s role in the success of string quartets

Answer 52

Haydn did not invent the string quartet as a form but merely brought it to great acclaim and musical success. His first string quartet works were solo violin features that included a second violin, viola, and cello. However, all four instruments were treated equally in his composition Sun Quartets op. 20 as his new approach called for a more balanced treatment of the ensemble. Haydn’s Russian Quartets op. 33 enhanced this new approach by allowing the group to develop the piece melodically as a unit and not as individual parts. By adopting the string quartet and amending it to reflect the Baroque suite more closely, Haydn made the genre into the chamber music preference.

Question 53

Franz Joseph Haydn | Haydn and Mozart

Answer 53

Haydn felt he had one equal in the world of music, and that was the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was 25 to Haydn’s 49. Their works influenced each other and helped the other to better refine the particulars of the format. Haydn’s Russian Quartets inspired Mozart’s six quartets that he dedicated to Haydn. Mozart’s symphonic style inspired Haydn to create his final and greatest works, the 12 London Symphonies. While Haydn was sober, fatherly, and comfortable being a servant to a demanding patron, Mozart was unpredictable, childlike, and disdainful at being considered a servant since he and Haydn recognized his supreme talent. Haydn was generous to Mozart and greatly valued his friendship and influence.

Question 54

Symphony

Answer 54

As a work for an orchestra with multiple movements or multiple parts in one movement, the symphony contained three movements of fast-slow-fast and was named for the Italian opera Sinfonia. Performed with strings and winds, these musical pieces were enjoyed at private gatherings in palaces, monasteries, and residences, as well as civic functions and public concerts. The foundation for the symphony genre comes from Sammartini whose works used the three-part movement with both strings and winds. As the Classical Period developed, the symphonic format increased to four parts or movements with an even greater transition in the third movement. After being expertly worked by Haydn, the symphony became a more celebrated style of music that allowed for great freedom in composition and features.

Question 55

Program symphony

Answer 55

A program symphony is an orchestral work with a descriptive title or program that is similar to a symphonic poem and seeks to express an idea or event that is nonmusical. The title can reflect the action, emotion, or characterization as determined by the composer. Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, or Pastoral, is the best example of a program symphony where each movement indicates one portion of the general program. The inclusion of singing voices or instrumental soloists brings the program symphony in the same classification as the concerto. When the work is performed with no pauses for the transitions between sections, then the work becomes more akin to a symphonic poem.

Question 56

Classical homophony

Answer 56

The Baroque opera composers used homophony, and the Classical composers developed a more efficient approach to this style with simple pattern accompaniment figures called Alberti bass, a regular form that defines the harmonic line while continuing the rhythm. Contrasting with the Baroque melodies of flowery and complex lines, Classical works are unassuming and ready for development later in the piece. Many of the great Classical works have no distinguishing melody but are made up of good phrasing that fits together. Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony and Haydn’s Surprise Symphony combined elements of simplicity with great contrast so that the audience is never allowed to forge an expectation for the upcoming measures of the music.

Question 57

Baroque style vs. Classical style

Answer 57

While the stylistic choices for music differ between Baroque and Classical, the integrity and depth of composition are both evident. Music requires a certain kind of simplicity for comprehension, and the simpler styles of the Classical Period did not take away that complexity. While Bach may create incredible musical feats on his polyphonic style, he incorporated a lucid design in his work. The surface sounds of works by Haydn and Mozart may appear simple but are in actuality incredibly organized and conceived, using a great amount of material and genius in that simplicity. The Baroque composers with their music sought out to express magnificence and grandeur while the Classical composers adopted an unpretentious format of hiding deep feelings. Baroque gave us the motet and opera, but from the Classical Period came the symphony, string quartet, and sonata.

Question 58

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Answer 58

Though most of his most important works occurred at the end of his life, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart started his musical career as a child prodigy. Able to raise the standard for good music, Mozart was considered by Haydn to be the greatest composer ever heard. Mozart’s father Leopold Mozart, a minor composer with the local court and published violin teacher, was a strict but remarkable teacher who taught him about the music of his predecessors and current composers, and Mozart composed symphonies, operas, and quartets based on his own talent and his absorption of the different styles he studied. All of Mozart’s work had a defined style and determined procedure. He did not try to break through the boundaries set forth with Classical music but used those guidelines to affect music’s future.

Question 59

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart in Italy

Answer 59

Mozart visited Italy in 1769 where he studied counterpoint. It was in Italy it was discovered that Mozart was able to reconstruct an entire piece after one hearing. He was also able to compose an entire work entirely in his mind and later write it down. His work Don Giovanni was written out at the last minute and sightread at the performance because he waited so long to write out the score. Italian lyricism and the Italian good humor fed the developing Austrian mind, and various friendships and encounters with other composers such as JC Bach and Haydn further influenced his work. While Leopold wanted Mozart to remain with him in Salzburg, Mozart felt that there were other places and styles to be observed. After breaking off with his father, Mozart moved to Vienna.

Question 60

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart in Vienna

Answer 60

With noted success in Idomeneo in Munich, Mozart married and moved to Vienna to be with other professional musicians and work at finding a rich aristocrat to pay for his room and board. He was able to make money as a free- lancing soloist and his opera buffa, or comic opera, work. As the trend in Vienna went toward Turkish trappings, Mozart wrote The Abduction from the Seraglio, a piece that combined regular speech sections with arias in a form called Singspiel, which is similar to American musicals. The music and his own performance in it granted him great popularity and a hefty fee. His fortunes were at the mercy, however, of the changing in tastes in Vienna and other composers’ competitiveness.

Question 61

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart’s music

Answer 61

Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusic has 4 movements and was originally composed to amuse the aristocracy. His choral work Ave Verum Corpus is a moving sacred piece written near the end of his life. In Vienna, Mozart wrote 17 piano concertos which stood unsurpassed in quality. The chamber music of Mozart was staggering and as varied as the concertos, transcending from conservative to masterful during his lifetime. His string quintets and quartets were equally good, such as C major Quintet K. 515. His symphonies such as Figaro and Prague were among the best of the style, and his last three, nos. 39 through 41, were written in 3 weeks in 1788 with an almost Romantic flavor, helping to usher in the new style. Among his operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and The Magic Flute stand as testament to his genius.

Question 62

Serenade

Answer 62

A serenade is an evening performance work of either voices or instruments that is addressed to a particular person, such as a lover, noble, or friend. Though most popular as vocal pieces in the Renaissance, the Classical period introduced the instrumental serenade for small ensembles or large orchestras and were often commissioned for a specific occasion. The form itself follows the fast- slow-fast pattern as set forth by previous styles and often included marches, minuets, and solo features. The aria “Deh vieni alla finestra” from Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Beethoven’s Serenades op. 8 for a string trio and op. 25 for the flute, violin, and viola are among the best- known serenades of the Classical period. Later artists employed the serenade effectively, such as Richard Strauss’ serenade in op. 7 and Hugo Wolf’s Italian Serenade for the string quartet.

Question 63

Ludwig van Beethoven

Answer 63

With a tyrant as a father, Ludwig van Beethoven was forcibly introduced into the world of music so that he could achieve the notoriety of Mozart. Beethoven was instructed by Neefe to play Bach fugues and preludes to learn the discipline and stamina of the period and to develop. Known for his improvisation, Beethoven was often hired to teach noblemen’s children and became appreciated by the more sophisticated crowds. He studied music with Haydn, Italian vocal composition with Salieri, and counterpoint with Albrechtsberger. All teachers saw the genius but the incomparable stubbornness and ego in the pupil. While his early pieces such as Symphony No. 1 were conservative, his middle works such as the Pathétique Sonata showed his developing fire. His later pieces would showcase the more Classical sense of order.

Question 64

Ludwig van Beethoven | Eroica

Answer 64

Symphony No. 3, or the Eroica Symphony, was Beethoven’s start of his most creative compositions. Originally titled Bonaparte, the Eroica Symphony was composed as an honor to Napolean as Beethoven saw in Napolean the kind of leader in politics that he wanted to be in music. When Napolean declared himself emperor, Beethoven changed the name. Made up of 3 movements, the Eroica expanded on the Classical form to have more contrast and themes, as well as more developed drama. He built up the final movement whereas Haydn and Mozart tended to downplay the tension. The final movement is composed of a series of variations based on earlier compositions. He saw his work as a musical democracy or revolution.

Question 65

Ludwig van Beethoven | Beethoven’s final symphony

Answer 65

Beethoven’s final symphony testifies for his greatest success in musical creation, though it was not well received at the time and criticized for the vocal portions. Completed in 1823, his Ninth Symphony included the text from Schiller’s “Ode to Joy,” a choral piece at the end of the symphony and a feat unheard of at the time. The first 3 movements were original and powerful, written in a nontraditional order of fast-fast-slow. The finale used the discordance to erupt in sound and recall the earlier motives. The double fugue giving over to the simple military march and almost childlike simplistic choral portion seemed to be Beethoven’s way of declaring a democracy for all. At one performance of the Ninth, Beethoven got lost in his music and had to be turned to the audience to notice their applause which he could not hear.

Question 66

Ludwig van Beethoven (Beethoven’s spiritual and emotional progression) (1 of 2)

Answer 66

Five piano and 1 violin concertos show his progression from the epitome of Classical music to the emotional whirlwind of the upcoming Romantic period. Sixteen string quartets were written during the course of his composing years as he progressed spiritually and emotionally through his music. His Symphony No.5 was refreshingly original at the time, seen as Beethoven’s own realization of fate and possible indication of madness, but has been redone and exaggerated since its premier to lose some of its glamour with the dot-dot-dot-dash motive. The Sixth Symphony, or Pastoral, is a program piece along the lines of typical Romantic music as it suggests open countryside, evincing Beethoven’s enjoyment of the outdoors. The three most celebrated composers from the history of music.

Question 67

Ludwig van Beethoven (Beethoven’s spiritual and emotional progression) (2 of 2)

Answer 67

Probably the three most celebrated composers from the history of music, Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven each changed the course of music as it affected audience members from their time to now. Bach’s style of music with all its groundbreaking reverberations and genius became outdated within his lifetime, and his own reputation was tarnished with his limit of scope when it came to moving on with the period. Mozart remained true to his period and is viewed as the supreme example of musical perfection with an unimagined future if he had lived longer. Beethoven was the real revolutionary, a then- modern rock star, who used the rigors of the genre to explode in individualistic expression amidst his completely disciplined musical control.

Question 68

Ludwig van Beethoven | Beethoven’s influence on the Romantic period

Answer 68

Composers were seen as demi-gods and often had the egos and talent to maintain that persona. Without the discipline of the Classical style, composers exaggerated the expressiveness of Beethoven in their attempt to heighten the texture of the music with dissonance, chromaticism, and a restless modulation of keys. The size of the ensemble expanded as the complexity of the work expanded. Developments in instrumentation allowed for the larger orchestra sizes, from 100 to Mahler’s attempt at 1,000 musicians. Symphonic and philharmonic groups still in existence today were established during this time, and musical conservatories were training musicians more thoroughly to handle the required skill for the music being composed. As the Romantic period came to a close, the tonal structures established in the Classical period began to unravel, and music was seen as subjective and inflated.

Question 69

Romantic Period (1 of 2)

Answer 69

Whereas the Classical Period appealed to a sense of order and imagination, the Romantic Period stretching between 1825 and 1900 appealed to emotion and focused on music that was subjective and yet astounding. There was a social awareness of self that was greatly analyzed. The visual arts were at their peak in the late 1800s, and many influential people expressed their emotional state through poetry and other philosophical exploits. The emerging modern music was frequently compared to the more familiar Classical music, and the Romantic musicians sought a way to define themselves separately from the past. Composers felt they had to work harder to overcome the past musical successes, so there was a movement to study and preserve the music of past generations.

Question 70

Romantic Period (2 of 2)

Answer 70

Though the symphony was the most revered musical form, it was not utilized to its full extent in the Romantic period. Different genres more appropriate for the Romantic temperament were emerging with unanticipated success as these pieces were less restrictive, more evocative, and less hampered by traditional mores. The dance pieces like the waltz and polonaise, the fantasy and nocturne pieces, and the preludes and overtures leading to nothing showed that the Romantic composers were connecting their music to literature, ideas, stories, and dreams. The art song rose to great popularity since it seemed to embody the spirit of the times. Counterpoint, fugue, and canon were only studied in classrooms, and the improvisation and ornamentation of the Classical period had become too rigid. The focus was the melody in its lyrical vocal or instrumental performance.

Question 71

Romantic composers

Answer 71

The early part of the Romantic Period saw many of the famous Romantic composers born within a few years of the others: the German composers Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn, the Polish pianist Frédéric Chopin, the French composer Hector Berlioz, and the Hungarian piano showman Franz Liszt. Early nineteenth century opera composers included Carl Maria von Weber, who referred to German folktales for his operatic works, and Gioacchino Rossini, who referred to current literature to create the Bel canto, or beautiful singing, opera. German opera would later come under the influence of Richard Wagner while Italian opera became the feature work for Giuseppe Verdi. Non-Germantic composers such as Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Modest Mussorgsky looked to their own history and culture for operatic plots and to the folk music of their own peoples as inspiration for new symphonies and instrumental pieces.

Question 72

Nationalist Romantic composers

Answer 72

Since composers from Italy and Germany dominated the world stage with their music, composers of other nationalities sought to make a name for themselves through the use of the sounds of their own people and cultures and by developing a personalized harmonic language and style of melody to fully define their music as not being Austro- Germanic. Mussorgsky used his own sense of harmony and composition to create the piano suite Pictures at an Exhibiton and the symphonic poem A Night on Bald Mountain. Antonin Dvorák of Bohemia wrote two sets of Slavonic Dances and his “New World” Symphony No. 9 in E minor. Jean Sibelius of Finland wrote symphonic poems such as Finlandia as a tribute to his county, while Peter Illyich Tchaivosky composed his 1812 Overture and The Nutcracker in honor of his Russia.

Question 73

Nineteenth century opera

Answer 73

National traditions became the foundation for operas in the nineteenth century, especially in France, Germany, and Italy. The grand opera style of ostentatious costumes, large choirs, and ballets were fully enjoyed in Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, Charles Gounod’s Faust, and Gioacchino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Jacques Offenbach created the operetta, a lighter and more sentimental genre of opera, with his 1858 piece Orpheus in the Underworld, later to be joined by Viennese composer Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus in 1874. Italian opera had the greatest appeal due to the strong nationalist ties of the composers with their lyrical compositions. German Romantic opera was founded by Carl Maria von Weber, and all other opera formats were later set against Richard Wagner.

Question 74

Carl Maria von Weber

Answer 74

Opera was an Italian art until Carl Maria von Weber established it as a musical force in Germany by using aspects of his native country and heritage to establish the legitimacy of his work and the place for opera in Germany. Von Weber served as the unofficial first nationalist composer. He incorporated spoken dialogue in place of the recitative and drew heavily on the myths and legends of his home while emphasizing nature. Von Weber allowed the instruments to play important roles in developing the story in conjunction with voices, and his overtures, as shown in Der Freischütz, Oberon, and Euryanthe, represented a dramatic rendering of the story detailed in the opera. Von Weber inspired Richard Wagner, who changed the face of opera.

Question 75

Richard Wagner

Answer 75

As a young child interested in theater, Richard Wagner incorporated his childhood fascination with his study of music and composing to create standard- setting operas for the period. Greatly influenced by von Weber, Wagner based his work on the idea for a total combination of music, drama, text, movement, and design and used German stories and legends as his subject matter. His Ride of the Valkyries, where he wrote music and text, is a prime example. He abolished the defining line between recitative and aria and used his leitmotivs, or short melodic pieces, during the course of the piece. His work Der Ring des Nibelungen showcased these leitmotivs as a call-back for earlier in the work since the opera was intended to last for several hours. His work with chromaticism and unresolving harmony in Tristan und Isolde inspired later composers like Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg.

Question 76

Romantic pianists

Answer 76

The four great piano composers of the Romantic Period are Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Frédéric Chopin, and Franz Liszt. These four composers excelled at the piano with their attention to individualized Romantic style. As a transitional composer, Schubert focused on passionate and dark renderings with major-to-minor key changes while being best known for his German Lieder, or song. Schumann was influenced by literature and poetry, writing many suites, or short poetic themes for the piano. Chopin was a highly celebrated composer of preludes for different occasions while incorporating the music of his Polish heritage into his works. The greatest piano player of the time, Liszt from Hungary composed music to feature his own talents on the piano that went beyond regular compositions at the time and is credited with creating the symphonic poem.

Question 77

Romantic symphony composition

Answer 77

Much of the Romantic symphony composition was based on the program music concept, and the symphony style of the time played to all extravagances of emotion and subjectivity with the more advanced and larger growing orchestration. Hector Berlioz studied the instrumentation of the musical instruments and wrote his Treatise on Orchestration, a document still in use for composers and arrangers. His Symphonie Fantastique and Rakoczy March were criticized for their excessive ornamentation and technique. Gustav Mahler also utilized the singing voice in his symphonic work similar to Beethoven, and Mahler’s idea of the symphony as a separate entity with the possibility of greatness or just presence coalesced into his Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of 1000.”

Question 78

Johannes Brahms

Answer 78

Studying music while playing piano at bars and brothels to make money, Johannes Brahms created arrangements of lighter music that learned away from the Romantic Period. His excesses in sonatas, piano trios, and other works showed him that the utilization of the Classical form was a better way to proceed with his music career. His recalling back to the tonality of the Classical Period allowed him to create music that well celebrated the time of the Romantics. His music is often stirring, such as in the Four Serious Songs and the German Requiem with his Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68 often referred to as Beethoven’s Tenth since the melodies were so similar to Beethoven’s work.

Question 79

Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky

Answer 79

Considered to be Russia’s musical future, Peter Illyich Tchaikovsky relied heavily on the color and texture of the Romantic music style of writing since he did not feel he understood the concepts of the form as he should, regardless of how well his music was received. His nationalism and his love of extravagance in his music combined for the creation of 1812 Overture which was composed in 1880 to honor Russia’s defeat of Napolean. Tchaikovsky dealt with personal issues of mental instability and homosexuality and used his emotional instability to infuse his music. His Nutcracker suite was and still is an incredibly popular holiday piece while it and other works combine tragedy with the emotional crest of the music. His music greatly influenced later composers Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky.

Question 80

Twentieth century composers

Answer 80

From 1900 on, composers of all nationalities were searching for a different kind of expression that would be new and exciting. Claude Debussy created the whole-tone scale after studying Eastern music, and Arnold Schoenberg worked with atypical harmonies created using different tonal schemes. The Nationalist movement was still strong with Hungarians like Béla Bartók who combined the newer tonal schemes with the more traditional folk song. Manipulation of rhythms was explored in addition to melodic schemes, and the modified symphony drew the attentions of Mahler and Dmitri Shostakovich. While many composers worked with changing tonal structure and balance, like Igor Stravinsky, other composers such as Giacomo Puccini and Sergei Rachmaninoff sought to enhance the musical advancement done by previous composers. The foreign-sounding tonal structures have waned in popularity since the 1960s.

Question 81

Technological changes in music

Answer 81

With different inventions and increases in technology, the music of the twentieth century and modern music can be shared on a grander scale and in more different formats than it could any time before 1900. Whereas the music of the previous centuries was expressed from one person or ensemble to another person or audience, the twentieth century saw music being disseminated to larger groups of people through radio and television broadcasts as well as pre- recorded sessions on other media. Modernism in music and art refers to the steady exploration of artistic means to reach an expressive end. The music occurring after 1900 has shown nationalism, post-Romanticism, futurism, impressionism, expressionism, neoclassicism, Gebrauchsmusik, experimentalism, serialism, electronic music, minimalism, neoromanticism, postmodernism, and post- postmodernism; therefore, no name has been given to the style of music of this period as of yet.

Question 82

Rise and fall of music

Answer 82

America has seen different styles of musical expression rise and fall within 100 years. The African-American styles of ragtime, blues, and jazz appealed to listeners just as the folk and classical traditions of music entertained audiences years before. Western popular culture and Rock ’n’ Roll have permeated musical preferences worldwide. While composers of earlier periods had to please their audience to continue creating music, the Modern composers could alienate audience members since some will listen to music because of popular trend. The composers from non-Western countries have also affected Western composers so that Modern music may hearken to a traditional mode but incorporate the more rhythmic pulses of monophonic Indian music. With a larger choice for musical style, modern musicians have become better able to play many different styles and have improved their own techniques and performances. This expansion has allowed for more prominent composers than any other musical period.

Question 83

Arnold Schoenberg

Answer 83

The early compositions of Arnold Schoenberg focused on chromaticism in the late Romantic style in such works as Verklärte Nacht for string quartet and the tone poem Pelleas und Melisande. After taking on as students Anton Webern and Alban Berg, Schoenberg formed a group known as the Second Viennese School for composition. Schoenberg and his pupils sought to advance the study and expression of chromaticism by straining the traditional tonal boundaries so much so that the key signature would be abandoned. This style, known as atonal, or free-tonal, became Schoenberg’s emancipation of dissonance. His greatest work is Five Pieces for Orchestra, though Schoenberg also invented a technique of vocalization existing between speaking and singing, known as Sprechstimme, which became a standard vocal writing practice for atonal composers.

Question 84

Arnold Schoenberg | Schoenberg’s 12-tone scale

Answer 84

Eventually, Schoenberg believed that some sort of groundwork should be set regarding how to compose free tonality in his music. After studying other styles of homophony and dissonance, Schoenberg settled on dodecaphony, or the 12-tone system, where all twelve tones of the chromatic scale would be utilized in the creation of music. The composer would choose a row of all 12 notes and then compose the piece of music using that row and its sections of melody and harmony in forward, backward, inverted, or retrograde inversion. His first 12-tone piece was written in the early 1920s for solo piano and included his Five Piano Pieces, Op. 23. Other Schoenberg works include the Violin Concerto, the Piano Concerto, the String Trio, and his unfinished opera Moses und Aaron.

Question 85

12-tone scale

Answer 85

Twelve-tone music is based on a serial order of all 12 chromatic pitches or in a row. The form for each 12-tone piece is uniquely determined since the series of pitches used in a 12-tone work is used as the reference point and built from there. Established by the dissolution of the traditional tonal system, Schoenberg used the 12-tone system to avoid tonal key systems and the standard triad for harmonic reference. All the tones of the chromatic are treated with equal weight, though the works themselves were either brief or dependent on the spoken text to remain continuous. Twelve-tone music is distinguished from free-tonal music since there is a key center in atonal music that is lacking in the 12-tone system. Though abstract, the row itself can be expanded during the course of the piece but does not determine the final texture of the work.

Question 86

Atonality

Answer 86

As the absence of tone, atonality refers to a weakening or suppressing of the characteristics most closely associated with tone. This removes the need for the central tonic triad with all its resultant harmonies. By relaxing the restrictions on the key, this style allows composers to use chromatic runs or arpeggios without conforming to the key signature. The tones are equally balanced so as to prevent any unwanted dissonance. The Classical and Romantic periods both saw chords that would modulate to correct the tones, while atonal music introduces a new approach to musical composition with a unique format to displace the more traditional modes of tonality. Schoenberg’s Three Piano Pieces op.11 and Webern’s works from op. 3 showcase this chromaticism, complex chordal structures of several intervallic types, and a moving away from the more established tonality in modern music.

Question 87

Claude Debussy

Answer 87

Claude Debussy entered the Paris Conservatory at 11 and studied there for a decade, winning prizes and astounding his teachers with his beliefs on harmony. He joined the Symbolists in Montmarte and was encouraged to appeal to the senses with his art while learning about the art of the French Impressionists with the play of light on surfaces. Debussy focused on vocal and piano pieces, though he did compose the orchestral tone poem Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun. His music increased in popularity in 1902 with his only opera Pelléas et Mélisande and later with his symphony-like work La Mer. Debussy’s greatest writing involved his 2 books of preludes for the piano.

Question 88

Igor Stravinsky

Answer 88

Igor Stravinsky met Rimsky-Korsakov in 1902 while studying law and was encouraged to pursue music. After 5 years of musical study, Stravinsky was invited to compose a ballet for the ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev of the Ballets Russes. Stravinsky completed The Firebird in 1910 and Petrushka in 1911. Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring premiered in 1913 and ignited the bloodiest riot in music history with the ballet’s prehistoric pagan Russian sacrifices and rituals, savage rhythms, energy, and absence of melody. His work Les Noces was scored for 4 pianos, percussion, and choir due to financial constraints of large productions, and L’histoire du soldate was written for one voice and 7 instrumentalists. His style became more neoclassical in 1920 where he composed Oedipus Rex, Symphony of Psalms, and The Rake’s Progress. In the 1950s, Stravinsky produced the 12-tone ballet Agon and his choral piece Canticum Sacrum.

Question 89

Alban Berg and Anton Webern

Answer 89

Alban Berg worked with both Baroque and Classical forms and was the most Romantic of the three composers of the Second Viennese School. His 1925 opera Wozzeck based on the play by Georg Büchner was heavily criticized and admired for the horror and perception it offered. Berg incorporated the 12-tone system and composed the Lyric Suite, Chamber Concerto, and Violin Concerto using this system. Anton Webern studied at the University of Vienna and with the Second Viennese School, and he produced the highly Romantic and Brahms-like Passacaglia for Orchestra in 1908. Webern focused on tightening up his music and had several short pieces of no musical development. These pure tonal works include the String Trio and the Concerto for Nine Instruments. His entire work consists of a total of 3 hours’ playing time.

Question 90

Ragtime

Answer 90

Primarily for piano, ragtime is a composed musical genre created by African-Americans combining syncopated melodic tunes with various march forms. Piano rolls helped with the popularity of ragtime in the early 1900s as such composers as Scott Joplin, James Scott, Jelly Roll Morton, and Joseph Lamb used 3 or 4 different 16-bar strains in duple meter at moderate tempos for dances such as the cakewalk, two-step, one-step, or polka. Sections of these 16-bar melodies focus on motives that are syncopated and written in contrast to the oom-pah bass note and chord pattern defining the functional harmonic progressions of the piece. The strains are made up of 8-bar antecedents and consequents, which are further divided into 4-bar phrases. The first phrase transitions to the second, which leads to a half cadence in the third before bringing in a new cadence or completing the final cadence in the fourth phrase.

Question 91

Jazz

Answer 91

Influencing different types of music, jazz started as an African-American creation of principally instrumental music combined with elements of the church, story telling, vocal inflections, and the call-and-response technique. Jazz combined the strong tonality, instrumentation, and rhythms of the American marching band music, ragtime, piano music of Debussy, American popular music, and Latin-American dance music. As technology played a bigger part in music creation, jazz also incorporated the electronic innovations of rock and soul. New Orleans was the birthplace of jazz, where all the cultural icons converged between 1890 and 1910. Jazz offered many opportunities for improvisation and development, and the different wind, brass, and percussion instruments allowed for different combinations and rhythms. Jazz gave rise to swing in the 1930s and 1940s.

Question 92

Swing

Answer 92

The rhythms and syncopation of jazz allowed for the transition to swing music which incorporated bigger ensembles and a flashier musical style of jazz. Swing bands were mostly associated with dance music done up in a looser style. These groups included 5 saxophones, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, and a vocalist, as well as piano, guitar, bass, and drum set. The musical style allowed for a “swinging” beat that was played with an eight-note triplet feel. While the music was based on the 32-bar AABA format and 12-bar blues, the musical compositions could be written out or left up to the soloist for improvisation and impromptu arrangements. Simple riffs, or relaxed tunes played over changing harmonies, would provide the basis or accompaniment to these improvisations.

Question 93

Carl Orff

Answer 93

German composer Carl Orff founded a school for children to learn gymnastics, music, and dance and used his musical training system for children to incorporate their voices with percussion instruments. Best known for his dramatic 1936 cantata Carmina Burana, a feature of what was considered the sublime music of the Third Reich, Orff used a direct style of emotional vocal expression, having been influenced by Stravisky. Orff created accompaniment ostinatos, or short persistently repeated musical patterns occurring during a performance or piece, on barred instruments for folk songs. Known for presenting themes in vivacious rhythms, Orff showcased his work with a certain stylized primitivism, compelling instrumentation, and striking and memorable quality of accompanying music and vocals. All Orff works were seen as stage pageants and included different ideas from Bavarian comedies and Green tragedies.

Question 94

Aaron Copland

Answer 94

After gaining technical background and understanding of the orchestra from his teacher Nadia Boulanger, Aaron Copland worked as a composer, performer, and new-music advocate, writing music that was heavily influenced by jazz. Years later, Copland turned to avant-garde music as shown by his Piano Variations of 1930 and his 1939 book What to Listen for in Music. Focusing on making his much sound more mainstream and American, he composed El Salón México in 1936 with great success. In the 1930s and 1940s, Copland composed several ballets based on folk style such as Billy the Kid, Rodeo, and Appalachian Spring, which would be his most successful. His dissonance involved familiar chordal progressions, so they were deemed acceptable rather than avant-garde. His Fanfare for the Common Man in 1942 was part of his Third Symphony, and Lincoln Portrait accompanied texts from Lincoln’s writings. Copland music helped form the accepted Americana style.

Question 95

George Gershwin

Answer 95

A musician with phenomenal imagination and creativity, George Gershwin was intrigued by the songwriting at Tin Pan Alley, a New York City region around West 28th Street characterized by sentimental songs in verse-and-chorus form, and wrote his first musical comedy La La Lucille in 1919 with his hit song “Swanee.” Working with his lyricist brother Ira, Gershwin continued to compose hit musical comedies and popular music that combined musical genius with an effective rhythm and harmony. His attempt at combining popular music with the more traditional Classical format coalesced in 1924 with his work Rhapsody in Blue. Gershwin continued to study the technical aspects of composing and orchestrating and was greatly influenced by Stravinsky, Berg, and Schoenberg. His 1928 work An American in Paris features these composers’ influences. His jazzy folk opera Porgy and Bess in 1935 opened to criticism but has survived as a classic example of Gershwin writing.

Question 96

Vaudeville

Answer 96

A combination of melodies and skits dating back to the 1500s, vaudeville was originally voix de ville and incorporated polyphonic chansons, or songs including poetry and music, in tenor or upper voices. Vaudeville usually referred to lighthearted and satirical texts that were sung to pre-existing melodies. This type of entertainment was usually in the form of comedies but eventually branched out to include ballad opera and opera comique. In the 1800s, vaudeville referred to lighter comedies interspersed with musical sections and features; later in both America and Europe, vaudeville came to represent variety shows or revues that featured singers or ensembles, dancers, comedians, and acrobats. As technology played a larger part in the music and entertainment of the 1900s, vaudeville was included on television broadcasts and shows.

Question 97

Duke Ellington

Answer 97

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington worked to improve the perceptions of jazz as a lesser art form so that more people could appreciate the musical genius and glory of exploration with jazz music. After organizing a 10-piece group in 1923, Ellington headed the ensemble for the next 50 years. His body of work completed with that small group was astounding in its complexity, quality, and originality. He and his group helped form jazz into what audience members hear today. Ellington created musical forms, melodies, harmonies, textures, and colors in a different way than any other jazz musician and composer had up to that point. He combined folk music with jazz without comprising the quality of the musicality, as in his East St. Louis Toodle- oo and the Black and Tan Fantasy. His popular songs include Don’t Get Around Much Anymore and It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing.

Question 98

Musicals

Answer 98

The musical theater of the twentieth century was popularly expressed through musicals, which were mainly developed in America and England. The structure and basic style are similar to the European operetta, combining spoken dialogue with developing dramatic situations that are susceptible to the inclusion of dance, song, and ensemble performance. With a melodic and harmonic format similar to Tin Pan Alley period of songwriting, musicals developed greatly from the minstrel and vaudeville shows of the 1800s. Irving Berlin created his songs and acts based on ragtime and dance rhythms and syncopation. The musical show form itself became fully defined in the 1920s with librettos combining dialogue and music with contemporary or urban settings. Many composers and songwriters were exposed to popularity through this venue.

Question 99

Improvisation

Answer 99

Also an accepted part of oral tradition, improvisation allows an instrumentalist or vocalist to add something specific or unique to a piece of music. This supplementation or variation on the written composition was important in the development of different types of liturgical chants in the 1500s. Polyphonic practices of emerging musical expression included improvising harmonic accompaniment. Melodic improvisation as the addition of certain embellishments or ornamentation to an existing piece, such as the use of vocal coloraturas, became important in the originality of a work. The Baroque and Classical periods both depended on the musicians to improvise at certain times, and the performances of the toccata and cadenza required a musician to improvise within the realm of the musical key and flavor of the piece. Dexterity and prowess of the performer were featured in these improvisational segments.

Question 100

Rock ’n’ Roll

Answer 100

Popular music of the 1950s, Rock ’n’ Roll was founded on the tenets of African- American music and rhythm. Rock pieces by such artists as Bill Haley and the Comets, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, ad Fats Domino were disseminated worldwide with great success. The appeal of rock transcended racial and cultural lines and attracted lovers of the music of Tin Pan Alley, country and western, and black popular music. As a form of rhythmic blues, rock pieces are written in some variation of the 12-bar blues form with instrumentation of electric guitars, saxophones, and a rhythm section of piano, drums, and bass. With a fast-paced tempo, rock music lyrics are usually about sex while the dynamic level is high with rough and raucous musical stylings. The genre originally was splintered to include rhythm and blues while the writing and arranging followed the same pattern.