Music and Culture: Sonata, Concerto, and Impressionism

Sonata

A type of musical composition, usually for a solo instrument or a small instrumental ensemble.

Example of Sonata

Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14, Op. 27 No. 2 (Moonlight Sonata)

Concerto

A musical piece written for a solo instrument (like a piano, violin, cello, trumpet, etc.) accompanied by a full orchestra.

Example of Concerto

Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35 by Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky.

Impressionism

A French movement developed by visual artists who favored vague, blurring images intended to capture an 'impression' of the subject.

Examples of Impressionist Painters

Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Vincent van Gogh.

Impressionism in Music

Emerged after the Romantic era from the 1890s to 1920s.

Characteristics of Impressionism in Music

Characterized by exotic scales, unresolved dissonances, rich orchestral tone colors, and free rhythm.

Examples of French Impressionist Composers

Claude Debussy (1862-1918), Maurice Ravel (1875-1937).

Claude Debussy, La Mer

A three symphonic sketches.

Movements of La Mer

De l'aube à midi sur la mer, Jeux de vagues, Dialogue du vent et de la mer.

Influence on La Mer

Influenced by the Japanese woodblock print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa.

Claude Debussy, Pagodes from Estampes

'Pagodes' is the first movement of Debussy's suite Estampes (1903).

Musical Exoticism in Pagodes

The music is directly inspired by the Indonesian Gamelan music he heard at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889.

Gamelan

A traditional Indonesian percussion orchestra, primarily from Java and Bali.

Characteristics of Gamelan

Uses a variety of metal-keyed instruments, gongs, and drums.

Scale used in Gamelan

Using Pentatonic (Five-note) scale.