Unit 6

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Reading and Quizzes

NotesLinks to an external site.

 

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Classical Music Overview

Step 1

  • Listen to the 3 examples below to answer the following questions

  1. Share your overall impression of Classical Music. 

    1. It's much cleaner/simpler than Baroque music. For example, the first Mozart piece has short shorts supporting a smooth upper melody with a few trill ornaments. This is a very simple, clean end result. In the Haydn piece it is very similar; there are pitz strings in the lower pitch supporting a violin melody that is simple and nice on the ears. 
  2. How does this music sound similar to Baroque Music?

    1. Specifically in the Marriage of Figaro there is a resemblance to Baroque music due to the counterpoint used and the "busier" style. It is full of energy and grandeur, just like the Baroque period would like. 
  3. How does this music sound different from Baroque Music?

    1. Baroque music is much busier and focused on ornamentals and improvisation. Grandeur and drama (like in the opera) were all the rage, which is a huge difference compared to the classy, elegant, simple style of the classical period. 

A.  Mozart DivertimentoLinks to an external site.

B.  Haydn SerenadeLinks to an external site.

C.  Mozart FigaroLinks to an external site.

 

Step 2

 

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Period Research

Step 1

  • Gather resources of your own choosing to answer the following questions

1.  Provide approximate dates for the Classical Period punctuated with notable world/historical events.

July 28, 1750- Bach Dies 

Jan 27, 1756- Mozart is Born

1764-  Mozart's first is composed

Dec 16, 1770- Beethoven is Born

1770- First New York Performance of Messiah 

1775- 1783 American Revolutionary War 

1789- Beginning of the French Revolution 

1791- Paris Conservatory of Music Founded

1799- Beethoven's First Symphony Completed

1809- Haydn Dies 

1819- Beethoven is now completely deaf :( 

2.  Describe similar qualities and characteristics of Classical Period Art, Architecture and Music.

Characterized by the Enlightenment Movement and the newly found science of archeology,  art and architecture of the Classical Period was made with an intent to represent the era. It was an attempt to preserve the time like bones preserved in the ground. It was much less ornamental than the Baroque art and architecture and had a stern, unemotional aspect to them (heroic like the Classical art of Greece and Rome). Similarly, the music of this time was elegant and simple, following the pattern of downsizing after the Baroque era. However, use of contrast in a piece was at an all time high with dynamics and articulations gaining some vocabulary (and common use). 

3.   In what ways has listening to the music of Mozart  been linked to I.Q. and Intellect? linkLinks to an external site.

Dubbed the "Mozart effect", it is believed that listening to Mozart can boost your spatial IQ score by up to 10 points. However, this effect lasts only 10-15 minutes, meaning you have to constantly listen to Mozart to always reap the benefits. However, when this test was done to mice in utero, the mice who heard Mozart completed a maze — 60 days later — faster than two other groups (one listened to Glass, one to white noise). This means we have more to find out about the Mozart effect!

4.  Cite examples of why Vienna was thought of as the 'Cultural Capital of the World' during the Classical Period.

1) More famous composers have lived in Vienna than any other city in the world! Many were drawn to Vienna in this period due to the Habsburg dynasty and the amount of aristocrats present in the city. Due to the influx of composers, performances, instrument production, sheet music printing, etc. all skyrocketed in the city. Not to mention, this is Mozart's birthplace (which I got to see!). He was no doubt incredibly famous and helped Vienna get its reputation as the Cultural Capital of the World. 


5.  What two instruments were invented and made famous during this time period?

1) The piano 

2) The clarinet :)

6.  What are 2 features that distinguish the harpsichord from the piano?

1) the ability to sustain notes using pedals

2) the method of making sound (harpsichord= pluck, piano= struck with a mallet) 

3) the ability to control dynamics 

7.  Provide the following Mannheim School trivia: History, Composers & Musical Innovations(i.e. The Mannheim Rocket)

The Mannheim School was an important group of German composers that wrote music for the court orchestra of Mannheim, Germany. They created an entire new style of orchestral music that was the baseline for the Viennese School. They specialized in long crescendos, dramatic dynamic changes, homophonic texture, long pauses, tremolo, and broken chords (in string parts). They were essential in the transition from the Baroque into the Classical Period, and relished in the abandonment of Baroque fugal and imitative styles. They also expanded the orchestra to include wind parts, and popularized the four movement structure. The Mannheim Rocket is a single movement piece composed by John Corigiliano. It is made to represent the "Mannheim crescendo" which grows louder as it gets higher. 

Two generations of composers: 

1) Johann Stamitz (founder of this style),  Ignaz Holzbauer, Franz Xaver Richter,  and Carlo Giuseppe Toeschi.

2) Anton Filtz, Johann Christian Cannabich,  Anton and Karl Stamitz, and Franz Bec

 

Step 2

  1. Who was Haydn’s Patron?

    1. Esterházy was Haydn's patron. This family helped reconnect Haydn's body and head. 
  2. What was it that people were hoping to discover by studying Haydn’s head?

    1. Not many were able to study the head of a genius; they mostly were allowed to study criminals and such. They believed that intellect was tied to the shape of the head and were eager to study the head of a musical genius. 
  3. Describe the events in 1954 that led up to reuniting Haydn’s skull with the rest of his remains.

    1. A mausoleum was being created to honor Haydn, and when they dug up his body to move him, his head was gone. They searched Rosenbalms house but his wife hid the head under her skirt. When he died, he left the head to the Music Society of Vienna. Eventually the head turned up at the museum and The Society of the Friends of Music sued for its return. They continued to display the head. After pressure from the Esterházy family, it was returned to the body. 
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America during the Classical Period

Step 1

  • What characteristics from Francis Hopkinson, My Days Have Been So Wondrous FreeLinks to an external site.(original signer of the Declaration of Independence and first Classical composer born in America) sounds "American" to you?

    • Firstly, the piano accompaniment is full to the brim with perfect intervals. Secondly, the vocalist uses an extremely grand voice/performance skills which just scream freedom. 

 

Step 2

  • Boston born William Billings, considered to be the foremost representative of early American Music composed ChesterLinks to an external site., the original National Anthem, between 1770 and 1778, as the Revolutionary War was brewing. The hymn-like song was a call to resistance against the British.  What musical elements made this a good National Anthem?

(Musical Elements; Pitch, Rhythm, Dynamics, Tempo, Texture, Timbre, Form, Purpose, Harmony, Melody, Expression, Mood, Language, Style, etc.)

The bright, brass-y timbre at the moderate tempo create an image of an army wind band. There is then a pause, and then a fanfare-like solo with more brass counterpoint added in. The imitation creates a forwards feeling that leads us to a new theme, snare roll, and then a grand recap of the main theme. The contrast between the grand and melodic sections keep the listener interested and a march-feel at the end has an extremely patriotic feel. In other words, you have American scenic beauty but you also have snare-drum-fan-fare-march patriotism. I like this better than the actual national anthem. 

 

Scene from HBO miniseries, John AdamsLinks to an external site.

 

Text from Chester

Let tyrants shake their iron rod,
And Slav'ry clank her galling chains,
We fear them not, we trust in God,
New England's God forever reigns.

The Foe comes on with haughty Stride;
Our troops advance with martial noise,
Their Vet'rans flee before our Youth,
And Gen'rals yield to beardless Boys.

What grateful Off'ring shall we bring?
What shall we render to the Lord?
Loud Hallelujahs let us Sing,
And praise his name on ev'ry Chord.

 

Step 3

  • Provide 4 nuggets of trivia per topic using the following resources

  1. William BillingsLinks to an external site.

    1.  He was largely self-trained in music due to his impoverished background. 
    2. He "looked like a gargoyle" with one blind eye, a short leg, and a withered arm. 
    3.  He was addicted to tobacco, had a damaged voice, and didn't care for "beauty of sound". 
    4. He published the first book of American Music, and he claimed that nature was his sole muse. 
  2. Folk Music In Colonial AmericaLinks to an external site.

    1.  The violin was almost the only one played in America and was called the fiddle. 
    2.  Thomas Jefferson played the fiddle. 
    3.  Fiddle competitions were common, and Jefferson might have entered some in his youth. 
    4. The "fire dance" was a dance around a fire to a fiddle, at midnight. 
  3. The Original National Anthem Links to an external site.

    1. The original, unofficial national anthem was "Chester",written by Billings 
    2.  The current one was, originally, an English drinking song, set to a poem by Francis Scott Key. 
    3.  Its first name was To Anacreon In Heaven.
    4. William Billings composed an alternative national anthem... and we picked the drinking song instead. 
  4. Francis HopkinsonLinks to an external site.

    1. He was a politician, and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. 
    2.  He wrote a satire piece on the Constitutional Convention.
    3.  He was an accomplished harpsichord player and wrote a songbook in his later years.
    4.  His music teacher is thought to be James Bremner. 
  5. Lowell MasonLinks to an external site.

    1.  He was responsible for removing spirited congressional singing out of the Northeast. 
    2.  He pumped "dull" secular music into schooling systems. 
    3.  His hymns were "watery", "dull", and boring in harmony. 
    4. He sold these hymns. 

 

Step 4

  • Describe the timbre of the Glass ArmonicaLinks to an external site. invented by Ben Franklin and describe how it works

    • Spinning on a rod, the Glass Armonica is a set of finely tuned glass cups that are played by resting your hand above them. The rod is through the bottom the glasses (cushioned with cork) which are nested within each other. They are based off of water glass playing. 
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HONORS TRACK

Can Wolfie Come out and play?

Use the following resources to research Mozart's Concerti

Mozart ConcertosLinks to an external site.

Top 10Links to an external site.

Complete ConcertosLinks to an external site.

Complete WorksLinks to an external site.

1.  What is a Concerto? 

A concerto is a musical composition for a solo instrument, also accompanied by an orchestra. Typically has three movements: fast, slow, faster. 

2.  How many did Mozart compose?

Around 47, for all instruments. 27 just for piano. 

3.  What instruments were featured?

Piano (mainly), violin, horn, bassoon, flute, oboe, clarinet, trumpet, cello. (trumpet and cello were lost). 

4.  What key signatures were used?

This is a mean question. Majors: D, Bb, F, C, Eb, A, G, E

Minors: D, C

5.  What is your favorite Mozart Concerto?  Why?

Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor

1) I love minor keys way too much, and C minor is a favorite of mine. 

2) I LOVE the oboe solo at the beginning and the way in leads into the flute line and then counterpoint. It's very elegant. 

3) Flute descending line into the really fat, loud chord is so great. It happens a lot and every time I am pleased. 

4) I believe it uses the harmonic minor a lot and I love the descending line within that key. It is somewhat spooky and I love it (also its almost Halloween so I'm in a spooky mood).  

5) funny enough, my favorite part of this concerto does not include the piano. I just really love the counterpoint in the woodwinds. The piano at about 12 minutes blends into it all though, and gives off a Nightmare Before Christmas vibe that I like. The second movement is so dreamy and light and provides great contrast (a breath of fresh air you could say). The third movement gets spooky and angry again and I LOVE it! 

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