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

Opera Styles and Music Forms

German Opera

Usually revolves around medieval matters or legends, often with a personal treatment of mythological themes. Wagner loved these fantastic issues, developing them in the form of musical drama (moving away from the traditional division of scenes into arias). In Wagner, each character or historical event has a leitmotif, and the works often lasted three hours.

Leitmotif

A musical piece that is played every time a character, action, feeling, or place appears.

Italian Opera

The 19th century was a period of splendor for this genre in Italy. Composers include Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini. Features:

• Less emphasis on vocal virtuosity.
• Greater importance of the chorus.
• Shift towards realism in opera, moving away from fantasy.

Literary Periods and Traditions

Early Cultural Divisions

• Phase Arc: Anonymous art, anomalous worship, and the traditional division between conventionally educated and religious ceremonial folk.
• Cult TV: Exclusion of religious ceremonial folk.
• Reclassification: Standards of text structuring.

Classical and Pre-Baroque Phases

• Classical Phase:
  • Economic Idealism: Supreme values.
  • Aristotelianism: Dominance of reason and rationalism.
• Pre-Baroque: Hypercritical formalism.

Post-Classical or Baroque Period

The Post-Classical or Baroque period is characterized by hypercritical, dramatic, and disharmonious irrationalism, with classic and Baroque works often alternating.

Medieval Literary Traditions

Mester de Juglaría

This tradition, influenced by Germanic, Visigothic,... Continue reading "Key Literary Periods and Medieval Spanish Traditions" »

Ashlar Padding

A type of masonry facing where the visible face of the stones is carved with a cushioned or pillowed appearance. The joints are beveled or recessed to create a sense of relief. This technique is typical of Renaissance architecture from the 15th and 16th centuries. In Spain, the most characteristic example is the Palacio de Carlos V in the Alhambra of Granada, designed by Pedro Machuca in the sixteenth century.

Balusters and Balustrades

A baluster is a molded column with a profile composed of squares and curves, featuring successive widenings and narrowings. Balusters are used to decorate and support the handrails of balconies, terraces, corridors, and stairways. A series of balusters forms a balustrade, which is the complete railing... Continue reading "Key Concepts in Renaissance and Gothic Art & Architecture" »

Music in Ancient Greece

In Greece, music became an art form, integral to various aspects of life such as poetry, dramatic performances, sporting events, and the Olympic Games. The first figures of musical notation emerged, and dedicated performers showcased their works.

Music in the Roman Empire

As the Roman Empire expanded its reign from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD, it inherited Greek culture, including music. Many Greek musicians became enslaved after battles. Music played a significant role in large public events like gladiatorial games and circus performances.

Gregorian Chant

To foster unity within Christianity, Pope Gregory I compiled early Christian songs. This musical form, collected over two centuries, became the sole music... Continue reading "Music History: From Ancient Greece to the Baroque Era" »

The Renewal of Spanish Theater: Post-War to the 1970s

During the war, the dictatorship imposed its control on Spanish theater. However, during the 1950s and 1960s, Franco's regime began to authorize certain works in local languages that had previously suffered from censorship and restrictions on press and radio advertising.

Regional Theatrical Revival: Barcelona and Valencia

In Barcelona, works like Salvador Espriu's First Story of Esther and those by other contemporary authors were recovered and performed. In Valencia, a bilingual theatrical scene emerged, featuring both Spanish-language theater and popular, humorous drama in Valencian, where comedy sketches were particularly prominent.

Emergence of Independent and Avant-Garde Theater

During the... Continue reading "Spanish Theater Renewal: Post-War to 1970s and Manuel de Pedrolo's Influence" »

Medieval Theater: Liturgical Origins

The liturgy was the engine of dramatic activity during the Middle Ages. The earliest preserved dramatic text is the Auto de los Reyes Magos (Play of the Magi Kings), which dates from the twelfth century. It preserves 147 polymetric lines.

The characters who dialogue are Melchior, Gaspar, Balthazar, King Herod, and a group of scholars. The work is divided into five scenes:

1. Scene I: The Kings monologue about the potential significance of the star.
2. Scene II: They agree on the star's meaning and decide to manifest their purpose.
3. Scene III: The Kings inform Herod that a new king has been born and proceed to offer their gifts.
4. Scene IV: Herod gathers his court of wise men to determine if his reign is in danger.
5. Scene

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer and organist, and an important member of a family of musicians. He began his musical training with the help of his father and his brother. At 18, he began his professional life. At 38, he was appointed music director of a Leipzig church and remained there until his death.

Secular Vocal Music

The secular vocal music component still includes madrigals. Opera was born, which has sung parts in theatrical productions. At the end of the Baroque period, operas buffa appeared, with comic arguments, and were very popular in France. The opéra-ballet also appeared.

Claudio Monteverdi

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) was a composer from Cremona, Italy, chronologically located in the... Continue reading "Baroque Composers and Musical Forms: 17th-18th Centuries" »

Charlemagne

Charlemagne, son of Pepin and Bertrada, continued his father's policy to consolidate power. He actively promoted Christianity, believing himself called by God to spread the Christian faith worldwide.

The Eastern Schism

The year 1054 marks the separation between the Eastern and Western Churches. In reality, the root causes of this separation were long-standing tensions between the Patriarchs of the East and the Bishop of Rome.

The Western Schism

In the year 1377, Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome and died there shortly after. The cardinals elected Pope Urban VI, but a group of French cardinals then elected Clement VII. Mutually, both popes excommunicated each other. Western Christianity was divided, with obedience split between one pope... Continue reading "Medieval & Renaissance Europe: Key Figures, Art, and Cultural Shifts" »

The Power of Music

There's a song that seems made expressly for us.

Human Responses to Music

People cannot stay indifferent while listening to music. Before the sound stimulus, we always react in one way or another.

Types of Responses:

• Emotional Response: An emotion is an intense mental state that arises spontaneously in the nervous system, causing a positive or negative reaction. It is involuntary.
• The Body's Response: Often, while listening to music, we make small movements without being conscious of them, and we follow the beats. But what makes us dance is the rhythm, which also marks the style of dancing.
• Intellectual Response: Many times when we hear a song, we look at any aspect that draws our attention: the timbre of a singer's voice, the

Fundamentals of Sound Art

Fundamentals of Music

The fundamentals of music are:

• Rhythm: The combination of sounds and silences. It serves as the skeleton of a melody.
• Melody: The most visible element of a musical piece, i.e., that of which we are most aware when listening. It is usually the starting point of a composition consisting of a free combination of musical notes.
• Harmony: The musical part that regulates the relationship between melody and the instruments that accompany it.

Towards the end of the 19th century, composers became interested in the traditional music of their countries and cultures, which enriched their music through the use of new rhythms and instruments.

Musical Forms

The starting point of a composition is usually one or more melodies,... Continue reading "Sound Art Fundamentals: Rhythm, Melody, Harmony" »