Music from the 9 th to the 20 th centuries
Music: In Paradisum (Anonymous, 9 th century) Monophonic plainchant or plainsong, unmetered Painting: Madonna and Child Enthroned, Margaritone di Arezzo, c. 1270
Medieval Era ( ) In Paradisum, 9 th century, by an anonymous composer. Genre: Gregorian chant or plainchant. Texture: monophony. Sacred. Columba aspexit, 12 th century, by Hildegard of Bingen ( ). Genre: Gregorian chant or plainchant. Texture: monophony. Sacred. La dousa votz, 12 th century, by Bernart de Ventadorn (c ). Genre: Troubadour song. Texture: monophony (w/ lute accomp.)
Madonna by Giotto di Bondone ( ) Bridging the 13 th and 14 th centuries, Giotto broke from the Byzantine tradition of stylized, two-dimension icons, moving toward a more representation style of painting.
Renaissance ( ) Guillaume Dufay, Ave Maris Stella Josquin Despres, “Pange Lingua” Mass, Kyrie Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Pope Marcellus Mass, Gloria Thomas Weelkes, madrigal, “As Vesta was from Latmos Hill Descending”
Portrait of a Humanist, by Sebastiano del Piombo ( , Venetian)
The Baroque era ( ) Characteristics: – The beginning of opera with Monteverdi – Terraced dynamics – Complex melody, ornamentation – Functional harmony Key Composers from listening list: Claudio Monteverdi ( ) J. S. Bach ( ) G. F. Handel ( )
Baroque Opera Examples Claudio Monteverdi, The Coronation of Poppea (1642). Genre: opera seria. New technique: monody “Tornerai?” Recitative. “Speranza tu mi vai.” Aria. G. F. Handel, Julius Caesar. Genre: opera seria. “La giustizia.” Aria
Baroque Keyboard works J. S. Bach, Goldberg Variations, (variation 1). Texture: polyphony. Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue in C Major. Genre: fugue for keyboard. Texture for the fugue: polyphony.
Classical Era ( ) New: The symphony (4 movements) The classical concerto (double exposition form) Sonata form: (exposition, development, recapitulation) Opera buffa
Classical Era Composers Franz Joseph Haydn ( ) – Symphony No. 95 in C Minor W. A. Mozart ( ) – Symphony No 40 in G Minor – Overture to The Marriage of Figaro (Genre: opera) – Don Giovanni (Genre: opera) Ludwig Van Beethoven ( ) – Symphony No. 5 in C Minor
Three Figures Dressed for a Masquerade (1740s), Louis-Joseph Lorrain, (French, )
Romantic Era ( ) New: Extremes of size: miniatures such as piano character pieces, Lied; and grandiose compositions such as symphonies with huge orchestras, perhaps an extra movement Rubato: “stolen time,” a flexible tempo within the bar which allows for expressiveness Chromaticism: the use of notes outside the key for expressiveness
Early 20th Century: Early Modernism ( ) Impressionism: Claude Debussy; ex. Clouds (Nuages) from Three Nocturnes; 1899; impressionistic tone poem Modernism: Igor Stavinsky; ex. The Rite of Spring, ballet, “Dance of the Adolescents;” Expressionism: Arnold Schoenberg; ex. “Night” (“Nacht”) from the song cycle Pierrot Lunaire; 1912
Arnold Schoenberg, Began in the late Romantic tradition with typically Romantic large-scale compositions Rejected tonality for atonality in Pierrot Lunaire (1912) and other works. Expressionist use of Sprechstimme in Pierrot Lunaire Developed the twelve-tone system of composition (rows of 12 tones, none repeated, avoiding a tonal center) Known for his quote about “the emancipation of dissonance”—that dissonance is now free not to resolve.
John Cage, Interest in Zen Buddhism influenced his music Creator of chance music, otherwise known as aleatory music (from the Latin verb to throw dice) Works with the element of chance; the performer has a choice of timings, pitches,etc. Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano (1948) Famous performance piece 4’:33” (1952)
Mid-Late 20 th Century Traditionalism: Samuel Barber ( ), Adagio for Strings (1936) from his String Quartet Op.11. Tonality and melody both important. Experimental: John Cage; ex. Sonata No. 5 for Prepared Piano, from Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano; Minimalism: Steve Reich; ex. Music for 18 Musicians; Post-Minimalism: David Lang; ex. Cheating, Lying, Stealing;