Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Music

Gregorian Chants: We call them Gregorian chants, in honor of Pope Gregory I (540-604), who was their first compiler. Western music comes from the medieval chants of the Catholic Church.

Characteristics of Gregorian Chants:

• The song is a capella, only voice with no instruments.
• The subject is religious. It is a prayer.
• All the voices sing the same melody, so the texture is monophonic or monodic.
• The language is Latin.
• Its rhythm is free (without a time signature) and it flows with the text.
• The authors are anonymous.

Troubadours: Troubadours are in the countryside playing instruments of the period (the harp, bagpipe, and shawm). Songs were not religious. It developed mainly in France in the 12^th and 13^th centuries.

Characteristics of Troubadour Music:

1. Mark with an X the chronological period of the Middle Ages. From the late 5th c to the 15th

2. Describe the historical and sociocultural aspects of this period of history by answering the following questions. a) Why do you think the cultural life of this period was mainly concentrated in monasteries and abbeys? Because the monks cultivated the arts and science using manuscripts from ancient Greece and Rome. b) On the social scene in this period, what was Europe like? Europe was fragmented into many small territories dominated by powerful feudal lords who fought amongst themselves. c) What were the Crusades? Military expeditions led by Christian kings attempting to recover holy places in and around Jerusalem. d) This period has two stages:

Along with the development of symphony and concertos for soloists, program music appeared based on the description of a program or plot. It embraced small "pieces with character" composed upon simple or free structures, allowing for the expression of feelings and fantasy. Ballet continued to evolve towards technical virtuosity, introducing new stage tricks and adopting more stylish postures and figures. Zarzuela Grande, structured in three acts, featured a larger musical development. On the other hand, Género Chico consisted of a single act with fewer characters and a predominance of spoken text over sung text. Lastly, Lied refers to a song for soloist voice with piano accompaniment, written upon a poetic text and characterized by simple structures.

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1. Sak Noel – Where? (I Lost My Underwear)
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3. DJ Antoine feat. The Beat Shakers – Ma Chérie (DJ Antoine vs. Mad Mark 2k12 Radio Edit)
4. Pitbull & Chris Brown – International Love (Album Edit)
5. Bob Sinclar feat. Gilbere Forte, Dragonfly & Fatman Scoop – Rock The Boat
6. Alexandra Stan feat. Carlprit & Jason Ray - 1.000.000
7. Havana Brown – We Run the Night
8. Deniz Koyu – Tung!
9. Victor Magan & Aritz feat. Lessus – Give (Radio Edit)
10. Ian Carey & Rosette feat. Timbaland & Brasco – Amnesia
11. Basto – Again And Again
12. Elena – Your Captain Tonight
13. Tom Hangs & Shermanology – Blessed (Avicii Radio Edit)
14. Mike T feat. Rawanne

Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and His *Rimas*

We are confronted by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer's *Rimas*, written during the second half of the nineteenth century. It was the era of Realism, but his rhymes belong to the Romanticism movement. They are a model of romance, and he is considered a late Romantic. The mid-century poetry is marked by the intimate melancholy of Bécquer and Rosalía de Castro. Lengthy narrative poems of the Romantics were abandoned for shorter compositions, following the style of German ballads. The legend versified prose replaces. In the *Legends* of Bécquer (*Maese Pérez, the Organist*, *The Miserere*, *El Monte de las Ánimas*, etc.), the narrator acts as a correspondent or columnist for prodigious and mysterious events,... Continue reading "Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer: Romanticism and the Rimas" »

Renaissance (15th and 16th Centuries)

Period characterized by the recovery of classical ideals (beauty, proportion, symmetry) in various art disciplines (architecture, sculpture). Works of art from ancient Greece and Rome were taken as models.

Renaissance Music

There were no ancient musical examples because we do not conserve any ancient Greek or Roman scores. The most characteristic feature is the improvement of polyphony. The music from this period adopts some of the ancient ideals:

1. Ideals of beauty, proportion, and symmetry.
2. Music must express and imitate the meaning of the lyrics.

Humanism

A new way of thinking that promotes the complete development of the human being through the studies of art and sciences. Leonardo Da Vinci is a key figure.

Printing

Romanticism: A school of thought that valued feeling and intuition over reason. It first emerged in Germany in the 18th century. Romantics believed that the imagination could apprehend truths, usually accompanied by powerful emotion and associated with natural, unspoiled beauty. To the Romantic sensibility, the imagination, spontaneity, individual feelings, and wild nature were of greater value than reason, logic, planning, and cultivation. To the Romantic mind, poetry was the highest and most sublime embodiment of the imagination. Romanticism emphasized feeling and intuition over reason, sought wisdom in natural beauty, and valued poetry above all other works of the imagination.

Romanticism: A Cultural and Artistic Movement

Romanticism was a significant cultural and artistic movement that emerged in Europe between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It represents the onset of modernity.

Key Features of Romanticism

• Freedom of the Individual: Social, moral, political, and artistic freedom were central tenets.
• Subjectivism: Authors expressed their inner selves, passions, and feelings through literature. There was often a clash between aspirations for happiness and the emerging reality, leading to an interest in marginalized figures like the hacker, the executioner, and the pauper.
• Irrationalism, Idealism, Nationalism, and Youthful Rebellious Spirit: These elements frequently appeared in Romantic works.

Stages of Romanticism

A Century of Change

The twentieth century broke with Romanticism, introducing different music. World War II found romantic music evolving with more modern forms of composition. In the nineteenth century, musical movements emerged with a new air of France and nationalism.

Impressionism and the Group of Six

The Impressionists sought to create atmospheres and suggestive impressions using new combinations of timbres and harmonies. Principal composer Claude Debussy, with works like The Sea, Clouds, Sirens, and Night. Maurice Ravel, another Impressionist, was a very skilled orchestrator, achieving a winning combination of magical sounds and instruments never before used. He composed the Bolero for orchestra.

In Paris, the Group of Six, admirers of Erik... Continue reading "20th Century Music: Impressionism, Nationalism, and Digital Era" »