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Chapter 20: The Twentieth Century: Early Modernism

Chapter 20: The Twentieth Century: Early Modernism. Expressionism. Expressionism “Emancipation of dissonance” Sprechstimme Passacaglia. Second Viennese School Ragtime “Master rhythm”. Key Terms. Expressionism . A music of increasing emotionality

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Chapter 20: The Twentieth Century: Early Modernism

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  1. Chapter 20:The Twentieth Century: Early Modernism Expressionism

  2. Expressionism “Emancipation of dissonance” Sprechstimme Passacaglia Second Viennese School Ragtime “Master rhythm” Key Terms

  3. Expressionism • A music of increasing emotionality • Debussy & Stravinsky rejected Romanticism • Expressionists took it to ultimate conclusion • Exploited extreme psychological states • Hysteria, nightmare, even insanity – reflected a fascination with Freud’s work • Similar to parallel movement in art • Subjective expression of inner turmoil • Distorted & exaggerated melody & harmony • Fascination with tone color & color theory

  4. Second Viennese School (1) • Schoenberg attracted two star students • Alban Berg & Anton Webern • All three shared in many innovations • The “emancipation of dissonance” • The breakdown of tonality • Seeking solutions to the problem of coherence in an atonal, expressionist idiom • Three very different personalities • Schoenberg developed 12-tone music • But each one explored it in his own way

  5. Arnold Schoenberg(1874-1951) • The leading expressionist composer • Largely self-taught in music • But wrote important books on music theory • Gifted amateur expressionist painter • Early music tonal, à la Mahler & Brahms • Began writing atonal music in 1907-08 • Erwartung, 5 Orchestra Pieces, Pierrot lunaire • Developed 12-tone method in early 1920s • A Survivor from Warsaw, Piano Concerto • Taught at UCLA last 15 years of his life

  6. Schoenberg, Pierrot lunaire • Highly influential song cycle • 21 poems by symbolist poet Albert Giraud • Pierrot is the eternal sad clown • Lunaire refers to the moon & the bizarre hallucinations & adventures it inspires • Written in an expressionist idiom • Kaleidoscopic scoring for voice & 5 players on 8 instruments • Flute (or piccolo), clarinet (or bass clarinet), violin (or viola), cello, & piano • Each song uses a different combination

  7. Sprechstimme • Voice uses Sprechstimme (“speech-song”) • The soprano does not really sing or speak • She does something in between the two • Schoenberg notated approximate pitches • Singer must speak in an exaggerated, quasi-melodic manner • Sprechstimme technique magnifies, distorts, parodies, & haunts these bizarre poems • The actress who commissioned Pierrot requested a set of melodramas – works for a speaking voice with instrumental accompaniment!

  8. No. 8: “Night” • For voice, piano, bass clarinet, cello • Evokes expressionism’s nightmarish side • Uses low instruments in low register • Dense polyphonic texture • Schoenberg called this a passacaglia • Recurring 3-note ostinato used throughout • Many overlapping versions, freely transposed • The soprano even sings the motive at the word verschwiegen (secret silent)

  9. No. 18: “The Moonfleck” • For voice, piano, piccolo, clarinet, violin, cello • Starts with piano introduction • Dense, dissonant, & alarmingly intense • The song depicts Pierrot’s obsession & the flickering moonfleck on his jacket • High-pitched, quicksilver motives used throughout the ensemble • Schoenberg uses fugues & canons • We hear a fantastic lacework of atonal sounds

  10. Second Viennese School (2) • Anton Webern (1883-1945) • His life revolved around his composition, though he held low-profile conducting posts • Avoided Romantic grandiosity – favored low dynamics, abstract, pointillistic textures, & brief but concentrated musical structures • Some expressionist works are very short • Composers of the second phase of modernism revered his vision of abstraction & the brilliant sophistication of his later serial works • Symphonie, Cantatas 1 & 2, String Quartet • Accidentally killed by an American soldier

  11. Second Viennese School (3) • Alban Berg (1885-1935) • After Schoenberg, the most powerful exponent of expressionism in music • Looked back to Romantic tradition more than Schoenberg & Webern, especially to Mahler • Use tonal references in Wozzeck & his Violin Concerto • His expressionist opera Wozzeck was an immediate success • Later 12-tone opera Lulu now also a classic • Died of an infected insect bite

  12. Berg, Wozzeck • Based on an 1837 play by Georg Büchner • An almost paranoid vision of the helpless poor • Opera completed in 1923 • Conceptually a Wagnerian work • Relies on orchestra for musical continuity • It uses leitmotivs & contains no arias • Influenced by earlier expressionist works • Sprechstimme borrowed from Pierrot lunaire • Berg pays much attention to musical form • Each scene uses a different, specific form

  13. Story • Wozzeck is a poor, downtrodden soldier • Troubled by visions • Tormented by his captain • Human guinea pig in bizarre experiments carried out by his regimental doctor • Beaten up by the drum major who is having an affair with Wozzeck’s lover, Marie • Wozzeck is finally pushed over the edge • He murders Marie, goes mad, & drowns himself • Their young child is left an orphan

  14. WozzeckAct III, Scene iii (1) • Invention on a rhythm • A “master rhythm” is used throughout in many different tempos • Wozzeck is in a tavern after killing Marie • The two opening chord crescendos happen immediately after the murder • Timpani are first to play the master rhythm – just after the first chord • Distorted ragtime piano introduction follows

  15. WozzeckAct III, Scene iii (2) • Ragtime introduction & Margret’s song make use of the master rhythm

  16. WozzeckAct III, Scene iii (3) • Margret sees blood on Wozzeck’s hand • So do the others – a crescendo of accusations (using master rhythm) chases Wozzeck away

  17. WozzeckAct III, Scene iv • Invention on a chord of six notes • B-flat, D-flat, E-flat, E, F, G-sharp • Stated throughout, both as chord & as melody • Wozzeck goes back to the murder scene • Orchestra creates eerie nighttime sounds • Wozzeck’s mind has finally cracked • Obsessed with blood, he looks for the knife • He drowns while trying to hide it in the pond • Vivid orchestral gurgles accompany his death • Doctor & Captain happen by – but do nothing

  18. WozzeckAct III, Orchestral Interlude • Invention on a tonality • Orchestral music for the blackout after Wozzeck’s drowning • Based on a D minor tonality, but loosely, in a late Romantic idiom influenced by Mahler • A mourning lament for Wozzeck, Marie, & humanity at large • D minor often used for serious, tragic subjects • Bach’s Toccata & Fugue in D minor • Mozart’s Don Giovanni, final scene with statue • Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

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