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

Key Historical Periods in Music

Medieval Era Overview

The Medieval period broadly spans from the 5th to the 14th centuries, encompassing significant developments in music and art.

Architectural & Artistic Periods

Romanesque Period

Primarily associated with the 11th century, characterized by robust, monumental structures.

Gothic Period

Flourished from the 11th to the 14th centuries, known for its soaring architecture and intricate details.

Characteristics of Gregorian Chant

• Texture: Monophonic, sung in a single voice collectively.
• Timbre: Vocal, a cappella (without instruments).
• Text: Always in Latin.
• Songwriters: Anonymous, often attributed to humility rather than individual composers.
• Movement: Slow, unhurried, without a defined pulse.
• Rhythm: Free,

The Dramatic Genre

Origins and Key Figures

Drama began as a cult of Dionysus, originating from a song that introduced changes over time, eventually giving rise to the dramatic form. The playwright Aristophanes, in his plays, featured ordinary people, burlesque humor, and colloquial language. His work often relied on stereotypes such as greed, ambition, and deceit.

Theatrical Evolution

In the late sixteenth century, dedicated theaters were built. A prominent style was the Italian-style theater, similar to venues like the Teatro Colón or the Gran Rex.

Dramatic Species and Core Concepts

The main dramatic species are:

• Tragedy
• Comedy
• Tragicomedy or Drama: This form features ordinary people in tragic situations.

Key dramatic concepts include:

• Anagnorisis:

• 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:

The Baroque Era (1600-1750)

The Baroque era, spanning from 1600 to 1750, was characterized by a departure from the strict logic and balance of previous periods. It cultivated a taste for dissonance, elaborate decoration, and dynamic movement. This period saw a wealth of new musical forms and styles emerge in both vocal and instrumental music.

Key Vocal Forms of the Baroque Period

• Cantata: A composition with religious or secular texts, featuring instrumental accompaniment for one or more soloists or a choir. It is typically divided into several parts.
• Opera: A dramatic work set to music, usually sung throughout, with orchestral accompaniment. Key components include:
  • Overture: An instrumental piece that begins the show.
  • Recitatives: Fragments that

What is Hip Hop?

Hip hop is an art movement that emerged in America in the late 1960s in African American and Latin American neighborhoods of New York City, specifically in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn. From the beginning, typical manifestations of hip hop origins stood out, including:

• Music: Funk, rap, blues, DJing
• Dance: Hustle, uprocking, lindy hop, popping, locking
• Visual Art: Spray painting, bombing, murals, political graffiti

The union of two elements, the MC (Master of Ceremony) and DJ (Disc Jockey), forms the musical style of hip hop: rap.

Graffiti and the Writers

Graffiti is the visual art branch of this culture, applied to urban areas. The aesthetics of graffiti have influenced comics (such as the strips of The Boondocks), clothing design,... Continue reading "The Origins and Core Elements of Hip Hop Culture" »

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,

History of Spanish Peninsular Theater

Medieval Drama: The Origins

The Auto de los Reyes Magos

The Auto de los Reyes Magos (The Adoration of the Magi) is the oldest known Castilian dramatic text. It is a fragment of 147 verses, predominantly using polymetric structures (endecasyllable, Alexandrine, and seven-syllable lines). It is written in Castilian.

The fragment contains monologues of the Three Kings, their meeting, visits to Herod, and the discussion among the wise men.

In the second half of the fifteenth century, Gómez Manrique stands out as the author of sacred works.

Renaissance Drama Trends

The Renaissance period saw several distinct dramatic trends:

• Religious drama
• Italianate theater (exemplified by Bartolomé de Torres Naharro)
• Classical theater
• National

Jacinto Benavente: A New Voice in Spanish Theater

The emergence of Jacinto Benavente marked a significant shift in Spanish theater. His early works, characterized by naturalistic arguments and a critical tone towards Spanish society, stood in stark contrast to the passionate and rhetorically charged theater of his contemporaries, like Echegaray. Benavente soon adapted his style to appeal to the tastes of the bourgeois audience, who were often the protagonists of his plays. He employed a superficially satirical approach that avoided offending sensibilities, utilizing swift, effective language and well-crafted characters.

Key Thematic Guidelines

• Upper Middle-Class Dramas: These plays focus on the urban upper classes, exploring themes of social convention,

Characteristics of Neoclassicism (18th Century)

The Neoclassical period comprises the second half of the 18th century. Key characteristics include:

• Objective composition.
• Focus on the ideal of Beauty.
• Bright melodic lines and phrases that are cheerful, square, and regular.
• Prevalence of instrumental music, particularly the sonata form.
• The birth of the democratization of music.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart is considered a child prodigy of music. The last stage of his life was difficult due to financial problems and illness. He was largely self-taught and served the Bishop of Salzburg and the Emperor of Austria.

Key Characteristics and Works

His works highlight spontaneity and tenderness. Major compositions include:

• Instrumental Music: Over 50 symphonies,