Music History FINAL EXAM

4’33”

A three-movement composition by John Cage, famously consisting entirely of silence. It challenges the definition of music and directs attention to ambient sounds.

Aleatoric Music

Music in which some element of the composition or performance is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer(s). John Cage was a significant proponent.

All-interval tetrachord

A four-note chord that contains all six possible intervals (minor second, major second, minor third, major third, perfect fourth, and tritone). Often associated with the Second Viennese School and serialism.

Bird Song

The vocalizations of birds, which have inspired and been incorporated into musical compositions by various composers, including Olivier Messiaen.

“Charm of Impossibilities”

A phrase often associated with the music of Conlon Nancarrow, referring to the seemingly impossible rhythmic complexities and polyphonies in his player piano works.

Combinatoriality

A property of some tone rows in twelve-tone technique where different segments of the row (or transformations of it) can be combined to form aggregates (collections of all twelve pitch classes) without duplication.

Darmstadt

A city in Germany that became a central hub for the development of new music after World War II, particularly serialism and electronic music, through the Summer Courses for New Music.

Extended techniques

Unconventional methods of playing musical instruments to create new sounds and timbres, such as bowing inside a piano, flutter-tonguing a wind instrument, or using preparations on a string instrument.

Graphic Notation

A system of musical notation that uses visual symbols and shapes instead of traditional notes and rhythms to indicate musical ideas, often allowing for greater performer interpretation.

Holy Minimalists

A term often used to describe a group of composers in the late 20th century, including Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki, and John Tavener, whose music is characterized by its simplicity, spirituality, and often slow tempos.

In C

A minimalist piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964. It consists of 53 short, numbered musical phrases that performers repeat a variable number of times, creating a slowly evolving and unique sonic experience.

Indeterminacy of Composition

An approach to composition where some elements of the musical structure or content are left unspecified by the composer and are determined by chance operations or other non-intentional methods. Associated with John Cage.

Indeterminacy of Performance

An approach to performance where certain aspects of the realization of a musical work are left to the performer's discretion or are determined by chance during the performance itself.

Metric Modulation

A compositional technique where the tempo changes gradually by using a note value from the first tempo as a new note value in the second tempo. Pioneered by Elliott Carter.

Microtonal Music

Music that uses intervals smaller than the semitones found in traditional Western music. Composers like Harry Partch and Alois Hába explored these systems.

Minimalism

A style of music that emerged in the 1960s, characterized by repetitive patterns, gradual changes over time, and often a consonant harmonic language. Key figures include Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass.

Modes of Limited Transposition

Scales or modes that yield fewer than twelve distinct transpositions because they repeat patterns within the octave. Olivier Messiaen extensively used these modes in his compositions.

Musique Concrète

A form of electroacoustic music that uses recorded sounds (natural, industrial, etc.) as its primary sonic material, which are then manipulated and organized into a musical composition. Pioneered by Pierre Schaeffer.

New Romanticism/Neo-Romanticism

A late 20th-century movement in music where composers returned to the expressive and lyrical language of the 19th-century Romantic era, often in reaction to the perceived complexities of modernism.

Non-retrogradable rhythm

A rhythmic pattern that sounds the same whether played forwards or backwards (a palindrome). Olivier Messiaen explored these rhythms extensively.

Ondes Martenot

An early electronic musical instrument invented by Maurice Martenot. It produces a unique, ethereal sound and was used by composers like Olivier Messiaen.

Performance Art

An art form that combines elements of visual art, theater, music, and other disciplines, often emphasizing the actions and presence of the artist. Some composers have integrated performance art elements into their work.

Phase Music

A minimalist compositional technique where two or more identical musical patterns are played simultaneously but gradually go out of synchronization with each other, creating shifting rhythmic and melodic relationships. Associated with Steve Reich.

Quartet for the End of Time

A chamber work composed by Olivier Messiaen while he was a prisoner of war during World War II. It is scored for clarinet, violin, cello, and piano and is deeply spiritual and reflective.

“Schoenberg Is Dead”

A provocative headline from a 1952 article by Pierre Boulez, which was interpreted as a declaration of the end of the Second Viennese School's dominance and a call for new directions in music.

Set Theory

A branch of music theory that provides tools for analyzing the structure of atonal music, often using concepts like pitch classes, sets, and transformations. Developed significantly by Allen Forte.

Synthesizers

Electronic musical instruments that generate sound through the manipulation of electronic signals. They became increasingly important in popular and art music from the mid-20th century onwards.

The Beatles

A highly influential British rock band of the 1960s known for their innovative songwriting, studio experimentation, and incorporation of diverse musical styles, bridging the gap between popular and art music.

Third Stream

A term coined by Gunther Schuller to describe a musical genre that integrates classical music and jazz improvisation.

Tintinnabuli

A compositional style developed by Arvo Pärt, characterized by simple triadic or diatonic melodies moving step-wise against sustained tones or arpeggiated figures, creating a bell-like sound.

Tone Clusters

Chords consisting of three or more adjacent notes in a scale, often played on the piano using the fist, forearm, or a flat hand. Henry Cowell was a pioneer in their use.

Total Serialism

An extension of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique where not only pitch but also other musical parameters such as rhythm, dynamics, and articulation are serialized. Associated with composers like Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen in the post-World War II era.

War Requiem

A large-scale choral work by Benjamin Britten, composed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral in 1962. It juxtaposes the traditional Latin Requiem Mass with anti-war poems by Wilfrid Owen.

“Who Cares if You Listen?”

A famous essay by composer Milton Babbitt, arguing for the autonomy and intellectual rigor of advanced contemporary music, even if it is not widely understood or appreciated by the general public.

Wilfrid Owen

An English poet of World War I, known for his powerful and poignant poems about the horrors of war. His poetry is featured prominently in Benjamin Britten's War Requiem.