Untitled Flashcards Set

Baroque Era (1600-1750)

• 1750

  • Death of J.S. Bach

• New Genre

  • Opera

    • Starts in Italy

    • Secular entertainment

    • C. 1600, a group called the Florentine Camerata (In Italy)

      • Inspired by music & drama of Ancient Greece

    • Madrigals & Mystery Plays

      • Background of what would become opera

    • Combined drama/plays w/ singing/music

    • Combines all art forms

      • Vocal music, Instrumental music (Orchestra), Scenery, Costumes, Drama/Acting, Sometimes dance (Ballet)

    • Composer of Opera

      • Writes music

    • Librettist

      • Provides text/words to be set to music

    • Monteverdi (Italian)

      • C. 1607 composes “Or Feo”, first opera 

      • By 1637, first public opera house was built in Italy

    • Subject Matter?

      • Greek & Roman mythology

      • Ancient History

    • Old church choirs would often castrate the boys so they could keep their high pitched voices but continue to grow

    • Components of Opera: 

      • The Overture

        • Always first

        • Orchestra only

        • Intro

      • Choruses

        • Large groups of singers

      • Ensembles (Vocal)

        • 2,3,+

        • Main Characters

      • Recitatives

        • Sung to convey plot

        • Usually not rhythmic or melodic

      • Aria

        • The emotion of the story

        • Big Singing scene by the main talent

• Instrumental music of the Baroque Era

  • Keyboard instruments - evolves over time

    • Pipe organs (used in churches) - action is air activated (pumps air into pipes that vibrate when played)

    • Harpsichord - plucked action (by a hook called a plectrum)

    • Piano (late 1700s) - hammered action (strings were hit by hammers)

  • New genre - sonata (for a solo instrument + keyboard)

    • Figured bass - chord symbols of how to harmonize the keyboard part (usually numbers)

      • Keyboard would improvise on the figured bass symbols - called realization

      • Bass line would be doubled by a bass range instrument (typically cello or bassoon) - called the basso continuo

    • Early sonatas would have 4 movements (chapters of the song) - 1st and 3rd movements were slow, 2nd and 4th movements were fast

    • Only had 3 people involved - would later become 2 people after the Baroque Era

  • Another new genre - concerto

    • Solo instrument + orchestra

    • Only 3 movements - 1st is fast (allegro), 2nd is slower (adagio). 3rd is faster (allegro-presto)

  • Stringed instruments evolve in Italy - great instrument makers that include Amati Guarneri, and Stradivari (all based in Cremona, Italy)

    • Antonio Vivaldi - composer who wrote a set of 4 violin concertos (concerti) called the Four Seasons: based on four sonnets (poems) that he wrote

      • This was an early example of program music - evokes visual and literary imagery

    • Ritornello - repeating theme

• Basso Continuo

  • an accompanying part that includes a bassline and harmonies

  • typically played on a keyboard instrument and with other instruments such as cello 

• Realization 

  • Creating music on the spot

  • Typically an accompaniment

• Concierto 

  • A musical composition that features a soloist with an accompanying orchestra

• Early Italian/Mythology & Ancient history as subject matter

  • Called Opera Seria

    • Based on tragic themes

English Opera

• Comes later ~100 years after Monteverdi

• Henry Purcell

  • Wrote “Dido and Aeneas)

    • 1st listening we have is the Aria from “When I am laid to Earth” or “Dido’s Lament”

    • Dido’s Lament

      • Composed over a repeating bass line called a ground bass

      • Aria

• Penitent times of Catholic Church calendar

  • Lent for example

  • No opera, parties, etc… allowed

Oratorio

• Large scale vocal, religious musical works

• Musical substitute during Lent, when opera was not allowed

• Biblical subject matter

• No drama/acting

• Choruses were much more catholic

  • Represented the congregation

• No scenery, costumes or dancing

• Still use components in both genres

Johann Sebastien Bach (1685-1750)

• His death ends the Baroque era

• Born in Germany

• Organist 

• Composer 

• His music represents a culmination of the polyphonic style

  • Known as counterpoint

  • “Note against note”

• Court of Weimar (1708-1717)

  • Bach is the court organist for the Duke

  • Wrote a lot of music for the Pipe Organ

  • Perfects a form called “The Fugue” (3,4 voices)

    • Have an opening monophonic theme called “The Subject”

    • Then the answer, then counter subject

    • Augmentation

      • A short note becomes a much longer note

• Diminution

  • Shortening a long note

• Retrograde

  • Play the subject backwards

• Inversion

  • Flip the subject upside down

• Court of Cothen, works for Prince of Anhalt-Cothen (1717-1723)

  • Bach writes mostly Secular music

    • Sonatas

    • Concerti

    • Instrumental music

  • 6 Brandenburg concertos

    • Concerto grosso

      • “Group” of soloists

• St. Thomas Kirche (Church) (1723-1750)

  • Leipzig, Germany

    • He would help out churches all over the city but St. Thomas is the main one

  • Musical genre performed most sundays 

    • Cantata

      • Short (20-25 minutes)

      • Choir w/ an orchestra

      • A mini-oratorio

      • Based on liturgical texts for that week

      • Most cantatas are sacred but he did write one about coffee

      • Based on pre-existing chorale tune

      • The chorale tune would be the last part of the cantata so the congregation would sing along

    • Cantata #80 “A Mighty Fortress)

      • Uses that chorale tune from Martin Luther as musical theme

  • St. Matthew Passion

    • Oratorio

  • Wrote over 300 cantatas

• Bach Gessel Schaft

  • Collection of all Bach’s works published

  • Starts around 1850

• B.W.V (1040)

  • Bach Werke Verzeichnis

    • Thematic catalog of Bach’s works

    • Over 1000+

The Classical Era

• Franz Joseph Haydn (Hi-den)

  • 1732-1809

  • Gets a post at the Court of Esterhazy

    • In Hungary

    • He was a servant, but had a secure livelihood

    • His patron was the Prince of Esterhazy

    • He will develop the genre of the Symphony

  • Symphony

    • Multi movement work for Orchestra

    • Came out for the Orchestral opera overture idea

• Early orchestras in Haydn’s time

  • Strings

    • Pairs of woodwinds

      • Flutes, oboes and bassoons

      • No clarinets yet

    • Brass

      • French horns and trumpets

    • Percussion

      • Tympani

• Chamber Music

  • Small groups of instruments

    • String quartet

      • 1st Violin, 2nd Violin, Viola & Cello

    • Piano Trio

      • Violin, Cello & Piano

    • Piano Quintet

      • String quartet + Piano

• Absolute Music

  • Instrumental music w/o imagery

  • Titles like symphony #104, DM

• Hoboken

  • The B.W.V. of Haydn

  • A collection of Haydn’s work

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

  • Born in Salzburg, Austria

  • New in Vienna

    • Wrote lots of piano concertos

    • Switch from harpsichord to piano

      • Piano is new and everyone wants to hear the new instrument

    • Writing new music for the piano

  • Antonio Salieri

    • Confessed to killing Mozart but it was not true

    • He was jealous of Mozart and wanted to be connected to Mozart for something

• 1st mvmt. Of concerto

  • Uses Sonata-allegro form, but with a double exposition

  • Near the end of the 1st mvmt., the orchestra stops playing and then there is a solo cadenza

    • Cadenza

      • Soloist improvises on themes

• Marriage of Figaro “Le Nozze di Figaro 

  • 1786

  • Mozart writes an Opera

  • Writes it w/ court librettist Lorenzo da Ponte

  • Based on a play by French playwright Beaumarchais

  • Satire- making fun of the ruling class/royals

  • In France, 1789 

    • French Revolution

  • Play was banned in France because it was too political

  • Opera buffa

    • Comic opera

  • Portrays real life characters like servants

  • Cosa Sento- Listening for exam

    • Deep and High pitched male voice

    • High pitched womans voice

    • Men harmonize

• Commissioned to write a Requiem Mass (Mass for the Dead)

  • Count Walsegg commissioned Mozart 

  • For the death of the Counts wife

  • Mozart thought the Requiem was for his own death

• Kochel x

  • The catalog for Mozart’s music

  • Kochel 626

    • His final work

• Beethoven (1770-1827) - born in Bonn, Germany

  • Goes to Vienna at age 22 and stays

  • By his late 20s, starts to go deaf

    • Heiligenstadt Testament (1802) - suicide note (but doesn't do it) where he complains about being deaf

  • Early period of composition sounds "classical

  • Middle period - "Heroic Period"

    • Symphony no.3 - Eroica

  • Beethoven is a bridge from Classicism to Romanticism

  • Symphony no. 5 - game changer

    • 1st movement in sonata-allegro (c minor) - first 8 notes are heard as fate knocking on the door, oboe cadenza in the middle relaxes tension; motive (theme) used throughout the movement; extreme dynamics

    • 2nd movement - slow with a different key; based on a theme with variations; motive from the first movement used

    • 3rd movement - differs from the norm (minuet form) and instead is a scherzo (much faster minuet); motive from the first movement used, end of the 3rd goes directly into the 4th

    • 4th movement - adds instruments (trombones and piccolo)

  • Making a living - had individual patrons, usually noblemen who would commission him for works, also got stipends from some of them

    • Also gave piano and composition lessons early on (usually adult students)

    • Signed lucrative publishing contracts - knew his worth and made his own way

  • Symphony no. 9 "Choral - last movement "Ode to Joy" is the famous part of it

• His ability to blend different musical styles and forms showcased his innovative approach, which further solidified his reputation as a leading composer of his time.