quiz 10 western music

"Im wunderschönen Monat Mai" (composer)

Schumann

"Im wunderschönen Monat Mai" (Genre)

Lied from a song cycle

Song cycle

is a group of songs designed to be performed in sequence, often related by a common theme or story.

"Im wunderschönen Monat Mai" (Form)

strophic-ish but ends unresolved

strophic

form characterized by repeating the same music for each stanza

"Im wunderschönen Monat Mai" (Special Features)

features a melody that captures the sense of longing and an unresolved harmonic structure.

"Die alten, bösen Lieder" (composer)

Schumann

"Die alten, bösen Lieder" (Genre)

Lied (song cycle finale)

"Die alten, bösen Lieder" (form)

Through-composed

"Die alten, bösen Lieder" (special features)

Huge contrast: dramatic vocal line vs. gentle piano postlude; Postlude recalls earlier cycle themes → circular, psychological storytelling

Through-composed

A musical form where each section is composed continuously without repeating earlier sections, creating a varied texture.

Nocturne in F-sharp Major, Op. 15 No. 2 (composer)

Chopin

Nocturne in F-sharp Major, Op. 15 No. 2 (genre)

Character piece, nocturne for solo piano

Nocturne in F-sharp Major, Op. 15 No. 2 (form)

A B A simple ternary 

Nocturne in F-sharp Major, Op. 15 No. 2 (special features)

expressive right-hand melody (bel canto style); Lush ornamentation (grace notes, runs); Rubato and chromatic harmony → dream-like atmosphere; B section more agitated, virtuosic contrast.

Transcendental Étude No. 8 in C Minor ("Wild Hunt") (composer)

Liszt

Transcendental Étude No. 8 in C Minor ("Wild Hunt") (genre)

Concert etude (technical showpiece)

Transcendental Étude No. 8 in C Minor ("Wild Hunt") (Form)

Modified ternary, rhapsodic virtuosic structure 

Transcendental Étude No. 8 in C Minor ("Wild Hunt") (special features)

Extreme technical demands (leaps, repeated chords); Galloping "hunt" rhythm + horn-call figures; Heroic, programmatic spirit → Romantic virtuoso identity; Dynamic contrasts evoke chaos and danger.

Overture to a midsummer nights dream (composer)

Mendelssohn

Overture to a midsummer nights dream (genre)

Concert overture, programmatic orchestral piece

Overture to a midsummer nights dream (Form)

Sonata

Overture to a midsummer nights dream (special features)

High, fast fairy music (staccato strings/woodwinds); Donkey braying motive (Bottom); Lovers' lyrical theme; Light textures; clarity, balance reminiscent of Classical style; Composed when Mendelssohn was 17 — early Romantic masterpiece.

Symphonie Fantastique (composer)

Hector Berlioz

Symphonie Fantastique (genre)

Program Symphony, A multi-movement orchestral work that tells a story through music.

Symphonie Fantastique (Form)

5 movements, each with a narrative

Symphonie Fantastique (special features)

Idée fixe (recurring theme representing the beloved); Radical orchestration and huge ensemble; Movements depict: obsession → dance → pastoral → march to the scaffold → witches' sabbath; Examples of musical storytelling: Guillotine effect in movement IV; Dies irae + grotesque transformations in V; Autobiographical inspiration (Harriet Smithson).