UNIVERSITY OF CALOOCAN CITY

Biglang Awa St., Corner Catleya St., EDSA, Caloocan City

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

ART APPRECIATION
SUBJECT CODE: GEC 006

TOPIC OR LESSON: Instrumental Music

WEEK: 12
SUB-TOPIC/S:

INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC

Music is and artistic form of auditory communication incorporating

instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner. It is also defined
as any pleasing and harmonious sound produced by singers or musical instruments.
There are many theories about the origins of music, and many agree that music
began over before man existed. Historiographers point out that there are six periods of
music, each possessing a particular style that greatly contributed to what music is
today.

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)

At the end of this module, the students are expected to develop even a small degree of
discernment about the differences in style between musical eras.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE(S)

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Identify the different periods of music and their characteristics;

2. Relate how the historical/cultural context of a particular era affects and shapes
the musical compositions of that period

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 ENGAGE

Watch the video to have a glimpse of different music through time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW3JuoVRSHg

EXPLORE

What is the Oldest Known Piece of Music? by Evan Andrews

The history of music is as old as humanity itself. Archaeologists have found

primitive flutes made of bone and ivory dating back as far as 43,000 years, and it’s likely
that many ancient musical styles have been preserved in oral traditions. When it comes
to specific songs, however, the oldest known examples are relatively more recent. The
earliest fragment of musical notation is found on a 4,000-year-old Sumerian clay tablet,
which includes instructions and tunings for a hymn honoring the ruler Lipit-Ishtar. But
for the title of oldest extant song, most historians point to “Hurrian Hymn No. 6,” an
ode to the goddess Nikkal that was composed in cuneiform by the ancient Hurrians
sometime around the 14th century B.C. The clay tablets containing the tune were
excavated in the 1950s from the ruins of the city of Ugarit in Syria. Along with a near-
complete set of musical notations, they also include specific instructions for how to play
the song on a type of nine-stringed lyre.

“Hurrian Hymn No. 6” is considered the world’s earliest melody, but the oldest
musical composition to have survived in its entirety is a first century A.D. Greek tune
known as the “Seikilos Epitaph.” The song was found engraved on an ancient marble
column used to mark a woman’s gravesite in Turkey. “I am a tombstone, an image,”
reads an inscription. “Seikilos placed me here as an everlasting sign of deathless
remembrance.” The column also includes musical notation as well as a short set of lyrics
that read: “While you live, shine / Have no grief at all / Life exists only for a short while
/ And time demands its toll.”

The well-preserved inscriptions on Seikilos Epitaph have allowed modern

musicians and scholars to recreate its plaintive melodies note-for-note. Dr. David Creese
of the University of Newcastle performed it using an eight-stringed instrument played
with a mallet, and ancient music researcher Michael Levy has recorded a version
strummed on a lyre. There have also been several attempts to decode and play “Hurrian
Hymn No. 6,” but because of difficulties in translating its ancient tablets, there is no
definitive version. One of the most popular interpretations came in 2009, when Syrian
composer Malek Jandali performed the ancient hymn with a full orchestra.

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 EXPLAIN

DIFFERENT PERIODS/STYLE, MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS, AND FAMOUS

ARTISTS AND THEIR WORKS

Middle Ages (450-1450)

➢ Music during this period was sacred (e.g., Church Mode, Gregorian Chant,
Organum, Masses) and secular music (e.g., Arts Nova). Two of the famous
musicians of the period were:

Name Nationality Work(s)

Hilegard von Bingen (1098- German O frondens viga from Ordo
1179) Virtutum
Adam de la Halle French Chansons

Renaissance (1450-1600)

➢ Vocal polyphone, secular music, and religious music were developed in this
period.
➢ The first printing of music took place.
➢ Music leadership was taken over by Italy from the Flemish school.

Name Nationality Work(s)

Claudio Monteverdi (1567- Italian Madrigali dei guerrieri ed amorosi
1643) Orfeo
William Byrd (1543-1623) English Psalms
Sonnets
Songs of Sadness and Piety
Giovanni Pierluigi da Italian Missa Papae Marcelli
Palestrina (1526-1594)
Orlando de Lassus (1530- Flemish Penitential Psalms of David
1594)

Baroque (1600-1750)

➢ Introduced during the period were chords and the Basso Continuo (Figured Bass)
Name Nationality Work(s)
Johann Sebastian Bach German Branderburg Concerto
(1685-1750) Air on G String
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
George Frederick Handel German Hallelujah Chorus
(1685-1759) Water Music
Music for the Royal Fireworks
Zadok the Priest

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Antonio Vivaldi German Four Seasons
Gloria
Operas
Sacred Works

Classical (1750-1820)

➢ The period was marked by the contrast of mood, the introduction of the dynamics
and the piano, and sonata allegro form.
➢ Basso Continuo ended during this period.

Name Nationality Work(s)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austrian Don Giovanni
(1756-1791) Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Sonata No. 40 in G Minor
The Magic Flute
Franz Josef Haydn (1750- Austrian Farewell Symphony No. 45
1819) The Creation
The Season
Salomon Symphonies
The Surprise Symphony
Ludwig Van Beethoven German Symphony No. 5 in C Minor
(1770-1827) Fur Elise
Moonlight Sonata
Eroica
Pastoral Symphony
Franz Schubert (1797- Austrian Symphony in B Minor (unfinished)
1828) Sonata in C Major for two pianos
Fantasy in F Minor
Military March

Romantic (1820-1900)

➢ Among the notable characteristics during this period were freedom of form and
design, introduction of song-like melodies (lyrical) and dramatic contrasts of
dynamics and pitch, creation of big orchestras, wide variety of pieces, and
programmed music.
➢ Great technical virtuosity was evident.
➢ The sense of nationalism became stronger because of a reaction against the
German influence.

Name Nationality Work(s)

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Russian The Nutcracker Suite
(1840-1893) Piano Concerto No. 1
Swan Lake
Romeo and Juliet
1812 Overture

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 Pathetique
Eugene Onegin
Felix Mendelsohn- German The Midsummer Night’s Dream
Bartholdy (1809-1847) Elijah
Reformation
Symphony
Hebrides Overture
Songs Without Words
Violin Concerto in E Minor
Frederick Chopin (1810- Polish Waltzes
1849) Nocturnes
Preludes
Mazurkas
Polonaise
Revolutionary Etude
Opus
10
No. 12
Rondo in C Minor
Guiseppi Verdi (1813- Italian La Traviata
1901) Rigoletto
Aida
Macbeth
Oberto

Music in the 20th century

➢ This period was the age of musical diversity.
➢ Music was atonal and polyrhythmic.
➢ Music was characterized by having syncopated rhythms and improvisational
quality.
➢ Changes of style of individual composers were evident

Name Nationality Work(s)

Claude Debussy (1862- French Clair de Lune
1918) Nocturnes for Orchestra
String Quartet in G Minor
Violin and Piano Sonata
Arnold Schoenberg (1874- Austrian Pierrot Lunaire
1951) Moses and Aron
String Quartet No. 2
Piano Concerto
Igor Stravinsky (1910- Russian Cantata
1949) Concerto in D
Requiem Canticles
Symphony in C
Symphony in Three Movements
Violin Concerto
Pastorale

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 Bela Bartok (1881-1945) Hungarian Kossuth
Bluebeard’s Castle
The Wooden Prince
The Mandarin
Mikrokosmos
The Concerto for Orchestra
Sonata for two Pianos and Percussion

ELABORATE

Instrumental Music Awareness

Directions: Choose a piece of instrumental music you want to analyze. Answer the
following questions.

1. What is the title of your chosen piece of music and its composer?
2. What instrument(s) was/were used in the piece of music?
3. Is there a story/reason (political, patriotism, love/romance, etc.) behind the
composition of the music?
4. Was it used in any story or movies? What part of the movie(s) was it played? What
emotion(s) was/were displayed by characters?
5. How does the music make you feel?
6. Looking at the world today, is this music still relevant? How?

REFERENCE(S)

Cerbo, S. N., Gonong, G., Morales, G. S., Roman, L. (2010). An Introduction to the Humanities: The Arts.
Suatengco Publishing House. Caloocan City
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW3JuoVRSHg
Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/what-is-the-oldest-known-piece-of-
music

Prepared by:

BINGO L. ALIGO

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