Grade 12 Music History

Elfking

A 19th Century Art Song composed by Franz Schubert, typical of the Romantic Era due to its romantic themes and emotionally effective melodies.

Symphonie Fantastique

A Romantic Symphony by Hector Berlioz that employs program music and themes of unattainable love and exoticism.

Prelude in E minor

Romantic Piano Music by Frederic Chopin characterized by simple melodies, changing chords, and a contrast of tension and release.

Polonaise in Ab

Romantic Piano Music by Frederic Chopin known for its dramatic intro, rubato and expressive, singable melodies.

Prelude to 'The Afternoon of a Faun'

An Impressionist Symphony by Claude Debussy featuring obscured meter pulses and a shimmering sound.

Pierrot Lunaire

A German Expressionism work by Arnold Schoenberg that utilizes sprechstimme and is largely atonal.

Wozzeck

20th Century Opera by Alban Berg featuring atonal passages and unsingable melodies.

Symphony, Opus 21

A 20th Century Symphony by Anton Webern, characterized by atonality and Klangfarbenmelodie.

Petrushka

A 20th Century Ballet by Igor Stravinsky known for polytonality, the Petrushka chord and the use of Russian folk music.

Rodeo 'Hoe-Down'

A 20th Century Ballet by Aaron Copland incorporating American folk music and driving polyrhythms.

Billy the Kid

A 20th Century Ballet by Aaron Copland that uses complex rhythms, mixed meters and dissonance along with cowboy tunes.

Expressionism

A movement from the early 1900s characterized by atonal melodies, unresolved dissonance and rhythms that obscured bar lines, exemplified by 'Pierrot Lunaire'.

Impressionism

A late 19th-century movement away from Romanticism focusing on ordinary subjects, exemplified by 'Prelude to “The Afternoon of a Faun'.

Fixed Idea

A singable melody manipulated throughout a composition, exemplified in 'Symphonie Fantastique'.

Klangfarbenmelodie

A technique in which each note of a melody is played by different instruments, as demonstrated in 'Pierrot Lunaire'.

Through Composed

A form that does not repeat sections, follows a storyline, exemplified by 'The Erlking'.

Strophic

The repetition of a musical unit, such as a stanza or verse.

Sprechstimme

A vocal technique where the melody is spoken rather than sung, as seen in 'Pierrot Lunaire'.

Serialism

A technique involving the use of all 12 chromatic pitches in a tone row, exemplified by 'Symphony, Opus 21'.

Program Music

Music that is based on a poem, painting, or story, such as 'Symphonie Fantastique'.

Polytonality

The use of multiple keys simultaneously, as seen in 'Petrushka'.

Aria

An expressive solo vocal piece within an opera, exemplified by 'Wozzeck'.

Recitative

Sung yet unexpressive passages that convey plot information, as found in 'Wozzeck'.

Rhythm in Romantic Era

Characterized by complex and rubato rhythms, contrasting with polyrhythms in the 20th Century.

Meter in Romantic Era

Regular and symmetrical used in contrast to non-symmetrical meters of the 20th Century.

Melody in Romantic Era

Typically singable tunes compared to the unbalanced and unsingable melodies of the 20th Century.

Harmony in Romantic Era

Diatonic harmony, in contrast to quartal harmony (intervals of fourths) in the 20th Century.

Dissonance in Romantic Era

Generally prepared and resolved, unlike the unresolved dissonance of the 20th Century.

Tonality in Romantic Era

Expressive with lush chords compared to the atonality and polytonality of the 20th Century.

Form in Romantic Era

Expanded forms compared to the shortened forms in the 20th Century.

Timber/Orchestration in Romantic Era

Large orchestras with virtuoso performers, compared to leaner individual voices in the 20th Century.

5 facts about Hector Berlioz

1. Born in 1803 in a small town in France 

2. Went to Paris to study medicine, however his passion led him to study music instead 

3. When a Shakespearean troupe arrived in Paris, he fell in love with one of the actresses 

4. This time of infatuation led Berlioz to compose the best pieces 

5. Berlioz lost emotional strife during the relationship and died early at 66 years old

Themes of Romantic Era

Unattainable love, the struggling hero, and the supernatural.

Unique elements of Impressionist Music

Captures ordinary objects at specific times and uses parallel fifths and octaves for gliding sounds.

Themes of Contemporary Music

Escape from over-refinement and a desire to express abstract sound combinations.