Music History II

1
Music History II

• Lecture Notes 3

2
Writing About Music

• The goal is to show how both technique and
  emotion are revealed in a musical composition.

3
Vocal Music Aesthetically Supreme

• The appeal of vocal music is to both heart and
  mind at once.
  
• The appeal of instrumental music is only to the
  emotions.

4
Baldassare who?

• Many operas were written to satisfy the tastes of
  patrons of that day.
  
• Very few were able to rise to the technical and
  artistic level of composers like Mozart and Gluck.

5
Comic operas debut 1720s

• Humorous subject matter
• Typical libretto of the verismo type
• Bring on the bass singer! The heroic tenor is
  out.
  
• More for ensembles, less for soloists
• No more long arias and elaborate improvs
• Simpler melodies, symmetrical phrases

6
From intermezzo to opera buffa

• Entertainment between acts
• Extremely popular
• Could stand alone in performance
• Transformed into separate operatic works

7
Opera buffa Peu digne

• Some saw it as a threat to traditional serious
  works (members of the aristocracy).
  
• Others as a refreshing change to entrenched
  tradition (the intellectual bourgeoisie)
  
• Known as the War of the Buffoons
• Became immensely popular in France by the
  beginning of the 19th century

8
And whose side are you on?

• In the French-Italian controversy over
  style Gluck was seen as a French traditionalist
  (successor to Lully and Rameau). Piccinni was
  revered as a representative of the Italian
  tradition of opera seria. Both were
  foreigners.
• Ben Franklin saw the whole affair as a great
  waste of time.

9
Trouble At the Opera

• The money grubbing management refused to admit
  spectators at half price after the intermission.

10
Why opera reform?

• Gluck (and others) dramatic action suffers from
  too much emphasis on the virtuosity of individual
  singers.

11
Alceste Some salient features

• Admète-Alceste dialogue mostly syllabic
• Rapid movement of the plot no long arias
• A prominent role for the chorus
• Melodies that flow in a simpler style
• Supportive accompaniment in the pit
• Overture flows directly into Scene 1

12
Gluck on Opera

• The true purpose of the music is to give
  expression to the poetry.

13
Glucks Operatic Manifesto

• Steady flow of text as sung by the actors
• Overture prepares for the coming action
• Subject and emotion of the moment reflected in
  the accompaniment
  
• Choose simplicity over novelty
• Agreed with Calzabigi heart language, strong
  passions, interesting situations, ever-varied
  spectacle

14
Mozart

• Two overarching accomplishments in the field of
  operatic composition The creation of
  psychologically complex characters Ability
  to synthesize and transcend the boundaries of
  buffa, seria, and other operatic styles

15
And how does he do it?

• Both comedy and tragedy in Don Giovanni
• Don Juan a nobleman/a notorious libertine
• The overture slow, deep, chromatic/fast, light,
  diatonic minor/major polyphony/homophony
  
• The serious commandant/adventurous Don
• Murder of commandant/aria of Leporello

16
Mozart the bio according to you

• And what is on your list?

17
The Emperor and Sacred Music

• Restrictions imposed by Joseph II No more
  elaborate Masses with full orchestra, chorus, and
  soloists Simpler, more chordal settings of the
  liturgy No more concert-style Masses
• When did this take place? After 1780

18
Old style elements retained

• Basso continuo
• Stricter counterpoint than that used in stage
  music or chamber music
  
• Continued use of elaborate fugues with subjects
  in long note values

19
What in the world is tonus peregrinus?

• The Ninth Psalm Tone has two recitation tones
  (one for each half of the chant melody), hence
  its name which means wandering tone.
  
• The range of the chant melody in the Mozart
  Requiem minor 7th (g to f)

20
Kennst du das Land?

• A strophic song. Why is it written out?
• Melodic and rhythmic alterations because of the
  text or simply the composers choice
  
• Compare mm. 2 29 5-6 32-33 10-14 37-42
  m. 56 with the beginning measure 71 with ?

21
William Billings

• What did you find in Groves?