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

Music Religiosa:

Gregorian Song: El repertori broad de música religiosa incluye el canto gregoriano y se ha convertido en la canción oficial de la Iglesia Católica. Características: monódico, ritmo libre, es modal (la música reconoce que cada voz tiene su propio carácter) y cultural, saludable, melismático, numático, silábico, homofónico, responsorial, antiphonal, y canto ambitus.

- Monódico: 1a voz. Polifónico: 2 o más voces.

- Numática: La notación que sirve para representar la música en la antigüedad consistía en signos gráficos que representaban una o más notas. Nota: La notación cuadrada se utiliza para el canto gregoriano (líneas de cuatro) con la primera línea como referencia (números-notas).

- Notación Mensural:

• Item 2

The Intangible Art of Music

Music is an intangible art that is transmitted through the air and does not remain as other arts do. Little is known of the writing of music in ancient civilizations, with information gleaned from archaeological remains.

The Origins of Musical Notation

Musical notation has its origins in the monasteries of the Middle Ages, where the Greek theory of music was collected. Alphabetic writing can be represented as ABC, and diastematic notation as Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La. A score is a graphical representation of a musical composition.

The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is the historical period that begins with the fall of the Roman Empire and lasts until the fifteenth century.

Medieval Church Music

Church music consisted of... Continue reading "Medieval Music History: Origins to the Mystery of Elche" »

Musical Evolution: Impressionism & Expressionism

Impressionism and Expressionism can be seen as two distinct manifestations stemming from a similar post-Romantic position. Musically, both movements mark a shift away from the traditional laws of tonality and functional harmony.

Impressionism

Occurring in the late 19th century, Impressionism was a reaction against prevailing realistic and naturalistic currents. Musically, it is a typically French movement related to these artistic trends.

Characteristics:

• Blurred melody lines without clear cadences.
• Free harmony, with chords valued for their sound rather than tonal function.
• A new concept of timbre, using instruments individually.
• Creation of a sound atmosphere based on auditory impressions.

(Composers:

1950s: Social Poetry

Poets felt the need to provide critical testimony of the reality and adopt an attitude of commitment to the situation that existed in Spain. Cantos Iberians by Gabriel Celaya and I Ask for Peace and the Word by Blas de Otero, published in 1955, stand out.

As for the themes, we must highlight the issue of Spain, social injustice, and alienation. The language is clear, and the tone is colloquial.

1960s: Poetry of Knowledge

By the end of the 1950s, a group of poets emerged seeking further elaboration of poetic language and a shift from the collective to the personal. They defended the idea of the poem as an act of knowledge.

• Barcelona Group: Jose Agustin Goytisolo, Jaime Gil de Viedma, among others.
• Madrid Group: Claudio Rodriguez,

Audiovisual Elements

Elements of audiovisual media combine sound and image, playing a very important role with their particular ideology.

Features of Audiovisual Media

• Convey information, opinions, etc.
• Users (viewers, listeners, and readers) have possibilities to interact.

Main Audiovisual Media

• Press
• Radio
• Television
• Film
• Thematic Xanxo (Note: 'Xanxo' is unclear in context)

Characteristics of Media Types

• Radio: Uses sound, very accessible.
• TV: Majority medium, image combined with sound.
• Film: Art and entertainment, disseminated in projection rooms and DVD.
• Internet: A global medium, offers everything.

Spelling Notes

Specific rules for open vowels and diphthongs (likely related to a specific language, e.g., Catalan):

Open Vowel 'e' Rules

Majority of esdrúixoles... Continue reading "Key Concepts in Media, Language, and Literature" »

Medieval Sacred Drama

Medieval sacred drama in Europe originated within a religious context, specifically in the rites of Christian worship, especially around the celebration of festivals like the birth and resurrection of Christ.

Christian Iconography

Christ Pantocrator

Christ Pantocrator is the representation of Christ as Lord of the Universe, typically depicted blessing with his right hand (symbolizing divine justice) and holding the Gospels or the Bible in his left. These representations were displayed both outside and inside the church.

The Tetramorph

The Tetramorph refers to the symbolic animals that represent the Gospels.

Gregorian Chant

Key Characteristics of Gregorian Chant

• It is monophonic singing, i.e., one voice or melody.
• It is without strict

Organum

Organum, a foundational form of early Western polyphony, reached its height in the Notre Dame School of Paris, the heart of the Ars Antiqua (primarily between the 11th and 12th centuries). It involves parallel repetition of a melody, typically at a perfect fifth interval. This sacred vocal music genre enhanced musical passages by adding a second voice.

Organum Types

• Parallel Organum: An added voice (vox organalis) doubles the plainchant at a parallel fifth below. Fifths were considered perfect and beautiful, and each voice could be inflected to an octave.
• Free Organum: Showcased greater melodic independence, giving rise to the term contrapunctum.
• Discantus (11th Century): The vox organalis and main voice move in contrary motion.
• Florid/Melismatic

Nineteenth-Century Theater

The influence of Romanticism during the Renaixença (Catalan Revival) broke with the conventions of Neoclassical theater, which had established stringent regulations, rejecting any deviation from accepted models. Authors sought freedom, expressed in the following features:

• Disappearance of boundaries between dramatic genres.
• Mixing of prose and verse.
• Rejection of the classical three unities (place, time, action).
• Wider range of situations and characters.

Romantic Drama Characteristics

• Love: This is the most important theme. It's presented as an absolute passion that obeys no laws and stops at nothing. It's a love aspiring to an impossible perfect realization, leading inevitably to a tragic end.
• The Hero: The main character

Billie Joe Armstrong was born in Piedmont, California, and raised in Rodeo, California, as the youngest of six children to Andrew Armstrong and Ollie Jackson. His father died of esophageal cancer on September 10, 1982, when Billie was just ten years old. The song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a memorial to his father.

Armstrong and Mike Dirnt got one of their first gigs at Rod's Hickory Pit during their early years; their first gig was in Davis, a college town. Armstrong's interest in music started at a young age. He attended Hillcrest Elementary School in Rodeo, where a teacher encouraged him to record a song titled "Look For Love." Armstrong attended John Swett High School, also in Crockett, and later Pinole Valley High School, in Pinole,... Continue reading "Billie Joe Armstrong: Life, Career, and Green Day's Success" »

Baroque Secular Music (17th Century)

Spain

Secular music in 17th-century Spain incorporated innovations from the new theatrical school of Lope de Vega and Gongora. New poetic genres emerged, such as the *romance*, which was much more varied than its 15th-century predecessor, featuring changes in metrics. The *letrilla* also appeared, with a greater measure than its predecessor. The *carol*, and most significantly, the *streak*, showcased diverse and constantly changing rhythms.

Musically, composers sought to reflect these rhythmic changes in their settings of the text. The traditional vocal quartet (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass) was often reduced by eliminating the tenor or bass. Composers emphasized the rhythmic syncopation characteristic... Continue reading "Baroque Secular Music in 17th-Century Spain and England" »