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Unit 6 (Chapter 21 (Performing Grief: Purcell and Early Opera (Opera…
Unit 6
Chapter 21
Performing Grief:
Purcell and Early Opera
Baroque Era
Opera
music drama that is sung throughout, combining vocal and instrumental music with poetry and drama, acting and dancing, scenery and costumes
orchestral overture
an introductory movement often presenting melodies from arias to come
solo arias
lyric song for solo voice with orchestral accompaniment, generally expressing intense emotion
recitatives
solo vocal declamation that follows the inflections of the text, often resulting in a disjunct vocal style
choruses
large group of singers who perform together, usually with several on each part
libretto
text or script of an opera
sinfonias
short instrumental work, found in Baroque opera, to facilitate scene changes
Henry Purcell
Dido and Aeneas
hornpipe
ground bass
Scotch Snap
short-long rhythm
Masque
English genre of aristocratic entertainment that combined vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance
Listening Guide 11 :red_flag:
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, Act III, Opening and Lament
(1689)
Characters
Dido, queen of Carthage (soprano)
Belinda, Dido’s serving maid (soprano)
Aeneas, adventuring hero (baritone)
Sorceress, Spirit, Witches
Melody
jaunty
playful tune
recitative with half-step movement;
more lyrical aria
Rhythm / Meter
sprightly tempo, triple meter
use of
Scotch-snap dotted figures
free recitative
slow aria in triple meter
Harmony
major key
chromatic foreshadowing
of Lament
based on repeated chromatic ground bass
Form
strophic form, with instruments
solo voice, then chorus
aria in two sections
each repeated (A-A-B-B)
Performing Forces
string orchestra
solo voice and chorus
Baroque-period instruments with solo voice
Chapter 35
Mourning a Hero: Mozart and the Requiem
classical composers wrote worship music
oratorio
large-scale dramatic genre originating in the Baroque, based on a text of religious or serious character, performed by solo voices, chorus, and orchestra
Mass
central service of the Roman Catholic Church
Requiem Mass
left unfinished at the Mozart’s death
exemplifies the grand style of Catholic music in Vienna
a Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead
Listening Guide 25 :red_flag:
Mozart: Dies irae, from Requiem
(1791)
Melody
dramatic choral opening
operatic solo voices
final verse has choral outcry
Rhythm / Meter
forceful, accented duple meter
closing has strong dotted-rhythmic ideas
Harmony
alteration between minor and major
some harsh combinations
Texture
largely homophonic
Form
set in eight verses
each treated with different performing forces
Expression
mood shifts from fear (loud, accented) to wonderment to a quiet plea for salvation
Performing Forces
chorus, solo voices, and orchestra
choral opening and closing
verses 3–7 focus on solo voices
Timbre
trumpets and timpani prominent
bass voice/trombone duet (verse 3)
Text
rhymed Latin poem with eight three-line verses
clear text declamation with some word painting
Chapter 41
Personal Soundtracks: Berlioz and the Program Symphony
program music
instrumental music endowed with literary or pictorial associations
absolute music
music that has no literary, dramatic, or pictorial program, also called pure music
Hector Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique
program symphony
instrumental music endowed with literary or pictorial associations
The Chickering Piano
made in Boston and a focal point in many 19th century homes
trombone multipavilions
created by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax, inventor of the saxophone
Listening Guide 32 :red_flag:
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, IV
(1854-55)
program symphony
a lovesick artist in an opium trance is haunted by a vision of his beloved, which becomes an idée fixe
Melody
two main themes (A and B)
both strongly accented
Rhythm / Meter
duple-meter march
set in minor mode
Form
sonata-like
two themes introduced, developed, then recapped
Expression
diabolical mood
sudden dynamic changes
idea of the beloved at the end as a clarinet solo, then a sudden chord (beheading)
Timbre
prominent timpani
instruments in unusual ranges
Chapter 48
Accepting Death: Fauré and the Requiem
mélodie
an accompanied French art song
parallel to the German Lied
Gabriel Fauré
composer with a complex career as a church musician and conservatory leader
his music exemplifies a 19th century French interest in small and intimate music forms
Requiem
unique, reflects the freedom which late-Romantic composers addressed sacred music
Listening Guide 39 :red_flag:
Fauré: Libera me, from Requiem, Op. 48
(1887-89)
Melody
Baritone solo is lyrical, wide ranging
chorus has melody in unison
Rhythm / Meter
pulsating ostinato accompanies opening and closing
shift to 6/4 meter in the middle
Harmony
D minor
some expressive chromatism
Texture
homophonic solo
choral writing
Form
three-part
A-B-A'
Expression
sensitive dynamics
serene mood
Text
Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead
Office for the Dead, and Burial Service
Performing Forces
Baritone solo
SATB chorus
chamber orchestra (brass, strings, harp, timpani, organ)
Mass for the Dead
Chapter 66
Neo-Romantic Evocations: Higdon and Program Music into the 21st Century
neo-romanticism
contemporary style of music that employs the rich harmonic language and other elements of Romantic and post-Romantic composers
mostly tonal, chromatic, and highly virtuosic, with innovative timbral combinations
often feature program elements connected with a personal story
Jennifer Higdon
Born Brooklyn, NY
received the Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for her Violin Concerto
blue cathedral
Listening Guide 61:red_flag:
Higdon: blue cathedral, excerpt
(2000)
Melody
languorous
lyrical lines
ascending ideas
Rhythm / Meter
mostly in 5/4 with a veiled sense of bar lines
some shifting meters
Harmony
prominent use of major triads
no strong sense of key center
Texture
homophonic
focuses on individual lines and duets
Form
sectional
rondo-like structure
Expression
transcendent mood
includes several climaxes
Timbre
juxtaposes instrument families
metal-lic percussion, solo woodwinds, dark instruments, brass chorales
Performing Forces
large orchestra with many percussion instruments
crotales, celesta, marimba, vibraphone, bell tree, chimes, triangle, tuned glasses, Chinese reflex balls
orchestral tone poem