The Post-Romantic Era • • • 1. In the late 19th century all composers felt the effect of Wagner's chromaticism o Two important movements surface at the turn of the 20th century Impressionism in France Primary contributors: Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel Post-Romanticism in Germany and Austria Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was a beacon of post-Romanticism Known for his programmatic symphonic poems and operas Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) is another transitional figure 2. Gustav Mahler: His Life and Music o Born in Bohemia, known as a conductor and composer His music has grown increasingly popular since the late 20th century Trained in Vienna Early career as a conductor in Austria and later the Royal Opera at Budapest Eventually secured the most prestigious directorship at the Vienna Opera Unwavering passion and dedication to art music in Vienna At 48, he arrived in New York Accepted an engagement at the Metropolitan Opera Assumed direction of the New York Philharmonic Society Orchestra Fell ill with a streptococcus infection and was taken to Paris Chose to return to Vienna where he died and was buried next to his daughter o In composition, the spirit of song permeates his work Cultivated the song cycle, with orchestral accompaniment Style reflects the music of Schubert and Schumann Among his best efforts is The Song of the Earth, 1908 o The Viennese symphonic tradition extended to the 20th century through his works Nine symphonies are the ultimate in lyricism and harmonic expression A tenth symphony (a draft at his death) has been made available 3. Mahler: The Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde), Third Movement (Listening Guide 64) o Song cycle for voice and orchestra (6 songs) o Poetry from a translation by Hans Bethge of Chinese poet Li T'ai-Po o Incorporates exotic pentatonic melodies (evokes Chinese music) o Delicate, colorful orchestration o Third song in cycle is a 3-part form Music structure (A-B-A') reflects poetic imagery of an "arched bridge" Debussy and Impressionism • • • 1. The Impressionist Painters o Impressionism was a French movement developed by painters Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Camille Pissarro, Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir o "First impression" of a subject captured by use of light and color o Abandoned grandiose subjects of Romanticism 2. The Symbolist Poets o Literary response to tradition Charles Baudelaire, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud All influenced by American poet Edgar Allan Poe Concern with the sound of a word as well as its meaning Achieved an abstract quality in the text 3. Impressionism in Music o Sentiment that the possibilities of the major/minor system had been exhausted Attraction to ancient scales (church modes of the Middle Ages), exotic scales (chromatic, whole tone) o Interest in non-Western music flourished Moorish music of Spain, Javanese, and Chinese orchestras (as heard at the 1889 World Exposition in Paris) A departure from Classical harmony is witnessed in Impressionism Unresolved dissonances, parallel chords, ninth chords Use of the chromatic scale and whole-tone scale parallel chords, ninth chords o Orchestral color was exploited in new ways o The pulse in Impressionist music tended to be obscured o The large forms of the past were abandoned in favor of short lyric forms 4. Claude Debussy (1862-1918): His Life and Music o French composer, trained at the Paris Conservatory Rebelled against compositional traditions at Paris Conservatory At age 22, won the Prix de Rome with cantata The Prodigal Son o Fame came after the premiere of his opera Pelléas and Mélisande (1902) o WWI robbed him of his interest in music Died in 1918 during German bombardment of Paris o Composed slowly, relatively small output Most recognized works Orchestral: La mer, three nocturnes, Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun" Piano: Clair de lune, Evening in Granada, Reflections in the Water, The Sunken Cathedral o He also composed chamber music and French songs French song: independent of the German Lied Chamber music: String Quartet in G minor, sonatas for cello and piano; violin and piano; flute, viola, and harp 5. Debussy: Prelude to "The Afternoon of a Faun" (Listening Guide 65) o Symphonic poem, based on a Mallarmé pastoral poem Mythological faun o Free ternary form o Chromatic melody o Rich orchestration creates evocative mood expressing poem's sensuality o • • Main Currents in Early-Twentieth-Century Music • • • • 1. The Reaction against Romanticism o Early-20th-century music was the product of a reaction against Romanticism Sought to escape refinement, adopt primitive, uninhibited, spontaneous style o Turned towards non-Western sources (Africa, Asia, eastern Europe) for primal, powerful rhythms, and fresh concepts 2. New Trends in the Arts o Futurism, Dadaism, Cubism Movement had an effect on artists (Erik Satie and Les Six in France) 3. Expressionism o Expressionism was German response to Impressionism Explores the worlds of the subconscious, hallucinations, and dreams o Artists: Kandinsky, Klee, Kokoschka, Munch o Composers: Schoenberg, Berg, Webern o Musical characteristics: Expressive harmony Extreme ranges Disjunct melodies 4. Neoclassicism o Revival of balance and objectivity in the arts o A return to formal structures of the past o Began in the early 1920s o Composers preferred absolute to program music New Elements of Musical Style • 1. The New Rhythmic Complexity • • o Revitalization of rhythm o Polyrhythm, polymeter, changing meter, irregular meters 2. The New Melody o Becomes instrumental, not vocal, in character Abounds in wide leaps and dissonant intervals 3. The New Harmony o Beyond traditional systems of tonality o Polychords, polyharmony o New Conceptions of Tonality The major-minor system was no longer dominant It was expanded, combined, and avoided Perceived drive toward the tonic is weakened Polytonality: presentation of two or more simultaneous keys Atonality: abandonment of tonality, all 12 tones are equal in importance o The Twelve-Tone Method Also known as serialism or dodecaphonic composition Atonal method devised by Schoenberg Strict system based on and unified by tone row Tone row: arrangement of all 12 chromatic tones Forms of the row: transposed, inverted, retrograde, retrograde inversion o The Emancipation of Dissonance Extreme dissonances become a normal part of the sound No obligation to resolve to consonance Texture: Dissonant counterpoint Sparse linear texture (counterpoint) o Orchestration Leaner, smaller orchestra String section no longer the "heart" of the orchestra Composers favored the darker instruments (viola, bassoon, trombone) Emphasis on rhythm brings percussion to the foreground Piano becomes an orchestral instrument o New Conceptions of Form Composers revisit Classical ideals of tight organization and succinctness Revival of older forms (toccata, fugue, concerto grosso, suite, etc.) Stravinsky and the Revitalization of Rhythm • • 1. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971): His Life o Stravinsky embodied the most significant impulses of his time o Russian composer, studied at the University of St. Petersberg Left law studies for career in music Studied with Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov o Serge Diaghilev (impresario of Ballets Russes) commissioned 3 ballets from Stravinsky Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), The Rite of Spring (1913) The Rite of Spring incited a near riot on opening night o 1920: Stravinsky settled in France o 1939: visited the U.S. (Harvard University) o At the outbreak of WWII, decided to stay in U.S. Settled in Southern California, outside of Los Angeles 1945 became an American citizen o Died in 1971 at the age of 89 2. Stravinsky's Music o His music reflects changing trends (post-Impressionism, classicism, serialism, etc.) o Leader in the revitalization of rhythm o Considered one of the great orchestrators o Early works His music reflects nationalism Reacted against the restless chromaticism of Romanticism Three ballets for the Ballets Russes, The Soldier's Tale Neoclassical period Oedipus Rex: opera-oratorio Symphony of Psalms: for chorus and orchestra The Rake's Progress: opera based on a series of engravings by Hogarth o 12-tone music Threni: Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah 3. Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (Listening Guide 67) o Subtitled Scenes of Pagan Russia Primitive-like theme, matched by primitive rhythms o Expanded ensemble 8 French horns, 5 trumpets, 5 of each woodwind, a battery of percussion o Melodies modeled after Russian folk songs o Music is liberated from constraints of metric regularity o Part I: Adoration of the Earth Begins with bassoon melody in the uppermost range The Dance of the Youths and Maidens Strings play dissonant chords, elemental pounding heightened by the use of polytonal harmonies Game of Abduction Uses Russian folk theme against ostinato Section closes with Dance of the Earth o Part II: The Sacrifice Bitingly dissonant harmonies Closes with frenzied climax, Sacrificial Dance 4. Stravinsky: The Royal March from The Soldier's Tale (Listening Guide 68) o Small-scale theater work o Written near the end of WWI, while Stravinsky was in exile in Switzerland o Folk tale by Alexander Afanaseyev adapted by C. F. Ramuz Commentary on the composer's exile from his homeland o Scored for 7 instruments, 3 actors, and a female dancer o Neoclassical elements abound: tonality, traditional forms, etc. o The Royal March Ternary form Inspired by a memory of a bullfight band Rhythmic intricacies and polyrhythm provide humorous backdrop Spanish-dance melody (paso doble) is heard in the A section Formalists valued form over expressiveness o • • Schoenberg and the Second Viennese School • • • • 1. The German Expressionist movement was manifested in the music of Arnold Schoenberg and his followers o The Second Viennese School is comprised of Schoenberg and his students 2. Arnold Schoenberg (1874–1951): His Life o Austrian composer, conductor, teacher, artist o Largely self-taught composer o Proponent of atonality and serial composition o Teacher of Alban Berg, Anton Webern o Emigrated to the U.S. On faculty of USC and UCLA in Los Angeles 3. Schoenberg's Music o Three style periods Early works reflect post-Wagnerian Romanticism Transfigured Night Second period reflects Atonal-Expressionism Pierrot lunaire Third period reflects the creation of the 12-tone method and his time in America A Survivor from Warsaw 4. Schoenberg: Pierrot lunaire (Listening Guide 69) o o o o o o o Song cycle from 1912 Texts by Albert Giraud (in German translation) Tale of a sad clown obsessed with the moon All in rondeau form For voice and varied chamber ensemble Atonal work: no home key No distinction between consonance and dissonance Use of Sprechstimme (spoken voice) Klangfarbenmelodie (tone-color-melody) No. 18, The Moonfleck For voice and 5 instruments Highly contrapuntal and dissonant Pierrot's frustration is heard in the atonality No. 21, O Scent of Fabled Yesteryear Voice and 8 instruments Melancholic and serene Pierrot is at peace More consonance is used to reflect the innocent past Berg and Early-Twentieth-Century Opera • • • 1. Alban Berg (1885-1935): His Life o Austrian composer and teacher o Student of Schoenberg o Humanized the abstract methods of atonality and serialism and infused them with feeling o Served in the military during WWI o Ardent supporter of techniques of Second Viennese School o Hitler banned the works of 12-tone composers o Died an unfortunate death at 50 of blood poisoning resulting from an insect bite 2. Berg's Music o Style rooted in German Romanticism o Leaned towards formal patterns of the past o Adopted atonality and serialism of Schoenberg o Best-known works include the Lyric Suite and 2 operas Wozzeck, Lulu (unfinished) 3. Berg: Wozzeck (Listening Guide 70) o Based on Expressionist play by Georg Büchner Play is based on real-life events o Berg wrote the libretto himself Plot: Wozzeck's unhappy love affair and resulting tragic events o Atonal harmony o Use of leitmotifs o Incorporates Sprechstimme o Act III, Scene 4 Wozzeck returns to the scene of the crime, hallucinates, and commits suicide o Interlude between Scene 4 and 5 Symphonic interlude in D minor A passionate lament Evokes the Romanticism of Mahler o Act III, Scene 5 Marie's child is told of his mother's death Webern and Serial Technique Chapter Outline • • • 1. Anton Webern (1883-1945): His Life o Webern's works are brief, subtle, and fleeting o Austrian composer and musicologist o Followed Schoenbergian ideals o Career suffered under the Third Reich o During WWII sought refuge with family near Salzburg Broke curfew to smoke a cigar and was shot to death, at age 62, by American soldier 2. Webern's Music o Removed himself almost completely from the tonal past o Favored short forms, like others of the Second Viennese School o His music is marked by unusual orchestration and extreme ranges Sparse textures in very brief works Strict use of 12-tone technique o Extended 12-tone concept to include rhythms, timbres, dynamics o New application called total serialism 3. Webern: Symphony, Opus 21 (Listening Guide 71) o Scored for a chamber orchestra o Entire symphony lasts less than 10 minutes o Expanded use of Klangfarbenmelodie o Texture is pointillistic o Complex contrapuntal procedures (double canon, etc.) o I: sonata-allegro form, based on a tone row o II: theme and variations, based on row from first movement Béla Bartók and the European Tradition • • • • 1. Twentieth-century nationalism differed from 19th-century trends o Composers approached traditional music with a scientific spirit New students of folklore took recording equipment into the field for authenticity 2. National Schools o French: Les Six (Satie, Milhaud, Honegger, Tailleferre, Poulenc, Auric) – developed a style that combined objectivity and understatement with the Neoclassicism and the new concepts of harmony o Russian: Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Khachaturian o English: Elgar, Delius, Vaughan Williams, Britten o German: Hindemith, Orff, Weill o Hungarian: Bartók, Kodály o Czech: Janáček o Nordic: Sibelius 3. Béla Bartók (1881-1945): His Life and Music o Hungarian composer o Sought to end domination of German musical culture o Separated true Hungarian music from music of Roma (Gypsies) o Studied folklore o Emigrated to the U.S. in 1940 o Suffered from leukemia, received help from ASCAP o Died in New York City at 64 o Musical characteristics Adhered to the logic and beauty of Classical from Musical language based on Eastern European traditional music New scales, polytonal harmonic language Fought the "tyrannical rule of the major and minor keys" Rhythmic innovator, changing meters, syncopations 4. Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra (Listening Guide 72) o Commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra o Five movements I: Introduction, sonata-allegro, use of folklike pentatonic scale II: Game of Pairs, featuring different pairs of winds III: Elegia, contemplative and rhapsodic nocturne IV: Interrupted Intermezzo, one theme borrowed from Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7 V: Sonata-allegro form American Traditions: The Music of Charles Ives and William Grant Still • • • 1. Many 20th-century nationalists based their works on traditional and popular music o Ives and Still in particular incorporated influences of "home grown" popular music traditions 2. Popular Music in Late-Nineteenth-Century America o Strong tradition of devotional music (spirituals and gospel hymns) o Music publications were largely devotional, "white spirituals" Shape-note system designed for easy reading of music Tunes were set in simple 4-part harmonizations o Parlor and minstrel songs of Stephen Foster were popular and remain popular Oh, Susannah! Camptown Races, Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair o By the Civil War era, the military marched to the sounds of brass groups After the war, members of military bands formed concert and dance groups o Bandmaster John Phillip Sousa promoted and fostered the American wind band Conducted the U.S. Marine Band and formed the group "Sousa's Band" Wrote over 130 marches for band, dance music, and operettas Sousa created a national music for the U.S. 3. Charles Ives (1874-1954): His Life and Music o American composer and businessman Studied at Yale with Horatio Parker Successful career in the insurance business Composed after-hours and on weekends His contributions were recognized late in life o Drew on music of New England (hymns, patriotic songs, brass band, and dance music) o Incorporated polytonality and polyrhythm, quarter tones (half the size of a half step) o Central works were his 4 symphonies 4. Ives: The Things Our Fathers Loved (Listening Guide 73) o Ives wrote the text o Quotations from patriotic, religious, and popular tunes o Dissonant harmony 5. William Grant Still: His Life and Music o A major part of the "Harlem" Renaissance, an early-20th-century movement o His Afro-American Symphony was the first work by an African-American composer to be performed by a major symphony orchestra o Born and raised in the south (Mississippi, Arkansas) o Attended Wilberforce University in Ohio for a while o Hired to work for W. C. Handy's bands in Memphis o Served in WWI, then studied for a while at Oberlin o Hired again by Handy to work in New York Quickly gained a reputation as an arranger for radio and musical theater o Studied with French expatriate Edgard Varèse o Sought his voice in the music of his black cultural heritage o Afro-American symphony premiered in 1931 Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Howard Hanson conducting o 1934 won a Guggenheim Fellowship Left New York for Los Angeles; composed for film and television o New York City Opera performed his opera Troubled Island in 1949 (another first) o Musical characteristics Finely wrought, fairly conservative, often inspired by African-American themes 6. Still: Afro-American Symphony, II (Sorrow) (Listening Guide 74) o Sought to elevate popular blues to realm of art music o Each movement is in modified sonata-allegro form o Blues harmonic pattern and influence of spirituals is evident o • • • Nationalism in the Americas: Aaron Copland and Silvestre Revueltas • • • • 1. Aaron Copland (1900-1990): His Life and Works o American composer, born in Brooklyn o Studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger o Incorporated jazz idioms in his works o Experimented in Neoclassicism and 12-tone composition o Composed piano pieces, orchestral works, ballets, film scores 2. Copland: Billy the Kid, Scene 1, Street in a Frontier Town (Listening Guide 75) o Ballet on the story of William Bonney o Later arranged the ballet as a concert suite o Music includes tunes of the Wild West and Mexican dance (jarabe) 3. Silvestre Revueltas and Art Music Traditions in Mexico o Mexican culture is a mixture of Amerindian, African, and Hispanic cultures o Catholic Church has maintained a high profile since 1519 o The Mexican Revolution of 1910 served to stir up a strong sense of patriotism Manuel Ponce and Carlos Chávez were leaders in the new nationalist movement Chávez also directed the Orquesta Sinfónica de Mexico and the National Conservatory, promoting the music of Mexican composers 4. Silvestre Revueltas (1899-1940): His Life and Music o Mexican composer, born in Durango o Child prodigy (violin), studied at the National Conservatory and in San Antonio, Texas o Returned to Mexico as the assistant conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Mexico o Traveled to Spain to support the Loyalist government during the Spanish Civil War Inspired to compose the Homenaje a Federico García Lorca Returned to U.S. in 1937, periods of depression, alcoholism, and self-destruction Died at age 40 of alcohol-induced pneumonia His music is colorful and folkloric, without actually borrowing from known traditional songs Mexican mestizo music is evoked through lyrical, direct melodies Mariachi sound is gained by pairing melodic lines in thirds o Political themes abound in his music Homenaje is an overt anti-Fascist statement Orchestral work Sensemayá inspired by verses of the anti-Fascist Afro-Cuban poet Nicolás Guillén 5. Revueltas: Homenaje a Federico García Lorca o I: Baile (Dance), a quick-paced duple-meter dance Bears both indigenous and mestizo musical influences o II: Duelo (Sorrow), based on soulful emotional melody o III: Son (traditional dance), evocative of mariachi ensemble Rondo-like form, celebrates Lorca's life in dance Evokes flavor of rural dance and sound of mariachi o o o o • New Directions • • • • • 1. Innovations of the latter half of the century have surpassed the "new music" of any era 2. The Arts since the Mid-Twentieth Century o Post WWII social turmoil was reflected in the arts o Musical trends mirrored movements in the arts Abstract expressionism, pop art, postmodernism o Feminist as well as ethnic art and literature flourished o Literature and poetry have been the subject of widespread experimentation Authors continued to create and have won awards (National Book Award, Pulitzer, Nobel) Recent new genre spawned by Zadie Smith = hysterical realism Many authors have stirred controversy Jonathan Franzen questioned the value of his book's listing on the Oprah Winfrey's Book Club list (The Corrections, 2002) Salmon Rushdie's novel (The Satanic Verses 1988) has been condemned by the Muslim world J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series is controversial among conservative Christians o Modern theater and music have merged in performance art A multimedia genre explored by John Cage and Laurie Anderson o National schools of filmmaking have developed in recent years Especially in Germany, China, Poland and the U. S. 3. Toward Greater Organization in Music o Later generations applied Schoenberg's 12-tone method to elements other than pitch o The resultant total serialism is an extremely complex, ultrarational music 4. Toward Greater Freedom in Music o Counter to total serialism was the desire for freedom from predetermination Composers let chance determine great portions of the musical "happening" Resultant indeterminate music is called aleatoric music The flexible structure is known as open form o Collage: a technique in which fragments of compositions (old and new) are layered o Musicians sought to free themselves from the restrictions of the chromatic scale Evolution of electronic instruments makes microtonal scales more practical Intervals smaller than semitones in a microtonal scale Originally a part of a variety of world musics 5. The Postwar Internationalism o Leaders in compositional experimentation hailed from all over the world U.S.: Milton Babbitt, John Cage, Earle Brown, Morton Feldman Italy: Luciano Berio Greece: Iannis Xenakis Poland: Krzysztof Penderecki o Germany: Karlheinz Stockhausen France: Pierre Boulez Russia: Sofiya Gubaidulina Postwar Era voices in the United States Elliott Carter pioneered a technique he called "metric modulation" George Perle reconciled serial procedures with tonality Henry Brant, Canadian composer, experimented with spatial relationships The New Virtuosity of the Modern Age • • • • • • • 1. Contemporary music calls for new and highly virtuosic technique o Some performers specialize in avant-garde music Cathy Berberian, Jan DeGaetani 2. Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992): and the Postwar era o French composer, organist, and educator o Messiaen's music is an expression of his religious faith Draws on medieval church modes, chant, and Eastern sounds (India, Java) o His love of nature, especially bird song, is reflected in his music 3. Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time (Listening Guide 86) o Written while a POW in Germany, 1940 Imprisoned with a violinist, cellist, and clarinetist Composed while interred and gave a concert to other prisoners o The work is based on a passage from the Revelation of St. John Scored for piano, violin, cello, clarinet 8 movements that incorporate the sounds of birds, of Gregorian chant, the expressive quality of the cello, and Messiaen's mysticism 4. Pierre Boulez (b. 1925) and the French Avant-Garde o French composer o Influenced by Messiaen, Debussy, Stravinsky, Webern o Embraced total serialism o Emotional content of Boulez's music is broad o Fond of the sound of the gamelan o Recent works combine media (orchestra and electronic equipment) An example of this is his concerto for MIDI flute Flute communicates with a computer in performance o Conductor of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra o Co-founder of IRCAM, the French center for computer music research 5. Boulez: Notations IV (Listening Guide 87) o One of his chief early works o Composed in 1945 (piano), orchestrated in 1978 Revision calls for a huge orchestra o Constructed from three hexachords (6-note sequences) o Unified by an ostinato, which is manipulated through a complex process Boulez calls frequency multiplication o Boulez describes the work as "organized delirium" 6. George Crumb (b. 1929) and Avant-Garde Virtuosity o American Composer, numerous awards and honors Pulitzer, Grammy Award o Emotional, dramatic, expressive music o Professor of composition at the University of Pennsylvania until 1999 o Affinity for the poetry of Federico García Lorca 7. Crumb: Ancient Voices of Children (Listening Guide 88) o Cycle of songs for soprano, boy soprano, oboe, mandolin, harp, electric piano, percussion o Voice is used like an instrument o Opens with a vocalise (wordless melody) o Includes singing into an amplified piano, singing microtones o Percussion includes instruments from around the world o Mysterious music reflects dark intimations of poetry Contemporary Composers Look to World Music • • • • • • • • • 1. The West has always felt the influence of other cultures o A number of composers responded to the philosophy of the Far East In particular, Californians Henry Cowell, Harry Partch, and John Cage 2. Important Experimenters o Henry Cowell (1897-1965) drawn to a variety of non-Western musics Student of the music of Japan, India, Iran, rural Ireland and America Experimented with foreign scales Innovations include tone clusters Adjacent tones are struck with the fist, palm, etc. o Harry Partch (1901-1974) Serious proponent of microtonal music (he devised a scale of 43 pitches) Unique now instruments (cloud-chamber bowls, diamond marimba, etc.) 3. The Music of John Cage (1912-1992) o American Composer o Student of Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg o Invented the prepared piano to simulate the sound of the Javanese gamelan Consisted of items (nails, bolts, etc.) inserted in the piano strings o Preoccupied with East Asian philosophy o Quest for tranquility pervades his life and work o Composed music based on chance (indeterminacy) o Explored the role of silence: 4'33" (a piece of silence) 4. Cage: Sonata V, from Sonatas and Interludes (Listening Guide 89) o A group of 16 pieces for the prepared piano Bits of materials inserted in between strings Approximates the sounds of the Javanese gamelan o Captures the meditative character of Oriental thought o Set in binary form (A-A-B-B) 5. The Javanese Gamelan o Indonesia comprises many diverse cultures and musical traditions o The gamelan is central to the musical traditions Composed of melodic percussion instruments o Music is played from memory, passed as an oral tradition o Played for ritual ceremonies (court, shadow-puppet theater) o Two tunings: sléndro (5-note), pélog (7-note) 6. Javanese Gamelan Music: Patalon (Listening Guide 90) o Patalon serves as an overture to the shadow puppet play o In shadow puppet theater (wayang), a master puppeteer Operates the puppets Narrates and sings the songs Leads the gamelan o The performance begins in the early evening and continues until dawn o Rhythmic structure is cyclic (colotomic structure) o Melodic framework (balungan) interacts with rhythmic structure o Instruments played are metallophones (metallic percussion) 7. Multicultural Influences in Contemporary Society o The impulse toward a world music sound continues with contemporary composers o Today's artists are more exposed to multicultural influences than ever before 8. György Ligeti's (1923-2006) and his Etudes for Piano o Hungarian composer o Active in electronic music, serial music, incorporation of world music o Innovator of "micropolyphony": interweaving complex polyphonic fabric o Shape is derived from barely perceptible shifts in timbre, dynamics, texture o Resultant effect is a murmuring continuum o Most popular works: Atmosphéres, Lux aeterna (included in Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey) 9. Ligeti: Disorder (Désordre), from Etudes for Piano, Book I (Listening Guide 91) o Explores rhythmic manipulation Method derivative of sub-Saharan African and Indonesian rhythm Ligeti was particularly interested in the region of Uganda o Book I, Disorder: additive meters (5 + 3, 3 + 5) over triple patterns o Virtuosic ability needed to play complex rhythms 10. Music from East Africa o Uganda is in eastern Africa (bordering Kenya and Lake Victoria) o Many outside forces have significantly influenced the culture o Musical instruments of the region: chordophones, aerophones, idiophones, and membranophones o Pentatonic music is favored in this region 11. Eastern African Music: Ensiriba ya munange Katego (Listening Guide 92) o Tale of a sub-chief who loses his good luck charm o Played by an entenga (prestigious court drumming ensemble) Melodic drums play using a pentatonic scale o The work has a dense polyrhythmic texture o Music is transmitted orally through the master/apprentice system 12. Bright Sheng (b. 1955) and the Meeting of Musical Cultures o An innovative composer, he blends Western and Asian cultures o His Chinese name is Sheng Song-Liang (Liang means "bright lights") His Anglicized name is a combination of English and Chinese o Born and raised in Shanghai o In 1966, the Red Guards took away his piano because it was considered "bourgeois" o Sent to Tibet during the Revolution Learned to play other instruments and gathered folk songs o In 1976, the Revolution ended and he entered the Shanghai Conservatory of Music o Studied in the U.S. Queens College, Columbia University o Successful musical career in the U.S. o Works to preserve Eastern traditional musical cultures Collaborates in this project with Yo-Yo Ma o Merger of Eastern and Western ideas enriches the listener's understanding of both cultures 13. Sheng: China Dreams: Prelude (Listening Guide 93) o A symphonic suite composed between 1992 and 1995 o Four movements for large orchestra o Nostalgic in tone o Combines Western and Eastern musical ideas o The opening Prelude evokes Chinese folk music In particular the northwest region Pentatonic melodies, sliding glissando figures Three-part structure o Fanfare is more agitated and percussive Reflects unpleasant memories of China o The Stream Flows draws on a well-known folk song From southern China Yunnan province o The Last Three Gorges of the Long River Inspired by a dream, refers to the Yangtze River 14. An Introduction to Chinese Traditional Music o To understand Bright Sheng's music, exploring Abing's (1883-1950) music is helpful o Chinese composer, born Hua Yanjun o Orphaned and later adopted by Daoist monk Began studying music as an apprentice Daoist Expelled for playing sacred music in secular settings o Before dying in 1950, recorded 6 of his works o His music is highly revered and part of the standard repertory at modern conservatories 15. Abing: The Moon Reflected on the Second Springs (Er quan ying yue) excerpt (Listening Guide 94) o Originally conceived for solo erhu Bowed two-string fiddle, played upright, with a snakeskin-covered sound box o Modern version adds the yangqin Hammered dulcimer with trapezoidal sound box strung with metal strings and struck with bamboo strips o • • • • • • o o Based on a pentatonic scale (D-E-G-A-B) The melody is repeated 4 times, each with more ornamentation Music for Films • • • • • • • • 1. Music has helped to create some of the most memorable moments in film history 2. The Role of Music in Film o The most important function of music in film is to set a mood o Supplying music that contradicts what is seen creates irony Technique known as running counter to the action o There are two principal types of music in a film Underscoring: comes from an unseen source, often an invisible orchestra Source music: functions as a part of the drama, from a logical source o Leitmotifs create musical unity within the context of the drama 3. Music in the Silent Film Era o Silent films were generally accompanied by solo piano or organ Special organs were capable of producing effects (gunshots, animal noises, etc.) Music was one of three types: Classical music, arranged well-known tunes, and new music 4. The Sound Era o The late 1930s is considered the Golden Age of films and film music o Major composers of early Hollywood: Max Steiner, Eric Korngold (both Austrian) Germany, France, and the Soviet Union also pursued filmmaking Shostakovich was known as composer for Stalin's propaganda films Prokofiev wrote 8 Soviet films (including Alexander Nevsky) 5. Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): His Life and Music o Russian composer, started his musical training in the conservatory at 13 Early success as a pianist and composer o Emigrated to Paris after the Revolution of 1917 Frequently traveled across Europe and into the U.S. o Returned to Russia Accused by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of "bourgeois formalism" (influenced by European modernism) Was censored, and his music was removed from the repertory His works found their way back into the concert hall nonetheless o Died on March 5, 1953, one day after Stalin 6. Prokofiev: Alexander Nevsky, Seventh Movement (Listening Guide 95) o Sergei Eisenstein production, 1938 o Based on the life of a folk hero who defeated the Germans o Prokofiev wrote the film score, later arranged it into a cantata o The cantata has 7 movements Scored for chorus, mezzo-soprano, and orchestra Alexander's Entry into Pskov, movement 7 Triumphal return of conquering hero 7. The Postwar Years o Financial constraints curtailed the lush symphonic score of the Golden Age o Composers used popular genres as well as 20th-century art music o Major composers of the postwar years: Bernard Herrmann, Miklós Rózsa Rózsa used the Theremin was used to create eerie effects o Later composers included Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein o After the late 1940s, film music was newly composed or borrowed from Classical or popular repertory: rock, country-western, and jazz o In the 1950s, Elmer Bernstein and Jerry Goldsmith emerged as film composers 8. Beyond Star Wars o Star Wars (1977) revolutionized the industry in terms of visual and aural effects o The score by John Williams was immensely popular Incorporated full symphony orchestra, use of leitmotifs o John Williams (b. 1932) • Wrote for television in the 1950s and 1960s Began to compose for films in the 1960s 1970s successes Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman 1980s, 1990s, and the present: Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter films, Munich o James Horner (b. 1953) Studied in Los Angeles (University of Southern California, UCLA) Successes include Star Trek II & III, Apollo 13, Titanic, etc. o Synthesizers were a major part of the sound of 1980s film scores Synthesizers are largely the domain of popular musicians o Danny Elfman (b. 1953) Founder of the rock group Oingo Boingo Worked with director Tim Burton Successful scores for many films Beetlejuice, Batman, Men in Black, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory o Hans Zimmer (b. 1957) Comes from a popular music background Successes include: Rain Man, The Lion King, Gladiator, Pearl Harbor, Madagascar, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest o Rachel Portman (b. 1960) First woman to win an Academy Award for Best Music (Emma, 1996) Successes include: The Joy Luck Club, The Cider House Rules, The Manchurian Candidate o During the 1990s and into the 21st century, American composers of art music turned to film John Corigliano, The Red Violin; Tan Dun, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Elliot Goldenthal, Frida o Minimalism made its way into film in the 1990s The Matrix and The Hours with scores by Philip Glass 9. Williams: Raiders March, from Raiders of the Lost Ark (Listening Guide 96) o Heard in its entirety during the closing credits of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) Fashioned from two leitmotifs in the film (Indiana Jones and Marion) o Three-part form (Indiana Jones theme, Marion's theme, Indiana Jones theme) o Instrumentation and beat of a traditional march Technology and Music • 1. The Technological Revolution o Two trends emerged simultaneously in the late 1940s and early 1950s o Musique concrète: Paris-based movement headed by Pierre Schaeffer Relied on recordings of natural sounds that were manipulated through external devices The American offshoot of tape music incorporated artificially generated sounds o Electronische Musik: Cologne-based movement headed by Herbert Eimert Major proponent was Karlheinz Stockhausen The heart of the system was the oscillator (electronic waveform generator) Waveforms were subjected to many types of manipulation o Eventually the many components were combined into a synthesizer o Synthesizers RCA first delivered the synthesizer in 1955 A second version was delivered to Columbia-Princeton's Electronic Music Center in 1959 o Robert Moog and Donald Buchla created a more compact and affordable synthesizer in the 1960s o First electronic piece commissioned by a record company: Morton Subotnik's Silver Apples of the Moon (1967) o Widespread popularity of the synthesizer came after the 1968 recording Switched-On Bach by Walter (later Wendy) Carlos o Digital frequency modulation synthesis replaced analog systems (developed by John Chowning at Stanford) Chowning sells rights to Yamaha—developed Yamaha DX7 (1983) o Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) adopted in 1983 • • • o Technology became affordable in the mid-1980s o Digital samplers re-created realistic sounds of any noise o Composers combined computer savvy with musical inspiration o Hiller and Issacson's software MUSIC generated musical compositions (1956) 2. Important Figures in Electronic Music o Edgard Varèse (1883-1965), French expatriate in the U.S. Turned to electronic medium late in life Poème electronique (1956-58) Commissioned for a sound-and-light show at Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair Consisted of electronic and concrète sounds recorded on a multi-channel tape Pavilion was designed by Le Corbusier and Iannis Xenakis (who later became a composer) Music accompanied the lighting effects and projected images The piece was played on more than 400 speakers in the pavilion 2 million people experienced the composition by the end of the World's Fair o Mario Davidovsky (b. 1934) Argentine-born American composer Combines electronic sounds with live music Director of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York Currently teaching at Harvard University Best-known works: Synchronisms (1963-88) o Milton Babbitt (b. 1916) American composer Composed at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center Combined electronic music with live performers Representative works: Philomel (1964), Phonemena (1974; soprano & tape) o Pauline Oliveros (b. 1932) American Composer Helped found the San Francisco Tape Center; became director in 1966 Explores mixed media, multichannel tape and live performers Known for experiments with live electronic music and "deep listening" perception process 3. Tod Machover (b. 1952) and Musical Interactivity o A leader in the contemporary music scene o Embraced technology as creative tool o Spent five years as Director of Musical Research in Paris at IRCAM o Explores American music styles (art and popular, including rock) o Goal in music is to "make people pay attention and listen carefully" o Professor of music at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Creates "smart" computers that follow gestures and intentions of performers Dextrous Hand Master 4. Machover: Hyperstring Trilogy: Begin Again Again . . . , excerpts (Listening Guide 97) o Piece for solo cello, inspired by J. S. Bach's Cello Suite No. 2 Cellist is in control of an array of live computer electronics o Written for Yo-Yo Ma, premiered at the Tanglewood Festival in 1991, recently revised o Conceived as the first in a trilogy based on Dante's Divine Comedy Explores the possibility of renewal after suffering o Form is in two large parts, each with a theme and four variations Some Current Trends • • 1. Highly intellectual music caused reactionary trends that seek immediate audience appeal o Minimalism and New Romanticism are primary movements 2. Minimalism and Post-Minimalism o Minimal art first found expression in painting and sculpture o Composers of this style stripped their compositions down to the barest essentials Features: repetition of melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic patterns with very little variation o The listener's attention is focused on a few basic details Turns away from the highly intellectual style of the serialists Minimalists often incorporate non-Western ideas Widely known composers of minimalism: Steve Reich (b. 1936), Philip Glass (b. 1937) Spiritual minimalism: offshoot of minimalism Mainly a European trend, deeply meditative Nonpulsed music inspired by religious beliefs Expressed in chains of lush modal or tonal progressions Primary composers: Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki, John Taverner 3. Arvo Pärt (b. 1935) and Spiritual Minimalism o Estonian composer o Concert, film, and stage composer o Explored 20th-century techniques (Neoclassicism, serialism) o Religious convictions made life in the Soviet Union difficult o Left for West Berlin o Composes Latin and Orthodox Church choral music o Created a new style called tintinnabulation (from the Latin word for ringing of bells) 4. Pärt: Cantate Domino canticum novum (Listening Guide 98) o Inspired by medieval chant o Latin text, based on Psalm 95 o Uses notation system similar to Gregorian chant, not traditional notation o Scored for SATB chorus and organ o Tintinnabular (bell) style o Incorporates word painting o Varied texture, use of counterpoint 5. John Adams (b. 1947) and Post-Minimalism o American composer o Educated at Harvard, steeped in serialism o Influenced by rock music o Moved to San Francisco Advocate for contemporary music in the Bay Area Taught at the San Francisco Conservatory o Incorporates late Romantic expressive harmonies in minimalist music o Often collaborates with director Peter Sellars 6. Adams: Tromba Lontana (Distant Trumpet) (Listening Guide 99) o Short orchestral fanfare One of two fanfares written in 1986 Short Ride in a Fast Machine = exuberant and propulsive Tromba lontana = quiet and introspective o Commissioned by the Houston Symphony Includes 2 solo trumpets placed at opposite sides of the stage o Evokes Eastern music with sues of crotales and string harmonics o Mesmerizing, repetitive accompaniment in the orchestra 7. The New Romanticism o New Romanticism is a reaction to the intellectual and alienating 12-tone movement o New Romanticism favors a harmonic language from the late Romantic era o Precursors to the movement include Samuel Barber, Ned Rorem o John Corigliano (b. 1938) follows in this tradition Composes in a wide variety of genres including film music (The Red Violin, 1999) 8. Libby Larsen (b. 1950) and the Musical Voice of Women o One of very few composers making a living with music alone (not an academic position) o Born in Delaware and raised in Minneapolis Co-founded the Minnesota Composers' Forum Now the American Composers' Forum Key group in a time of limited support for the arts in the U. S. o Has held some very diverse composer-in-residence positions o Inspired largely by nature and writings of women 9. Larsen: Sonnets from the Portuguese, Nos. 5 and 6 (Listening Guide 100) o Worked closely with singer Arleen Auger in composing this 6-song cycle Auger premiered the work and the recording won a Grammy in 1994 o o o o • • • • • • • o o o o • Coda o o o Set to poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning Love poems secretly written during the courtship with Robert Browning Larsen describes the songs as "metaphor[s] of resolved and unresolved harmonies" No. 5 "Oh, yes!" features: Disjunct lines Quick exchanges between solo voice and woodwinds Alternation of speechlike quality with lyrical lines Dissonance and chromaticism with reference to Musselmans and Giaours No. 6 "How do I love thee?" features: Free-flowing, arched lines according to the text Expressive use of instruments Subtle text-painting The enjoyment of music depends on perceptive listening Perceptive listening is achieved gradually, with practice and effort Words are helpful insofar as they lead us to enjoy the music Wisdom rests neither in dates nor in facts but only in the sounds themselves