Mus 103 Final

Front 1

Voiles

Back 1

- Voiles (1909) by Claude Debussy, Impressionist (1862-1918)
- Symbolism, giving listeners an idea of a richer beyond
- Whole tone scale
- Concealment, hidden meanings

Front 2

Rite of Spring

Back 2

- Rite of Spring (1913) by Igor Stravinsky (1882 - 1971)
- Ostinato, pounding iterations (Dances of the Young Girls)
- Octatonic scale represents something supernatural, Pagan Russia in the case of Rite of Spring
- Dissonance from beginning to end, its about struggle
- Meant to be a tough thing for the orchestra to play
- At its core, a representation of springtime, primal forces, derived from ancient rituals performed by ancient Russians living on the steppe

Front 3

Beethoven's 9th Symphony

Back 3

- Composed 1824 by Beethoven (1770-1827)
- Experiments: Chorus, solo singers in final movement, the text in the final movement tells us about the rest of the movement in that its about coming together, a communion after all the dissonance (which is at the beginning of the movement)
- About transcendence, escaping national, political, etc. constraints -- European Union's anthem
- Lots of different possible forms: Theme and variation (because of the drinking song), rondo structure, oratorio, operatic hybrid, all of these things combined?
- Ultimately its about transcending musical form
- Starts in D minor, ends in D major (very unusual nonsymmetrical tonal structure)
- Takes parts from each of the previous movements, and is longer

Front 4

Pierrot Lunaire

Back 4

- Pierrot Lunaire (1912) by Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
- Free atonality: to hell with past/consonance, "emancipation of dissonance", music that is divorced from the major and minor key system
- Audience saw it as chaotic / lacking structure; he relied a lot on texts/words/singing for structure, and some older methods like imitation & canon
- Associated with expressionism
- Sprechstimme (speech singing), not really hitting notes but sliding just past them

Front 5

The Child and the Enchanted Object

Back 5

- Composed 1925 by Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937)
- "The Child is Good and Wise"
- Temper tantrum kid
- Neoclassicism relies on ancient, older forms

Front 6

Order:
As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending - Thomas Weelkes
Four Seasons - Antonio Vivaldi
Pange Lingua - Josquin Des Prés
Surprise Symphony - Joseph Haydn
Moro Losso - Carlo Gesualdo

Back 6

(1) Pange Lingua - Josquin Des Prés
(2) As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending - Thomas Weelkes
(3) Moro Losso - Carlo Gesualdo
(4) Four Seasons - Antonio Vivaldi
(5) Surprise Symphony - Joseph Haydn

Front 7

Different Trains

Back 7

- Composed 1989 by Steve Reich (b. 1936)
- Minimalist
- Phase shifting - simultaneous lines moving in and out of phase with each other
- Voices taken from interview w/ people before/during/after WWII
- Other minimalist composers: Phillip Glass, John Adams
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Front 8

Poème électronique

Back 8

- Composed 1958 by Edgar Varese (1883 -1965)
- Meant to be enjoyed walking around listening to speakers, up to 450
- Different sounds, spooky imagery
- Kind of neoclassical because its about preservation of the past
- Work can be performed the way composer wants even after they die because it is recorded

Front 9

Large things left to read about from the document

Back 9

- Plots of Tristan und Isolde and Sleeping Beauty, and how that plays into Wagner vs. Tchaikovsky
- Plot of The Child and the Enchanted Object (temper tantrum) by Maurice Ravel