1. Unit 20 – Romantic Vocal Music
IB Music SL
Unit 20 – Romantic Vocal Music

2. Romantic Choral Music Increased popularity
Choral music societies as artistic outlet
Part songs, the oratorio, the Mass, and the Requiem Mass
Repetition helps lead to understanding
59 (Chr), 30 (Std). Romantic Choral Music
Choral music grew in popularity during the Romantic era
Choral music societies were an artistic outlet for the middle classes
Favored genres include part songs (songs with three or four voice parts), the oratorio, the Mass, and the Requiem Mass
Words in choral works are hard to understand
Composers compensate for this with repetition

3. Brahms: A German Requiem
Protestant tradition (console the living)
Old Testament: Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Ecclesiastes
New Testament: Paul, Matthew, Peter, John, Revelation
Written after deaths of Robert Schumann and Brahms’s mother
Soloists, four-part chorus, and orchestra
7 movements, arch form
Connections between movements:
1 and 7
2 and 6
3 and 5
Brahms: A German Requiem (Listening Guide)
Rooted in the Protestant tradition
Meant to console the living
Text drawn from: Old and New Testaments, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Ecclesiastes, Paul, Matthew, Peter, John, Revelation
Written after the deaths of Robert Schumann and Brahms’s mother
Written for soloists, four-part chorus, and orchestra
7 movements arranged in the shape of an arch
Connections between movements:
1 and 7
2 and 6
3 and 5

4. Brahms: A German Requiem
Fourth movement chorus, How lovely is thy dwelling place
Centerpiece of work
Psalm 84
Form: A-B-A′-C-A′
Fourth movement chorus, How lovely is thy dwelling place
Centerpiece of work
Taken from Psalm 84
Form: A-B-A′-C-A′
Shifting tempos and much expansion of themes
Coda brings movement to gentle and serene close

5. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and the Romantic Part Song
Older sister of Felix, raised in Berlin
Trained on the piano and in composition
Encouraged (as a female) not to pursue music as a career
Recognized as a gifted artist
Participated in salon concerts at parent's home
After her mother's death Fanny took over the concerts
Died suddenly of a apoplectic stroke in 1847

6. Fanny Mendelssohn's Music
Output dominated by Lieder, choral part songs and piano music
Some large-scale works
Keyboard music reflects her interest in Bach's contrapuntal procedures
In her Lieder she favored the poetry of Goethe

7. Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel: Under the Greenwood Tree
Four-voice part song
A cappella
Text drawn from Shakespeare's As You Like It
Strophic, with two verses
Chorus "Come hither" follows each verse
Changing textures provide interest

8. Romantic Opera Basic emotions with an elemental force
Suspension of disbelief
Superstar performers, extravagant scenery
60 (Chr), 31 (Std). Romantic Opera
Opera uses the human voice to project basic emotions with an elemental force
Logic of reality gives way to the power of music and imagination

9. The Development of National Styles
France
Grand opera
Opéra comique
Germany
Singspiel
Music drama
Italy
Opera seria
Opera buffa
Bel canto singing style
The Development of National Styles
Opera developed into distinct national styles in France, Germany and Italy
France: lyric opera represented a merger between grand opera (serious historical drama with spectacular effects), and opéra comique (comic opera with spoken dialogue)
Germany: Singspiel (light, comic drama with spoken dialogue) gave way to more serious works, including Richard Wagner’s music drama, a genre that integrated all elements of opera
Italy: opera seria and opera buffa were favored; marked the pinnacle of bel canto (beautiful singing) style

10. Exoticism in Opera Verdi’s Aida Saint-Saëns’s Samson and Delilah
Richard Strauss’s Salome
Music suggests faraway locale
63 (Chr), 34 (Std). Exoticism in Opera
Many Romantic composers turned to exotic plots for their operas
Verdi’s Aida, Saint-Saëns’s Samson and Delilah, Richard Strauss’s Salome
The music (melody, harmony, rhythm) suggested a faraway locale

11. Georges Bizet (1838–1875) French lyric opera composer Prix de Rome
Carmen & Roma (Gypsy) culture in Spain
Based on Merimée’s story
Realism in opera
Georges Bizet (1838–1875)
French lyric opera composer
Won the Prix de Rome
His reputation was based on opera composition
His lyric opera Carmen romanticizes Roma (Gypsy) culture in Spain
Based on Merimée’s story
Tale reflects new realism in opera

12. Bizet: Carmen excerpt Love, hate, desire
Disintegration of a personality
Tempestuous Carmen is central figure
Music evokes colors of Spain
Realism, sensuality, and a tragic end
Cuban habanera
Bizet: Carmen (Listening Guide)
Projects strong emotions: love, hate, desire
Theme is the disintegration of a personality
Carmen, a tempestuous Gypsy woman, is the central figure
Brilliant orchestration and rhythmic vitality evoke colors of Spain
Expanded opéra comique with realism, sensuality, and a tragic end
Carmen’s aria in Act I is based on a Cuban habanera

13. Women in Opera Visibility for women composers: And singers
Louise Bertin La Esmerelda
And singers
Jenny Lind (1820–1887)
Maria Malibran (1808–1836)
Pauline Viardot (1821–1910)
Women in Opera
Opera was one medium that allowed women musicians a good deal of visibility
Prominent singers included:
Jenny Lind 1820–1887), the “Swedish nightingale”
Maria Malibran (1808–1836), daughter of Spanish tenor Manuel Garcia
Pauline Viardot (1821–1910), younger sister of Maria Malibran

14. Verdi and Italian Opera
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)
Italian composer
Studies in Milan
Austrian Hapsburg rule
Patriotic, nationalistic works
28 operas
Composed successfully until age 80
Died at 87
National hero
Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)
Italian composer
Verdi is best known for his twenty-eight operas
Studied music in Milan
Married benefactor’s daughter
Tragic loss of two children and his wife in 1839
Unhappy living under Austrian Hapsburg rule
Works were interpreted as patriotic, for the nationalist cause
Composed successful operas until he was nearly 80 years old
Died at 87
Revered as national hero

15. Verdi’s Music Romantic drama and passion Melody above all
Three compositional periods
Early period:
Macbeth, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata
Middle period (French grand opera):
A Masked Ball, The Force of Destiny, Don Carlos
Final period:
Aida, Otello, Falstaff
Verdi’s Music
Epitome of Romantic drama and passion
Prized melody above all
Career is divided into three compositional periods
Operas from the early period: Macbeth, Rigoletto, Il trovatore, La traviata
Operas from the middle period show the influence of French grand opera: A Masked Ball, The Force of Destiny, Don Carlos
Operas from the final period: Aida (commissioned to mark the opening of the Suez Canal), and the Shakespeare operas Otello and Falstaff

16. Verdi: Rigoletto Tenor aria, “La donna è mobile” Quartet, “Un di”
Based on Victor Hugo’s The King is Amused
Libretto by Francesco Piave
Three acts
Renaissance Mantua
Themes of seduction and deceit, with a tragic end
Popular moments from Act III:
Tenor aria, “La donna è mobile”
Strophic
Quartet, “Un di”
4 characters/emotions
Verdi: Rigoletto (Listening Guide)
Based on Victor Hugo’s play The King is Amused (Le roi s’amuse)
Libretto by Francesco Piave
In three acts, the opera is set in Renaissance Mantua
It tells the tale of seduction and deceit, with a tragic end
Two of the most popular operatic moments come from Act III:
The tenor aria, “La donna è mobile” (Woman is fickle)
Strophic setting, brings back opening text as refrain
Quartet, “Un di” (One day)
Each character portrays a different emotion

17. Wagner and the Music Drama
Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
German composer, early career in Dresden
Grand operas, nationalistic operas
Exile in Switzerland after 1849
Art and Revolution, The Art Work of the Future, and Opera and Drama
Music drama
The Ring of the Nibelung
Ludwig II summoned him back to Germany
Festival Theater at Bayreuth
Married Cosima Liszt
Last work: Parsifal
Died at age 70
Richard Wagner (1813–1883)
German composer
Richard Wagner revolutionized opera with his idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk
A “total art work” unifying all elements
Abandoned studies at the University of Leipzig for a music career
Wrote his won librettos
Wrote grand operas, nationalistic operas
After failed revolution in 1849, fled to Switzerland
Wrote literary works Art and Revolution, The Art Work of the Future, and Opera and Drama while in exile
Developed theory of music drama, an opera that integrated theater and music completely
Most famous work is the four-opera cycle, The Ring of the Nibelung
Ludwig II summoned Wagner back to Germany
Festival Theater at Bayreuth was built specifically for presentation of Wagner’s music dramas
Married Cosima Liszt (daughter of Franz Liszt)
Last work, Parsifal, was based on the legend of the Holy Grail
Died at age 70, buried at Bayreuth

18. Wagner’s Music Music dramas “Endless melody”
Total artwork (Gesamtkunstwerk)
Orchestra as unifying element
Leitmotifs
Chromatic dissonance
Music dramas are not sectional but continuous
“Endless melody” was molded to the natural inflections of the German language
His concept was that of a total artwork, Gesamtkunstwerk, in which music, poetry, drama, and visual spectacle were fused
Orchestra is the unifying element in the music drama
Unified by leitmotifs, or recurring themes that represent a person, place, or thing
Emotional quality is heightened by his extensive use of chromatic dissonance

19. Wagner: Die Walküre excerpt
The Ring of the Nibelung
Gold in the Rhine River
Rhine Maidens
Norse sagas, medieval German epic poem, the Nibelungenlied
Cycle: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung
Wagner: Die Walküre (Listening Guide)
The story of The Ring of the Nibelung centers on the gold that lies in the Rhine River, guarded by three Rhine Maidens
The gold is powerful and is made into a ring
The cycle follows the path of the ring and its eventual return to the Rhine Maidens
Wagner adapted the story from Norse sagas and the medieval
German epic poem, the Nibelungenlied
The cycle consists of: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung

20. Wagner: Die Walküre Act III (Finale) of Die Walküre
Leitmotifs: slumber, magic sleep, magic fire, and Siegfried
Act III (Finale) of Die Walküre
Leitmotifs: slumber, magic sleep, magic fire, and Siegfried

21. Puccini and Late Romantic Opera
Post-Romantic Italian composers
verismo
Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo and Giacomo Puccini
64 (Chr), 35 (Std). Puccini and Late Romantic Opera
Post-Romantic Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo and Giacomo Puccini were associated with a movement known as verismo (realism)

22. Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) Italian composer
Early operatic successes: Manon Lescaut, La bohème, Tosca, Madame Butterfly
Last work Turandot left unfinished
Died in 1924 of a heart attack
Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
Italian composer
Wrote some of the best-loved operas in the verismo tradition including La bohème, and Madame Butterfly
Driven to compose opera
Early operatic successes include Manon Lescaut, La bohème, Tosca, Madame Butterfly
International premieres required extensive travel
Personal life riddled with questions of infidelity
Last work, Turandot, was left unfinished at his death
Died in 1924 of a heart attack

23. Puccini: Madame Butterfly 1 2
Verismo and exoticism
Inspired by performance of a play
Disastrous premiere
Revised version
Central tragic-heroic character: geisha Cio-Cio-San
Act II, Cio-Cio-San’s aria “Un bel di” describes desire for her lover’s return
Puccini: Madame Butterfly (Listening Guide)
A combination of verismo (realism) and exoticism
Inspired by a performance of a play by the same name
Disastrous premiere, a “veritable lynching” (too long)
Revised version was instantly successful
Central tragic-heroic character is a geisha named Cio-Cio-San
Act II, Cio-Cio-San’s aria “Un bel di” describes her desire for her lover’s return

24. Tchaikovsky and the Ballet
Ballet—Past and Present
Part of larger work: intermedio, masque, ballet de cour
Independent art form in 18th century (France and Russia)
Ballet—Past and Present
Ballet had long been part of larger work: intermedio, masque, ballet de cour
Became an independent art form in the 18th century, particularly in France and Russia

25. 19th-century Russian ballet (czar’s court)
Marius Petipa (St. Petersburg)
Pas de deux
19th-century Russian ballet was fostered by the patronage of the czar’s court
Marius Petipa (St. Petersburg) created dances for more than 100 works
Invented the pas de deux (dance for two)

26. Serge Diaghilev (1872–1929) Ballets Russes
Vaslav Nijinksy and Tamara Karsavina
Picasso and Braque
Igor Stravinsky
Serge Diaghilev (1872–1929)
Genius, impresario, brought his dance company, the Ballets Russes, to Paris
Greatest dancers in the group were Vaslav Nijinksy and Tamara Karsavina
Scenery painted by the likes of Picasso and Braque
Commissioned three ballets from Igor Stravinsky

27. Igor Stravinsky

28. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
Russian composer
End-of-the-century pessimism
Sexual identity
Antonina Milyukova
Nadezhda von Meck
Correspondence
Carnegie Hall in New York (1891)
Died suddenly at age 53
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893)
Russian composer
Left career in law for music
His music captures the mood of end-of-the-century pessimism
Struggled with sexual identity
Disastrous marriage to student, Antonina Milyukova
Career subsidized by patron Nadezhda von Meck (recluse)
Stipulated that she and Tchaikovsky were never to meet
Correspondence between the two is revealing of his compositional methods
Invited to participate in the opening ceremonies of Carnegie Hall in New York (1891)
Died suddenly at the age of 53

29. Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker
Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker by E. T. A. Hoffmann
Christmas tale: Clara and her gift nutcracker
March, Act I
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Celesta
“Exotic” dances:
Arab, Chinese, Trepak
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Listening Guide)
Three of Tchaikovsky’s ballets, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker, remain popular today
The Nutcracker is based on a story by E. T. A. Hoffmann
A Christmas tale about young Clara and her gift nutcracker
The March heard in Act I is played as the guests arrive
In the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Tchaikovsky introduces the celesta (set of tuned metal bars operated by means of a keyboard)
Tchaikovsky includes a set of “exotic” dances, including the Arab, Chinese, and Trepak dances