Music History Listening Quiz 2

Chopin, Mazurka in B-flat Major, Op. 7, No. 1

piano piece, triple meter, folkish features

Hensel, Das Jahr, “Dezember”

piano piece… first half is free fantasy (suggests a snowstorm), second half is variations on a Lutheran chorale

Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique, fifth movement

symphonic movement, enormous orchestra, spooky, detailed performance dirDies Irae

Felix Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto, first movement

violin concerto

Rossini, Il barbiere di Siviglia, “Una voce poco fa”

aria, two-section aria form: cantabile (recitative-like while simultaneously virtuosic) & cabaletta (runs, cadenzas, guitar-like accompaniment)

Weber, Der Freischütz, Wolf’s Glen Scene

orchestral work from opera, spooky, elaborate orchestral accompaniment, vocal declamations and sections of melodrama (spoken dialogue with musical accompaniment) 

Verdi, La traviata, Act III

opera, scene and duet between Violetta and Alfredo… blend between a recitative and aria (there really is no distinction between them anymore)

Brahms, Symphony No. 4, fourth movement

symphonic movement, an allusion to old (Baroque) music, advanced harmonic and rhythmic features; sarabande rhythm; developing variation (everything is related to something heard before, but nothing returns in exactly the same form)

R. Strauss, Don Quixote

a tone poem, theme-and-variations form, with solo parts for cello and viola; breaks rules for dramatic effect; immense orchestra, colorful orchestration; musical illustrations

Mahler, Kindertotenlieder, “Nun will die Sonn’”

based on poem; chromaticism stretches the limits of tonality; large orchestra, but chamber-like combinations; modal fluctuation

Bizet, Carmen, Act I

opera, what is the use of “slippery” chromaticism? hypnotic refrain.. seductive music 

Rachmaninoff, Prelude in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5

piano piece, distinctive of this composer’s style; modal mixture, rich harmonic vocabulary; influence of Liszt

Scriabin, Vers la Flamme

piano piece, uses referential chords (not necessarily tonal organization but there is overall coherence), octatonic scale, emphasis on tritone

Puccini, Madama Butterfly, Act I

opera, “normative Italian style,” hybrid, westernized Japanese style.. frequent shifts between recitative and aria

Musorgsky, Boris Godunov, “Coronation Scene”

opera, vocal lines range from recitative to arioso, but are not aria-like; influence of folk songs (simplicity of rhythm and pitch); harmonically, succession of chords rather than progression (any sequential arrangement of chords, not as goal oriented and functional)