Romantic Opera-Chapter 18

Romantic Opera

• • 19th century was golden age of opera because it tied into 2 important Romantic themes: breaking down barriers between the arts and the celebration of music as the most profound of all the arts
  • Opera composers pondered meaning/message of work
  • Richard Wagner is famous for this with his “music dramas” (what he called his operas)
• Verdi and Italian Opera
• • Giuseppe Verdi was greatest Italian opera composer and dominant figure in 19th-century opera houses
  • Wagner got more attention, Verdi got more performances
  • Bel canto - a style of singing that brings out the sensuous beauty of the voice
  • Never allowed voice to be overshadowed by orchestra
  • He cared most about the dramatic quality of his operas
  • Orchestra was not unimportant, but instead played richer role in operas than other composers
  • Orchestra’s role was expanded in passages of recitative or near recitative (descendant of recitatives of Baroque opera serial and Classical opera buffs)
  • Plot and dialogue were now always accompanied by full orchestra
  • “Recitative” was no longer a satisfactory name for Verdi’s operas (but no other name existed)
  • Cadenza - an improvised passage for the soloist in a concerto, or sometimes in other works. Concerto cadenzas usually come near the ends of movements
  • Ensemble - a musical number in an opera, cantata, or oratorio that is sung by two or ore people
• Wagner and Music Drama
• • Wagner was the most influential of the 19th century composers after Beethoven
  • Strictly musical innovations (harmony and orchestration) revolutionized instrumental music and opera
  • Famous for his novel concept of the “total work of art” and special operatic technique of “guiding motive” (leitmotiv)
  • Unlike earlier composers, he developed elaborate theories announcing what art, music, and opera ought to be
  • Theory of opera has positives and negatives; wanted to do away with all conventions of early opera (French and Italian), said it had degenerated from its original form as serious drama in music (thinking of Ancient Greek drama), and condemned arias (heart of Italian opera)
  • Music drama - Wagner’s name for his distinctive type of opera
  • Positive side was he developed new kind of opera in 1850s (music drama)
  • Gesamtkunstwerk - “total work of art” -- Wagner’s term for his music dramas
  • Dramas dealt with weighty philosophical issues under the symbolic cover of medieval German myths and legends
  • Use of myths was a Romantic feature, one that anticipated Freud
  • One of first great conductors and superb orchestrator, Wagner’s orchestra was raised to new importance in opera, role modeled on Beethoven’s symphonies with motivic development
  • Orchestra no longer used as a support for singers, but carried the opera along
  • Leitmotiv - guiding, or leading, motive in Wagner’s operas
  • Easy to ridicule when used mechanically, but can also suggest subtlety to what the hero is thinking or feeling even when saying something else or nothing
  • Thematic transformation - a variation-like procedure applied to short themes in the various sections of Romantic symphonic poems and other works
  • Der Ring des Nibelungen is a huge music drama in 4 parts over 4 nights (3-5 hours each)
  • Supreme example of Romantic tendency towards grandiose
  • The Ring is so big because he wanted to cover large portions of the most famous of all Germanic or Norse legends
  • 1st night Das Rheingold shows events whose consequences play out over the following 3 nights
• Late Romantic Opera
• • Opera continued to flourish after Wagner and Verdi, orchestra retained important role and Romantic emphasis on strong emotions continued
  • Emotional passages tended to break down into freer and fragmentary melodic forms
  • Distinction between recitative and aria became harder to maintain and leitmotiv technique was employed in most operas
  • Composers and audiences turned away from Wagner’s mythical, quasi-philosophical ideal for opera
  • “Music drama” gave way to new realistic tendencies
  • Late Romantic realistic opera typically emphasized violent aspects of life
  • Giacomo Puccini was main Italian opera composer after Verdi, said to have brought end to the great tradition of Italian Romantic opera
  • Locales of his opera range from Japan to American Wild West, Rome in 1800 under Napoleon to Beijing in distant past
  • Capitalized on Romantic psychological depiction in opera, intimate portraits of helpless women in hopeless situations

 

 

 

Opera

Step 1

Provide a scene summary for the Anvil Chorus from Verdi's Il Travatore

There are a bunch of women who appear to be dusting off sheets and standing around having a good time and having lots of movement. Then we see a bunch of men sitting around in a very strict and professional stance. Around 1:00 there is the anvil sound, and we see men who are probably blacksmiths banging against the anvil. Then there are some men who look like they are higher class yelling at the women and commanding them to come over. The upper class men drink and look happy, then there's more anvils going. I don't really understand the storyline here, but it looks very fun (and the song is super fun).

 

Step 2

Provide a scene summary for the Opera Ballet from Verdi's Aida

A group of (probably slaves) people carry out a very fancy box, then dancers emerge and dance around it. They then remove the smaller box and presented it to a emperor-esque figure. The male and female dancers then put on a presentation, and the box is removed from the scene. The dancers keep dancing, doing big arm movements and grand battements, as well as lifting other individuals up and carrying them around for the rest of the piece. This is placed in an Egyptian-style set, but besides that I also cannot gather what is going on besides them giving a presentation to their emperor.

 

Step 3

What musical elements are used to create the celebratory mood heard in Verdi's Triumphal March from Aida?

There are staccato notes played by the strings (and some brass?) while the brass (trumpet) play the main melody line. Having the brass lead the melodies makes this a march and feel celebratory right off the bat. They aren't terribly loud in the beginning, but after the beginning line is played 2 times, around 0:45 there is a very loud forte entrance from the lower brass instruments, who immediately fade out and allow the trumpets to maintain their priority. At 1:30ish, there is a very fast and intense part played by violins and flutes. The tempo picks up, and there is a big timbre shift when this happens. The music shifts based on who is dancing in the piece, and despite the music sounding intense or maybe even suspicious, you can clearly tell there is a celebration going on based on the actions accompanied by the music.

 

Step 4

Answer the following questions regarding Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries from the Ring Cycle

What is a Leitmotiv?

A leitmotiv is a "guiding, or leading, motive in Wagner’s operas".

What instrument/instrument family is used for the Valkyrie motiv?

Brass (primarily horns)

Describe how Leitmotivs are used to elevate the story in the Lord of the Rings

First off, I absolutely love the LOTR soundtrack and the storytelling that comes with the soundtrack alone was so beautiful. The intense and mysterious opening theme plays over a black card, which already creates a story before the narration even begins, and it shifts depending on which character is speaking (establishing the mood of how we should be feeling towards each character). These themes, or leitmotivs, establish a strong story and mood before the story even really starts. The leitmotivs played in the opening are also played throughout the movie, not only calling back to the narration, but used as establishing or foreshadowing. Music having this capability clearly elevates the story, but just in this movie, but in any movie that uses these methods.

Create your very own Leitmotiv using the template from this Wagnerian Leitmotiv Project

 

 

Step 5

Define Music Drama/Gesamtkunstwerk with regards to Wagner' Ring Cycle 

In the preview the video primarily showcases orchestral music, and showcases a large portion of different characters and sets. This helps the viewer get an idea of Wagner's Ring Cycle or Gesamtkunstwerk, since he was focused on developing large portions of the most famous of all Germanic or Norse legends into his work. Also, music dramas were very different from operas, and we can hear this from the music that is played in the preview, as I said being far more orchestral than most operas.

America during the Romantic Period

Step 1

Share your overall impression of Romantic Period music from American Music during this time period

I really enjoy the realism and imagery that the music from this period creates. Sure, it was their main focus so it will do that, but they did a very good job with it. I can vividly see things whenever I listen to the music from this period, but I really enjoy it. The music from previous periods does not create the same effect or feeling that this one does.

How does it sound similar to the European compositions?

The combination between the orchestra and voices is still present, as well as the big intensity of the orchestra. The symbolism between the music and imagery is definitely present in both, as well as the unique melodies and difficulty of pieces. There is more diversity in these pieces than there was in the previous compositions as well. Also the very fast tempo seems to be very characteristic of this period, as well as the strong feeling of nationalism in the pieces.

How does it sound different from European compositions?

There seems to be a lot more battle music from the American music that European music did not include. A lot of the American music also feels very staccato, and the lyrics and vocal parts of pieces seem to hug the orchestra, whereas in Europe they made the two have very different parts. I feel as though Americans were certainly in a different period compared to Europe, and although they have many similarities, the two places were going through very different things at the time.

 

The Late Romantics-Chapter 19

The Late Romantics

• • 1848 had failed revolutions in France, Italy, and various German states
  • Political freedom seemed further away than ever (Romantics went hand in hand with freedom of personal expression in life and art)
  • Failure of revolutions symbolized failure of Romantic aspirations (which had little nourishment since days of Napoleon)
  • Romanticism lived on in nostalgia
  • European literature and art from 1850s on was marked not by continuing Romanticism but realism
  • Novel grew more realistic
  • Move toward realism in opera at end of the 19th century
  • Music came as function for inspirational and emotional escape from political, economic, and social situations
• Late Romantic Program Music
• • Important series of work influenced symphonic poems composed by Franz Liszt in the 1850s
  • Symphonic poem - a piece of orchestral program music in one long movement
  • Liszt went from composing études and miniatures to large-scale orchestra works
  • He wrote one-movement pieces for orchestra associated in one way or another to a famous poem, play, or narrative
  • It was formally free, no sign of sonata form
  • Symphonic poems, called tone poems, became popular in the 19th century
• Nationalism
• • Legacy of Romanticism’s passion for freedom was throughout the 19th century, the struggle for national independence
  • Nationalism - A 19th-century movement promoting music built on national folk songs and dances, or associated with national subjects
  • Characteristic musical feature of movement is simply incorporation of national folk into concert, pieces, songs, and operas
  • Symphonic poems or operas were based on programs or librettos took up national themes
  • National themes were reinforced by musical themes taken from folk songs
  • Nationalist composers often deliberately broke traditional rules of harmony, form, etc.
  • Audiences came to enjoy folk music of other nations at concerts and opera
  • French composers wrote Spanish music, Russians wrote Italian, and Czechs wrote American
  • It was not considered nationalistic, since it aimed to for national self-definition, but still emphasized unique qualities of nations
  • Close group of 5 nationalist Russian composers nicknamed the kuchka - translated as the Mighty Five (but meaning group of clique)
• Responses to Romanticism
• • Works of musical nationalism and exoticism reveal continuing development of Romantic ideals well after the 1850s
  • World was increasingly devoted to industrialization and commerce
  • Victorian morality has new work ethic and short shrift to heady emotion that Romantics insisted on conveying in their art
  • Romantic music came out of step - prized exactly because it offered escape
  • Work of the 2 greatest late 19th-century German composers (Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler) can be viewed as 2 different responses to the situation
  • Johannes Brahms (born in Hamburg) gravitated to Vienna (symbolic since he rejected many innovations of early Romantics and went back to Classical genre, form, and style)
  • String quartets and other chamber music works, symphonies, and concertos
  • Mahler felt ambivalent about Romantic tradition, but expressed it differently
  • Embraced all excesses of Romanticism, writing huge program symphonies and symphonies with solo and choral singing
  • Connects him with most visionary of earlier Romantics
  • Mahler felt unable to enter freely into Romantic world; uneasy quality in his music that set it apart
  • Exaggeration spills over into another characteristic, distortion
  • Made more or less slightly distorted melody, motive, and harmony
  • Jingju - the most famous variety of Chinese musical drama; meaning “theater of the capital”, it is known in English as Beijing (or Peking) opera
  • Jinghu - a Chinese high-pitched, two-stringed fiddle; heard in Beijing opera
  • Erhu - A Chinese low-pitched fiddle; heard in Beijing opera
  • Yueqin - A Chinese lute; heard in Beijing opera

 

 

Romantic Evening

Step 1

What musical elements give Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overature a nationalistic/patriotic feeling?

The cannons, instrumentation, and buildup (long crescendo) to the cannons really make it feel patriotic. There aren't any specific pitches that indicate the patriotic feeling, but when the singers join in, the overall loud dynamic and the slow intensity to the piece makes it very nationalistic. The style of the piece with its drawn out melodies hammering in the brass instruments adds to it as well.

 

Step 2

Describe the connection between the music and the choreography in Tchaikovsky's March from the Nutcracker

Even from the very beginning, when the higher pitches followed by lower pitches are played, the dancers motion above when the higher pitches are played and then went lower on the lower pitches. Every single part of the choreography follows the music almost too literally, like I stated before. Dancers move on certain melodies before moving on to the other melodies, harmonies, or countermelodies. The scuttling of the feet going along on the same beats as the strings sixteenth(?) notes, moving up and down with pitches, and ending on the end of a melody. 

 

Step 3

How does the composer connect the music to the story/image in Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain?

By having the low brass play (and at the intensity it is played), it immediately sets the dark and stormy mood of the piece to the imagery they're trying to display. On top of that, the arpeggiating higher instruments simulate the idea of climbing and highness, like a mountain. Stating "night" in the title creates an idea that either it will be mystical or dark and intense, and that is displayed in the style of the music. I believe that the animators of this cartoon really highlighted the characteristics of this piece.

 

Step 4

Describe how dynamics & tempo are used to heighten emotion in Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King

Starting out very quietly and mysterious, as well as a relatively slow tempo, puts the audience on their feet and interested in what's happening. As it slowly starts to pick up volume and tempo, it draws you in, but still maintains a quiet enough tempo that people are interested. The instrumentation shifts to a higher sound which builds intensity as well as the tempo and dynamic, eventually hitting a peak that is so loud and fast that it feels even more intense since almost the entire piece is silent, and only gets loud at that very ending portion. This makes the ending of the piece very heightened than if the piece started out loud as well.

 

Step 5

Provide a summary of Billy Joel's process and 'classical influences' in creating Lullaby

Billy Joel is highly influenced by all sorts of classical composers and pieces, but as he was writing this piece he realized he was taking influence from a certain composer. He had credited Beethoven previously for one of his other songs, but someone had told him to create his own music for the Lullaby piece. So he wrote his own ending to it; and he was trying to jam this piece into the beginning of a suite since that was his goal with the album. Then they had his words translated to Latin, but then decided that was too pretentious. Eventually he was inspired by his daughter while putting her to bed for the lyrics. He didn't take as much inspiration from classical music for this piece as he did with others, but it is still clearly there.

 

Step 6

Provide a brief narrative explaining proper audience etiquette to include suggested do's and don'ts, advice on when to clap and when to not clap, etc. 

Usually an audience shouldn't clap unless the orchestra/ensemble opens them to do so (bows, officially ending a piece and turning to the crowd, etc.). Getting up during a piece or eating during a show is oftentimes very offensive and discouraged against, that's why we have intermissions. Clapping should primarily be at the end, and sometimes it can be used after solos in some jazz pieces or such. Overall, the musicians are there to entertain you, so doing anything to disrespect them is highly discouraged.

 

HONORS TRACK

In Our Own Back Yard

Provide a brief historical overview of the Vermont Symphony

The VSO started in 1934 with a group of musicians meeting in Woodstock who met and decided they could create a statewide orchestra using resources from all across Vermont. Their conductor was Alan Carter, and he was prepared to fulfill the dream of performing in several towns in all sorts of buildings (wherever an audience could be found!). They were a group of barbers, lawyers, doctors, farmers, and mail carriers from all across the state heavily dedicated to music. They were invited to perform at the 1939 New York World's Fair. After performing for half a century, VSO held musical birthday parties in every town in the state of Vermont (251) between 1984-1986. They have maintained the same philosophy and operations since the beginning, receiving state funding and having volunteer committees.

List locations included in the TD Bank 2018 Summer Festival Tour

Hunter Park in Manchester, VT and the rain site is Riley Rink (also in Manchester). There are no other locations that the website listed :(

Provide a brief background of the guest conductor

Sarah Hicks was the guest conductor for this tour. She was part of the New York Times’ “new wave of female conductors” as well as her musicianship earning her a place in the “next gen. of up-and-coming American conductors”. Hicks has been named the Principal Conductor of Live at Orchestra Hall of the Minnesota Orchestra (2009) as well as conducting most Pops and Special Presentations. She has been creating new Pops productions and heading “Inside the Classics”. Hicks has performed with several notable names, such as Sting and Smokey Robinson.

Provide historical background for 7 of the 14 program choices

1. STRAUSS – Voices of Spring

Strauss dedicated this piece to pianist/composer Alfred Grünfeld. The waltz was not successful, but received more success on Strauss' tour of Russia as well as through a piano arrangement. A famous member of the Vienna Court Opera and Strauss also composed a new work, resulting in the world-renowned "Frühlingsstimmen" waltz.

2. SMETANA – The Moldau from Má Vlast

Meaning "My Homeland" in Czech, this is a set of 6 symphonic poems composed by Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. It is often presented as a singular piece with 6 movements, but was actually a set of 6 individual works. They were composed between 1874-1879, and premiered between 1875-1880. Since 1952, these pieces have been performed at the Prague Spring International Music Festival on May 12th, the anniversary of the death of Smetana.

3. HANDEL, arr. Harty – Water Music (excerpt)

Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements composed by George Frideric Handel, which premiered on July 17th, 1717. It was in response to King George I's request for a concert on the River Thames. There are several legends stating that Handel composed Water Music to regain the favor of King George, others say that the Elector of Hanover approved Handel's permanent move to London. Although there is some supporting foundation for these legends, they are still legends and doubted by some.

4. KREISLER – Gitana and Liebesfreud

La Gitana (meaning The Gypsy) by Kreisler is a piece for violin and piano is based on an 18th-century Arabo-Spanish Gypsy song. Liebesfreud has no known composition date, but was published in 1905 and was mislabelled under Joseph Lanner (and copyrighted by Kreisler in 1910). It is a part of a set of 3 pieces (Liebeslied and Schön Rosmarin).

5. TCHAIKOVSKY  – Valse-Scherzo

The history behind this piece is somewhat of a mystery, thinking to have been written in January or February of 1877. It is said that this is dedicated to Kotek, an violinist and former composition student of Tchaikovsky who was helped him compose the Violin Concerto in D. Its first performance was in 1878 in Paris, France. There is a statement that Tchaikovsky did not wish to directly dedicate it to Kotek since some would question the relationship between them.

6. TCHAIKOVSKY – 1812 Overture (excerpt)

 

This overture was written in 1880 in dedication of Napoleon invading Grand Armée in 1812. It debuted in Moscow on August 20th, 1882; and another performance was conducted by Tchaikovsky at the dedication of Carnegie Hall: one of the 1st times a major composer visited the United States. The piece is most famously known for its canon fire, ringing chimes, and brass fanfare.

 

 

7. SOUSA – Washington Post March

This piece is a march composed by John Philip Sousa in 1889. It is one of his most popular marches throughout the United States and many other countries. The purchasers of The Washington Post  in 1889 request for Sousa to compose a piece for the newspaper's essay contest awards ceremony. It quickly gained popularity and even became a standard musical accompaniment for the late 19th-century dance crave "two-step".

What percentage of their programming comes from Romantic Period Literature?

Roughly 50%-75%