What to hand in for Encounter 3?—

• Part I: Give Group Presentation Three and hand in a one-page summary of your presentation notes and a bibliography in MLA format with at least eight sources (due on the day of the presentation).
• Part II: Before the due date, do a one-on-one Zoom meeting with Doc Harbold to discuss your final paper topic choice. On the due date, hand in your final paper topic choice, including the title, a one-paragraph summary of the paper’s content, and a list of your primary (not secondary) sources.
• Listening: Nothing to hand in for the listening assignment. The Early Romantics Quiz will test you on this material.

• Burkholder, J. Peter. A History of Western Music, 10th ed. W.W. Norton, 2019.
• Chapter 25—The Romantic Generation: Song and Piano Music, pp. 580-617
• Chapter 26—Romanticism in Classic Forms: Choral, Chamber, and Orchestral Music, pp. 618-645
• Chapter 27—Romantic Opera and Musical Theater to Midcentury, pp. 646-670
• Burkholder, J. Peter. Norton Anthology of Western Music, Vol. 2, 8th. ed. W.W. Norton, 2019. (NAWM)
• NAWM 132-152, pp. 394-830
• Berlioz, Hector. Evenings with the Orchestra, ed. and trans. Jacques Barzun. University of Chicago Press, 1999. (RESERVE)
• Third Evening [Weber, Der Freischütz], p. 52
• Fourth Evening: A Debut in Freischütz, pp. 53-57
• Schumann, Robert. On Music and Musicians, ed. Konrad Wolff, trans. Paul Rosenfeld. W.W. Norton, 1969. (RESERVE)
• Liszt as performer, pp. 155-157
• Wingell, Richard J. Writing about Music: An Introductory Guide, 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, 2002.
• Ch. 6, “Other Kinds of Writing Projects: The Seminar Presentation,” pp. 83-88. (RESERVE)

I. Group Presentation Three
Early & Late Romantics

For detailed instructions and guidelines for all group presentations this spring, go to the Group Presentations Guidelines webpage. Visit this page for information on presentation format, what to turn in, bibliography, and other useful items.

Here are the five pieces from NAWM (Norton Anthology of Western Music) for the Encounter 3 group presentations.

• Group I—NAWM 147, Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, Movement I. Allegro molto appassionato—Wednesday, March 10
• Group II—NAWM 155, Puccini, Madama Butterfly, Act I excerpt—Monday, March 15
• Group III—NAWM 156, Bizet, Carmen, Act I, No. 10. Seguidilla and Duet—Wednesday, March 17
• Group IV—NAWM 153a, Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, Prelude—Friday, March 19
• Group V—NAWM 160, Brahms, Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98, Movement IV. Allegro energico e passionato—Monday, March 22

Here are the general questions every group must answer about their work:

• Who is the composer?
• Where would this music be performed?
• Who would perform it? Who would be there to listen? Who would not be there?
• Who would benefit or profit from the performance?
• What function would this work serve in the performance context?
• What is the genre?
• Which features of your piece are typical of that genre?
• How are these works typical of early Romantic style (Mendelssohn) or late Romantic style (the other four works)?
• What features are unusual or unique to your work?
• Which two or three elements of music are most important in each major section of your work?
• Melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, texture, color (timbre), form, and/or text setting?
• Describe how those most essential elements are used.
• What is the key of your work?
• Describe the form (sections, phrase relationships, and so on).
• For your close analysis, include an analytical chart in your Powerpoint that shows each major section. Identify the key and measure numbers for each major section. Browse through NAWM for examples of charts you can use as models.
• If there are words, identify specific techniques used to depict or express the text.
• If your work is an opera, summarize the overall story told in your work. What exactly is happening in your scene? How does the music support that?
• What performances practices would be used in singing and/or playing this piece?

Here are the specific questions for each individual group:

• Group I—Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, I—How does this concerto by Mendelssohn compare with Beethoven in its musical style and its use of sonata form? As an example of absolute music, how does this work compare with program works like Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique? Why is Mendelssohn often described as a Classic Romantic?
• Group II—Puccini, Madama Butterfly, Act I excerpt—What elements in this scene foreshadow the opera’s tragic ending? What Japanese elements does Puccini use in this opera? What American elements does he use? Are these Japanese melodies just window dressing or are they integrated into the style of this work? Is this an example of cultural appropriation? Explain.
• Group III—Bizet, Carmen, Act I, No. 10. Seguidilla and Duet—Explain why this opera with its tragic ending originally premiered at the Paris Opéra Comique? Are there features of French grand opera in this work? What Spanish elements does Bizet use in this opera? What effect do they have on the style and the storytelling? What do we learn about Carmen’s personality in this scene? What do we learn about Don José’s personality?
• Group IV—Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, Prelude—Based on your reading of the NAWM 153 commentary and the Guide to Some Leitmotives from Tristan und Isolde, describe how Wagner uses leitmotives in this Prelude. What do each of these leitmotives symbolize? How do they foreshadow events that will take place later in the opera? How does Wagner’s use of leitmotives change the role of the orchestra? Why does Wagner call this work a music drama instead of an opera? How is a music drama different from earlier operas?
• Group V—Brahms, Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98, IV—What makes this work an example of absolute music? Why does Brahms use an old Baroque variation form in this movement? What is a passacaglia? How does Brahms use his eight-measure passacaglia theme in subsequent variations? Can you make the case that Brahms superimposes a large-scale ternary form over this variation form movement? Explain. Is Brahms more traditional or more progressive? Explain.

II. Final Paper Preparation

On the due date, hand in your final choice for a paper topic. Include the paper title, write a one-paragraph summary of your thoughts about the paper’s content, and identify the primary sources you will use. Click here for more information about the paper.

Listening Assignment 3

Romantic Song, Character Pieces, Classic Forms, & Opera

Notes on the Early Romantics Quiz

• Composer, title, & section
• Genre—character piece? French grand opera? German Romantic opera? Italian bel canto opera? Italian opera buffa? Lied? program symphony? string quintet? symphony? violin concerto?
• Form or vocal type—cabaletta? cantabile? ensemble (duet, trio, etc.)? chorus? melodrama? sonata form? sonata-rondo form? strophic form? through-composed form? other?
• Two style features (present in the excerpt) that are typical of the composer
• Style features describe how a specific composer uses elements of music (melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, color, instrumentation, form, etc.)—simply saying “rhythm” or “texture” is not an answer!
• Answer any additional questions drawn from Study Questions as described above

Study Questions

The best way to do well on quizzes, exams, and other assignments in this course is to know the assigned listening well. Listen to each work below as often as you can, study the scores, and learn what the NAWM notes say about each one. For each work you want to be able to answer the following Study Questions:

• What is the genre?
• What is its form?
• Which features are typical of Romantic style? Which are not?
• Which features are unique or unusual?
• How does the composer use the elements of music? What features of the work are typical of the composer’s style? What features are not?
• To answer this, look at the ways the composer uses melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, texture, color (timbre), form, text setting, and so on
• How does the work compare with other works in the listening assignment (especially those in the same genre)?
• For every song, character piece, program work, and opera on the Listening List: What are the words about? What is the story? What is the composer trying to express?

Additional Study Questions below will draw attention to particularly interesting, unique features of particular works. These Study Questions and recordings together will help you prepare for the Early Romantics Quiz. They require no written report.

Return to top
 

Encounter 3 Listening List

A. The Romantic Generation: Song & Lied

A2) Naxos—An die Musik album (Bryn Terfel & Malcolm Martineau)

• Franz Schubert, Erlkönig (Lied)—track 11
• Score and translation: Blackboard Assignment Resources module—Encounter Listening—Encounter 3—Schubert Erlkönig

A3) NAWM 133—Robert Schumann, Dichterliebe (song cycle)

• 133a—No. 1: Im wunderschönen Monat Mai (Lied)
• 133b—No. 2: Aus meinen Tranen spiesen (Lied)
• 133c—No. 7: Ich grolle nicht (Lied)
• 133d—No. 12: Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen (Lied)
• 133e—No. 16: Die alten, bösen Lieder (Lied)

Study Questions on Group A:

• For each song, first read the poem. Try to figure out what kind of musical expression should be used and whether the poem calls for a strophic or a through-composed setting. Then listen.
• a. For each song, did the composer’s musical expression of the poem sound the way you expected?
• b. For each song, what form is used? Strophic? Through-composed? Something in between (modified strophic?)? Does this fit with the poem’s structure?
• In Erlkönig, how does Schubert let us know (musically) which character is singing—narrator, father, son, or erlking? How does Schubert contrast the real, natural world in which the father lives with the supernatural realm of the erlking? In what ways is this song frightening?
• Based on Robert Schumann’s music for Im wunderschönen Monat Mai, does he understand the poem or not? Explain.

B. The Romantic Generation: The Virtuoso & the Character Piece

B1) Naxos—Paganini 24 Caprices album (Julia Fischer)

• Niccolò Paganini, Caprice No. 24 in A Minor (character piece)—track 24
• Score: Blackboard Assignment Resources module—Encounter Listening—Encounter 3—Paganini Caprices

B2) NAWM 136—Robert Schumann, Carnaval, Op. 9 (cycle of character pieces)

• 136a—Eusebius (character piece)
• 136b—Florestan (character piece)
• Alternate Recording:VIDEO 784.262 C615—Claudio Arrau DVD

B3) NAWM 137—Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Das Jahr (cycle of character pieces)

• No. 12: December (character piece)

B4) NAWM 138—Fryderyk Chopin, Mazurka in B-flat Major, Op. 7, No. 1 (character piece)

B5) NAWM 139—Fryderyk Chopin, Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2 (character piece)

B6) NAWM 140—Franz Liszt, Trois études en concert, No. 3: Un sospiro (character piece)

B7) NAWM 141—Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Souvenir de Porto Rico (Marche des Gibaros), Op. 31 (character piece)

Study Questions on Group B:

• Romantic character pieces are short, Romantic works for solo piano that convey a specific mood or character—and never the same mood twice! They go by many different names—nocturnes, preludes, etudes, songs without words, album leaves, and so on. What mood does each piece express? How does each composer express these moods musically? Are these works absolute music, program music, or somewhere in between? Can you fully appreciate, enjoy, understand these pieces without knowing if the composer intended any specific extra-musical associations?
• Carnaval includes two short works based on Schumann’s alter egos, Eusebius and Florestan. What does the music tell us about these two figures?
• Do you notice any similarities between the Chopin nocturne and Casta diva from Bellini’s Norma below?
• Read pp. 155-157 in Robert Schumann, On Music and Musicians. Does Schumann’s description of Liszt as performer ring true as you listen to Un sospiro?

C. Romanticism in Classic Forms

• mvmt. v: “Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath”
• Alternate Recording: Berlioz Rediscovered DVD (chapter 6)—RESERVE VIDEO 784.184 B511s

C2) NAWM 147—Felix Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 (violin concerto)

• mvmt. i: Allegro molto appassionato (sonata form)

C3) NAWM 148—Robert Schumann, Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38 (Spring) (symphony)

• mvmt. i: Andante un poco maestoso—Allegro molto vivace (sonata form)

C4) NAWM 144—Franz Schubert, String Quintet in C Major, D. 956 (string quintet)

• mvmt. i: Allegro ma non troppo (sonata form)

C5) NAWM 145—Clara Schumann, Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 17 (piano trio)

• mvmt. iii: Andante (ternary form)

C6) NAWM 143—Felix Mendelssohn, St. Paul, Op. 36 (oratorio)

• 143c—No. 15: Mache dich auf, werde Licht (chorus)
• 143d—No. 16: Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (chorale)

Study Questions on Group C:

• The shadow of Beethoven looms over these early Romantic composers, especially in the realm of instrumental music (cf. Dannhauser painting in Beethoven lecture notes). How do these instrumental works by Berlioz, Mendelssohn, the Schumanns, and Schubert compare with Beethoven in their musical style and their use of form, especially sonata form?
• Beginning with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral), program music became an important new Romantic genre, especially in orchestral music. Program music is instrumental music that “tells a story or follows a narrative or other sequence of events.” This Berlioz symphony is an excellent example of program music; in fact, this is the first work for which a composer supplied a written program! What links do you hear between the music and the program Berlioz provided for this movement (see NAWM or Assignment Resources module—Encounter Readings)? What would you think of this music without knowing the program? Can you figure out the form? Why or why not? Is the form even important in this movement? What is most important here?
• What is new, weird, or striking about Berlioz’s use of the orchestra?
• Do you need to know the “story” to appreciate, enjoy, or understand program music? How do the examples of absolute music (Mendelssohn, Schumanns, & Schubert) compare with the program work by Berlioz? Which is more original? Which is more carefully crafted? Which would you rather listen to?
• Why is Mendelssohn often described as a Classic Romantic?

D. Early Romantic Opera

• Act I, no. 7: Una voce poco fa (cantabile and cabaletta)

• Act I, scene 4: Casta diva (cantabile)

• Act II, closing scene (ensemble and chorus)

• Act II, Finale: “Wolf’s Glen Scene” (melodrama)

Study Questions on Group D:

• Opera underwent many changes in the Romantic era. In each excerpt, what is the story? How does each composer use the music, voice(s), and orchestra to tell the story. For each different composer, which was more important: music, voice, or orchestra? Consider specific musical elements such as melody, accompaniment, tempo, texture, vocal or instrumental effects, and so on.
• Weber’s opera struck such a nerve with German audiences that it became the quintessential German Romantic opera, the work that defined the genre for all subsequent composers. How does this work differ from any operatic work we’ve heard before? For instance, what’s different or unusual about Weber’s story and his handling of the orchestra? Pay special attention to Weber’s use of melodrama (spoken word with orchestral accompaniment). How does your reaction to this opera compare with Berlioz’s description (Berlioz, Evenings with the Orchestra, pp. 52-57—on RESERVE)?