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

History of the Opera

As early as in Western civilizations such as ancient Greece, musical representations appeared linked to the theater. In the Baroque period, with the birth of opera around the year 1600, the final union between music and theater was consolidated.

Composer and his work: Puccini's La Boheme.

What is a Libretto and an Opera Librettist?

The stories told in operas are adapted so they can be sung. This version is called a libretto, and its authors are the librettists.

Zarzuela: Origins and Name

In the seventeenth century, a stage musical genre called zarzuela began in Spain. It was named after the hunting lodge of the Zarzuela Palace, due to the large number of brambles (zarzas in Spanish) that surrounded it.

Notable Zarzuela Composers

Lope... Continue reading "Opera, Zarzuela, and Musical Theater: History and Composers" »

Renaissance Art and the Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1503.

Emotions in her face: 83% happy, 9% from, 6% fear, and 2% angry.

Why the Renaissance? Leonardo was curious to know the workings of nature and the human being.

The church lost force due to the split between Catholic and Protestant.

Renaissance Art and Ideals

Renaissance art was inspired by plastic arts, sculpture, paintings, and architecture.

The ideal look in the rebirth was classical art and Roman column capitals round, valuing beauty.

Renaissance Music

Most of the Renaissance music is polyphonic, usually composed for 4 or 8 voices.

Vocal and instrumental music were composed separately, but the compositions could be sung or played alike.

Renaissance Songs and Themes

Renaissance... Continue reading "Renaissance Art, Music, and Society: Key Aspects" »

Information About Romanticism in the Nineteenth Century

Dates: Romanticism began at the end of the eighteenth century and covered the entire first half of the nineteenth century.

Definition

We define it as a school, movement, and flow. As a school, it had a leader, the French poet Victor Hugo, and had a manifesto in the preface of the book *Cromwell* (a drama). As a school, it was very important in France.

It was a literary and artistic movement, but it could be considered a stream because it washed away everything; it was in all the arts, philosophy, economics, politics, and even life itself.

Origins

The origins are Nordic; it began simultaneously in Germany and England, and immediately spread to France, expanding from there to the rest of Europe.... Continue reading "Romanticism in the 19th Century: Characteristics & Origins" »

Baroque Poetry

Thematic Issues: Baroque poetry continued to cultivate themes from earlier periods, intensifying expression while also reflecting disillusionment and a sense of crisis. A key feature is the diversity of topics covered.

Love Poetry

Love poetry expresses the poetic self's longing for unrequited love, often with physical descriptions of the beloved using Petrarchan imagery. Parody and burlesque approaches also appear.

Philosophical and Moral Poetry

This type of poetry is marked by pessimism, disappointment, the contrast between reality and appearance, the transience of life, and an awareness of death. It recovers Stoic ideas that advocate reason and the domination of passions to overcome the fear of death and promote a virtuous life.... Continue reading "Understanding Baroque Poetry: Themes, Motives, and Style" »

Medieval Theater

This is a fragment (147 polymetric verses, predominantly heptasyllabic and enneasyllabic, which was staged in the festival of the Epiphany). In the second half of the sixteenth century stands Gómez Manrique (1412-1480), author of two short sacred pieces: Representations of Our Lord and Coplas for Easter.

Renaissance Theater

Different trends are distinguished: religious theater, Italianate, classical, nationalist, popular.

Baroque Theater Drama Types

In the Baroque theater, two types of dramas were represented: a serious character and a comic nature.

Longer Works

The vast body of drama of the seventeenth century can be classified into:

Serious Dramatic Works

• Tragedies

  Present pitiful disasters involving the audience emotionally.

• Serious

Poetic Forms

• Sonnet: 14 hendecasyllable lines, consisting of two quartets with the same rhyme and two tercets, typically following the rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA CDC DCD.
• Romance: An indeterminate number of octosyllabic lines with assonant rhyme in even-numbered lines and no rhyme in odd-numbered lines.
• Silva: An unlimited series of seven-syllable and eleven-syllable verses rhymed in couplets as the poet wishes, with some verses potentially unrhymed.
• Blank Verse: Poems exhibiting all rhythms except for the rhythm of rhyme, without rhyme.
• Free Verse: Poetry with no fixed metrical pattern.

Literary Devices

• Allegory: A sustained metaphor.
• Alliteration: Repetition of one or more phonemes.
• Anadiplosis: Repetition of the last part of a verse at the beginning

Romanticism in Spain: A Cultural Movement

Romanticism, originating in Germany and England, flourished in Spain between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Initially influenced by German Romantic vision, it evolved through distinct phases, from a traditionalist and conservative stance to a more progressive orientation, eventually settling into a conservative perspective by the 1840s.

In the latter half of the century, a more intimate poetic style developed.

Key Characteristics of Spanish Romanticism

• Desire for Freedom: Moral, social, political, and artistic.
• Subjectivism: Emphasis on individual perspective and emotional expression. The artist conveys personal thoughts and feelings, often grappling with the clash between ideal happiness and harsh

Late 19th-Century Events

From the French Revolution to the War of Independence, ending with the Spanish-American War and the Disaster of '98. A provisional government, the brief reign of Amadeo I of Savoy, the First Republic, and the Bourbon Restoration.

Characteristics of the Romantic Movement

Predominant feelings, passion, genius, and the defense of individuality. Exaltation of nationalism and vernacular literature. Liberal Romantics (Victor Hugo, Lord Byron). Conservative Romantics (Chateaubriand, Walter Scott).

In Spain, the triumph of Romanticism coincided with the return of liberals exiled to England or France after Ferdinand VII's death. They brought Romantic thought and literature.

New Themes

• Pessimism
• Love as an absolute passion
• Idealization

Baroque and Classical Music

The Baroque period in European culture was an artistic movement that served the power of absolute monarchy, uniting politics and religion. It occurred roughly between 1600 and 1750, from the first preserved operas to the death of Bach. Originating in Italy, it spread throughout Europe, peaking in Germanic countries and differing in each. Rulers used it to display power and wealth, and the church used it to reach the faithful in religious ceremonies.

Key Characteristics of Baroque Music

• Style concertato
• Basso continuo
• Important instruments: violin
• Birth of opera, musical scenes, and zarzuela

Opera

Opera is the largest and most complex musical spectacle, a synthesis of poetry, music, and dance. Its parts include:

• Overture
• Excerpts

Ancient Greek Music: Key Characteristics

1. Music and Dance: Art Dissemination

Music and poetry were the primary means to disseminate art.

2. Heterophonic Monody Texture

Instruments introduced small heterophonic ornaments, imitating the melody.

3. Music System Based on Modal Scales

Tetrachords are four sounds that overlap on the octave. Two tetrachords combine to form descending modal scales, creating an ethos.

Ethos: Scale Tone Distribution and Feeling

The distribution of tones and semitones in the scale caused different feelings:

• Dorian mode: Sublime
• Phrygian mode: Mild
• Lydian mode: Tears and sorrow
• Mixolydian mode: Passionate

4. Alphabetic Code for Pitch and Metric Feet for Rhythm

Letters were used to reflect pitch. Metric feet were combinations of long... Continue reading "Ancient and Medieval Music Traditions" »