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Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in e minor is one of the most frequently played violin concertos today. He composed the work for his friend Ferdinand David, a famous violinist, the concertmaster of his orchestra. The concerto is in the typical concerto form of three movements: fast-slow-fast, the concerto's three movements are played without pause, in a characteristic linking technique used by romantic composers.
Listening Guide
Notice how the succession of pitches creates a coherent melody. You can often hum or remember a prominent melody after you've heard it a few times.
The Suite for Piano, Op. 25 is a fascinating Baroque-structured set of nine dances and pieces in Schoenberg's newly-discovered serial mode, The piece starts with "Praeludium".
Listening Guide
Listen to the opening of the Suite several times until you feel that you know the row. Then listen to the entire movement.
The music of this Prelude is a very free illustration of the beautiful poem by Stephane Mallarme, The Afternoon of a Faun. This poem evokes the dreams and erotic fantasies of a pagan forest creature who is half man, half goat.
Listening Guide
The music has a weak beat, creating a feeling of floating or gliding. The piece begins with unaccompanied flute solo; slow tempo, changing meters. Try to relax without following the music too intellectually. 3flutes, 2 oboes, 1 English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 2 harps, antique cymbals, 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, cellos, double basses.
Beethoven composed his Fifth Symphony together with his Sixth (Pastoral) for one of the rare concerts in which he showcased his own works. The concert, in December 1808, was a huge success, even though it lasted for five hours and the heating in the hall failed. It opens with one of the most famous rhythmic ideas in all music, a short-short-short-long motive. Beethoven reportedly interpreted this four-note motive as ”fate knocking at the door.” It dominates the first movement and plays an important role later in the symphony.
Listening Guide
The character is determined by a single rhythmic motive, short-short-short-long, from which Beethoven creates an astonishing variety of musical ideas.
The "Emperor" is one of the last of Haydn's 82 string quartets. The second of the four movements includes the hymn that Haydn was asked to write for the birthday of Emperor Francis.
Listening Guide
Theme and variations; a hymn like melody; Recognize the sounds and musical lines of each instrument. Variation 1- Melody in second violin, Variation 2- Melody in cello, Variation 3- Melody in viola, Variation 4- Melody in first violin.
Pervasive syncopations give a jazzy feeling to Gershwin's song I Got Rhythm which was written for the musical comedy Girl Crazy.
Listening Guide
The song is in duple meter, with two quick beats to the measure. In the opening rhythmic pattern to the words I got rhythm, a syncopation occurs when the accented tone I comes on the "offbeat". Between beats 1 and 2. ( Syncopation- The occurrence of accents in unexpected places, usually on weak beats or on weak parts of beats.)
Recorded in 1935 in New York City. This is a combo jazz from the swing era (1930s and early 1940s). It essentially was the era of big bands and for dancing to jazz music. It was the popular music of the day, placing many jazz tunes on the Hip Parade(equivalent to the top-forty charts)As Americans rebounded from the Great Depression, they wanted to be entertained, to dance, and to pay to achieve these ends. It was a great era for popular music, jazz, jazz musicians, radio and the recording industry.
Listening Guide
Recognize the sound of a clarinet. Count in four at a moderate tempo. It is in AABA form. Listen to what the pianist is doing while the clarinetist is playing the lead. Be aware of the regular, machine-like, timekeeping role of the drums.
Unsquare Dance is in septuple meter, with 7 quick beats to the measure. The composer writes that this unusual meter makes Unsquare Dance "a challenge to the foot-tappers, finger-snappers, and hand-clappers. Deceitfully simple, it refuses to be squared." The piece is performed by a small jazz group consisting of piano, double bass, and percussion.
Listening Guide
This septuple meter combines duple and triple meter. Each measure is subdivided into groups of 2 and 3 beats: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6-7. Exciting syncopations occur when weak beats 2 and 4 are accented by hand claps.
Clap Clap Clap Clap
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Bass Bass Bass
The music is written two months before his death for his friend and clarinetist, Anton Stadler. This music is enhanced by the warm quality of the clarinet.
Listening Guide
Recognize the sound of the clarinet. How the melodic embellishments add to the character of this music.
A concerto grosso for flute, violin, and harpsichord soloists composed in 1721. The six Brandenburg Concertos were composed for Bach's own use while employed at the Cothen Court and were dedicated to Markgraf Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg. They were composed for various solo instruments.
Listening Guide
Recognized the timbres and both the supportive and featured roles of the harpsichord. This movement is in ritornello form which is based on alternation between tutti and solo sections.
Mozart wrote four concertos for French horn, written in his later years in Vienna. principally for the use of his friend, the horn-player Joseph Leutgeb who was a member of the court orchestra with his father and with whom he had performed in the Salzburg court orchestra.
Listening Guide
Recognize the sound of the French horn. Knowing that the rondo or Theme 1 is presented at the beginning, be prepared to become familiar with it so that you can recognize it when is returns.
Gregorian chant is monophonic church music of the Middle Ages named after Pope Gregory I (c. 540-604): also called plainchant.This jubilant Gregorian chant is the Alleluia from the Mass for Epiphany. In this chant, many notes are sung to "ia" is an expression of over joyfulness.
Listening Guide
Listen to the Gregorian chant Alleluia from an early Catholic Mass, which consists of melody set to sacred Latin texts and sung without accompaniment (The chant is in monophonic texture). The chant is in ABA from: A (Solo voice: Alleluia+Chorus: long series of notes on ia), B (Chorus), A (Chorus)
Perotin was the first known composer to write music with more than two voices.
Listening Guide
This is an organum (Polyphonic choral church music beginning in the ninth century) in three voices which is based on a Gregorian alleluia melody. The lowest part (the chant) is played on an instrument, while the two upper parts are sung by vocal soloists who are reinforced by instruments.
This is a medieval dance. One of the earliest surviving forms of instrumental music. Dances in the Middle Ages were often accompanied by instrumental music.
Listening Guide
The estampie is in triple meter. This melody is played on a rebec (a bowed string instrument) and a pipe (a tubular wind instrument). Since medieval minstrels probably improvised modest accompaniments to dance tunes, the performers have added a drone-two simultaneous repeated notes at the interval of a fifth, played on a psaltery (a plucked or struck string instrument).
This is the late 16th century polyphonic treatment of the "Kyrie" section from the ordinary of the Mass De Beata Virgine. The melody of this Kyrie is an old Gregorian chant, around which Palestrina added other voice parts.
Listening Guide
Notice that the sopranos begin and the altos enter with counterpoint, after which the tenors and basses imitate the sopranos and altos. What you hear in this style is almost constant imitation, prompting you to shift your focus to whichever voice enters with the melody.
The most important composer in Venice. As organists of ST. Mark's Cathedral, he exploited the special acoustics of that extraordinary building. By placing choirs of singers and instrumentalists in different choir lofts, they obtained brilliant echo effects that even modern audio equipment cannot recapture. A motet is sacred polyphonic music for voices popular during the Renaissance and Baroque style periods.
Listening Guide
Gabrieli is using two large choirs, each with three voice parts and four instrumenntal parts, plus organ.
One of Schubert's most famous songs, The Trout reflects the romantics' attraction to nature and to folklike simplicity. The text, by Christian Daniel Schubart (1739-1791)---tells of a trout that swims merrily in a brook but is then caught by a clever fisherman.
Listening Guide
Listen to the form of the song. The Trout is in modified strophic form: A (stanza 1), A(stanza 2), BA'(stanza 3). The melody (A) which describe the fish happily swimming. New music (B) is used for most of the last stanza, which tells how the trout is caught.
Bach employs the chorale melody written by Philop Nicolar(1555-1608). This movement is for Chorus and Orchestra : 2 oboes, English horn, French horn, 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas, basso continuo (organ, bassoon, cello)
Listening Guide
Notice the use of the animated polyphonic texture combined with instrumental accompaniment. After an instrumental introduction, the sopranos sing Nicolai's chorale melody. Then different sections of the choir imitate the chorale melody.
Schumann composed the song for Clara and had it performed at their wedding. The text is by the German poet Friedrich Ruckert (1788-1866)
Listening Guide
Notice how the mood of the music and of the poetry fit. For instance, when the text states "Du bist die Ruh, du bist der Frieden" ("You are rest, you are peace"), the music changes from the excited opening to a more peaceful mood. After the singer finishes, the piano continues playing a little postlude with a musical quote from Schubert's "Ave Maria" to show Schumann's heightened devotion to Clara.
Sondheim's show was one of the big hits of Broadway's 1973 season. Mozart's serenade "Eine Kline Nachtmusik"(A Little Night Music) provided the title for this work. The story, closely based on Igmar Bergman's film "Smiles of a Summer Night," is set in Sweden and about Fredrik Egerman, a middle-aged attorney, newly remarried to a teenage girl the same age as his son. After 11 monthes of an unsatisfying marriage in which his wife is still a virgin, Egerman resumes an affair whith his former mistress, Desiree Armfeldt- an actress whose current lover is Count Malcolm, a Swedish military office. "Send in the Clowns" is sung in the musical by Desiree when she and Egerman meet again after years of separation.
Listening Guide
Broadway Musical song
Giovanni invites Zerlina up to his villa, promising to marry her and make her into a fine lady.
Listening Guide
Recitative (recite)- A speech like section in operas, oratorios, cantatas and other vocal works where it is particularly important for the words to be brought out. This recitative sung with just continuo accompaniment.
This is the most famous tune between Don Giovanni and Zerlina. Opera depend on memorable tunes, as well as on musical drama.
Listening Guide
Duet (an ensemble for two singers)
The poet, Rodolfo tells Mimi the story about himself, his dreams and his fantasies.
Listening Guide
Aria-an elaborate solo song with instrumental accompaniment, generally in an opera, oratorio, or cantata.
Mimi responds with a poetic description of her simple life in this aria.
Last updated: 29 Oct. 2003
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