Transcript Insights into British classical music

Insights into British music:
Places where music is played
MAPPING OUT THE SUBJECT
Throughout the ages,
What is the link between
where has music been
the places where music
played?
is played and the music
itself?
Draw a list of all the places
where music can be
played.
Questions de point de vue
On peut répondre à cette question à la voix active:
Musicians play music either in a concert hall or in a theatre.
National or regional orchestras most frequently perform in a concert
hall while brass bands play in the streets.
Less-known musicians can give concerts in pubs, bars or cafés.
Mais on peut aussi mettre l’accent non sur les musiciens mais sur la
music et opter pour la voix passive:
Music is played in many different places. Work songs were sung in the
cotton fields and folk music was played outdoors. From the dawn of
times, music has been played on the work place and has been used
as an accompaniment and encouragement for labor.
Concerts can be given either in a concert hall or in private setting,
especially when the music is aimed at aristocratic families.
Complément de la voix active + BE conjugué + PP (by + C.A.)
The Medieval Period: Itinerant
musicians
There were two types of Medieval
Musicians - the Minstrels and the
Troubadours. A troubadour was
originally a travelling musician.
Troubadours such as professional
jongleurs, with families moving
around with them, were famed for
their musical abilities, readiness to
perform for hire, and their
knowledge of roads and horses. The
themes of the songs sung by the
Troubadours mainly dealt with
chivalry and courtly love - romantic
ballads. The troubadour would play
for royalty nobles. Troubadour songs
were usually monophonic. Fewer
than 300 melodies out of an
estimated 2500 survive. Most were
composed by the troubadours
themselves. Some were set to preexisting pieces of music.
Medieval Fiddle
2. Minstrel's Harp
3. Medieval Trumpet
4. Portative Organ
5. Hurdy Gurdy
6. Rebec
7. Nakers
8. Long-necked Lute
9. Cornemuse
10. Medieval Lute
11. Pipe & Tabor
12. Psaltery
13. Shawns
14. Medieval Triangle
15. Medieval Cymbals
Minstrels
In Anglo-Saxon England before the Norman Conquest professional poets (scop )
composed his own poems, and sang them to the accompaniment of a harp.
Gleemen went from place to place, earning what they could from their
performances.
Initially, minstrels were simply servants at Court, and entertained the lord and
courtiers with chansons de geste. The term minstrel derives from Old
French ménestrel , a derivative from Middle Latin ministralis, from minus, "lesser".
The term minstrel designates a performer who amused his lord with music and
song. The Minstrels earned a living by the arts of poetry and music, and sang
verses to the accompaniment of a lute, harp or other instrument. They were first
employed as travelling entertainer s and then as a castle or court musician or
Medieval Bard
Medieval Minstrels often created their own ballads but they were also famous for
memorising long poems based on myths and legends.
Minstrels performed at feasts and festivals in great numbers. Medieval Fairs and
Festivals were common during the Middle Ages . The musical instruments played
by wandering minstrels who performed at these events were light and easily
carried. They included fiddles, the lute, recorders (flûte à bec)and small percussion
instruments.
A guild of royal minstrels was organized in England in 1469.
Some minstrels were retained by lords as jesters who, in some cases, also practised
the art of juggling.
Minstrels in Europe died out slowly, having gone nearly extinct by about 1700.
The Renaissance (the Elizabethan Era)
These pictures are both details from the funerary picture of Sir Henry Unton (or Umpton) who
died in 1596. The original hangs in the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The Eighteenth century
July 17, 1717, Handel’s The Water Music
Patronage System - Baroque
period composers were
employed by the church and
the wealthy, ruling class. This
system of employment was
called the patronage system.
Usually one wealthy person (or
patron ) would pay the
composer for each work and
decided what kind of piece the
composer would write.
Unfortunately this limited the
composers freedom of
creativity.
In the service of a lord, a prince, or an
aristocrat
William Hograth, A
Rake’s progress,
1732-33
Music at home
People in the late 18th century
enjoyed music at home with
family and friends, at parties,
taverns, military gatherings,
dance parties and balls, in church
services, and if they lived in or
near cities and had the means,
they might attend concerts. There
were itinerant music instructors
for those who could afford them.
The voice was a popular
instrument for both sexes, and as
with musical instrument
instruction, there were itinerant
singing masters and singing
schools.
Woman playing a hammered dulcimer, man playing a
wooden (or German) flute, and a man playing an
English guitar or lute. “Musicos num Terraco,”
Wilhelm Van Der Loet, 1707, Courtesy Nogueira da
Silva Museum, Braga, Portugal.
An ideal 19th century family
Music-making became a widely
practiced activity as public concerts
were more frequent and musical
scores (partitions musicales) could
be printed more easily and at a
lower price.
The BBC Promenade Concerts, known as "The
Proms" is a popular annual eight-week summer
season of daily classical music concerts and other
events at the Hall.
The Royal Albert Hall is a
concert hall situated on the
northern edge of the South
Kensington area, in the City
of Westminster, London,
England, best known for
holding the annual
summer Proms concerts
since 1941.
Since its opening by Queen
Victoria in 1871, the world's
leading artists from several
performance genres have
appeared on its stage and it
has become one of the UK's
most treasured and
distinctive buildings. Each
year it hosts more than 350
events including classical
concerts, rock and pop,
ballet and opera
Royal Opera House, London
Situated in the heart
of Covent Garden,
it has been
playing host to
major stars of the
classical music
world since 1858.
It is one of
London's most
esteemed, iconic
and beautiful
performance
venues.
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Basic glossary
Aisle :
a passage between rows of seats, for example in a church, theatre, or plane, or between the shelves of asupermar
ket
Auditorium the part of a theatre, cinema etc where the audience sits
Backcloth a cloth that hangs at the back of a stage, especially a painted one used in a play
Backdrop a painted cloth hanging at the back of the stage in a theatre
Backstage in the area behind the stage in a theatre, including the rooms where the actors get dressed
Backstage relating to the area behind the stage in a theatre, including the rooms where the actors get dressed
Balcony an upper floor in a theatre or cinema that sticks out over the main floor
Box
a small enclosed space with seats in a theatre or sports ground, separate from where the rest of theaudience is sit
ting
box office the place in a theatre where you buy tickets
Curtain a very large piece of cloth that is pulled up or to the side on a theatre stage when a performance starts
Downstage towards or at the front of the stage in a theatre
dress circle
the seats in the front part of the upper floor in a theatre. The whole of the upper floor is called the circle andthe l
ower floor is the stalls.
Footlights a row of very bright lights at the front edge of a theatre stage
Foyer a large open space close to the entrance inside a building, hotel, or theatre
front of house the parts of a theatre, cinema, or concert hall that the audience uses
Gallery the highest level of a theatre, cinema etc where the least expensive seats are
the gods the highest seats in a theatre
green room
House the part of a theatre, cinema, concert hall etc that contains the audience
• Offstage
in or towards the area behind a theatre stage where the audience cannot
see
• Onstage on the stage of a theatre
• orchestra pit
the area in front of and below a theatre stage where an orchestra sits and
plays the music for an opera,ballet, or musical
• Pit the place in front of a stage where an orchestra sits
• Proscenium the part of a theatre stage that is in front of the curtain
• Row a line of seats in a theatre or cinema
• Scenery the furniture and painted background on a theatre stage
• Set
the scenery and furniture used in a film, play, or television programme to
make the stage look like aparticular place
• Stalls
the seats in front of the stage on the lowest level of a theatre, cinema etc
• Upstage at or towards the back of the stage in a theatre
• the wings
the right or left side of a stage that you cannot see if you are in the audien
ce
Sir Arthur William Blomfield, Royal
College of Music, 1889-90
Sage Gateshead
The Sage Gateshead is a centre for
musical education,
performance and conferences,
located in Gateshead on the
south bank of the River Tyne, in
the North East of England. It
opened in 2004.
The building is open to the public
throughout the day. Visitors
can see rehearsals,
soundchecks and workshops in
progress.
There was also "ExploreMusic": a
technologically well-equipped
musical branch of Gateshead
public library, stocking books,
and current magazines
covering all aspects of music, a
CD library with listening posts,
and computers with free
internet access, subscriptions
to music websites, and music
software.
However this was closed in March
2011 owing to funding
cutbacks
Wembley Stadium