Section Dedicated to 20th Century Music

Twentieth-Century Overview

Within the music of the twentieth century can be seen influences of folk and popular music, Asian and African music, and European art music from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century.The principal parameters of music — tone color, harmony, tonality, rhythm, and melody — undergo vast changes in relation to the music of earlier periods. New musical innovations in this period include the prominence of the percussion section, new ways of playing conventional instruments, polychords, fourth chords, tone clusters, polytonality, bitonality, atonality, and polyrhythms. (Chapt. 2) During the twentieth century, radio, television, and recordings had a direct impact on the listening habits of the public. Various institutions regularly commissioned new music.These include: ballet and opera companies, foundations, orchestras, performers, film studios, and wealthy music lovers.

Also impacting the direction of Twentieth-Century music was the emigration of many famous composers to the United States because of World War II, the widespread dissemination of American jazz and popular music, and the role of universities in nourishing new music. (Chapters 3 & 4) Two artistic movements that were to have their musical counterparts in the work of Claude Debussy were impressionist painting and symbolist poetry. The painters Monet, Renoir, and Pissarro represent the impressionist movement in painting.Symbolist poetry is represented by Mallarme, Verlaine, and Rimbaud. Debussy was influenced by Wagner and Asian music, and he achieved many artistic successes and underwent personal tragedies during the course of his career and his life in general. (Chapt. 5) Neoclassicism is aptly described as an artistic movement that emphasizes emotional restraint, balance, and clarity.

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Neoclassical composers used musical forms and stylistic elements of earlier periods, particularly of the eighteenth century. Neoclassicism also reflects a reaction against romanticism and impressionism.Major contributions, outside of music, to the neoclassical style are the poems of T. S. Eliot and the paintings of Pablo Picasso. (Chapt. 6) Stravinsky’s career is typically traced from his early years in St.

Petersburg, his studies under Rimsky-Korsakov, to his discovery by Sergei Diaghilev. The impact of the Ballet Russe on the entire cultural scene in Europe from 1909 to 1929, the success of Stravinsky’s three “Russian” ballets, including the famous 1913 riot, and his emergence as the twentieth century’s most celebrated composer are also principal topics of discussion. Chapt. 7) Expressionism is defined as an artistic movement that “stressed intense, subjective emotion. ” The movement is related to Freud’s work with hysteria and the unconscious, and can be seen as a German reaction to French impressionism (Chapt. 8) Arnold Schoenberg, in his early years, can be seen as a musical autodidact. His artistic progression from the late romantic style of his earliest music through the atonal works to the development of his twelve-tone system, are crucial to the understanding of future musical developments.

Aaron Copland’s life ps from his early years in Brooklyn, his period of study in France, and his cultivation of the jazz idiom for a few years on his return to the United States. Copland’s works undergo distinct stylistic changes, including jazz and twelve-tone styles. Among his better-known works today are the ballet Appalachian Spring, and this chapter contains a Listening Outline for the seventh section, the theme and variations on Simple Gifts. (Chapt. 16) There have been distinct changes in musical styles since 1945.Among these are the increased use of the twelve-tone system, the growth of serialism and its applications to musical parameters other than pitch, chance music, minimalist music, musical quotation, the return to tonality, electronic music, the “liberation of sound,” mixed media, and new concepts of rhythm and form.

Some of the more modern innovations since 1945 can be seen in two of many important contemporary composers, and their representative compositions: Edgard Varese (Poeme electronique), John Adams (Short Ride in a Fast Machine). Twentieth Century Listening Claude Debussy Prelude to The Afternoon of a FaunIgor StravinskyThe Rite of Spring: Part I, Introduction Arnold Schoenberg A Survivor from Warsaw, Op. 46 Aaron CoplandAppalachian Spring: Theme and Variations on Simple Gifts Edgard VareseElectronic Poem: Opening Segment John AdamsShort Ride in a Fast Machine Twentieth Century Terms glissandopolychordfourth chord tone clusterpolytonalitybitonality atonalitypolyrhythmostinato impressionismpentatonic scalewhole-tone scale neoclassicismprimitivismexpressionism Sprechstimmetwelve-tone systemtone row; set; series serialismminimalist music chance music; aleatory music quotation musicmicrotonesNon-Western Music Overview (Chapt. 1) While nonwestern music reflects the diversity of the world’s social and economic systems, languages, religions, and geographical conditions, there are some features common to most musical traditions. A distinction can be drawn between the script tradition of European cultures and the oral tradition of nonwestern music. Also important are improvisational traditions and vocal techniques.

In nonwestern music, melody, rhythm, and texture in contrast to harmony and polyphony, and the interaction between nonwestern and western music, are all important topics. Chapt. 2) The African continent can be divided into two large geographical areas, and this chapter focuses on the music of the countries below the Sahara Desert. Topics of discussion also include: the place of music in society, permeating virtually all aspects of African life, some of the more important instrument types and ensembles, including the mbira and “talking drums,” and African texture, vocal techniques, and performance practices. A representative work described in this chapter is Ompeh, a song from Ghana. (Chapt. 3)A brief survey of music and musicians in India typically focuses on the elements of Indian classical music.

The melodic and rhythmic structures (ragas and talas), and the correct identification of the roles of typical Indian instruments, such as the sitar, tabla, and tambura, are also crucial topics in the understanding of music from this region. Ravi Shankar’s Maru-Bihag is representative of Indian classical music. Non-Western Listening Song from Ghana Ompeh Ravi Shankar Maru-Bihag Non-Western Terms membranophonechordophoneaerophone idiophoneheterphonycall and response tamburaragatala sitartabla

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