Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K 525 the Life and Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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A Music History Overview Janet Lopinski, Joe Ringhofer, and Peteris Zarins Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the following people for their valuable assistance in preparing this publication: Dr. Laura Beauchamp-Williamson, Editor Elaine Rusk, Director of Publishing, The Frederick Harris Music Co., Limited Aimee Velle, Project Administrator Contents How to Use this Book ...................................................... 6 Unit One—The Materials of Music Building a Musical Vocabulary . 8 Performing Forces ............................................................ 10 Supplemental Activity: Seating Plan of an Orchestra . 13 Recommended Listening: The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra ............... 14 Timeline: Four Major Style Periods in Music History ............................. 16 Review and Reflection . 16 Unit Two—The Baroque Period Building a Musical Vocabulary . 18 Listening for Elements of Baroque Style ......................................... 19 Vivaldi and The Four Seasons The Musical Style and Contributions of Antonio Vivaldi . 21 Building a Musical Vocabulary .............................................. 21 Required Listening: “La Primavera” (“Spring”) from Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons), op. 8, no. 1 . 22 Recommended Listening for Vivaldi . 26 Bach and The Well-Tempered Clavier The Life and Music of Johann Sebastian Bach ................................. 26 Building a Musical Vocabulary .............................................. 28 Supplemental Activity: Identifying Fugal Answers ............................. 29 Required Listening: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One, Prelude and Fugue No. 21 in B flat Major ................................... 30 Recommended Listening for Bach . 33 Supplemental Activity: Dueling Keyboards—Authentic versus Modern . 34 Handel and Messiah The Life and Music of George Frideric Handel . 35 Building a Musical Vocabulary .............................................. 37 Required Listening: Messiah ................................................ 38 Recommended Listening for Handel ......................................... 46 Review and Reflection . 47 Unit Three—The Classical Period Building a Musical Vocabulary . 49 Listening for Elements of Sonata Form . 52 Haydn and String Quartet, op. 76, no. 2 “Quinten” The Life and Music of Franz Joseph Haydn . 53 Building a Musical Vocabulary .............................................. 55 Required Listening: String Quartet, op. 76, no. 2 (“Quinten”) . 55 Supplemental Listening Activity: Sonata-Cycle Design and the “Quinten” ........ 58 Recommended Listening for Haydn .......................................... 58 4 Contents Mozart and Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K 525 The Life and Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . 59 Building a Musical Vocabulary .............................................. 61 Required Listening: Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K 525 . 62 Recommended Listening for Mozart ......................................... 67 Beethoven and Symphony No. 5, op. 67 The Life and Music of Ludwig van Beethoven . 68 Building a Musical Vocabulary .............................................. 70 Required Listening: Symphony No. 5, op. 67 . 71 Recommended Listening for Beethoven ...................................... 77 Review and Reflection . 78 Unit Four—The Romantic Period Building a Musical Vocabulary . 80 Listening for Elements of Romantic Style . 81 Schubert and Erlkönig, op. 1, D 328 The Life and Music of Franz Schubert ........................................ 82 Building a Musical Vocabulary .............................................. 83 Required Listening: Erlkönig ................................................ 84 Supplemental Listening Activity: Listening to Franz Liszt’s Transcription of Erlkönig ................................................. 87 Recommended Listening for Schubert . 87 Chopin and Polonaise in A flat Major, op. 53 The Life and Music of Frédéric Chopin ....................................... 88 Building a Musical Vocabulary .............................................. 90 Required Listening: Polonaise in A flat Major, op. 53 ........................... 90 Recommended Listening for Chopin ......................................... 93 Berlioz and Symphonie fantastique The Life and Music of Hector Berlioz . 94 Building a Musical Vocabulary .............................................. 95 Required Listening: Symphonie fantastique ................................... 96 Recommended Listening for Berlioz . 100 Puccini and Madama Butterfly The Musical Style and Contributions of Giacomo Puccini . 100 Building a Musical Vocabulary ............................................. 100 Required Listening: Madama Butterfly . 101 Supplemental Activity: Through the Eyes of the Director ...................... 105 Recommended Listening for Puccini ........................................ 106 Supplemental Activity: An Introduction to Carmen . 107 Building a Musical Vocabulary ............................................. 107 Review and Reflection . 108 Contents 5 Unit Five—The Modern Era Building a Musical Vocabulary . 111 Listening for Elements of Modern Styles ....................................... 111 Debussy and Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune The Life and Music of Claude Debussy . 113 Building a Musical Vocabulary ............................................. 114 Required Listening: Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune ......................... 114 Recommended Listening for Debussy ....................................... 116 Stravinsky and Petrushka The Life and Music of Igor Stravinsky ....................................... 117 Building a Musical Vocabulary ............................................. 119 Required Listening: Petrushka (1st tableau) .................................. 120 Recommended Listening for Stravinsky ..................................... 123 Leonard Bernstein and West Side Story The Musical Style and Contributions of Leonard Bernstein .................... 124 Required Listening: West Side Story . 125 Related Terms ............................................................ 126 Recommended Listening for Bernstein ...................................... 129 Alexina Louie and “Distant Memories” The Life and Music of Alexina Louie ........................................ 130 Required Listening: “Distant Memories,” from Music for Piano . 131 Related Terms ............................................................ 131 Recommended Listening for Louie . 133 Review and Reflection . 134 Appendices Glossary . 135 Appendix A—Recommended Resources . 151 Appendix B—Recommended Listening Materials ............................... 156 6 How to Use this Book This book is the first in a three-volume series intended to support students and teachers preparing for The Royal Conservatory of Music and National Music Certificate Program history examinations as outlined in the Theory Syllabus, 2009 edition. These books will also be of interest to students and music lovers whose goal is simply to explore music history for the sake of becoming better-informed musicians. Volume 1 serves as an introduction to the history of Western music and is intended to prepare students for the RCME/NMCP History 1 Examination. Representative composers and works from four of the major periods in music history—Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and the Modern Era—are presented. Emphasis is placed on developing familiarity with the lives and musical styles of selected composers and exploring a wide variety of musical genres and forms. We recommend that students attend lectures or classes given by a qualified teacher. Students should make it a priority to listen to recordings of the works studied—not doing so would be like studying art history without viewing a single painting! Whenever possible, it would be beneficial for students to examine musical scores while completing listening activities. More than ever before, the Internet offers limitless possibilities for exploration. With the click of a mouse, we can access specialized information about composers and performers, images, videos, and audio recordings. Many recordings and videos are available free of charge; others can be viewed or downloaded for a nominal fee. This volume contains a variety of activities that require both writing and listening. Terms necessary to understand and describe music are introduced in segments entitled “Building a Musical Vocabulary.” For each major composer, the heading “The Life and Music of . .” is used. Specific compositions to be studied are identified by the heading “Required Listening.” Other listening activities involve the identification of musical or stylistic elements in familiar works from the era being examined. At the end of each unit a style summary is provided, as well as an activity entitled “Review and Reflection.” These concluding sections will help students synthesize the information presented while inviting personal opinions. Since we believe that the study of music history should be both interesting and enjoyable, we have included additional items and activities to enhance the learning experience and provide a broader perspective. Anecdotal facts and stories are inset and framed by brackets, while “Webquests” provide direction for navigating the Internet. “Supplemental Activities” are optional; they are intended to enrich the study of music history by inviting students to gain a more personal experience with the material. Recommendations for additional listening appear after each section devoted to a specific composer.