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24 Cards in this Set
- Front
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atonality |
music that abandons the principal of tonality altogether and uses chords that don’t follow traditional harmonic rules (example: debussy “voiles”)
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character pieces |
19th century piano music based on a single idea or program (example: 'Carnavale' by Schumann) |
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commedia del’ arte |
a form of theatre characterized by masked “types” which began in Italy in the 16th century
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Expressionism |
movement in early 20th century characterized by a rejection of ‘traditional’ beauty in music (example: pierrot lunaire by Shoenberg)
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Florestan & Eusebius |
imaginary characters who appear in Schumann’s text: Florestan (the embodiment of Schumann's passionate, voluble side) and Eusebius (his dreamy, introspective side) (example: schumann carnavale) |
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Impressionism |
movement in Western art/music in late 1800s and early 1900s; impressionist composers used new chord combination, ambiguous tonality, extended harmonies (Debussy is impressionist)
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musical quotations |
practice of directly quoting another work in a new composition; (example, the ‘dies irae’ in berlioz's 'symphonie fantastique') |
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ostinato |
a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice (example: Schumann Carnavale) |
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Pierrot ensemble |
a musical ensemble comprising flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano, frequently augmented by the addition of a singer or percussionist, and/or by the performers doubling on other woodwind/stringed/keyboard instruments (pierrot lunaire by schoenberg)
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polytonality |
exact opposite of atonality: ‘polytonality’ means sounding two or more separate tonalities simultaneously (example: Ives, things our fathers loved) |
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prelude |
very loose term that describes any musical piece (usually for piano) of not-too-specific structure (example: debussy, preludes 'voiles) |
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rondo |
a musical piece (usually found at the end of a sonata) that returns to a recurring ‘A’ theme over and over again, like A-B-A-C-A-D-A-E-A etc…(example: haydn?)
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scherzo |
piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata, that replaces minuet as the 3rd movement |
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Sprechstimme |
expressionist vocal techniques between singing and speaking.
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string quartet |
small chamber ensemble composed of two violins, viola, and cello (example: Haydn’s string quartet in E flat, movement 1)
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The League of David |
a music society created by Robert Schumann in his writings (example: carnavale by schumann) |
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Schubert, Erlkönig |
Approx Date: 1810s Program/plot/text: A supernatural being (the ‘Elf King’) abducts a child, who dies in his father’s arms Genre: Lied Something noteworthy: It is VERY challenging to sing because a single vocalist must sing 4 characters with very different vocal ranges DUH DUH |
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Schumann, Carnaval |
Titles: ‘Preamble’, ‘Eusebius’, ‘Florestan’ Approx Date: 1830s Genre: PRELUDES Something noteworthy: All 21 pieces in Carnavale are connected by one recurring motif
PRETTY ALL PIANO-PIECES, NO TEXTS PREAMBLE = A PROUD MARCH EUSEBIUS = SOFT AND ROMANTIC FLORESTAN = SPAZZY FAST PIANO
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Debussy, Preludes
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Title: ‘Voiles’ Composer: Debussy Approx Date: 1910s Program/plot/text: NONE Genre: prelude Something noteworthy: example of atonality, uses chords that can’t be explained by regular rules of harmonics SOUNDS ALL GORGEOUS AND FLOATY AND DISSONANT |
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Ives, “The Things Our Fathers Loved”
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Title: ‘Things Our Fathers Loved’ Composer: Ives Approx Date: 1910s Program/plot/text: text is about nostalgia and American patriotism Genre: ?? Form: ?? Something noteworthy: polytonality HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE, AWFUL, MAN SINGING PRETTILY OVER HORRIBLE AWFUL PIANO CHORDS |
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Gershwin, “Summertime”
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Title: ‘Summertime’ Composer: Gershwin Approx Date: 1930s Program/plot/text: opening song of ‘porgy and bess’; a young woman sings about happiness of summertime Genre: Opera Form: Aria Something noteworthy: inspired by african-american spirituals UM DUH |
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Haydn, String Quartet in E-flat, op. 33, no. 2 Movement 1 |
Title: String Quartet in E flat, Movement 1 (aka “The Joke”) Composer: Haydn Approx Date: 1780s Program/plot/text: NONE Genre: string quartet Form: sonata Something noteworthy: written for the Russian royal family PRETTY AND CLASSICAL SOUNDING |
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Schoenberg, Pierrot lunaire:
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Title: “Moondrunk” “Loot” “The Moonfleck” Composer: Schoenberg Approx Date: 1910s Program/plot/text: ‘Moondrunk’ compares moonlight to wine ‘Loot’ describes the theft of ‘ancient royalty’s red rubies’ ‘Moonfleck’ the protagonist (named Pierrot) finds a white fleck on his shoulder and he thinks it’s plaster but it won’t rub off because it’s really MAGICAL Genre: melodrama Something noteworthy: inspired by German cabaret-style singing, this piece is always performed by a woman THIS IS JUST A LADY SCREAMING IN GERMAN OVER HORRIBLE SCREECHING VIOLIN DISSONANCE |
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Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
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Title: Rite of Spring (‘Introduction’, ‘Signs of Spring’, ‘Glorification of Chosen Victim’, ‘Sacrificial Dance’) Composer: Stravinsky Approx Date: 1910s Program/plot/text: a pagan ritualistic sacrifice Genre: ballet Something noteworthy: critics HATED the choreography SOUNDS LIKE A BIZZARE/CREEPY OLD FILM SCORE LIKE WIZARD OF OZ |
