music

Impressionism

Philosophical and aesthetic term borrowed from the late 19th century, the French painting after Monet’s impression, sunrise.

  • Claude Debussy - first impressionist composer but he vigorously rejected it. Beard.

  • Maurice ravel - French composer, pianist, and conductor. No beard, looks like politician…

Expressionism

  • higher level of dissonance

  • Extreme contrasts of dynamics

  • Constantly changing textures

  • Distorted melodies and harmonies

  • Angular melodies with wide leaps

  • Extremes of pitch

  • No cadences

Composers:

  • Arnold Schoenberg: invented serialism, evolution from expressionism.

  • Igor Stravinsky: Russian born composer, pianist, and conductor. One of the most important/influential composers of the 20th century

Music of Africa

Nature, ceremonial rites like: birth, death marriage, succession, worship, and spirit invocations.

Afrobeat- fusion of west African with black American music

Apala(akpala) - from Nigeria in the Yoruba tribal style to wake up worshippers after fasting

Axe - popular musical genre. Fuses Afro-Caribbean styles of the marcha, reggae, and calypso

Jit - hard and fast percussive Zimbabwean dance

Jive -South African music. Lively, swing dance like a jitterbug.

Juju - from nigeria that relies on the traditional Yoruba rhythms

Kwassa-Kwassa - Zaire 1980’s kanda bongo popularized it.

Marabi- three-chord township music.

Percussion instruments:

Shekere - the rattle

Agidigbo - thumb piano

Agogo - bell two or tree talking drums

Blues - expressive and soulful

Spiritual - deeply religious

Call and response - two distinct musical phrases usually rendered by different musicians. One respond to the other.