2Aspects of Romanticism in music & art Nature (idyllic or awesome, sublime) “organic unity” (music)Supernatural, demonicexoticism“ancient” (Medieval (not Greek)) - rejection of Classicism & Renaissancefolklore and Das Volk (Nationalism)
3Aspects of Romanticism in music & art THE ARTIST APART FROM SOCIETYTHE ARTIST AS SOCIAL CRITIC/REVOLUTIONARY Beethoven’s 9th SymphonyTHE ARTIST AS GENIUS/CULTURAL HEROBEETHOVEN: “Why bow to social status?”
4The misunderstood genius “To be a genius is to be misunderstood” – EmersonThe artist out in front, ahead of the audience, the advanced guard (a military metaphor) – the avant garde“Music could quickly come to such a point, that everyone who is not precisely familiar with the rules and difficulties of the art would find absolutely no enjoyment in it.”A critic reviewing the premiere of Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony
5Early BeethovenHe speaks Classical – the language of Mozart & Haydn
6Beethoven Model Romantic genius-type Not a servant – an independent creator!Concerts very long – a new audience; amateurs left behindMusic’s Trinity: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven
7Beethoven 9 symphonies 16 string quartets 32 piano sonatas 5 piano concertos1 violin concerto1 opera
8Beethoven LISTENING EXAMPLE Symphony No. 5 in C minor, 1st mvt. Dramatic, even violent, but still in a perfectly structured sonata formAll 4 movements unified by famous short-short-short-long motif1808Textbook CD example
9Beethoven LISTENING EXAMPLE Symphony No. 6 “The Pastoral” 5 movements, each with a descriptive titlePastoral with a sublime storm1808
10Goya, Executions of the Third of May, 1808 BEETHOVEN Symphonies 5 & 6text p. 340
11Odd Textbook CD example SchubertOnly 31 years old at his deathwrote 16 operas, only 3 performed in his lifetime; none performed todaybetween songsa rather unstructured lifeOdd Textbook CD example
12Schubert, Erlkonig 1815 (Goethe) (Narrator) Who rides so late through the night and wind? It is a father with his child; he has the boy close in his arm, he holds him tight, he keeps him warm.(Father) "My son, why do you hide your face in fear?"(Son) "Father, don't you see the Erlking? The Erlking with his crown and train?"(Father) "My son, it is a streak of mist."(Erlking) "You dear child, come with me! I'll play very lovely games with you. There are lots of colourful flowers by the shore; my mother has some golden robes."(Narrator) Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind; Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm, Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.(Father) "Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?"(Son) "Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht? Den Erlkönig mit Kron' und Schweif?"(Father) "Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif."(Erlking) "Du liebes Kind, komm geh mit mir! Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir; Manch' bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand; Meine Mutter hat manch' gülden Gewand."
13(Son) "Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht, Was Erlkönig mir leise verspricht?" (Father) "Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind; In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind."(Erlking) "Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir geh'n? Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön; Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reih'n Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein."(Son) "Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort, Erlkönigs Töchter am düsteren Ort?"(Son) "My father, my father, don't you hear the Erking whispering promises to me?"(Father) "Be still, stay calm, my child; it's the wind rustling in the dry leaves."(Erlking) "My find lad, do you want to come with me? My daughters will take care of you; my daughters lead the nightly dance, and they'll rock and dance and sing you to sleep."(Son) "My father, my father, don't you see the Erlking's daughters over there in the shadows?"
14(Father) "Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh' es genau, Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau." (Erlking) "Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt, Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt."(Son) "Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt fasst er mich an! Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!"(Narrator) Dem Vater grauset's, er reitet geschwind, Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind, Erreicht den Hof mit Müh und Noth;(Father) "My son, my son, I see it clearly, it's the gray sheen of the old willows."(Erlking) "I love you, your beautiful form delights me! And if you're not willing, then I'll use force."(Son) "My father, my father, now he's grasping me! The Erlking has hurt me!"(Narrator) The father shudders, he rides swiftly, he holds the moaning child in his arms; with effort and urgency he reaches the courtyard:
15Is death tempting & attractive? In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.in his arms the child was dead.Emotions?Balance, repose, clarity?NO! FEAR &SUPERNATURALEVILIs death tempting & attractive?
16Another developmentIn the 1830s, composer/conductor Felix Mendelssohn conducts a performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor – so what?MUSIC OF THE PAST BEGINS TO TAKE A PLACE ON CONCERT PROGRAMS – IT EVENTUALLY DOMINATES CONCERT PROGRAMMINGBy 1870, seventy-five per cent of works in the Gewandhaus repertory were by dead composers.By 1870, seventy-five per cent of works in the Gewandhaus (a famous German orchestra) repertory were by dead composers.
17Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique program music themes of love, madness, drugs, death, demonsTextbook CD example
18Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique idee fixe themes not worked-out in the German way; emphasis on effects and color1831
19I. Reveries – Passions A young musician, afflicted with "undirected emotionalism," sees the woman of his dreams and falls hopelessly in love . . .II. A BallIII. Scene in the CountryIV. March to the Scaffold. Convinced that his love is unrequited, the artist takes an overdose of opium. It plunges him into a sleep accompanied by horrifying visions. He dreams that he has killed his beloved, has been condemned and led to the scaffold, and is witnessing his own execution. The procession advances to a march that is now somber and savage, now brilliant and solemn. At its conclusion the idee fixe returns, like a final thought of the beloved, cut off by the fatal blow.Textbook CD example
20(Dies irae – traditional text and chant melody, part of the requiem mass for the dead) V. Dream of a Witches' Sabbath He sees himself in the midst of a frightful throng of ghosts, witches, monsters of every kind, who have assembled for his funeral. Strange noises, groans, bursts of laughter, distant cries. The beloved melody again reappears, but it has lost its modesty and nobility; it is no more than a vulgar dance tune, trivial and grotesque; it is she, coming to the Sabbath. A joyous roar greets her arrival.... She joins in the devilish orgy.... A funeral knell, a parody of the Dies irae. A Sabbath round-dance. The Dies irae and the round-dance are combined.
22ChopinFamous pianist, but gave only 14 public performances in his 39-year life!
23Frédéric Chopin Nocturne in F minor, Opus 55, No. 1 -- introspective mood; psychologically probing?-- as if "spontaneous" or improvised (in fact neatly structured)-- a distant view of folk music (note the veiled suggestion of dance music), which relates to the Romantic interest in ethnicity and Nationalism-- expanding use of chromatic harmony-- use of dissonance for color
24Goya, The Sleep of Reason Brings Forth Monsters 1796-8 etching
25Richard WagnerOPERA INNOVATORThe Ring – over 18 hours of music
26Tristan und Isolde 1865 A little break from The Ring Previously tries to integrate all arts into single theatrical experience; changes his mind – Music reigns supreme
27Tristan und Isolde Wagner wrote the words wrote the music designed the setsdesigned the costumesdirected the stage action“Gesamkunstler” “total artist”
28Designed and built theater at Bayreuth 1957 production of Parsifalsee p. 361
29Tristan und Isolde (1865)-- expanding use of chromatic harmony over long spans of time-- opera expands in size: larger orchestra, longer operas (The Ring takes four evenings to perform)-- sophisticated orchestration-- opera is now continuous: the aria/recitative concept is replaced by "continuous melody"-- Wagner develops the idea of "leitmotif," in which a brief musical idea is associated with a character, idea, or object in an opera
30Tristan und Isolde – how Romantic? Medieval tale of chivalryexotic (Ireland & Cornwall)magic potion & sorceressemotionally fluid, passionatepsychologically probingunified through leitmotifsLove, Death – transcendence - ECHT!
31“Folk” NATIONALISM Verdi and V.E.R.D.I Composer as national/popular figureLISTENING EXAMPLE FROM Rigoletto“La Donna Mobilé”
32Aspects of Romanticism in music & art THE ARTIST APART FROM SOCIETYTHE ARTIST AS SOCIAL CRITIC/REVOLUTIONARY Beethoven’s 9th SymphonyTHE ARTIST AS GENIUS/CULTURAL HEROBEETHOVEN: “Why bow to social status?”
33Aspects of Romanticism in music & art Nature (idyllic or awesome, sublime) “organic unity” (music) BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY No. 5Supernatural – Berlioz, WAGNER TRISTANdream world, interior world CHOPIN NOCTURNEexoticism – Beethoven Symphony No. 9“ancient” (Medieval) WAGNER TRISTAN old – Bachfolklore and Das Volk (Nationalism) WAGNER The Ring