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The Middle Ages

The document provides an overview of Western art music history from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. It summarizes key characteristics, composers, genres, and forms for each major era, including the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th century periods. For each era, there is a focus on melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and other structural elements as well as dominant genres such as masses, madrigals, opera, symphonies, and the evolution of musical forms over time.

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Shu Yee
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
86 views

The Middle Ages

The document provides an overview of Western art music history from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. It summarizes key characteristics, composers, genres, and forms for each major era, including the Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th century periods. For each era, there is a focus on melodic, harmonic, rhythmic, and other structural elements as well as dominant genres such as masses, madrigals, opera, symphonies, and the evolution of musical forms over time.

Uploaded by

Shu Yee
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Middle Ages (450-1450)

Renaissance (1450-1600)
Baroque (1600-1750)
Classical (1750-1820)
Romantic (1820-1900)
20th Century (1900-2000)
For Middle ages & Renaissance:
1. Sacred
-same notation. No beat
-bells, organ
2. Secular
-no notation, has beat
-more instruments
The Middle Ages

Sacred:
Gregorian Chant + 1 melody = organum
4th/5th apart = Consonance, 3rd apart = Dissonance
Secular:
Madrigal (love song) As Vesta Was Descending by Weelkes
Ballet (dance song) Now is the Month of maying - Courting
song (Fa-La)

Baroque (1600-1750)
Baroque: irregular pearls in Portuguese, bizazze

Family of musicians
J.S Bach his death is important as it marked the end of the
baroque era
Middle class > musician
Orchestra (10-30 people) Strings, woodwind
Improvisation spontaneous music making/ performing
Composers: J.S Bach, Handel, Monteverdi (developed pizzicato),
Vivaldi
Type of compositions: Concerto Grosso. Fugue, Opera, Oratorio

Ornaments (to make the music sounds nice)

Acciaccatura
Appoggiatura
Mordent
Turn
Trills
Arpeggiation

Characteristics

Melody: Continuity, elaborative, long phrases (with ornaments)


Harmony: Accompaniment (Basso Continuo)
*Basso Continuo
- 1 keyboard + 1 low pitch instrument
- keyboard: organ, harpsichord
- low pitch instrument: cello, bassoon
Rhythm: Continuity, Perpetual motion
Texture: Polyphonic, Opera: homophonic
Timbre: String, Keyboard (organ, harpsichord), woodwind
-Less timbre, instruments not specified
Dynamics: Terraced dynamics
Form: Ritornello form movement, Fugal form
Eg: La Primavera (spring) from the four seasons by Vivaldi
o Concerto Spring, summer, autumn, winter
o Ritornello form (refrain)
o Strings- violin
o Sonnet
o Mainly homophonic

Theme > new melody> theme> melody> theme

Concerto Grosso

Tutti (large group) vs soloist (small group)


Contrast
3 movements
1. Fast, grand, determined
2. Slow, lyrical, gentle
3. Fast, carefree, lively

Opera

A drama sung to an orchestra accompaniment


Orchestra, acting, vocal, chorus, dance, castratos
(acting and vocal are soloist)
Camerata (fellowship) recitative (recited)
Italian > other language
1-5 acts
Libretto (little book), script writer: librettist
Aria: acting, scenery, costumes

Overture
Act 1 Scene 1,2
Prelude
Act 2 Scene 1,2,3
Prelude
Act3 Scene 1,2,3

Recitative (recited)
o A melodic idea in between speech and singing
o Advance the story
o 1 syllable: 1 note
o Short
Aria
o A song with orchestral accompaniment
o Express emotions
o 1 syllable: many notes
o Long
E.g.: Orfeo Monteverdi
Tu Se Morta (you are dead)
Recitative Dido and Aeneas by Purcell
Aria- Didos Lument

Oratorio

Biblical stories

Lent
E.g.:
o
o
o

Messiah by Handel
Aria
Recitative
Overture
2nd: Comfort ye, my people
3rd: Every Valley shall be exalted
12th: for unto us a child is born
Last movement: Hallelujah Chorus
o Italy 3 years
o Germany music direction of George

Fugue

Polyphonic based on a theme: subject


not monophonic (sounds like monophonic when it starts)
flexible
feature: subject first, then can play anything after the subject
countersubject: melody that accompany subject
episode: transition before going back to the subject
Organ Fugue in G minor by J.S Bach (little fugue)
4 different presentation ways of a subject

1. inversion: opposite direction (change melody)


2. retrograde: Reverse (change melody)
3. Augmentation: Lengthen the note value (change rhythm)
4. Diminution: Shorten the note value

transitional to Classical: Handel

Classical period (1750~1820)

Composers: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (transitional to


romantic)

death of J.S Bach marked the end of baroque and start of


classical period
SIMPLICITY, CLARITY
o Texture: Homophonic -> until now
o Timbre: Piano (took over organ and harpsichord),
orchestra size grow to 60 (strings, woodwind, brass,
little bit or percussion)
o Dynamics: cresc., decresc, terraced dynamics
o Harmony: Basso Continuo (keyboard and low pitch
instrument), 3rd apart consonance
o Melody: balanced and symmetrical (same phrase length,
characteristic), friendly, borrowed tune,
original version of twinkle little star: Ah vous
dirai-je, manan
o Rhythm variety, syncopations
o Form sonata form, theme & variations, minuet & Trio,
Rondo form
Composition: symphony, concerto, opera, oratorio, fugue,
chamber music

Sonata form
*Slow Intro optional 1 Exposition (A)
- 1st theme (original key)
-bridge (modulation)
-2nd theme (new key)
-closure (2nd theme key)
*Repeat of exposition optional
2 Development (B)
-develop 1st/2nd theme(s)
3 Recapitulation (A)
- 1st theme (original key)
-bridge
-2nd theme
-closure
*CODA (tail, repeat themes, develop, conclusion) optional

symphony #40 in G minor, K.550, 1st movement, by Mozart


K Kochel

h/w Piano Sonata in C minor,Op.13, 1st movement, by Beethoven


(Pathetique Sonata)- what funny thing heve done rondo second
movement, coda ABACA

Symphony
Developed in Classical
Tutti soloist <
Function : explore the dynamics &
timbre of the orchestra
4 movements
1 Fast, grand, determined,
vigorous
Sonata form
2 Slow, lyrical
T&V form
3 Moderate, triple time, dance
like
M&T Form
4 Fast, lively, carefree
-Rondo Form

Concerto
Developed in baroque
Tutti vs soloist - contrast
Function: contrast
3 movements
1 fast, grand, determined,
vigorous
2 slow, lyrical
3 fast, lively, carefree

Theme & variations form


-based on a theme
-different variations
-each time when the theme repeats, there are changed to the
theme
- A > A > A > A

Minuet and Trio Form

Derived from ABA form


Moderato
Sounds like dance

Minuet

Trio Minuet

(aba)

(cdc)

(aba)

E.g.: Eine Kleine Nachtmuzik, K525 3rd movement by Mozart

Scherzo & Trio Form (joke)

Derived from ABA form


Does not sound like dance

Rondo form

A recurring theme played alternatively with other


important themes
ABACCA, ABACADA, ABACADABA, ABACABA,
ABACADACABA

Eg:

String Quartet in C minor ,4th minor by Beethoven


Dies Irae (3rd movement)
Requiem in D minor, K,626
- A mass for deads by Handel
Symphony #5 in C minor by Beethoven
-Destiny Symphony > Audience named it as Fate Symphony)

Mozart
- Requiem in D minor (A Mass for Dead), K.626
- Only composed 9 movements out of 14 movements

Beethoven
#1,3,5,7,9, - vigorous
#2,4,6,8 romantic

Destiny Symphony by Beethoven:


1.
2.
3.
4.

Replaced Minuet with Scherzo


Use of more instruments
Longer coda, longer composition
Thematic Transformation (use of an earlier theme for a later
movement)
5. Transition and Closure become themes

Romantic period

Melody: Longer Phrases, more leaps, with certain associations


Harmony: Chromatic harmony > dissonance (tension) >
delayed resolution
Rhythm: Rubato (slight speeding up/ slowing down of rhythm),
more syncopations
Texture: Homophonic
Timbre: Piano (w/ pedals), orchestra (100+)
Dynamics: Extreme, from ffff-pppp
Form: Monumental (big/long) vs miniature (chamber music)
Type of composition: Art song, Program song, Nationalism
music, exoticism music

E.g. Rigoletto by Verdi, Atia La Denna emobile (woman is fikle)Art


song

A song with piano accompaniment


Connection with poem/literature
Prelude (before singing starts) and postlude (after singing
starts)
EG: The Erking by Schubert
3 forms of art song
o Strophic (verse repeating, AAAA)
o Through-Composed (ABCD)
o Modified Strophic (ABCABA)
Die Forelle (The tront) by Schubert AABA

Program Music

Instrumental
Association: story/ scene/ poem/ idea
Non-musical idea: reflected by the title OR composer s
comments (program)
1. Title: Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky (love, tragedy,
fight)
2. Title: Fantastic symphony by Berlioz (with program note)

Nationalism Music

Political movement
The Moldan by Smetana (longest river in Bohemia)
Revolutionary Etude by chopin technical piece
Transcendental Etude by Liszt

Exoticism Music

Drawing external elements in composing


Carmen - Itabanera

20th century
Impressionism

Symbolism

-Artistic movement
*Painting

*Literature

-Monet
-Color patches
-not harsh
- suggest what the music is about
-obsessed with water
-water represents impermanence, fluidity

Debussy (Exoticism musician)


-pedal
- from far
-not harsh
-dissonance vs consonance
-pentatonic, whole tone

Bolero (Spanish music) by Ravel (French)


- obsession with the rhythm

20th century - INDIVIDUALISTIC

Melody: complicated, long phrases, unconventional intervals,


extremely hard to remember /sing, sounds unfriendly
Harmony: polychord (chords combine = another damn weird
chord), no difference between consonance and dissonance,
tone cluster (a chord with all adjacent notes), church modes,
bitonality (2 keys exists at the same time), atonality (no key),
12-tone system (by Schoenberg, play 12 notes without
repeating any notes, and repeat the whole music again),
pentatonic (5 tone scale), whole tone (6 tone scale),

Rhythm: polyrhythm, polymeter (can change meter) e.g.


17/16 ,7(2+2+3)/8,
Timbre: noise like, percussive, unconventional playing of the
instrument
Texture: Any
Dynamics: Any, e.g.: fpppppppp
Form: Any Form, formless

E.g: The rite of spring by Stravinsky

1 Serialism music
12 tone system in other elements such as timbre, rhythm,
dynamics
eg. Semi-simple variations by Babbitt
2 Quotation music
Quote from earlier music
eg. Concerto Grosso 1985 by Zwilich
o (1685) Handels 300th birth year
3 Minimalist music
Clear tonality, steady beats, repetition
Eg. Einstein on the Beach by Glass
4 Liberation of sounds: unconventional playing of instruments
Eg. Threnody: To the victims of Hiroshima by Penderecki
(52 strings)
5 Chance Music
Dice, coin, John Cage- 433 (4min33seconds of silence) *
depends on the environment *
Prepared piano
Opera: Wozzeck by Berg (Schoenbergs student)
- atonality
Jazz
-African Americans Western part of Africa
-Improvisation Blues 12 bar blues, same harmonic progression
(A) Vocal
I
| one
| Love
(A) Vocal
iv
| one
| Love
(B) Vocal
V
|two/many | Hate

-syncopation Ragtime Piano music, duple, moderato, RHsyncopation LH- beat


Eg. Maple leaf Ragtime by Joplin
-timbre: vocal, brass (cornet) American Band Tradition
+ Woodwind
+ Percussion/ keyboard
+ Strings
Types:
1. New Orleans Style Cornet* trombone/Clarinet
- Improvised
eg: Hotter than that by Armstrong (Scat singing) nonsense
syllables
2. Swing : more than 10 people, composed music
-brass > melody
-woodwind (clarinet/saxophones) > melody
-keyboard/percussion rhythm
eg. C-Jam Blues by Ellington

3.Bebop small group performance


- 1940s
- percussion
eg. Bloomdido by Parker

Extra credit listening test identify title n composer

Musical Theatre

Opera

2 acts, 1st > 2nd


Simpler melody

1-5 acts
Melody (complicated, wider leaps,
harder to sing, wider range)

Simpler harmony

Harmony

more personnel

1 librettist script
1 composer music

More spoken dialogue

More singing

1920~30s
30s~60s

Musical Theatre = Broadway (company that first started musical

theatre)
Eg. West Side Story
Jets
Riff
Tony
Tonight Ensemble
I feel Pretty
Rock
Rhythm 1+2+3+4+
Quadruple = 4 beats, syncopations
-timbre : electric guitar
amplified sound
-harmony : simple
Rock (white)
Soul music (black)
R&B
Motown Detroit
Disco music
Renggac

Beatles: Lucy in the sky with Diamond


-backmasking

Sharks
Bernardo- Anita
Maria

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