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TRANSCRIPT
Keys
Two modes: 12 major modes or keys
12 minor modes or keys
Melodic Intervals
- Half step vs whole step
- Sharp sign- raises a note by half a step
- Flat sign – lowers a note by half a step
Listen to the Star spangled banner in minor mode – doesn’t sound as positive and has a more sinister
sound to it
Half steps is where you find characteristics and can tell us the pattern
All whole steps becomes a very important sound scape in late 20th century because there is no Hierarchy
Like keys the key signature tells us what flats and sharps to play
When looking at circle of fifths keys that are adjacent to each other are keys composers like to move to
because it is a small shift from getting from one key to another
Rhythm (ordering of music through time)
Meter: underlying patter of beats (usually what you are tapping your foot to while listening to a song)
Beats group into measures
Duple meter
Triple meter
Quadruple meter
measure
Duple meter: two beats in a bar or measure 1 2| 1 2| 1 2| Strong weak, strong weak, strong weak
Triple meter: three beats in a bar or measure 1 2 3 | 1 2 3| first beat is accented – strong weak weak,
strong weak weak
Quadruple Meter: four beats in a bar or measure 1 2 3 4| 1 2 3 4| strong weak medium weak, strong
weak medium weak
Whole note has 4 beats
Half note has 2 beats
quarter note has 1 beat
eighth note has ½ beat
sixteenth note has ¼ beat
thirty second note has 1/8 beat
Harmony : the union of multiple notes sung or played at the same time
Chord: three or more notes sounding simultaneously
A melody can be harmonized using chords in more than one way
Tonic: serves as a home base
Louis Moreau Gottschalk vs south city voices vs Stravinsky harmonic interval
September 14th – Lecture 3
Harmony – Melodies are horizontal, Harmonies are generally vertical
Chord is three or more notes sounding simultaneously
Harmonies support melodies up above
Harmony- the union of multiple notes sung or played at the same time
Melody- can be harmonized using chords in more than one way
Tonic- always serves as the home base
think of a home as a key where you start and you will come back to at the end
Some harmonizations are more controversial than others
Harmony South City Voices
- An Atlanta based vocal jazz ensemble, an a cappella group
- when listening to it what word could describe the harmony? Do you hear dissonance? Dissonance
creates tension. Tension is also created through other means such as a high note holding a really high
pitch.
Harmony by Stravinsky (most influential in the 20th century)
Immigrated to USA in 1939 and became a citizen
- he arranged the American anthem
- performed in 1944 by Boston Symphony
- police confiscated the score
- threatened with being thrown in jail
Same with Jimmi Hendrix the star spangled banner live at Woodstock 1989
Harmony by Louis moreau Gottschalk
- American composter (see chapter 34) and piano virtuoso
-born in New Orleans
- Harmonized the American anthem after the Civil war in a piece entitled Union (Yankee doodle the star
spangled banner and hail Columbia)
-The composition is a response to the American Civil War
Acoustics and Timbre
- Pitch: highness or lowness of sound . Based on frequency or the number oscillations per second
- Microtonal is one pitch into four for example
- Height determines how loud the actual sound is
- If instruments are playing the same pitch the wavelength is constant but the pattern may
change (the wave would be what looks different)
- A sound thats reproduced electronically may not sound too great
- Dynamics: Volume of sound, ranges from very soft to very loud and is based on amplitude or
size of the sound wave
- in western music we have a lot of fixed pitchs and in old western they used to be manipulated
by creating different sound (bending the pitch)
- Notated:
o Pp(pianissimo) =very soft
o P(piano)= soft
o Mp (mezzo piano) = medium soft
o Mf (mezzo forte) =medium loud
o F(forte)=loud
o Ff(fortissimo)=very loud
- Timbre: unique sound of each instrument , created by overtones or partials in the sound wave
(overtones such as when a bell rings and you hear high frequencies after)
- Tritone with pedal vs non-pedal has more partials vs no partials
- One example vs Louis armstrongs version
Texture
Monophonic: single sounding
One single melodic line with no accompaniment
Soloist or group playing or singing a single melody (in unision) ***********
Homophonic: same sounding
A single melodic line with accompaniment (doesn’t have to be singing it could be someone playing)
Melody stands out above accompaniment
ex: marvin gaye American anthem would be homophonic because there are drums and other
instruments in the background
Polyphonic: many sounding
Multiple melodies of equal importance , two or more
Musical Form
Three Strategies: Repetition, Variation, Contrast
Subunits of form are designated using letters
- Eg ABC, ABAA’, or AA’B
- ABA, ABACABA, or aba etc
- Or ABRACADABRA jk jk
Word painting : Using musical elements to “describe” a word or phrase such as low and peaks can
represent valleys and mountains or thunder. Often the structure of the poetry matches the form of the
work . Repetitions variations and contrasts in the poetry may correspond to the repetitions variations
and contrasts in the music
September 18th 2012 – Lecture 3
Genre- Categorization by
-performance medium (solo voices, choir, orchestra, string, quartet band etc)
-social function
It sets up expectations for the listener
The middle ages (prima practice) 476-1400
Beginning with the fall of the Roman Empire
Ending with the beginning of the Russian Period
Church dominated cultural/intellectual life
Music: sacred and secular functions
Gregorian chantplainchant composed by anonymous monks or priests
- Words of the catholic sacred liturgy
- Sung by voice or choir in unison
- No harmony ie monophonic
- Clear projections of sacred liturgy (large spaces/areas, no speakers so you must project your
words somehow)
Pope Gregory: According to legend he received the melodies of plainchant from the Holy spirit which
appeared to him in the form of a dove.
Up until the 10th century things were passed down orally after that it was written down
Sacred Music:
Churches and cathedrals are most important sacred structures. They are reflected testimonies toward
god and power of the church itself. Created musical performance spaces. Large with incredible acoustic
qualities. Built to instruct the faithful for example stained glass windows depicting biblical scenes a lot
of people couldn’t read
- Music is a vehicle used to enhance texts
- Plainchant perfect for clearly projecting texts over large spaces
- Text is most important (music enhances and transmits text over large spaces) ***until we get to
polyphonic
- All church services included particular chants
- Mass was the most important liturgy or service of the day ( a re-enactment of Christ’s last
supper)
Secular Music:
- Castles are most important secular structures
- Europe consisted of Kingdoms, Duchies and Fiefdoms ruled by a lord who collected taxes
- Demonstrations of power
- Rulers competed for services of best composters, artists, and musicians
- Reflected importance of secular and worldly power for royalty and aristocracy
- Created opportunities for musical performances
- Wandering Minstrels: poetry acrobatics song etc
Musical Entertainment
- Poet composers: Troubadours (south in present day France ), Trouveres (north), Minnesingers
(Present day Germany)
- Songs about love heroism and pastoral life
- Some courts employed full time musicians
- Some composers and writers such as boccaccro and charmber
Music for dancing
- Served an important social function
- What little is known about dance comes from images
- Group activity
- Drumming
- Instruments such as the shawm (double reed instrument) had a raspy sound
Notation: transmitted orally until the 10th century, earliest chant manuscripts show only contour used
as a memory aid (no rhythm)
- Manuscripts hand written, expensive parchment, ink
- Printing emerged in the mid of the 15th c (when things started changingshift)
Music
- Scales other than major and minor
- Modesdifferent than functional harmony
- Polyphony-makes it more difficult to hear text
- Heightened expressivity of text with music
- Secular music for royal and aristocratic ceremonies and entertainment
September 19th 2012 – Lecture 4
Hildegard von Bingen 1098-1179
“Plays of Virtues”
- Spoken male voice at very beginning
- Then a single female voice projecting the text
- Melodic contour –note that is returned to all the time (a jump)
- Then hear more than one voice
- Still monophonic because they are singin the same melodic line
- Cadences throughout –brief resting points (breaks in melody)
- Irregular rhythms of words being sung
- No clear cut rhythm: dependent on projection on text (free rhythm)
- Text dictates the flow
- Word-music relationship
Hildegard von bingen: most prolific composer before 1500
she was born in what is now western Germany to a noble family and became a Benedictine nun at age
of 16. sHe had visions and revelations. He was a writer on theology medicine botany and lives of saints.
His musical works consisted of chants for religious services which took place throughout the day in the
convent.
Play of Virtues
- A morality play dramatized allegory of good vs evil
- Struggling over the fate of a single soul
- Plot centres around disputes between satan and the virtues
- Each virtue=1female singer
- Chorus of all virtues = monophonic
- Satan speaks his lines (medieval belief that hell was devoid of music)
- Note the contrast between spoken and sung text
- Hildegard builds on tradition of liturgical plainchant esp florid, which was used in church services
- Plainchant developed slowly over many centuries
- Grew from traditional jewish services such as melodic recitation of psalms
- Orally transmitted for many centuries
- Plainchant or Gregorian chant for pop Gregory 1 who may have written or organized much of it
in the late 6th century
- Function: to project the text clearly so that it could be understood by the people
- Clarity and melodic beauty thus inspirational
- Monophonic texture until the bells
- Rhythm: mostly free reflecting long and short accents of the words
- Performers: the virtues were presumed to be female at that time performed by nuns in a
convent
- Satan was presumed to be male probably performed by the priest who served the convent
- Melody: an other worldly sound based on church modes. They have special scales different from
Major and Minor.
- A lot of plainchant are written in these forms:
o Dorian Mode : white notes from D to D on piano
o Phyrygian Mode: wh notes for E to E on piano
o Lydian Mode: white notes from F to F on piano
o Mixolydian mode: G to G on the piano
o Syllabic: one note per syllable
Melismatic: many notes per syllable melismas often used to emphasize words
- Historical context
- Like morality plays some popular works today show an innocent figure struggling between the
forces of good and evil
September 21st 2012
Soloist to group- hallelujah
back to solo with high registers
Caro Mea
- Alleluia from the mass for the Feast of Corups Christi (Body of Christ)
- Celebration of Holy Sacrament
- Text for Alleluia from the Gospel of John 6:55-56
Mass structure: Ordinary- always the same – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei
- Proper: specific to Sunday or feast day – Introit, gradual, alleluia, Offertory, communion
- Most alleluia will start and end with an alleluia but the text in the middle changes
- As with most plainchant, the composer is unknown—probably a monk or priest
- Monophonic- listening to one melody even though a hundred people are singing it
- The Alleluia is a responsorial chant- alternates between soloist and chorus , first soloist second
comes the chorus
- Singing lengthens and extends each syllable and allows the singer to project the words over a
much larger space and enhances the words to help remember them
- Melismas like on the final a of Alleluia used to heighten expression
Form:
- A (soloist) “singing Alleluia”
-A (chorus)
-B (Soloist) – high point at “sanguis meus vere est potus”, long descent to “meam carnem”
-A (soloist)
-A(chorus)
Plainchant Alleluia “Caro mea from the Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi”
2 San Illdefonso Indians of New Mexico – EAGLE DANCE
Feel a beat and pulse, got fast in the middle with anew part as the tempo accelerates and at the end it
returns to the first rhythm
- Monophonic chant is utitlized by many cultures throughout history
- Chant is essential to many sacred rituals : Christians jews hindus Tibetan Buddhist Taoist etc
- Chant: predominant form of music in Native North American Indian Culture
- Even thought there is a drum in the background it is said to be one with the melody
Powwow
- Every tribe had unique culture and traditions
- European settlement
- Native Americans tribes eradicated forcibly resettled forced to live together
- Forced resettlement= pan Indian culture
- Powwow: celebration of culture
- Preserves culture, music, craft etc
Eagle Dance is heard at powwows-intertribal gatherings with feature chanting, drumming, dancing,
crafts and Indian arts
Powwows are organized by a committee that requests certain performances and are popular and
profitable for organizers.
Eagle dance was once part of a rain ceremony and portrays a cycle of eagle (a creature that connects
to heaven an d earth). Two tribe members portray eagles at flight and the feathers bear prayers that
can’t touch the ground
Consists of one monophonic melody line sung by males in unison accompanied by percussion
instruments. Sounds of percussion instruments (drums and rattles) support the rhythm of the chant
rather than creating independent lines in the music. Most native American music is monophonic most
often accompanied by percussion.
Word-Music Relationships
- Songs in native American culture are considered to come from the spirit world
o Transcribed by a person
o Dream or revelation
o Then transmitted to group
o Songs not about worldly matters
o Thus use vocables
Vocables meaningless sung syllables
Voice becomes a melodic instrument
Some vocables are more accentuated than others
Eagle dance Form: ABA with brief free (ie non metered) and metered introduction
Each section(i.e A and B) contains a unique melody comprised of repeating units
Both A and B sections contain terraced melody (Downward contour)
Melody: descends gradually in terraced steps
- A section=2 phrases with identical vocables slightly different pitches sung 3 times then varied
- B section=one shorter phrase sung twice; entire section is repeated (Faster tempo)
- A section returns; repeated 3 times then varied
September 25th 2012-09-25
Listen to different versions of American anthem
Textures syllabic, meter questions
Multiple choice and fill in the blank on general knowledge from this chapter
Francesco Landini
Custom to hearing different type of cadences or stops and this is something you will be able to identify
Squarcialupi manuscript
- Hear a repeat of some material
- New section of text has new music
- Part where music returns but text is different
- Rhythm 1,2,3
- Melody has two parts
- Syllabic – words are coming out with almost every note
- 2 melodies polyphonic
- 2 voices come together in the end and sing in unison
Francessco
- 1325-1397
- Blinded by smallpox as a child
- Skilled performer on the organetto or portative organ
- Church organist at the Florentine monastery of Santa Trinita in 1361
- Designed and built musical instruments
- The leader of the Italian ars nova
- Famous poet (which was not unusual)
- Most prolific and famous Italian composer of the 14th century
- Wrote 150 plus secular songs
- This represents one third of surviving Italian music from 14th century
His music:
Ballatas: like Behold Spring
Virelais: French songs
Caccia: Hunting songs
Behold Spring
- A balata (Italian for danced) for two voices
- A secular song of love
- Courtly Love in this age : knight declares himself servant of his lady love, heroic deeds done in
her honor, love for her ennobles him, especially if she rejects him
Poet Giovanni Boccaccio, in his poem, Decameron, describes how a group of lords and ladies fleeing the
plague sang this song to divert their minds
- Polyphonic (hard to distinguish both voices in this one)
- Early polyphonic works (8th/9th Century) added melodic lines above or below plainchant
- Precursor: Organum when the parts move independently from each other?
- Sanctioned by church
- Perotin: famous composer of organum who worked at Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris
- Text Setting: syllabic setting projects text clearly, occasional melismas
- Triple Meter (strong weak weak)
- Cannot have a free meter when two or more parts move together
- Lengths of individual notes vary but meter remains constant
- Polyphonic texture
o Subdivided into smaller units with cadences
Each cadence ends with a unison
- Unison: two voices singing in the exact same note or pitch
- Form: poetic stanzas are turned into three verses known as strophes
o First verse is repeated at the end,
o Music of the second strophe contrasts with music of the other three
o A B A A (third A music is the same the text is different) A B A are all different then the
last A is the same
o A=1st melody/text
o B=contrasting melody/text
o A same melody with different text
o A first melody repeated with same text
THE SUARCIALUPI CODEX
- Manuscript (hand written)
- Manu scriptus hand written
- Codex: bound manuscript
- Largely secular
- Santa Maria Degli Angeli in Florence
- Came into hands or organist Antonio Scuarcialupi (hence the name)
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A AND B SECTION
Recognize polyphonic texture and use of meter of Behold spring
Cadences with in the work and how they come together
Aspects of Landinis life
Sept 25th 2012
Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377)
Medieval French poet composer
- Spent much of his life in the service of monarchs
- Appointed canon at the cathedral of Rheims in 1335
- First composer to consistently attach his name to manuscripts
- Traveled in elite circles
- Courts include: Navarre berry Luxembourg and Normandy
- Like the trouveres machaut was a poet and musician
- Lead the French ars nova
- Contributions include
o Strophic form
o Virelai (the homophonic Douce dame jolie)
o Rondeau
- Supervised the copying of his complete works in six large manuscripts kown as the machaut
manuscripts with over 2100 leaves
Myth of Pygmalion
- According to ancient legend a mythic artist Pygmalion creates a statue so beautiful that he falls
in love with it and it comes to life
- Ovid: in this account Aphrodite (the goddess of love) pities pymalion and brings his statue to life
- Machaut: the woman acts like a statue to the man who prays to it
I can all too well compare my lady
- Secular
- Another story of courtly love (I.e a nobleman admires a noblewoman who does not return his
admiration)
- The poet’s beloved lady is compared to Pygmalion who carves a statue so beautiful that he falls
in love with it
- Whereas Pygmalion;s statue comes to life this lady is already alive but remains liek a stuatue to
the nobleman who prays to her
- Texture: three independent voices (upper voice most active)
- lower two voices are slower moving and difficult to distinguish until B section
- Five cadences (point of arrival indicating end of musical unit)
- Form AAB (bar form)
- Four sentences
o Same music used for sentence 1 and 2 (same music different words)
- Contrasting music for the two sentences
- Like the form of star spangled banner
- ***KNOW LANGUAGES OF SONGS
The mass
- Machauts messe de nostre dame (mass of our lady) is the first known polyphonic setting of all
the sung movements of the mass ordinary by one composer
- This polyphonic setting contrasts the monophonic (plainchant) singing of the ordinary
- Know for test ordinary vs proper
- J.s bach, wolfgang amadeaus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven
Historical context
- Ritual re-enactment of christs Last supper
- Bread represents becomes christs body
- Wine –blood
- Body and blood are part of communion
- Communion received after preparation in the form of prayers reading and hymns
Mass(ordinary) sung portions
- Kyrie: a prayer for mercy to God and Christ
- Gloria: a decleration of praise
- Credo: a declaration of faith
- Sanctus: blessing of the bread and wine
- Agnus Dei: A prayer for redemption from the lamb of god
- Ite missa est: A brief dismissal of the congregation
Recognize 3 part polyphonic texture of this work
Describe the difference in melodic motion between the upper voice and the two lower voices
Identify cadences
Know the story of the myth of whatever and how this is a part of courtly
September 28th 2012-09-28
Alfonso el Sabio
-born in Spain
- Alfonso el Sabio also known as Alfonso x
- Crowned king of castile and leon at age 29
- Ruled from 1252 to 1284
- Earned the name of el sabio through his artistic endeavours
- Alfonso the wise
- Recognized the importance of both the Islamic culture and roman heritage of spain
- His appreciation of different cultures facilitated the mixing of artists and scholars of different
faiths
- Cantigas de santa maria (songs for the virgin mary)
- 400 songs about miracles of the virgin mary throughout Europe
- Several manuscripts
- Attributed to alfonso el sabio
He who gladly serves
- From songs to the virgin mary no 249
- Likely written by someone else
- Original version is to be sung this is an instrumental version
- An instrumental peice using two drums (percussion) and two shawms (woodwinds like the
oboe)
- Shawm: player blows through double reeds; vibrations are magnified by a long wooden tube
- Has a raucous rough sound
- KNOW SHAWM IS USED AND IS A DOUBLE REED INSTRUMENT
- FORM: ABA ABA AA
o Based on 2 relatively short melodic units
o A and B move similarly but B moves to a higher register
- Three textures: monophony (both instruments play the same melody)
- Homophony (melody plus drone bass)
- Drone: a single long note held underneath the melodic line
- Heterophony: synchronized performance of two or more versions of melody (one plays a more
elaborate or embellished form of the melody)
- MIDDLE AGES SUMMARY
- Textures: monophony and polyphony
- Melodies: conjunct flowing and smooth , not wild, divided into sections by cadences, based on
scales of the medieval modes
- Rhythm: free flowing free meter or metrically structured
- Harmony: a byproduct of counterpoint
- Form: based on repetition variation and contrast
- Text setting: syllabic for clarity melismatic for emphasis
Section 1 listening 50%
Seven excerpts will each be played
a) Composer
b) Name of composition
c) Texture
d) Language
Excerpt 2
A) Texture
B) Genre
C) Rhythm metered or free
D) THIS IS A NEW SONG YOU WILL NOT KNOW
Part 2: circle the correct answer
Part 3: True or False
Part 4: fill in the blank
October 5th 2012-10-05
Renaissance Music
- Continuous imitation: motives wander from vocal line to vocal line
- 1425-1600
- Arts and sciences forgotten during the middle ages
- French word for rebirth (rebirth of idea of humanism)
- A recovery of ideals from antiquity after the middle ages or dark ages
- Humanism: intellectual and cultural movement
o Human interests and values
o Science, philosophy literature, painting, sculpture and music (especially vocal)
- Arts and sciences were revived
- 1455 first printed book was an important time
- Economic growth during 15th century
- Kingdoms, duchies city states got bigger and richer- increased demand for the arts
- Renaissance Man: knowledge of a variety of arts and sciences
- Human reason and individuality
- Movable type: mid 15th century
- Learn more on E-text
- Music printing by 1500
Religion: Catholic and Protestants
- Rift in 1517
- Church divided into two branches
- Faith of monarch determined
- Protestant Reformation:
o Martin Luther
o Composer William Byrd, a catholic in Protestant England (Q E I)
- Counter Reformation: attempts to hold on to the catholic liturgy and doctrine in the face of
Protestantism
- Music to move the souls of the faithful
Martin Luther
- Theologian and composer
- German monk who nailed a list of complaints against the catholic church on the door of a
church in wittenburg (1517) *ON TEST
- 1483-1546
- One reform: congregation participates in the service
- Services in vernacular rather than latin
- “German psalms for the people that is to say sacred hymns
- Luther and helpers created hymns
- Adapted Gregorian chants
- Popular music (i.e appropriate secular music)
- Wrote “A Mighty Fortress is our God”
Music
- Words and music together in unity one is not more important than the other
- Polyphony
- Equal voice parts
- 3 4 5 or even 6 parts
- Full rich sound with intricate texture and rhythm
- Strong attention to text being sung even when polyphonic melodies were complex
- Harmonic structure is a by product of the lines together
- Luthers song was in a mode that was easy to hear and sing ( a custom to)
- A fortress is our mighty god associate it with Luther because it will be on a test
October 9th 2012-10-09
Josquin Des Prez
- Ca. 1450-1521
- Much of his life is shrouded in mystery
- Greatest composer of the early Renaissance
- An international celebrity in his time
- Hired by Duke of Ferrara to be a composer for his court
- There may have been several composers named josquin
- He began his career in France and com pleted it in what is now known as Belgium
- Spent the middle part of his career in Italy
- He was widely published
o Publishers misattributed works to him ( in order to sell them)
- Contributed to the mass genre: canonic,cantus firmus, parody and paraphrase (MISSA PANGE
LINGUA)
Other Compositions
- Composed around 70 french chansons and Italian frotolla (singular) frottole(plural)
- Predecessor of the madrigal
- Missa pange lingua (a mass) listen to on youtube
- Missa La sol Fa re Mi (another mass)
- Ave Maria....virgo serena (4-voice motet)
Great composer of the motet
Josquins ave maria..virgo serena:
Features modality conjunct melody smooth counterpoint triadic sonorities, imitation
The cantus firmus is less dominant (old plainchants slowed down)
The Cricket:
Polyphonic
soprano (highest range, usually female)
Alto (second highest range, usually female)
Tenor (second lowest voice, male)
Bass (lowest range, male)
Voices move together rhythmically throughout much of the piece (homorhythmic)
Counterpoint: each voice melodic; not melody+accompaniment
Can be intricate and complex
From the latin contrapunctum meanding note against note
In this recording all 4 voices are male the upper two voices are sung in falsetto
Written so it could be played on instruments or sung. Typical in the Renaissance Period
Music written to a humorous poem: enhances the spirit of the poetry
Uses word painting : long notes on “Hold a long line”
Chirping sounds which imitate a cricket
Humorous drunken music
Long melisma on “love” in the second part
Form: Three parts-ternary form
Described as ABA: contrast (B is in contrast to A both textually and musically and return to A)
October 10th 2012
Thomas Weelkes : Since Robin Hood
- 1575-1623
- English composer lived during the age of Shakespear and during the reigns of Elizabeth I and
James I
- Fascinated with Italian poetry and music (many of shakespeares plays are set in Italy)
- Italian madrigal arrived in England in late 16th Century
- Weelkes immediately began imitating these models
- Also wrote sacred music
- Organist at Chichester Cathedral
o Lost his job at the cathedral
o Because of blasphemy and drunkenness
- Primarily a vocal composer
- In 1597 published first book of madrigals
- 1598 appointed the organist of Winchester college (he composed two more books of madrigals
during this time)
- Received a degree in music from the New collage in Oxford
- Choral instructor and organist in Chichester England
- Drunk while playing the organ and swearing during church service
- Was eventually reinstated but continued to abuse alcohol
- Wrote two more books of madrigals (5 in total)
- Then began writing sacred music
- As vesta was from Latmos Hill descending—a famous madrigal which contains word painting
- Credited with writing more Anglican services than any other composure during this period
A V W F L H D
Latmos Hill : hill is always the highest note
Descending: descending scale and leaps , ascending: ascending scales
Running down the hill : descending scales (polyphonic)
Two by two: two voices
Three by three: three voices
Since Robin hood
- A song about an actual event that took place in 1599
o William kemp : an English actor and friend of shakespear
o Danced from London to Norwich a distance of some 140 miles over the course of nine
days
o A feat of shameless self promotion
o Danced the morris dance: from the same tradition
NEED NOTES AFTER THIS
October 12th 2012
William Byrd—Sing Joyfully
Listen to voices and how they duplicate one another
the text is repeated frequently many times
the form is unlike many of the forms we have had –things are continuously changing from verse to verse
A B C D E (new text and music)
Word painting thats associated in music
1542-1623
Byrd was a recusant catholic in an Anglican age
An English roman catholic in the protestant court of queen Elizabeth the first
Suffered harassment because of his faith
Had a monopoly
- Was a gentlemen of the chapel royal from 1572 onward
- Contemporary of Elizabeth 1 and james 1
- Wrote a great deal of music for protestant (Anglican) Church
- Some other compositions: a mass for four voices, O lord make thy servant Elizabeth (a motet),
This sweet and merry month of may (madrigal) – ONE OF HIS FEW MADRIGALS THAT HE WROTE
The sweet and Merry Month of May
- Opens with canonic duet for the two sopranos
- Merry – upward rising motif
- Birds- music echoes a bird song
- Triple meter
- Eliza i.e queen Elizabeth I
- Beauteous queen of Second Troy – pause in the music
His musical output includes:
- Latin motets (used in Anglican practice)
- Composed catholic and Anglican liturgical music
- Consort songs (secular and religious)
- Consort fantasias and keyboard fantasias
- Variations and dances
Sing Joyfully
- A sacred work to be sung in church
- Text is based on first 4 verses of Psalm 81
- This is an anthem(an English sacred choral work) – English equivalent of a catholic motet (a
sacred choral work for the RC church)
- an example of A cappella choral music
- Choral music : more than one singer to a part (Soprano Alto Tanner Base)
- A cappella: sung without any instrument accompaniment
- FORM: sectional with cadences sometimes ELIDED
- Elided cadence: a new line of text/music begins before previous line/music comes to a
complete stop
- Sectional: each new section of the text has a new music idea
- Texture: polyphonic in 6 voices
- Uses imitative counterpoint or imitation-- One voice introduces a melody/text and is imitated
by the other voices in succession
- First voice and subsequent voices continue to sing as other voices enter
- A rich and luxuriant sound that gives a heightened sense of spirituality
- The challenge is to exploit the potentials of six voices without obscuring the text
Word painting examples
- Sing joyfully – lively upward moving musical theme
- Blow the trumpet –fanfare like singing with echoes
- For this is a statute for Israel – singing in declamatory style (all in rhythm together as if declaring
a law)
- Performers all male choir, women were not allowed to sing in church at this point
Other composers of Sacred Renaissance Music
- England : Thomas Tallis
- Germany: Martin Luther, Johann Walter
- Italy: Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
- Spain: tomas Luis Victoria
My lord Help me to pray
- A polyphonic piece from the Bahamas in the 19th Century
- Sung by spoinge fishermen passing time on their boats
- A type of rhyme singing
- Based on gospel texts
- Sung in three parts each with different words
- Resembles plytextual works of the 13th century cathedral of notre dame in this respect
- Lead singer is called the Rhyme singer
An African American syncretism “combinging different forms of belief and practice
- Combines Christian and Bahamian beliefs
- Texture: 3 parts (rhyme singer) leader monophonic at beginning : wind
- Treble singer (Polyphonic = T+B) sky
- Bass singer: earth
- Call and response
- - as the song progresses the calls and responses overlap to create a thick polyphonic texture
Intonations:
-Rhyme line: varied and usually descending improvised
- treble line: 2 halves a ascends and pauses on highest tone; b descends and resolves on lowest tone
-Bass line: 2 essential tones that provide basic harmonic support
-rhymed couplet
-call: changes ex: Oh lord what a faithful Soul
-Response: always “My Lord help me to pray”
- Later: an embelled
BONUS: identify form
Tielman Susato
- Lived 1510-1570
- A music publisher as well as composer
- Lived in Antwerp (now located in Belgium)
- No image survives
- Was a calligrapher in the scriptorium (copy shop within a cathedral: copying was done by hand)
- By 1543 he had established a music printing business – the only one in the low counreis
(Belgium and the Netherlands)
- Played wind instruments including the sackbut in town band
- Promoted local composers by publishing their works
- Published many music books that included his own compositions
- Many of his songs contained Flemish (dutch) texts
- Susato’s moresca was published in the third book of music (1551)
o A set of all kinds of dances which can be played pleasantly and comfortably on all
musical instruments
Moorish Dance
- Susato’s Moorish dance was extremely popular dance tune
- Music for dancing – popular during renaissance period
- William byrd and tielman susato both important composers of dance music
- Dance music included pavenes galliards allemandes sarabandes gigues etc each of these dances
has a unique tempo meter and rhythm
- Moresca=Moorish dance
- Depicted combat between moors (muslims) and Christians
- Used as entertainment in parades or between acts of dramatic entertainment likely performed
by professional troupes
- Similar to English morris dancing-facial masks bells on legs
Ensemble of Moorish Dance:
Winds 3 recorders, 4 shawms, 1 curtal, 4 sackbuts, 2 cornettos
STRINGS violins, AND PERCUSSION
Moorish Dance
Prominent instruments= highest (recorders) Loudests ( sackbuts and cornettos)
Percussion provides steady beat for dancing
Dance Music:
Must have steady beat to facilitate the steps
repetition and alternation of musical ideas
FORM: BINARY ||: A : || ||: B : || or AA BB
Then repeat al adding an additional A section at the end i.e (AABBAABBA
IN b section the recorders drop out and the sackbuts and cornettos come to the fore
MIDTERM TWO
Know protestant reformation
Counter reformation
martin luther
Renaissance Music
- Words and music together in unity
- Polyphony
- Full rich sound with
- Intricate texture
- Attention to text
- Melodies were complex
Comparing: paintings and the detail compared to no detail in medieval times, can see personality and
faces, and reflects humanism
Josquin des pres the Cricket
Celebrity, life is shrouded in mystery, greatest composer of early ren, hired by duke of ferrara, other
josquins
France, Belgium and Italy, He was widely published, composed around 70 french chansons and Italian
frottole
Motet
The cricket: SATB, counterpoint, falsetto
- uses word painting “hold a long line” and chirping sounds
- ternary form
Thomas Weelkes – since robin hood
1575-1623
-english composer, primarily vocal
-Italian poetry and music
-Madrigal
-sacred music
- organist: drunk
-five books of madrigals
-received a degree in music
Since robinhood
- William kemp (morris dance)
- Madrigal – most important type of secular song
- Polyphonic texture with three voices
- Declamatory style rhythm (everything is kind of happening at the same time)
- Word painting or madrigalism
- Madrigal most important type of secular song (single strophe)
- Melody: the melody in the top voice was well known the two lower ones are distinctive
Poetic Meter
Opening: iambic (short-long)
second section: trochaic (long short)
third section = iambic(short long)
FOR FUTURE TESTS KNOW ENGLISH VS ITALIAN
William Byrd
1542-1623
- Catholic
- Had a monopoly on the printing of music
- His musical output includes latin motets, catholic and Anglican liturgical music, consort songs,
consort fantasias and keyboard fantasias, variations and dances
Sing joyfully
- A sacred work
- Text is based on first four verses of psalm 81
- This is an ANTTHEM – English equivalent to a catholic motet
- A capella choral music
- FORM: sectional (elided cadence)
- Texture: polyphonic (imitative counterpoint)
- Word painting
o Sing joyfully (lively upward)
o Blow the trumpet (fanfare echoes
o For this is a statute for isreal (all sung together)
England: Thomas Tallis
Germany: Martin Luther, Johann Walter
Italy: Palestrina
Spain: Thomas
My lord help me to pray
- Polyphonic
- 3 parts (rhyme treble bass singer)
- Call and response
- Intonations
- Rhymed couplets
- Call oh lord what a faithful soul and response is my lord help me to pray
Moorish dance
Music for dancing:
Form is binary,
October 23rd 2012
The Baroque Era (1600-1750)
- Period between the Renaissance and the classical Era
- The term Baroque used by later historians to describe the extravagant and bizarre qualities of
music
- Light/dark contrasts and motion in art
- Ornate architecture
- Single emotional expression—affect
- Music too had motion energy ornamentation and extremes
o Expression of feelings (affect) became important one feeling per movement= doctrine
of affections
- Represented passions through music
Music
- Contrasts
- Low vs high sounds
- Loud vs soft
- Ornate musical lines (trills embellishments)
- New use of homophony – one voice clearly more important than the others, allowed for the
possibility of:
o Soloist portraying single dramatic character
o Opera
o The concerto: soloist(s) vs ensemble
o Elaborate embellishment
- National pride was illustrated in cultural political and economic
o Finest music=highest power
o Rulers/aristocracy proved their value through elaborate festivals music art architecture
- King Geroge I of England
o Thames river, Handel’s Water music
- Louis XIV of France : Versailles opera
- Churches too illustrated their importance with elaborate music and architecture
- Many of the compositions of this perod were written for the churches – both catholic and
protestant organ music
- Music conveyed spiritual teachings as did sacred architecture
Operas: were first performed in private theatres in the courts of the nobility and royalty
Public opera houses started in Venice, Italy in 1637 by 1700 the public craved opera and it was a
big business
Impresarios (Producers)
Oratorios: operas without costumes and staging usually on a sacred topic created for performance in
church or in an opera house during lent a penitential season
Virtuoso Performers Castrati
- This was the beginning of the importance of Virtuoso performers – singers/instrumentalists of
extremely high technical and musical skill
- Castratimen who were castrated as boys so that their voices would not change they sounded
like women with voices that had a great deal of power
October 24th 2012-10-24
- Claudio Monteverdi (Orpheus Act II)
- Homophonic texture : expresses sadness with minor key
- 1567-1643 :Renaissance and Baroque
- Career straddled the renaissance and Baroque eras mastered both old and new textures
- Monteverdi (Du Fay and Josquin) Before him spanned two stylistic shifts
- Prima Prattica (first practice): musical richness takes priority over textual expression(ren)
- Seconda prattica (second practice): text is the driving force (baroque)
- Prima : books one through four and a few in five are polyphonic madrigals
- Seconda: the concertato madrigals with basso continuo of books – 5 thru 9 religious music
(Vespers of 1610) and operas
- Two distinct phases in Monteverdi’s Career:
o Mantua (1590-1613) “serving the Gonzagas and writing music to order” where Orpheus
was performed
o Venic (1613-43) as the maestro di cappella at st mark’s others such as Cipriano de Rore
and Zarlino held this prestigious position
- 1630’s: he composed works for the new public opera houses in Venice
- Experimented with new styles
- Had heated debates including the Artusi-Monteverdi controversy
Baroque Opera
- Opera: a drama sung from beginning to end
- Thoughts and emotions expressed by singing; one character one voice
- Homophonic texture: easier to understand the text
- Restores balance between text and music
- Basso Continuo accompaniment: chords played by lute, harpsichord etc
- Base line played by cello bassoon etc ( instrument that can sustain a sound )
Types of Compositions/movements:
- Recitatives (know function)
- Arias (expressing emotion/idea) time stands still
- Choruses (sung differently gives polyphonic texture)
- Duets
- Trios
- Sextets (etc)
Recitative: a style of singing that lies somwehre between lyrical song and speech: also the operatic
number this is sung in this style “recite”- root
- moves the action along, a speaking style of singing
-not very elaborate musically- words projected very clearly(usually syllabic)
-simple accompaniment
Aria: Italian for air or melody: any lyrical movement or piece for solo voice with some kind of
instrumental accompaniment
-characters pause to reflect, musically elaborate, often virtuosic (difficult)
-accompaniment does not overshadow the singer
-could have more than one singer in an aria
Chorus: polyphonic texture: comment on thbe action reflect emotions etc
Duet: two singers....
Orpheus: the story
- his beloved euridice has been poisoned by a snake and dies
-Eurdice ends up in the underworld
- Orpheus sings to persuade the guardians of the underworld to let him bring his love back to see the
stars again
- they agree with the stipulation that he not look back on his way out
-he cannot resist the urge to look back
-he loses eridice forever
however Euridice becomes a constellation
- The most frequently performed early opera
- Elaborate arias and choruses lively music for dancers
- Music makes the characters seem human with real emotion
- This Act II selection is a RECITATIVE then a CHORUS
- Orpheous is grieving the lsos of Euridice and the choris is commenting on his grief and sadness
- Both sections accompanied by basso continuo
- Word painting: depths the dead melody descends; stars height melody ascends; bitter-sharp
dissonance; flies-rapid rhythms
Other Compositions by Claudio
- Coronation of poppea (opera)
- The Return of Ulysses to his homeland (opera)
- Psalm 100(sacred)
- Serene and clear eyes (madrigal
- The western wind returns (vespino tourna?) MADRIGAL IN ITALIAN
- Lament of the nymph (madrigal)
- Vespers in honor of the blessed virgin mary (sarcred)
Old and new practice
These composers and many others combined elements of the old and new in their music
1) Claudio Monteverdi
2) Giovanna Gabrieli
3) Heinrich Schutz
4) Pier Francesco
October 26th 2012-10-30
Henry Purcell 1659-1695
- Born into musical family
- Successfully composed in many genres
- Wrote many works that included song and spoken dialogue (semi operas)
- Semi operas: plays interpolated with songs and music
- Despite success- little is known about his life
- He wrote Dido and Aeneas (1689)
- Genesis and performance of this opera remains unknown
- Opera wasn’t popular in England during his time, even when it became popular audiences
wanted it sung in Italian
Dido and Aenas
- One of the first known operas written in English
- !st performed at a girls school in Chelsea in 1689
- Possible that it may have been performed as early as 1685
- Not performed again until after the composers death (1700)
- Altered vision
- Possibly suppressed for the political reasons
- Plot from Vigils Aenead: Aeneas promises to marry Dido but abandons her and drives her to
suicide
- Chief characters: DIDO the queen of Carthage (Soprano) highest vocal range
- ANEAS: a Trojan prince (baritone) middle low and male voice
- BELINDA: Dido’s maid servant (Soprano)
Plot
- Aeneas refugee from Troy
- Troy has fallen to Greek Gods
- Aneas and companions set off to establish the city of Rome
- In Africa they arrive at Carthage ruled by the widowed Queen Dido
- Dido and Aenas fall in love
- Aenas abandons his mission
- Mercury messenger of the Gods disguised as a witch orders aeneas to leave –he does
- Dido Dies
Overture: gets the audience ready
- Purely instrumental
- Usually contains musical themes from the Opera
- Hear a French Overture
- Slow intro in dotted rhythms (long-short)
- Followed by an imitative fast section
Scene and Chorus
- An aria sung by Belinda
- Aria air or melody
- Lyrical movement for solo voice
- Chorus joins in reinforcing the same feelings
Song: an aria in which dido laments her situations
- Melody sung over a repeated pattern of notes in the bass—ostinato or ground bass
Recitative: Belinda and Dido talk with each other the text is delivered quickly and clearly in a speech –
like singing style
Chorus: comments on the action/emotions of the whole scene
1) When characters talk to each other = recitative
2) When characters express feelings= aria
3) When observers comment on events and feelings=chorus
Opera In English
- Operas typically Italian , French or German
- Why not translate?
- Can’t easily be translated since the translated words wont always fit with the melodic phrase
- How would I understand an opera if I can’t understand the language?
- Operas today often have super titles
- Operas written in English:
o Benjamin Britten (Peter Grimes, The turn of the screw)
o Thea Musgrave (mary, Queen of Scotts)
o John Adams (Nixon in China)
o Philip Glass (einstein on the Beach)
Other Baroque Composers of Opera
- Italian
o George Frideric Handel
o Rinaldo: includes da Capo aria= an aria in ABA FORM
- French
o Jean Baptiste Lully: armide
o Marc-Antoine Charpentier: Andromede
o Jean Philippe Rameau
TMRW AT ELEVEN THIRTY
Mbuti Pygmies – Marriage celebration song
From northeastern region of the democratic republic of the Congo (DRC)-formerly known as Zaire
- Inhabit the ituri forest-borders Uganda to the East, Sudan to the north, and the DRC to the south
and west; citizens of DRC
- They are Nomads (settle somewhere for a short period of time then move on)
- Their life is communal affair; no political hierarchy exists; all persons are equal. This is reflected
in their music as all the parts are equal
Marriage celebration song
- Ostinato: a short pattern of notes repeated over and over
- Rock and classical western music use ostinato figures
- Easy to hear because they repeat
- Common in baroque music
- Also occurs in music passed down orally
- WHY? Easily remembered and easily performed and provides a simple underlying musical
structure to a piece of music
- Master to pupil
Did I repeat myself?
- Ostinato is common in many types of music, e.g American doo wop vocal music of the 1950’s
- In shboom by the chords the bass has a simple repeated part the top part has the melody and
the other voices fill in the middle
Texture of Marriage and Celebration song
- Call and Response
- One group sings motif, three responses (3 different groups)
- Heterophony: simultaneous playing of 2 or more versions of the tune
- Heterophonic group 1 and 2
- Each group is layered by a hocket design
- Hocket-rhythmically interlocking voices, one fills space left by another’s rests to make a
complete melody (interlocking rhythms to create this design)
- Melody-rhythmic fragments overlap
Hocket
- VOICE 1 WE
- VOICE 2 A
- VOICE 3 ARE
- VOICE 4 HOCKETING!
- Hocket is a form of polyphony where two or more voices rhythmically interlock
- 1 3
- 2 4
Form:
- Melodic unit-ABBB (8 beats long) repeats over and over to create the ostinato
- 10 cycles of the ostinato
- 5 basic lines remain consistent
- Pitches of heterophony vary each time along with improvisations and embellishments
October 31st 2012-10-31
Barbara Strozzi
- 1619-1677
- Overcame many obstacles
- Unmarried and had four children
- Studied with Cavalli (composer singer and Monteverdi’s pupil who later replaces Monteverdi at
St. Marks Basilica in Venice
- Sang at the Accademia degli Unisoni (founded 1638)
- Adopted by Guillo Strozzi, but may have been his biological daughter
- Grew up in a cultured family and attended meetings of poets and philosophers; women weren’t
usually exposed to these
- Published 8 volumes of music
- 125 works in total without any support (patronage)
- Primarily secular works
- Seconda Prattica madrigals
- Lagrime Mie, L’eraclito amoroso
- Women were not generally appreciated during their lifetime
o Why?
o 1. Virtually no professional opportunities unless they worked in a convent
o 2. Unfortunately very little changed for hundred of years
o 3.Trained primarily as performers/virtuosos not as composers (keyboard and vocal)
o 4. Most women did not have access to training in musical compositions Exceptions?-->
Barbara strozzi, Francesca Caccini and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre received training at
home (musical families)
o Women weren’t really accepted as composers or conductors until the 20th century
REVENGE
- La vendetta in Italian
- An arietta – little aria
- Poetic text expresses a jilted lovers thirst for revenge: energetic and extroverted music
- Chamber music
o Meant to be performed in a small room at a private gathering of friends
- Revenge: increasing melodic ornamentation as the piece goes on
- Soloists in Baroque era expected to ornament melodic lines
- Similar to modern jazz
- Homophonic texture
- A duple, B triple, A duple, BEcond melody: slower triple meter upward controu with longer
notes –provides contrast
- Refrain: Words in A melody are always the same brining back the same words with the melody
at regular intervals
- Revenge: TIMBRE: SINGER: 2 voilins
- Violins echo the last phrase of each line of the text in the refrain—echoes the soprano part
- The violins drop out in the B section Basso Continuo supports the vocal line; introduces thematic
material at the beginning of the B section
- Trio sonata texture; three main voices 2 high instruments and a basso continuo
- 2 high instruments and a basso continuo
Other Baroque composers of Chamber music
- Arcangelo Corelli
- Sonata—played vs cantata sung
- Sonata de camera: chamber music for entertainment
- Sonata da chiesa : church sonata
- Johann Pachelbel: canon and gigue in D major 3 violins and basso continuo a very famous
baroque piece
- Marin marais: much virtuosic music for viola da gamba precursor to the cello
November 6th 2012-11-06
Johann Sebastian Bach – Fugue in G minor
- 1685-1750
- Born into a family with many musicians
- Changed jobs frequently Most Important jobs:
o Early in his career he has worked as a church organist; wrote Fugue in G Minor
o Concertmaster at Weimar Couret and Music Director at COthen; wrote most of his
orchestral music
o Cantor of St. Thomas’ Church in Leipzig; wrote most of his cantatas
- Two marriages and 20 children (10 of whom survived until adulthood)
o Renowned composers: Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Christian, Wilhelm Friedemann
FUGUE
- Common in the baroque era but bach took it to a whole other level
- A polyphonic work based on a theme (known as the subject)
- Subjects usually have a rhythmic attribute and other things embedded within them
- One voice plays the theme alone, then each voice enteres subsequently stating the theme (voice
is usually instrumental)
- Countermelodies (countersubjects); counterpoint
Anatomy of a Fugue
Fugue: a contrapuntal work that begins with an unaccompanied subject that is subsequently presented
in various keys and textures
- The exposition of a fugue is based on a conventional pattern:
- The fugal exposition: the opening section of a fugue in which each voice states the main subject.
It is usually comprised of alternating subjects and answers in all of the fugues voices. The
exposition usually concludes with a contrapuntal cadence
- Answer: there are two types of answers; Tonal, and Real
- Real answers: are exact transpositions of the subject (melodies are identical to answers)
- Tonal answers: not exact diatonic transpositions, they contain pitch modifications
After the exposition:
- Episodes and entry (or entry groups)
- If you hear the subject its called an entry if the subject is finished your at an episode
- Episode: after the expo a passage in which the subject is not present
- Middle entry, or Middle entries: after the exposition entries of the subject (entry), multiple
entries of the subject (entry group)
Number of voices
This fugue composed for organ, probably at arnstadt when bach was about 20
Subject:
1. Slow and stately accelerates then moves rapidly
2. Each voice in turn performs the subject in imitative fashion
Fugal exposition: all the voices perform the subject for the first time
Middle entries
Episodes: sections of the piece in which no voice is playing the subject
Timbre: Organ Version
- King of instruments- size power and variety of tones
- Different pipes create different timbres – each register has its own character
- Keys control the flow of air through the pipes
o Stops control which pipes the keys open
o Longest pipes=lowest sounds shortest pipes=highest sounds
o Lowest notes played with foot pedals; highest notes played on the keyboards (manuals)
November 7th 2012
Timbre: Orchestral Version
- Leopold Stokowski’s arrangement
- The work’s voices are distributed among the various instruments of the orchestra
- Theme played by: oboe, English horn, bassoon, bass, trombone and so on
- Transcription like this have been common throughout the history of music
Johann Sebastian Bach Other compostitions
- St matthew Passion for vocalists and orchestra
- Partita no 2. For Violin: counterpoint for a single instrument
- The well tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2: two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 of the major
and minor keys
- A musical offering: a set of works on a theme given to him by King Frederick II of Prussia
Vivaldi (Antonio)
- 1678-1741
- Called the Red Priest (red hair and ordained)
- Director of music at Venice’s Ospedale della Pieta (Hospice of compassion): a large orphanage
for girls
- Wrote most of his Concertos while at orphanage
- Was a virtuoso violinist
- Wrote almost 350 solo concertos (2/3 for solo violin) and 45 double concertos (more than ½ for
two violins)
- Revered during his lifetime
- Bach arranged some concertos for Organ
- A master of melody and formal novelty
- Interest in Baroque music was focuses on Bach and Handel
- He and his music were rediscovered in the 20th century
- Born in Venice
- Father was a violinist
- His concerts written for the Conservatorio del Ospedale Del Pieta attracted people from all over
Europe
- In addition to his post in Venice he spent time in other Italian cities writing operas (40 years and
many are now lost)
- Also spent time in Amsterdam where many of his compositions were published
- Fact or fiction- Vivaldi when celebrating masseft the alter to write down a musical idea that had
just occurred to him
- He was suspended as a priest (Vivaldi claimed that he was unable to fulfill his duties as a priest
because of his health)
- Although he charged a handsome sum for his compositions and made a small fortune- he died a
poor man because of his extravagant lifestyle
- Buried in a pauper’s grave
- Extremely prolific
- Much of his music is still unknown
Baroque concerto contrasts based on oppositional forces
- The fire and the fury of the Italian style
- Four seasons: a suite of four violin concerto’s
- Each concerto is accompanied by text or poem (written , we think by Vivaldi)
- “the fire and the fury of the Italian style”
- Four seasons: a suite of four violin concerto’s
- Each concerto is accompanied by a poem (written, we think, by Vivaldi)
- Word painting
The Four seasons Winter
- Concerto: an instrumental work for a soloist (or group of soloists)and a larger ensemble
- In vivaldi’s WINTER
- 1. Soloist: violin
- 2. Larger Ensemble that includes:
o String orchestra
- The last of 4 concertos
- Spring, Fall , Summer, Winter
- Each concerto can be performed independently
- Collectively they represent the cycle of seasons
- 3 movements:
o Fast
o Slow
o Fast
- First movement
- CONCERTO: popular genre because of the sharp contrast between the timbre of the soloists and
the ensemble
- An example of the Baroque love of extremes (light vs dark)
- Virtuosity of the soloist with or in contrast to the orchestra
- Vivaldi a composer and violinist , took violin playing to new extremes
- Vivaldi worked in northern Italy where the best violins were being crafted
- Antonio stratavari, created the best violins ever produced known as Stradivarius violins
- Modern symphony concerts often includes at least one concerto – they were written in all
periods after the Baroque era
- Ritornello form:
- A series of sections alternating between the soloists and the orchestra –tutti (everyone)
- Ritornello little return each statement and return of the full ensemble
- Ritornello principle: alternation of solo and ritornello (ensemble)
- The piece starts with the ritornello
- The soloist plays a section which modulates to a new key
- An alternations between tutti ritornello and solo in various other keys
- Ends with tutti playing ritornello in the original key
- Ice snow wind stamping feet and chattering teeth from the test all portrayed through sound
alone
- Program music: an instrumental work that is in some way associated with an external story
event or idea
- Indicated by:
1. Suggested title
2. A prose narrative
3. A poem
- Listener can listen with program in mind or without it
Other compositions
- Concerto for mandolin
- Gloria: for chorus and orchestra
November 13th 2012-11-13
Johann Sebastioan BACH: life
- Born in Eisenach germany
- His family were musicians for almost 150 years (church musicians)
- Was left an orphan at 10 years of age- was raised by his brother
- I had to work very hard anyone who works as hard will get just as far
- When he was 18 appointed at Arnstadt
- WEIMAR PERIOD (1708-17)
- At 23 began working at his first important post in Weimar as court organist and chamber
musician to the duke of Weimar
- Many organ works were written during this period
- Jsb was upset that the duke did not advance him
- Accepted an offer fromj the prince of anhalt cothen
- But he needed the duke of weimars permission to accept the new post (the duke refuses)
- Bach was eventually arrested because he stood up for his rights
- He was finally released
- COTHEN PERIOD 1717-23
- Prince appreciated chamber music
- Bach produced
- Suites
- Concertos
- Sonatas for various instruments
- Clavier music
- The six concerti grossi (dedicated to the margrave of Brandenburg)
- Remarried a singer Anna Magdalena
- Of his 20 children 7 with his first wife 13 with his second wife
- One child was mentally challenged
- One died in his twenties
- WF and CPE bach sons of maria Barbara)
- Chrispoh and Jchristain (sons of anna Magdalena)
- LEIPZIG PERIOD (1723-50)
- Appointed cantor of St Thomas
- Trained and taught singers for churches
- Duties included: music director composer organist choirmaster responsible for non music
people
- Telemann was offered this position first
- Town council member since the best man could not be attained lesser ones would have to be
accepted
- Was considered a competent choirmaster had many squabbles
- But great organist
BRANDENBURG CONCERTO NUMBER 2
CONCERTO GROSSO
Italian for big concerto and each has multiple soloists and orchestra
Bach wrote 6 bradenburg concertos-dedicated to the margrave of Brandenburg soloists in this piece:
- Trumpet, oboe, violin, recorder
- This piece is the Finale (last movement of a three movement work
- The entire movement is a fugue
- Polyphonic
- Fugue exposition each solo instrument in turn plays the subject/answer
- Several middle entries
- Episodes coincide with tutti sections
- Orchestra consists of strings (violins violas cellos basses) and basso continuo (plays throughout)
OTHER BAROQUE CONCERTI GROSSI
November 14th 2012-11-14
George Frideric Handel
- Was a violinist
- Moved to Italy in 1706 composed operas and oratorios
- Played for Hamburg opera
- Moved back to germany to be music director for elector of hanover
- Age 25 he was appointed the conductor to the elector of hanover
- In 1720 the royal academy of music was established (king and wealthy opened it) handel was
one of the musical director
- Wrote operas for the next 8 years
- He produced forty operas in a period of thirty years
- Abandoned opera in 1741 and turned to oratorios
- One of the first composers to become a cultural hero-commemorated in 1784 by a series of
large concerts in Westminister Abbey
- Beloved by english public-buried in westminister abbey
Water music
- written for a riverboat party given by English King George I on july 17 1717
- Whitehall to Chelsea and back on the Thames river
- An orchestra of 50 Musicians
- This Suite contains more than two dozen dance movements (actually 3 suites)
- A suite- a series of dance movements
- Dance movements can include: minuet, gavottes, Cigues, Bourree, Rigaudon, Hornpipe
- The various dances provides contrasts: slow vs fast , lively vs. Stately, duple vs. Triple, etc
- Hornpipe: a lively dance in triple meter often associated with sailors (hornpipe and old single
reed instrument popular in british isles)
- Binary Form
- Performed 3 times
- Accents on weak beats –called
- Syncopation
- Hornpipe – we don’t know if they danced to this music on the river
- We do know that the king loved the music as he asked for it to be performed three times
- Binary form: two sections each repeated ||: A: ||: B : ||
- A Tonic: secondary key
- B Non tonic key tonic
- The A section begins in home key (i.e the tonic then modulates to a secondary key)
- The b section which is almost always in a secondary key begins in a non tonic key then
modulates back to the tonic
- Hornpipe
o Modulation-change of a key during the course of a movement
- A section starts in tonic and modulates: b section ends in the tonic key if it didn’t end in the
tonic it wouldn’t sound finished
- Usually melodic content of BF is static (not contrasting)
- Usually based on a single theme manipulated in various ways little actual contrasting material
- Timbre: WINDS VS STRINGS
- Handel did not specify which instruments should play
- Orchestration: the manner in which various instruments are assigned to musical lines
- In the Hornpipe performers used a different orchestration each time the binary form was
presented
- 1st time: 3 oboes and a bassoon
- 2nd time: strings alone with basso continuo (harpsichord and cello)
- 3rd time: full ensemble of strings winds and basso continuo
- OTHER HANDEL COMPOSITIONS
o Messiah (oratorio)
o Saul (oratorio)
o Solomon (oratorio)
o Rinaldo (opera)
o Guillioi cesare (opera)
o Alexanders feast (ode)
November 20th 2012-11-20
Messiah
- Church was ambivalent toward opera
- No productions during lent 40 days before Easter or Advent 30 days before Christmas
- During Lent and Advent faithful to give up
- Messiah is an oratorio-like an opera, but without staging sets or costumes
- Like opera the oratorio is also comprised of recitatives arias choruses and lavish singing
- Oratorio (Italian for prayer hall) which is where they were performed in the 17th century
- Are not staged
- Do not have costumes
- Do not have sets
- Most Oratorios have plots and characters, the Messiah is unusual in this regard as it does not
have characters or a plot
- Text drawn from new and old testaments
- Selected here: a recitative and aria followed by a large grand chorus the (hallelujah Chorus)
- Each section has a different compositional and vocal style
- The three work together to form one dramatic unit
- Recitative: He hath dwelleth in Heaven
- Aria “Though shalt Break Them
- Both are written for a tenor soloist
- Usual pattern taken from Opera (i.e recitative followed by an aria)
- Recitative tenor solo + basso continuo
- Is a brief passage set in the declamatory style (homophonic)
- Aria: tenor solo and reduced orchestra of violins and BC minor mode (homophonic)
- Handel is saving the full orchestra for the hallelujah chorus that follows
- Ritornello style (soloist alternating with ensemble)
- Text of the aria is brief but extended through repetition and melismatic passages
Word Painting
- Though shalt break them with a rod of iron
- Thou shalt dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel
- Text is based on a single idea and Handel sets the music to a single melody
- Form: RIT 1 SOLO 1 RIT 2 SOLO 1 RIT 3
Hallelujah Chorus
- Recitative introduces aria
- Aria introduces chorus
- Text: old testament – New testament
- Text drawn from the book of Revelations from various verses
- Form—sectional Intro ABCD
- Five melodies (in various combinations sometimes overlapping)
- Melody 1: hallelujah
- Melody 2: for the lord god omnipotent reigneth
- Melody 3: the kingdom of this world
- Melody 4: and he shall reign forever and ever
- Melody 5: king of kings and lord of lords
- Each verse receives its own music
- Same words same music
- Monophony, polyphony, and homophony
- Melody 1: rhythm in music matches the two different ways of saying Hallelujah
- Melody 2: god omnipotent – big jump in melody
- Melody 3: the kingdom of this world (high to low)
- Melody 4: ever and ever imitative entries
- Melody 5: king of kings- uppermost soprano line
REVIEW
30 marks instead of 20
The term baroque extravagant and bizarre qualities of the music (1600-1750)
- the harmonies
-the textures
-the forms
- free and unpredictable especially when compared to those of the Renaissance or Classical eras
-light and dark contrasts ; single emotional expression – affect
-Music: contrasts
-Music too had motion energy ornamentation and extremes
- expression of feelings (affect)- one feeling per movement
-National pride was illustrated in cultural political and economic terms
- King George I of England
-Churches too illustrated their importance with elaborate music and architecture
-both Catholic and Protestant; organ music
- Opera: a drama sung from beginning to end
- private
- Public opera houses
- impresarios (producers)
- Oratorios virtuoso performers
-Castrati
- Claudio Monteverdi (Orpheus Act II)
- 1567-1643
- Renaissance and baroque
- Prima prattica and seconda prattica (musical richness vs text being driving force)
- Two distinct phases in his career serving the Gonzagas in Mantua, and venice as the maestro
di cappella at st Mark’s
- Homophonic texture (balance between text and music)
- Basso continuo accompaniment (second prattica, most of our examples have this in ensemble)
- Types of compositions/movements: (recitatives, arias, choruses, duets)
Mbuti Pygmies
- Democratic republic of Congo – formerly known as Zaire
- Inhabit the ituri forest
- Nomads
- Communal affair
- Music as all the parts are equal
- Marriage celebration song ostinato, common in baroque music, occurs in oral music
- Texture: call and response
- Heterophony: simultaneous playing of 2 or more versions of the tune
- Hocketrhythmically interlocking voices
Barbara Strozzi
- 1619-1677
- Unmarried
- Sang at the academia degli unison
- Adopted by Guillo Strozzi Grew up in a cultured family
- Published 8 volumes of music (125 works) with no patronage or moral support: primarily secular
works
- Seconda prattica madrigals
- Female Musicians in the Baroque Era
o Virtually no professional opportunities
o Little changed for hundreds of years
o Trained primarily as performers
o Most women did not have access to training in musical composition
o Exceptions: barabara strozzi
- Revenge “La vendetta” in Italian
- An Arietta—little aria
- Jilted lover’s thirst for revenge
- Chamber music
- Increasing ornamentation ( expected to ornament melodic lines)
- Homophonic texture
- A duple B triple A duple...
- ABABA
Johann Sebastian Bach
- 1685-1750
- Born into a family with many musicians
- Changed jobs frequently
- Two marriages with 20 children and ten survived
- FUGUE
o Fugal exposition
o Subject
o Answer
o Real and tonal
- After the exposition : episodes and entry
- Episode has no subject present
- Middle entry
- Timbre: organ version “king of instruments”
- Stops and pedals
- Orchestral version
- Leopold Stokowski’s arrangement
- ST MATTHEW PASSIONS
PARTITA NO 2 for VIOLIN
- THE WELL TEMPERED CLAVIER BOOKS 1 and 2
A MUSICAL OFFERING: a set of works on a them given to him by King Frederick II of Prussia
VIVALDI
- 1678-1741
- Red priest
- Director of music at venice
- Concerto: an instrumental work for a soloist or group of soloists
- Ritornello form
- Little return each statement and return in the full ensemble
- Ritornello principle
- Program music
JS BACH
BRANDENBURG CONCERTO
- Weimar period (1708-17), cothen period (1717-23), Leipzig period (17...)
- Concerto grosso big concerto
- Bach wrote 6 brandenburg concertos dedicated to the Margrave of Brandenburg
- Final last movement of a three movement work
- Movement is a fugue
- Fugal exposition
- Several middle entries
- Know form of every thing we learned
- Episodes coincide with tutti sections
HANDEL
1685