Transcript Romantic: Programmaticism

Reminders
• Exam II on April 8 (NOT APRIL 3!!!)
• Activity 2 due Thursday (3/30)
Review
• What is program music?
• What is absolute music?
• Program music was considered
progressive, absolute music
conservative.
• What is the story of Berlioz’s
Symphony fantastique?
• What do the two movements we
listened to depict?
Review
• What is the idée fixe? The Dies irae?
• What are some of the musical
differences between classical and
Romantic music?
Smetana and Nationalism
• Bedrich Smetana (1824-84)
• Founder of Czech national school of
music
• A Bohemian born composer who was
caught up in the political movement
for independence from Austria
• Ties into a larger tend of nationalism
everywhere
Smetana and Nationalism
• 8 operas in the Czech language
• Dance music
• Programmatic works, depicting
aspects of his homeland
Smetana's Ma Vlast
• Means “My Fatherland”
• a series of 6 symphonic poems
• Definition of Symphonic poem (also
called tone poem)
• a new genre
• a single movement orchestral work
• Based on an extramusical program
The Moldau
• A symphonic poem from Ma Vlast
• Named after a river in Bohemia
• Story of the tone poem is about
different parts of Bohemia as the
river as it flows through it
The Moldau
• Some things represented in
music...
-bubbling brook (source of the
river
-The mighty stream: broad
expansive melodies
-Hunting scene: brass fanfares
The Moldau
• -Peasant dance: polka-like dance
rhythms
-Nymphs in the moonlight:
special instrumental effects, high
strings, harp etc.
-St. John rapids: agitated, frantic
music
The Moldau
• -Largest part of the River:
exuberant triumphant music
-Castle Vysehrad: hymn-like,
triumphant section
-River flows on, fading away
The Romantic symphony
• More conservative composers still
writing absolute music...
• Four-(or more) movements in
traditional forms: sonata allergo,
scherzo-trio, etc.
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
• A Bohemian (Czech) composer
• Wrote both program music and
absolute music
• Wrote music in the character of
Czech folk melodies (a nationalistic
thing)
• Spent some time in the US…
• And encouraged US composers to
use their own folk music
Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904)
• Americans followed European
models
• Dvorak: the best folk material for
Americans was African-American
music
• He had African-American students
and learned spirituals from them
Dvorak: New World Symphony
• Written in the US
• Standard 4-movement symphony,
with traditional forms
• Loosely based on Longfellow’s Song
of Hiawatha
• melody of slow movement has the
character of an African-American
spiritual (Goin’ Home)
Johannes Brahms
• Known for being a more conservative
composer…
• Because he wrote in traditional
forms...
• And most works don’t have
programmatic titles
Johannes Brahms
• Wrote 4 symphonies
• Among the best known in the
repertory
• Wrote the first one at age 40 (afraid of
the standard Beethoven set)
Johannes Brahms
• Symphony #3
• Not on assigned listening
• Uses sonata form
• Development varies theme 1 and
moves away from the tonic (main
key0