LEVEL 9

HISTORY
NOTES
THE ALL YOU NEED
TO KNOW TO
COMPLETE LEVEL 9
HISTORY
These notes were put together by a team that included Royal
Conservatory of Music teachers, students who have excelled
in RCM History 9/10 exams, and professional RCM test
developers. The teachers contributed their knowledge and
experience with the RCM curriculum and exams. The
students provided insights on what has been challenging or
unclear for them on past RCM tests and have added them
into these notes. The test creators crafted quality notes that
are essential to excel on the History 9 RCM Exam.
 Table of Contents-

Baroque Period-
Antonio Vivaldi- Spring (La Primavera)
J.S. Bach- Prelude and Fugue in B(flat) Major (From Well-Tempered Clavier
I)
Handel- Messiah

Classical Period-
Joseph Haydn- “Emperor” String Quartet in C major, Op. 76, no.3
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart- Eine Kleine Nachtmusik K.525
Ludwig Van Beethoven- Symphony No.5 in C minor

Romantic Period-
Franz Schubert- Erlkonig
Frédéric Chopin- Polonaise in A(flat) major
Hector Berlioz- Symphonie Fantastique
Bizet- Carmen

Modern Period-
Claude Debussy- Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun
Igor Stravinsky- The Rite of Spring
Leonard Bernstein- West Side Story
Alexina Louie- Changes
John Adams- Short Ride in a Fast Machine
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice.  He was the son of a violinist and was ordained in the
Church in his 20’s and became known as the “red-haired priest”.

For the greater part of his career, Vivaldi was the conductor of the Pieta Conservatory (Maestro
de’concerti at the Conservatorio del’Ospedale della Pieta) in Venice.  This was one of the 4
music schools of Venice, attached to charitable religious institutions for the education of orphan
girls.  These institutions played an important role in the musical life of Venice.  Much of
Vivaldi’s works were written for their concerts, which attracted visitors from all over Europe. 
Judging by Vivaldi’s music, the orphan girls were expert performers.

Vivaldi spent time in other Italian cities (mostly producing operas), and in Amsterdam (where
many of his works were published).  The end of his life is mysterious—he was buried in a
pauper’s grave.

His Music

Vivaldi enjoyed composing operas, but his instrumental music was more influential as there was
a growing trend of separating vocal and instrumental music.  Indeed, Vivaldi’s music used
descriptive elements, such as in The Four Seasons, which were then portrayed by instrumental
music with no vocal accompaniment.  He was influenced by the earlier works of the Italian
composers Corelli and Torelli.  Vivaldi’s violin concertos demand virtuosity with their rapid
scales, arpeggios, and contrasting registers. These features were followed by future composers. 
His lively style and the colour and flair in his music have Italian roots.  It was the violin that he
exploited because it was developed more than any other instrument.  Vivaldi’s concertos have a
wonderful contrast between the opposing groups of instruments and soloists, making his music
easy to follow even though the violin is the only instrument used in hundreds of his concertos. 
Vivaldi usually wrote his concertos in three movements:  fast-slow-fast, which became standard
practice for other composers.  Vivaldi also made popular the ritornello form and used the idea
of a recurring theme in many of his works.

Vivaldi was amazingly prolific.  A project to publish his complete works was begun in 1947 and
is still not finished.

In defence against those who call him Antonio “Xerox” Vivaldi, Baroque composers did
frequently rework their own material, as well as that of other composers.  This was not because
of a lack of imagination but because it was common practice to use and re-use easily
recognizable musical ideas.  Indeed, J.S. Bach transcribed several of Vivaldi’s concertos, and
Bach certainly cannot be accused of being short of ideas!
His Works

Orchestral music – over 230 violin concertos including Le Quattro stagioni (The Four
Seasons, Op. 8, Nos. 1-4, c. 1725) other solo concertos (bassoon, cello, oboe, flute, recorder),
double concertos, ensemble concertos, sinfonias.

Chamber music, including sonatas for violin, cello, flute; trio sonatas

Vocal music - including oratorios (Juditha triumphans, 1716), mass movements (Gloria),
Magnificat, psalms, hymns, motets; secular vocal music, including solo cantatas and operas.
THE FOUR SEASONS

Year of composition: 1725

Title: La Primavera from Le Quattro stagioni (Op. 8, No. 1)
Spring is the first of the four seasons
Genre: Programmatic concerto
Instrumentation: Solo violin, two supporting violins, violas, cellos
harpsichord for continuo

Form: 3 movements (fast, slow, fast)

The first and last movements of Spring is in E Major.  The middle movement is a contrast in the
relative key of C# minor.

The Four Seasons is a wonderful collection of pieces based upon four Italian sonnets that Vivaldi
presumably wrote.  It is perhaps the most popular Baroque piece that depicts the art of word
painting. As his title suggests, there is a constant struggle in the music for the violin to sing what
it wants, without worrying about the constraints of harmony that existed in the 18th century. 
Vivaldi had the poem inserted into the program notes for the audience on opening night so that
they could fully understand the music and imagery.

First movement:

Form: Ritornello (alternates between new themes and a recurring tune)

Meter: 4/4
Tempo: Allegro
Key: E major
Text:
Joyful Spring has arrived,
the birds greet it with their cheerful song,
and the brooks in the gentle breezes
flow with a sweet murmur.

The sky is covered with a black mantle

and lightening and thunder announce a storm
when they fall silent, the birds
take up again their melodious song.

The mood is light, with a lively rhythm and terraced dynamics for contrast.  This Ritornello in E
major is used six times during the movement with 5 solo passages in between each repeat.  The
Ritornello theme closes the movement in tutti (all the instruments playing).  The solos in turn
depict birdlike trills; flowing water; thunder and lightning; birds again; and a running passage for
the final solo, showcasing the capabilities of the Baroque violin.  The music closely follows the
text and Vivaldi is creative in his use of trills, rapid ascending scales, repeated notes, and
tremolos to convey the meaning of the words.
Second Movement:

Form: Rounded binary

Meter: ¾
Tempo: Largo
Key: C# minor
Text: And in the flower-rich meadow,
to the gentle murmur of bushes and trees
the goatherd sleeps, with his faithful dog at his side.

Vivaldi uses the relative minor to create a melancholy feel to the music, with the solo violin
outlining a descending C# minor triad.  The tempo is slow and the orchestration is just a solo
violin supported by two other violins and a viola.

The viola line is an ostinato, depicting a dog barking.  The murmuring bushes and trees are
evident in the violins which gently rise and fall with a dotted rhythm.

Third movement:

Form: Ritornello
Meter: 12/8
Tempo: Allegro
Key: E major
Text: To the festive sounds of a rustic bagpipe
Nymphs and shepherds dance in their favourite spot
when spring appears in its brilliance.

The sound of the bagpipes is conveyed through the low, sustained notes played by the viola and
cello.  The solo passages contribute to the light-hearted feel to this movement and the 12/8 time
and dotted rhythms create a strong lilt in the music.

Two types of Baroque concertos are:

Solo concerto – concerto for solo instrument and an accompanying instrumental group

Concerto grosso – concerto based on opposition between a small group of instruments

(concertino) and a larger group (ripieno).
J.S. BACH (1685-1750)

Early Years

J.S. Bach was born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685.  His entire family were musicians. The Bachs
were known as musicians for over 150 years before Johann was even born.   Both of his parents
died when he was 10, so he went to Ohrdruf to live with an older brother, who taught him to
play the organ and the harpsichord.  When he was 18, he became an organist at a church in
Arnstadt for 4 years.  He then became organist at a church in Mulhausen for 1 year, during which
time he met and married his first cousin, Maria Barbara.
  
The three main periods in Bach’s career were:

Weimar Period (1708-1717, age 23-32)

When he was 23, Bach became Court Organist and Chamber Musician to the Duke of Weimar. 
He produced some of his most famous organ works during this period and became famous as an
organ virtuoso.  Because of the lack of possibility for advancement at Weimar, Bach asked for
permission to leave from the duke to accept a position he had been offered at Cothen.  He could
not leave the employ of the duke unless he was dismissed.  The duke refused to give Bach
permission to leave, so he quit but was put in jail.  Bach had to go to court to win the right to
leave.  He received a dishonourable discharge from the duke.

Cothen Period (1717-1723 age 32-37)

His next appointment was Kapellmeister (director of music) for the Prince Leopold of Cothen.
The prince was especially interested in chamber music and Bach wrote much instrumental music
during this period:  suites, concertos, sonatas for various instruments, keyboard music, and the
Brandenburg Concertos.  Other compositions include the Magnificat, 6 English Suites, and the
Well-Tempered Clavier Book I.   Except for the death of his wife, Bach spent 5 happy years at
Cothen.  Here he met his second wife, a singer named Anna Magdalena.  He had 20 children, 7
from his first marriage and 13 from his second of which only half survived infancy.  Four
became leading composers:  W.F. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Johann Christian, and Johann Christoph.

Leipzig Period (1723-1750)

As time went on, Bach needed better schools for his growing family, so he moved to Leipzig
where he became Cantor of St. Thomas Church for the remaining 27 years of his life.  He served
as music director, composer, choirmaster, and organist.  This was one of the most important
posts in Germany, which he accepted after the more famous G.P. Telemann and Cristoph
Graupner refused the position.  The pay was not great, but this period proved to be Bach’s most
important in terms of his compositions.   
He had frequent arguments with the town, school and church officials who looked on Bach as
only “competent” as a choirmaster, but they tolerated his stubbornness because he was the
greatest organist in Germany.

Leipzig collegia musica, consisting mostly of university students, enjoyed a succession of

particularly illustrious directors, including Johann Kuhnau (1688), Telemann (1702),
and Bach (1729–1737), who composed several concertos and dramme per musica for weekly
performances at Zimmerman's coffeehouse and for "extraordinary" concerts.

He took several professional journeys to test and inaugurate new organs.  His most famous trip
was to the Court of Frederick the Great at Potsdam where he improvised a fugue for the King.
He later expanded this piece titled “The Musical Offering” which he dedicated and sent to the
King.

A few years later Bach had a stroke and became blind.  He had to dictate his last works.  He died
shortly afterwards in 1750.

Musical Style

Bach wrote for the church and was a religious man.  He dedicated his works to the glory of God. 
His genius in music was not one to innovate something but rather, it was one of perfecting the
existing art.  He was a master in contrapuntal music.  His music expressed his religious beliefs
and feelings.  During his time he was known more as an organ virtuoso rather than a great
composer.  But his keyboard compositions attest to his genius in counterpoint and composing
polyphonic music.  Bach used chromatic harmony instead of diatonic harmony.  He wrote in
every genre of music that was current in his day except opera.

His Music

A catalogue of Bach’s music was organized by Wolfgang Schmeider who numbered his works
from 1 to 1080.  He called this catalogue Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis and this designation of BWV
is still used today.  The catalogue is organized by genre, not in the order the pieces were
composed.  Bach’s works were not published until after his death and were therefore not heard
except for the original audiences.  Bach did not travel like Handel, spreading his music
throughout Europe.

Bach wrote a great deal of vocal music, almost all accompanied by small orchestra.  The large
forms include over 200 Sacred Cantatas, including A Mighty Fortress is our God, some secular
cantatas, some major works dealing with Christmas and Passiontide (the last week of Jesus’
life).  Bach’s Passions and the Magnificat are indeed works of art.  Within these works are large
choral movements, solo arias, hymns, dramatic recitatives, and more.  The Mass in B minor and
Cantata No. 80 are still favourites today.  Almost all of Bach’s vocal music deals with the
Christian tradition and was written for Lutheran church services.
Bach wrote a great deal of instrumental music (much of which is thought to have been lost): 
concerti for violin and orchestra, harpsichord and orchestra, concerti grossi, including the famous
Brandenburg set, 6 suites each for solo violin and solo cello, and one for flute.

For harpsichord (or generic keyboard) Bach wrote 48 Preludes and Fugues in the two Well-
Tempered Clavier books.  Today these books are the foundation of Baroque piano repertoire. 
There are 6 French and 6 English suites as well as the Partitas, the Goldberg Variations, the
Italian Concerto, the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, and dozens of smaller preludes, fugues,
toccatas, inventions, and so on.

Finally, Bach wrote two books:  the Art of the Fugue and the Musical Offering, both intended
to illustrate certain compositional technique “in action,” that is, creating beautiful and affecting
music of the highest order through their skillful application.
Choral Music

Over 200 cantatas - A Mighty Fortress is Our God (Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott)
St. John Passion
St. Matthew Passion
Christmas Oratorio
Mass in B Minor

Orchestral Music

4 Orchestral Suites
6 Brandenburg Concertos

Chamber Music – The Musical Offering

Keyboard Music

The Well Tempered Clavier (48 Preludes and Fugues)

6 French Suites
6 English Suites
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue
Italian Concerto
Goldberg Variations
The Art of Fugue
Organ chorale preludes including Before Thy Throne, My God I Stand

Bach’s Influence and Contributions

Though Bach did not create new genres, he poured his music into existing forms and took these
established genres to new heights. Bach’s music was going out of style during the last 20-30
years of his life as homophony (a single melody with chords) was becoming more popular. 
Despite this, Bach revolutionized the way that later composers thought about music and opened
up new harmonic possibilities.
Bach’s ability to write beautiful melodies (such as Air on a G String) or unfold music simply
through changing harmonies (such as Prelude in C Major Book I) is incomparable.  His
keyboard works are fundamental to keyboard study and concert repertoire for both organ and
piano.  Bach’s music is very intellectual, requiring detailed analysis to truly understand his
harmonic language.  The density and complexity of his music is rarely found in the music of
other composers.

All of his creativity was devoted to the glory of God and much of his work was religious in
nature.  His concertos are full of wonderful orchestration, and Bach was the greatest polyphonic
composer, writing dozens of incredible and complex fugues.  With regard to counterpoint
(combination of independent melodies to form a harmonic and rhythmic union), Bach’s
compositions dominate all of musical history.  Counterpoint became the method with which he
praised God, created only with notes and their interaction.

Frederic Chopin admired Bach above all others and knew the 48 Preludes and Fugues by heart. 
Schumann said “We are all bunglers next to Bach”.

Notes on Bach and THE WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER

The best known of Bach’s clavier works is the famous set of preludes and fugues called The
Well-Tempered Clavier.  Book I was completed at Cothen in 1722, and Book II was completed
at Leipzig around 1740.  Each part consists of twenty-four preludes and fugues – one prelude and
one fugue in each of the twelve major and minor keys.  Book I is more unified in style and
purpose than Book II; the latter includes compositions from many different periods of Bach’s
life.  In addition to demonstrating the capabilities of the novel tempered tuning system (which
made using all the keys possible) Bach had specific intentions in Book I.  In most of the preludes
a single specific technical task is given to the player; thus they could be classified as studies. 
The teaching aims of The Well-Tempered Clavier go beyond mere technique.  The preludes
exemplify different types of keyboard compositions of the late Baroque era.  The fugues, which
are varied in subjects, texture, form, and treatment, are a wealth of all the possibilities of
concentrated, monothematic fugal writing.  Bach’s “well-tempered” system allowed for all 24
major and minor keys to be explored.  
Prelude and Fugue in B Flat Major, BWV 866

The Prelude in B Flat Major from Book 1 essentially divides into two sections.  The first consists
mainly of a melodic motif in the left hand accompanied by broken chords in the right hand.  The
music comes to a full close in the dominant key of F in measure ten before being swept away in
the next section.  In measure eleven, a stately dotted-eighth-sixteenth motif is introduced with
each statement separated by swift runs.  The Prelude closes with a short synthesis of the two
sections in which the arpeggio figures of the first section are mixed with the scalar runs of the
second.

The following fugue is in three voices and its subject is accompanied by two countersubjects. 
The subject persists throughout the fugue except for the closing bars.  Episodes are built using
the inversion of the subject’s first measure combined with a sixteenth-note figure extracted from
its ending.  The final statement of the fugue subject is extended by repeating and varying its last
two measures leading to the final cadence.

Prelude and Fugue in B flat major- WTC book 1 (BMV 886)

I Musical facts:

Composer: J.S. Bach

Year of Composition: 1722
Genre: Keyboard prelude nad
Instrumentation: Keyboard (Originally any clavier or keyboard instrument,
usually the clavichord or harpsichord)

Prelude:

Form: Through-composed (prelude)

Key: B flat major
Meter: 4/4
Tempo: Allegretto

II. MUSICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PRELUDE

Preludes were written with a single idea binding the piece together, usually rhythmic in
character. In the Baroque era, a Prelude was a short, keyboard work in improvisatory style,
usually preceding a fugue. The Prelude in B flat major features chords outlined between the
hands; they are either in alternating patterns or come together for multiple-voiced chords. The
texture is typical of Bach, where the harmony and melody are one and the same. In the third
measure, there are also several passages of cadenza-like running notes, also between the hands.
The music is driven by a fast tempo, constantly moving notes, and perpetual rhythm. The piece
begins in B flat major, modulates to F major, and features sequences (eg. first and second beats
of first bar are repeated a third lower in beats three and four). It is through- composed with two
structural sections, mm. 1-10 and 10-21.

While the first half of the prelude had been made up entirely of open-position broken chords
and scalic runs, the second half featured dotted rhythm chords and cadenza-like runs on the
keyboard.

III. A TYPICAL BACH FUGUE

A fugue is a highly structured, imitative contrapuntal composition in which a single theme or

subject dominates throughout. Fugues are said to be in a number of 'voices' or 'parts' - the term
'voices' may be used even if the fugue is not written for singers. Fugues generally have three to
five independent melodic lines.

Bach typically had modulations in his fugues that centred on closely related keys (major and
minor keys next to each other on the circle of fifths -C major, F major, and G major, for
example). Bach was particularly gifted at the art of counterpoint, that is, the musically ability
to say two things at once and still be understood. The word counterpoint originated from the
phrase punctus contra punctum, or "note against note," and is a type of polyphonic music. The
difference between polyphonic music and counterpoint is that with polyphony, both parts fit
together so intricately that one voice can be inverted over the other and the music will still
sound harmonically correct.

III. A TYPICAL BACH FUGUE (continued)

The fugues in Bach's two volumes of the Well-Tempered Clavier each begin with a subject,
which is a short melodic idea played in only one voice. Some subjects are a few notes; some
are four or five bars long. The second statement of the opening subject is known as the answer
- it is generally in the dominant key and is played by another voice. If the theme is altered
slightly in the answer, then it is said to be a 'tonal' answer, if it is entirely unaltered, it is a 'real'
answer. There may also be a countersubject playing (a secondary theme which accompanies
various entries of the subject and/or answer).

The form of a fugue can vary, but a typical fugue has an exposition, development (or middle
section), and coda. The exposition is the beginning of the fugue, consisting of subject(s) with
at least one answer. The subject (or answer) must appear in all voices and answers must be in
the proper relationship (tonal or real) to subjects in order for this section to be considered a
true exposition. The development section is where motives and fragments from the exposition
are treated as: sequences, modulations, contrary motion, double counterpoint, stretto,
overlapping of subjects augmentation/ diminution, etc. An episode is a connective passage or
area of relaxation between subject entrances, most common in the development section.
Finally, the coda is a concluding segment for the entire fugue with a final statement of the
subject, though not all fugues have a coda.

In the coda section, Bach often used the technique known as stretto, where overlapping subject
entries are heard in close succession. Bach often used this technique at the end of a fugue to
create a dramatic culmination of the subject stated in all the voices. Another common
technique was Bach's use of pedal point at the end (a sustained note, usually in the bass, over
which the melodic line is played). Bach wrote fugues for keyboard, choruses and instrumental
ensembles. In all of them, the term 'voice' is used to describe each independent part.

IV. MUSICAL ANALYSIS OF THE FUGUE IN B FLAT MAJOR (BOOK I)

The B flat major fugue of Book I has three voices (Soprano, Alto and Bass) and it is a fast,
lively fugue with leaps and ornamental sixteenth notes. There are three voices, one subject and
two countersubjects (marked on the score, end of this section).

The soprano begins with the first statement of the subject which begins with an eighth-note
rest, then a long, four measure subject ends on the downbeat of measure five. There are eight
complete subject entries and no stretto sections in this fugue. The subject has three sequential
patterns (when some auxiliary notes are stripped away), then there is a tonal answer by the alto
in the dominant of F major. A countersubject appears in measure 9, featuring syncopation. A
second countersubject is less structurally important versus being a true a polyphonic partner to
the subject, but is lively, featuring detached notes and is punctuated by rests. It consists of four
short gestures interrupted by rests. The fugue only has three episodes (where the subject is not
heard). Generally, the subject is heard by each of the three voices in turn, but Bach added a
redundant entry of the answer in measure 13.

Bach uses a pattern of rotating voices for the subject: e.g. in measure 9 the subject is in the
bass, followed by the soprano (m. 13), then alto (m. 22) and bass again (m. 26). This is known
as a permutation fugue."

Measure 17 begins the middle section, with fragments of the subject expanded in the soprano,
then the subject also appears in measure 19 features inverted fragments of the original
statement. Because two voices include subject material at the same time, this can be called a
stretto section. Even more extreme is the stretto in measures 30-33 which could be called a
second development section - parts of the subject appear in all three voices, with inversions
and sequences in each.

Measure 22 has the first subject entry in this section, in the relative G minor. When the answer
is heard in the bass part it modulates to C minor, In the final section, the subject is stated one
last time and there is a four-measure coda at the end.

The coda begins in m. 45 when the alto performs a partial subject for two measures before the
final triumphant cadence in B flat major.

There is a wonderful analysis of this fugue provided by Tim Smith where he describes the
fugue as 'tumbling blocks' a traditional quilting pattern amongst the Amish people. Colours are
provided for the subject and two countersubjects to illustrate this idea, and to show an
'imperfection' in Bach's writing which may have been deliberately added to keep the music
from being too perfect. Bach, after all, was humble and devoted his music to the glory of God.
GEORGE F. HANDEL (1685-1759)

Handel was born in 1685 at Halle, Germany. His father was a wealthy barber-surgeon who sent
him to university to study law.  One year later his father died and Handel quit University to study
music.  He went to Hamburg and became a second violinist in an opera house orchestra.

At the age of 20, he wrote his first opera, Almira.  He then traveled to Italy where he studied
Italian opera for 3 years.  At 25, he returned to Germany where he became the conductor for the
Elector of Hanover.  

In the same year (1710), Handel visited London where he produced a new opera, Rinaldo, with
great success.  A year later, he returned to London for good where he composed The Birthday
Ode for Queen Anne, and the Te Deum (Hymn of Thanksgiving) for the Peace of Utrecht. 
These two pieces were the start of a series of large-scale works for great public occasions. 
Queen Anne rewarded Handel with a pension.  When Queen Anne died, the Elector of Hanover
became the English King, George I.

In 1720, The Royal Academy of Music was founded and Handel became one of the musical
directors.  Over the next 8 years Handel wrote and directed operas.

In 1728, The Royal Academy went bankrupt, due to mismanagement of funds, rivalries among
singers, composers, and directors, and the success of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera.  This new
comic ballad opera was sung in English and instantly popular with the English middle-class.

Handel refused to let the Academy fail.  He invested thousands into the New Royal Academy of
Music and continued to produce serious operas.  At age 52 Handel had a paralytic stroke.  He
went abroad to recover his health.  He recovered, and came back to write 5 more expensive
operas which were all failures.  He finally realized that London was not interested in opera seria,
and this led him from writing operas in Italian to oratorios in English.

Back in 1720 he had written a masque called Haman and Mordecai, on a text by Pope, based on
Racine’s Esther.  He decided to produce this “sacred opera”.  But the Bishop of London forbade
the representation of biblical characters in a theatre.  Handel announced “There will be no acting
upon the Stage”, and this became the first Handelian oratorio.  The advantages of oratorios were
that there was no need for costly foreign singers and lavish scenery.

Handel became blind and dictated his last works.  He continued to conduct his oratorios and
perform on the organ until his death.  In 1759, he conducted 10 major oratorios in a month,
Messiah being the last.  He collapsed in the theatre and died some days later.  Handel was buried
in Westminster Abbey.

Music
Handel’s oratorios are choral dramas of great vitality and grandeur, with soaring arias, dramatic
recitatives, fugues, and double choruses.  They are based on the Old Testament, and suited to the
English middle-class taste.  He made the chorus the centre of the drama.

Handel’s music features powerful rhythms, diatonic harmony, majestic melodies, and massive
choruses.  He knew how to use tone colour for atmosphere and dramatic expression.

Famous people

Handel composed for the Elector of Hanover (who became George I of England in 1712) and for
Queen Anne.  Famous singers who worked with Handel included the Italian sopranos Cuzzoni
and Bordoni.

Death

He collapsed just after his 74th birthday. Handel was given the honour of being buried in
Westminster Abbey in London, with a funeral attended by thousands.

Operas versus Oratorios

Handel began to concentrate on oratorios in English in 1732, following a successful revival of

Esther in London that year.  By the 1740s he composed an average of two a year.  His oratorios
differ from his operas in several respects.  Unlike opera, oratorios are performed in concert,
without costumes, scenery, or staging, and are consequently less expensive to produce.  Whereas
his Italian operas generally draw upon ancient history, mythology, or epic poems for their plots,
the English texts for the oratorios are most often based upon the Hebrew Scriptures.  Like opera,
oratorio includes recitative (singing of text over sparse instrumental accompaniment, without a
specified meter) and arias.  The arias in Handel’s oratorios are generally simpler and less
ornamented than those in his operas.

Influence and Contributions

Handel’s most important contribution to music history undoubtedly lies in his oratorios. 
Although the genre had existed in the 17th century, Handel seems to have invented the special
type known as English oratorio, with its dazzling choruses.  He wrote many, including Judas
Macabaeus, Israel in Egypt, Saul and Samson.  His influence on later generations can be seen
most clearly in the history of the oratorio.  Handel’s Messiah is one of only a few 18th century
works to remain in the performance repertory from its composer’s lifetime until today.

Handel was also an innovator in the realm of instrumental music. His organ concertos, along
with Bach’s harpsichord concertos, are among the earliest concertos to feature a keyboard as the
solo instrument.  His orchestral suites include the famous Water Music and Royal Fireworks
Music.  Although Handel’s opera serias disappeared from the stage, successful revivals during
the 20th century have led to a rediscovery of the musical and dramatic effectiveness of Handel’s
compositions for the theatre.  Today, Handel is recognized by many as the greatest composer of
late Baroque opera seria, including Radamisto (1720), Giulio Cesare (1724), and Rodelinda
(1725).

Handel’s legacy to the history of musical style lies in his special gift of melodic lyricism, the
grandeur of his choral writing, and the dramatic power of his works.  It is these qualities that
have triumphed over time.

Works:

40 operas including Almira, Rinaldo, Giulio Cesare (Julius Caesar), Orlando

Oratorios including Esther, Deborah, Athalia, Alexander’s Feast, Saul, Israel in Egypt, Messiah,
Samson, Semele, Joseph and his Brethren, Hercules, Judas Maccabaeus, Alexander Balus,
Joshua, Susanna, Solomon, Jephtha

Other Sacred Vocal music includes Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, Acis and Galatea
(masque), Haman and Mordecai (masque), Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day, Utrecht Te Deum

Orchestral music including the 12 Concerti Grossi Op. 6, Water Music, Royal Fireworks Music
Messiah HWV 56

I Musical facts:

Composer: Handel
Year of Composition: 1742
Premiered in: Dublin
Genre: Oratorio
Origins of text: Bible
Instrumentation: Strings, oboes, bassoons, and continuo

II. MUSICAL ANALYSIS

Messiah premièred in the city of Dublin, Ireland, having been written to raise funds for charity
Handel continued to direct Messiah to raise money for some years to come. He apparently
wrote this masterpiece in only 24 days, using chorus, soloists and simple orchestration. The
work includes arias and choruses, recitative and orchestral music, with over 50 individual
pieces in total. In the original version, Messiah was scored only for strings and trumpets,
perhaps because Handel was unsure of the resources he would find at its first performance in
Dublin. The string parts were later reinforced with oboes and bassoons. Charles Jennens
compiled the libretto (text of a large-scale vocal work) with great sensitivity. Jennens studied
the Old Testament section of the Bible and also used a Prayer Book and the New Testament.
The work is written in English prose (non-rhyming), unusual for a Handel oratorio. There are
three sections, related to the life and death of Jesus:

I. The prophecy and realisation of God's plan to redeem [save]mankind with the coming of the
Messiah - Jesus Christ, his son. and

II. Redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus, mankind's rejection of God's offer, mankind's
defeat when opposing God.

III. A Hymn of Thanksgiving for the final overthrow of Death (through Jesus' resurrection)
and the redemption of the world.

The pieces described below offer a sample of the variety of musical combinations in this
oratorio, including the orchestral overture, recitatives, arias, and choruses.

1)Overture

Title: Handel wrote “Sinfony” on the score

Form: A-A-B
Meter: 4/4
Key: E minor
The Overture is known as a French overture, which describes a particular style of orchestral
music played before an opera, oratorio, ballet or suite in the Baroque era. This overture is
divided into sections: the first stately and regal, using dotted rhythms; the second section is
lively and fugal (imitative). The tempo is marked Grave and the traditional dotted rhythm of
the French style of overture is evident, creating a stately and dramatic feel to the music. The
texture is homophonic, with violins presenting the opening theme.

Section B has a fugue with three voices in polyphonic texture with the key still in E minor.
The sudden change in speed increases the urgency of the music and provides a dramatic
contrast to the first section. The subject is first performed by the violin and the tonal answer is
in the alto voice. The oboes take over the melody line (sometimes doubled by the violins).

2)Recitative

Title: “There were shepherds”

Genre: Recitative secco then accompagnato
Instrumentation: Soprano soloists with continuo, then two violins and viola are added
Form: Though-composed
Meter: 4/4
Tempo: Allegro

Text and score (from Luke 8-9): And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of
the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

Broken chords are featured in the accompaniment, with a descending bass line played by the
continuo part (harpsichord). The text setting is syllabic and the words are not repeated. typical
in a recitative which is used to tell the story. The choruses and arias, in contrast, feature
repeated text, word painting and emotional high points in the oratorio.

3)Chorus

Title: Glory to God

Genre: Chorus
Instrumentation: SATB choir with trumpets, violins, viola and continuo
Form: The text is repeated twice, with the line “Glory to God” heard 3
times
Meter: 4/4
Key: D major
Tempo: Allegro

Text and score (from Luke 2:14)

Glory to God in the highest
and peace on earth
Glory to God in the highest
and peace on earth
good will towards men
Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth
good will towards men

Typical for Handel, the chorus opens with a homorhythmic setting: the voices (sopranos, altos
and tenors which open the piece) sing the same rhythm at the same time. There is a lively
opening with no orchestral introduction, then a quiet moment when the men sing 'and peace on
earth'. Next, Handel adds contrast by using imitation, starting with the basses on 'good will'
which is then heard by the tenors, altos and Sopranos. This polyphonic texture provides a rich
text setting as the voices exchange the words 'good will towards men'. The homorhythmic
setting returns, then the 'good will' imitative section before the orchestral ends the piece.

3)Aria

Title: Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion

Genre: Aria (sung by a soprano soloist)
Instrumentation: Strings and continuo, oboes and bassons
Form: Ternary
Meter: Common time (originally 12/8 but transcribed as to make the sixteenth
notes easier to read)
Key: B flat major
Tempo: Allegro

Text: (from Zachariah chapter 9)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout,

O daughter of Jerusalem, behold, thy king cometh unto thee. He is the righteous Saviour and he shall speak
peace unto the heathen

Handel originally scored this aria for a single violin, in the style of a gigue. There is a short
instrumental prelude and postlude which establishes the opening melody sung by the soprano
in Section A. The word 'rejoice' is often treated melismatically (many notes over one syllable)
so as to emphasize the importance and joy of that word. The violin is the most important
instrument, with fast-moving sixteenth note passages alternating with orchestral passages.

Section B modulates into the keys of G and D minor before several instrumental bars re-
establish the tonic key of B flat major. Word painting (where the music vividly mirrors the
words) is evident throughout the piece, and the minor key established in this section reflects
the more serious words; 'he shall speak peace unto the heathen'. Section A returns, with the
soloist often adding ornamentation to the melodic line until the music reaches its joyful
conclusion.

5)Chorus
Title: Hallelujah Chorus
Genre: Chorus
Instrumentation: Strings, oboes, continuo, trumpets, timpani
Voice types: Soprano, alto, tenor, bass (mixed chorus)

Form: Through-composed
Meter: 4/4
Key: D major
Tempo: Allegro
Text: Book of Revelation, chapters 11 and 19 (New Testament)

The 'Hallelujah Chorus' is one of the world's most famous choral pieces. There is a brief
orchestral introduction that leads straight into the full chorus singing. In this vigorous chorus
Handel offers variety by sudden changes between monophonic, polyphonic, and homophonic
textures. The opening is both homophonic and homorhythmic.

The monophonic texture is very full-sounding as all the voices and instruments perform in
unison at the proclamation "for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth".

The texture becomes polyphonic when this majestic proclamation is set against joyful repeated
exclamations of 'hallelujah' in quick rhythms.

The melody is stately, using dotted rhythms once again, with rests inserted frequently in
between words. The key remains in D major with tonic dominant harmony prevailing. There is
generally one note per syllable, with some melismatic words at the end of phrases. During the
section that begins 'The kingdom of this world', the notes become longer, and the music
therefore slows momentarily. There is some imitation, such as on the phrase 'and He shall reign
for ever and ever' when all four parts of the chorus take turns singing the words.

Words and phrases are repeated over and over, as has been common practice in choral music
for several centuries. Handel took his text from the Revelation of St. John, which celebrates
God as the Almighty and everlasting ruler. There is a dramatic pause before the last
'Hallelujah', then the orchestra and chorus end together, with the voices in four- part harmony.
Apparently, when King George II of England first heard the piece he rose to his feet during the
performance, a tradition that still carries on today as audiences observe this courtesy to the
composer.
Focus on: J.S. Bach versus Handel

Bach and Handel are often paired together when discussing the Baroque era. And yet there are
perhaps more differences between them than similarities. Both composers were complete
masters of the Italian and French styles that are the basis of Baroque music. Bach created a
personal blend of the two styles as well as a great interest in German counterpoint. But Handel
created his fame through the extroverted and dramatic world of Italian opera, and later, in his
English oratorios.

Unlike Bach, Handel was not born into a musical family, but his talents were quickly realized
by his father. Counterpoint, to Handel, was often a dramatic means, and not an end unto itself.
For the more introverted and reserved Bach, counterpoint was the foundation of his Well
Tempered Clavier books and the Art of the Fugue.

Bach had no interest in opera but wrote instead many religious works such as Cantatas,
Passions and Masses. He treated the voice as an essentially melodic instrument, writing with
the intricacy that is demanded by contrapuntal writing. But with Handel, even religious
oratorios such as the Messiah have a theatrical quality which communicated to the growing
middle class audience, not just to congregations or in praise of God. Handel's writing for the
voice is much more idiomatic; that is, his music takes into account the individual character and
capabilities of the voice.

Finally, Bach, who never travelled outside of Germany, was not truly valued by the larger
world until 75 years after his death, while Handel, the cosmopolitan composer and impresario,
was internationally famous in his own lifetime. Bach's son C.P.E. Bach preserved many of his
manuscripts, but it was not until 1829 that Bach's St Matthew Passion was conducted by
Mendelssohn and a revival of the Baroque master's works began.

The two men never met, but, nevertheless, influenced each other - Bach owned copies of
several of Handel's works for example, and Handel is mentioned in a letter written by C.P.E.
Bach as one whose works his father had especially valued in later years. Interestingly, both
men would be afflicted with cataracts in their old age and undergo surgery at the hand of the
same oculist, John Taylor.

Handel, along with Bach, is one of the most important figures of his age, not least because of
the sincerity and clarity of their emotional message. While Bach's profound sacred music is the
result of a restless and questioning nature, the worldlier Handel was less troubled and more
accepting, but also deeply rooted in his Christian faith.
Vocabulary:

Prelude – in the Baroque era, a short keyboard work in improvisatory style, usually preceding a fugue

Fugue – a highly structured, imitative contrapuntal composition in which a single theme or subject
prevails.

Subject – the initial statement of the main theme of a fugue in the tonic key.

Real answer – an answer that is a transposition of the subject to another key usually the dominant

Tonal answer – an answer that stays in the same key as the subject with some changes in the interval of
the subject

Countersubject – a recurring counter-melody accompanying entries of the subject and answer

Episode – a passage within a fugue, frequently sequential, in which neither subject nor answer is present

Stretto – overlapping subject entries in close succession, from the Italian stringere, meaning to tighten. 
Bach often used this technique at the end of a fugue to create a dramatic culmination of the subject stated
in all the voices.

Tierce de Picardie – a common trait of ending a minor key work in the tonic major (raised third in the
final chord)

Pedal point – a sustained note, frequently in the bass, over which harmonies change in the melody line

Counterpoint – the art of combining in a single texture two or more melodic lines

Recitativo accompagnato - a declamatory (speech-like) style of singing accompanied by orchestra

Recitativo Secco – a type of speech-like singing used in operas and oratorios accompanied by the
occasional harpsichord chords

Ostinato - a short melodic, rhythmic, or harmonic pattern that is repeated throughout a work or section

Figured Bass - the use of numbers instead of writing out the chords in full, the actual filling of the
harmony is left to the performer

Ritornello form – a passage for full orchestra in a concerto that is repeated between stanzas or ideas in
music

Oratorio – a sacred vocal work based on a biblical subject involving solos, duets and choruses with
orchestral accompaniment.  It has no costume, scenery or action.  

Word painting – is where the music vividly mirrors the words.  Ideas of movement and direction—
stepping, running, leaping, ascending, descending—were represented graphically through the movement
of the melody and rhythm.
French overture – Baroque instrumental introduction to an opera or oratorio with a slow opening followed
by an Allegro and a brief return to the opening, characterized by a dotted rhythm.

Equal Temperament – system used in the 17th century where they slightly mistuned and divided the
octave into 12 equal semitones to make it possible to play in every major and minor key without
unpleasant results

Ripieno- the larger group of instruments in a concerto grosso

Da capo aria - follows the ABA form where the singer is expected to add ornamentation in the repeated
section.

Melisma – a group of notes sung to a single syllable.  The word is stretched beyond all 
Recognition, thus the word and music become one.

Libretto – text of a vocal work such as an opera or oratorio.

Homorhythmic texture -  is a texture where there is a "sameness of rhythm in all parts" or "very
similar rhythm" as would be used in simple hymn or chorale settings

Baroque – comes from the Portuguese  word  “barroco”, which means “rough pearl”.  It is a musical era
that spanned 150 years from 1600-1750.

Basso continuo – means a continuous bass often played by the harpsichord to accompany an instrument
or voice performing the melodic line.

Figured bass or thorough bass – a basic harmonic structure using numbers instead of writing out the
chords in full, the actual filling out of the harmony was left to the performer who improvised.

Polyphonic texture - consists of several melodies performed together at the same time, resulting in
harmony

Terraced dynamics – a characteristic feature of the Baroque style where there is a shift from one dynamic
level to another creating the effect of light and shade

The Affections – a philosophy that sought to project one clear emotion for the duration of a composition
or movement

Collegium musicum – Latin for “music guild”, the term applied to amateur musicians often based on
university settings.  J.S. Bach wrote many works for their performance

Drone - a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously
sounded throughout most or all of a piece
Joseph Haydn – (1732-1809)

Haydn was born in Rohrau, Austria in 1732 and died in Vienna, Austria in 1809.  
He was taught musical rudiments by a distant relative who was a schoolmaster.  He had a good
voice and sang in the St. Stephens Cathedral Choir School until he was 16.  He then moved to
Vienna and made his living by teaching, accompanying and by performing with a band of street
musicians.  In this way he absorbed the popular Viennese style which he later combined with the
folk style he had absorbed in his childhood.

Following 2 brief appointments as composer-in-residence, Haydn became Court Composer to the

wealthy family of Hungarian princes called the Esterhazy’s when he was 29.  He held this
position for almost 30 years.  The Esterhazy Palace was one of the most splendid in all Europe,
and music was an important part of the palace festivities.  
Haydn’s life is an example of the patronage system working at its best.  In the service of the
Esterhazy’s, he had available to him an orchestra, opera company, marionette theater, and
chapel, allowing him to experiment with his compositions and edit the music accordingly.

Haydn married when he was a young man but the marriage was an unhappy one.  They did not
have any children and eventually separated.  By middle age, Haydn was famous all over Europe. 
After the princes’ death he made 2 trips to England (1791-92 and 1794-95) where he conducted
this 12 Salomon Symphonies.  When he was 76, he attended a performance of his oratorio The
Creation.  He died a year later at age 77.

Music
Haydn is most famous for his contribution to the symphony and string quartet.  He expanded the
size of the orchestra with greater emphasis on brass, clarinets, and percussion.  His music
features:
 short themes
 syncopation
 sudden crescendos and accents
 expressive harmony
 clear form and structure
 daring modulations
 dramatic contrasts of loud and soft
 jerky rhythms
 imaginative use of color and varied moods

Works
104 Symphonies – 6 Paris Symphonies, 12 Salomon or London Symphonies
Concertos for violin, cello, harpsichord and trumpet
Orchestral:  Divertimentos, Cassations, Marches
Chamber Music – 68 string quartets including String Quartet, Op 76, No. 3
Keyboard:  over 40 piano sonatas
Choral:  14 Masses – Mass in Time of War, Lord Nelson Mass
Oratorios:  The Creation, The Seven Last Words of Christ
Dramatic music:  14 operas
Song:  National anthem, God Save Emperor Francis
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756 and died in Vienna, Austria in 1791.  His father
Leopold was a composer and violinist at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. Mozart was the
most gifted child in the history of music.  He began to compose at the age of 4 and gave piano
recitals throughout Europe at age 6.  By the time he was 13, he had written sonatas, concertos,
symphonies, religious works, and several operas.  The speed and sureness of his composing has
remained unrivaled by any other composer.

Mozart rebelled against the social restrictions of the patronage system that would have assured
him of financial security.  Consequently, his only paid appointment to the Prince Archbishop of
Salzburg ended in dismissal when he was 25.  He then moved to Vienna as a free artist and spent
the last 10 years of his life in a struggle for financial security.
A year after his dismissal, he married Constance Weber against his father’s wishes.  The
marriage was a happy one, although Constance was unable to provide the moral or financial
support which he needed.

When he was 30, he reached the peak of his success with the opera The Marriage of Figaro on a
libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte.  This opera made a sensation in Vienna and Prague, and he was
commissioned to write another work for the Prague Opera the following year.  With da Ponte as
his librettist, he produced Don Giovanni, but it was not well received.

During his last years Mozart was constantly forced to beg for money from his friends.  In his
final year, he wrote The Magic Flute on a libretto by Schikaneder.  His last opera, The Clemency
of Titus, was written for the coronation of Emperor Leopold II of Prague.

His final composition, which he did not live to finish was his Requiem.  It was completed by his
favorite student, Sussmayr.  At the time of his death, Mozart was very poor and was buried in a
pauper’s grave.

Music
Mozart’s music is noted for its lyrical melodies, elegance, simple forms, clear texture, and
intense feeling.  It is said that Mozart taught the instruments to sing.  His music was not
influenced by folk song or nature, it is sophisticated, rooted in the culture of Salzburg and
Vienna.

Mozart led the way in establishing the piano concerto as one of the important forms of the
Classical period.  He established the symphony as the most weighty form of abstract music
through rich orchestration, freedom of part writing and depth of emotion.

Works
41 Symphonies including Haffner, Linz, Prague and Romantic
Serenades:  Eine Kleine Nachtmusik K.525
Cassations, divertimentos, marches
Concertos:  27 piano concertos including Piano Concerto in G Major K453
Chamber music:  23 string quartets
 20 Piano sonatas including Sonata in C minor K457
Operas:  Idomeneo, The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni
Choral Music:  18 Masses including the Requiem
Secular Vocal music

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) K525

Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik was written in 1787.  It is a Serenade for Strings written for a
double string quartet and bass.   The original version had 5 movements, but it is now performed
in 4 movements that are compact, intimate, and beautifully proportioned.

The First movement is march-like, in sonata form in G major, marked Allegro in 4/4 time. 
Theme 1 is an aggressive ascending rocket theme in G major.  Theme 2 is graceful and slower in
D major.  The closing theme is insistent and repetitive.  The Development section is short, in
keeping with the less serious character of a serenade.  The Recapitulation repeats the Exposition
in the tonic key and expands the closing theme into a vigorous coda.

The Second movement is a Romanza in C major in rondo form (ABACA), marked Andante in
2/2 time.  Theme A is graceful, lyrical and serene.  Theme B continues in the mood of Theme A,
but has more rhythmic movement.  Theme C is in C minor and is darker in tone.  It is
accompanied by quick notes.

The Third movement is a Minuet and Trio in ternary form in G major, marked Allegretto in 3/4
time.  The Minuet features regular 4 bar phrases and repeated sections.  The Trio theme is more
lyrical and connected, in 2 repeated sections.  The Minuet is then repeated.

The Fourth movement is a rondo (ABABA) in G major, marked Allegro in 4/4 time.  Theme A
is a quick, upward skipping theme in symmetrical 4 bar phrases in G major.  Theme B is in D
major and begins with a downward leap.  The movement is lively and brisk, and the CODA uses
material from the first theme to round out the piece.

Comparing Mozart and Haydn

When comparing Mozart and Haydn, be sure to mention that Mozart’s melodies were influenced
by Viennese music while Haydn was influenced by Folk music. Also, state that Mozart wanted 2 themes
and 1 key signature while Haydn wanted 1 theme with two key signatures. Lastly, mention that Mozart's
musical style showcased exceptional talent, versatility, and intricate compositions with emotional depth,
while Haydn's style demonstrated innovative use of musical structures, unexpected harmonies, and jerky
rhythms.
Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Beethoven was born in 1770 in Bonn, Germany, and died in 1827 at the age of 57 in Vienna,
Austria.

His father and grandfather were singers at the court of the local princes, and his father taught him
to play the harpsichord at an early age.   His father was an alcoholic and Beethoven was left to
support his mother and 2 younger brothers.  At 11 he became the assistant organist in the court
chapel, and at 12 became the harpsichordist in the court orchestra.

At 17 he visited Vienna and played for Mozart who was impressed with Beethoven’s ability to
improvise on a theme.  His mother died while he was visiting Vienna and Beethoven returned to
Bonn where he spent the next 5 years taking care of his brothers.

Sometime after 1779, Beethoven began his studies with his most important teacher in
Bonn, Christian Gottlob Neefe, who was appointed the Court's Organist in that year.[10] Neefe
taught Beethoven composition, and by March 1783 had helped him write his first published
composition: a set of keyboard variations (WoO 63).

At 22, Beethoven moved to Vienna where he lived the remainder of his life.  He studied
composition briefly with Haydn and others, but Beethoven’s temper and independent spirit
ended the relationships.  

He was admired as a piano virtuoso and gave concerts and lessons to the aristocracy in their
homes.  He was well paid for teaching and often given expensive gifts by the princes and dukes
he taught and performed for.  He also made a living giving public concerts and selling his
compositions to publishers.  Beethoven expected the aristocracy to treat him as an equal and a
friend, demanding respect.  He often stood up for his rights as an artist.

Beethoven had originally conceived of dedicating the Symphony No. 3 in Eb, Op. 55
to Napoleon Bonaparte. The biographer Maynard Solomon relates that Beethoven admired the
ideals of the French Revolution, and viewed Napoleon as their embodiment.
According to Beethoven's pupil and assistant, Ferdinand Ries, when Napoleon proclaimed
himself Emperor of the French in May 1804, Beethoven became disgusted and went to the table
where the completed score lay. He took hold of the title-page and tore it up in rage.   He later
titled the Symphony “Eroica”, Heroic Symphony.

When he was almost 30, Beethoven started to become deaf.  This shattered him emotionally and
he considered suicide.  In 1802, he went to a summer resort outside Vienna called Heiligenstadt
and it was here he wrote his famous Heiligenstadt Testament which was a letter to his brothers
describing his struggle with suicidal depression versus his desire to compose.

Man’s ability to triumph over fate became the epic theme of his music:  the progression from
despair to conflict, from conflict to serenity, and from serenity to triumph and joy.  The
remainder of his career was centered around his composing and 11 tortured years as a foster
father to his nephew, Carl.  He died after a lengthy illness.
Music

Beethoven was the supreme architect in music and was a genius in the art of developing and
expanding motivic themes.  The Sonata form and theme and variations were his specialty.  His
compositional style falls into 3 periods:

 In the style of Haydn and Mozart.  He used short themes that offered many opportunities
for expansion and development.
 More romantic in character with stronger dynamic contrasts, explosive accents, and
longer movements.  He changed the sonata cycle by:

1. expanding the dimensions of the development and coda

2. developing a hymnic type of slow movement
3. transforming the Minuet in the energetic Scherzo
4. enlarging the final movement to match the size of the first movement 

 More chromatic harmonies and developing a skeletal language with all the non-essentials
left out.

Works

9 Symphonies including Eroica, Pastoral, Choral containing Schiller’s Ode to Joy

Overtures:  including Leonore and Egmont
Concertos:  5 piano concertos including the Emperor Concerto, violin concerto
Chamber Music:  14 string quartets including the Grande Fugue
32 Piano Sonatas including the Pathetique, Moonlight, Waldstein, and Appassionata
Opera:  Fidelio
Choral Music:  Missa Solemnis
Song Cycle:  To the Distant Beloved
Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 67

This has become the most famous symphony of all time.  It is an example of Beethoven’s ability
to create a masterpiece from a 4-note motive of “3 shorts and a long”.  This motive recurs in
every movement making this symphony in cyclical structure.

The First movement is in C minor in sonata form, marked Allegro con brio in 2/4 time.  Theme
1 is based on the 4-note motive treated sequentially.  Theme 2 is lyrical in the relative major key
of Eb.  It is announced first by violins, then clarinet, then flute, accompanied by the 4-note
motive in cellos and double basses.  This movement features powerful crescendos and abrupt
contrasts between loud and soft.  It ends with an extended coda based on the 4-note motive.

The Second movement is a Theme and Variations in Ab, marked Andante con moto in 3/8
time.  It is based on 2 themes.  Theme 1 is a broadly flowing melody, and Theme 2 is based on
the opening 4 note motive.  Beethoven uses all the procedures of variation:  changes in melodic
outline, harmony, rhythm, tempo, dynamics, register, key, mode, and type of accompaniment.

The Third movement is a Scherzo and Trio in ternary form in C minor, marked Allegro in 3/4
time.  The Scherzo theme is a rocket theme introduced by cellos and double basses.  The Trio
theme is in C major.  It is a theme of running 8th notes played first by low strings then imitated
in turn by strings in higher register.  The Scherzo returns in a modified version with changed
orchestration.  It is followed by a transitional passage leading, without a pause, to the final
movement.  It is based on the 4-note motive played by timpani.

The Fourth movement is in C major in sonata form, marked Allegro in 4/4 time.  It features 3
instruments used for the first time in a symphony—the piccolo, double bassoon, and the
trombone.  Theme 1 outlines the C major chord.  The lyrical bridge theme leads to Theme 2 in G
major, which is a vigorous melody with triplets.  The development section is marked by dynamic
rhythm and free modulation, and a return of the 4-note motive.  The movement ends with a
powerful coda with several repetitions of the tonic chord at the end.
Vocabulary:

Theme and variation – form used for the second movement of the sonata where the basic idea is
stated and varied by the composer through techniques of musical embellishment

Viennese Classical School – the standard musical forms developed in Vienna in the 18th to the
19th century by the musical geniuses Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven

Rocket theme – rapid upward arpeggio of equal note values over a large range, combined with a
crescendo

Cyclical structure – when a motive appears in every movement which unifies the entire work

Motive – a short melodic or rhythmic fragment used in building and developing a melody

Absolute music – instrumental music that exists for itself where there is no story or text

Sonata cycle – a multi-music structure that consists of three or four contrasting movements

Sonata-allegro form – the first movement of a sonata cycle which consists of an exposition, a
development and a recapitulation section

Minuet and trio – generally the third movement of the sonata where the minuet is in ¾ time
while the trio has a lighter texture and slightly slower in tempo.

Scherzo and trio – in the 19th century the minuet was often replaced by the scherzo which had a
lively rhythm and faster pace.

Rondo form - a form in which a section is repeated at least three times and alternates with other
sections

Binary form – a two-part form used in a Baroque suite with no strong contrast between sections

Chamber music – ensemble music for 2 to 9 instruments with one player to a part

Ternary form - form used in early Baroque era with music in 3 sections, the third section being
an exact or near exact repetition of the first

Classicism - the following of ancient Greek or Roman principles and style in art and literature,
generally associated with harmony, restraint, and adherence to recognized standards of form and
craftsmanship, esp. from the Renaissance to the 18th century

Rounded binary - compositional form with two sections, in which the second ends with a return
to material from the first, each section is usually repeated

Exposition - first section of a sonata form which consists of two contrasting themes.
Development – is where a composer shows off his creativity in developing his theme by key
modulations, presented by different instruments, combined with other motives or with new
material added, or imitated in sequence.

Recapitulation - presents the first theme in the tonic key followed by a bridge passage remaining
in the tonic key.  The second theme follows also in the tonic key and finishes with a coda and a
final cadence.

Coda - Italian for "tail", is a term used to designate a passage that brings a piece or a movement
to an end. 
ART SONG

A song is a short lyric composition for solo voice based on a poem, and is usually accompanied by
the piano or an orchestra.

Songs have always been the most popular form of music making.  There have been more folk songs,
popular songs, and art songs written than any other type of music.  Their popularity came about
because they combine melody and the human voice.

Three Song Forms

Strophic – a strophic song repeats the same melody and accompaniment for each verse (strophe,
stanza) of the poem.  There cannot be a close association between the words and music because the
music does not change to match the new words in each verse.  This form is used for simple poems,
especially folk songs or popular songs that do not need dramatic contrasts in the accompaniment to
express the meaning of the words.  Example:  An Sylvia by Schubert.

Through-Composed (Durchkomponiert) – a through-composed song has the melody and piano

accompaniment change for each verse of the poem in order to express very closely the exact meaning
of the words and mood suggested in each verse of the poem.  Example:  Erlkonig by Schubert

Modified Strophic – a modified strophic song has the melody and accompaniment repeated for 2 or
more verses of the poem, but at least one verse has new music to express a contrast of mood, usually
at the climax of the song.  A change of mode from the major key to the tonic minor is common. 
Examples:  Futile Serenade by Brahms and I Bear No Grudge by Schumann

The art song was developed during the Romantic period.  It was created by the union of poetry and
music in the early 19th century.  It reached its peak in the songs of Schubert, Schumann, and
Brahms.  This new style of song writing came to be known all over Europe by the German word for
song, “Lied”.

A Lied is a solo vocal song with piano accompaniment.

A Song Cycle is a group of songs based on a set of poems that tell a story.

There were two factors that led to the rapid development of the lied.

1. The wealth of poems created by the German poets, Goethe and Heine.  Their favourite
themes were love and longing, the beauty of nature, and the transience of human happiness.
2. The emergence of the piano as the universal household instrument of the 19th century.  The
piano accompaniment enhanced the drama of the words translating the poetic ideas into
musical ones.
3. Within a short time the lied became immensely popular and made an important contribution
to the musical repertoire of the world.
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Schubert was born near Vienna in 1797.  His father was a school teacher and taught him how to
play the violin.  His brother taught him piano.

His beautiful soprano voice gained him a place in the Imperial Chapel and School where the
court singers were trained.  When he graduated he tried teaching in his father’s school but he was
too bored.  His only interest was music.

He loved to study the writings of the lyric poets Goethe and Muller and by age 17 he had written
several famous art songs.  A year later he wrote his masterful setting of Goethe’s Erlking.

At age 20, Schubert gave up teaching and held no steady position for the last 11 years of his life. 
He lived with one or another of his friends in a mixture of poverty, hope, and despair.

Schubert was a poor businessman and often sold his songs for the price of a meal.  As the years
passed, he experienced loneliness and despair.  His song cycle “The Winter’s Journey” set to
Muller’s poems reflects his depressed state of mind and his fear of death.

In the last year of his life, Schubert wrote his Mass in Eb, String Quintet in C, three piano
sonatas, and 13 of his finest songs.  He died at the early age of 31 in the year 1828.

Music

Schubert stood at the crossroads of the Classic and Romantic periods.  His symphonic works are
written in the classical tradition, but his songs and piano pieces are totally romantic in their
lyricism and form.

The Impromptus and Musical Moments for piano capture the spontaneous charm and lyricism of
the new Romantic art.

Schubert’s shy personality made him ideally suited to capture the intimate quality of chamber
music.  His string quartets, Trout Quintet, and Quintet in C are all masterpieces.  

Schubert’s greatest contribution was his more than 600 songs.  His ability to capture the meaning
of the poems in his music has never been surpassed.

600 songs – Erlkonig (The Erlking, 1815)

Song Cycle - Die Schone Mullerin (The Lovely Maid of the Mill, 1823)
Die Winterreise (The Winter’s Journey, 1827)

8 Symphonies – The Unfinished (No. 8, 1822)

Chamber Music - Trout Quintet
15 String Quartets
String Quintet in C
 2 Piano Trios

Piano - 20 Piano Sonatas

Impromptus
Moment Musicaux (Musical Moments)

Choral - 7 Masses including Mass in Eb

Erlkonig

This masterpiece of Schubert’s youth (1815) captures the Romantic “strangeness and wonder” of
Goethe’s celebrated ballad.   Erlkonig (The Erlking) is based on the legend that whoever is
touched by the King of the Elves must die.

The eerie atmosphere of the poem is established by the piano part.  Galloping triplets are heard
against a rumbling figure in the bass.  This motive, so Romantic in tone, pervades the song and
imparts to it an astonishing unity.  The poem has four characters:  the narrator, the father, the
child and the seductive Elf.

The characters are vividly differentiated through changes in the melody, harmony, rhythm, and
type of accompaniment.  The child’s terror is suggested by clashing dissonance and a high
range.  The father, allaying his son’s fears, is represented by a more rounded vocal line, sung in a
low range.  As for the Erlkonig, his cajoling is given in suavely melodious phrases.

The song is through composed; the music follows the unfolding of the narrative with a steady
rise in tension—and pitch—that builds to the climax.  Abruptly, the obsessive triplet rhythm lets
up, slowing down as horse and rider reach home.  “In his arms the child”—a dramatic pause
precedes the two final words—“was dead”.

This lied seems strangely simple, inevitable.  The doing of it by a marvelous boy of eighteen was
a milestone in the history of Romanticism.
Johann Michael Vogl (August 10, 1768 – November 19,[1] 1840), was an
Austrian baritone singer and composer. Though famous in his day, he is remembered mainly for
his close professional relationship and friendship with composer Franz Schubert.
Vogl and Franz Schubert, caricatured by Franz von Schober
Vogl was born in Steyr. As a young man he enrolled at the Gymnasium at Kremsmünster, where
he studied languages, philosophy, and sang in several musical productions by his friendFranz
Süßmayr (the same man who completed Mozart's Requiem). In 1786 Vogl went to Vienna to
study, and later to practice law. In 1795 he debuted at the Vienna Hofoper, and quickly attracted
a following for both his acting capability and the beauty of his voice.
In 1813, Franz Schubert attended a performance of Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride in which Vogl
sang the role of Orestes; Schubert never forgot the experience and determined to write for Vogl.
The following year, when Vogl sang the role of Pizarro at the premiere of the final version
ofBeethoven's Fidelio, it is said that the 17-year-old Schubert actually sold his schoolbooks in
order to afford a ticket.
When composer and singer finally met, in 1817, Vogl was as impressed with the quality of
Schubert's music as Schubert was with Vogl's singing. Schubert wrote many of his subsequent
songs with Vogl in mind. One of their early successes was an 1821 performance of Der Erlkönig,
prior to its publication and to significant popular acclaim.
Rarely in music history has the relationship of a composer and a specific singer been so
musically productive. Vogl continued to sing Schubert's music after the death of his friend in
1828, famously singing a complete performance of Winterreise accompanied by the pianist
Emanuel Mikschik shortly before his own death on the twelfth anniversary of the death of his
friend. He died in Vienna.
Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)

Chopin was born near Warsaw, Poland, in 1810.  His father was French and his mother was
Polish.  Chopin was very gifted in music and studied piano and composition at the Conservatory
of Warsaw.  During his teens, Chopin fell in love with Constantia Gladkowska who inspired him
to write the 2nd movement of his F minor piano concerto.  

Because Russia was always starting wars with Poland, it was decided that Chopin should leave
Poland.  When he was 20, Chopin gave piano recitals in Vienna and Paris and was so well
received by the French that he decided to make Paris his home.

About this time, Warsaw was captured by the Russians.  Chopin felt such grief and anger when
he heard this that he wrote his famous Revolutionary Etude for piano.

In Paris, Chopin became a friend of Prince Radziwill, who introduced Chopin to many of the
most famous composers, writers, and artists in Paris such as Liszt, Berlioz, Victor Hugo, and
Delacroix.

For many years, Chopin made his living in Paris by giving private concerts for wealthy families,
and by teaching piano students.

When he was 27, Chopin met and fell in love with a famous novelist, Aurora Dudevant, who
wrote under the pen name of George Sand.  Chopin and Aurora lived together for 10 years and
during this time Chopin wrote most of his famous works for piano such as the 24 Preludes, 21
Nocturnes, 4 Ballades, 4 Scherzi, 17 Polonaise, 48 Mazurkas, and 27 Etudes.

By 1847, Chopin had come down with tuberculosis and his friendship with Aurora had ended. 
They parted in bitterness.

In spite of his failing health, Chopin decided to give a series of piano recitals in England and
Scotland.  This tour destroyed his health completely.

He returned to Paris fatally ill and died there in 1849.

His Music

Chopin was the only famous composer who devoted his life to writing music only for the piano. 
He was known as the “Poet of the Piano”.

Chopin’s piano music is noted for its melodic beauty and original harmonies.  It features the
piano’s natural beauty as a solo instrument avoiding any attempt at orchestral effects.  It also
features many delicate ornaments, much chromaticism, and widely spaced left hand
accompaniments.
Piano pieces Piano Concertos in E minor and F minor
4 Ballades
 Fantasy in F minor (1841)
Berceuse (1844)
Barcarolle (1846)
Preludes including Prelude in E Minor Op. 28, No. 4 (1839)
Polonaises including Polonaise in Ab, Op. 53 (1842)
Etudes including the Revolutionary Etude
Nocturnes, Impromptus, Waltzes, Mazurkas, Scherzos

Polonaise in Ab

Year of composition:  1842

Genre:  Polonaise
Instrumentation:  solo piano
Form:  A B A1 with an introduction and coda

The Introduction is quite long, emotional and intense and is as important as the main themes to
follow.  The music builds up until the first theme emerges triumphant and confident.  Section A
is long because Theme 1 is repeated.  Each repetition has a different texture.  It is either played
with octaves or chords and a new melodic part is introduced with ornamentation.  Rapid scalic
passages appear five times in the first section.

The second theme has a strong melody, more dramatic and shorter than the first.  The first beat
of each bar is punctuated by octaves in the left hand throughout the first section.

Section B has an ostinato bass line in sixteenth notes that sounds like the hooves of horses.  It
opens with fortissimo, arpeggiated E+ chords that lead to a descending left hand motive.  The
theme uses dotted rhythm like the main opening theme leading back to Section A.

Section A returns strongly with the main theme stated once in octaves.  The Coda prepares the
ending of the piece.  The ending is heroic and finishes in a majestic manner.  

The Polonaise is a Polish processional dance.  Chopin was born in Poland and he was often
homesick for his native land.  His polonaises are full of longing for the lost happiness of his
youth.  In this polonaise, we have the expression of very deep feelings and Romantic passion.
 Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

Hector Berlioz was born in France in a small town near Grenoble in 1803.  His father was a
wealthy doctor who sent him to medical school in Paris when he was 18.  A year later Berlioz
gave up medicine for music.  His father disowned him, and Berlioz had to teach and sing in a
theater chorus to make a living.  

Berlioz was powerfully influenced by Beethoven and Shakespeare.  While attending a

performance of Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet”, Berlioz fell madly in love with Harriet Smithson
who played the part of Ophelia.  

In 1830, Berlioz won the Prix de Rome, a 3 year scholarship to study in Rome, but his love for
Harriet and his homesickness for Paris brought him back before he had finished his studies. 

When Harriet rejected his proposal for marriage, Berlioz turned to composition and produced his
Symphonie Fantastique (1830) which has become his most famous work.  The official title of
the piece is An Episode in the Life of the Artist.  After an attempted suicide, Berlioz and
Harriet were married, but the marriage was stormy and ended in divorce.  Berlioz produced most
of his best works while married.

To earn money, Berlioz wrote musical criticism.  He also conducted his music in all the capitols
of Europe but was never accepted in Paris.

In 1844, Berlioz produced leading treatise, Traité d’instrumentation et d’orchestration

modernes. It was more than just a technical handbook; it served as an introduction to the
aesthetics of expressiveness in music for later generations.

His last important work was the opera Beatrice and Benedict, on his own libretto based on
Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing”.  Berlioz, embittered by public neglect of his music,
wrote no more during the last 7 years of his life.  He died in Paris in 1869, at the age of 66.

Music
Berlioz had a unique sensitivity to sound.  His greatest talent was writing vividly dramatic
program music.  His compositions were inspired by the writings of Scott, Byron, Shakespeare,
and Goethe.

Berlioz’s greatest genius was his ability to orchestrate.  His daring combinations of instruments
produced many, new sonorities which served as a model in the Romantic era.  His scores are
written for a larger orchestra than had ever been used before.  Berlioz was the creator of the
modern orchestra.

Program Symphonies Symphonie Fantastique (1830)

Harold in Italy (1834)
Romeo and Juliet (1939)

Overtures Waverley (1828)

 Rob Roy (1831)
King Lear (1831)
The Corsair

Opera The Trojans

Beatrice and Benedict
Benvenuto Cellini

Choral Music Requiem Mass 

Te Deum
The Damnation of Faust

Oratorio The Childhood of Christ

SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE

Symphonie Fantastique is Berlioz’s most famous work.  It is a program symphony with the
program taken from his personal life.  It was written in 1830, when he was 27, at the time he had
fallen madly in love with Harriet Smithson, a Shakespearean actress.

Program   A lovesick musician tries to commit suicide by poisoning himself with opium.  The
drug is not strong enough to kill him but puts him into a deep sleep.  His dreams and
hallucinations are put into musical images and ideas.

The principal theme, which recurs throughout this symphony, symbolizes Harriet Smithson, his
beloved.  Berlioz called this recurrent theme Idee fixe (Fixed idea).  It is used in every movement
of the symphony to provide unity (cyclical form).  The basic theme is varied throughout the work
by changes in harmony, rhythm, meter, tempo, dynamics, register and instrumental color.

There are five titled movements:

1. Reveries (Dreams), Passions

2. A Ball
3. Scene in the Fields
4. March to the Scaffold
5. Dream of the Witches’ Sabbath

Reveries, Passions “He remembers the yearning and weariness of his soul before meeting his
beloved.  Then, the volcanic love he felt after meeting her.”

The Allegro section introduced the fixed idea, a soaring melody.  At the climax the fixed idea is
stated ff by full orchestra.

A Ball “Amid the excitement of a brilliant ball he glimpses the loved one again.”
The dance movement is in ternary form, triple meter, and marked Valse Allegro non troppo.  In
the middle section the fixed idea reappears in waltz time.

Scene in the Fields “On a summer evening in the country he hears two shepherds piping.  He is
calm until she appears.  It is a “mood of sorrowful loneliness.”  This is in ternary form, 6/8 time,
marked Adagio.

March to the Scaffold “He dreams he has killed his beloved, that he has been condemned to die
and is being led to the scaffold.  At the very end the fixed idea reappears for an instant, like a last
thought of love interrupted by the fall of the axe.”

A March movement in duple time marked Allegretto non troppo, in a minor key.  The fixed idea
appears at the very end on the clarinet and is cut off by a grim ff chord.

Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath “He sees himself at a witches Sabbath, where witches and ghosts
have gathered for his funeral.”

The movement opens with a Larghetto with soft muted strings and chromatic scales in strings. 
Low brass and high woodwinds sound like “groans and shrieks of laughter.”  Next, an Allegro
section with the fixed idea transformed into a “vulgar dance tune” played by a high-pitched
clarinet with trills and grace notes.  Bells chime (“Bells toll for the Dead”).  The Dies Irae theme
(the traditional religious melody used in the Mass for the Dead), played by tubas and bassoons,
first slowly, then twice as fast.

“Burlesque of the Dies Irae” in strings and woodwinds in irregular rhythm “Dance of the
Witches” begins in low strings with a driving rhythm then, this theme is passed to other
instruments.  The Witches Dance and the Dies Irae theme combined.
Georges Bizet - (1838-1875)

Georges Bizet was born and raised in Paris, France.  He studied at the Paris Conservatory, and at
age 20 won the Prix de Rome, a three-year scholarship to study in Rome.  He spent the rest of his
life in Paris.

He wrote 4 exotic operas:  The Pearl Fishers, which is a drama of love and ritual in Ceylon. 
The Fair Maid of Perth, written four years later based on Walter Scott’s novel, which takes
place in Scotland.  Djamileh is set in Cairo, Egypt.  And Carmen, which takes place in Seville,
Spain.

He is most famous for his opera Carmen, which became the greatest French opera of the
century.  He died at the age of 37 of a heart attack, 3 months after the premiere of Carmen, worn
out by the months of rehearsals and the emotional tension of the production.

His Works:

Orchestral – Symphony in C (1855)

Incidental Music – L’Arlesienne (The Woman of Arles, 1872)
Operas - Les Pecheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers, 1863)
La Jolie Fille de Perth (The Fair Maid of Perth, 1867)
Djamileh (1872)
Carmen (1875)

CARMEN

Carmen is an opera by Bizet and is his greatest masterpiece.  The libretto was written by Meilhac and
Halevy in French and is based on a story by Merimee.  It is written in verismo style and was initially
criticized for its realism, but was instantly popular due to the rumours that it was “not quite respectable”. 
The opera has 4 acts and tells the story of Don Jose’s tragic love for Carmen, and how his love for her
gradually destroys him.

Main Characters:

Carmen – a pretty cigarette factory worker

Don Jose – an army corporal who falls in love with Carmen
Lieutenant Zuniga – a senior officer to Don Jose who also falls in love with Carmen.
Escamillo – a proud bullfighter, who wins Carmen away from Don Jose
Micaela – girlfriend of Don Jose who loses him to Carmen
Mercedes and Frasquita – girlfriends of Carmen

Story:

The story of Carmen takes place in Seville, Spain (exoticism).  Carmen is a pretty cigarette girl
who wins the love of Don Jose and Lieutenant Zuniga but gets bored with them and drops them. 
She chooses Escamillo, the proud bullfighter for her boyfriend, which makes Don Jose very
jealous.  Don Jose cannot live without Carmen and when she refuses to go away with him he
kills her.

Prelude:

The prelude prepares us for the different moods of the opera.  We hear 3 of the main themes of
the opera:

1. Bullring theme – with a pounding rhythm and bright orchestration.

2. Toreador Song theme
3. Fate Motive – played by clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, and cellos, which is heard throughout
the opera.

There are three sections to the Prelude to Carmen.  Section A is in A major, Section B is in F
major, and Section C is highly chromatic.  This is in modified rondo form (ABAC).  The meter is
2/4 marked Allegro.

Bizet opens the opera with a bright, fortissimo theme in Section A which immediately captures
the attention of the listener.  The first phrase revolves around the note of A, and then the second
phrase moves the melody up to the subdominant, D major.  The theme is short and decisive,
using cymbals and repeated notes to create a festive mood.  Section B is a contrast, with a
strutting dotted rhythm played by the strings, capturing the mood of the confident toreador. 
Section C is different again, with lower strings and fragmented phrases moving down
chromatically as the music introduces the fate motive that runs through the opera.

Habanera:  Recitative and aria, “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle”

This recitative and aria has a voice-type of mezzo-soprano.  The form is in verse and chorus. 
The meter is in 2/4 time marked Andante and the key is in D minor.

The aria begins with a short recitative when Carmen responds to the young men who ask her
when she will give them her heart.  She replies “When will I love you? (Quand je vous aimerai?)
My faith, I do not know.  Perhaps never, perhaps tomorrow!  But not today…It is certain.”

The aria’s melodic line begins by descending chromatically for almost an octave before soaring
back up to the opening note of D.  The melody uses strutting triplets, echoed by the chorus
during their parts while Carmen sings a countermelody over the top, repeatedly using the word
“l’amour”.  The cellos in the bass line support the richly chromatic melody by repeating the
ostinato D minor chord.
Vocabulary:

Rubato – an expressive device popular in the Romantic period that uses rhythmic flexibility. 
Robbed time which consists of hastening or slowing down the tempo without upsetting the basic
beat

Lied - a German art song composed for solo voice and piano employing a poetic text

Word painting or tone painting - a technique in which the music mirrors the meaning of the
words

Through composed or Durchkomponiert - a song type where the music is composed from
beginning to end, so that the music follows the story line, changing with each stanza according to
the text

Whole tone scale - scale comprised entirely of whole steps

Atonality - total absence of any tonal centre

Pentatonic scale - a 5 note scale generally associated with non-Western music

Dies Irae – a famous theme dating from the Middle Ages first heard in the Mass for the dead.

Exoticism – suggests the picturesque atmosphere and color of far-off lands

Polytonality – the simultaneous use of 2 or more keys, common in 20th century music

Habanera – a Cuban dance-song that originated in Havana

Choreography – the art of dance composition in ballet

Col Legno – when a string player taps the string with the wooden part of the bow instead of
using the hair producing a rather bizarre sound

Polonaise - a national processional Polish dance, of which Chopin wrote 17 pieces to pour out
his patriotic feelings.

Glissando- a chromatic run up the strings of a harp

Idee Fixe - A recurring theme used by Berlioz to represent his beloved.

Verismo - a term associated with a type of Italian opera which aimed at realism by 
featuring stories from everyday life.

Chromaticism – the use of all 12 tones of the octave in a composition.  It was used to heighten
expressiveness.
Ophicleide - an obsolete bass brass instrument with keys, used in bands in the 19th century but
superseded by the tuba.

Portamento - a vocal slide between two pitches.   

Aria - a solo piece written for a main character, which focuses on the character's emotion.

Prelude - usually a short introduction that leads into an act without a break

Cloches – French for “bells” which are used in the orchestra

Recitative - musical declamation in the narrative and dialogue parts of opera and oratorio, sung
in the rhythm of ordinary speech

Polyrhythm - the simultaneous combination of contrasting rhythms in a musical composition

CLAUDE DEBUSSY (1882-1918)

Debussy was the most important French composer of the early 20th Century He was born in
the town of St Germain-en-Laye near Paris At age 11, he entered the Paris Conservatory He
soon shocked his professors with bizarre harmonies that broke the established rules

At age 22 his cantata The Prodigal Son won the Pit de Rome. He was very homesick for Paris
during his study in Rome.

The 1890s was the most productive decade of Debussy's career. He reached the peak of his
success with the opera Pelleas et Melisande, based on the symbolist drama by Maeterlinck it
took 10 years to complete and was strongly criticized, but it made him internationally famous.

He conducted his works throughout Europe and became known as a great music critic with his
articles on music

He became ill with cancer but he continued to compose until the outbreak of the war in 1914.
After stopping for a year, he resumed composing. He died in Paris in 1918, 8 months before
the end of the war.

Music

Debussy stated "French music is clearness and elegance. It aims first of all to give us pleasure".
Turning away from Romantic exuberance that left nothing unsaid, Debussy created an art of
indirection, subtle and discreet Instead of sonata form, he used short flexible forms. They are
mood pieces, and evoke the favorite images of Impressionistic painting gardens in the rain,
clouds, moonlight, sea, and mist.

Debussy worked slowly and his output is comparatively small. In his orchestration he has
individual instruments standing out against the mass The lines are widely spaced the texture
light and airy.

Debussy was one of the most important piano composers, creating a distinctive new style of
writing for the piano. He uses widely-spaced chords with parallel 2nds, 4ths, and Sths, exploits
the contrast of low and high registers, blending of sonorities with the pedal and the clash of
overtones.

He helped establish the French song as a national art form independent of the German lied. His
settings of poems by Baudelaire. Verlaine, and Mallarme show exquisite refinement.

Orchestral - Prelude a L'apres-midi d'un faune" (Prelude to "The Afternoon of he Faun")

3 Nocturnes (Clouds (Nuages), Festivals, Sirens)
La mer (The Sea) Images

Opera - Pelleas et Mellisnade

Ballet- Jeux

Piano- Pour le Piano (Suite for the Piano)

Estampes (Prints) including Evening in Granada, Reflections in the Water and
Pagodas
Claire de Lune (Moonlight)
Jardins sou la Pluie (Gardens in the Rain)
Golliwogg’s Cake-walk
2 books of preludes including sunken cathedral, The Interrupted Serenade, Six
Antique Epigraphs including The Dancing Girl with Coatales

Cantata- L’enfant Prodigue (The Prodigal Son)

Chamber Music- String Quartet in G minor, Cello Sonata; Violin Sonata; Sonata for Flute,
Viola, Harp Songs and Choral Music

Prelude to the Afternoon of the Faun

This tone poem(symphonic poem) is Debussy's best known orchestral work, composed in
1894. It was inspired by a poem by Mallarme that evokes the landscape of pagan days. The
poem is about a faun, the mythological creature that is half man, half goat. He awakens in the
woods and tries to remember. Was he visited by 3 lovely nymphs or was it but a dream? He
will never know. The sun is warm, the earth is fragrant. He curls himself up and falls into a
wine-drugged sleep.

The work is in a free ternary form that is fluid and rhapsodic (irregular). It features 3 melodies.
Almost every fragment of melody is repeated. It has a relaxed rhythm that flows across the bar
line in a continuous stream. By weakening or even wiping out the accent Debussy achieved a
dreamlike fluidity.

The piece opens with a flute solo in low register. The melody glides along the chromatic scale,
narrow in range, and languorous. Glissandos on the harp usher in a brief dialogue of the horns.

A new theme in the solo oboe has a livelier rhythm.

The 3rd theme is marked same tempo and very sustained. It is played by woodwinds, then by
strings, with syncopated rhythms building to a climax.

The first melody returns altered. At the end, antique cymbals are heard ppp (antique cymbals
are small discs of brass, held by the player one in each hand; the rims are struck together gently
and allowed to vibrate). "Blue" chords sound on the muted horns and violins, infinitely remote,
and the work dissolves in silence. It is only 9 minutes long.
. 
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Stravinsky was born in Oranienbaum, near St. Petersburg. His father was the leading bass at
the Imperial Opera. He studied piano, but his parents wanted him to be a lawyer. He studied
law at the University of St. Petersburg, while continuing his musical studies with Rimsky-
Korsakoff.

At 28, he was commissioned by Serge Diaghilev, the manager of the Paris-based Russian
Ballet, to write the music for 3 ballets: The Firebird in 1910; Petrushka in 1911, and The Rite
of Spring in 1913.

With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Stravinsky moved to Switzerland with his wife and
children for the next 6 years. During this period Stravinsky wrote smaller, more intimate
works.

Stravinsky's ties with his homeland were cut off by the Russian Revolution. In 1920, he settled
in France, where he remained until 1939. During this period he concertized throughout Europe,
performing his music as pianist and conductor.

In 1939, he was invited to the U.S. to lecture at Harvard University, and he decided to remain
there when World War II broke out. He settled near Los Angeles, California, and in 1945
became a U.S. citizen. In his later years, Stravinsky's worldwide concert tours made him the
most famous figure in 20th Century music. He died in New York in 1971.

Music

Stravinsky showed continuous development throughout his career. His early works feature a
powerful dynamic rhythm, and dissonance, but always with a firm sense of key. He was one of
the great orchestrators. His orchestral sound is bright with a clear texture.

His musical style is divided into three periods:

1. Nationalistic: His first 3 ballets, Firebird, Petrushka, Rite of Spring are strongly national in
style. During the decade of World War I, he wrote smaller, more intimate works including The
Soldier's Tale, a dance-drama for 4 characters accompanied by a 7 piece band, and the ballet,
The Wedding, a stylization of a Russian peasant wedding.

2. Neoclassical: He expressed his ideas in Classical forms during this period. His major
neoclassical works include: Symphonies of Wind Instruments; Symphony of Psalms,
Symphony in C; Symphony in 3 Movement; Concerto for Piano and Winds; the opera The
Rakes Progress.

3. Twelve Tone: Stravinsky's third period (1950-1971) consisted of works based on the serial
or 12 tone method. The most important works are the ballet Agon, and the choral work Threni:
Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah.
Orchestral- Symphonies of Wind Instruments
Concerto for Piano and Winds
Dumbarton Oaks Concerto
Symphony in C
Symphony in 3 Movements
Ebony Concerto

Ballet: L’oiseau de feu (The Firebird)

Petrushka
Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Les Noces (The Wedding)
Agon

Dance-Drama- The Soldier’s Tale (Histoire du Soldat)

Operas : Oedipus Rex

The Rakes Progress

Choral : Symphony of Psalms

Canticum Sacrum
Threni: Lamentations of the Prophet Jeremiah
Requiem Canticles

Ragtime for 11 Instruments

Piano Rag-Music
Chamber music, piano music (solo and for 2 pianos); songs
The Rite of Spring

Music Facts:

Composer: Igor Stravinsky

Year of composition: 1913
Title: Subtitled “Pictures of Pagan Russia” and the French title is Le Sacre du Printemps
Genre: Ballet
Choreographer: Vaslav Nijinsky
Conductor: Pierre Monteux
Set designer: Nikolai Roerich
Instrumentation: Full orchestra, including 5 timpani, tam-tam, tambourine and antique cymbals

Sergei Diaghilev commissioned the ballet for his company, Les Ballets Russes (established in
1909), which combined dance, drama, music and painting. Vaslav Nijinsky created the
unconventional choreography (written notation to indicate the steps and movements for
dancing). In a note to the conductor Serge Koussevitzky in February 1914, Stravinsky
apparently described The Rite of Spring as; "a musical-choreographic work, [representing]
pagan Russia ... unified by a single idea: the mystery and great surge of the creative power of
Spring".24 The work features primitivism, which includes elements of both exoticism and
nationalism with atonality (each degree of the scale treated as equal), unusual scales, quartal
harmony (chords based on fourths, not thirds) and changing meter:

OPENING NIGHT:

The first two minutes of opening night in Paris apparently went well, with the audience
spellbound by the haunting introduction. But then, the brutality of the first scene broke
through-the subject itself was scandalous: instead of a typical fluffy ballet theme, ugly pagans
(someone who does not recognize a single God; a heathen) sacrifice a maiden to the gods of
spring. The choreography, costumes and sets are designed to emphasize primitive starkness,
not grace and beauty. At first on opening night there were a few boos and catcalls, but the
outrage grew, and the audience reacted by yelling and fighting. Diaghilev tried to control the
disturbance by switching the house lights on and off while Nijinsky tried to continue the
performance as best he could by shouting out numbers and cues to the dancers, who couldn't
hear the music, loud as it was, over the audience noise. Stravinsky was furious and stormed out
of the theatre before police arrived to end the show. Famous people in the audience included
Saint-Saëns and Debussy who pleaded for silence so that the music could be heard.

II. MUSICAL ANALYSIS:

Despite the large orchestra, much of the score is written chamber-fashion, with individual
instruments and small groups having distinct roles. The orchestral arrangement was chosen not
merely to create a massive block of sound (although there are moments of almost unbearable
volume) but to give scope for an unending variety of orchestral colour and instrumental effects.
There are solo moments for almost every instrument, often demanding and unorthodox, as in
the famous bassoon opening. There are quiet and magical moments, as in the Introduction to
Part II, and there are also dramatic tutti passages with every player striving to be heard.

The score ranges from a plaintive folk tune to huge, pounding blows, from quiet reverie to
grating dissonance, and from graceful and gentle to irregular metric fragments. Stravinsky did
not plan to destroy tradition, but his jagged rhythms, wild harmonies and violent dynamics
pushed the music into a new dimension.

Stravinsky strives to achieve a raw, primal "gut" reaction with harsh, repeated blocks of sound
in a low register. The music is further unsettled with frequent, unpredictable accents - a
signature Stravinsky technique. Stravinsky's method of composition for this work was to
arrange and layer small cells of music. Each "cell" is both a melodic and rhythmic essence of
the folk melody from which it was derived.

One aspect of this composition that is more traditional is an overall sense of form. The main
themes are highlighted through repetition. In addition, the main themes have clear pitch
relationships between them. Although the dense accompaniment prevents a sense of key, the
melody often stands out, giving the listener something familiar to grasp onto.

Primitivism was a concept that modern composers such as

Stravinsky were drawn to; the idea of music created by non-
Western cultures. 'Primitive' is an inaccurate word to describe
such music which often featured complex rhythms, harmony, melody, and form. Stravinsky
attempted to make music less predictable in the Rite of Spring by using 'primitive' techniques
as well as: syncopation; hemiolas; unexpected accents; a loud percussion section; polymeter;
polyrhythms; and polychords so as to unnerve the listener and to create a more brutal sound
and mood. Thus, through a culmination of 20th century exploration of ideas such as atonality,
rhythmic ambiguity, and freedom of form, Stravinsky achieved a dramatically new concept of
sound in The Rite of Spring. There were two sections:

1.The Adoration of the Earth

Introduction
The Adoration of the Earth
Harbingers of Spring
Dances of the Youths and Maidens (or more generally, 'Dance of the Young Girls' and The
Augurs of Spring')
Ritual of Abduction
Spring Rounds
Games of the Rival Tribes
Procession of the Tribal Sages
Adoration of the Earth
Song of the Earth
2.The Exalted Sacrifice
Introduction
The Sacrifice
Mysterious Circles of the Adolescents (or Maidens)
Glorification of the Chosen One (or "Dance of the Chosen One")
Evocation and Ritual of the Ancestors
The Chosen One's Dance of Death (or "Sacrificial Dance of the Chosen One")

The action implied by the music might have taken place over the course of two days. The
introductions to both large parts suggest a dawning/awakening, and Part I is clearly preparatory
for Part II.

Synopsis:

Part I takes place during the day. Part II, with five scenes, unfolds as the ritual and the evening
progresses. Stravinsky wrote an outline of the ballet-

The piece has no plot, but the choreographic succession is as follows: The spring celebration.
The pipers pipe and young men tell fortunes. An old woman enters; she knows the mystery of
nature and how to predict the future. Young girls with painted faces come in from the river in
single file. They dance the spring dance. Games start. The spring khorovod occurs [a stately
round dance]. The people divide into two groups opposing each other. The holy procession of
the wise elders. The oldest and wisest interrupts the spring games. The people pause, trembling
as the old men bless the earth. The people dance passionately on the earth, sanctifying it and
becoming one with it.

PART I: Scene 1 opens with the adoration of the earth. Standing downstage is a 300 year old
woman, bent with arthritis. She foretells of the shamanistic elements that run through the
ballet. Then there are the "Harbingers of spring". This scene leads to the "Ritual of Abduction"
which was based on the followed by the "Spring Rounds" where three tall women, known as
the 'Storks', enter and pick their Apache Dance, a fast and brutally erotic routine that was all
the rage in music halls of Paris. This is way across the stage. The "Ritual of the Rival Tribes"
is next, and commences with fighting movements leading into competitive dancing. That scene
ends abruptly with the "Procession of the Sage" who is accompanied by the tribal Elders. In the
next scene, "Adoration of the Earth/The Sage", the Sage is lowered to the ground for the
ceremonial kissing of the Earth. In Act One's last scene, "Dance of the Earth", the audience
watches over 40 distinctive solos being performed on stage. Eventually the individual forces
are combined together, and the curtain falls with the tribe pressing together around the Sage in
the centre.

PART II: opens with the "Mystic Circles of the Maidens". The Maidens dance a game of
chance in which one maiden falls not once, but twice, identifying her as the Chosen One. The
others push her into the centre of their circle. Having been recognised, the second scene is the
"Glorification of the Chosen One" with its female marital Dance of the Amazons. Their actions
are aimed at frightening the Chosen One and to prepare her for the ordeal she must face. The
third scene, "Evocation of the Ancestors", sees the maidens repeatedly falling flat onto the
stage. The "Ritual Action of the Ancestors" announces the arrival of 20 Ancestors wearing
bearskins. Together with the maidens they form circles around the Chosen One performing a
limping dance. This is the moment for the maidens to leave as only men can watch the Chosen
One's sacrificial dance. The women's final contortions are symbolic expressions of their grief
for the Chosen One's fate. Finally, the ballet reaches its climax in the "Sacrificial Dance"
beginning with a convulsive jump. The Ancestors begin a processional movement around the
Chosen One, allowing the audience only fleeting glimpses of the main character. Eventually
the Chosen One falls to the ground, makes a last effort to rise, only to fall again, whereupon
she is lifted into the air by the Ancestors to the red rays of the sun as she takes her last breath
and dies as the music ends.

Introduction, Part I

Key: No key Signature (atonal)

Meter: 4/4
Tempo: Lento
Instrumentation: Features the bassoon, clarinets and violins (playing pizzicato, or 'plucked')

Before the curtain rises, an orchestral introduction begins with a solo bassoon, playing in high
register, lento tempo rubato. The melody is a fragment of a Lithuanian folk tune. The rubato
and ad lib markings along with fermata, mixed metre and irregular rhythmic groupings give a
sense of improvisation, during earth's prehistoric history. This high bassoon melody is in many
ways reminiscent of the opening solo flute melody in Debussy's Prelude to the Afternoon of a
Faun-folk-like, modal, free-flowing, circular, and non-threatening. However, while Debussy
maintains this non-threatening atmosphere throughout the work, Stravinsky has quite a
different goal in mind. The bassoon solo sets off a series of short, fragmented, repeating solos
of contrasting timbres that begin to overlap and pile up on each other.

Woodwinds, violins and horns soon join the bassoon with repeated fragments, adding
dissonance. The time signature shifts in the first few measures, distracting from any sense of
pulse. Oboe and clarinet play a descending melody; other woodwinds enter and the music
grows more active. The solo bassoon continues to weave in and out.

The orchestra builds to a climax before a silence and the bassoon melody's return. Then a
pizzicato ('plucked') ostinato pattern begins with the strings featuring the minor third and
perfect fourth, as well as the rhythmic sixteenth note motive that leads to the next section:

Dances of the Youths and Maidens (or 'Dance of the Young Girls')

Form: Sectional, with seven different sections: A-B-A1-C-A-D-E-F-G-A2-F1

Key: C minor key signature
Meter: 2/4
Tempo: Tempo Giusto
Instrumentation: Features strings, woodwinds and brass

Section A begins with tempo giusto and is immediately forte, percussive and dissonant, with
an ostinato. Horns and strings create a block of sound; the composer Messiaen later called this
a "purely rhythmic theme". The notes are based on the E flat octatonic scale. Stravinsky wrote;
"The young people, the adolescents, begin a celebration dance, moving to an ancient folk
melody. Their excitement for springtime mounts." The orchestra first plays this persistent
series of eight notes, then irregular accents on the offbeat are heard on the French horns.
Listeners are subjected to three things at one: note values (rhythm); texture (density and
intensity); and colour (timbre and attack of the notes).

The strings' opening, pounding polychords sounding nothing like a dance - the lower strings
play an Fb (E) major chord against Eb7 in the violins and violas and the horns clash with their
own chords. Contrasting articulations are heard in similar instruments, e.g. pizzicato versus
arco ('with the bow'), legato against flutter tonguing. In section B, the English horn plays the
pizzicato motive from the Introduction. Section C again has the English horn's four-note
motive and again the strings play chords, with the brass interrupting in this section.

In section D, an accented bassoon folk melody enters over a soft string ostinato, contrasting
against a high flute grace note figure. Section E has another four-note motive, this time
alternating between the English horn and trumpet. Meanwhile the low strings perform col
legno (wood of the bow used to hit the strings). Section F features the French horn and flute
playing another folk-like melody, marked in F major. Section G produces a final melody on the
trumpets, with parallel chords, in B flat minor. Stravinsky varies the texture in each section,
with the climax being thick and dramatic in the return of Section F.

Later, a new folk-like melody on the French horn theme is heard, repeated by the flutes.

Then a new trumpet theme is introduced in measure 119. The piccolo follows, and then other
instruments play the original French horn melody. The eighth note pattern continues, adding
unity to this section.

Ritual of Abduction (or Game of Abduction)

Meter: 9/8 and 6/8

Tempo: Instrumentation:
Presto All sections of the orchestra are used

The mood changes quite quickly when the boys stage a mock abduction of the girls as part of
the ancient marriage rite: young girls arrive from the river, in single file - they begin the 'Dance
of the Abduction'.

This section is presto, frenzied, with sustained chords, loud percussion, and changing meter.
The brass instruments play a long tone, then woodwinds and a high piccolo trumpet plays a
wild tune. The timpani and bass drum add to the crescendo. The fast-paced music is answered
by a French horn call featuring the interval of a fourth:

Meter changes and polyrhythms add interest, as well as an unsettled feel to the music. At the
end, loud chords and a high flute trill leads to the next section, 'Spring Rounds'.

LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990)

Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the son of Russian-Jewish

immigrants. At 13, he was playing with a jazz band. He entered Harvard at 17 and studied
composition with Walter Piston. He attended the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia studying with
the conductor Serge Koussevitsky. In 1943, at age 25, he was appointed assistant conductor at
the New York Philharmonic. In 1958, at age 40, he was appointed director of the New York
Philharmonic, the first American-born conductor (and the youngest) to occupy the post.

As a composer he bridged the gap between serious and popular music, bringing to the
Broadway show a compositional technique and knowledge of music that few had. His
orchestration featured the balance and spacing of sonorities, the use of brass in the high
register He uses each instrument to its best advantage. His harmony is dissonant, he uses jazzy
rhythms, and soaring melodies. He is famous as a composer, conductor, educator, pianist and a
television personality.

Orchestral- Jeremiah Symphony

Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety (piano and orchestra)
Serenade (violin, strings, and percussion)
Symphony No. 3, Kaddish

Chorus and Orchestra- Chichester Psalms

Songfest

Opera- A Quiet Place

Musicals- On the Town

Wonderful Town
Candide
West Side Story

Ballet- Fancy Free

Film Score- On the Waterfront

Mass (1971)

West Side Story

Bernstein successfully united Jazz with musical theatre in West Side Story. It is a modern
Romeo and Juliet story based on a book by playwright Arthur Laurents and lyrics by Stephen
Sondheim. The story is about 2 rival gangs in New York City, the Jets (led by Riff) and their
Puerto Rican rivals, the Sharks (led by Bernardo). Tony, one of the Jets, and Maria, Bernardo's
sister, meet at a dance and immediately fall in love. During a gang fight, Riff is stabbed by one
of the Sharks and Tony in turn kills Bernardo. Tony begs Maria for forgiveness, and Tony is
killed in the final fight. The story unfolds in scenes of great tenderness, with memorable songs
such as Maria, Tonight and electrifying dance sequences choreographed by Jerome Robbins.
Characters:

Puerto Rican Maria and Caucasian Tony are the two lovers. The killing of Riff by Maria's
brother, Bernardo parallels the killing of Romeo's friend Mercutio by Juliet's cousin, Tybalt
and the retaliatory murder of Bernardo by Tony is identified with Romeo's killing of Tybalt.
Secondary characters are also modified-the Nurse is Anita, Juliet's friend and confidante, and
Friar Lawrence is Doc, the neighborhood drugstore owner. Other parallels are Chino taking the
place of Paris from Shakespeare's play, and Officer Krupe represents Prince Escalus.

Maria

Tony leaves the dance, where he met and fell in love with Maria. She would normally be
considered off-limits to a boy like Tony, being Puerto Rican and engaged to Chino. But Tony
sees beyond the prejudices of society and senses that this will be the love of his life. Tony
repeats her name again and again and Bernstein uses these three notes to launch the main
theme. Sondheim's masterful lyrics contribute to the powerful sweep of emotion and captures
his lovesick state of mind: Maria, say it loud and there's music playing; Say it soft and it's
almost like praying."

The tritone has a jarring, unnatural sound and thus is used carefully in Western tonal music.
Bernstein makes great use of the tritone throughout the West Side Story score, most famously
as the first two notes in the refrain of "Maria". This tritone does not resolve. And by doing this,
Bernstein establishes an uncomfortable, perhaps ominous musical atmosphere in which
violence seems likely to erupt.

America

The structural form relates to how the soloists and choruses relate to one another. This number
displays dynamic movement through space articulated through the roof-top choreography.
Note how the verse's melodic construction is based on call and response, and how the prologue
to the number leads up to the "argument" between the girls and the boys.

With the entire Puerto Rican cast on the roof-top, hot-blooded Anita sings and dances, with
biting wit and humour, about her love for her new homeland I the rousing lively and aggressive
"America". The land of the free is both a land of opportunity and enmity for new immigrants
while forthrightly condemning American white racism. Some people feel this number
reinforces stereotypes about Latinos, and he musical has been the target of protests in some
areas on those grounds.

West Side Story

Composer- Leonard Bernstein
Year of Composition- 1957 (it premiered on Broadway)- the film was in 1961
Genre- Musical
Chreographer/director- Jerome Robbins
Producer- Harold Prine
Book by- Arthur Laurents
LYRICIST- STEVEN SONDHEIM

Characters-

NAME VOICE TYPE DESCRIPTION

Maria Soprano Puerto Rican girl who falls in
love with Tony
Tony Tenor Caucasian (White) boy who
falls in love with Maria
Riff (Caucasian) Leader of the Jets gang
Bernardo(Puerto Rican) Leader of the Sharks gang
Anita Bernardo’s girlfriend
Doc Owner of Doc’s store and
Tony’s boss
Officer Krupke and Lt. Police Officers
Shrank

In 1957, Robbins teamed up once again with Leonard Bernstein on a musical he had been
discussing with him, and also playwright Arthur Laurents, for some years: West Side Story.
This musical is a retelling of Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, set against a modern
background of gang warfare in New York's Puerto Rican ghetto. West Side Story was arguably
the first concept musical and it revolutionized the typical Broadway show. The combination of
dancing, singing, acting and design are built around a traditional story line while touching on
social issues such as troubled youth, gangs, and the effects of poverty and racism.

Before the show's debut, the original producer quit, so Steven Sondheim enlisted the support of
his producer friend Harold Prince.

SUMMARY of the original Romeo and Juliet play

Two teenagers pursue their love for each other despite the fact that their families have been at
odds with each other for decades.

In Verona, Italy the late 1500's, two powerful families, the Montagues and the Capulets, have
been feuding with each other for years. Romeo falls instantly in love with Juliet at a party, but
is disappointed when he finds out that Juliet is a Capulet. Juliet notices Romeo too, but she is
unaware that he is a member of the hated Montagues. Juliet goes out onto her balcony to tell
the stars about her strong but forbidden love. Romeo overhears Juliet confess her love for him
and he reveals himself to her and admits that he feels the same. The very next day, with the
help of Romeo's friend Friar Laurence, Romeo and Juliet are secretly married.

On the day of the wedding, Romeo's friends are confronted by Juliet's cousin, Tybalt, who
starts a fight. Romeo does not want to fight Tybalt because he no longer holds a grudge against
Juliet's family. Romeo's friends can't understand why he won't stand up for himself so one of
his friends steps in and is killed. To avenge the death of his friend, Romeo kills Tybalt, an act
that earns him even more hatred from the Capulet family. Romeo is forced to leave Juliet, who
is devastated by the loss of her love. Juliet's father, not knowing of his daughter's marriage,
decides to marry her to another young man named Paris.

In despair, Juliet consults with Friar Laurence who advises her to agree to the arranged
marriage, but on the morning of the wedding, she will drink a potion that he prepares for her.
The potion will make it look like Juliet is dead, then the Friar will send Romeo to rescue her.

But before the Friar can tell Romeo of the hoax, Romeo hears from someone else that his
beloved Juliet is dead. Overcome with grief, Romeo buys a poison and goes to Juliet's tomb to
die beside his wife. At the door of the tomb, Romeo is forced to fight Paris, whom he kills.
Inside the vault, Romeo drinks the poison and takes his last breath next to his sleeping wife.

Moments later, Juliet awakens to see her husband's dead body. She learns what has happened
from Friar Laurence who has just arrived. With no reason left to live, Juliet kills herself with
Romeo's dagger. The two families are so hurt by the deaths of their children that they agree
never to fight again.

SYNOPSIS for West Side Story

ACT ONE-The curtain rises on a bleak scene representing a warehouse. For the next five

minutes not a word is spoken. Instead there is an extended dance sequence by the two gangs;
the mood is sinister. This establishes the emotional climate that follows and provides a warning
of the upcoming action. One of the gangs is the Jets, who are determined to prevent the
invasion into their territory by any Puerto Rican. The rival gang, the Sharks, is made up
entirely of Puerto Ricans. Both gangs arrange a meeting at a dance held in the neighbourhood
gymnasium for the purpose of arranging the time, place and weapons for a major gang fight, or
"rumble". At the dance Maria, sister of Bernardo (leader of the Sharks) meets and falls in love
with Tony (a former member of the rival Jets). Belonging to enemy camps, Tony and Maria are
kept apart by the gangs and must see each other in great secrecy. In the song and dance
sequence, "Somewhere," they escape from their grim reality into a fanciful dream world. In
"Maria," Tony gives voice to his feelings about the girl he has come to love, and in "I Feel
Pretty" "Maria describes her own reactions to the miracle of love. Their love blossoms in
apoignant scene on the fire-escape as they sing the duet "Tonight". They eventually go through
a mock marriage in a bridal shop where Maria is employed and where the dress mannequins
serve as their guests' and they sing "One Hand, One Heart", But the hatred that separates the
Jets and the Sharks also spells doom for their ill-fated romance. The "Rumble" erupts and Riff
has an opportunity to stab Bernardo, but Tony holds him back. Bernardo stabs Riff, then Tony
kills Bernardo; both gang leaders are dead.

ACT TWO - Opens with "I Feel Pretty", sung by Maria. Chino then enters and tells Maria that

Tony has killed Bernardo; he finds a gun and goes out looking for Tony. As Maria kneels in
prayer, Tony appears. He explains what has happened and asks her to forgive him. They
declare their love again in an embrace and sing "Somewhere". Maria is ready to elope with
Tony. The Jets have gathered at Doc's drugstore where Tony is hiding in the cellar. Anita
enters with a message for Tony from Maria, but then Anita is driven to say to the Jets that
Chino has shot Maria. Doc tells Tony, who runs out. Tony calls for Chino to kill him too, then
Maria steps out of the darkness. As Maria and Tony run to each other, Chino appears and
shoots Tony. Maria cradles him in her arms until he dies. The struggle of Maria and Tony to
love each other in the face of opposition does end on a hopeful note - the two gangs, stunned,
ashamed and sobered by the unnecessary triple killings, putting aside their hatred. As some of
the Jets struggle to bear Tony's body away, a few of the Sharks assist them. Together, they
solemnly carry him down the street, with Maria following.

II. MUSICAL ANALYSIS:

Bernstein combines the best of many musical styles, from dances to traditional techniques such
as the canon (strict counterpoint in which each voice exactly imitates the previous voice at a
fixed distance) and hemiola: The musical style of this work is based on big band jazz style and
Latin-beat music like the mambo. [When American jazz beat was combined with the Cuban
rumba rhythm, the result was a new rhythm: the mambo.] Popular dance music had not settled
exclusively on rock and roll when this work was being written. This mix of old and new has
resulted in West Side Story being one of the most performed musicals of all time.

Throughout West Side Story, Bernstein uses the tritone (also known as the augmented fourth
or a diminished fifth). It is featured in the overture, the song "Maria", in "Cool", and in all of
the fight music.
“Maria”

Form: Through composed

Key: F minor, then C major from m.12 to the end
Meter: 2/2
Tempo: Slowly, changing to moderately in m.12

Tony first meets Maria at the dance where they kiss. He sings this song afterwards, beginning
with a recitative style opening, featuring syllabic text setting (one note per syllable), simple
melody with repeated notes, and orchestral accompaniment. Triplets are used throughout the
piece but especially at the beginning. When the chorus of "Maria' begins in measure 12, there
is a key change to C major and the melody opens with an augmented fourth (or tritone), rising
to the fifth. The first phrase of the chorus is six measures long and then begins again, rising
higher this time. There are many modulations, including G minor (m. 27) and F minor (m. 29).

In the middle of the song (m. 36-43), Tony repeats the word 'Maria' in a countermelody while
the orchestra plays the melody from the chorus (featuring the tritone).

The climax occurs in measure 42 when the tenor sings a G above middle C, forte. Several
different versions of this song have been scored and there are numerous recordings, but they all
end with a prayer-like quality; "The most beautiful sound I ever heard: Maria.

“America”

Form: Verse and Chorus

Key: C major
Meter: 6/8
Tempo: Moderato

The structural form relates to how the singers relate to one another. The verse's melodic
construction is based on call and response, and how the prologue to the number leads up to the
"argument" between Rosalia and Anita. [NOTE: in the 1961 movie version, the argument is
between the Shark gang members and their girlfriends.] The verse- chorus format features a
distinct second section which is the chorus. The chorus keeps the interest of the audience and
provides unity to the piece. It is the all-important 'hook' of the musical and the form works
well, complete with lively dance sequences.

A hemiola is a rhythmic device consisting of superimposing two notes in the time of three, or
three in the time of two, or playing duplets in one part of the music over which another part of
the music is playing triplets. The technique has been used by composers for hundreds of years,
and Bernstein's rhythmic manipulation of the hemiola technique in this piece is very effective
as the music establishes the rhythmic pattern before the singers begin. It is not a true hemoila
effect as the meter shifts between 3/4 and 6/8; this concept was used by many 20th century
composers.

In the movie version, the entire Puerto Rican cast is on the rooftop with the impulsive Anita
singing with biting wit and humour about her love for her new homeland, America. But the
'land of the free' is both a land of opportunity and of hostility for new immigrants who often
face racism. Some people feel this number reinforces stereotypes about Latinos, and the
musical remains somewhat controversial. The song also shows the disagreement and tension
between the Sharks in general - they are forced to choose between an American society that
discriminates against them, and their home country of Puerto Rico which provided them with
few opportunities.

Alexina Louis (1949- ) (Not dead)

Alexina Louie is a Canadian composer of international reputation. She has been commissioned
to write major works for many of Canada's leading performers, ensembles, and orchestras, and
her solo keyboard works are included on many competition and syllabus lists. Louie has
developed a uniquely personal, expressive style, rooted in a blend of East and West musical
traditions. Her music emphasizes both craft and imagination, and influences range from her
Chinese heritage to an ongoing investigation of literature, poetry, and the visual arts. Louie
currently resides in Toronto, where she continues her work as a composer, writing for all
media including dance, film, and television.

Louie is one of the most performed and celebrated composers in Canada. She was born in
Chinatown, the daughter of a successful importer/exporter of Chinese foods. Louie began
piano lessons at the age of 7 and finished her ARCT (Performance) at age 17. Louie continued
her piano studies at the University of British Columbia where she also attended the
composition classes, graduating with a Bachelor of Music in Music History in 1970. Alexina
then went on to post-graduate work at the University of California at San Diego with Robert
Erickson and Pauline Oliveros, completing her Masters of Arts in Composition in 1974. She
was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary in 1997.

Louie is a two-time Juno award-winning composer, most recently in March 2000. In 1992, Dr.
Louie was given the SOCAN Jan V. Matejcek Concert Music Award for being the most
frequently-performed Canadian classical composer, her second time receiving the award since
its inception in 1990. In October 1999, the Jules Leger Prize in chamber music was awarded to
Dr. Louie for her string ensemble composition Nightfall. In 1994 the composer was awarded
the Chalmer Award for the vocal movements of Gallery Fanfares, Arias and Interludes,
independently titled Obsessions. A film score written by Louie and her husband won the Prix
de Jeunesse at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998. Dr. Louie has also received the Order of
Ontario, the province's highest and most prestigious honour.

Toothpaste is Louie's five-minute tragic opera buffa with libretto by Dan Redican and starring
opera sensation, Barbara Hannigan. The opera received its world premiere when the Esprit
Orchestra performed the piece.

Changes

I Musical facts:

Composer: Alexina Louis

Year of Composition: 1982
Genre: Keyboard Work
Instrumentation: Solo piano

This piece is second out of a total of four, part of the collection Music for Piano. It was
commissioned by the Alliance for Canadian New Music. The intention for Music for Piano was
to create four contrasting works; Ms Louie wanted "each work to address a new compositional,
pianistic, or notational 'technique' or 'device'. At the same time, I did not want to write dry
pedagogical pieces, as these kinds of pieces often are."37
Changes is a minimalist piece, featuring accents and harmonies shifting by a few notes at a
time to focus attention on the changes. When asked if this musical style reflected an influence
from her studies in Asian music, Louie responded that there was probably a "little hint of
Gamelan music in it."

II. MUSICAL ANALYSIS:

Form: Through-composed
Key: E flat major key signature provided
Meter: 4/4
Tempo: Allegro

The accents create shifting metric patterns within the meter. Louie uses quartal harmony and
pedal points and a cascade of sixteenth notes to create a web of sound. The key is given as Eb
major, yet the tonality is not closely aligned with this key.

Louie commented that minimalism "is a technique of using short patterns that repeat and
harmonies that change through repetitions. Patterns repeat and harmonies change so subtly that
you have to feel the change. The change is a forward momentum in the harmonic shift towards
a certain point." In the performance notes, Louie comments that each four note grouping must
be legato and "round in tone".

The opening pattern has the hands playing in opposite motion with four-note chords. The meter
changes from 4/4 to 6/4, measure 11 only. The accent for each group of sixteenth notes in the
right hand is usually on the third note, coming to a climax in measure 9 where the accents
begin to occur on the first note of the group, creating a more definite rhythmic pulse.

At mm. 22-23 the hands begin to both play in the same direction (low to high) for the
remainder of the piece. Measure 24 changes to 3/4 meter and again features shifting accent
patterns which, Louie states "are an integral part of the motivic structure from this point to the
end of the piece."

Near the ending (beginning at mm. 44), the flow of sixteenth notes is interrupted with tied
notes to create a more hesitant feel to the rhythm. The final measure features a perdendosi
marking, meaning 'dying away' [pronounced Pear-dehn-DOE-see].
John Adams (1947- ) (Not dead)

Life:

Dates: 1947-

Nationality: American

Best know for: His Orchestral Works

Education: He played the clarinet as a child and performed with marching bands and
community orchestras. Adams began composing at the age of 10, with
his works being performed while he was still a teenager. Adams later
eared two degrees at Harvard University (finishing his Masters in 1971)
and has honorary doctorates from Harvard, Yale, Julliard and Cambridge
 University (England). His training included serialism, but he enjoyed
listening to rock and roll such as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon as
a student.

Career/highlights: Adams moved to San Francisco in 1971 and taught at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music for ten years before becoming composer-in-
residence of the San Francisco Symphony from 1982-85. He was the
creator of the orchestra's highly successful yet controversial "New and
Unusual Music" series. Many of Adams' landmark orchestral works were
written for and premiered by the San Francisco Symphony, including
Harmonium, My Father Knew Charles Ives and Absolute Jest for string
quartet and orchestra. In 1982 he was awarded the Guggenheim
Foundation fellowship.

During the mid-1970s, 'minimalism' music (based on repeated and

shifting rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic patterns) was rapidly
developing. Californian composers were at the forefront, followed by the
younger East Coast composers Steve Reich and Philip Glass. Adams,
roughly ten years younger than Reich and Glass, developed his own
broader and more expressive style of minimalism. Adams' Violin
Concerto won the 1993 Grawemeyer Award, and On the Transmigration
of Souls (commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to
commemorate the first anniversary of 9/11) received the 2003 Pulitzer
Prize in Music. It is a meditative work for adult and children's choruses,
orchestra, and taped sounds.

Adams mentors the next generation of composers through the Pacific

Harmony Foundation, created with his wife, photographer Deborah
O'Grady. This foundation supports commissions and performances of
new works and musical education initiatives throughout the United
States. Adams also works with the John Adams Young Composers
program in his hometown of Berkeley, California and directs the
Juilliard and Royal Academy of Music orchestras.

Adams' career has had some controversy: his 1991 opera The Death of
Klinghoffer was based on the 1985 hijacking by Palestinians of a cruise
ship and subsequent assassination of a disabled Jewish passenger.
Several of his other works pushed boundaries and confused audiences
including Grand Pianola Music (1982). Adams also composed a
'songplay' which was a semi-operatic work, called I Was Looking at the
Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky (1995), based on a 1994 California
earthquake.

He has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland

Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco
 Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra, the BBC Symphony and the London Symphony.

Adams is also a highly esteemed and provocative writer. He is a frequent

contributor to the New York Times Book review and has written a book,
Hallelujah Junction.

Portfolio and genres: -Electronic works such as Groundling (1975)

- Piano music, including Pyrygian Gates (1977)
- Orchestral music, including Harmonium (1981) and El
Dorado
-The fanfare for orchestra, Short Ride in a Fast Machine (1986)
-Operas, including Nixon in China (1987), and Girls of the
Golden West (2017)
-Symphony for violin and orchestra- Scheherazade.2
-Film scores, including Matter of Heart and Birdman

INFLUENCES AND CONTRIBUTIONS:

Adams was influenced by John Cage and Steve Reich, other minimalist American composers,
and is often considered to be a successor to their compositional style, expanding the range of
instruments used in minimalist works and using minimalism as a point of departure, not the
end of his creative ideas. As he wrote; ""Like Cubism in painting, [minimalism) was a
radically new idea, but its reductive worldview would soon leave its practitioners caught in an
expressive cul-de-sac. "

Adams reacted against the mid-20th century trends, criticizing Schoenberg, Stockhausen and
Babbitt for what he felt was 'mechanistic severity and coldness in 12-tone music and serialism

In 1982, a columnist wrote that "Adams has forged a big, strong, personal style, expressed in
complex forms that employ a more extensive use of dissonance than other minimalists.... His
highly accessible music makes a bridge between the avant-garde and traditional concert-hall
fare "

Adams combines minimalism with the lush harmonies of the late Romantic composers and
adds colour with the addition of instruments such as the saxophone and synthesizers, such as in
his opera Nixon in China. By the early 2000s, Adams was regarded as one of the greatest
living American composers.

MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ADAMS:

  Adams is a minimalist who explores the emotional possibilities ('New Romanticism') of
writing in this style. He wanted to be a composer who cared and connected with his
audiences, versus simply experimenting. As he wrote in his book Hallelujah Junction;
"What Wagner and Schumann cared about was making the intensity of their emotions
palpable to the listener."

 He further describes himself as an emotional composer, experiencing music on a

physical level, and as a 'post-minimalism' composer.

 As Adams' official website states, "His works, both operatic and symphonic, stand out
among contemporary classical compositions for their depth of expression, brilliance of
sound, and the profoundly humanist nature of their themes. Over the past 25 years,
Adams's music has played a decisive role in turning the tide of contemporary musical
aesthetics away from academic modernism and toward a more expansive, expressive
language."

Short Ride in a Fast Machine

I Musical facts:

Composer: John Adams

Year of Composition: (First Performed) 1986 by the Pittsburgh Symphony
Orchestra
Genre: Orchestral
Instrumentation: Full orchestra: flutes, 2 oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns,
trumpets, trombones, tuba, timpani, woodblock, triangle,
xylophone, crotales, glock, cymbal, sizzle cymbal, snare
 drum, pedal bass drum, large bass drum, large tam-tam,
tambourine, 2 synthesizers, strings

II. MUSICAL ANALYSIS:

Form: Through-composed
Key: C major
Meter: 3/2
Tempo: Allegro

Finding the Form: The

Adams used the description "fanfare for orchestra" and there
wood block is scored in
are indeed fanfare figures in the brass section, sounding rather
a way that creates a like chase music in a movie. A fanfare typically uses only brass
four-part form. The first and percussion, but this work includes all sections of the
and third parts of the orchestra. At the time, Adams preferred to write for existing
work have a high wood ensembles, such as symphony orchestras.
block used in the
scoring, which is Adams sees the rest of the orchestra as running the gauntlet
through that rhythmic tunnel. About the title: "You know how it
contrasted by a low
is when someone asks you to ride in a terrific sports car, and
wood block in the then you wish you hadn't?" This music, he said, should give the
second part, while the "idea of excitement and thrill, just on the edge of anxiety or
final part features the terror." It was written to be the opening piece at a summer.
absence of wood block. festival.
Unusually, Adams has two synthesizers marked for the score, with the following written at the
bottom of the first page; "Synthesizer: the sound should be similar to an 'analog brass' voice
with a moderately fast attack... The speakers should be placed directly behind the players. The
sound should never be mixed into the auditorium PA system. The level should be adjusted to
mix with the rest of the orchestra and not predominate. The synthesizer parts are optional."
Thus, the instrumentation of the piece incorporates the 'digital revolution' which was occurring
in the 1980s. The synthesizers play an important role in creating the colour of the piece.
Adams was far from the first composer to use for electronics in his music, but he was among
the first to integrate synthesizers into the orchestra as normal members.

Short Ride in a Fast Machine features minimalist characteristics: repetition of rhythmic

motives; a steady beat; and a harmonic language with an emphasis on consonance. Adams' goal
has been to invent music at once familiar and subtle. "Minimalist pieces are still full of
surprises.... bursting with the energy generated by their harmonic movement." The work has
rather colourful orchestration for a minimalist work.

In fact, some analysts argue that the piece is 'postmiminalist', a term to describe works from the
1980s and 1990s with a steady pulse, diatonic tonality, more focus on melody, and generally
even dynamics.
The piece consists of brass pulses, percussion, and some motives by instruments such as the
high woodwinds.

Typical of Adams, there is a steady pulse, provided as an ostinato on the wood block. Short
Ride begins with a marking of quarter-notes (woodblock, soon joined by trumpets) and
perpetual motion eighth notes (clarinets and synthesizers). As one critic describes the opening
rhythm; "in the first 30 second the [rhythm] is manipulated in such a way...to tease the listener
into making constant attempts to discover and latch on to a metrical surface, even as that
surface changes.

By measure 20, there is further complexity and rhythmic dissonance of wood block against the
trumpets, horns and trombones (lower stems).
In measure 82, the polyrhythm features oboes, English horn, bassoons, contrabassoon and tuba.

Short Ride in a Fast Machine is in perpetual motion due to the additive elements of both
harmonic and rhythmic material driving the music forward. Other percussion is featured as the
work progresses, including triangle, xylophone, crotales (antique cymbals), glockenspiel and
cymbal before a large brass and percussion ending with three forte chords - first in E flat
major, second in A flat major, and the final triumphant chord in D major.

While the piece is not very dissonant, there are modulations (some shown below). Adams is
known to compose using what is known as 'gating' - the process of suddenly changing certain
pitches harmonically, often based on different modes.

After a shift from E major to B flat major, the original pitches continue as an unchanging layer,
providing some dissonance.

The piece ends with a bright brass fanfare, punctuated with percussion to create a triumphant
conclusion.

Vocabulary:

Hemiola a rhythmic device consisting of superimposing two notes in the time of three or three
in the time of two.

Atonality - total absence of any tonal centre

Symbolism - a movement in poetry that wishes to suggest rather than state because art should
appeal to the senses before the intellect.

Ballet - a choreographed stage work that combines music and dance.

Mambo - dance of Afro-Cuban origin with a characteristic quadruple meter rhythmic pattern.

Habanera - a Cuban dance-song that originated in Havana.

Tritone - is a musical interval composed of three whole tones.

Impressionism in music - form of music that blurs melodies/harmonies offering indistinct

forms

Primitivism - style of music that offers insistent rhythms and use of defined percussive sounds.

Antique cymbals - are percussion instruments consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass disks
about 4 inches in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base played by striking
two disks together in the same manner as finger cymbals. Their sound is rather like a small
tuned bell, only with a much brighter sound, and a much longer resonance.

Changing meter - a mid-score change in time signature, usually immediately following a bar
line.

Folk song - a song that originates in traditional popular culture or that is written in such a style.