1st Periodical

IMPRESSIONISM

*The 20th century is described as the age of musical diversity. Twentieth century music spanned between the end of nineteenth century to the earliest part of twentieth century. Composers were more creative and had freedom to experiment with new musical musical forms or reinvent musical forms of the past. They also took advantage of the resources and technology that were available to them.

*20th century music has seen a great coming and going of various movements. Four musical genres were seen during the period namely : impressionism, expressionism,electronic, and chance music

CLAUDE DEBUSSY

- one of the most influential and leading composers of the 20th century.

- the principal exponent of the impressionist movement and the inspiration for other impressionist composers

- reformed the course of musical development by eradicating traditional rules and conventions into a new language of possibilities in harmony, rhythm, form, texture, and color.

- born on August 22, 1862 in a small town called St. Germain-en-Layein in France.

- composed a total of more or less 227 masterpieces.

- orchestral music, chamber music, piano music, operas, ballets, songs, and other vocal music

- "Father of the Modern School of Composition"

- made his impact in the styles of the later 20th century composer like Igor Stravinsky.

- La Mer, Suite Bergamasque, Reverie, Children's Corner, Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, Petite Suite, String Quarter, Two Arabesques

MAURICE RAVEL

- born in Ciboure, France to a Basque mother and a Swiss father

- at age 14, he entered the Paris Conservatory. A French composer named Gabriel Faure musically nurtured him in the conservatory

- his compositional style is mainly characterized by its distinctively innovative but not atonal style of harmonic treatment.

- his works are defined with intricate and sometimes modal melodies and extended chordal components

*It demands considerable technical virtuosity from the performer which is the character, ability, or skill of a virtuoso

*Virtuoso - a person who is exemplary in musical technique or execution

- his defining composition is Bolero

*Bolero - is a one-movement orchestral piece. It premiered in 1928

- Piano Converto In G, Sonatine, La Valse, String Quartet, Piano Trio

EXPRESSIONISM

- this term was originally used in visual and literary arts and was probably first applied to music in 1918

Features of Expressionism

- high degree of dissonance

- quality of sound that seems unstable

- extreme contrast of dynamics

- pianissimo (very very soft) to fortissimo (very very loud)

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG

- born on September 13, 1874 in Vienna, Austria; died on July 13, 1951 in Los Angeles, California

- taught himself music theory but took lessons in counterpoint

- some of his works are: Veklarte Nacht; Three Pieces for Piano, op 11; Pierrot Lunaire; Violin Concerto; Skandalkonzert

- experienced Triskaidekaphobia (fear of number 13)

IGOR STRAVINSKY

- born on June 17, 1882; died on April 6, 1971

- his first notable composition "The Firebird Suite(1910)" which was composed for Diaghilev's Russian Ballet

- his skillful handling of material and rhythmic inventiveness went beyond anything written by his Russian predecessors

- Other acclaimed works: Ballet Petrouchka, The Nightingale, Three Tales for Children, Duo Concertant, The Rake's Progress

- wrote approximately 127 works, including concerti, orchestral music, instrumental music, operas, ballets, solo vocal, and choral music

*Concerti/Concerto - is a musical composition for a solo instruments accompanied by an orchestra, especially one conceived on a relatively large scale

*Expressionist music is a more abstract take on traditional Western tones that aims to convey deep emotion. Impressionist music, meanwhile, is all about capturing the mood of a moment

Electronic Music

- is one of the largest developments of the 20th century music. It was a period when composers searched for new technical resources and modes of expression to liberate themselves from main Classical Romantic tradition of tonal thinking to re construct their thinking along new lines.

*It employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production using musical produced largely by electronic components, such as telharmonium, Hamond organ, electric guitar, synthesizer, samplers, computers, and drum machines.

*During the 19th century, attempts were made to produce and record sounds mechanically or electromechanically. The invention of phonographs by Thomas Edison and Emile Berliner marked the birth of the recording industry and showed that all the acoustical content of musical sounds could be captured and retained for future use.

*The first electronic instruments were the Theremin invented by Professor Leon Theremin, and the Ondes Martenot invented by Maurice Martenot.

*Thaddeus Cahill built the from an assembly of rotary generators and telephone receivers that could convert electrical signals into sound.

*In 1906 Lee De Forest invented the Triode Vacuum Tube which led to amplification of electrical signals.

*Electronic music increased its popularity through the years and included many variations include:

1. Ambient Music – music identified by sounds which are built to stimulate an image or effect while being heard.

2. Break Beat – Music that utilizes the 4/4 drum routine.

3. Disco – high volume vocals over a rhythmic instrumentation pattern.

4. Drum and Bass – a type of dance track characterized by extremely fast brackets associated with huge bass line.

5. Techno – the most popular style of electronic dance music of 1980’s.

Edgar Varese

- a French – American composer who spent his early childhood in Paris and Burgundy. After composing without formal instruction as a youth, he later studied under Vincent d’Indy, Albert Roussel and Charles Widor and was strongly encouraged by Romain Rolland and Claude Debussy. He went to Berlin, where he was influenced by Richard Strauss and Ferruccio Busoni and later, migrated to the United States.

Musical Works

1. Octrande

2. Ionization

3. Equatorial

4. Poeme electronique

CHANCE MUSIC

- also known as Aleatoric music originates from a Latin word alea which mean dice is music wherein the composition or method of performance is determined by elements of chance or unpredictability. Composers o chance music choose pitches, tone colors, and Rhythms through random methods such as throwing coins or dice.

*It is interesting because performers are given certain amounts of freedom with regard to the sequencing and repetition of particular parts throughout a piece of music.

*Compositions that could be considered a precedent to chance or aleatory composition dates back to Johannes Ockeghem’s Missa Cuiusvis Toni and Musikalisches Wurfelspiel or musical dice game. It was popular in the late 18th and early 19th century and was attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. These games consisted of a sequence of musical measure had several possible versions and the procedure for selecting the precise sequence is based on throwing of dice.

John Cage

- was the most famous and influential creator of Chance Music. He Was an American composer whose inventive composition and unorthodox ideas profoundly influenced mid-20th century. He experimented on orthodox instruments such as prepared piano, tape recorded, record player, and radios.

Musical Works

1. Greek Ode

2. Three Easy

3. A chant with CLAPS

4. Back mountain piece