Park Justin

Intro to Musical Styles

Professor Dioguardi

19 November 2020

Rough Draft Submission

Antonín Dvořák, one of the more well known composers, greatly influenced the romantic

era and can even be said to have fathered the National style. He believed that the most successful

pieces are those that evoke a national patriotism in the hearts of the audience. In regards to

American national music, Dvořák claims that “the future of music in this country must be

founded upon what are called negro melodies… These beautiful and varied themes are the

product of the soil. They are American.” (Dvořák). While vacationing in his summer home in

Vyoska, Bohemia, Dvořák set out to revise an original set of compositions Scottish Dances, pre-

titling it New Scottish Dances. However, his musical ideas were too diverse and shared only

meter and rhythmic similarities. Thus, Dvořák’s Humoresque cycle was born. “Humoresque” is a

style of character piece that is used to express a mood or a nonmusical idea. Humoresques are

often simple, but emphasize expressive melodies and harmonies. One of his widely known

pieces, Humoresque Op. 101 No. 7, is a prime example of Dvořák’s ability to transfer his

patriotic emotions from heart to composition.

In order to create beautiful melodies that blended with Czech folk music, Dvořák heavily

used the pentatonic style. Although Dvořák’s use of the pentatonic scale became more

pronounced after his time in America, there is a lot of evidence that Dvořák was aware and made

use of this style before his stint at the New York Conservatory- suggesting that Dvořák must

have been influenced by his Czech upbringing. Growing up as the son of an innkeeper and a
butcher, Dvořák was constantly exposed to countryside Czech folk songs and dances. In

addition, because the Humoresque cycle was composed during his time in the Bohemian

countryside, it strongly confirms that Dvořák drew inspiration from his motherland. When

listening to No. 7 of the Humoresque cycle, listeners cannot help but be transported to a quiet

land of peace and tranquility. Furthermore, as composers often use pentatonicism to convey

exoticism, or have their listeners aurally “visit” another country, Humoresque No. 7, has a sense

of nostalgia and an aspiration for a quiet, rural life. The smooth melody throughout the piece is

contrasted by syncopated rhythms that keep the piece light and lively. The homophonic

repetition in the second passage is characterized by his different combinational use of rhythm

ornamental embellishments to create texture in the piece. Moreover, the polyphonic passage in

the trio is decidedly Czech influenced because of his use of syncopated rhythms, accented beat

on ‘one’, and lyrical passages in the trio.