MU111 - Art Song

Strophic Setting

Same music, only the text changes.

Romantic Period Themes

Individuality of style, nationalism, fondness of stories.

Art Song was developed when

During the Romantic period. Worked for solo voice and piano. 2 different ways to set music to text (strophic and trophic)

Erl-King/ Elf-King

Composed by Schubert, set on a poem by Wolfgang von Goethe, written in 1815 when Schubert was 17. Great example of a strophic song, where only the lyrics. words change, but the theme stays the same.

Erl-King was originally wrote

For voice and piano, and relates the tale of the evil King of Elves and his quest for the soul of a young boy. There are 3 characters: the father, his ill son, the Elf King.

Erl-King/ Elf-King song

It’s the Elf King who’s after the souls of younger kids. The piano keys are the galloping of a horse. The boy cries to his father “don’t you see the Elf King?” But the father dismisses his worries, tells him it’s just the rustling of the leaves. By the time they get home, the child is dead. The piano ends the song.

“Bohemian” means

Lived life like a free soul, came from the Czech Republic. The gypsy population in Europe (nomadic, have a bad reputation) live a communal lifestyle—you live with your friends and share what you have with friends. This was a popular lifestyle for artists. Whatever an artist made, they shared with the rest of the group.

Hector Berlioz

French composer with a unique style. He studied medicine, but left that profession to devote his time to music (crazy because he didn’t have the music background as most others during this time). During his time studying medicine, he experimented with drugs. He studied music at the Paris Conservatory.

Berlioz’s craziness

He was a fan of Shakespeare and attended a performance of Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. Harriet Smithson was the actress featured, and he fell madly in love with her.

Product of Berlioz’s craziness

He wrote pieces about his obsession. His most famous work, Symphonie Fantastique, was inspired by Harriet Smithson. He created a Fixed Idea, a melody that represented his beloved (program music).

Fixed Idea

A melody that represents Belioz’s beloved.

Program Music

You can hear a particular theme that is associated with an idea, story, mood, place, or person. It reoccurs when the composer wants to evoke that specific idea.

Symphonie Fantastique

A five-movement symphony with a descriptive title. It goes as follows: I. Reveries/ Passion, II: A Ball, III: Scene in the Country, IV: March to the Scaffold, V: Dream of Witches’ Sabbath