MUSC 1300 M2 Assigned Listening

String Quartet in Eb Major, Op. 33 no. 2, mov. IV (Joke)

Joseph Haydn, 1781

• Classical

• Opens with an easily recognizable tune that becomes a refrain, with the first violin taking the lead between the refrain and episodes

• Features rondo form (ABACA)

• The main tune is interrupted by pauses, tricking listeners into thinking the piece is over, or that the piece will continue when it’s already over

Symphony No. 94 in G Major (Surprise), mov. II

Joseph Haydn, 1791

• Classical

• Example of a theme-and-variations form movement – after the opening, the A section is repeated quietly until it ends with a loud surprise chord. Variations include countermelodies (shift to minor key), quick repeated notes, and triplet rhythm.

• Largely homophonic texture, characteristic of Classical period

Le Nozze di Figaro, Overture

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1786

• Classical

• Makes use of modified sonata form that skips the development section and goes right to the Recapitulation

• Opening theme is a quiet passage by the strings but is later contrasted with loud sections by the trumpets and drums

• Rapid tempo to set a chaotic, joyful mood for the rest of the opera

Le Nozze di Figaro, “Non su piu cosa son”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1786

• Classical

• Aria by Cherubino, played by a mezzo soprano to better convey the childish, immature character

• Melody is a descending scale pattern that becomes more passionate → transition then leads to a more intense emotional build that is repeated and varied with a final flourish.

Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, mov. I

Ludwig van Beethoven, 1804-1808

• Classical/Romantic, leaning Romantic

• Utilizes classical sonata-allegro form

• Theme 1: Rhythmic idea of three shorts and a long that serves as the basis for thematic development

• Theme 2: Lyrical, in contrast to theme 1

• Wide dynamic contrasts aligning more with Romantic period

• Extended coda that bursts with explosive energy

Erlkönig / Elfking

Franz Schubert, 1815

• Romantic

• Example of a through-composed Lied – avoids stanza-based repetition so that the music can follow the action of the story

• Sets to a poem by Goethe, emphasizes Romantic themes of nature/death/emotion/supernatural

• Eerie atmosphere established by piano, triplets suggest a horse or the child’s heartbeat

• Each character within the poem (narrator, father, child, elf king) are differentiated by changes in melody, register, harmony, rhythm, and accompaniment - elf king notably sings in a major key

In the Lovely Month of May

Robert Schumann, 1840

• Romantic

• Part of a larger song cycle with texts from the same poetry collection

• Winding melodic line that’s set syllabically - both verses rise to a climax

• Piano part moves somewhat freely in terms of rhythm/meter, characteristic of Romantic period

• Lack of resolution to the vocal ending creates an unresolved atmosphere

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Spiritual

• Text is loosely based on a passage from the biblical Second Book of Kings, in which the prophet Elijah is taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire

• Melody uses five-note pentatonic scale with several repetitions of music and text

• Strophic form with the first stanza as a chorus

Étude Op. 10, no. 12 (Revolutionary)

Frederic Chopin, 1831

• Romantic

• Makes use of rubato, where the performer can take some liberties without disrupting the basic pulse

• Virtuosic sixteenth note figurations with a separate dotted-rhythm melody that increases in complexity

• Dark, brooding emotions conveyed by C minor key, characteristic of Romantic period

September: At the River (from The Year)

Fanny Hensel, 1841

• Romantic

• Example of a character piece, is accompanied by drawing and poetic lines from Goethe

• Melancholic idea from haunting, meandering melody below a stream of notes signifying the river (Romantic)

• Modulates through various distant keys in the middle

• Polyphonic texture

Maple Leaf Rag

Scott Joplin, 1899

• Regular, sectional form – has four sixteen measure sections, and each section is repeated before the next one begins

• Moderate duple meter

• Syncopated rhythm of melodies

Symphonie Fantastique, mov. IV

Hector Berlioz, 1830

• Romantic

• Program music

  • March to the Scaffold: Dreams that he has to kill his beloved → fixed idea (clarinet) reappears for an instant, like a last thought of love interrupted by the fall of the blade (sudden chord)

• Features an idée fixe of the beloved

• Two main march themes that are strongly accented

• Diabolical mood with sudden dynamic changes

• Exemplifies Romantic period’s fascination with the grotesque and supernatural

Symphonie Fantastique, mov. V

Hector Berlioz, 1830

• Romantic

• Program music

  • Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath: Musician sees himself at a witches’ sabbath → idee fixe of his beloved becomes a grotesque, vulgar tune

• Features an idée fixe of the beloved

• Dissonant and chromatic harmonies

• Nightmarish mood evoked by unusual instrumental effects

• Features Dies irae (chant for the dead)

• Exemplifies Romantic period’s fascination with the grotesque and supernatural

Lucia di Lammermoor, “Il dolce suono”

Gaetano Donizetti, 1835

• Romantic opera

• Bel canto style

• High intensity of emotion

• Focus is on the main vocalist rather than orchestra

• Cavatina-cabaletta aria structure

  • Cavatina: Slow/lyrical, emotional and introspective

  • Cabaletta: Increases in meter with more virtuosic vocals

Madame Butterfly, “Un bel di”

Giacomo Puccini, 1904

• Late-Romantic opera

• Part of Exoticism movement

• Soaring melody line that alternates with a speech-like section

• Slow, dreamlike rhythm and expression

• Butterfly dreams of reunion with Pinkerton

The Nutcracker, “Sugar Plum Fairy”

Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky, 1892

• Classical ballet

• Features the celesta

• Short staccato melody with accents, homophonic texture

• ABA form

• Accelerates towards the end

Symphony in E minor, “Gaelic” Op. 32, mov. II

Amy Beach, 1894

• Romantic

• Folk inspired motifs reminiscent of Gaelic melodies

• Rich chromatic harmonies, typical of Romantic period

• Serene, lyrical passages with a dramatic middle section

Vltava / Die Moldau

Bedrich Smetana, 1874-1879

• Romantic

• Nationalism through a program symphony

• Progression of natural imagery in Czech Republic: River, forest hunt, peasant wedding, back to river (cyclic)

• Secondary folk-like melodies

• Flowing rhythms and melodies reminiscent of river, dance-like rhythm to convey peasant wedding