Purpose

Introduction to Music

Part 1

1. What are the possible benefits of repeated music listening? Should a person form a negative opinion of a musical piece after one hearing? Why or why not?

· The more often you hear a piece, the likelier you are to be affected by it.

· Judgments should be reserved until after repeated hearings of a piece.

· If one makes a judgment after one listening, he or she is likely to abandon the piece before discovering its eventual impact.

2. What is Darwin’s explanation for music’s appeal (i.e., in his opinion, music’s original function)?

· Darwin believed that our human ancestors used music for mating purposes and that humans still associate music with those emotions.

3. Make suggestions to someone who is listening to a recording of a particular piece of vocal music for the first time. How will following these suggestions help to increase the affective (not effective) response?

· Find the words, read and study them, follow along word by word as the music progresses even if the music is not in a foreign language.

· Composers worked diligently to ensure that the music and the words enhanced each other. Awareness of each word will make it more likely to discover the composer’s success in this endeavor.

4. What is the difference between program music and absolute music?

· Program music is about something extra musical.

· Absolute music has no obvious reference to an external story, historical events, objects, and so forth.

5. Make suggestions to someone who is listening to a piece of music and who wants to make a visual outline (or blueprint) of the piece.

· Divide a sheet of paper into sections representing minutes and seconds.

· While listening to the piece, keep track of the time and write down anything descriptive of what you hear.

· Include dynamics, mood, texture, and the number and type of melodies (themes).

· Write colors, squiggles, and other visual representations of the music.

· Most of all, determine if something you already have heard returns. Note repetitions, similarities, contrasts, and so forth.

· Make note of main sections of music. List the primary themes.

· Repeat (repeatedly) the process.

6. Define pitch.

· Pitch is the characteristic of sound that we recognize as highness or lowness. It is measured in vibrations (cycles) per second. High sounds have high frequencies of vibrations. Low sounds have low frequencies.

7. Define duration.

· Duration is how long the sound lasts.

8. Define loudness.

· Loudness is the volume (amplitude) of a sound.

9. Define tone color (timbre).

· The quality of sound (determined by the strength of individual overtones) of an instrument/voice or of a particular note of an instrument or voice.

10. Give the frequency (in cycles per second) of the pitch one octave above 220 cycles per second. Give the frequency (in cycles per second) of the pitch one octave below 220 cycles per second.

· 440 cycles per second

· 110 cycles per second

11. In Western music, how many pitches (in half steps) are in one octave?

· 12

12. Define chromatic scale.

· The series of these twelve pitches arranged in ascending or descending order.

13. Give the pitches of the major scale that begins and ends on C.

· C D E F G A B C

14. What are two words that denote a sense of musical gravity or of coming home? (You will receive credit if you list either word.)

· Tonality

· Cadence

15. Define melody.

· A melody consists of single tones placed one after another in a pattern of pitches and durations.

Part 2

1. Define monophony.

· “One voice” music. An example would be one person singing alone.

2. Define polyphony.

· Polyphony is music that consists of more than one melody at a time (or the same melody at different times).

3. What is the word that denotes a musical texture that is perceived as a melody with chordal accompaniment?

· Homophony.

4. Although harmonization can be a highly complex art, a great deal can be done with three basic _______.

· Chords.

5. The changing of the overall pitch level of an entire musical work is called _______.

· Transposition.

6. A change of key that happens during the course of a composition is called _______.

· Modulation.

7. The word _______ comes from the Greek word for “flow” and we use it to describe the flow of music through time.

· Rhythm.

8. The ongoing, underlying pulse, found in almost all music, is called the _________.

· Beat.

9. The grouping of beats into regularly recurring patterns is called ________.

· Meter.

10. When music is grouped in patterns of ONE two three, it is called _______ _______.

· Triple meter.

11. Name the four orchestral string instruments. How many strings do they each have?

· Violin, viola, ‘cello, and bass.

· 4 each.

12. Define pizzicato.

· Plucking the strings (not using the bow).

13. Name two woodwind instruments by which sound is produced by blowing across a hole in the instrument.

· Flute and piccolo.

14. Name three double reed woodwinds.

· Oboe, English horn, and bassoon.

15. Name two single reed woodwinds.

· Clarinet, and saxophone.

16. Name four brass instruments.

· Trumpet, French horn, trombone, and tuba.

17. Instruments by which sound is produced by striking, scraping, or shaking them are in the _______ family.

· Percussion.

18. Through the Baroque and Classical Periods, the only instruments from this family regularly found in the orchestra were the _______, or kettledrums.

· Timpani.

19. Sound was produced on the __________ by a mechanism that plucked the strings with a quill or leather plectrum.

· Harpsichord.

20. The development of the __________, in which the strings were struck by hammers rather than plucked, did allow for a range of dynamics.

· Piano or pianoforte.

21. From the Baroque Period until mid-twentieth century, the term ___________ referred to a large instrument in which the sound was produced by pumping air through sets of tuned and voiced pipes.

· Organ.

22. The distinction between band and orchestra hinges on the use, in the latter, of __________ instruments.

· Stringed.

23. React to the following statement: “To rate as important, a city must support an orchestra.”

· I believe that the heart and soul of a city lies in the experiences shared by a majority of its residents. Therefore, sports teams, familiar outdoor art objects, local celebrities, architectural landmarks, and natural phenomena all are part of a city’s collective identity. While orchestras are vitally important to many, I know of no city, unfortunately, where a majority of the residents experience the sounds of its orchestra. In my mind, the type of person who would make such a statement is seeking to persuade the majority (or at least himself) that orchestras are or should be important to everyone. There is a hint of elitism. While I would like to lead everyone to the joys of live orchestral music, I do not believe that such statements are the best way to achieve this end.

24. How the composer (or arranger) assigns parts to the various instruments and the details of how the parts are arranged is called _________.

· Orchestration.

25. What are the primary tasks of the conductor of an orchestra?

· Convey the tempo—both the initial tempo and internal tempo changes.

· Indicate beginning and ending points for the entire group, for sections, and for individuals.

· Indicate dynamics and dynamic changes.

· Indicate mood and other expressive elements.

· Communicate information to the ensemble that allows for a uniform and informed interpretation of a piece of music.

· Choose music and consider its programming.

· Plan, organize, and regulate the efficient running of rehearsals to ensure that the entire program is prepared for performance.

· Focus the efforts of diverse individuals (many who are temperamental and who possess large egos) and to inspire them to a unified performance.

· Sometimes involved in personnel decisions.

26. Large scale instrumental works usually are divided into independent, self-contained sections called _________.

· Movements.

27. The Baroque suite was a large-scale work consisting of a series of stylized ________.

· Dances.

28. In simple terms, a _________ begins in one voice with a statement of the main theme followed by other voices joining in with the subject in different ranges and in different keys.

· Fugue.

29. In the Baroque, a piece of music that features the contrast and juxtaposition of a small group of instruments with a large group of instruments is called a __________ ______________.

· Concerto Grosso.

· A piece for soloist and large group is called a solo concerto.

30. In the Baroque how many instruments comprised the basso continuo?

· 2. Cello or bassoon and harpsichord or organ.

31. The important difference is that in an orchestra, several players normally play the same part together as a section, whereas in ______ music, each performer plays his or her own part.

· Chamber.

32. In the Classical Period, the three mains sections of sonata form are the ___________, development, and ____________.

· Exposition.

· Recapitulation.

33. Mozart composed 41 ___________ in his short life.

· Symphonies.

34. In the solo concerto, the orchestra suspends an unresolved chord and the soloist, unaccompanied, embarks on a passage called a _______, based on the work’s main themes.

· Cadenza.

35. What are the elements of opera?

· Drama (a story with interacting characters), costumes, scenery, orchestra, sung dialogue, an overture, arias, recitatives, solos, choruses, duets, trios, quartets, quintets, sextets, septets, octets, etc., and ballet or other dancing.

36. What are the required professional attributes of opera singers?

· It is necessary that they be heard in a large concert hall without artificial amplification.

· It is necessary that they convey a wide range of emotions.

· Their voices must possess wide ranges and be flexible, depending on the role.

· They must be able to portray their characters in a convincing way.

37. What are the six main categories of solo voices? List in order from highest to lowest.

· Soprano, mezzo soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, bass.

38. Of the works that are thought of as being the most monumental in the entire repertoire of music, most are works for ________ and orchestra.

· Chorus.

Part 3

1. Gregorian chant is (a) polyphonic, (b) homophonic, or (c) monophonic.

· Monophonic.

2. What is folk music?

· Folk music is music that comes from the people, more often the poor or working classes.

· The song was sung to tell a story, inspired by some occasion, or created to serve a particular function.

· Often unaccompanied.

· Although the song itself was most likely created by a specific individual, we do not know who the individual was.

· By nature, folk songs tend to be short and not highly complex.

· The form is usually simple, often dictated by the intended use of the song and involves repetition.

List a few facts about:

3. Lute songs.

· Developed in England, particularly from 1590 to 1630.

· Composed for singer with lute accompaniment.

· The lute was like a guitar but pear shaped, with a curved back and a more delicate sound. It was a popular instrument for solo works, small ensembles, and accompanying.

· Lute songs were written by a group of highly accomplished composers, particularly John Dowland.

· Poetry is in English—interesting and often excellent.

4. English madrigals.

· Song—usually unaccompanied—for 3-7 singers.

· Imported from Italy.

· Love songs, often risqué.

· Combination of homophony with polyphony.

· Use of nonsense syllables such as “Fa la la.”

· Use of word painting where the composer literally reflects the meaning of words in the music.

· Written primarily for the enjoyment of the performers.

5. Gothic Motets.

· Takes its name from the French mot, which means “word.”

· Written for 3 or 4 voices (some of theses were played by instruments).

· The bottom voice (cantus firmus) was a stretched out (note values elongated) Gregorian chant.

· The upper voices moved in faster rhythmic patterns.

· The upper voices often moved along in unrelated melodic and rhythmic patterns and sometimes even were in different languages. The subjects of the texts were often unrelated.

6. Baroque Cantatas.

· Vocal music both secular and sacred.

· Written for one or two soloists, accompanied by a small instrumental ensemble or small orchestra,

· Larger versions added chorus.

· Was similar to a scene from a Baroque opera, although not staged, and included recitatives, arias, duets, choruses, and sometimes, instrumental movements.

· Usually lasted about 20 minutes.

· Most notable are the cantatas of J. S. Bach.

7. The Mass.

· The central worship service of the Christian Church.

· The tradition carries on today in the Catholic service.

· For 800 years composers have set the Mass to music.

· Contains the Ordinary (the part that stays the same from service to service) and the Proper (the part that varies according to the Church calendar.

· The sections of the Ordinary are: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.

· Usually set for chorus, soloists, and orchestra.

· Fragments of Gregorian chant traditionally serve as a unifying factor used as a basis for sections throughout the Mass.

8. The Requiem Mass.

· A Mass for the dead.

· Omits the Credo and Gloria and adds the Dies Irae (day of judgment).

· This section may be added to number 7 (Mass) to make more points.

9. The Oratorio.

· Evolved in the late Baroque.

· It is much like Baroque Opera but is not staged—no costumes, sets, or acting.

· Singers do often represent characters.

· The chorus is featured prominently.

· Solo voices, chorus, and orchestra.

10. German Lieder.

· German art songs.

· Lied is German for “song.” Lieder is the plural form.

· Franz Schubert wrote more than 600 Lieder.

· The Lied in the nineteenth century was usually a short work for solo voice, usually not requiring the same dynamic or pitch range as required by opera.

· Usually accompanied by piano.

· The piano had an important role, sometimes on equal footing with the soloist.

· Not designed as virtuosic display pieces.

· Settings of verse by contemporary German poets such as Goethe and Heine.

· Wonderful union of poetry and music.

· Strophic form used repetition of musical material under changing verses of the poem.

· Through-composed songs used less repetition and the form followed the structure of the poem freely from beginning to end.

· Sometimes Lieder were composed in sets called song cycles. These often were linked by a story line that continued from beginning to end.

List a few characteristics of music from the following periods:

11. Medieval Period.

· 400-1450.

· Gregorian Chant (dating from about the year 600) was preserved in writing beginning at about 1100.

· Polyphony developed. Lack of underlying harmony. Lack of imitation.

· Music is modal.

· Music is for small groups of voices or voices and instruments.

· Rhythm is in patterns.

· Different words for different voices, sometimes in different languages, and mixtures of sacred and secular texts concurrently in one piece of music.

· Cantus firmus (borrowed Gregorian Chant) was often used.

12. Renaissance.

· 1450-1600.

· More refined sound than that of the Middle Ages (pathos to ethos).

· Mostly polyphonic with more imitation of melodic material between voices.

· Fuller, more integrated harmonic sound.

· Greater rhythmic variety within pieces.

· Instruments becoming standardized, often built in families of different sizes.

· Instruments substituted for voices and other instruments.

· Music was becoming more tonal and less modal.

13. Baroque.

· 1600-1750.

· Rise in dramatic expression, more subjective and emotionally direct (ethos to pathos).

· Longer pieces, larger scale, more spectacular.

· Music frequently conveys a sense of grandeur.

· More and greater contrasts within pieces.

· Polyphony still prevailing texture but homophony is established.

· Not unusual to have contrasting polyphonic and homophonic sections.

· Interest is centered in top and bottom parts.

· Basso continuo nearly universal.

· Modes give way to major-minor system.

· New rhythmic vitality.

· Instrumental parts different in character from vocal parts.

· Perfection of the violin family. Other instruments were improved.

· Greater virtuosic writing for instruments.

· Contrasts in dynamics (not always written but nevertheless expected).

· Terraced dynamics.

· Organ music reached its greatest prominence.

14. Classical Period.

· 1750-1825.

· Swing back from pathos to ethos—refinement, elegance, and grace.

· Fewer excesses of outward emotion—still expressive.

· Homophony was predominant texture although counterpoint was still in use.

· Minimal dissonance.

· Clear phrase length and well defined sectional structure—music as architecture.

· Sonata-allegro form evolved and exerted its greatest influence.

· Dynamics were notated and were paid more attention. Use of crescendo and diminuendo.

· International blending of styles (cosmopolitan).

15. Romantic.

· 1825-1900.

· Swing back from ethos to pathos.

· Tendency to exaggerate.

· Pieces grew both very long and very short.

· Composers called for extremes in dynamics (pianissimo to fortissimo and beyond).

· The orchestra more than doubled in size.

· The art of orchestration had flourished.

· Instruments evolved to play louder and higher (and more in tune).

· The human voice was asked to reach new heights of power and range.

· Homophony dominant but including greater levels of dissonance.

· Increasing tonal spectrum—greater number of chords.

· Nationalism—rediscovery of national characteristics and more extensive use of these characteristics.

16. Twentieth Century.

· 1900-?

· Common characteristic of modern music is that there are no common characteristics.

· The need to do something new was a powerful force.

· Opposites: simple vs. complex, serious vs. irreverent, highly controlled vs. completely uncontrolled, etc.

· In general there is more dissonance, harmonies and rhythms are more complex, meters and tonality have become more obscure, counterpoint is more prevalent, and sonorities (with notable exceptions) are lighter.

· Huge chasm between popular and art music.

List a few facts about (include composers if possible):

17. Primitivism.

· Stravinsky—stark angular rhythms and melodic lines.

18. Dodecaphony and Serialism.

· Schoenberg, Berg, & Webern—twelve-tone composition, a serial system for composing that treats all twelve tones equally (no gravitation to a particular tone). Serialism is the use of a pre-determined series of notes in recurring order.

19. Neobaroque Music.

· Stravinsky & Hindemith—reminiscent of Baroque music.

20. Dadaism.

· Satie—irreverent ridicule of art music conventions sometimes resulting in shocking or silly compositions.

21. Aleatoric Music.

· John Cage—chance music. The composer allows random events to determine some or all of the elements of the composition.

22. Electronic Music.

· Music using tone generators and synthesizers both for composition and performance.

23. Post-Romantic.

· Richard Strauss, Rachmaninoff, and many others—essentially in romantic style.

24. Atonality.

· Music that does not convey a feeling of tonality or key center.

List the style period and other tidbits about the following composers:

25. J. S. Bach.

· 1685-1750.

· Baroque.

· Born in Germany and never traveled outside of the country.

· Culminator rather than innovator.

· Used unsurpassed technical powers for expressive purposes.

· Compositions are a monument to the universal human spirit.

· Orphaned at age of 10, went to live with an older brother.

· From a family of musicians.

· Did not gain widespread recognition during his lifetime.

· Worked at a series of moderately responsible posts as a court composer and church musician.

· Organist of great skill. Possessed amazing improvisational skills.

· Dedicated husband and father—20 children although not all survived. Lost wife to illness, then remarried.

· Four sons became leading composers of the next generation.

· Blind in his last years.

· Composed in all Baroque forms except opera.

26. Bela Bartok.

· 1881-1945.

· 20^th Century

· Great representative and spokesman for Hungarian music.

· Fascination with folk and peasant music of Hungary. He feared that it was disappearing.

· Traveled widely in Hungary with friend Zoltan Kodaly collecting, recording, cataloguing, and codifying indigenous Hungarian music.

· Prodigy on the piano.

· Recognized as a composer as well as pianist.

· His interest in folk music directly affected his composition allowing him to write music Hungarian in flavor without directly borrowing actual folk material.

· His music is often highly dissonant and uses complex rhythm patterns, often with savage ferocity.

· Deeply patriotic. Left homeland at age 58 for U.S. because of impending takeover by Nazis.

· Accepted a position at Columbia University allowing him to continue his research of Hungarian folk music.

27. Ludwig van Beethoven.

· 1770-1827.

· Classical-Romantic

· Born in a small German town.

· His father pushed him to become a Wunderkind in the manner of Mozart.

· He suffered abuse from his bad tempered, frequently drunken father.

· His early compositions showed distinctive character and he became a pianist of astounding technical and expressive power.

· Excellent at improvisation and spellbinding performances. He was able to induce a trance-like state in his audience.

· Largely self-educated, emotional, overbearing, and moody.

· Accepted by the aristocracy on the merit if his talent and his outgoing personality.

· Moved to Vienna as a young man to study composition with Joseph Haydn.

· Began to suffer hearing loss as his career as a composer/pianist was beginning to take off.

· The hearing loss made it necessary to abandon his piano career and focus on composition.

· He never heard his greatest compositions.

· He was the first major composer to earn a living in the free market without the patronage of a court or church. He refused to bow to the aristocracy, both literally and figuratively.

· He lived alone, sometimes in poor health.

· He died in Vienna, a famous man.

· No other composer can convey, like Beethoven, the sense of surmounting and triumphing over life’s adversities.

28. Johannes Brahms.

· 1833-1897.

· Romantic.

· Born in Germany.

· At age 13 played in Hamburg’s waterfront bars for prostitutes and their patrons.

· Began composing at age 20 and was establishing a reputation as a concert pianist.

· Robert Schumann wrote a famous magazine article about Brahms after hearing him.

· Brahms befriended Clara Schumann as her husband was dealing with mental illness and suicide attempts.

· After Schumann’s death, Brahms and Clara acknowledged their mutual love.

· Outwardly shy and gruff but also thoughtful and sensitive.

· Moved to Vienna where he composed, mostly, but also played and conducted.

· Completed first symphony at age of 43.

· He said about Beethoven, “You have no idea how the likes of us feel when we hear the footsteps of a giant like him behind us.”

· Romantic composer whose style embodied many of the characteristics and ideals of the Classical Age.

· Did not join in controversy pitting his music against that of Richard Wagner.

29. Frederic Chopin.

· 1810-1849.

· Romantic.

· Limited his compositions to piano works.

· Born in Warsaw, Poland.

· Highly acclaimed pianist while still a teenager.

· Chopin was 21 and traveling on a concert tour of Europe when Russia invaded Poland. Chopin then moved to Paris.

· Although a leading pianist, his small, delicate physical condition did not lend itself to the powerful, bombastic aspects of virtuoso performance. He became known for a new style of pianism: elegant, eloquent, poetic, and atmospheric.

· Because of his shy personality, Chopin avoided performing for large concert hall audiences. He preferred to play for smaller, more intimate gatherings in Paris salons.

· His writing was perfectly suited to the piano.

· The spirit, forms, melodies, and characteristic rhythms of his native Poland were reflected in many of his compositions.

· He created many highly evocative, very short, character pieces.

· He became involved in a love affair with Madame Aurore Dudevant, a.k.a. Georges Sands (pen name). She was an early feminist who often dressed in men’s clothing and smoked cigars.

· Their relationship lasted for nine years during which she cared for Chopin in his frail health and inspired many of his greatest compositions.

· When their relationship ended Chopin stopped composing and his health deteriorated.

· He died of tuberculosis at the age of 39.

30. Claude Debussy.

· 1862-1918.

· Transitional Romantic-Modern.

· Born near Paris.

· Creator of Impressionism.

· Attended Paris Conservatoire from age 10-22.

· Established a reputation as a talented pianist and gifted composer, although he rebelled against the established rules of composition.

· Won the Prix de Rome at the age of 22. Consequently, he was invited to study in Italy but he returned to Paris in the third year.

· Created a style that was influenced by the paintings of Renoir and Monet called Impressionism.

· His best known work in that style is Claire de Lune.

· Debussy also was influenced by the sounds of the Orient and many of his pieces include those sounds.

· His life was complicated by a series of problematic love affairs and two marriages. Twice, Debussy’s deserted lovers shot themselves.

· His extravagant living and that of his wives caused him serious financial problems throughout his life.

· Events leading up to WWI influenced a renewed sense of patriotism.

· He died of cancer at the age of 56.

31. G. F. Handel.

· 1685-1759.

· Baroque.

· Born in Germany in the same year as J. S. Bach.

· Spent the majority of his creative life in England.

· He wrote for all media but was particularly successful with oratorio.

· Although his father wanted him to study law (as did many of the parents of famous composers), he was an avid student of music and became a skilled violinist, harpsichordist, and organist.

· Throughout his career he drew enthusiastic audiences to hear him perform his own keyboard works.

· Composed first opera at age 21 while playing at the Hamburg Opera.

· He was then encouraged to move to Italy to further his studies. He stayed 3 years.

· He then returned to Germany where the Elector George Ludwig of Hanover employed him.

· He visited England to attend the performance of one of his operas and saw that there was great potential for artistic and financial success there.

· On his return to Hanover in 1712 he requested a short leave of absence to return to London and stayed the rest of his life.

· Wrote and produced 39 Italian operas.

· George of Hanover became King George I of England. Handel appeased him with the famous Water Music.

· He was a large man with an outgoing personality.

· He had a heavy German accent and a famous temper, especially with Prima Donnas of the opera house.

· He was a well-known figure in gossipy London society.

· Opera suddenly went out of fashion, causing Handel to lose a fortune.

· He suffered two nervous breakdowns, but finally found new success in shifting his efforts to the English language oratorio.

· His works in this form, particularly Messiah have been frequently performed ever since.

· Like Bach, he lost his sight in his last years.

· He died at the age of 74 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.

32. Joseph Haydn.

· 1732-1809.

· Classical.

· Born in Austria in the same year as George Washington.

· He and Mozart were the two primary figures of the Classical era.

· He was the son of a wheel maker.

· His musical ability was noted and he was sent, at the age of eight, to be a choirboy in Vienna.

· When his voice changed, he was dismissed and found himself on the streets of Vienna.

· He gave lessons, played in street bands, taught himself about the instruments and began to compose, gradually gaining recognition.

· At the age of 29 a wealthy family of Hungarian nobles, the Esterhazy family, employed him. He remained in their employ the rest of his life.

· Haydn thrived on the patronage system. He enjoyed having an orchestra to write for and produced a staggering volume of music, including over 100 symphonies.

· He had an unhappy marriage. Recent biographies indicate that he was involved in an affair with a singer at the Esterhazy court.

· He came to know and respect Mozart. They learned from one another.

· Haydn is known for his musical sense of humor.

· In his later years, he was released from nearly all of his obligations with the Esterhazy family.

· He was invited twice to England where he was greeted with great acclaim.

· He died at the age of 77.

33. W. A. Mozart.

· 1756-1791.

· Classical.

· Salzburg, Austria.

· He began composing at the age of 5. He played violin and piano with amazing skill from an early age.

· Father Leopold was a prominent court musician. He took Mozart on tours of the great courts of Europe.

· Disliked Salzburg. Became uncooperative and unruly and was dismissed from the employ of the Archbishop of Salzburg.

· He moved to Vienna and made a living by performing, teaching, and composing on commission.

· He composed several operas that were performed, there.

· Married against his father’s advice.

· He fell into debt.

· Was able to write out a complex musical work after one hearing.

· Composed in his mind and then wrote it out in one draft.

· Fell ill and died shortly after the presentation of The Magic Flute at the age of 35.

· He left his Requiem Mass unfinished.

· Antonio Salieri admitted in later years to poisoning Mozart.

34. Franz Schubert.

· 1797-1828.

· Romantic.

· Born in Vienna.

· Lived only 31 years.

· Served as a choirboy until his voice changed.

· A scholarship allowed him to stay on, playing violin in the orchestra.

· He taught for a short time in his father’s school but quit at the age of 21.

· Had completed more than 300 compositions by the age of 20, many of which were Lieder.

· Never attained financial success.

· Moved often, staying with friends.

· Sold his priceless songs to publishers for pitiful sums.

· Beethoven was impressed with his work but Schubert was too shy to visit him except for one time just before Beethoven’s death.

· He wrote in all media but many of his large-scale works were not performed during his lifetime.

· He died of typhoid fever. Near death he lamented that new ideas that would never be written were running through his head.

35. Robert Schumann.

· 1810-1856.

· Romantic.

· Embodiment of the Romantic spirit, both in life and in his music.

· Father was a bookseller in Zwickau, Germany.

· Robert learned from him a love of literature and poetry.

· Talented young pianist.

· He dropped out of law school, convincing his mother that he would make a career in music.

· He studied piano with Friedrich Wieck, the father of Clara who would become his wife.

· Invented a device to help develop independence of his fingers. This device caused permanent damage to one of his fingers thus ending his piano career.

· He turned to composing and to editing the New Journal for Music. He also did most of the writing. It was in this publication that he introduced the world to the young Johannes Brahms.

· This publication exerted a strong influence on musical thought of the time.

· Although he was nine years older than Clara, they became engaged when she was 17. Mr. Wieck strongly opposed the wedding and they were forced to go to court to obtain permission.

· They had a successful marriage and produced 6 children.

· The Schumann household was a center for intellectual and artistic discussion.

· He began to suffer hallucinations in 1851.

· He tried to drown himself in 1854.

· He then voluntarily entered an asylum and died two years later at the age of 46.

36. Igor Stravinsky.

· 1882-1971.

· 20^th Century.

· Born in Russia. Father was the leading basso of the St. Petersburg Opera.

· His father encouraged him to study law.

· Generally regarded as the world’s leading composer during his lifetime.

· Had many style shifts during his career.

· At age 21 became a student of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, a famous Russian composer of the Romantic style.

· Serge Diaghilev was the director of the famous Russian Ballet based in Paris. On a trip to Russia, he heard a composition by the young Stravinsky and engaged him to provide new music for his dancers.

· The Firebird was a ballet in a new, unrefined and primitive sounding style and it launched his career.

· The Rite of Spring in 1913 inspired a riot on first hearing but eventually was accepted. Stravinsky had to escape through a basement window to avoid being beaten.

· He lived in Switzerland during WWI with his wife and children.

· After the Russian revolution of 1917 he became an exile in France. He switched to a more restrained style—Neobaroque and Neoclassical.

· He moved to the U.S. in WWII, settling in L.A.

· Even though he had always strongly opposed the 12-tone method of Schoenberg, he adopted it in the 1950s.

· As long as he believed in a style, his powerful individuality, lively intelligence, and astounding musical skills could serve to make any style the basis for great music.

· He died at the age of 88, the most famous and successful composer of the century.

37. Peter Iliyich Tchaikowsky.

· 1840-1893.

· Late Romantic.

· Russian.

· Trained in law and held a position as a clerk in the Ministry of Justice when, at the age of 21, he decided to study music at the conservatory in St. Petersburg.

· He left his job after a year and began to study full time. Upon graduating he took a position as Professor of Harmony at the Moscow Conservatory.

· He focused on composition and by the age of 30 had produced the overture-fantasy Romeo and Juliet, his first great creation.

· At age 37 he agreed to marry a young student from the conservatory who was infatuated with him and with his music. He was secretly homosexual, a source of great anguish to him in the highly repressive Victorian age, and he probably hoped that he could somehow make things work out in the marriage for the sake of appearance.

· The marriage, however, was a disaster and Tchaikowsky attempted to end his life by wading into a river. He survived, though separated from his wife who also had considerable emotional problems.

· That same year Tchaikowsky began to receive an annuity from a rich widow, Nadejda von Meck, who admired him and loved his music. She stipulated that they would communicate by letter and would never meet in person. Their peculiar, intimate relationship lasted 14 years during which Tchaikowsky produced a steady stream of masterful works.

· In 1893, internationally famous and respected, he accepted an invitation to conduct his work at the opening if Carnegie Hall in New York City.

· Later in 1893 he finished his symphony, the Pathetique, with its mournful, despairing last movement. Tchaikowsky described it as program music but never revealed the program (the underlying story or event). Hidden in the texture of the work are phrases of the Russian Requiem Mass that some feel revealed Tchaikowsky’s intention to take his own life. He died less than a week after the premiere. While the official cause of death was ascribed to drinking unboiled water during a cholera epidemic, there is evidence that the composer poisoned himself to avoid the threat of a homosexual relationship being publicly exposed.

38. Giuseppe Verdi.

· 1813-1901.

· Romantic.

· Wrote primarily for the opera house. Wrote for the masses, who loved his music.

· Son of an illiterate tavern keeper in a small Italian village.

· His talent was discovered early and at the age of 10 he was sent off to study in a nearby city.

· He finished his studies in Milan by the age of 22. He had received financial support from a wealthy patron.

· He returned to Busetto and married his patron’s daughter. He served there as music director for two years but then moved back to Milan where he produced his first opera at La Scala, the most famous Italian opera house.

· At that time, illness took the lives of his wife and two children and when his next opera failed, he gave up composing.

· The libretto for the opera Nabucco inspired him to write again. The subject was the enslavement of the ancient Jews by the wicked king Nebuchadnezzar. Since Italy was suffering under the oppressive rule of Austria at the time, the opera became a symbol of Italy’s struggle for self-determination. Verdi became a national hero.

· With the production of Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, and La Traviata he achieved even greater wealth and fame.

· He eventually remarried and continued with a fruitful life, composing his last great opera, Falstaff, at the age of 79.

39. Richard Wagner.

· 1813-1883.

· Romantic.

· Best known for his music dramas.

· Born in Leipzig, Germany.

· Largely self-taught.

· After university he married and began conducting in small towns.

· His first successful opera, Rienzi rescued him from debtor’s prison.

· He moved to Dresden and became the music director, there.

· He continued to live beyond his means and eventually was forced to flee to Switzerland to avoid arrest.

· He spent the next three years writing prose—books about philosophy and art, particularly about the art of opera, which he preferred to call music drama.

· He also wrote the libretto for a cycle of four music dramas eventually known as the Ring of the Nibelung, based on Norse mythology.

· In 1864, the 18 year-old “Mad King” Ludwig of Bavaria offered almost unlimited financial support to produce his music dramas in Bayreuth.

· “The Ring” was first produced in 1876.

· Wagner’s music dramas are characterized by an extended musical line that does away with the conventional division into arias and recitatives. There is much “speech-song” that follows the natural cadence of language. The orchestra plays a more important dramatic role than in previous operas. Characters and ideas are musically represented by melodies called leitmotifs.

· He died of a heart attack at the age of 69 and was buried near his festival theater in Bayreuth.

Part 4

1. List advantages of a live concert experience.

· Unpredictability, excitement, the natural habitat for music.

· The spirit of elegance and nobility often can be found in the cultural aura, ambiance, architecture, furnishings, and exhibits of the concert hall.

· Excellent acoustics (hopefully) and visual experiences.

· The feeling of sharing the experience with the other concertgoers.

Give advice to someone attending his or her first (art music) concert regarding:

2. Where to find information on concerts.

· Arts and Leisure section of the local newspaper.

· Internet.

3. What type of concert to attend.

· Choose a professional concert rather than an amateur concert.

· Choose a nationally recognized orchestra or company.

4. Choosing seats.

· Choose the best seat you can afford. You get what you par for in terms of view and acoustics. Don’t get too close or too far away.

5. Concert attire and etiquette.

· Arrive on time.

· If you like to dress up, this is a good time to do so. Otherwise, suit yourself.

Performance Practice:

6. Performances of music from what musical style period have been most affected by historically accurate performance practices?

· Baroque.

7. List differences between performance practices of that period and of modern practice.

· Harpsichord or organ, not piano.

· Ornaments are more important.

· Fewer instruments.

· Lower pitch: A = 415 (or so).

· Violins have a shorter straighter neck, use gut strings, and have a less curvy bow.

· Natural trumpets and horns are used (no valves).

8. List instruments from that period that are not used to perform music of more recent times.

· Viola da gamba, and the entire family of viols (with the exception of the bass).

· Oboe d’amore.

· Recorder.

Listening Section: List title, composer, medium, style period, form, and other details:

· “Hornpipe” from the Water Music.

· G. F. Handel, 1717.

· Orchestra.

· Baroque.

· AABA.

· One movement from a Baroque suite.

· Composed by Handel to entertain King George I of England.

· First performed on a barge on the river Thames.

· See listening map on p. 266.

10.

· Marche Slave, op. 31

· P. I. Tchaikowsky, 1876.

· Orchestra.

· Romantic.

· Free form.

· Program music representing the Turko-Serbian war of 1876.

· The purpose of the first performance was to raise relief funds for wounded Serbian soldiers.

· The themes represent various elements of the battle.

· See listening map on pp. 268-271.

11.

· “Little” Fugue in G Minor.

· J. S. Bach, Circa 1709.

· Organ.

· Baroque.

· Four voice fugue.

· Voices enter in order from highest to lowest.

· Third voice entrance is delayed.

· Voices enter in alternating keys, tonic—dominant—tonic—dominant.

· Most of the piece uses a 3-voice texture until the end when all 4 voices are heard.

· See listening map on pp. 274-275.

12.

· Symphony # 38 in D (Prague).

· W. A. Mozart, 1786.

· Orchestra.

· Classical.

· Sonata form, in all three movements.

· See listening map, pp. 279-284.

13.

· Egmont Overture, op 84.

· Ludwig van Beethoven, 1810.

· Orchestra.

· Late Classical/Early Romantic.

· Sonata Form.

· One of the pieces of incidental music to the play, Egmont by Goethe.

· The drama is based on actual historical events leading up to 1568 when Holland was occupied by Spain.

· Count Egmont (1522-1568) was a Dutch nobleman captured by the Spanish.

· An offer was made to spare his life if he would agree to convince the Dutch people to accept Spanish rule.

· The drama deals with Egmont’s struggle to arrive at a decision to defy the Spanish demand, a decision that ultimately would lead to his decapitation.

· Egmont’s decision, however, is accompanied by a brilliant vision that his death will prove an inspiration to the Dutch people and serve to revitalize the struggle toward ultimate victory over the invaders.

· Beethoven expresses the essential elements of the drama in highly specific terms.

· See listening map and description, pp. 286-292.

14.

· Il Trovatore, Act III, Scene 2.

· Giuseppe Verdi, 1853.

· Opera.

· Romantic.

· Various forms.

· Manrico, recovering from wounds received by the sword of his enemy, the Count di Luna, is preparing for the defense against another attack. He tries to comfort his lover, Leonora, when a messenger rushes in with the news that Manrico’s mother, and old Gypsy woman, has been captured by the Count and is about to be burned at the stake. Despite Leonora’s pleas that he will surely be killed, Manrico rallies his soldiers, vowing to rescue his mother or die in the attempt.

· See libretto, pp. 295-298.

15.

· The Firebird – Suite (1919 Version), Infernal Dance of King Kastchei, Berceuse, and Finale.

· Igor Stravinsky, 1919.

· Ballet (Orchestra).

· 20^th Century.

· Free forms.

· A prince, Ivan, captures the Firebird, a beautiful and fantastic creature with magic powers. The prince is moved by compassion to release the bird, who, as she flies away, gratefully leaves him with one of her feathers. With this he might magically summon the bird in time of danger. See remainder of description on pp. 300-301.

· See listening maps and description on pp. 302-305.

Public Music Education:

16. In Hungary, today, there are no third graders who cannot sing on pitch and sing beautifully. So what? Why have other countries sought to achieve similar results?

Music is the manifestation of the human spirit, similar to language. Its greatest practitioners have conveyed to mankind things not possible to say in any other language. If we do not want these things to remain dead treasures, we must do our utmost to make the greatest possible number of people understand their idiom.

Zoltán Kodály

· Although music needs no extrinsic justification, for political purposes I will mention that in a study of the ability of fourteen year-old science students in seventeen countries, the top three countries were Hungary, the Netherlands, and Japan. All three include music throughout the curriculum from kindergarten through high school.

· New findings, published in the February 1997 issue of Neurological Research, are the result of a two-year experiment with preschoolers, led by psychologist Dr. Frances Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh and physicist Dr. Gordon Shaw of the University of California at Irvine. As a follow-up to their ground breaking studies indicating how music can enhance spatial-reasoning ability, the researchers set out to compare the effects of musical and non-musical training on intellectual development. Their findings indicate that music uniquely enhances higher brain functions required for mathematics, chess, science and engineering.

17. Schools that produce the highest academic achievement in the United States today are spending 20 to 30% of the day on the arts, with special emphasis on music. What are the implications for teacher education?

· It is necessary to offer opportunities for all students to develop their artistic capacities fully by incorporating arts instruction throughout the curriculum. How is this possible at a time when many teachers are graduating from schools of education without any background in music? It is important for everyone committed to the importance of music education to join together to convince those schools of the need for that background.

List advantages of arts education:

18. They are languages that all people speak--that cut across racial, cultural, social, educational, and economic barriers and enhance cultural appreciation and awareness.

19. They are symbol systems as important as letters and numbers.

20. They integrate mind, body, and spirit.

21. They provide opportunities for self-expression, bringing the inner world into the outer world of concrete reality.

22. They offer the avenue to “flow states” and peak experiences.

23. They create a seamless connection between motivation, instruction, assessment, and practical application--leading to “deep understanding.”

24. They make it possible to experience processes from beginning to end.

25. They develop both independence and collaboration.

26. They improve academic achievement--enhancing test scores, attitudes, social skills, critical and creative thinking.

27. They exercise and develop higher order thinking skills including analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and “problem-finding.”

Brain Research:

28. What are the effects of piano instruction on math and science achievement?

· The experiment included four groups of preschoolers: one group received private piano/keyboard lessons; a second group received singing lessons; a third group received private computer lessons; and a fourth group received no training. Those children who received piano/keyboard training performed 34% higher on tests measuring spatial-temporal ability than the others. These findings indicate that music uniquely enhances higher brain functions required for mathematics, chess, science and engineering.

29. What should scientists and educators do with this information?

· The implications of this and future studies can change the way educators view the core school curricula, particularly since music making nurtures the intellect and produces long-term improvements. “It has been clearly documented that young students have difficulty understanding the concepts of proportion (heavily used in math and science) and that no successful program has been developed to teach these concepts in the school system,” stated Dr. Rauscher. “The high proportion of children who evidenced dramatic improvement in spatial-temporal reasoning as a result of music training should be of great interest to scientists and educators,” added Dr. Shaw.

30. Studies from neuroscience laboratories throughout the country show that early experiences determine which brain cells (neurons) will . . ..

· These studies show that early experiences determine which brain cell (neurons) will connect with other brain cells, and which ones will die away. Because neural connections are responsible for all types of intelligence, a child’s brain develops to its full potential only with exposure to the necessary enriching experiences in early childhood. What Drs. Rauscher and Shaw have emphasized has been the causal relationship between early music training and the development of the neural circuitry that governs spatial intelligence. Their studies indicate that music training generates the neural connections used for abstract reasoning, including those necessary for understanding mathematical concepts.

31. The limbic system (part of the brain) is so powerful that it can literally facilitate or inhibit learning and higher order thinking. It appears that positive emotions, such as love, tenderness, and humor, can facilitate higher order thinking skills, whereas negative emotions, such as anger, hostility, and fear, can literally downshift the brain to basic survival thinking. What are the implications for music in education?

· The relationship to music education is clear when we observe students joyfully making music together and when we gather information about their academic achievement in other areas. A study by Bloom on gifted musicians reveals that most had very positive early learning experiences with teachers who were patient, supportive, and loving.

32. Dr. Georgi Lozonov, Bulgarian founder of accelerated learning techniques has discovered . . .

· Dr. Georgi Lozonov, Bulgarian founder of accelerated learning techniques, has researched the most effective music to use in his system. He has found the Baroque and Romantic music offer the ideal background for enhancing the learning of any subject. In using this system, corporate training programs and schools often cut learning time in half.

List ways to incorporate music into other curricula:

33.

· At Chicago’s inner city Guggenheim Elementary School, the faculty and students are finding new success in learning through the visual arts and music. Attendance is high, test scores are steadily rising, and enthusiasm is pervasive throughout the school.

34.

· At the Horton School in San Diego, music has been used extensively to teach all the students to become bilingual in Spanish and English.

35.

· Provide a rich background for literature and writing courses.

36.

· Provide concrete ways to learn fractions and other mathematical concepts.