The approximate dates of the Baroque period are: |
1600-1750. |
Which of the following does NOT characterize the Baroque era? |
an age of freedom and democracy |
John Milton’s Paradise Lost is an epic poem expressing the views of: |
Protestantism |
Which best describes how Baroque musicians made a living? |
as servants to royalty or nobility as members of the church as employees of a free city |
The Baroque period witnessed a new style of music, which featured a single vocal melody with accompaniment. This was known as: |
monody |
The introduction of monody in music represented a major shift in texture from: |
polyphonic to homophonic. |
The group of early Baroque writers, artists, and musicians whose aim was to resurrect the musical drama of ancient Greece was known as: |
the Florentine Camerata. |
The ideas and music of the Florentine Camerata led the way directly toward: |
the development of opera. |
Which two instruments would most likely have played the basso continuo in the Baroque era? |
cello and harpsichord |
The Baroque technique of placing numerals, indicating the harmony required, above or below the bass notes, is called: |
figured bass. |
The primary tonality used during the Baroque was: |
major-minor. |
A system of slightly adjusting the tuning of intervals within the octave, thus making it possible to play in every major and minor key, was called: |
equal temperament |
All of the following characterize Baroque musical style EXCEPT: |
harmonies built on the early church modes. |
Which best describes the relentless beat and regular accent of later Baroque music? |
vigorous rhythm |
The artificially created male soprano or alto who dominated opera was known as: |
the castrato. |
The Baroque performance practice where musicians embellished the melodies was called: |
improvisation. |
Women’s roles in Baroque music: |
expanded into professional performance careers including opera |
A drama that is sung is called: |
a madrigal. |
The vocal style in opera that imitates the natural inflections of speech is called: |
madrigal. |
It was through the musical innovations of the _____ that opera was born. |
Florentine Camerata |
A highly emotional song in an opera is called: |
an aria. |
The orchestral introduction heard at the beginning of an opera is called: |
an overture. |
The text of an opera is called: |
the libretto. |
Who is best viewed as the first master of opera? |
Monteverdi |
The earliest operas took their plots from: |
Greek mythology. |
The English type of entertainment combining music, poetry, and dance was called: |
masque. |
The greatest native English composer of the Baroque was: |
Henry Purcell. |
Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas was composed for: |
a girl’s school production. |
On which epic poem was Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas based? |
Virgil’s The Aeneid |
Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s opera Dido and Aenaes is composed: |
over a ground bass. |
The sacred cantata was an integral part of the: |
Lutheran church. |
The chorale is a type of hymn tune created by: |
Martin Luther. |
The chorale tune A Mighty Fortress Is Our God was: |
written by Martin Luther. |
The opening movement of Bach’s cantata A Mighty Fortress Is Our God is best described as: |
a chorale fugue. |
Which does NOT characterize an oratorio? |
elaborate scenery |
George Frideric Handel was considered a master of: |
the oratorio. |
Late in life, Handel turned his efforts from the opera to: |
the oratorio. |
Handel’s Messiah is: |
an oratorio. |
The famous choral climax in Part II of Handel’s Messiah is: |
"Hallelujah Chorus." |
The first era of Western music in which instrumental music was as important as vocal music was the: |
Baroque era. |
The Baroque era witnessed the appearance of the: |
solo concerto. concerto grosso. |
The instrumental form based on the contrast of two dissimilar masses of sound is called: |
the concerto. |
The solo concerto is: |
an instrumental work, usually in three movements, that features one performer supported by an accompanying group of instruments. |
Who was the greatest and most prolific Italian composer of concertos? |
Vivaldi |
Vivaldi lived and worked in: |
Venice. |
Which of the following is a well known set of concertos by Vivaldi? |
The Four Seasons |
The solo instrument in Spring from The Four Seasons is: |
the violin. |
The opening movement of Spring from The Four Seasons features _____ |
ritornello form. |
Who composed the Brandenburg Concertos? |
Bach |
Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos comprise _____ separate concertos. |
six |
The accompanying group in a concerto grosso is called: |
the ripieno. |
The solo group in a concerto grosso is called: |
the concertino |
Which of the following dance types was NOT standard in a Baroque suite? |
tarantella |
A gigue is best described as: |
a lively sextuple-meter dance. |
What is the form of the individual movements in a suite? |
binary |
Water Music by Handel is best described as a: |
suite. |
Handel’s Water Music opens with a: |
French overture. |
During his lifetime, Bach held the position of: |
-cantor of St. Thomas’s Church in Leipzig. -court organist and chamber musician to the duke of Weimar. -court musician to the prince of Anhalt-Cthen. |
Bach was most famous in his day as a performer on: |
the organ. |
In the field of keyboard music, Bach’s most important collection was: |
The Well Tempered Clavier. |
Which of the following is a set of forty eight preludes and fugues by Bach? |
The Well Tempered Clavier |
Which was NOT an important keyboard instrument in the Baroque? |
the piano |
A keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked by quills is: |
the harpsichord. |
The harpsichord is different from the piano because: |
it usually has two keyboards, rather than one. its strings are plucked, rather than struck. it is not capable of a wide dynamic range. |
What is a toccata? |
an improvisatory, virtuosic keyboard work |
A chorale prelude: |
is a work for organ. introduces the chorale to be sung by the congregation. displays the virtuosity of the organist. |
The _____ is a keyboard form based on the principle of voices imitating each other. |
fugue |
What is the principal element of a fugue? |
counterpoint |
In a fugue, the areas of relaxation where the subject is not heard are called: |
episodes. |
After the fugue subject is stated, the second entrance of the subject is called the: |
answer. |
Of the following, which is NOT a contrapuntal device that alters the original theme? |
prelude |
In a fugue, the technique of stating the theme in faster rhythmic values is called: |
diminution. |
The opening section of a fugue, in which all voices introduce the subject successively, is called the: |
exposition. |
How many preludes and fugues are contained in the two Well Tempered Clavier volumes? |
48 |
Bach’s last demonstration of contrapuntal mastery was: |
The Art of Fugue. |
How many voices, or individual lines, are there in Bach’s Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue? |
four |
In which voice is the subject first heard in Contrapunctus I from The Art of Fugue? |
the second to top voice, or alto |
Amateur music making at home was popular during the Baroque era. T/F |
True |
The new Baroque style of vocal music for one singer with instrumental accompaniment was known as monophony. T/F |
False |
During the Baroque era, some boy singers were castrated to preserve the high register of their voices, allowing them to sing high pitched operatic roles. T/F |
True |
Handel wrote his oratorio Messiah over a period of four years. T/F |
False |
The "Hallelujah Chorus" is the climax of the Easter section of Messiah. T/F |
True |
The Baroque period was the first in which instrumental music was comparable in importance to vocal music. T/F |
True |
Baroque composers, like their Renaissance counterparts, generally did not specify instrumentation. T/F |
False |
Today, Baroque music is played exclusively on modern instruments. T/F |
False |
Antonio Vivaldi became known as "the red priest" because of his fanatical religious beliefs. T/F |
False |
Vivaldi lived in Venice, where he taught music at a girls’ school. T/F |
True |
Vivaldi’s solo concertos typically had four movements. T/F |
False |
Handel’s Water Music was performed without continuo instruments when played outdoors. T/F |
True |
The Hornpipe from Handel’s Water Music is in A-B-A form. T/F |
True |
Johann Sebastian Bach lived a short, unhappy life and had no children. T/F |
False |
During his lifetime, Johann Sebastian Bach was primarily known as a great organist. T/F |
True |
The three main keyboard instruments of the Baroque were the harpsichord, organ, and piano. T/F |
False |
The strings of a harpsichord are plucked by quills. T/F |
True |
The clavichord was a popular instrument for the home. T/F |
True |
The prelude originated in improvisation on keyboard instruments. T/F |
True |
Bach’s chorale prelude A Mighty Fortress Is Our God is based on a well known Lutheran chorale tune. T/F |
True |
A fugue is a form exclusively for solo keyboard performance. T/F |
False |
A fugue is a contrapuntal composition in which a single subject is the focal point, thus unifying the work. T/F |
True |
At the beginning of a fugue, the countersubject is stated alone. T/F |
False |
Of the following, which does NOT describe Romantic orchestral music? |
Composers produced more symphonies than their Classical-era counterparts. |
Of the following, which does NOT describe orchestras of the nineteenth century? |
The size of orchestras decreased, making for more compact ensembles. |
Solo musicians became stars in the Romantic era, idolized by the public. |
True |
Schubert was born in: |
Vienna |
Schumann’s "In the lovely month of May" is from which song cycle? |
A Poet’s Love. |
What is the form of "In the lovely month of May"? |
Strophic |
Chopin is considered to be the national composer of: |
poland |
Despite her gender, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was encouraged by her family to pursue a career in music. |
False |
Which of the following does NOT characterize the music of Chopin? |
reserved emotions |
Which of the following describes the music in America during the early nineteenth century? |
Music was largely imported from Europe. |
In Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, the idée fixe: |
Symbolizes the beloved, recures by virtue of the literary program, and unifies the five movements, which are diverse in character and mood. |
Of the following, which does NOT characterize Grieg’s Morning Mood from Peer Gynt? |
prominent roles for a solo trumpet and trombone |
Of the following, which is NOT an orchestral work by Berlioz? |
Italian Symphony |
Who was the first composer to use the term symphonic poem? |
Liszt |
Of the following, which does NOT describe symphony composition in the Romantic era? |
Composers wrote more symphonies than their Classical counterparts |
Dvorak set actual Native American tunes in his New World Symphony. |
False |
The scherzo is a lively, dancelike movement in duple meter. |
False |
Dvorak Symphony No. 9 is subtitled: |
From the New World. |
Wagner’s recurring themes that represent specific characters, emotions, or ideas are called leitmotifs. |
True |
Which composer has been considered to be the single most important phenomenon in the artistic life of the latter half of the nineteenth century? |
Wagner. |
In the Ring cycle, who is the father of the gods? |
Wotan |
Why did Wotan deprive Brünnhilde of her immortality and leave her sleeping inside a ring of fire? |
because she, overcome with compassion, attempted to save Siegmund’s life in battle |
Of the following, who did NOT make a major contribution to choral literature? |
Frédéric Chopin |
The post-Romantic era lasted from approximately: |
1890-1910. |
At the close of the opera Madame Butterfly, the title character: |
kills herself with a samurai dagger. |
Of the following, who is a noted woman composer of the Romantic era? |
Clara Schumann |
Which of the following best describes the role of women in nineteenth-century music? |
The piano provided women with a socially acceptable performance outlet. |
The Romantics embraced conventional forms. |
False |
Schumann wrote his song cycle A Poet’s Love during his "year of song," in which he wrote hundreds of Lieder and also married Clara Schumann. |
True |
The favorite Romantic poets for the composers of Lieder were: |
Goethe and Heine. |
A German-texted song with piano accompaniment that sets a short lyric poem is called: |
A lied. |
Chopin is credited with creating: |
the modern piano style. |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s output is dominated by: |
Lieder and piano music. |
Piano manufacturing remained unchanged until the technical advances of the early twentieth century. |
False |
Foster’s Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair is a: |
love song. |
Incidental music to a play is generally considered to be absolute music. |
False |
Which of the following compositions is LEAST likely to be an example of program music? |
String Quartet in B-flat major |
Music endowed with literary or pictorial associations is called absolute music. |
False |
Who composed the opera The Bartered Bride? |
Smetana |
Dvorak Symphony No. 9 was inspired by Goethe’s Faust. |
False |
Brahms wrote ____________ symphonies. |
4 |
Of which national school of composition is Dvorak a representative? |
Czech |
Romantic composers wrote concertos only for their own performance. |
False |
The ensemble that follows "La donna è mobile" in Act III of Rigoletto is a: |
quartet |
The nineteenth century saw the quick development of an international opera style that replaced the national schools of the eighteenth century. |
False |
Verdi’s Aida could be viewed as an example of exoticism because of its Egyptian setting. |
True |
Who dies at the end of Rigoletto? |
Gilda, Rigoletto’s daughter |
Puccini’s operas are associated with the verismo movement. |
True |
A Japanese geisha is best compared in Western culture with: |
a courtesan. |
Which of the following exotic elements can be heard in the opera Madame Butterfly? |
Japanese melodies. pentatonic and whole-tone scales. instrument combinations that evoke the Japanese gagaku. –>all of the above |
Exoticism was expressed by incorporating folk music of one’s own country within a composition. |
False |
The democratic character of the Romantic movement is illustrated by: |
sympathy for the oppressed. interest in folk culture. faith in humankind and its destiny. all of the above |
Which does NOT characterize Romantic music? |
reserved emotions |
Schubert wrote several song cycles, including: |
Winter’s Journey. |
Schubert’s song Elfking was a setting of the ballad written by: |
Goethe. |
Schubert’s prolific output includes works of every major genre. |
True |
The short, lyric piano piece is the instrumental equivalent of: |
the song |
The mazurka is a Hungarian folk dance. |
False |
The most important keyboard instrument of the Romantic period was: |
The piano. |
Foster’s Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair has an active piano accompaniment suggesting flowing water. |
False |
Grieg’s incidental music for Peer Gynt was written for a play by: |
Henrik Ibsen |
Which of the following is NOT characteristic of the music of Berlioz? |
It relies on traditional forms. |
Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique is an example of: |
A program symphony. |
The finale to Symphonie fantastique projects a satanic character. |
True |
Brahms’s symphonies use a Romantic harmonic idiom but are Classical in form. |
True |
The typical Romantic symphony has four movements. |
True |
Which young composer did Robert and Clara Schumann take into their home? |
Brahms |
The third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 in F major is a rollicking scherzo. |
False |
Which of the following countries was NOT a leading opera center in the nineteenth century? |
England |
Louise Bertin wrote an opera based on Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. |
True |
Wagner strived for a continuous flow of melody unlike the divisions of aria and recitative in Italian opera. |
True |
A special theater was built at ____________ for the presentation of Wagner’s music dramas. |
Bayreuth |
Tchaikovsky was known for his symphonies and operas as well as for his ballets. |
True |
Which great Russian choreographer wrote the scenario for The Nutcracker? |
Petipa |
Ballet became an independent art form in the nineteenth century. |
True |
The desire for increased expressiveness in nineteenth-century music is communicated by the composer to the performer through new descriptive terms. |
True |
The French Revolution signaled: |
the transfer of power from the aristocracy to the middle class. |
Which of the following women organized concerts featuring music by her brother? |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. |
Robert Schumann was married to the gifted pianist and composer Clara Wieck. |
True |
Which of the following does NOT describe Schumann’s A Poet’s Love? |
It tells a detailed story of a lost love. |
Which of the following was NOT a typical theme of the Romantic Lied? |
praise of the Virgin Mary |
An étude is a short but highly technical study piece for piano. |
True |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s The Year is a cycle for: |
Piano |
How does Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s The Year reach a level of achievement beyond her brother Felix? |
It is a large-scale work unified by musical and extra-musical links. |
Who was the first internationally acclaimed American composer of classical music? |
Louis Moreau Gottschalk |
Nationalistic composers expressed their nationalism by: |
employing native songs and dances in their works. |
Musorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is an example of: |
Program music |
A multimovement programmatic work for orchestra is called: |
a program symphony. |
Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt is unified by a recurring: |
Theme. |
By the Romantic era, concerts had moved from: |
the aristocratic palace to the public concert hall. |
Brahms maintained a lifelong close relationship with: |
Clara Schumann. |
Brahms is often described as a(n) ____________, because of his use of forms of the Classical masters. |
traditionalist |
Brahms was described as a "young eagle" by: |
Robert Schumann. |
Women achieved prominence in the Romantic era as opera singers. |
True |
The focal point of Wagnerian music drama is the voice. |
False |
Which characteristic of traditional opera did Wagner eliminate? |
separate arias |
After Italian independence, Verdi was ignored by the Italian public. |
False |
Which of the following does NOT characterize the Libera me: Dies irae section of Verdi’s Requiem? |
understated emotions |
Cio-Cio-San, in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, worked as a geisha prior to her marriage. |
True |
The Nutcracker is a real-life story set at Christmastime. |
False |
Romantic composers sought to make instruments sing. This statement best describes the element of: |
Melody. |
A Romantic symphony is generally longer than a Classical symphony. |
True |
Brass instruments became more flexible due to the invention of: |
valves. |
A song form where the main melody is repeated for two or three stanzas but has new or significantly varied material introduced when the text requires it is called: |
modified strophic. |
Which of the following is true of Schubert’s Elfking? |
It is the masterpiece of his youth. It is based on the legend that whoever is touched by the king of the elves must die. It presents four characters who are differentiated in the music. all of the above |
Schubert organized evening gatherings of artists, writers, and musicians, called: |
Schubertiads. |
Which of the following was NOT a technical improvement in the nineteenth-century piano? |
A second keyboard was added. |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s The Year has extra-musical connections. |
True |
Chopin primarily composed for which type of venue? |
salon or drawing room |
Which of the following characterizes the published devotional music in America during the nineteenth century? |
simpler notation for people lacking music literacy |
Although a musical nationalist, Smetana avoided getting involved with political revolution. |
False |
Grieg’s music for Peer Gynt was published as a suite. |
True |
Which of the following inspired Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique? |
the actress Harriet Smithson |
Nineteenth-century Russian composers had a strong tradition of utilizing folk tales as the basis of their compositions. |
True |
The symphony was a new genre in the Romantic era. |
False |
The origins of the Romantic concerto reach back to the Renaissance. |
False |
Of the following, who wrote more than seven symphonies? |
Haydn |
How many movements are in a typical symphony? |
four |
The emotional quality of Wagner’s music is heightened by the use of: |
chromatic dissonance. |
The concept of a total artwork in which all the arts—music, poetry, drama, visual spectacle—are fused together is called: |
Gesamtkunstwerk. |
Which of the following does NOT characterize the music for Act III, Scene 1 of Die Walküre? |
The orchestra plays a subordinate role. |
Richard Wagner composed the first Singspiel. |
False |
Who was Tchaikovsky’s principal patron? |
Nadezhda von Meck |
The leading composer of Italian opera in the late-Romantic era was: |
Puccini |
What Russian figure played a crucial role in the development of twentieth-century ballet? |
Diaghilev |
One of the prime traits of Romantic artists was their emphasis on intense emotional expression. |
True |
The nineteenth-century novel found its great theme in the conflict between the individual and society. |
True |
During the nineteenth century, concert life began to center in the: |
Public concert hall. |
A song in which the same melody is repeated with every stanza of the text is in strophic form. |
True |
____________ is NOT an important composer of nineteenth-century Lieder. |
Heinrich Heine. |
A song that is composed from beginning to end without repetitions of whole sections is in strophic form. |
False |
The form of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s September: At the River, from The Year, is: |
A-B-A’. |
Salon performances were usually open to the general public. |
False |
What nineteenth-century composer’s entire output centered around the piano? |
Chopin |
Shape-note notation was used to help the general public read music. |
True |
A symphonic poem is a multimovement programmatic work for orchestra. |
False |
Who was the first Bohemian composer to achieve international prominence? |
Smetana |
Which of the following is a Finnish nationalist composer? |
Jean Sibelius |
Nationalism can be seen in all of the following EXCEPT: |
Chopin’s waltzes. |
The structure of the third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 is: |
ternary. |
Of the following interests, which did Brahms pursue in his younger years? |
folk music. writings of the German romantics. music of Bach and Beethoven. –> all of the above |
The subtitle From the New World of Dvorak Symphony No. 9 refers to a visit the composer made to South America. |
False |
Dvorak sought to immigrate to America and become an American citizen. |
False |
What composer’s musical language was based on chromatic harmony? |
Wagner |
Opera singers Maria Malibran and Pauline Viardot were both daughters of the famous singer and teacher Manuel García. |
True |
Wagner did not wish to change the prevailing form of opera in the nineteenth century. |
False |
The aria "La donna è mobile" from Verdi’s Rigoletto, is set in a simple, strophic form with a refrain. |
True |
The libretto for Madame Butterfly represents Western fascination with geisha culture in the late nineteenth century. |
True |
Which of the following composers does NOT represent the Italian verismo style? |
Verdi |
Tchaikovsky suffered from depression and guilt over his homosexuality. |
True |
The Leipzig Conservatory was founded by: |
Felix Mendelssohn. |
An interest in folklore and folk music resulted from the rise of nationalism. |
True |
The French Revolution did not affect the Romantic movement. |
False |
Schumann was a carefree spirit with a happy disposition who lived a long, productive life as a composer. |
False |
Robert Schumann’s wife, Clara, was: |
The daughter of his piano teacher, one fo the foremost pianists of her day, and the inspiration for A Poet’s Love. |
A song form in which the same melody is repeated with every stanza of text is called: |
strophic |
The rise in popularity of the piano was an important factor in shaping the musical culture of the Romantic era. |
True |
Who composed the piano cycle entitled The Year? |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel |
Chopin’s Mazurka in B-flat minor, Op. 24, No. 4, is in duple meter. |
False |
Foster’s Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair contains a cadenza in every strophe. |
True |
In his Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz used a recurrent theme, which he called the idée fixe, symbolizing the beloved. |
True |
Grieg was a Finnish nationalist composer who wrote the much-loved symphonic poem Finlandia. |
False |
Nationalism found natural expression in music, among other arts. |
True |
How many movements are in Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique? |
Five |
William Grant Still was an African-American composer who sought musical inspiration from his native heritage. |
True |
Of the following, who was NOT an African-American composer? |
Antonín Dvorak |
Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 is a program symphony. |
False |
A fanciful solo passage in an improvisational style that is interpolated into a concerto movement is called: |
a cadenza |
National styles of opera developed in: |
Italy. Germany. France. all of above |
Verdi’s opera Nabucco was hugely popular in Italy because it: |
was interpreted as a symbol of Italian independence |
Wagner pushed major-minor tonality to extreme limits with his style of chromatic harmony. |
True |
Who composed The Barber of Seville and the overture to William Tell? |
Rossini |
Which of the following choral forms was NOT originally intended for performance in church? |
Part song |
Verismo was a late-Romantic movement in opera which sought to: |
pick subjects from everyday life and treat them realistically. |
Which of the following is NOT a ballet by Tchaikovsky? |
Eugene Onegin |
In the Romantic era, skilled musicians were trained at: |
conservatories. |
What trend inspired composers to write music evoking scenes or sounds of far-off lands? |
Exoticism. |
Which of the following is true of Romantic poets? |
They rebelled against conventional forms and subjects. They leaned toward the fanciful and picturesque. They expressed their new spirit of individualism with passion. all of the above |
The German term for the art song is: |
Lied. |
The poem Elfking was written by Heinrich Heine. |
False |
The form of Schubert’s Lied Elfking is through-composed. |
True |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was discouraged from pursuing a career as a composer because: |
She was a woman. |
Chopin had a long relationship with the female writer George Sand. |
True |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s The Year is her only symphonic poem. |
False |
Hymns from eighteenth-century America survived only through oral traditions. |
False |
A piece of program music for orchestra in one movement that, through several contrasting sections, develops a poetic idea or suggests a scene or mood is called: |
A symphonic poem |
In Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, what is the idée fixe? |
The basic theme of the symphony, heard in all movements |
Smetana’s The Moldau is a musical painting of a river. |
True |
Which composer is considered the first great exponent of musical Romanticism in France? |
Berlioz |
The first movement of the Romantic concerto often omitted the orchestral exposition. |
True |
Of the following, which is NOT a type of absolute music? |
The symphonic poem. |
The true love of Brahms’s life was Clara Schumann. |
True |
Which movement of a symphony is traditionally the slowest? |
The second movement. |
What composer created the music drama? |
Wagner |
Wagner called his operas: |
Music dramas. |
Verdi’s operas stirred a revolutionary spirit within the Italian people. |
True |
One of the leitmotifs from Wagner’s Die Walküre is the magic fire music. |
True |
In her aria "Un bel dì," from Madame Butterfly, Cio-Cio-San sings of: |
Her wish for her husband to return. |
Verdi’s Requiem Mass was intended for performances in church. |
False |
Which of the following statements about Romantic choral music is NOT true? |
Only professional singers participated in nineteenth-century choruses. |
Of the following, which does NOT describe orchestras of the nineteenth century? |
The size of orchestras decreased, making for more compact ensembles. |
Romantic music is characterized by relatively less expression than music of earlier periods. |
False |
The Romantic orchestra was the same size as the Classical orchestra. |
False |
Robert Schumann’s A Poet’s Love is set to texts by: |
Heinrich Heine. |
The mood of Schumann’s "In the lovely month of May" is joyful and exuberant. |
False |
Goethe and Heine were two of the leading nineteenth-century writers whose poetry was set by Lieder composers |
True |
The term tempo rubato, associated with Chopin’s music, means that the performer should: |
take liberties with the tempo. |
Nineteenth-century composers of the short, lyric piano piece included: |
Johannes Brahms. Robert Schumann. Frédéric Chopin. all of the above |
How does Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s The Year reach a level of achievement beyond her brother Felix? |
It is a large-scale work unified by musical and extra-musical links. |
Which of the following was NOT composed by Stephen Foster? |
When Johnny Comes Marching Home |
Expressions of nationalism were more prevalent in Romantic music than in works of the Classical period. |
True |
In Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, the idée fixe melody appears only at the very end of the fourth movement, March to the Scaffold. |
False |
Grieg was a Finnish nationalist composer who wrote the much-loved symphonic poem Finlandia. |
False |
Folk tales have had little influence on composers of Western classical music. |
False |
The origins of the Romantic concerto reach back to the Renaissance. |
False |
The scherzo is a lively, dancelike movement in duple meter. |
False |
Of the following, which is NOT a type of absolute music? |
the symphonic poem |
The structure of the third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 is: |
ternary. |
Wagner eventually married Cosima, the daughter of his good friend Franz Liszt. |
True |
Which Verdi opera was commissioned for performance in Cairo to mark the opening of the Suez Canal? |
Aida |
Of the following, which does NOT characterize Singspiel? |
It featured elaborate recitatives and arias. |
Italian comic opera is called: |
opera buffa. |
Choral music offered the public an outlet for its creative energies. |
True |
The pas de deux is a Western-style two-step dance. |
False |
Of the following, which characterizes Verdi’s Requiem Mass? |
The Requiem was dedicated to the memory of the poet Manzoni. |
Of the following, which was NOT a major theme of Romantic writers? |
idealized heroes of Greece and Rome |
Solo musicians became stars in the Romantic era, idolized by the public. |
True |
Romantic composers sought to make instruments sing. This statement best describes the element of: |
melody. |
In which genre is Schubert NOT indebted to Classical traditions? |
Lied |
Approximately how many songs did Schubert compose? |
more than 600 |
Schubert organized evening gatherings of artists, writers, and musicians, called: |
Schubertiads. |
Chopin primarily composed for which type of venue? |
salon or drawing room |
Chopin is considered to be the national composer of: |
Poland. |
The manuscript for Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s September: At the River, from The Year, has poetic lines by: |
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. |
Louis Moreau Gottschalk is primarily remembered for composing parlor songs in the style of spirituals. |
False |
The finale to Symphonie fantastique projects a satanic character. |
True |
Smetana’s The Moldau is a musical painting of a river. |
True |
The Moldau represents: |
Smetana’s finest achievement in orchestral music. a river that flows through Bohemia. a nationalist work. all of the above |
Nationalistic composers expressed their nationalism by: |
employing native songs and dances in their works. |
Of the following, who did NOT write a major concerto in the Romantic era? |
Schubert |
Of the following, who was a prolific composer of Lieder? |
Brahms |
The scheme of a traditional symphony is: |
fast-slow-dance-fast. |
Brahms was described as a "young eagle" by: |
Robert Schumann. |
Wagner chose to base his stories on: |
idealized folk legends. |
La Scala, the famous opera house where Verdi’s operas were performed, is in: |
Milan. |
Of the following, which opera is NOT by Verdi? |
Carmen |
Who are the Valkyries in Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung? |
the nine daughters of Wotan |
Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is based on a story by: |
E. T. A. Hoffmann. |
The music for Puccini’s Madame Butterfly is entirely European in conception, despite the setting in Japan. |
False |
Which of the following descriptions best characterizes a part song? |
a short, secular song for three or four voice parts |
Which of the following women organized concerts featuring music by her brother? |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. |
The society of the nineteenth century saw a few women make careers as professional musicians. |
True |
A Romantic symphony is generally longer than a Classical symphony. |
True |
____________ is NOT an important composer of nineteenth-century Lieder. |
Heinrich Heine |
A song form where the main melody is repeated for two or three stanzas but has new or significantly varied material introduced when the text requires it is called: |
modified strophic. |
Which of the following does NOT describe Schumann’s "In the lovely month of May"? |
It ends with harmonic resolution. |
Which of the following was NOT a technical improvement in the nineteenth-century piano? |
A second keyboard was added. |
Chopin is credited with creating: |
the modern piano style. |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s The Year has extra-musical connections. |
True |
Who was the first internationally acclaimed American composer of classical music? |
Louis Moreau Gottschalk |
Hector Berlioz was born and spent most of his career in: |
France |
Which of the following compositions is LEAST likely to be an example of program music? |
String Quartet in B-flat major |
Of the following, which is NOT an orchestral work by Berlioz? |
Italian Symphony |
A multimovement programmatic work for orchestra is called: |
a program symphony. |
The symphony was a new genre in the Romantic era. |
False |
The purity of Brahms’s Classical style and his mastery of musical architecture brought him closer to the spirit of Beethoven than any of his contemporaries. |
True |
The third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 in F major is a rollicking scherzo. |
False |
Which young composer did Robert and Clara Schumann take into their home? |
Brahms |
Wagner eventually married Cosima, the daughter of his good friend Franz Liszt. |
True |
After Italian independence, Verdi was ignored by the Italian public. |
False |
Which of the following operas is NOT an example of exoticism? |
Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro |
Which of the following was a widely loved nationalist opera composer? |
Verdi |
The development of Russian ballet was stimulated by the great choreographer ____________ in 1847. |
Marius Petipa |
Which of the following choral forms was NOT originally intended for performance in church? |
Part song |
The Nutcracker is based on a story by E. T. A. Hoffmann. |
True |
Mendelssohn’s Italian Symphony, Bizet’s Carmen, and Ravel’s Spanish Rhapsody are examples of: |
exoticism. |
Of the following, which does NOT describe Romantic orchestral music? |
Composers produced more symphonies than their Classical-era counterparts. |
The desire for increased expressiveness in nineteenth-century music is communicated by the composer to the performer through new descriptive terms. |
True |
Franz Schubert was a thoroughly Romantic composer whose music abandoned the forms and stylistic principles of Classicism. |
False |
Schumann’s "In the lovely month of May" is from which song cycle? |
A Poet’s Love |
Schubert lived a tragically short life but was a remarkably prolific composer of: |
Lieder. chamber music. piano music. all of the above |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s The Year is her only symphonic poem. |
False |
Which of the following was NOT a genre of music written by Chopin? |
symphonies |
Chopin spent most of his productive life in: |
Paris |
Which of the following characterizes the published devotional music in America during the nineteenth century? |
simpler notation for people lacking music literacy |
In his Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz used a recurrent theme, which he called the idée fixe, symbolizing the beloved. |
True |
Music endowed with literary or pictorial associations is called absolute music. |
False |
Edvard Grieg was an important representative of the Czech school of composition. |
False |
Edvard Grieg is a composer from: |
Norway. |
The first movement of the Romantic concerto often omitted the orchestral exposition. |
True |
Which form found in symphonies is most likely to be strongly rhythmic and dancelike? |
scherzo |
Dvorak Symphony No. 9 is subtitled: |
From the New World. |
The first movement of a symphony is usually in ____________ form. |
sonata-allegro |
Who was the source of Verdi’s inspiration for Rigoletto? |
Victor Hugo |
Of the following, which woman was a successful composer as well as a successful opera singer? |
Louise Bertin |
Wagner did not wish to change the prevailing form of opera in the nineteenth century. |
False |
The librettist for Verdi’s Rigoletto was: |
Piave. |
The ____________ is the most powerful part of the Requiem Mass. |
Dies irae |
Puccini’s Madame Butterfly ends: |
tragically. |
The trepak is a folk dance from: |
Russia. |
Which of the following best describes the role of women in nineteenth-century music? |
The piano provided women with a socially acceptable performance outlet. |
Which does NOT characterize Romantic music? |
reserved emotions |
The democratic character of the Romantic movement is illustrated by: |
sympathy for the oppressed. interest in folk culture. faith in humankind and its destiny. all of the above |
The poem Elfking was written by Heinrich Heine. |
The poem Elfking was written by Heinrich Heine. |
The song form that combines features of strophic and through-composed forms is called modified strophic. |
The song form that combines features of strophic and through-composed forms is called modified strophic. |
Schumann was a carefree spirit with a happy disposition who lived a long, productive life as a composer. |
Schumann was a carefree spirit with a happy disposition who lived a long, productive life as a composer. |
Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s output is dominated by: |
Lieder and piano music. |
As in the eighteenth century, nineteenth-century virtuoso pianists were almost always prominent composers as well. |
False |
The mazurka is a Hungarian folk dance. |
False |
Hymns from eighteenth-century America survived only through oral traditions. |
True |
Berlioz was one of the boldest musical innovators of the nineteenth century. |
True |
"The Mighty Five" were composers from: |
Russia. |
Who composed the opera The Bartered Bride? |
Smetana |
Grieg’s In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt is unified by a recurring: |
theme. |
Concertos in the nineteenth century often emphasized virtuosity. |
True |
The typical Romantic symphony has four movements. |
True |
Of the following, which does NOT describe symphony composition in the Romantic era? |
Composers wrote more symphonies than their Classical counterparts. |
The Harlem Renaissance was an early twentieth-century movement that promoted the creative efforts of African Americans. |
True |
In addition to composing music, Wagner was an important: |
writer |
What composer created the music drama? |
Wagner |
What was Verdi’s last opera, completed at age eighty? |
Falstaff |
Wagner pushed major-minor tonality to extreme limits with his style of chromatic harmony. |
True |
Cio-Cio-San, in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, worked as a geisha prior to her marriage. |
True |
The solo voice begging for deliverance in the Libera me: Requiem aeternam section of Verdi’s Requiem is: |
a soprano. |
Tchaikovsky suffered from depression and guilt over his homosexuality. |
True |
The Industrial Revolution produced less expensive musical instruments but with no technical improvements. |
False |
The dynamic range of nineteenth-century orchestras was far greater than orchestras of the previous century. |
True |
Of the following instruments, which first appeared in the Romantic era? |
saxophone |
In Schubert’s Elfking, the obsessive triplet rhythm of the piano accompaniment represents: |
the galloping of the horse. |
Schumann’s A Poet’s Love is a: |
song cycle. |
In which genre is Schubert NOT indebted to Classical traditions? |
Lied |
Of the following, which type of piano work has a spacious form? |
ballade |
Which of the following did NOT characterize salons? |
They were generally hosted by wealthy male aristocrats |
What is the origin of the mazurka? |
a stately processional dance for nobility |
Which of the following was NOT composed by Stephen Foster? |
When Johnny Comes Marching Home |
Folk tales have had little influence on composers of Western classical music. |
False |
Edvard Grieg was an important representative of the Czech school of composition. |
False |
Berlioz was awarded the Prix de Rome in the year that he wrote his Symphonie fantastique. |
True |
Edvard Grieg is a composer from: |
Norway |
A large-scale work in several movements for solo instrument(s) and orchestra is called: |
A concerto. |
Dvorak Symphony No. 9 was inspired by: |
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha. |
Of the following, who did NOT write a major concerto in the Romantic era? |
Schubert |
What is the typical number of movements found in a concerto? |
Three. |
In Act III, Scene 1 of Die Walküre, what are the Valkyries carrying on their horses? |
fallen heroes |
The opera Carmen is set in Cuba. |
False |
In addition to composing music, Wagner was an important: |
writer |
Operas with exotic plots: |
look to far-away lands for inspiration. |
Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, with its Japanese melodies and pentatonic and whole-tone scales, is an example of exoticism. |
True |
Puccini’s Madame Butterfly is: |
a tragic tale of a Japanese geisha and a U: S: naval officer |
The keyboard instrument featured in the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, from The Nutcracker, is: |
the celesta. |
Of the following, who is a noted woman composer of the Romantic era |
Amy Cheney Beach |
Of the following, which was NOT a major theme of Romantic writers |
idealized heroes of Greece and Rome |
The favorite subjects for the Romantic poets were |
love, longing, and nature |
Of the following, which is NOT a title for Schumann’s piano works |
Rondos |
Which does NOT characterize Romantic music |
reserved emotions |
What is the form of Schumann’s "In the lovely month of May" |
strophic |
The art song can be described as representing a union of poetry and music |
True |
A German-texted song with piano accompaniment that sets a short lyric poem is called |
a Lied: |
The mood of Schumann’s "In the lovely month of May" is joyful and exuberant |
False |
The Romantic orchestra was the same size as the Classical orchestra |
False |
The Industrial Revolution produced less expensive musical instruments but with no technical improvements |
False |
Which is true of Schubert’s Erlking |
It is the masterpiece of his youth It is based on the legend that whoever is touched by the king of the elves must die It presents four characters who are differentiated in the music: |
Franz Schubert was a thoroughly Romantic composer whose music abandoned the forms and stylistic principles of Classicism |
False |
The desire for increased expressiveness in nineteenth-century music is communicated by the composer to the performer through new descriptive terms |
True |
A song that is composed from beginning to end without repetitions of whole sections is in strophic form |
False |
Exoticism was expressed through the incorporation within a composition of folk music of one’s own country |
False |
A song form in which the same melody is repeated with every stanza of text is called |
strophic |
Nineteenth-century musicians continued to be viewed by society as glorified servants |
False |
Franz Schubert composed several song cycles, including |
Winter’s Journey |
The first movement of the Romantic concerto often omitted the orchestra exposition |
True |
Which composer is generally considered the greatest pianist and showman of the Romantic era |
Liszt |
Of which national school of composition is Dvořák a representative |
Czech |
Although a musical nationalist, Smetana avoided getting involved with the political revolution |
False |
Amy Cheney Beach was widely recognized in her lifetime as the leading American woman composer |
True |
Which does NOT characterize the scherzo from Beach’s Sonata in A minor |
Placed third in the four-movement cycle: |
Nineteenth-century Russian composers have a strong tradition of utilizing folk tales as the basis of their compositions |
True |
Liszt joined Chopin in transforming the _____ from a piano exercise into a poetic mood piece |
étude |
Which of the following is LEAST likely to be an example of program music |
String Quartet in B-flat major |
Dvořák’s Symphony No |
9 was inspired by Goethe’s Faust: False |
Nationalism found natural expression in music, among other arts |
True |
Who was the first internationally acclaimed American composer of classical music |
Louis Moreau Gottschalk |
Of the following, who did NOT write a major concerto in the Romantic era |
Schubert |
Who is the German-born conductor who set up a concert series across the United States and also established New York City’s second professional orchestra |
Theodore Thomas |
Gottschalk’s The Banjo is in a modified sonata form |
False |
Pianist Clara Schumann gave the first performances of her husband Robert’s important works, and also became known as a leading interpreter of the music of Brahms and Chopin |
True |
The melody of the African-American Spiritual Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is suggestive of the third theme in |
the first movement of Dvořák’s New World Symphony: |
The melody of Chopin’s Prelude in E minor moves in disjunct motion through a wide range |
False |
Berlioz was awarded the Prix de Rome, during which time he wrote his Symphonie fantastique |
True |
The most important keyboard instrument of the Romantic period was |
the piano: |
Incidental music to a play is generally considered to be absolute music |
False |
Of the following, which does NOT describe symphony composition in the Romantic era |
Composers wrote more symphonies than their Classical counterparts |
The finale to Symphonie fantastique projects a satanic character |
True |
Franz Liszt described the style of his music, along with that of Wagner and Berlioz, as the "music of the future |
True |
Mendelssohn played an important role in the revival of music by which Baroque composer |
Bach |
In the nineteenth century, where did serious American musicians complete their studies |
in Europe |
The Harlem Renaissance was an early twentieth-century movement that promoted the creative efforts of African Americans |
True |
The symphony was a new genre in the Romantic era |
False |
Clara Schumann’s later creative activities were supported by the devotion of which composer |
Brahms |
A piece of program music for orchestra in one movement which, through several contrasting sections, develops a poetic idea or suggests a scene or mood is called |
a symphonic poem: |
The typical Romantic symphony has four movements |
True |
Which of the following did NOT characterize salons |
They were generally hosted by wealthy male aristocrats: |
Titles such as Prelude, Impromptu, and Intermezzo are used for |
short, lyric piano pieces: |
Which best describes the style of the third movement of Brahms’s Symphony No 3 |
a melancholic waltz |
Brahms’s Symphony No 3is a program symphony |
False |
Chopin spent most of his productive life in |
Paris: |
Popular music has recently become a vehicle for the voice of women composers |
True |
Which movement of a symphony is traditionally the slowest |
the second movement |
The scherzo is a lively, dancelike movement in duple meter |
False |
William Grant Still was an African-American composer who sought musical inspiration from his native heritage |
True |
One of the leitmotifs from Wagner’s Die Walküre is the magic fire music |
True |
The habanera is a dance song of Cuban origin |
True |
Puccini’s Madame Butterfly is |
a tragic tale of a Japanese geisha and a U: S: naval officer: |
Which description best characterizes a part song |
a short, secular song for three or four voice parts |
Brahms’s German Requiem was intended for performance in the Catholic Church |
False |
The focal point of Wagnerian music drama is the voice |
False |
Impressionist music is often characterized as a reaction to |
all of the above: |
Ravel’s art reflects the twin goals of Impressionism and Neoclassicism |
True |
Which of the following was NOT characteristic of Impressionist music |
accents on the first beat of each measure |
Which of the following statements is NOT true about Romantic choral music |
Only professional singers participated in nineteenth-century choruses |
Which of the following countries was NOT a leading opera center in the nineteenth century |
England |
Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is based on a story by |
E T A Hoffmann |
Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale is |
a ballet |
What was the name of the Paris-based Russian ballet impresario who commissioned Stravinsky to write ballets |
Diaghilev |
Singing in a chorus generally requires a different skill than playing in an orchestra |
True |
Which of the following is the Cuban dance song that Bizet set as an aria in Carmen |
habanera |
Opera provided composers with a good outlet for their interest in far-off lands |
True |
The text for Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel’s Under the Greenwood Tree was taken from Shakespeare’s |
As You Like It: |
The Waltz of the Flowers is the climax of The Nutcracker ballet |
True |
Ravel was attracted to many styles of dance music |
True |
The librettist for Verdi’s Otello was |
Boito |
Debussy considered Wagner’s music dramas to be ponderous and tedious |
True |
French poets responded to Impressionism in painting by developing a new literary style called |
Symbolism |
Debussy was much influenced by non-Western music he heard at the Paris World Exhibition of 1889 |
True |
Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly, with its Japanese melodies and pentatonic and whole-tone scales, is an example of exoticism |
True |
Ravel’s _____ sets texts from The Arabian Nights |
Shéhérazade |
Ballet became an independent art form in the nineteenth century |
True |
The form of "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place," the fourth movement of Brahms’s German Requiem, is best described as |
A-B-A-C-A, or rondo |
Brahms’s German Requiem has _____ movements |
seven |
In Rigoletto, Verdi turns away from tuneful melodies to heighten the dramatic action |
False |
Schumann wrote his song cycle A Poet’s Love during his "year of song," in which he wrote hundreds of Lieder and he also married Clara (Wieck) Schumann: |
True |
The melody in twelve-tone music is called |
a tone row |
Of the following, which describes formalism |
Formal considerations are valued over expressive ones. |
What was the name of the Paris-based Russian ballet impresario who commissioned Stravinsky to write ballets |
Diaghilev |
Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale is |
a ballet |
Klangfarbenmelodie refers to |
a style that gives each note of a melody to a different instrument |
Neoclassical composers preferred absolute music and forms to program music |
True |
Stravinsky’s ballets all achieved immediate popularity with their audiences. |
False |
In The Royal March from Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, the meter remains constant throughout |
False |
Berg’s music owes much to the influence of Arnold Schoenberg |
True |
It is thought that Mahler’s conversion to Catholicism was prompted primarily |
to avoid anit-Semitism in Vienna. |
Webern’s Symphony, Opus 21, uses many contrapuntal procedures |
True |
Webern’s Symphony, Opus 21, combines serial technique with traditional forms |
True |
Who composed the opera Peter Grimes |
Britten |
Bart ók found that eastern European folk music was based on |
ancient modes, unfamiliar scales,non-symmetrical rhythms. |
Which nineteenth-century American composer is best remembered for his popular ballads and minstrel show tunes |
Stephen Foster |
Which of the following instruments would you NOT find in a standard mariachi band |
clarinet |
Which of the following is NOT a ballet by Aaron Copland |
Our Town |
While composing in his spare time, Charles Ives made his living as |
an insurance executive. |
Shape-note notation was used to help music reading for the general public |
True |
The music of Charles Ives was very popular and performed frequently during his lifetime |
False |
William Grant Still composed the first symphony by an African American to be performed by a major American orchestra |
True |
Like Copland and Prokofiev, Revueltas wrote music for films |
True |
Which does NOT characterize the blues |
It is a form of African folk music. |
What American city is considered the birthplace of jazz |
New Orleans |
Billie Holiday’s song Billie’s Blues demonstrates ________ form |
16-bar blues |
The principal exponent of cool jazz was trumpeter |
Miles Davis. |
What is the form of Gershwin’s Piano Prelude No1 |
: A-B-A |
The popular style that is characterized by vocal patter against a syncopated rhythmic accompaniment is |
rap. |
The Irish rock group of the late 1980s interested in political activism was |
U2. |
The Who’s Tommy is an example of |
rock opera. |
Bernstein’s West Side Story updates the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues to that between |
The Jets and the Sharks. |
The term loosely applied to various styles of Afro-Cuban dance music is |
Salsa. |
Ragtime was named for its ragged, highly syncopated rhythms and melodies |
True |
Cajuns and Creoles stem from the same ethnic background and share similar musical influences |
False |
Art rock or progressive rock was largely a British style |
True |
A new style that emerged during the 1950s that was a union of African American rhythm-blues, country western, and pop was called bebop |
False |
Rock is characterized by a strong, steady beat in a triple meter |
False |
The use of preexisting literary sources such as books and plays for the plots of musicals helped the new genre to gain maturity and permanence |
True |
New Orleans jazz depended on simultaneous improvisations by the players, which created a polyphonic texture |
True |
Big-band swing represented the dominant form of American popular music in the 1930s and 1940s |
True |
The jazz technique of playing short melodic ostinatos, or riffs, derives from African call-and-response patterns. |
True |
The musical has remained exclusively an American art form, not attempted by composers of other countries |
False |
Claude Debussy |
most important French Impressionist composer; was an important piano composer; created a distinctive new style of writing for the instrument; |
Debussy’s best known works |
Clair de lune, Evening in Granada, Reflections in the Water and The Sunken Cathedral |
The Afternoon of a Faun |
Debussy’s best known orchestral work; inspired by poem by Stephan Mallarme; poem suggests dreams and erotic fantasies of a pagan forest creature who is half man/half goat; woodwind solos, muted horns, harp glissandos, subdued dynamics and non-pulse rhythms |
Characteristics of Impressionist art |
painters preferred to work outdoors rather than in studio and were fascinated w/ outdoor scenes, life, picnic in the woods, and crowds on Parisian boulevards; Claude Monet |
dates and country of Impressionist art |
late 19th and early 20th century in France; |
characteristics of Impressionist music |
exotic scales (chromatic, whole tone and pentatonic); unresolved dissonances, parallel chords, rich orchestral color; and non-pulse rhythms; generally small-scale programmatic forms (Claude Debussy) |
symbolist poetry |
sounds of words became more important than their meaning; literary response to Impressionism was this, in which writings are suggestive rather than literally (Stephen Mallarme) |
whole tone scales |
scale pattern built entirely of whole step intervals, common in the music of the French impressionists |
pentatonic scales |
five-note pattern used in some African, Far Eastern, and Native American musics; can also be found in Western music as example of exoticism |
ninth chord |
five-tone chord spanning a ninth b/w its lowest and highest tones |
parallel chords |
chords that keep the same intervallic structure but that can be moved by half steps or whole steps, or other specific interval |
dates and country of Expressionist music |
1905-1925; Germany and Austria |
characteristics of Expressionist art |
used jarring colors and grotesquely distorted shapes; artists were concerned w/ social protest (many opposed WWI and used art to depict their horror of bloodshed); ex. The Scream by Edvard Munch 1893 |
characteristics of Expressionist music |
stressed intense, subjective emotion; used delierate distortions to assault and shock their audience |
Arnold Shoenberg |
Expressionist composer; was influenced by German Expressionism; began to write atonal music in 1908; abolished distinction b/w consonance and dissonance and did away w/ any sense of home key; in 1920’s, he developed 12 Tone system |
Arnold Shoenberg, Alban Berg, and Anton Webern |
Expressionist composers; constitute Second Viennese School |
12 tone or serialism |
created by Schoenberg; based on a particular arrangement of the 12 chromatic tones called a tone row; once est., a tone row is basis from which a composer builds themes, harmonies and counterpoint |
Pierrot Lunaire |
written by Schoenberg; a song cycle that represents his atonal Expressionist period; joins the text and music through vocal technique called Sprechstimme |
Sprechstimme |
speech-voice; vocal melody is spoken rather than sung on exact pitches |
atonality |
absence of key; no distinction b/w consonance and dissonance w/o a sense of home key |
Igor Stravinsky’s 3 early ballets |
Firebird (1910); The Rite of Spring (1913); Petrushka (1911) |
The Firebird |
1910; the story of this ballet is based on a Russian legend about a Czar named Ivan, a fairy and a green-taloned monster; fairy grants Ivan a wish and gives him one of her plumes |
The Rite of Spring |
1913; in two parts (1. Adoration of the Earth, 2. The Sacrifice); often performed as a concert piece for orchestra; size of orchestra is monumental w/ an extraordinary battery of percussion instruments and brass; work stands as one of landmarks in the 20th century ballets |
Petrushka |
1911; takes place during a St. Petersburg carnival; main characters are 3 life-sized puppets brought to life by a magician; Stravinsky captures the atmosphere of a Russian street fair using Russian folk songs |
characteristics of primitivism |
harsh dissonances, percussive orchestration, pounding rhythms, repetitive and insistent rhythms; Igor Stravinsky uses this in his music |
Serge Diaghilev |
legendary impresario of the Paris-based Russian ballet, commissioned Stravinksy to write 3 spectacular ballets; production of these ballets secured Stravinsky’s position in the forefront of the modern movement |
characteristics of 20th century nationalism |
parlor and minstrel songs of Stephen Foster were popular (Oh Susannah, Camptown Races); strong tradition of devotional music (spirituals, gospel hymns); music publications were largely devotional, "white spirituals"; shaped note system |
Bela Bartok |
Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, virtuoso pianist; toured remote villages w/ Kodaly, collected over 2,000 folk songs and dances |
Concerto for Orchestra |
commissioned by Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor, Serge Koussevitsky; composed when Bartok was terminally ill; entire orchestra is the virtuouso; 5 movements, mvt. 4 Interupted Intermezzo |
Carl Orff |
German composer, educator; continued music activity in Nazi Germany; interested in early music, medieval Latin lyrics, German folk song; he composed stage works, trilogy of cantatas, Lieder, and orchestral music |
Carmina Burana |
composed by Carl Orff; secular cantata in 5 scenes; chorus, soloists, and large orchestra; racy medieval lyrics; moralizing and satirical themes; based on turning wheels of fortune; opening chorus: cliche for action scenes in movie trailers |
John Philip Sousa |
was undoubtedly America’s greatest bandmaster; he fostered the American wind band tradition; directed US Marine Band (1798); known as the "March King" and composed over 130 marches one of them Stars and Stripes Forever |
Aaron Copland |
was the quintessential American composer; was able to capture the spirit of the American experience in his engaging, accessible works; American, born in Brooklyn; was 1st of many composers to study in Paris w/ Nadia Boulanger |
Characteristics of Copland’s music |
uses jazz rhythms, hymn tunes, cowboy songs and folk songs; wrote simple yet highly professional music; texture is clear and transparent; uses slow moving harmonies; uses 20th century techniques |
Copland’s Patriotic Works |
A Lincoln Portrait- for full orchestra and narrator; Fanfare for the Common Man |
Copland’s 3 ballets |
Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Appalachian Spring |
Appalachian Spring |
ballet written by Aaron Copland; was commissioned by Martha Graham’s (dancer, choreographer) modern dance company; was originally scored for 13 instruments but later scored as a suite for full orchestra |
improvisation |
creation of a musical composition while it is being performed, seen often in jazz |
syncopation |
deliberate upsetting of the meter or pulse through a temporary shifting of the accent to a weak beat or an offbeat |
call and response |
seen in West African vocal music; a soloists’ phrases are repeated and answered by a chorus; also occurs in jazz when one voice is repeated by another |
combo |
a small ensemble, typically referring to groups of three to seven players |
rhythm section |
string bass or tuba, guitar and banjo, or piano and drums |
spiritual and gospel songs |
folklike devotional genre of the US sung by African Americans and whites |
Ragtime |
1890-1917; a precursor to jazz; also known as "ragged rhythm"; characterized by highly syncopated rhythms; in duple meter played at a moderate tempo |
Scott Joplin |
known as "King of Ragtime"; was one of the first black Americans to gain importance as a composer; born in Texarkana, TX; showed a gift for improvisation and got Pulitzer Prize after he died |
"Maple Leaf Rag" |
ragtime is in duple meter played at a moderate tempo; the pianist’s right hand plays a lively, syncopated melody while the left hand maintains the bass notes and chords w/ a steady oom-pah, beat accompaniment |
rags by Joplin |
"Maple Leaf Rag" and "The Entertainer" |
"The Entertainer" |
1910; piano rags were recorded by Joplin and preserved on punched paper rolls made for Steinway player piano; eventually ragtime artists began to form their own orchestra/jazz bands then dixieland and ragtime began to emerge |
characteristics of the blues |
progression, blue notes, blue rhythm, text, instrumental blues |
progression |
blues has a particular harmonic sequence; usually 12 bars involving 3 basic chords (4 measures of the I chord, 2 measures of the IV chord, 2 measures of the I chord, 2 measures of the V chord, then 2 measures of the I chord) |
blue notes |
bent notes, vocal shadings, scoops and slurs produced by slightly lowering the 3rd, 5th, or 7th note of the scale |
blue rhythm |
singers and instrumentalists play around the beat; either just before the beat or right after the beat; ex. rubato and Chopin |
text |
lyrics that concern unhappy situations |
instrumental blues |
blues isn’t always vocal |
twelve bar blues |
musical structure based on a repeated harmonic-rhythmic pattern that is twelve measures in length |
big band or swing band dates |
1935-1945 |
characteristics of big band or swing band |
swing grew out of dixieland, bands were bigger (14-20 players); saxophones were on front line doubling on clarinet; second line was brass; rhythmic section in back consisted of piano, bass and drums; played in dance halls or ballrooms; saxes had the melody |
swing band leaders |
Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey |
Benny Goodman |
clarinetist; also known as "King of Swing"; was the host of the radio program "Let’s Dance"; the program can still be heard on NPR radio stations on Saturday nights; FM 89.9 |
Bessie Smith |
famous blues singer; known as "Empress of the Blues"; was most famous blues singer of the 20’s; sold millions of copies of her tunes on the Black Swan label |
Black Swan label |
the first African American recording company; Bessie Smith recorded on this label |
Billie Holiday |
known as Lady Day; was discovered in 1933; sang in clubs in Brooklyn and Harlem; recorded w/ clarinetist Benny Goodman, featured w/ Count Basie’s band and others |
"Memphis Blues" and "St. Louis Blues" |
published by W.C. Handy in 1910; he is known as "Father of the Blues" and provided money could be made from writing down and publishing jazz |
Louis Armstrong |
known as American Bach; nicknamed Satchmo as well; one of the greats of New Orleans jazz; created "swing" jazz as well as scat-singing |
scat singing |
a jazz style that sets syllables without meaning (vocables) to an improvised vocal line |
characteristics of Be Bop |
1940’s; was a revolt against the big band, arranged music, written down parts; players turned to a small combo; faster tempo and was improvised; more tension with tonal clashes, unusual harmonies, fast tempos and complex rhythms; too fast for dancing |
Charlie Parker |
played saxophone; nicknamed "Bird"; virtuoso player of Bebop style; influenced almost all jazz musicians by 1950; was a talented trumpet player as he was a showman |
Dizzy Gillespie |
played trumpet; organized his first band in 1945; was the first to take a jazz band on a world tour for the US State Department |
Thelonious Monk |
played piano; played bebop in Harlem; played Bloomdido (a Charlie Parker Piece) with Buddy Rich |
characteristics of cool jazz or West Coast jazz |
1950; a revolt against the complexities of bebop; laid back style characterized by lush harmonies, lowered levels of volume, and moderate tempos; uses new instruments (flute, vibraphone French horn, flugel horn) |
Miles Davis |
trumpet player; easily arranged by him because he was a conservatory trained musician and went to Julliard School which was created in 1945 |
Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond |
played piano and played sax; leader of west coast jazz; influenced by Latin American music chiefly the dance rhythms |
George Gershwin |
composed "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Porgy and Bess"; one of most gifted American musicians; mastered fusions of ragtime, blues, and jazz; composed songs, Broadway musicals, and instrumental works influenced by jazz; wrote in collaboration with his brother, Ira; worked as a song plugger on TinPan Alley |
Rhapsody in Blue |
composed by George Gershwin for piano and orchestra; premiered in 1924 w/ the Paul Whiteman ensemble in a concert billed as "An Experiment in Modern Music"; title reflects music’s rhapsodic form with the blues flavor; isn’t true jazz but employs jazz rhythms and melodies; piece begins w/ clarinet glissando and includes muted brass players and drum set |
Porgy and Bess |
falls b/w opera and musical theater; continuous music, recurring themes, united jazz, and classical music; takes place in catfish row, black tenement in Charleston, South Carolina; Summertime, Clara sings lullaby to her baby, opening scene (evokes African American spiritual |
"West Side Story" |
Leonard Bernstein; updated Romeo and Juliet story; Arthur Laurents, playwright and Steven Sondheim, lyricist; dramatic content stirring melodies, colorful orchestration and vivacious dance scenes; (Mambo) |
underscoring |
what music people think of as film music; comes from an unseen source, often an invisible orchestra |
source music |
functions as a part of the drama, from a logical source; for example, someone may turn on a radio, or a character may be inspired to sing (in Rear Window (1954 Hitchcock) |
leitmotifs |
used at first by Wagner in music drama The Ring of Nibelung; Williams introduces a multitude of these in Star Wars |
running counter to the action |
composers create irony by supplying music that contradicts what is being shown on the screen (Godfather baptism scene: Bach’s organ music) |
neoclassicism |
a twentieth century style that combined elements of Classical and Baroque music with modernist trends (ex. symphony-Stravinsky) |
New Orleans Style Dixieland |
also known as New Orleans Jazz; fusion of African American elements: blues, ragtime, spirituals, work songs, shouts; improvisatory; multiple players, polyphonic texture (melody, countermelody above, countermelody below, rhythm section) |
Count Basie and Glenn Miller |
popular big band leaders in the 30’s and 40’s; helped Glenn Miller to adapt Boogie Woogie |
Duke Ellington |
composer, arranger and leader of his own band; remained popular until his death; the advent of big bands brought a greater need for arranged, or written down music |
Tommy Dorsey |
helped to adapt Boogie Woogie with Glenn Miller and Count Basie as well as Jerry Lee Lewis |
Combo with Music Mid Term and 2 others
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