Music 344—Encounter 4
Late Romanticism
Readings
I. Group Presentation Four
II. Paper Preparation
Listening Assignment 4
Tristan und Isolde Leitmotiv Guide
Extra Credit Listening
Due Dates: Part I due on the date of your presentation
Part II Final bibliography for final paper due Monday, March 22, 2021

What to hand in for Encounter 4?—

  • Part I: Give Group Presentation Four 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: Final bibliography for the Final Paper (see requirements in Final Paper Preparation below).
  • Listening: Nothing to hand in for the listening assignment. The Romanticism Unit Exam will test you on this material.

Readings—

  • Burkholder, J. Peter. A History of Western Music, 10th ed. W.W. Norton, 2019.
    • Chapter 28: Opera and Musical Theater in the Later Nineteenth Century, pp. 671-710
    • Chapter 29: Late Romanticism in Germany and Austria, pp. 711-730
    • Chapter 30: Diverging Traditions in the Later Nineteenth Century, pp. 731-753
  • Burkholder, J. Peter. Norton Anthology of Western Music, Vol. 2, 8th ed. W.W. Norton, 2019. (NAWM)
    • NAWM 153-168, pp. 831-1265
  • Hanslick, Eduard. Hanslick’s Music Criticisms 1846-99, ed. and trans. Henry Pleasants. Dover Publications, 1988. (RESERVE)
    • on Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (1883)—pp. 214-227
    • on Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 (1886)—pp. 243-245
  • Weiss, Piero and Richard Taruskin. Music in the Western World: A History in Documents. Schirmer/Thomson Learning, 1984. (RESERVE)
    • From the Writings of Wagner, Wagner’s program note on the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde, pp. 375-377
  • Wingell, Richard J. Writing about Music: An Introductory Guide, 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, 2002. (RESERVE)
    • Chapter 6: “Other Kinds of Writing Projects,” “Concert Reports,” and “Program Notes,” pp. 88-97
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I. Group Presentation Four
Postromanticism & the Early 20th Century

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 4 group presentations.

  • Group INAWM 170, Mahler, Kindertotenlieder, No. 1. “Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n”—Wednesday, March 24
  • Group IINAWM 173a, Ravel, Rapsodie espagnole, I. Prélude à la nuit—Monday, April 5
  • Group IIINAWM 182a, Berg, Wozzeck, Act III, Scene 2—Wednesday, April 7
  • Group IVNAWM 184b, Stravinsky, Le Sacre du printemps, Part II. Danse sacrale—Friday, April 9
  • Group VNAWM 186, Hindemith, Mathis der Maler Symphony, Movement II. Grablegung—Monday, April 12

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 their style?
    • Postromanticism (Mahler), Impressionism (Ravel), Expressionism (Berg), Primitivism (Rite of Spring), or Neoclassicism (Hindemith)?
    • What features are unusual or unique to your work?
  • Is your work a modernist work or not? (Modernism is rooted in the conviction that older forms and genres are no longer valid or viable in the modern age.)
  • 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 a song, an opera, or a ballet, summarize the overall story told in your work. What exactly is happening in your excerpt? 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—Mahler, Kindertotenlieder, No. 1. “Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n”— Mahler’s life and music present us with many contradictions. He fell seriously ill in 1901 and almost died. He composed both this song and Symphony No. 5 during this period of personal crisis and convalescence. What do you learn about Mahler from studying this song? The musical setting is often in tension with, if not at odds with, the words Mahler sets. What elements of his text setting suggest an ironic approach? Mahler calls for a full orchestra in the score, but how does he use the orchestra in this song? What elements make this a modernist work?
  • Group II—Ravel, Rapsodie espagnole, I. Prélude à la nuit—What features of this work point to the Spanish influence implied by the title? Which elements reflect the influence of Ravel’s Impressionist colleague Debussy? Which elements reflect the influence of Russian composers like Rimsky-Korsakov? How does Ravel use tone color in this work? What role does the octatonic scale play in this first movement? How does Ravel create ambiguity? What makes this a modernist work?
  • Group III—Berg, Wozzeck, Act III, Scene 2—Who is Wozzeck? What events in his life drive him to commit murder in this scene? Berg calls this scene an Invention on a single note. How does the composer use that single note (B) in this scene? How does the pitch B interact with the dialogue and the action in this scene. What is its overall dramatic effect? What techniques does Berg use to make this work atonal? What makes this a modernist work?
    (NOTE: This is an Expressionist work, but NOT a 12-tone work. The 12-tone method was invented after Berg composed Wozzeck.)
  • Group IV—Stravinsky, Le Sacre du printemps, Part II. Danse sacrale—Why did the Rite of Spring cause a “riot” at its première? What is going on in this scene? Does Stravinsky use any elements of Russian folk music in this score? How does Stravinsky create and use tonal centers? What is the importance of rhythm in this work? What techniques does the composer use to undermine a sense of meter in this scene? How does Stravinsky use the orchestra and juxtaposition as he builds to his climaxes? What makes this a modernist work?
  • Group V—Hindemith, Mathis der Maler Symphony, II. Grablegung—What is the relationship between Hindemith’s opera, Mathis der Maler, and this three-movement symphony? Who is “Mathias the Painter,” and what aspects of his work inspired Hindemith to compose this symphony? How does this movement portray the scene depicted in the “Entombment” panel from the Isenheim Altarpiece? Describe the composer’s use of harmony and tonality and their role in expressing the form of this movement. What makes this a modernist work? Describe Hindemith’s relationship with the Nazi government.

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II. Final Paper Preparation

Turn in a “final” (word-processed) bibliography. To make sure you have enough stuff in your bibliography, double-check the section on The Research on the Music 344 Research Paper web page. Entries must be arranged alphabetically by last name of the author, and you must use MLA format. MLA guidelines can be found online, or you can consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (ask for it at the Reference Desk). Library work should be nearly done now, but you can add additional sources if you find new leads—please follow up on references to new sources. Remember Dr. Fuller’s comments on “Complete Bibliographic Control”!

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Listening Assignment 4

Late Romanticism

Notes on the Romanticism Unit Exam

For the Listening/Score Excerpts portion of the Romanticism Unit Exam, you will see score excerpts from the Listening List below. Any examples below are fair game. Recordings are from NRAWM unless otherwise indicated. For each excerpt you will identify the following:
  • Composer, title, & section
  • Genre—music drama? opera? operetta? orchestral Lied? symphonic poem? symphony?
  • 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 Study Questions adapted from Listening Assignment 4 Study Questions below

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?
  • What features are typical of Romantic style? Which are not?
  • How does the composer use the elements of music? What features of the work are typical of the 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)?
  • What features of the work are unique or unusual?
  • For the operas, songs, and program works on the Listening List, what is the story? How does each composer use the music, voice(s), and orchestra to tell the story. Which was most important for each composer: music, voices, or orchestra? Consider specific musical elements where necessary, such as melody, accompaniment, tempo, texture, vocal or instrumental effects, and so on.
  • What differences do you notice between Italian, German, French, and Russian operas?

In some cases, 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 Romanticism Exam. They require no written report.

Encounter 4 Listening List

After the bloom of early Romanticism, Romantic styles diverged and moved in many different directions. Before you listen, do the readings above and compile short lists of style features (for your own use, not to hand in)—one for each of these important late Romantic composers: Verdi, Wagner, Musorgsky, Brahms, & Mahler. Challenge yourself to identify these features as you listen to works by these composers. The listening materials below will give you practice recognizing these works, genres, forms, and their style features. As always, you really want to read the NAWM notes and follow the score for every work from NAWM!

A. Verdi & Later Italian Opera

A1) NAWM 154—Giuseppe Verdi, La traviata (Italian opera)

  • Act III, Scena and Duet
    • Alternate Recording: Verdi, La traviata DVD—Library RESERVE VIDEO 782.1 T782

A2) Naxos—Verdi Aida album (Montserrat Caballé, Plácido Domingo, Muti & New Philharmonia Orchestra)

A3) NAWM 155—Giacomo Puccini, Madama Butterfly (Italian opera)

  • Act I Excerpt—“Vieni, amor mio!” “E’un presente del Mikado,” “Tutti zitti,” & “Cho-cho-san!”

A4) Naxos—Puccini Madama Butterfly album (Mirella Freni, Karajan & Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra)

  • Giacomo Puccini, Madama Butterfly (Italian opera)
    • Act II. Un bel dì (aria)—track 18
    • Score and translation: Blackboard Assignment Resources module—Encounter Listening—Encounter 4—Puccini Madama Butterfly

Study Questions on Group A:

  • What role does exoticism play in these operas by Verdi and Puccini? Is it just window dressing or is it pervasive in these works?

B. Wagnerian Music Drama

B1) NAWM 153—Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde (German music drama)

  • NAWM 153a—Prelude to Act I
    • Alternate Recording: Wagner, Tristan und Isolde DVD1 (chapter 1)—Library RESERVE VIDEO 782.1 T838
  • NAWM 153b—Act I, Scene 5 (excerpt)
    • Alternate Recording: Wagner, Tristan und Isolde DVD1 (chapter 7, starting at 1:10:00)—Library RESERVE VIDEO 782.1 T838

B2) Naxos—Richard Wagner - Tristan und Isolde album (Birgit Nilsson, Böhm & Bayreuth Festival Orchestra)

  • Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde (German music drama)
    • Act III. Liebestod (aria)—track 29
    • Score, translation and alternate recording: Blackboard Assignment Resources module—Encounter Listening—Encounter 4—Wagner Tristan und Isolde
    • Alternate Recording: Wagner, Tristan und Isolde DVD2 (chapter 12)—Library RESERVE VIDEO 782.1 T838

Sudy Questions on Group B:

  • Before you listen to the Tristan und Isolde excerpts, read the NAWM 153 commentary and the Guide to Some Leitmotives from Tristan und Isolde below. To guide your listening, find these leitmotives and circle them in your NAWM score. In what ways do the leitmotives help you understand what’s going on? How does Wagner’s use of leitmotives change the role of the orchestra? What is Hanslick’s opinion of Tristan und Isolde (see his concert review in Hanslick, pp. 214-227)?
  • Why does Wagner call this work a music drama instead of an opera?
  • Tristan has just died as Isolde begins to sing the Liebestod. Read the words (see Encounter Listening in Blackboard) before you listen. What is the meaning of Isolde’s vision? What do Wagner’s program notes (Weiss & Taruskin, pp. 375-377) tell us about the story and the music?

C. Other Late Romantic Opera Traditions

C1) NAWM 156—Georges Bizet, Carmen (French opéra comique)

  • Act I, No. 10: Seguidilla & Duet

C2) NAWM 158—Modest Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov (Russian grand opera)

  • Coronation Scene
    • Alternate Recording: Modest Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov DVD1 (chapter 5)—Library RESERVE VIDEO 782.1 B734

C3) NAWM 159—Arthur Sullivan, The Pirates of Penzance (English operetta)

  • When the foeman bares his steel (chorus and ensemble)

Study Questions on Group C:

  • How are these examples influenced by Italian opera, Wagner, and/or grand opera?
  • Which operas above provide good examples of exoticism? of nationalism? How does nationalism differ from exoticism? How are exoticism and nationalism expressed in the music? For instance, what Russian elements can you hear in Boris Godunov?
  • What do Musorgsky’s comments (Weiss & Taruskin, pp. 394-396) add to your understanding of his music?

D. Late Romantic Orchestral Music

D1) NAWM 160—Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 4 in E minor (symphony)

  • mvmt. iv (passacaglia form)
    • Alternate Period-Instrument Recording: Blackboard Assignment Resources module—Encounter Listening—Encounter 4—Brahms Symphony No. 4

D2) NAWM 162—Richard Strauss, Don Quixote, Op. 35 (symphonic poem)

  • Themes and Variations 1-2 (theme and variations form)

D3a) NAWM 170 (Vol. 3)—Gustav Mahler, Kindertotenlieder (song cycle)

D3b) Naxos—Christian Gerhaher – Mahler album (Christian Gerhaher, Nagano & Montreal Symphony)

  • Gustav Mahler, Kindertotenlieder (song cycle)
    • No. 5: In diesem Wetter (orchestral Lied)—track 9
    • Score and translation: Blackboard Assignment Resources module—Encounter Listening—Encounter 4—Mahler, Kindertotenlieder, No. 5 “In diesem Wetter”

D4) Naxos—Gustav Mahler – Symphony No. 5 album (Abbado & Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra)

  • Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 5 (symphony)
    • mvmt. iv: Adagietto—track 4
    • Score: Blackboard Assignment Resources module—Encounter Listening—Encounter 4—Mahler, Symphony No. 5, IV. Adagietto

D5) Naxos—Mahler 8 album (Chailly & Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra)

  • Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand (choral symphony)
    • mvmt. ii: Chorus mysticus (from Alles Vergängliche to end)—track 18
    • Score and translation: Blackboard Assignment Resources module—Encounter Listening—Encounter 4—Mahler Symphony No. 8

D6) NAWM 165—Piotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Pathétique (symphony)

  • mvmt. iii: Allegro molto vivace (sonata form without development?)

D7) NAWM 178 (Vol. 3)—Jan Sibelius, Symphony No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 63 (symphony)

  • mvmt. iii: Il tempo largo (rotational form)

Study Questions on Group D:

  • Where does each work fit in the absolute vs. programme music controversy?
  • Which works above are representative of Postromanticism? Which are representative of nationalism?
  • The Brahms symphony movement uses passacaglia form, an older Baroque variation form! In the Baroque passacaglia, a short theme (4 to 8 bars) repeats continuously, usually in the bass line. Brahms announces his 8-measure theme in the winds and brass right at the beginning (E-F sharp-G-A-A sharp-B-low B-E—one note per measure) and repeats it in each subsequent 8-measure group’sometimes in the bass, sometimes in the melody, and often in an inner voice. (Hum along to find the theme more easily!) In the slow tempo middle section (begins with a long flute solo), the passacaglia theme is still there, though you may have to look for it.
  • Is Brahms more traditional or more progressive? What unusual rhythmic techniques does he use? What is Hanslick’s opinion of this music in his concert review (Hanslick, pp. 243-245) of this symphony?
  • What do Richard Strauss’s leitmotives tell us about Don Quixote and Sancho Panza in Don Quixote? What unusual orchestral ‘effects’ does Strauss use? Why?
  • Mahler fell seriously ill in 1901 and almost died. He composed both Symphony No. 5 and portions of Kindertotenlieder during this period of personal crisis and convalescence. What similarities do you hear between these works? What do you learn about Mahler from listening to these songs from Kindertotenlieder? Why did he choose to write songs on the death of children? What in the music conveys these dark feelings? How do you explain the apotheosis at the end of In diesem Wetter?
  • Mahler’s life and music present us with many contradictions, and these Mahler works give us two extremes, moving from the angst of the Lieder to the Eighth Symphony’s ecstatic embrace of humanity à la Beethoven’s Ninth. Which do you find more persuasive: the personal, inward-looking expression of the orchestral Lieder or the Eighth Symphony’s universal vision of redemption?
  • Often cited as a prime example of Romantic spectacle, the sprawling second (and final!) movement of Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand sets to music the final scene of Goethe’s Faust, Part II. Faust rode to hell at the end of Part I (in settings by Berlioz, Gounod, et al.), but in Part II the purity of Marguerite’s love paves the way for Faust’s redemption. Published in 1832, Part II exerted a powerful influence on several generations of Romantic composers. Redemption via a pure woman’s sacrifice was a recurring plot device in Wagner operas as well—check out Elisabeth in Tannhäuser or Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung. Which Mahler style features stand out in his stirring setting of Goethe’s eloquent Chorus mysticus?
  • What is meant by rotational form in Sibelius’s Symphony No. 4? Could this term also be used to describe the form of the march movement above from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6?

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Guide to Some Leitmotives from Tristan und Isolde

Tristan und Isolde Leitmotives Described in NAWM

The following notated examples provide a quick reference to the Tristan und Isolde Leitmotives described in the notes for NAWM 149. Since most examples below come from earlier in the opera, note that the meter, key, rhythm, or transposition may not be identical to what you find at the measure numbers Burkholder mentions. That is the point, however—Leitmotives constantly transform themselves as they adapt to new dramatic situations!

Tristan’s Honor Leitmotiv (NAWM 149b, m. 38)
“Tristan’s honor, highest truth!”

Love Potion (Longing) Leitmotiv (NAWM 149b, m. 64—see also Prelude, mm. 1-3)
“I drink to you!”
Desire Leitmotiv (NAWM 149b, m. 69, climax at 102)

“The Glance” Leitmotiv (NAWM 149b, m. 103—see also Prelude, mm. 17-22)
“ Tristan!” “Isolde!”

“Sehnender Minne” Leitmotiv (NAWM 149b, m. 160—see also Prelude (NAWM 149a), mm. 63-72)
“ Passionate love”

Other Leitmotives from the Prelude (NAWM 149a) to Tristan und Isolde

Love Potion and Death Leitmotives (Prelude, mm. 25-30)

Yearning Leitmotive (Prelude, mm. 36-38)

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Extra Credit Listening—

Buehler Library Media Collection

  • MCD L774 D41p—Liszt, Sonata in B minor (Pollini)
  • MCD V484/15g—Verdi, Rigoletto Highlights
  • VIDEO 782.1 T782—Verdi, La Traviata
  • MCD V484/25—Verdi, Aida
  • VIDEO 782.1 B734—Mussorgsky, Boris Godunov DVD
  • MCD B813 O45s—Brahms, German Requiem CD-ROM
  • MCD W134 A13b—Wagner, Tristan und Isolde (text and translation in CD booklet on RESERVE)
  • MCD W134 A9L—Wagner, The Compact “Ring”
  • VIDEO 782.1 G685—Wagner, Götterdämmerung DVD (select English subtitles!)
  • VIDEO 782.1 T167—Wagner, Tannhäuser DVD (select English subtitles!)
  • VIDEO 782.1 T838—Wagner, Tristan und Isolde DVD (select English subtitles!)
  • MCD M214/2k—Mahler, Symphony No. 2
  • VIDEO 784.184 S989—Mahler, Symphony No. 5 DVD (Rattle, Berlin Philharmonic)
  • VIDEO 784.184 S989m v.3—Mahler, Symphonies Nos. 7 & 8 DVD (Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic)
  • MCD M214/6b—Mahler, Symphony No. 6
  • MCD S911/54d—Strauss, Salome (text and translation in CD booklet on RESERVE)
  • MCD B515s—Liszt, Les Préludes & Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique (Solti, CSO)
  • MCD L774/A3 V.1—Liszt, Symphonic Poems, Vol. 1 (Masur, Leipzig Gewandhaus)

Created 2/09/21 by Mark Harbold—last updated 3/20/21