T252 • Spring 2020 • Unit 2 REVIEW

Study the Overview of Terms and Concepts

Study the Unit 2 Notes (PDF file on Canvas)

1. Berlioz - Symphonie fantastique (1830) Notes: pp. 10–15

Berlioz and orchestration (innovations, a new kind of orchestration to serve the programme),
programmatic form, cyclical organization, thematic transformation, the idée fixe (“obsessive
theme”).
5 movements (to make the story work)
• Detailed “modern” use of the orchestra
• “Operatic” treatment of materials and elements – story-telling mode (“special effects”
Mvt. 1 [normal first movement, Sonata]
Mvt. 2 [Waltz – fills the role of a minuet, large ternary form: ABA with introduction and coda]
Mvt. 3 [slow movement]
Mvt. 4 [March, a second scherzo/minuet-type movement]
Mvt. 5 [Symphonic finale]

2. Berlioz - Requiem (1837) Notes: pp. 16–17

Genre: concert requiem
Extraordinary orchestration
Innovation and archaism: progressive tonal structure and “old” contrapuntal organization

“Old”/ Archaic New/ Innovative

Genre: Requiem Shocking abrupt modulations: very distantly
Latin text related keys
Monophonic: faux chant Tonal structure: Am, B♭m, Dm, E♭M
Tonic: A, but MODAL sound (Aeolian)
Contrapuntal combinations of themes
“faux” old counterpoint

3. Bizet – Carmen (1874) Notes: p. 40 (comprehensive)

Exoticism
Metrical dissonance and chromatic harmonies (Spanish and Afro-Cuban rhythms, chromatic
melodic elements)
Prelude to Act I. Ternary form (mm. 1–120: AM—FM—AM, see Notes), plus an additional
section in D minor (mm. 121–48). This section has a rather different character (e.g., the anguished,
exotic augmented seconds in the melody and the simmering tremolo accompaniment).
Habanera. Characterized by a Cuban rhythm/vamp in the orchestra. (Tresillo over 2)
The tonal structure is D minor—D major—D minor.
Flower Song. Reuse of material from the end of the Prelude to Act I in the lead-in.
Entr’acte (Prelude to Act IV). Zesty rhythms, hemiola (grouping dissonance), and exotic
percussion.
 4. Brahms - Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73 (1878) Notes: pp. 31–34
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5. Brahms - “Wie Melodien zieht es mir,” Op. 105, No. 1 (1886) Notes: p. 31
Genre: German Lied – Poem by Klaus Groth
• Inventive use of clear, familiar formal types/models.
• Flexible phrase organization/rhythm and carefully chosen chromatic techniques.
• Emphasis on plagal-type relations and idioms.
Form. Strophic, with increasing modifications in the second half of each strophe as the song
progresses. The strophes all begin the same way, but the tonal goal of each strophe is different:
Stanza 1: I→AM: V, Stanza 2: I→AM: IV, vi (iv), Stanza 3: I→AM: ♮VI, (via ♭II through V) to I.
Note emphasis on “plagal family”: IV, VI, ♭II.
Flexible phrase lengths/organization. For example, stanza 1: 1–5 + 6–9 + 9–13.
Phrase 1: internal expansion of a four-bar model to five bars.
Phrases 2 and 3 overlapped/elided. m. 10 = internal expansion.
The Neapolitan harmony as part of the “sound world” of the piece. Mm. 1–5: use of the
Neapolitan not as PD but as part of a plagal expansion of tonic. The Neapolitan appears in a
stronger structural/syntactical role in stanza 3. Altered dominant chords: m. 8, m. 10, m. 21, m. 35
(all V7 with ♯5th).

6. Brahms - Intermezzo in A major, Op. 118, No. 2 (1893) Notes: pp. 35–36
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7. Chopin - Ballade in G minor, Op. 23 (1835) Notes: pp. 25–26 (comprehensive)

Narrative Form.
Motivic transformation.

8. Chopin - Nocturne in D♭ major, Op. 27, No. 2 (1835) Notes: pp. 26–27
Nocturne: genre of character piece (study Notes: p. 4)
Profoundly simple form: ABABAB + Coda
A in the same key [D♭ major]
B in different keys [B♭m, E♭m, A♭M]/ tonally restless – uncertain expressive quality, wandering
Singing-style melody, lyric, with embellishments
Flowing rhythms
Expressive chromaticism (LONG OMNIBUS progression example, mm. 38–45)
RH: vocal-like lyric melody vs. LH: patterned chord arpeggios

9. Chopin - 24 Preludes, Op. 28 (1836–39) Notes: pp. 28–29 (comprehensive)

No. 4 in E Minor, No. 6 in B Minor, No. 20 in C Minor
Prelude: a kind of character piece (study Notes: p. 4)
Phrase structure: Periods that are treated creatively by Chopin
 10. Farrenc - Symphony No. 3 in G Minor, Op. 36 (1847), II: Adagio — listening only
We didn’t talk about this piece, so I doubt that it is going to be on the Exam. However, Louise
Farrenc is famous for her symphonic works and this is a piece of knowledge that you must know.

11. Farrenc - Trio or Flute, Cello, and Piano in E Minor, Op. 45 (1856) Notes: p. 18
Genre: Mixed chamber sonata
Form: Sonata (rooted in Classical models)
Repetition and expansion of phrases with different instrumental combinations.
Contrapuntal techniques from the past tradition (e.g. imitation mm. 46–47)
Expressive chromaticism: mm. 85–98, towards the Neapolitan as a key area

Tonal structure of the Exposition (mm. 1–109a): Em→Gm→GM

The Development acts as a mirror if the EXPO as it presents firstly material from the CL area,
then material from the S zone, the P material arrives at the beginning of RECAP.
Tonal structure of the Recapitulation + Coda (mm. 192–314): Em→EM!→Em

12. Liszt - Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage), Second Year: Italy (1837–1849)
See Notes: p. 39.
Liszt’s style: highly chromatic, extremely virtuosic
a) Liszt and the rise of the virtuoso
b) Liszt and “gypsy” – exoticism in the 19th-century arts
c) Liszt and progressive music in the mid-19th-century “music of the future”

13. Liszt - Piano Sonata in B Minor (1853) Notes: pp. 37–38 (comprehensive)
The movement can be understood as a single unity and a combination of multiple movements.
Double-function form with strong narrative aspects.
Aspects of Form: Thematic/ motivic transformation.
Elements of Romantic Aesthetics: ambiguity, non-tonic beginning, virtuosic display.
Five Important Motives throughout the piece; combined in the Coda.

14. Mendelssohn - Lieder ohne Worte, No. 1 in E Major (1830)

Genre: Romantic character piece (study Notes: p. 4)
Form: Rounded Binary (expanded in interesting and expressive ways)
In the a’ music (mm. 29–43), the Consequent material of the periodic structure is radically altered
to incorporate material from location in the work, then repeated.

Harmony and tonal design: modal mixture modulation technique in the b section (mm. 18–28),
tonal plan of the b section: EM→Em used as pivot to→GM, distantly related to EM→Em: V
(standing on the dominant of Em)→EM and a’ section (double return: harmonic and thematic)

15. Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64 (1844) Notes: p. 29

Form: Concerto (stunning modifications of the classical concerto form)
a) The opening ritornello is gone; soloist instead
b) The cadenza is relocated from the RECAP to the ending of the Development
 c) The S theme is presented in the RECAP in EM! (m. 377)
d) The second movement follows the first without a break (bassoon retains their pitch in the
second movement)

Harmony: Short Omnibus Progression example (expands/ intensifies V in an “irrational way”)

located in the beginning of the Development and the beginning of the Coda

16. Clara Schumann - "Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen," Op. 12, No. 2 (1840)
Notes: pp. 23–24 (comprehensive)
Genre: German Lied with poetry by Friedrich Rückert
Form: creative interaction of strophic song form and through-composed AAB form
Text: Syllabic treatment
Aspects of text painting: “storm and rain,” “spring’s blessings,” “cheer”

Open Form: the piece begins in F minor and ends in A♭ Major

Stanza 1: Fm → A♭M
Stanza 2: Fm → A♭M
Stanza 3: Fm → A♭M (now the A♭M is treated in a more substantial way as the poem turns calmer)

17. Clara Schumann - Piano Trio in G Minor, Op. 17 (1846), movement I Notes: p. 24
18. Clara Schumann - Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22 (1853), No. 1 Notes: p. 25
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19. Robert Schumann - Carnaval, Op. 9 (1835) Notes: pp. 22–23

Schumann style characteristics:
a) non-tonic beginning
b) “floating rhythm”: metrical dissonance
c) ambiguities (tonal and rhythmic)
Genre: set of character pieces
Form: generally in rounded binary form [aba’]
Programmatic aspects: a “masked ball” with characters – Carnival (around Ash Wednesday)
• Schumann’s “personalities”
• The “motto”/ code (“scenes on four notes”)

20. Robert Schumann - Dichterliebe (A Poet’s Love), Op. 48 (1840) Notes: pp. 21–22
Genre: German Lied with poetry by Heinrich Heine
Romantic fragments

No. 1: Im wunderschönen Monat Mai

• strophic setting of two verses
• non-tonic beginning
 • “floating rhythm”: metrical dissonance
• open form (“unresolved ending”)
• tonal ambiguity (F# minor never appears as tonic, A Major [III], D Major [VI]

No. 2: Aus meinen Tränen spriessen

• Schumann continues the idea of the first Lied to the second (A/C# belonging both to F#m
and AM connects to the previous song)
• aaba’ form
• piano and voice DO NOT align (“out of sync”)
• open form for the voice (no resolution)

No. 12: Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen

• non-tonic beginning (the song is in B♭M and starts with a Ger+6 chord)
• tonal ambiguity
• aba’c with a piano Prelude and a very long Postlude
• lack of resolution in the voice
• floating rhythm – gentle syncopation, displacement: metrical dissonance

21. Pyotr (Peter) Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet: Fantasy Overture (1869–70; rev. 1880)
Notes: pp. 39–40
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