UNIT ONE:

4 units

Slides from presentations in modules for study aid

First test is open book, but still study some

Reading quizzes in units 2-4, also open book, 10 questions, “easily” findable facts in the reading
- if you get Adobe Acrobat and download the Kirby textbook into that, you can keyword search

Lots of discussion-based stuff in class; Dr. Marks playing recordings while we listen and read
scores

Genres examples: opera, piano sonatas, etc.

Word vomit for listening questions! Write every thought you have.

HIPP = historically informed performance practice; taking things in context and understanding
what it would’ve sounded like in that day and not necessarily replicating it but being informed

UNIT 1: two weeks, just up to 1700, test due Sept 6th, open book but HARD

Finals are NOT comprehensive, UNIT 4 ONLY

To get to Box links, go to Pages -> listening examples and PDF scores - > Box

Even if box file is huge, only listen to the file from the listening list

Video is on the test, possibly hardest question on the first test

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Intabulation: arrangement of polyphonic vocal work, for piano. Late 14th century to c z.17th
century. Most numerous genre up to 17th century (1600). Idiomatic arrangements for keyboard,
so it was made specifically for it and things can get changed; not open score reading.

Cantus Firmus Setting: piece built on existing melody, typically from the lowest voice. Rhythm of
original model removed and turned into amorphous rhythmic values. Usually liturgical but can
also be secular.

When historic stuff is played today on period instruments, they pitch it a half step down to A410.
Mid to late 18th century - A430, contemporary is A440.

Conrad Paumann - blind organist in 1452, mid 15th century.

Variation Forms: Spain and England in 16th century in particular. Spain = Differencias; England
= name of the tune they’re varying; Ground is related form, piece that’s based on the bass line,
don’t have to be variation forms but just have the bass line.

Common types of variation forms: Constant Melody (melodically based and texture is different
from variation to variation), Constant Harmony (harmony stays the same, melody changes),
Divisions (melody gets chopped up more, Mozart variation set as an example).

Antonio de Cavacon: 1500s composer in Spain, wrote keyboard music including lots of
Differencias (variations). “Las Vacas”. Also a Romanesca.

Folia: Rachmaninoff variation set based on the Folia; Variations based on the Croelle? Idk
spelling. Most varied melody in the history of western music.

Free Forms: based on improv and idiomatic keyboard techniques; preludes, intonation, toccata,
ricercar (first used in 16th century as free form improv, but by the end of 16th century is was a
complicated imitative form)

Adam Ileborgh: Preludium, 1448. Busy RH, steady LH.

Imitative: evolve in 16th century, all over but especially keyboard in Italy, many names includes:
ricercar, tiento, fantasy, fancy, fuga (early form was canonic not imitative), canzona (began as
intabulation of French chanson). Keyboard ricercar was always an original keyboard
composition, Canzona was not original composition and was based on French chanson.
Canzona = lighter in character; imitative but not strictly; led to original keyboard works.

Giovanni Gabrieli: first composer to write a piece that used dynamics! Example piece: Canzon
del secondo tono (c. 1600). Jaunty, lighthearted, rhythmic character to it, repeated note
beginning is consistent with Canzoni.

Ricercar: began as a toccata type of piece, very free: ex. M. A. Cavazzoni Ricercar (1523).
Ricercar evolves in next 50 years into contrapuntal work, similar to imitative vocal motet, ex.
Infelix Ego by Thomas Tallis. Long tones, multiple voices, not jaunty. Girolamo Cavazzoni
(b1515). Girolamo = Dr. Marks’ fav Italian name.

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Notes from the readings: Unit 1

Pierre Attaignant: 1494-1552; French; most famous printer of music in Paris first half of 16th
century, probably the first in France to use moveable type; issued 7 books of keyboard music
between 1529 and 1531, each containing music for organs, spinets and clavichords; 3
contained sacred music (cantus firmus settings, preludes, and arrangements of motets), and 4
contained secular music, mostly dances (basse dances, branles, pavanes, and galliards.

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: 1562-1621; Netherlands; top dog of his day in Northern Europe;
organist at Old Church in Amsterdam (literally the name don’t come at me) for most of his life;
close friend of English virginal composer John Bull, and influenced many younger organists as
their teacher, including Samuel Scheidt, Heinrich Scheidemann, and Jakob Praetorius.
Sweelinck carried Venetian ideas and techniques to Northern Europe and combined them with
English virginal influences; he wrote ~70 keyboard works, most for organ, including contrapuntal
fantasias, toccatas, and variations for both secular and sacred settings.

… so i think i read those passages for nothing but ya know what at least i took good notes for
them and we have fun factoids …

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GORDON HISTORY OF KEYBOARD LIT, P25-32 AND 35-37

England:

Robertsbridge Codex - earliest documented keyboard music, dated ~1350; contains 3

estampies and three arrangements, 2 of motets and an incomplete motet of a hymn; found in
the British Museum

Roy. App 58 - contains 2 famous pieces probably intended for virginal, “Hornpype” and “My
Lady Carey’s Dome” by Hugh Aston; also found in the British Museum; c. 1525

The Mulliner Book - c. 1550; also found in the British Museum, copied by Thomas Mulliner,
Master of Choristers at St. Paul’s Cathedral; contains 117 compositions, majority of which are
sacred vocal compositions arranged for organ; a few pieces for unspecified keyboard
instrument; staves vary from 12, 8, 7, and 6 lines used; clefs frequently change in the same
staff; includes airs, galliards, voluntaries, fantasias, and In nominees; composers are often
anonymous, but John Redford, Thomas Tallis, John Blitheman, and John Taverner

Virginal playing spread rapidly thought England since the beginning of the 16th century; did very
well in the first 30 years of the 17th century; virginal was used by the aristocracy AND the
common man; was sometimes found in barbershop parlors to entertain waiting customers; in a
diary entry, Samuel Pepys said during the great London fire, every 3rd boat had a pair of
virginals (1666).

16th century manuscripts for organ and virginal music both used 2 staves; an idiomatic
keyboard style associated with the virginal was developed during the 16th century and reached
its height in the early 17th century; rapid scales, repeated notes and chords, broken chord and
octave figures, use of parallel thirst and sixths were new features in the early 17th century style.
Virginal music usually has a consonant triadic basis; bits of melody and counterpoint were
combined, contrapuntal invention usually was accompaniment to a more prominent melodic line;
music had fewer accidentals than lute music, except for striking chromatic passages; lots of
drone-like accompaniment; agogic accents; mixes and juxtaposes major and minor 3rds and
6ths; usually 6-line staves, c’ being represented by the lowest treble line and highest bass line.;
key signatures are only one or two flats ,usually indicates transposed modes.

Dances and variation forms appear most often; dances were often presented in pairs, slow
duple dance paired with a rapid triple dance; second dance could be a variation fo the first; most
frequent pairing was pavane and a galliard; also used were the alman (allemande), coranto
(courante), gigge (gigue), branle (brawl), and dompe (piece composed in memory of important
person who recently died).

Variations developed from the Spanish keyboard variation, but English variations were more
technically brilliant and less introspective, often being virtuosic; theme that variation was based
on was usually well-known ; first section was often the first variation since the original tune didn’t
need to be in there and modifications began at the start; Bisectional tunes were often given
varied repeats- these were called double variations; fixed cadences were usually omitted, but
double bars indicated sections that suggest cadential treatment; melody was often presented in
full harmony at the end of the piece.

Fantasia - similar to the early Italian fantasia, which was contrapuntal, less strict than the
imitative ricercare; Thomas Morley described the fantasia in his treatise A Plaine and Easie
Introduction to Practicall Musicke (1597); the In nomine was a cantus firmus composition based
on a melody that appeared in the Benedictus of the Mass Gloria tibi Trinitas by John Taverner
(c. 1495-1545); the piece of melody that was used for the Cantus firmus is set to the text “in
nomine Domini”

Some Cantus Firmus compositions (eg. Felix namque) use plainsong melodies; some are
preludes that are in free form, but these are less known.

Virginalist composers’ music was assembled into collections; My Layde Nevells Booke (1591)
has 42 compositions by William Byrd, composed and copied by John Baldwine; Parthenia
(1611) was the first printed collection of virginal music; it contained 21 pieces by 3 composers:
William Byrd, John Bull, and Orlando Gibbons; Titel page has a young lady playing the virginal;
widely used, reprinted in 1613 and 1615.

Most important and extensive collection of the period = the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (c. 1620).
Name derived from the fact that the manuscript of the work belonged to Lord Fitzwilliam
Museum (founded 1816) at Cambridge University. It contains 287 compositions: 72 by William
Byrd, 53 by Giles Farnaby, 44 by John Bull, 19 by Peter Philips, 9 by Thomas Morley, 5 by John
Munday, 5 byThomas Tomkins, 2 by Orlando Gibbons, and 2 by Thomas Tallis. Music was
written between 1550-1620. Various styles but overall represents the resources of the period.
Over 130 dances, 17 organ pieces, 47 arrangements of popular songs, 9 madrigals, 22
fantasies, 19 preludes, and 6 pieces based on the hexachord. Uses modality, including Dorian,
Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Ionian with plagal counterparts (just add Hypo- prefix!). 1 flat =
transposition up a 4th, 2 flats = up two 4ths (so a minor 7th), which is called a “double
transposition”.
Benjamin Cosyn’s Virginal Book (c. 1620) contains 98 pieces by various composers, including
John Bull, Orlando Gibbons, and Jenjamin Cosyn. Will Foster’s Virginal Book has 78 pieces,
almost half by William Byrd, and others by John Bull, John Ward, and Thomas Morley. Elizabeth
Rogers hier Virginall Booke (1656) has 79 pieces, most are anonymous. One work is definitely
William Byrd’s, an early programmatic suite called The Battell.

Hugh Aston: (1480-1522); possibly the earliest well-known virginal composer; wrote more than
just keyboard music; got music baccalaureate from Oxford in 1510 then studied canon law;
1509 was a prebend of St. Stephen’s, Westminster, in 1510 he was archdeacon of York. Most
famous piece: Hornpype, one of the earlier known virginal pieces; it’s 118 measures long, set of
variations over drone bass, alternates between C and F harmonies, melody has leaps, scales,
and cross-rhythms.

William Byrd: (1543-1623) greatest English composer of his age; wide variety, about 125 pieces
for organ or virginal have been preserved; studied under Thomas Tallis; 1563 appointed
organist of Lincoln Cathedral; 1570, elected member of the Chapel Royal. 1575, with Tallis, was
the organist of the Chapel Royal. His keyboard works fall into 4 groups: fantasias, dances,
variations, and free form. Very successful in variation form, uses all the tools: rapid scales,
ornaments, leaps, and cross-rhythms; RH usually has melody, but often also has melody in
penultimate or final variation. “As I Went to Walsingham” = most celebrated song variation; in
the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book as no. 68; Walsingham is in Norfolk, was in the 13th century “the
English Holy Land”; tune is from earlier than that. Opening statement suggests dialogue; 21
variations after the melodic statement; Fantasia from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, no. 8, is in
Mixolydian mode, 7 segments that present thematic fragments; counterpoint becomes less stric
as the piece goes on; other pieces include “Souldiers’ Summons”, “Marche of the Footmen”,
“Marche of the Horsemen”, “The Trumpetts” “The Irish Marche” “The Bagpipe and the Drone”
“The Flute and the Droopme” “The Marche to the Fighte” ,”The Retreat”, “The Burying of the
Dead” “The Morris” “Ye Souldiers Dance”

John Bull: 1563-1628; emphasis on Virtuoso writing; studied with John Blitheman, became
organist of the Chapel Royal in 1591; got his doctorate from Oxford; appointed prof of music at
Gresham College by recommendation of Queen Elizabeth; 1613 left England to be the organist
for the archduke at Brussels; appointed as the organist of Notre Dame in Antwerp later;
acquainted with Sweelinck and influenced the development of keyboard styles in Northern
Europe; over 200 compositions are attributed to John Bull. Greatest virginal work: set of
variations on the “Walsingham” tune, in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, no 1). Variations are less
contrapuntal than Byrd’s but uses things like arpeggios, leaps, and brilliant runs that became
standard later. Tune is always in the uppermost part, either simple or embellished. 30 variations
afterward, strong climax, finale has 5-part harmony. Ut-re-mi-fa-sol-la (FVB no 51) is based on
the hexachord with modulation scheme from circle of fifths.

Giles Farnaby: 1560-1600; Cornish descent; little known of early life; lived in London during last
years; sensitive musical phrases; melodies have “rustic sweetness” (?), including folk song
variations; all music published was posthumous; over 50 compositions in the Fitzwilliam Virginal
Book shortly after death; “Wooddy-Cock” = 6 variations using broken octaves and repeated
notes; “Ground” (no. 260) has 14 variations using successive rhythm breakdown, starting with
half notes and getting to 16th notes eventually.

Orlando Gibbons: 1583 - 1625; appointed organist of the Chapel Royal in 1604; later was the
chamber musician to the King; 1623 became organist at Westminster Abbey; important in
church music realm, also made big contributions to virginal literature; sensitive and refined;
simple melodies, Baroque-like counterpoint; homophonic writing, rhythmic freedom; es. Pavane
in FVB and Fantasia in the Parthenia.

Thomas Morley: 1557-1603; pupil of Byrd, graduated from Oxford with doctorate of music in
1588; gentleman of the Chapel Royal 1592; 9 pieces in the FVB; his book “A Plaine and Easie
Introduction to Practiall Musicke” 1597 deals with Elizabethan musical life.

Peter Philips: 1560-1633; spent most of his life on the Continent (US?), met with Sweelinck,
Philips’ counterpoint imitates Sweelinck’s; 19 of his pieces are in the FVB.

John Munday: c. 1555-1630; student of his father, William Munday; received his doctorate of
music from Oxford in 1624, organist at Eaton College (c. 1585) and St. George’s Chapel; 4
pieces in the FVB; set of folk-song variations tiled “Goe from my Window” attributed to John
Munday and Thomas Morley.

Benjamin Cosyn: organist at Dulwich College (1622-1624), first organist of the Charterhouse
(1628); music appears mostly in his own virginal books; highly ornamented lins, virtuoso
techniques, difficult to play.

Giovanni Maria Trabaci: c. 1580-1647; two collection of keyboard works, including ricercares,
canzonas, capriccios, partitas, and galliards, the last two probably intended for harpsichord.

Antonio Valente: c. 1520-1580; two collections of keyboard works; first (1575) includes
ricercares, fantasies, and canzones written in Spanish keyboard tablature; second (1580) had
an early type of partita.

Ercole Pasquini: c. 1580-1614; born in Ferrara, was a famous organist appointed to the
Cappella Guilin of St. Peter’s (1597-1608); ~30 keyboard works discovered, but was an
important predecessor of Frescobaldi; includes toccatas and earliest examples of the variation
canzone.

Girolamo Frescobaldi: 1583-1643; top dog of the time; born in Ferrara, studied with Luzzasco
Luzzaschi; lived in Brussels in 1607 but returned to Rome in 1608 to succeed Paswquini as
organist at St. Peter’s, which he did until he died except in 1628-1633 when he was serving
Ferdinand’s II de Medici as the court organist; Froberger studied with Frescobaldi 1637-1641.
His music uses chromaticism, tonal colors, and daring modulations; counterpoint is severe,
short choppy themes, syncopations, and cross rhythms; often used suspensions and rubato in
performance. Many of his works are designated “di cembalo er organo” but the harpsichord
school heavily relies on them; dances usually have strong harmonic progressions under delicate
counterpoint; dance types include corrente, galliardo, balletto, and passacaglia; toccatas imitate
Merulo but are more chromatic; imitative sections use fragmatic themes, virtuoso devices in free
sections; partitas are true variations, contrasting polyphonic textures and rhythms; themes are
taken from well-known songs like “Bergamasca” or “La follia”; fugal pieces use imitative
counterpoint with fixed number of voices. Works that designate the cembalo as the instrument
of performance: “Toccate e partile d’intavolature di cembalo” (1615) and “Il 2o libro di toccate,
canzoni, versi d’inni, Magnificat, gagliardi, correnti, et altre partite d’intavolature de cembalo et
organo” (1616); Frescobaldi’s student Johann Froberger retained many stylistic techniques, and
they were passed on up to the culmination of the late Baroque in Germany; now is being
recognized for his significant role in the overall history of keyboard music.

Michelangelo Rossi: 1600-1674; a pupil of Frescobaldi who imitated his teacher’s toccatas.

Alessandro Poglietti: (d. 1683); Italian musician who became the court organist in Vienna 1661-
1683; wrote the usuals plus an extended suite dedicated to his patroness, the Empress
Eleonora Magdalena Theresia, which was titled “Rossignolo” and was a set of programmatic
variations.

Bernardo Pasquini: 1637-1710; wrote vigorous virtuoso toccatas; one of the first musicians to
write for two harpsichords; pieces were published in Paris in a collection titled “Toccates et
suites pour le clavecin de MM. Pasquini, Poglietti et Gaspard Kerle” (1703).

Alessandro Scarlatti: (1660-1725); born in Palermo, Sicily, moved to Rome in 1672; most of his
career was spent in Rome and Natels; known for his operas, cantatas, and oratorios;
considered the father of a “Neapolitan” school of opera composers; style shows thematic
development, balanced phrases, chromatic harmony, all foreshadowing Mozart and other
Viennese classical composers.

Azzolino Bernardino Della Ciaja: 1671-1755; one of the first Italian composers to focus on the
sonata; highly ornamented pieces, uses technical devices also used by Domenico Scarlatti later
on.

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FERGUSON KEYBOARD INTERPRETATION, p1-12 AND 105-109

Organ: longest history of keyboard instruments; probably started in the Middle East; Hydraulis
(water organ) was used by Greeks in 3rd century B.C. and later by the Romans; clay model dug
up in Carthage from 200 A.D. show that it had keys, stops, and several rows of pipes, wind was
supplied by hand pumps, and wind pressure stabilized by means of water.

Fall of the Roman Empire = tradition as and skills of organ building were lost for a bit, but by the
8th century were back but a little lackluster; some medieval organs were crude but powerful;
one in Winchester in late 10th century had 400 pipes, 2 manuals of 20 notes each, and 26 pairs
of bellows worked by seventy strong men, controlled by two players operating sliders, not keys,
each of which opened 10 pipes simultaneously.

More refined = better suited for the liturgy; 13th century awkward sliders were replaced by keys;
century later chromatic notes were added, except B flat, because it had already been there;
15th century = multiple keyboards, various types of pipes, improved mechanism providing a
considerable tonal and dynamic range; short, non-chromatic pedal boards, first were attached to
the lower manual by lengths of cord, but later proceed with pipes of their own.

Northern Germany = where most developments in organ building were, the basic church organ
had emerged by beginning of the 16th century; Arnold Schlick’s “Spiegel der Orgelmacher und
Organisten” (1511), says a typical instrument had 2 manuals with 15 total stops, plus an
independent pedal area with 4 stops; a century later Michael Praetorius in his “Syntagma
musicum” (1615) described the Baroque organ which Bach would’ve played on, saying it had a
3 manuals and a total of 31 stops, a pedal department with no less than 10 stops. Similar
organs were built in the Netherlands, France, and Spain, but Southern Germany, Italy, and
England instruments were smaller and pedal boards were bad or not there at all. England got
pedals in 1720 and still were unpopular then. Cathedrals and larger churches had different sized
organs, eg. Durham Cathedral had 5 by the end of the 16th century; main organ placed above
the entrance to the Choir, and 4 smaller organs here and there for use on different liturgical
occasions.

Positive = smaller type of organ; player sits at a signal manual instrument that has keys and a
couple ranks of pipes, wind is suppled by two bellows worked by the deer of an assistant
holding onto a bar for support; later illustrations show bellows being worked by and or by one of
the player’s feet. Medium sized, which made it popular because they fit on tables, in homes, or
sacred settings; descendant is a type of 18th century Chamber Organ still found in occasional
English churches and cathedrals.

Portative: smaller than a positive; Italian is organetto; could be carrier by the played (new
BUGWB instrument methinks); had 1 or 2 ranks of ‘flue’ (pipes) with a compass of about two
octaves, played by RH alone while LH worked bellows at the back. Could use sling around neck
or placed on a table or held on the knee. Used 12th century - 15th century.

Regal: small enough for tables, sometimes had legs of its own; originally had only reed stops,
which could support a group of singers or instruments like shawms and sackbuts (parents of
oboes and trombones); in use mid-15th century.- mid-late 17th century; Bible Regal, developed
mid-16th century, was small version of a Regal that could fold like a book.

Echiquier: little known of its history; mentioned in two poems by Guillaume de Machaut (d.
1377), who refers to it as the “echiquier d’Angleterre”, so may have originated in England;
Edward III gave one to John II of France in 1360, who was his captive in the palace of the
Savoy in London; in 1388 the Spanish kind, John I of Aragon, asked Philip the Bold, Duke of
Burgundy for an experienced played on the “exaquier”, which was “like an organ, but sounding
with strings”; description from manuscript written by Henri Arnault of Zwolle (d. 1466), physician
to a later Duke of Burgundy, describes the far end of each key supporting a small upright piece
of wood with a metal button fixed on top. When the key was struck its travel was limited by a
stop, which catapulted the piece of wood upwards, so the metal button hit the string and played
the note. The piece of wood fell back to its original position on the far end of the key. No
mention of dampers. The action described for this instrument reflects the hammer of the piano,
and distinguished it form the clavichord and the harpsichord; the tone would’ve also been
different, resembling a Hungarian cimbalom played without the dampers. Arnault of Zwolle also
described the clavichord and harpsichord, both mentioned earlier by Eberhardt Cersne in Der
Minne Regel, 1404.

Clavichord: French = clavichorde; German = Klavichord; Italian = clavicordo or manicordo.

Oblong in shape, keyboard set in a long side and strings stretch left to right of the plater, action
is simple; at far end of each key is a small brass blade (tangent), when the key is struck the
tangent rises and strikes a pair of unison strings, at the same time stopping them like the finger
of a violinist’s LH. Action of string to the right of the tangent vibrates, producing the note
required, while left section is damped by a piece of felt wood round the end of the strings; key is
relegated, tangent falls back, whole length of the two strings is damped by the felt, and note
stops; no sustaining pedal. Early models had tangents of two or three neighboring keys struck a
single paid of strings at different points; only worked when you didn’t need neighboring tones
simultaneously. This type was known as ‘fretted’ (German: gebunden). In later ‘unfretted’
(bundfrei) models each key has its own air of strings and sometimes with a third string at 4’ pitch
for the bass register. Action is simple but can produce subtle effects; pitch was more
sustainable by holding than the harpsichord; could produce a slight vibrato by wiggling the finger
(German: Bebung). However, clavichords didn’t have much power, would barely be heard in a
concert hall, and could not stand up in chamber music, or even against a single voice; limited to
solo or practice only. Earliest surviving clavichord was made in Italy in 1543. Probably existed
way earlier than even 1404 when Eberhardt Cersne referenced it. It became less popular in
England, France and the Netherlands around the end of the 16th century, but was popular in
Italy, Spain and Germany until the early 19th century.

Harpsichord, Virginals, and Spinet: essential difference between these instruments and the
clavichord is that the strings of these instruments are plucked by quill or leather plectra instead
of being struck by brass tangents; basic mechanism of the simplest harpsichord is way more
complicated than the clavichord. In 16th and early 17th century England ‘virginals’ described all
3 instruments; harpsichord looks like a narrow grand piano, but virginals and spinet run from left
to right, like a clavichord.
HOW IT WORKS: Each instrument has, on the far end of every key, a slim upright piece of
wood called a ‘jack’, the top of which is level with the strings. Out the side of the jack resting
below the strings is a plectrum of quill or leather. When the key is depressed te jack and
plectrum rise, the latter potlucks the string in passing, and the whole string-length vibrates to
produce the note required. When the key is released the jack falls back to its original position
while the plectrum passes the string silently, the string is damped by a small piece of felt
attached to the upper part of the jack, and the note ceases to sound. No sustaining pedal.
Plucking action gives more sound and brilliance than clavichord but can’t provide continuously
variable dynamics or vibrato (sad). Relies on things like touch of attack, finger pedaling. Broad
tonal contrasts aren’t possible on spinet or virginals because they only have a single manual
and one set of strings and jacks. Harpsichord, however, generally has several sets of string and
jacks, often more than one manual. (Two manuals tuned a 4th apart were originally used to
simplify a frequently required transposition) hand-stops, or pedals (introduced ~1675) allowed
the player to use whichever set of strings, or combination of sets, he may require, which
enabled some tonal and dynamic contrasts, but no gradual changes because they had to be
made in established steps.

English harpsichord of 1755 had:

 2 keyboards of 5 octaves each,
 3 sets of strings (one of 8-foot pitch and one of 4-foot pitch, which sounded an octave
higher than written, which were activated form the lower keyboard, and a second
contrasting set of strings of 8-foot pitch worked from both keyboards. The second 8-foot
register had a second set of jacks, placed closer to the ends of the strings,which are
worked from the top keyboard only and produce a sound like a lute),
 4 hand-stops; one for each 8-foot and 4-foot register of the lower keyboard, one for the
contrasting 8-foot register, and one for the lute effect on the top keyboard
With these, you could get a good range of dynamics and tone colors, but only in steps.

Single register of the spinet is clear and brilliant, while the virginals’ register depends on the
position of the keyboard; when it is to the left of the center (spinette) the tone sounds like a
spinet’s, but to the right of the center, the sound is more round and mellow because the plucking
point is nearer to the center of the strings.

Te earliest surviving harpsichord was made in Italy in 1521. Henri Arnault’s manuscript
describes an earlier version of it, and also Duc de Berry in “Tres belles heures” in c. 1416. The
harpsichord and spinet were popular in Europe until about 1780 when the fortepiano came into
existence. Virginals were mostly in the Netherlands and England, and became less popular at
the end of the 17th century. Harpsichords (like clavichords) sometimes had separate pedal-
boards to enable organists to practice at home. Nice.

Short octave tuning: on all these instruments, the downward compass was sometimes extended
without increasing the length of the keyboard by either Short Octave Tuning or the Broken
Octave - these are related methods and are as follows: “On a keyboard that apparently ended
with the bass note E, this key in fact sounded the C a 3rd lower. The resulting gap was filled
diatonically by tuning the nearby F-sharp and G-sharp keys to D and E respectively Similarly, a
keyboard apparently ending with the bass note B1, could be extended a 3rd lower to G1. The
downward compass of each instrument was thus increased by a 3rd, at the cost of only two
rarely required chromatic notes. When the absence of the latter came musically inconvenient
(towards the end of the 16th century) it was found possible to restore them by the use of the
‘broken octave’. The black keys concerned were split in two, so that the front half of each would
produce its ‘short octave’ diatonic note, while the back half played the normal chromatic note.
These methods of tuning account for certain apparently unplayable bass chords that are
occasionally found in virginals music. For example, Peter Philips wrote a LH passage in his
‘Pavana Dolorosa’ found in FVB which when using short octave tuning, became much more
comfortable.”

Fortepiano and pianoforte: fortepiano = the old one, pianoforte = the new one. A fortepiano has
a mainly wooden frame, while a pianoforte has an iron frame. Fortepianos had thin low
tensioned strings and small leather-covered hammers, pianofortes have thicker, high tension
strings and larger felt=covered hammers. Fortepiano visually resembled a harpsichord with
strings stretching away from the player, which was a ‘grand’ fortepiano, or a large clavichord
with strings stretching left to right, which was a ‘square’ fortepiano. Later the slim shape of the
piano turned broader with the iron frame, and the upright piano was also developed.
In all these, a key is used as a lever to throw a hammer against the string(s). Simultaneously, it
operates a felt damper, which leaves the strings when the key is depressed and returns to it
when the key is released. The complete set of dampers can be raised with the sustaining pedal
worked by the right foot, prolonging the sound of any notes played while the pedal remains
down. The una corda (soft pedal) shifts the whole action slightly to one side, so the hammers hit
only two (or one) out of the three (or two) strings belonging to each note. On an upright, it brings
the hammers closer to the strings, which makes it softer by striking the string with an unworn
part of the hammer. The third middle pedal (invented in 1862) is on some modern instruments,
and holds only whatever notes are currently being depressed when the pedal is lowered ,but the
other notes are independent and their dampers are not raised.

The basic piano mechanism was devised by Bartolomeo Christofori in ~1709, when he
produced his first instrument in Florence. This was called a ‘gravicembalo col piano e forte’
(harpsichord with loud and soft) and by 1726 had developed a more complex model with an una
corda mechanism. Modifications were made in other countries, and by 1745 J.S. Bach in
Germany was playing on several of Gottfried Silbermann’s instruments, but according to his
student he found their high register weak and their touch heavy.
Silbermann’s pupil Johann Andreas Stein developed the Viennese action in about 1773 which
had a light and reliable action, a well-matched treble and bass, and a good singing tone, if not a
bit soft. It had a 5 octave range. The Viennese action reached its peak around 1780 and was in
favor for more than a century after. But English piano making was influenced by Johann
Christian Bach by 1759 because he preferred piano over the clavichord and harpsichord.
Makers added their own improvements, and the enthusiasm of Haydn, Clementi, and Dussel for
English instruments was confirmed by Beethoven’s warm welcome for the piano sent to him as
a gift in 1818 by Thomas Broadwood. Wow I would love to receive a piano as a little gift from
someone.

1800 onward, piano makers were focused on making pianos larger and more powerful, making
them suitable for concert halls and virtuosi like Liszt and Thalberg. They did this by extending
the range of the keyboard and increasing the tension/size of the strings plus the frames. By mid
19th century they had fully iron frames, high-tension strings, and heavy felt-covered hammers.
Broadwood produced one of these for the Great Exhibition of 1851, and Steinway was making
its own model in 1855. That’s how the fortepiano turned into the pianoforte, basically.

Summary:
1. Echiquier sounded kinda like a Hungarian cimbalom played without the dampers.
2. Clavichord is unique in its subtlety and delicacy; can do gradual dynamics and can
produce a vibrato; limited power.
3. Harpsichord, comparatively, is very powerful; brilliant tone, which can be altered by
change of manual or stops (later, pedals); no gradual changes, only terraced dynamics
4. Spinet tone is clear and brilliant, muselar type of virginals is rounded and more mellow;
neither has stops, so only one tone usable, other than tiny touch changes
5. None of these has a sustaining pedal
6. Fortepiano has a clearer, lighter, weaker tone than the modern piano (can sound similar
to a harpsichord); can produce gradual dynamics, has both sustaining and una corda
pedals

The “Tones” aka Modes: before major and minor, instrumental music was based on Tones or
Modes which grew from the earlier Church Modes. Church Modes were a codification of the
Gregorian plainsong that was made ~8th century. Original 8: Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian,
Mixolydian, and their plagal counterparts (Hypodorian, etc.) Plagal counterparts started a 4th
lower but shared the same finalis. In the mid 16th century Swiss theorist Henricus Glareanus
wrote his treatise “Dodekachordon” (1547) and added Aeolian and Ionian, plus their plagals, into
the modes, which made 12 total.

Charles Guillet switched around the names and numbers in his keyboard pieces; while this was
adopted by lutenist Denis Gaultier, Glareanus’s system was the foundation that modern modes
were developed from. In the second half of the 16th century the modes were modified (in
instrumental music) and became called Tones. Still either 8 or 12, they were used in
compositions by folks like Antonio de Cabezon (1578) and Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli
(1593), but they weren’t grouped in Authentic and Plagal pairings. Tones 2, 6, and 11 had one
flat in their key signature, and each Tone could have some accidentals. Final cadences were
prescribed and other cadences and modulations were restricted by the accidentals available, so
every Tone had its own unique flavor. Transposition was allowed a 4th or 5th up / down.

Major and minor are close behind with the beginning of the 17th century. John Bull describes
the 8 Tones he uses in a book from ~1621, which come from Tones 1-8 of Cabezon and the
Gabrielis, but major and minor are more obvious. This classification was popular in France until
at least the publication of Guilan’s ‘Pieces d’orgue’ (1706).

Major and minor were recognized by about the beginning of the 18th century. Georg Philipp
Telemann tried to reach back in time in his ‘XX kleine Fugen’ to use both the old and the new.
During the 19th century, modal harmony would be used occasionally, usually in national music
like Chopin Mazurkas, or Beethoven’s use of Lydian mode in ‘Heiliger Dankgesang eines
Genesenen an die Gottheit’ referenced the archaic modal style of an earlier epoch.

______________________________________________________
WILLI APEL HISTORY p456-457

Sonata form: variable with respect to number and style of individual movements. Models can be
found in Legrenzi or Cazzati’s works, not in Corelli’s trio sonatas with their fixed form. Kuhnau
tended to lots of repetition of insignificant motives. His last keyboard work is the Musicalische
Vorstellung einiger Biblischer Historien of 1700, in which he ties a program to their sonata,
matching movements to the character. He ties biblical stories to the movements, including David
and Goliath, Saul being cured by David’s music, Jacob’s wedding, Hiskias regaining his health,
Gideon saving Israel, and Jacob’s death and burial. Kuhnau admits that without lyrics, it is
harder to convey a clear story, and without instrumental ensemble techniques one cannot mimic
as many sounds. Kuhnau uses low-lying subject to represent Goliath stomping, and the fast
fugue is the flight of the philistines and their pursuit. He also uses a misleading modulation to
represent Laban’s deceit toward Jacob in their deal regarding the marriage of Jacob and
Rachel.
(Side note: this is actually really interesting and I wanted this to be a longer excerpt. C’mon
now.)

______________________________________________________
APEL HISORY p165-167 and 177-179

15th century: use of imitation was spreading more and more, especially in works by Arnold de
Lantins, Busnois, Obrecht, Isaac, and Josquin. In the 16th century this became fundamental,
mainly due to Nicolas Gombert (c. 1490-1560). Worked well for the motet (is sometimes called
the motet style) because it tied together text and music. Wanted to tie in the general character,
not specifically the interpretation of the text; brief points of imitation that have dovetailed
beginnings and endings.
End of the 15th century imitation was transferred to instrumental music; Obrecht (c.1450-1505)
and Isaac (c.1450-1517) wrote instrumental motets / chansons for instrumental ensembles (3-4
viols, recorders, etc.). At the start of the 16th century keyboard evolutions started to come out:
some genres included ricercar, canzona, Fantasia, and tiento. Differentiating between these
genres can be tricky.
Ricercar: from Italian cercare, search; 16th and 17th centuries; includes wide variety of pieces /
characteristics; common principle is the concept of examination of study directed at various
goals; one concept is the preparation, both technical and spiritual, for playing an instrument -
this is most likely the OG meaning. Examples: Lute ricercars in the prints of Petrucci
(1509/1510), earliest organ ricercars by Marco Antonio Vacazzoni (1523) are very
improvisatory; other ricercars = instructional studies like etudes but not only the virtuosic
element. Examples of this type: Ganassi’s Regola Rubertina (1542), Diego Ortiz’s Tratado de
glosas (1553), Francesco Guami’s Ricercari a due voci (1588) and similar things from the 17th
century. Other examples are later lute ricercars including those by Francesco Canova da Milano
(1536, 1547) and Fantasies by Valentin Bakfark and Simon Gintzler. These are more
pronounced in ensemble ricercars for 3-4 instruments or singers, like the Fantasie Revercari
Contrapunti a sorte di stromento (1551) and other collections from the mid-16th century.

… also think the next little bit is unnecessary, oops …

Marco Antonio Cavazzoni: Recerchari Motetti Canzoni includes 2 ricercars, which are each
followed by a motet, indicating that ricercars still have their original character. Both are long,
especially for the era; comparable to Buchner’s Maria zart, which is filled with full chords,
scales, continuing motives, and imitation in free sequence; bold dissonance points to Gothic
era; but cadences using dominant with ornaments points on the leading tone to Renaissance.
Marco Antonio’s music uses varied textures (full chords of 6-7 notes to two-part settings). Italian
Renaissance organ was fairly simple, only flute and principal ranks and a single manual.

……………………………………………………………………………..

Free notation works well for ricercars; tons and TONS of repetition of the subject (like 30, 40 50
times not uncommon type of repetition).

 specific ricercar subject diagrams on Apel 177

Buus almost always puts subject in highest or lowest voice; practical, not standard for a trained
contrapuntist.

Andrea Gabrieli: ricercars are in 2 posthumous publications, 1595 and 1596; later stage of
development than Girolamo Cavazzoni, even though he was ~15 years older. Gabrieli became
an active composer in his later years; relationship maybe similar to slow-maturing Haydn and
precocious Mozart. Gabrieli’s Libro secondo (1595) contains 11 of his ricercars (and 2 by his
nephew Giovanni), his Libro Gerso (1596) has 6 more, all identified by key (primo tono, secondo
tono, etc.) Libro Quinto of 1605 has 4 more called ricercari ariosi, and 3 derived from chansons.
Gabrieli was devoted to the ricercar species, and preserved the character of using “higher
counterpoint” dominated by imitation. His ricercars are printed as an intabulatura on two staves.
They are most strictly contrapuntal than Buus’s music; rarely free voices; some designation with
the church modes, some with the primo tono stuff. Gabrieli’s ricercars tend to limit the number of
subjects and can lead to monothematic compositions; of the 17, only 1 has five subjects; 5 have
three subjects, 6 have two, and 5 have single subjects.
Extended coloratura-like ornaments in 16th and 32nd notes also point to later times; Gabrieli
uses them everywhere, as opposed to Buus and Cavazzoni, who only used it at the ends of
sections and as transition material. Some 16th century pieces of visual art are too heavy with
ornaments, and 16th century music reflects this. These can be simplified when performing
Gabrieli’s ricercars.
Gabrieli’s most important contribution to the evolution of the ricercar is that he turned it into the
medium of the learned style, the “higher counterpoint”. He frequently uses at least one of these:
inversion, invertible counterpoint, stretto, augmentation and diminution, or a combo. This moved
the ricercar away from the motet and into independence as its own genre. Another important
part is the double subject: first complete subject, A, has two portions, A1 and A2; A2 is the
counterpoint to the second entrance of A1. These two subjects can reappear in their original
combination (ex. Double fugues by Handel), be treated individually, or be recombined in a new
way.

___________________________________________________
KIRBY MUSIC FOR PIANO, p15-26

Instruments of keyboard music:

 acoustic keyboards: organs, clavichord, harpsichord, and piano
Later half of the 18th century = where true piano music came to be, but is based on the early
keyboard music which ties it all together.

Middle Ages music is ambiguous about which instrument was intended. Polyphonic for multi-
instruments was written by parts but no designated instrument, and for a single instrument was
notated in two-staff score or in Tablature. Tablature used letters and numerals to refer to pitches
and scale steps, but the same notation was used for both Lute and keyboard, so it is unclear.
Organ music was also often written on staves prior to ~1700, so that addds another option for
two stave music.

Style doesn’t really help, but sacred is usually organ and harpsichord or clavichord would
handle secular stuff.

Repertory includes: intabulations, settings of and variations on secular songs, pieces in toccata
style, imitative-contrapuntal pieces, dances and dance related pieces, and sonatas.

Intabulations: aka intavolaturas; transcriptions ‘ arrange to of polyphonic ensemble pieces for

keyboard (or lute, or guitar); present as early as the 14th century in earliest keyboard sources;
Faenza manuscript is the largest from the 14th century; almost half is intabulations from
Landing and Machaut. Intabulations are still popular in 15th century, especially Buchheim
manuscript (c. 1470) with lots of works by Dunsable, Binchois, Frye, Dufay, etc.). Intabulations
remainded popular til about 1600, when it became less important than other genres even
through the practice continued.

Cantus firmus: examples are in the Fundamentum organisandi (1452) by Conrad Paumann and
the Lochamer Song Book. CF was very popular in Spain and England; in Spain it was called
diferencias and in England they were known as virginals. English called bass ostinatos “ground”
or “ground bass”. “Dump” or “Domp” is another type of variations that’s based on ostinato and
associated with lamentation.
Italy: variation form = Antonio Valente (1565-1580) who made 5 sets (1576) all based on
dances.

Cantus firmus continued through 17th century: Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Girolamo
Frescobaldi, Poglietti.

Chaconne: aka ciccona; was a dance. Pasacaglia: possibly originated as the ripreso or ritornello
in songs used as promenading (Passar la calle). No distinction between the two in Baroque
music. Both had slow triple meter, dotted rhythms, and linked to the variation (ostinato) form.
Italy tied the chaconne more to the ostinato than the pasacaglia; chaconne was minor and
passacaglia was Major; but in France, passacaglia most often appeared with variation form,
chaconne was combined with the rondeau; both appear in Germany.

German composers of the time used variation form often; Johann Jakob Froberger’s “Die
Mayerin” sets, Jan Adam Reincken’s “Schweiget mir vom Weibernehmen” sets, and Dietrich
Buxtehude. Most important German variation set: Johann Pachelbel, Hexachordum
Apollinis( (1699).

English composers John Blow (1649-1708) and Henry Purcell (1659-1695) also continued the
tradition.

Toccata: made of elements of figuration, mostly scales and arpeggios, often with full chords and
surprising changes in harmony, tempo, and dynamics. Seems based on improvisation, referred
to as idiomatic because it exploits the keyboard’s unique qualities. Impossible to tell which were
written for keyboard instruments and which were for organ. Earliest examples are from the 15th
century by Adam Ileborgh (manuscript of c. 1448) and Paumann. Mostly for organ, used to
establish pitch for performers and were called intonations, then later, preludes.

Short and simple Toccatas continued in the 16th century, especially from Claudio Merulo, who
used a ternary formal scheme - 1. massive chords and scales, 2. imitative counterpoint, 3.
virtuoso section reflecting beginning. Some toccatas have 5 sections, the 3 typical sections
separated by imitative counterpoint sections. Their composers include: Andrea Gabrieli,
Sperindio Bertoldo, Ercole Pasquini, and Giovanni Gabrieli (Andrea’s nephew).

17th century toccatas continued in Italy: Giovanni Maria Trabaci and others of the Neapolitan
group, Frescobaldi. Counterpoint often operates with short motives that are treated quasi-
imitatively. Frescobaldi “Toccata do durezze e ligature” has lots of chromaticism and is related
to similar pieces by Giovanni de Macque, Ascanio Mayone, Rocco Rodio, and Trabaci.

Toccata continued as a huge part of Italian keyboard Baroque music. 17th century,
Michelangelo Rossi, Scipione Giovanni, and Alessandro Poglietti composed many. Also
appears in French preludes of the 17th century; some don’t have time signatures; Louis
Couperin used only whole notes, so rhythm was up to the performer; 17th century Germany:
Merulo’s form was continued in works by Jacob Praetorius, Ferdinand Tobias Richter, and
especially composers in Vienna: Froberger, Johann Kaspar Kerll, Georg Muffat. Muffat’s
Apparatus musico-organisticus mostly consisted of toccatas. Froberger liked a tripartite
structure, fugal section surrounded by passages in the toccata style, but Kerll and Muffat liked
larger number of shorter section. Kerll, like Frescobaldi, didn’t use much imitative counterpoint.
Composers who emphasized the canzona: Italian - A. Gabrieli, Mayone, Trabaci, Frescobaldi,
Giovanni Salvatore; German - Froberger, Kerll, and Muffat.

Capriccio: became used for program music, expressive of an explicit and extra-musical content

Venetian toccatas in the 16th century combined the toccata and the fugue. They were also
combined by Heinrich Scheidemann, and Krieger, Pachelbel, Murschhauser, and Fischer
followed suit. Sometimes the fugue would come second, and sometimes it came first. Fantasias
also became similar to toccatas, so eventually it became hard to distinguish between toccatas,
prelude and fugues, and fantasias.

______________________________________________________

Thursday, August 25th:

Olivia never did the readings and got an A… just take very detailed notes in lectures after this
first test

Always bring a sweater to class :/ it’s so cold rn

Practice quizzes:

Retrieval: being able to recall information while under stress, within the time limit. Don’t do it
with notes - figure out what you DON’T know. Multiple retakes. Doing retrieval process puts it
into long term memory.

(“Make It Stick” book about how you learn, effective learning tools)

Dance forms:
 clear regular metric organization, rhythmic motifs, well defined tunes, binary form (16th
century)

3 kinds of Tablature notation:

1. German tablature: staff line combined with letter names for slower, usually LH stuff. Line
through a letter = sharp. S = sine, Latin for without = don’t play.
2. Spanish tablature: staff-looking thing that has scale degrees to the left and rhythmic
values above the top - used to fretted instruments like guitar, not keyboard.
3. Italian tablature: evolved into modern notation: keyboard instruments have both hands
notated with a complete staff system; normal RH treble / G clef, lower staff has a C clef
AND an F / bass clef.

Ricercar Analysis -

Initial subject would come in 2 sections, often appearing in conjunction throughout. Sometimes
one or the other goes away (two-part subject). Ree-chur-car.

Learn-ed (pronounced): how they manipulate the material in polyphonic stuff.

Common techniques:
 inversion - marked with (i)
  Stretto - second voice(s) coming in with fugue subject before the first voice ends,
marked with (s)

Tones = basically modes that were no longer “pure” (only white notes) and had potential
accidentals.

Short octave tuning: white keys C, F, G, A, B, black notes D, E, Bb (left to right)

Cranking the string looser, so would make the tuning “Floppy”

Toccata by Merulo: “very important guy”, known for his toccatas, example of free form. C clef
moves around in the RH. Hard to know what to listen for or expect.

Merulo: alternates free section with imitative sections, ends with “big honkin’ fugue”

England: virginalists - late Renaissance (mid to late 1500s - early 1600s / late 16th century early
17th century). Virginal - small square box to sit on table OR harpsichord.

The virginalists: a distinctive “school” of keyboard composers c. 1560-1625.

 William Byrd 1543-1623
 John Bull 1562-1625
 Giles Farnaby 1565-1640
 Orlando Gibbons 1583-1625

Keyboard genres of the virginalists:

 variation sets based on popular melodies
 Ground (similar to variation)
 Dances
 Fantasia (Fancie)
 Prelude / toccata
 Character piece - had fanciful titles (Farnaby - his humoure, Farnaby’s Conceite, Fall of
the Leaf)

Collections of virginal music:

 Fitzwilliam Virginal Book; almost 300 pieces, handcopied around 1620 but music could
go back to 50 years before (name is the name of hate collector hundreds of years later)
all in Italian tablature - 6 staves
 Parthenia - 1612. 21 pieces by Byrd, Bull, and
 My layde Nevells Booke - 42 pieces by Byrd, 1591

The Carman’s Whistle by William Byrd:

 variation set
 Good example for the time
 Constant melody technique, changing the counterpoint surroundings the tune; barely
any alteration to the tune
 No set standard for ornaments - double slash could be trill but not sure.

Ground variation:
 bass line is the basis of variations
 Preexisting tune sometimes, but bass line can also be new
The Woods so Wilde: William Byrd
 theme doesn’t have to be in every variation
 Played on muselar (virginal but plectra is further away so sound is more mellow and
round) - actually pretty, especially the lower register

The Bells by William Byrd:

 meditative and very repetitive

Elizabethan Dance music:

 Alman (allemande)
 Corranto (coranto)
 Pavana (pavin)
 Galiarda (Galliarda, Galiardo, Galiard)
 Gigge

Dances were typically paired:

 Pavanne / Galliard
 Very commonly paired
 Slow / fast
 Duple / triple
 Parallel phrase structure is common (material from the Pavanne is the same
basic material in the Gavotte)
 3 strains
______________________________________________________

Video:

Louis XIV - used music as propaganda to advertise his wealth and power, but more importantly,
glorify France; encouraged French composers and players; social control to keep potential
dissidence in check

Palace of Versailles: used as a tool for King Louis XIV; location of continuous music festival
basically; King’s life was lived in public, court attended him, servants attended them, they could
be called on whenever anything was needed; singers and instrumentalists were on hand to
provide good music to impress anyone; opera, chamber music (late evenings and mealtimes),
was religious so church music was big and splendiferous; most French style was ballet; King
Louis XIV was a good dancer in his youth; dance was entertainment AND “social benefit”.

Building Versailles and filling it with entertainment did solve lots of problems; helped keep
internal revolt to a minimum; revolt in Paris made the court flee; 1661 he began to rule / reign.

Aristocracy always need to be entertained because they have no work - to be sent away from
Versailles was to be sent to boredom. France = only country where something like Versailles
would be realistic. Lots of wealth for the King’s projects. France = rich of agricultural resources;
lots of rivers; statues showing agricultural features; building bronzes and creating silk tapestries
and carpeting = elite type of economic enterprise; landscaping, building, etc. of Versailles
boosted the economy. Versailles became the showplace for all luxury manufactured goods. The
finest of French Classical life of the 17th century were displayed in Versailles.
by the end of the 17th century, definite style of Versailles fashion; Louis XIV himself was the
king who led the way in this fashion; essential element is self-conscious classicism. Brought up
on legends from Greece and Rome; references to the Ancient world; King saw himself as a
roman emperor / a god. Some things show punishment for revolt - fountain which shows man
crushed because he declared war against a god.

Music was always on tap; water, not so much. many fountains are dry currently. Louis XIV
always had music around him, except when he was with his mistress. Townspeople were
allowed to watch dinner, which was accompanied by music.

Musette: traditional dance tune based on bagpipe music. Wasn’t til Louis XIV when the French
formed the strong dance ensemble tradition. 1661 = french lacked confidence in their culture;
doubted themselves when compared to the Romans or Italians; sense of inferiority; King set
France to equal these achievements but in their own way; established state academies in
France, to promote French talent; King controlled the creative expression inside and outside the
court; had to define good taste in all forms of art, reason dominated passion; restraint.

Musician King chose to direct the musical movement was an Italian, John Baptiste Lully - JB
fiddle player, dancer, and composer; became french citizen in 61; his court ballets and
prologues to his operas glorify the king and take military approach; son of a Florentine miller;
good actor who could make the king laugh, sometimes danced with the king; monopoly on
opera throughout the kingdom; prolific opera composer, operas were popular at the time so he
was quite wealthy from that and the opera clause. Ambitious and unscrupulous; new standards
of orchestral precision; owned several properties; wrote 15 operas in 15 years; king himself
would sometimes choose subject for opera, but still had to be checked by the academy to make
sure no political conflict; French operatic tradition = lyric tragedy. Am Meid = famous opera.
many have hero torn between love and duty. Heroine is torn between killing the traitor or saving
him because she loves him.

His vocal lines use one note per syllable; academy’s influence shows in order and clarity; formal
art.

composer’s used to be thought antiquated within 30 years of their death, but his style remained
popular for another 100 years (lyric tragedy); French music came into its own in Louis XIV’s day;
his tastes changed as he grew older. Madame Dumountenau was closest to him, and they
married secretly in 1683 after the queen died that year; they were longtime secret lovers. When
the king was alone, he was pious, worrying that his soul wouldn’t be saved. regularly attende
chapel, had a hand in choosing musicians for chapel; Micheal du Lalon’s music moved him to
tears sometimes; Lalond was the son of a tailor, took up his post in 1683 to be organist at the
chapel; time to get rid of Protestant heresy; they had freedom from an edict but the king revoked
it; lots fled the country; French Catholics were elated, motets reflected that; (Lalande);
Catholicism respected the Latin text and Lalande was a master of that; very different from
Luterhan stuff in Germany which was more recitative and more Italian in form.

Death of ____ made Lalande the court composer; King chose him a wife and paid for the
wedding; 1711 King’s son died from pox, also killed 2 of Lalande’s daughters, so they were
even closer; king points to God and says “Lalande, we must resign ourselves” so he really was
religious if the story is correct; principal subject was health because of the pox; Louis spent his
life providing jobs; ministers were from middle classes; nobility had no say in the government;
1661-1715 army kept growing til under million in the army; France was in continuous state of
war for 50 years under Louis XIV; “first power in europe should be france” thought by Louis XIV;
early years of Louis’ reign, military ventures were successful; hospital was built for war wounded
and old solderis, but huge building was also to impress people as a memorial to war; 1690
Louis’ luck had run out, bad harvests and economic problems, Paris turned against him and his
wife; she was a shameless intriguer in poeple’s eyes; Italian and French street performers did
plays shaming his wife; everyone hated the government; a parody of the lord’s Prayer that
shamed the king made the rounds; King’s response was to turn inwards; liked opera and ballet
less but not outwardly; loved chamber music more and more

Master of chamber works - Francois Couperin; frequently performed at Versailles especially in

Sunday afternoon; king hadn’t been a big talker and she and the king had less to say just bc
married for a while; the Viol, harpsichord (some have fun titles like Les Papillons) Couperins
keyboard works were gerat for indoor entertainments; emotions are expressed only in most
stylized form; Couperin also had a career independent of the court; like his father and uncle, he
was organist at a church so he was only a part-time Versailles guy, small scale religious works
for Saint Jervais (?) where he worked; his chamber compositions blended Italian and French
styles; French music was delicate and graceful, opposed to Italian’s direct approach; Italians
were doing sonatas usually for 2 violins cello and harpsichord using imitative counterpoint;
Couperin used Italian forms in Le Nassion ,fusing the best of italian and french styles. his music
suited French taste exactly; French critics claimed at end f 17th century that they’d surpassed
ancient greeks and Romans. once Louis XIV had this, his dream of French culture being set
apart was realized. Under patronage of Louis XIV = opera and serimonious religious works on a
grand scale. French revolution of 1789 swept them away, because court was swept away so
therefore the art with it.

______________________________________________________

Gordon: 43-48, 49-50 :

John Barrett: c.1674-1735; studied with Blow, became master of music as Christ’s Hospital in
London c. 1707 ,organist at the church of St. Mary-at-Hill c. 1710; “set of ayer’s” appeared in A
Choice Collection of Ayer’s for the Harpsichord (1700), consisting of Almand, Corant and
Sarabrand; other pieces (St. Catherine [Rigaudon] and Minuet weren’t with the set but may
have been a part of it)

William Croft(s): 1678-1727; one of the greatest of Purcell’s contemporaries; chorister in Chapel
Royal 1700, shared appointment of organist to the chapel with Clarke, was sole organist after
Clark’s death; made organist of Westminster Abbey, succeeding Blow, and is buried in
Westminster Abbey; important composer of anthems, overtures, theater music, and sonatas for
violin and flute; 12 suites for harpsichord, mostly 3-mvt works, 8/12 are minor, unusual for the
time.

Thomas Roseingrave: 1690-1766; Irishman who won position of organist at St. George’s in
Hanover Square; reacher to London’s elite society and personal friend of Domenico Scarlatti;
returned to Dublin c. 1749 ,where he gave concerts and composed; edited “42 suites” of
Scarlatti’s keyboard music for the English public, introducing each with his own music. Two
other volumes of his harpsichord music were published, “Eight Suites of Lessons for
Harpsichord or Spinet: Voluntarys and Fugues Made on Purpose for the Organ of Harpsichord”
(1730) and “Six Double Fugues for the Organ or Harpsichord” (1750)
Thomas Augustine Arne: 1710-1778; son of an upholsterer and coffin maker in the Convent
Garden district of London; was sent to Elton to study law, but that was his father’s idea; earned
doctorate of music degree from Oxford in 1759; taught Charles Burney; composed dramatic
works, masques, and theater pieces popular in his day; “VIII Sonatas or Lessons for
Harpsichord” in 1756.

that might also be irrelevant… I swear I have to start looking at the whole page first to see if he
has any little markings before I read and type all this stuff.

Germany: religious conflicts in 17th century + politically decentralized = divergent musical

styles; Italian and French influences were strong but new German flair led to Baroque keyboard
style of J.S. Bach. Italian influences were strongest in Austria and southern Germany; continued
use of forms originating in Italy, inc. toccata, ricercare, and canzone. Keyboard idioms,
especially Merulo and Frescobaldi, were still strong. French influences were felt in those places
and in Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Halla, and smaller central Germany cities. France = dance suite
with characterized movements, also florid ornamentation, programmatic concepts, leaning
toward clarity and refinement.

another influence is from Northern Europe, circling around Sweelinck and his students,
especially Samuel Scheidt. This + warmth and directness of Italian school + inventiveness and
variation of English virginal composers = 17th century German ex[pressive styles and
techniques in chorale variation, toccata, and fugue. Fleming-English influence was strongest in
central and northern Germany, expanded into a unique style with originality and imagination;
influences J. S. Bach, Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann Pachelbel.

Some is intended for organ but lots works for any keyboard instrument; in Germany, klavier =
any keyboard instrument but later became tied to clavichord or harpsichord.

Concept of dance was borrowed from France, but Germany stabilized the form; 1. Allamande, 2.
Coruante, 3. Sarabande, 4. Optional movements like Minuet, Bourree, Gavotte, Polonaise,
Passspiel, Aire, etc. 5. Gigue.

Before Bach, arrangements of movements varied; Johann Jacob Froberger was the most
important figure in the development of the dance suite in Germany prior to Bach.

Sonata split ways between Italian sonata di chiesa. First use of the term Sonata is attributed to
Adriano Banchieri (1567-1634) as a title for musical examples found in a treatise he wrote on
organ playing, L’organo suonarino (1605); other early sonata composers include Gioanpietro De
Buono, Giorgio Strozzi. First composer to use sonata as a term for movement of a suite was
Johann Heinrich Schmelzer. Johann Kuhnau called 14 of his works sonatas; early sonatas had
3-6 contrasting movements that usually alternated slow and fast tempi.

Samuel Scheidt: 1587-1654; one of the important links between Franco-English style of
northern Europe and Germany; pupil of Sweelinck in Amsterdam; most of his life was spent in
Halle (city in central Germany) as Kapellmeister to Margrabe Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg;
most keyboard works are associated with organ, but Tablatura Nova was written for keyboard
instruments in general; was originally published in 3 volumes, written in notation as opposed to
tablature; has homophonic and polyphonic textures, toccatas, chorales, fantasias, passamezzi,
psalms, hymns, Magnificats, and a Mass; considered one of the first important composers in the
development of the organ chorale; his Görlitz Tablature (1650) had 100 well-known chorale
melodies in 4-part harmony.

Johann Jacob Froberger: 1616-1667; choirboy and organist in Viennese, studied with
Frescobaldi in Rome 1637-1640ish when the Emperor Ferdinand II gave him a stipend; returned
in 1640 after 3 ½ years to Vienna; did concert tours to Paris and London, and settled near
Hericourt serving the Duchess Sybille of Württemberg. key figure in dance development;
personal and sensitive style; deed no ornamentation to his music but left it to the performer; 25
toccatas, 8 fantasia, 6 canzonas, 18 capriccios, 15 ricercar es, and 30 suites, 10 of which are in
Suites de clavecin (1693).

Johann Casper Kerll: 1627-1693; studied in Rome with Carissimi; was court Kapellmeister at
Munich (1674-1684) returned to Munich after. Most important keyboard work is for organ,
Modulatio organica super Magnificat octo tonis (1686). also has canzones, capriccios, and
toccatas; uses descriptive devices in his keyboard works.

Dieterich Buxtehude: 1637-1707; organist at Marienkirche in Lübeck from 1668; influenced

Handel and J. S. Bach; most were for organ but recently found for harpsichord were 19 suites, 6
sets of variations, 3 other smaller pieces of questionable authenticity; direct, relatively
uncomplicated, warm and imaginative.

Johann Kasper Ferdinand Fischer: c. 1650-1746; born in Bohemia but most of career was in
Germany as court conductor to the margrave of Baden; keyboard works were highly French
influenced; some early suites have a prelude as an opening piece before dance movements; Le
Pieces de clavecin (1696) has 8 suites, each opening with a prelude before dances; was
republished in 1698 as Musicalisches Bumenbuschlein (small musical flowering bushes);
Ariadne musica (1702) = 20 preludes and fugues demonstrating equal temperament, plus 5
ricercar es; very short and only 19 keys are actually used, never c#, f#, g#, Eb, or Bb; important
forerunner of Bach’s WTC; also wrote Blumenstrauß (1732) which had 8 preludes followed by 6
very short fugues and a short finale, probably written for organ because of pedal markings;
Musicalischer Parnassus (1738) is a set of 9 suites named after each of the Muses

Johann Krieger: 1652-1735; studied with his older bother, Johann Philipp Krieger; succeeded
him as court organist and conductor at Bayreuth in 1672; later held posts at Griez and Zittau; 2
biggest keyboard works are Musicalische Partien (1697) set of 6 suites, and Anmutige Clavier-
Übung (1699), one of the first works to pair prelude no fugue in same jet.

Georg Muffat: 1653-1704; began his career as organist to the Molsheim Cathedral in 1671;
migrated to Austria in 1678 to be in service of the archbishop of Salzburg; then moved to Italy in
1681 to study under Corelli and Pasquini; then to Paris to study Lully’s style; then back to
Passau in 1687 and appointed organist to the bishop of Passau and later Kapellmeister; most
important keyboard = Apparatus musico=organisticus (1690); written for organ (duh); includes
12 large-scale toccatas that show Corelli and Lully’s influences; few harpsichord pieces that
may or may not be his.

Johann Pachelbel: 1653-1706; began career as organist in St. Stephen’s cathedral in Viennese
in 1674; went on to hold a series of court and church positions in Eisenach 1677, Erfurt 1678,
Stuttgart 1690, and Gotha 1692; settled in Nuremberg (birthplace) and was the organist of St.
Sebald’s in 1605; wrote extensively for all keyboard instruments, considered expensively
important because they foreshadow J.S. Bach’s; his son, Carl Theodore, went to the U.S. in
1730 and was an active musical force in Boston, Newport, New York, and Charleston. His
Musicalisch Sterbensgedanken (Musical Memorials) 1683 was written for keyboard instruments
in general, contains 3 sets of variations on chorale melodies; also wrote 17 suites in 1683, and
Hexachordum Apollinis (1699) with 6 arias, each followed by 5-8 variations; 94 Fugues on the
Magnificat (c. 1702) probably intended for organ and used in church service; considered one of
the most important examples of fugue writing before J.S. Bach.

Johann Kuhnau: 1660-1722; received early training in Dresden and attended University at
Leipzig (1682-1684); organized a collegium musicum there while studying law, eventually
became music directory of the university in 1700; in 1701 appointed cantor at the
Thomaskirche, J.S. Bach’s immediate predecessor; Kuhnau was a prominent figure in keyboard
sonata world; Neuer Clavier Übung appeared in 2 parts in 1689 and 1692; part 2 also had his
earliest sonata; Frische Clavierfruchte 1696 has 7 sonatas, usually alternating tempi; gives
detailed dynamic and tempo markings; Musicalische Vorstellung einiger biblischer Historien in 6
Sonaten 1700 is his most celebrated sonata set, each based on a Biblical narrative.

Georg Böhm: 1661-1733; studied at University of Viennese; became organist at the

Johanneskirche in Lüneburg in 1698, J.S. Bach was organist at the Michaelkirche in the same
city; Böhm = possible influence on Bach, supported by Anna Magdalena Bach having one of
Bohm’s minuets; his harpsichord works consist of mainly 11 suites.

Couperin: technique book

written from his perspective; 1st person

technical book about physicality of playing; gives explanations of his own pieces and adds some
fingerings; says kids should starts at 6 or 7; for specific answers / his advice for position, consult
book; sweetness of touch = fingers close to keys; children should practice in front of whoever
teaches them and not alone; believed strongly in fingerings making the piece technically sound;
men that did rough work would not have suitable hands in his opinion; womens hands were
generally better; first step in teaching children is the note names on the keyboard. “aspiration”
and “suspension” (check book for specifics); section on ornaments

Apel 670-671:

Kuhnau’ s last keyboard work: Musicalische Vorstellung einiger Biblischer Historien of 1700;
programmatic music set to scenes from the Bible: 1. Combat of David and Goliath; 2. Saul
cured by David with the Aid of Music, 3. Jacob’s Wedding, 4. Hiskias, Who Was Deathly Sick
and Regained His Health 5. Gideon, the Savior of Israel, and 6. Jacob’s Death and Burial.

Kuhnau shows he understands the problems of program music by using musical elements to
demonstrate things that are not communicated by lyrics alone; for example, he uses a low
subject with dotted rhythms to show “the snarling and stamping of Goliath”; he also shows the
flight of the Philistines and their pursuit by a fugue in fast notes; uses a misleading key change
to represent Laban’s deception in the third sonata which deals with Jacob’s wedding.

____________________________________________________
WEEK 2: TUESDAY

Elizabethan Dance Music:

 Pavanne / Galliard
 very commonly paired
 slow/fast
 duple/triple
 parallel phrase structure common
 3 strains (trinary form as opposed to binary); common structure in Elizabethan
music
 cross relation: style element in some styles of music, Bach, style we based our
four part chorale style on; when unsolved accidental that changes in a different
voice. ex G natural in alto and G# in tenor; ex. F# in tenor and F in alto;
dislocation that creates an interesting dissonance effect

The Clavecinists: 17th into early 18th century (1600-~1750)

Clah-vih-sähn pronunciation

 Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres: c. 1601-1672

 Jean Henri d’Anglebert: c. 1630-1691
 Louis Couperin: c. 1626-1661 (uncle of Francois)
 Jean-Phillipe Ramsau (1683-1764)
 Francois Couperin “Le grand” 1668-1733
 Johann Jacob Froberger 1616-1667 could sound like a German when he wanted to, an
Italian when he preferred, or a Frenchman when he wanted to

French clavicinist style:

 Flemish-style harpsichord: 2 manuals =keyboards, 3 choirs = full sets of strings (8’ 8’ 4’)
8’ = regular length, standard pitch, 4’ is an octave higher; plucking near the damper point
equals nasal tone, pluck near the middle equal rounder tone (remember muselar!)
 English / French lute style; free texture based on broken chords, adapted to the
keyboard; “style brise (broken style)”, “style luthe (sounds like a lute)”, improvisatory
sounding
 HIGHLY ornamented; developed tables explained exactly which ornament meant what…
but each composer’s symbols might mean something slightly different; Bach based his
on Francois Couperin’s ornaments
 Dance suite: cultivated far above others

French Baroque Dance suite:

 Dance types: Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, etc.

 Preludes
 Chaconne, Passacaille (passacaglia); originally were dances but evolved to be more
formal structure than a dance with rhythmic characteristics; both in triple meter but other
than that don’t sound very dance-like
  Character pieces: usually based on dance models, sometimes based on other styles;
later on in the 18th century once we get to 3rd generation people like Francois Couperin
and Jean Phillip Rameau
 Suites “created” by performer from unordered collections of dances; did not start as a
fixed set but rather as a create-your-own mix by any number of different composers; only
rule was it all had to be in the same key
 Bauyn and Parville manuscripts c. 1680 (composers had been doing this prior to
this time tho) = manuscript with many composers’ works
 grouped by key AND dance types: all C Major Allemandes, then all C Maj
Courantes, the Sarabandes, etc. NO c minor and no C# at all because they didn’t
use certain accidentals
 Bauyn rhymes with COIN
 Froberger created the first ordered suites in c. 1650, rather than being
swappable: order was AGCS
 Later in the century, the order of dances became standardized in France and
changed things to ACCSG (two Courantes) sometime between 1667 and
1680ish
 Gigue was the only dance where you would find imitation
 Rondeau form: A B A C A D A …each letter after A is a Couplet: B = 1st couplet,
C = 2nd couplet, etc.
 Rondo form: A B A C A B A
 unmeasured prelude: no time signature or rhythmic value: rhythm was up to the
performer; what look like ties give groupings and tell you which notes go
together, common during this time; some composers would give little clues of
which notes would be faster, but not always

Published = created with modern printing presses, those would be bound and sold
Manuscripts = professional copyist was hired to make a bunch of hand-copies, then those
volumes were sold

Francois Couperin “Le grand”

 Four collections of harpsichord suites: 1713, 1717, 1722, 1730 gathered into livres
(books)
 each livre contained a suite, which he called an ordre(s)
 each ordre contains many piece, player selects which subset to play
 Early ordres: ACCS(G or other piece), character pieces
 Later ordres: primarily character pieces and do away with the dances
 Titles of character pieces can come from a specific person, a type of person, or an
object
 Form: binary form, rondeau
 Style: style brise, Italian (two-part texture), melody/accompaniment
 notes inegales: unequal notes: short/long execution, has to be within a certain speed,
usually 8th notes because they’re fast enough but not too fast; have to be scalar
______________________________________________________

WEEK 2 - THURSDAY

Couperin: Passacaglia
 many couplets
  roll ornament had 2 possibilities: hook at top = roll from top, hook at bottom = roll from
bottom

Jean Phillipe - Rameau

 known for his operas
 theorist: his treatise on harmony is foundation for music theory today - most important is
the concept of a chord having a root
 three collections of harpsichord music
 1706 “first set of pieces for clavichord”; two allemands and one courante,
opposite; AACGSS with character pieces, ending with Gavotte and Minuet
 1724; E major, D maj/minor; E: dances and character pieces, D = dances only
 Nouvelle suites 1728 similar to 1724
 example: unmeasured prelude with rhythmic values written out, still no bar lines,
lots of freedom; some C#s included
 by the mid-late 17th century we now have both a tuning system and a tonal
system that looks more similar to modern major minor system; instrumental tones
that up through the Renaissance, by the Baroque things were evolved more to
Major minor rather than modal approach; not yet having the nomenclature of
roman numerals but implied in the music
 “Gavotte” et doubles (Gavotte and sequence of variations): one of the landmark works of
the early 18th century harpsichord rep
 Rameau tends to write music that translates well to the modern keyboard
 different symbol for downward roll is different than Couperin’s; Rameau = downward
sloping line
 larger LH spans than Couperin

types of variations: review

 constant melody (set melody)
 constant harmony
 division style, melody gets fragmented

____________________________________________________________________

Baroque Era:

 star composer: Girolamo Frescobaldi: leading organist of his day, very influential teacher
to his students including Froberger
 “Toccata e partite d’intavolatura I” 1615/1627 Italian tablature (intavolatura = in tablature
form)
 preface = one of our most important documents about performance practice,
talks about adapting vocal style to the keyboard, tips about execution
 sixteenth notes were played short long, short long, short long
 trills should be played and pause on the last note
 LISTENING: Frescobaldi Toccata No. 1 - Book 2: starts with half step 2x in
soprano, ornaments are added by performer (ribatuta = trill)
 could stop at any section when desired - not an overarching theme like in
Beethoven, but very segmented
  early baroque = when they invented opera, which was most important vocal genre
 dramatic style, using must express meaning of words; solo style so words are clear
 “stile rappresentativo” = portrays something, brings across something; aka seconds
prattica = new style
 new style also applied to madrigals
 saying keyboard music musci should be executed like medical, playing with rubato /
changing tempo, pausing with singing according to mood

Claudio Monteverdi: “Lamento della nina” from Madrigals, Book 8

 words saying she is lamenting her lost loves
 wow this is actually beautiful
 descending tetrachord
 constructed to highlight emotional words like “piangendo” (lamented), etc.

Opposite of intabulation = partituta; aka open score; had to be as good at reading partitura as
reading intabulation in this day

Michelangelo Rossi:
 roughly a contempoarary of Rescobaldi
 organist, composer, violinists
 keyboard musci, madrigals, operas
 “Toccata e corrente” (1630s-1640s), very chromatic style

Johann Kuhnau:
 Kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig; Bach’s predecessor!
 main compositions were for keyboard:
 suites (partie, partien)
 sonata
 first use of that term for multi-work movement solo keyboard work;
important model of what the sonata became in 18th century, BUT not like
the ones we understand today, just solo, multiple movement keyboard
works, not the structure
 “Musikalische Vorstellungen einiger Biblischer Historien” based on Bible stories:
most important = David and Goliath: 8 sections, each depicting a scene
(programmatic music); flight of the Philistines is depicted by a fugue (fugue
translates to flight)
 Goliath’s bravado = Major, not really what I was envisioning but okay

J.K.F. Fischer: “more listen-worthy” - Dr. Marks

 keyboard suites
 Ariadne Musica (1702)
 preludes and fugues in most keys
 F sharp, g sharp, e flat, b flat missing
 demonstration of “well temperament”
  LISTENING: Ariadne: Prelude and Fugue in E Major, No. 8
 shorter than Bach prelude and Fugue
 sounds jumbley
 almost a quarter century before WTC

Historical Tunings:

Pitch:
 physical vibrations
 1 vibration / sec = Hertz (Hz)
 range of human hearing: 20 HZ to 20,000 Hz

Overtone series:
 any tone produces higher-pitched tones along with it
 based on arithmetic progression: 100 Hz, 200, Hz, 300 Hz, 400 Hz
 tone that is played = “fundamental”, which is the first partial; other partials are the
overtones
 equal temperament: 5 and 7 are mich higher than true temperament
 intervals between overtones expressed as a ratio of their frequencies: 2:1 = octave, 3:2
perfect 5th; 7:6 is weird, only jazz players use it (“blue note”)
 “pure” / “just” intervals: can be expressed as a simple ratio ex. 3:2
 ratios can be translated into “cents”, ex. 1200 cents in an octave ,12 semitones = 100
cents each but not perfectly 100 between each (Maj 3rd = 386 cents)

Tuning:
 how do we tune 11 pitches from a single starting pitch?
 simplest interval: P5, up by 5ths (Pythagorean tuning), but doesn’t actually work
because the end result is 24 cents sharper; “syntonic comma”
 some intervals have to be adjusted from their just / pure form
 tempering - moving it from its pure form
 tempered - has been adjusted
 temperament = whole system has been done this way

Temperament types:
 Meantone: through c. 1700: temper 5ths, but keep 3rds as pure as possible; called
“meantone”, each fifth is 6 cents flat so 696 cents
 some keys are great in temper 5ths, but some keys are unusable, which makes it
a non-circulating temperament
 c. 1700-1800: temper 5ths and common 3rds a little, rare 3rds a lot (rare = uses a lot of
black notes)
 well temperament: WTC was written with well temperament
 circulating temperament
 all usable, some better than others
 after c 1800: temper all semitones so all are equal in size; what we’re used to today
 3rds are wird compared to pure 3rds
 all keys sound the same
 circulating temperament, and every key sounds the same
____________________________________________________________

Baroque Era:

 star composer: Girolamo Frescobaldi: leading organist of his day, very influential teacher
to his students including Froberger
 “Toccata e partite d’intavolatura I” 1615/1627 Italian tablature (intavolatura = in tablature
form)
 preface = one of our most important documents about performance practice,
talks about adapting vocal style to the keyboard, tips about execution
 sixteenth notes were played short long, short long, short long
 trills should be played and pause on the last note
 LISTENING: Frescobaldi Toccata No. 1 - Book 2: starts with half step 2x in
soprano, ornaments are added by performer (ribatuta = trill)
 could stop at any section when desired - not an overarching theme like in
Beethoven, but very segmented

 early baroque = when they invented opera, which was most important vocal genre
 dramatic style, using must express meaning of words; solo style so words are clear
 “stile rappresentativo” = portrays something, brings across something; aka seconds
prattica = new style
 new style also applied to madrigals
 saying keyboard music musci should be executed like medical, playing with rubato /
changing tempo, pausing with singing according to mood

Claudio Monteverdi: “Lamento della nina” from Madrigals, Book 8

 words saying she is lamenting her lost loves
 wow this is actually beautiful
 descending tetrachord
 constructed to highlight emotional words like “piangendo” (lamented), etc.

Opposite of intabulation = partituta; aka open score; had to be as good at reading partitura as
reading intabulation in this day

Michelangelo Rossi:
 roughly a contempoarary of Rescobaldi
 organist, composer, violinists
 keyboard musci, madrigals, operas
 “Toccata e corrente” (1630s-1640s), very chromatic style

Johann Kuhnau:
 Kantor of the Thomaskirche in Leipzig; Bach’s predecessor!
 main compositions were for keyboard:
 suites (partie, partien)
 sonata
  first use of that term for multi-work movement solo keyboard work;
important model of what the sonata became in 18th century, BUT not like
the ones we understand today, just solo, multiple movement keyboard
works, not the structure
 “Musikalische Vorstellungen einiger Biblischer Historien” based on Bible stories:
most important = David and Goliath: 8 sections, each depicting a scene
(programmatic music); flight of the Philistines is depicted by a fugue (fugue
translates to flight)
 Goliath’s bravado = Major, not really what I was envisioning but okay

J.K.F. Fischer: “more listen-worthy” - Dr. Marks

 keyboard suites
 Ariadne Musica (1702)
 preludes and fugues in most keys
 F sharp, g sharp, e flat, b flat missing
 demonstration of “well temperament”

 LISTENING: Ariadne: Prelude and Fugue in E Major, No. 8

 shorter than Bach prelude and Fugue
 sounds jumbley
 almost a quarter century before WTC

Historical Tunings:

Pitch:
 physical vibrations
 1 vibration / sec = Hertz (Hz)
 range of human hearing: 20 HZ to 20,000 Hz

Overtone series:
 any tone produces higher-pitched tones along with it
 based on arithmetic progression: 100 Hz, 200, Hz, 300 Hz, 400 Hz
 tone that is played = “fundamental”, which is the first partial; other partials are the
overtones
 equal temperament: 5 and 7 are mich higher than true temperament
 intervals between overtones expressed as a ratio of their frequencies: 2:1 = octave, 3:2
perfect 5th; 7:6 is weird, only jazz players use it (“blue note”)
 “pure” / “just” intervals: can be expressed as a simple ratio ex. 3:2
 ratios can be translated into “cents”, ex. 1200 cents in an octave ,12 semitones = 100
cents each but not perfectly 100 between each (Maj 3rd = 386 cents)

Tuning:
 how do we tune 11 pitches from a single starting pitch?
 simplest interval: P5, up by 5ths (Pythagorean tuning), but doesn’t actually work
because the end result is 24 cents sharper; “syntonic comma”
 some intervals have to be adjusted from their just / pure form
 tempering - moving it from its pure form
 tempered - has been adjusted
 temperament = whole system has been done this way
Temperament types:
 Meantone: through c. 1700: temper 5ths, but keep 3rds as pure as possible; called
“meantone”, each fifth is 6 cents flat so 696 cents
 some keys are great in temper 5ths, but some keys are unusable, which makes it
a non-circulating temperament
 c. 1700-1800: temper 5ths and common 3rds a little, rare 3rds a lot (rare = uses a lot of
black notes)
 well temperament: WTC was written with well temperament
 circulating temperament
 all usable, some better than others
 after c 1800: temper all semitones so all are equal in size; what we’re used to today
 3rds are wird compared to pure 3rds
 all keys sound the same
 circulating temperament, and every key sounds the same

UNIT TWO:

WEEK 3 - TUESDAY

J.S. Bach, CPE Bach, George Friedrich Handel, Telemann, and Domenico Scarlatti in this unit.

Haydn highly valued the CPE Bach essay , Beethoven also used it in his teachings

My presentation is on the Courante: due Sept 20th.

Fraktur = old style embellished writing font,

___________________________________________________________________

Georg Philipp Telemann: 1681-1767; classical composer, very prolific; studied law in Leipzig but
no formal music study, self-taught; founded the “Collegium Musicum” in Leipzig in 1702 -
student musicians giving public concerts, something Bach took over when he was there;
appointed city Kantor in Hamburg (guy in charge of music in the city) and founded another
collegium musicum in Hamburg as well, directed public concerts; Telemann thought music
should be accessible as seen through his public concerts he directed and giving student
musicians chances to perform. Would write things in the simplest way, but if you knew your
music theory and knew how to fill things in, that was totally acceptable.

fun facts:
 Kuhnau was Leipzig’s music director and tried to restrict Telemann from doing his
freelancing while he was in Leipzig
 Telemann was the unanimous choice after Kuhnau died to be appointed the musical
director, but he denied it; Bach later became appointed as the 3rd choice
 about 145 keyboard works by Telemann
 mostly light in character (Gelanteriestucke)
  suites, just as every German keyboard composer did (in the French style)
 2 collections of minuets (7x7+1, 2x collections = 100)
 fugues (contrapuntal, not what he’s known for)
 36 fantasies (1732), organized into dozens
 1st dozen: Italian style
 “Concerto Grosso”
 orchestral type work, contrasts full ensemble (ripieno or
tutti) with solo group (concertino); ALWAYS starts with
large ensemble stating the main theme, then the soloists
come later
 ripieno has distinctive musical material that returns several
times in a movement (ritornello)
 concertino typically has more figurative material
 Italian style: concerto grosso and ritornello form; the
harpsichord was not used until J.S. Bach
 texture: tutti vs. concertino, 2-part texture (feature of
keyboard music not ritornello as a whole)
 2nd dozen (Douzaine): French style
 French style: French ornaments; restrained, noble character;
dance: gavotte; use of French terminology
 3rd dozen: mix of styles

Italian equivalent of virginal = Cembalo; stringed keyboard

Concerto Grosso was often signaled by doubling at the octave.

George Frideric Handel: 1685-1759

 not successful in his day for keyboard music, or even today
 leading vocal composer of the time: oratorios (made him most famous in England) and
operas
 Born in Germany, active there and Italy early in life, but settled in England in 1713
 Influence of Italian vocal style, brings this, French and German tradition to England
 writes suites, variations, and fugues for keyboard - two publications, one in 1720 that
had 7 suites, other one c. 1732: publisher (Walsh) got a bunch of Handel’s keyboard
manuscripts and published them and “made a quick buck” so it wasn’t Handel himself

Handel’s Italian influences in keyboard music:

 Italian “sonata” genres: 2 genres
 (not solo, but chamber: “trio” sonata contains 4 people, 2 soloists (ex. violins),
harpsichordist and something else that plays the bass line; called trio sonata
because it’s 2 solo parts and the continuo, which is considered one thing but
played by 2 people)
 sonata da chiesa: translates to church sonata; 4 movements, slow fast slow fast,
some dance-like elements but not like a suite - Handel brings into keyboard
music for some of his suites
 sonata da camera: dance based, usually 3-5 movements
 Most probably composed in 1710s and 1720s
 8 in first set of 1720
 7 in second set of 1732 (bootleg production by Walsh)
 combination of French dances and Italian sonata influences
  movements titled “allegro”, “andante”

French overture characteristics: orchestral genre in mid 17th century

 starts slow, if tempo marking it would be Grave or Adagio
 dotted rhythms - most people over-dot but there’s academic questioning about that
recently… just double-dot!
 fast rising gestures, usually scales
 binary form, second part is presto

Handel Harmonious Blacksmith notes: Air and Variations

 divisions: rhythm values keep getting smaller: starts with 8ths, then 16th dipole, then
16th triple, then 32nd, etc
 feeling that things are building, whole suite has an arc so it needs to be played together

England in the 18th century: strong choral tradition, oratorio was widely accepted because of
that

____________________________________________________

KIRBY 59-61, 35-51

Bach: 1685-1750
 music wasn’t strictly intended for piano because it only came into general use after his
death; music was meant for harpsichord, clavichord or organ
 editing of his works began in 1950s
 grew more involved with secular works during the latter portion of his life, especially late
1720s
 few of his keyboard compositions were published his lifetime; not published includes
organ and the WTC, french and english suites
WTC:
 all keys, ascending from C, Major then minor
 didactic work meant for instruction for young people but also for skilled people
 well-tempered = tuning system
 prelude and fugue are an outgrowth of the old toccata. but shorter; preludes are usually
continuous wholes and not broken into sections, fugues are stricter
 preludes have motivic phrases like scales or arpeggio patterns
 some preludes ARE divided by tempo changes, imitation and figuration, binary form,
recapitulation effect by bringing material back from the beginning, “rounded binary form”
= use of a “recapitulation” combined with binary form (common in dances of the time)
 other effects in preludes:
 style brise
 chamber-music medium of a trio sonata
 concerto-like alternation between a solo part and an accompaniment
 orchestral form
 arioso, associated with recitative of opera seria
 pastoral, often related to the siciliano dance
 allemande
 corrente
  gigue
 sarabande
 effects in fugues:
 3- or 4-voices usually, 2- or 5- rarely
 usually has a subject and a countersubject
 some have two countersubjects
 subjects with long, slow notes
 subjects related to canzona
 subjects related to dances, like the gigue
 some fugues are divided in two parts, some are conjunct

Other didactic pieces are contained in his Clavierbüchlein: sets of little preludes, inventions,
sinfonias, French suites, etc.

The Suites:
 English Suites:
 c. 1722-1726
 uses French dances, but other dances that are inserted are German
 mostly all binary form, with double air near the middle, moving through tonic to
dominant or relative major, some going back to tonic
 allemande: retains slow duple, but changes subject to use short motives from
scales, runs, broken chords, or standard patterns; dance has become
generalized, so its specific features were lost during stylization
 courante notes below (for project)
 sarabande: stylization didn’t change it as much as others, so it still had the slow
dance in triple time
 gigue: exists in French and Italian types, but in English Bach only uses elaborate
French type; keeps fast compound triple; technique is imitative counterpoint
using 2 or 3 voices, frequently inverting theme after the double bar
 most frequently encountered optional dances: minuet, bourree, and gavotte
 less frequent options: angelassen, louvre, polonaise, passepied, and air
 English suites are larger than French suites, not only because the movements
are longer but they also all start with a prelude as the opening movement
 French Suites:
 Partitas:

Courante-specific notes:
 Bach distinguished between the French courante and Italians corrente, preserving the
terminology, but later editions label them all courante.
 The corrente, found in four of the French suites but none in ENglish suites, is in quick
triple time and makes use of motives made up of figurative elements
 courante found in all other suites is more refined and elaborate, moves in compound
meter (6/4 or 3/2), sometimes changing between two beats each subdivided by three,
and three beats subdivided by two, known as a hemiola.

_________________________________________________
J.S. Bach: 1685-1750

 born in Eisenach (Central Germany)

 parents died while he was young, raised by his older brother Johann Cristoph
 was not popular in his lifetime
 stylistic evolution is tied to his jobs
 first professional gig was when he was 18, close to home in Arnstadt 1703-1707,
Neukirche (now Bachkirche)
 mainly composed organ music
 took a one-month leave to walk 200 miles to Lübeck to hear Buxtehude play (gone
nearly 3 months); Buxtehude wanted Bach to marry his daughter, Bach said nah but
studied under him; Buxtehude was important organist
 next stop: Mühlhausen, again as an organist at a church, 1707-1708
 composed organ works and cantatas
 Weimar: court musician at the Weimar Court 1708-1717; court organist and member of
the court orchestra, became familiar with Italian style and form, Ritornello and Da Capo
by arranging lots of other works, concerto arrangements, concerti arrangements for solo
keyboard
 English Suites from this period (mid teens)
 1716: he is passed over for position of court musical director; Bach finds a new position
in Cöthen (little more northeast), but the Duke of Weimar throws him in jail because he
doesn’t want him to leave, but after a month Bach is released
 Cöthen position was 1717-1723, music director for court of Prince Leopold of Cöthen
 primarily chamber and orchestral music
 sonatas for violin and viola da gamba, Brandenburg Concertos, pedagogical keyboard
works
 French Suites, Inventions - Sinfonias, WTC part 1
 back in Leipyig, 1723-1750: Thomasschule and Thomaskirche
 director of church music for the entire city AND for the school
 first several years: TONS of cantatas, sometimes one per week
 after 1726, more keyboard works: partitas (Clavierübung pt 1), Italian Concerto,
French Overture (Clavierübung, pt 2), Goldberg Variations, WTC part 2

 Bach's musical style:

 Incorporated elements of old and new into his music, ex. the Suites and the
Partitas (Galant)
 Italian influence is very important: ritornello, da capo, sonata forms
 basic reliance on contrapuntal textures BUT different from contrapuntal
techniques of earlier composers
 in fugues: violinistic figuration, dance references, recitative-like figures
 great melodic and rhythmic independence
 harmonic concept: bass line, figures that give intervals/harmony (vs.
species counterpoint, describes educational method where there are
rules about note-against-note,melodic lines, 2-1, 3-1, etc.)
 structure: rounded (gesture that shows the idea is completed)
modulations to related keys rather than sectionally additive process
 late works: Stile Antico (musical offering, art of fugue) harmony is
structured to show when the phrases end, sequences, etc.
  Bach lost his vision and went blind bc of a surgery at the end of his life, so anything that
was written was actually dictated; last thing we have is a choral prelude he dictated to
his helper

 Fugue has to have an answer in the first statement that is a different pitch, usually on the
dominant
 imitating is bounding voice to voice, sequencing is when it stays in the same voice

Look up Scheibe*s review of Bach for an example of reciprocals!

Partitas:
 6 of them; contain introductory movements, some short some elaborate; set order of
dances is mostly maintained along with their styles, optional dances include the minuet,
rondeau, burlesca, scherzo, passepied, gavotte, aria.

Suite in B minor: adaptation of orchestral styles and types to the keyboard; starts with large
French overture, followed by dances that are usually optional for dance suites, with a few usuals
thrown in. would’ve required a two-manual harpsichord because of the dynamic changes,
pieces are simpler than usual keyboard suites because its an orchestral adaptation.

Capriccio: 2 of them, 1 of which is programmatic

Sonata: four of five are definitely authentic, all are transcriptions

The Italian Concerto in F Major; keyboard composition in the style of an Italian orchestral
concerto, movements are Fast Slow Fast.

3 sets of variations, one of doubtful authenticity; key work is the Goldberg Variations.

Goldberg Variations: theme is called Aria and is a melody in sarabande rhythm, highly
embellished and in binary form. melody from the bass of the aria is the subject of the variations,
standard variation techniques of the Baroque era, variation appears in the bass except for 2 of
them, every third variation is a canon, each being a different interval so it’s a full canon cycle,
each variation has a specific character, last piece combines two well-known German songs

Art of the Fugue: first stage from late 1730s-1748, second 1748-1749, being posthumously
published in 1751; contains mostlz fugues ont he same subject that each increase in
complexity; planned or do a quadruple fugue in which the fourth subject was his name spelled
out, as in Bb, A, C, B nat, but he died before it was finished.

The Musical Offering: souvenir of a visit to the court fo Frederick the Great in Berlin in 1747;
king gave him a theme to improvise on (standard of the time) and Bach did, the king asked for a
6-part fugue the next day but Bach wasn’t happy with it so he composed a group of works
based other theme and presented the manuscript to the king as a quote musical offering and it
was published. mostlz consists of canons and a trio sonata not for solo keyboard, BUT two
ricercar are definitely keyboard music.

Most of Bach’s works were unknown until the Bachgesellschaft edition in the second half of the
19th century.

End of the Baroque in Germany and France: important German contemporaries of Bach:
Johann Mattheson (1681-1764, prominent theorist,critic, and writer on music, wrote several
keyboard works), Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Christoph Graupner (1683-1760), and
George Frideric Handel - last three are among foremost composers of their time, all composed
some keyboard music.

Handel’s keyboard music takes secondary position in his works; second set of his suites was
published by Walsh, not prepared by Handel as the first set published by Cluer was. Suites
represent his most important contribution: Italian type of corrente is used, sarabande is slow
movement, gigue is mostly Italian giga, though some imitative French versions are included
also; preludes go with tradition, are short and figurative. Prelude to the Suite in G minor is a
French overture. Dances with variation are important: normal forms of passacaille, chaconne,
are here but also minuet with three variations, sarabande with two variations, three airs (each
with five variations) which are here called double.

Normal arrangement of the movements (referring to Froberger, Bach, etc.) is in the second set
of the suites, but even few of these have that order. There are other movements that aren’t even
dances that are substituted in, like fugues, largos, and prestos.

Influence of Italian instrumental ensemble blue music shows in fugues wit driving rhythms,
violinistic type of diguration, and free treatment of fugal technique. Those movements are
designated simply by tempo markings, and only appear in Handel’s first set of suites.
Relationship to the traditional suite has become loose.

__________________________________

SCHULENBURG, 149-159

Inventions and Sinfonias: entered Clavier-Büchlein (from now on referred to as CB) around the
same time, many in Bach’s drafts, similarities of style, dimensions and overall concept between
the two, supporting the idea that they originated in the same brief period. Many reflect Bach’s
galant elements in his keyboard polyphony: “sigh” figures, expressive singing melodies.

Presumed that CB originally included all 15 inventions and all 15 sonfinias, under the names
Praeambulum and Fantasia. last two leaves of music have been lost, last sinfonia and a half lost
with it. most are transcribed by Sebastian. When copying them to the CB a few months later,
Sebastian slightly revised them. Bach also added pedagogical explanations for each work as a
whole.

Both sets were frequently copied by members of the Bach circle; Bach used to assign students
tedious technical exercises which were eventually replaced by the Inventions; his students
worked on the Inventions before working on the suites; pieces served as exercises in
performance and models for composition, as seen by Friedmann’s and Emanuel’s keyboard
sonatas, which reflect imitations of inventions and sonfonias.

inventio: invention of motivic material

Bach says the pieces are “above all”, to teach a cantabile manner of performance and a preview
of Composition, what we would call counterpoint. Inventions reflected earlier imitative preludes,
Fantasia distinguished them as 3-part pieces, rather than the 2-part Inventions.

Bach had essentially created two new keyboard genres by adding these new titles: Inventions
have invertiere counterpoint which shows in the openings that have imitation at the octave
rather than the fifth. Thematic material is usually lively, subjects are concise, Inventions have a
modern, galant character because of this.

Sinfonias are often called 3-part Inventions; this started with Forkel. But Bach was right to
change the name because there are more distinctions that should be seen: subjects are usually
longer than inventions’ subjects, texture resembles contemporary ensemble texture, specifically
the bass accompanying the initial entry of the subject, which is placed in either of the top two
voices. Every Sinfonia starts this way! With two exceptions, there is NO permutational
counterpoint. Bass is usually distinct in material and style from the upper voices, except when
stating the subject.

For both Inventions and Sinfonias, NBA edition is preferred over other editions, but
unfortunately doesn’t have Ratz’s analytical essay with bar-by-bar commentary.

Inventions: General uniformity, occasional odd ones out, including No. 2 in C minor, No. 6 in E
in binary / sonata form, last intention in B minor is odd because treble has more importance over
the bass than usual.

Basic structural principles of inventions: opening phrase usually leads to a cadence in the
dominant (or relative major), at which point the initial bar to two is recapitulated in inverted
counterpoint. Next phrase in No. 6 (E) the expansion of each phrase into a period and the
insertion of an actual double bar leads to a genuine sonata form - Invention No. 9 (f min) doesn’t
follow this, but rather delays the cadence until midpoint, making it binary, and No. 2 (C minor) is
strict canon.

A few possess nearly exact binary or ternary form (1:1 or 1:1:1). Inventions No’s. 7 (e min) and
13 (a min) Bach broken his almost exact symmetries by expanding the third section. By adding
a restatement of the opening bar in bar 19 in the a minor invention, Bach put it into sonata form,
and bars 14-17 become a genuine retransition. for almost all inventions, the versions of the later
autograph only differ in details from those of the CB.

Unisons between the parts will cause hands to collide; slurs pose editorial problems and
questions of interpretation; written-out ornaments and embellishments suggest that one of the
uses for these pieces was to teach students ornamentation.

Sinfonias:
  less familiar to most players because they were too difficult for beginners and studied
less;
 combine galant melody with lively counterpoint;
 more like true fugues than the Inventions, shown by the formal designs which resemble
those of Bach’s fugues, with distinct episodes and recapitulated episodal passages;
 embellishments pose interpretive problems
 Sinfonia No. 9 in F minor has rhetorical pauses in its subject and schematic voice-
leading of the two countersubjects; subject itself contains a transposition of the B-A-C-H
motive (Ab, G, Bb, A in this case), and the bass in the first two bars originally (in CB)
included a quotation of the four-note subject of C# min fugue of WTC1. F minor also has
harsh appoggiaturas and dissonant melodic intervals at the start. Expression is in the
regularity of the formal design and bold dissonance / tortuous melody.
 B minor sinfonia is written awkwardly, so is Sinfonia no. 14 in Bb.

_____________________________________________________

SCHULENBURG, pg. 276-280

Clavierübung (keyboard practice): the six Partitas

 culmination of Bach’s keyboard suites
 new approaches to traditional keyboard dances
 new types of keyboard texture
 increasing use of galant melody and harmony instead of imitative counterpoint
 overture of No.4 is the only one that adheres to the tradition
 Bach announced the set of 6 suites in 1726, they were issued separately in ~annual
installments 1726-1730, then reissued in a collected second edition in 1731
 by 1726, WTC 1 and English suites might’ve seemed too long and old-fashioned;
Partitas reveal an interest in new keyboard textures and uninhibited keyboard display
(perhaps reflecting Bach learning of new works by Rameau and others, which he might
have first encountered at Leipzig, where he had been since 1723)
 Bach was following Kuhnau’s model of four volumes of keyboard music and evidence
that he planned to have seven keyboard suites, reflecting Kuhnau’s Parthian
 Partitas were intended for private practice and amusement, not public performance
 opening piece in Clavierübung isn’t very large compared to English suites, and light in
texture, but for the standards of the day it was very technically challenging and was seen
as a novel work (novel meaning new, not long… this is a note for Gracie specifically
lmao)
 opens with the fantasia- or concerto-like arpeggiation
 praeludium = basically a sinfonia or 3-part invention
 allemande
 sarabande uses written-out embellishment similar to what Bach gave for the
sarabande in English Suite no. 3; embellishment of simple underlying lines is
such a basic element of Bach’s mature style that there is no reason to believe
there was a version without such ornamentation
 corrente (Italian title here)
 minuets
 giga is the final movement, has hand-crossings every bar which is without
precedent; closer to an arpeggiando prelude than a French or Italian jig; Bach
must’ve expected musicians to be familiar with hand-crossing from other
examples cause there is no preface or rubric
________________________________________________________

WEEK 4 - TUESDAY: still J.S. Bach

Invention No. 9 in F minor: subjects are introduced in ms 1, hands swap in ms. 5

Sinfonia No. 2: kind of fudging the 3-voice rule, mostly only 2-voices; definitely a starter
sinfonia.

Sinfonia No. 9: definitely harder, three voices at all times

Well-Tempered Clavier:
 Bach did NOT publish it, he assembled it into a manuscript and his students hand-
copied it
 2 parts (now called Books): 1722 and 1742
 ut re mi (Major) or re mi fa (minor); didn’t have major or minor yet because the tuning
system was still so new
 prior models: J.K.F. Fischer: Ariadne Musica (1702) but not all keys yet, Johann
Mattheson: Exemplarische Organisten-Probe (1719) figured bass in all 24 keys
 Diversity of styles:
 assembled from various sources
 Clavierbüchlein
 Prior compositions
 other pieces from various composers
 new pieces written for the WTC
 Intent: Pedagogical value, domestic

Differences between the 2 parts:

Part 1: smaller in scale, more preludes based on arpeggios and chords, fugues are between 2
and 5 voices, more are 3 or 4

Part 2: larger scale, more use of sonata forms, more galant features (later in the century, so
there are some elements of galant style that he chooses to select), only 3 or 4 part fugues

Preludes:
 often distinctive genre or style types
 especially common in first part are arpeggiando preludes, fleshed out with some kind of
figuration (usually very consistent)
 arpeggiando - based on a chord, can be fleshed out with neighbor notes
 often uses the same progression
 Toccata-type preludes ex. Eb Major from Book I
 Arioso examples: song-like, emphasis on long-lined melody (for Baroque era, that is)
 Trio Sonata texture in Book I - really is 3 parts in this though, two parts in melodic top
section imitating each other plus a bass line
 Misc: Concerto Grosso style, French Overture style, Sonata form, etc.
Formal Structures:
 “Rounded modulations (very clear cadences) to closely related keys” the preparation
and arrival is what is most important, doesn’t have to stay in the key for really any time
after that
 Binary Form
 “Through-composed”
 Sonata Forms

Fugues:
 fewer well-established genre types in the fugues
 stile antico - based on ricercar or canzona
 spielfuge - instrumental figuration, violin string crossing concepts
 dance fugues, especially gigue
 many fugues do not fit a single classification because they mix styles
 fugue is a COMPOSITIONAL TECHNIQUE, not a form
 before Bach, fugues usually were a section of a larger work
 in the WTC, Bach set a basic structure for the fugue as a free-standing piece
Formal structure of fugues in the WTC:
 exposition is the statement of the subject in ALL of the voices; sometimes SATB,
sometimes not
 episodes: alternate fugue subject statements with the episode, which is material often
based on motives from the subject
 Subsequent statement(s) of the fugue statement; if subject is included in all voices,
considered another exposition, but this is rare because it can’t be interrupted by
episodes so it HAS to be completely in succession
 Countersubject: distinctive counterpoint to the main subject; usually accompanies a
statement of the subject
 Tonal vs. Real answer: Real uses exact intervals, interval by interval, while Tonal
answers will slightly alter intervals, often 5th and 4th
 (just for fun) first statement of the subject is Dux, Comes is the follower which is the
adjusted answer
 sequence: common in episodes

___________________________________________

MARSHALL, pg 104-106, 109-112

Italian Concerto and French Overture:

 published in 1735, four years after the partita collection; published in Part 2 of the
Clavierübung
 continues the succession of ascending tonics represented by the firs, second,
fourth and fifth partitas (Bb, c, D, e), then the French Overture in F is the first
piece in the new volume
 Bach juxtaposes the French and Italian styles, which Couperin also did, maybe
following his style?
  Italian Concerto BWV 971:
 formal clarity
 textural simplicity
 tons of two- and four-measure phrases, small-scale repetition, frequent and
emphatic cadences, contrasting solo theme, drum bass accompaniments, regular
ritornello designs and recapitulations in out movements - all of these are traits of
the pre-Classical concerto style, cultivated in the 1730s and 1740s in Italy and
Germany
 French Overture BWV 831:
 very retrospective, represents the French rococo
 follows older French practice in its separation of the remaining core movements
from each each other
 reinstates paired dances

Most of the music Bach wrote while in Leipzig was written between 1726-1741, in the four
volumes of the Clavierübung, The Art of the Fugue or Part II of the WTC. He was consumed by
his duties with the Leipzig Collegium musicum and his connections with Dresden.

Wrote 7 clavier concertos between parts 2 and 3 of Clavierübungö not sure if they were written
for performance or recitals Bach would give at Dresden.

Clavierübung does NOT have a volume of fugues; possibly that he intended to use some of the
material from the Art of the Fugue or WTC II.

Goldberg Variations:
 commissioned
 usually regarded as a new era of Bach compositions
 published as the last volume of the Clavierübung
 theme is a kind of sarabande, all 30 variations are built on the same 32-measure ground
bass
 9 are strict canons
 an overture, a fugue, a trio sonata
 several different dances
 quodlibet (medley of popular tunes)
 keyboard writing is elaborate, demanding, idiomatic for the keyboard
 patterns are modern for that day because they are considered disorderly and excessive

The Art of the Fugue:

 Bach’s final composition, published posthumously and was unfinished at his death; most
often work was completed by 1742, within a year of the Goldberg Variations being
published
 unites based compositional premises of Goldberg variations and WTC II; experiments
with serious contrapuntal styles and techniques
 not just an anthology but also a Gradus ad Parnassum of counterpoint
 14 movements, untitled, arranged in order of complexity or contrapuntal rigor
 reminiscent of stile antico
 intense chromaticism, dissonance, tonal obscurity; modern and even visionary,
experimental

________________________________________________
WEEK 4 - THURSDAY

WTC II - 1742

Bach didn’t jump into Galant style, but gradually started to add them

Other learned technique Bach didn’t use: retrograde; not used in 18th century fugue writing but
IS used in canons at this time, multi voice composition that created and applies rules to the
melodic line

Spielfuge: based on instrumental technique

Suites:
 6 English Suites: (nothing English about it stylistically)
 probably written in 1710s, probably the first set of suites he wrote
 title is not from Bach
 intermediate difficulty (vs. French and Partitas)
 each begins with a prelude, most show concerto grosso style
 contrapuntal element
 1st suite (A Maj) is different in style from the others; prelude = 3-part sinfonia, 2
courantes; seems to be earlier than the others
 keys are A Maj, a min, g min, F Maj, e min, and d min
 6 French Suites: (also nothing French about them)
 misc. suites in a minor and Eb Major that are similar, but since 6 was the number
of those days, they weren’t included
 written in early 1720s, appear in the Clavierbüchlein for AMB
 assembled in 1725 ,wrote out fair copies, NOT published
 title is not from Bach
 smaller in scale than the English suites, easiest out of the three
 simpler in style - maybe pedagogical origin since they were in the AMB’s
notebook (AMB = his 2nd wife)
 seems to be galant influence
 Nos. 1-3 are older style than 4-6
 courantes of 1 and 3 are of a French type, different from the other (3/2)
 Sarabande of I is more similar to English suites
 Gigue of I is in duple time (old French style)
 keys: d min, c min, b min, Eb Maj, G Maj, E Maj
 6 partitas:
 written in late 1720s, early 1730s
 these DO get published, only ones to be published
 make up Clavierübung I
 more emphasis on melody (but not simpler)
 greater emphasis on making them a “significant” work; movements are longer
and have more notes
 first is easiest, the rest are more challenging technically, some are “ferocious”
 each has an opening movement, but each has a different title
 keys: Bb Maj, c min, a min, D Maj (opening movement is Overture, French
Overture style), G Maj, and e min
 French Overture: in Clavierübung II, paired with Italian Concerto
  These were written as teaching pieces for domestic use
 French Style + German Counterpoint
o imitation in Allemande, Courante, and Gigue
 Ornamentation is fully notated (certain exceptions in the English suites)
 Formally structured
o double bar
o rounded binary form

Courante: Bach has courantes in ¾ and 3/2; textures are usually very different from each other,
the 3/2 G Minor English suite courante is very challenging, ¾ is much simpler; uses hemiola at
the end of this example

courante research:

“Suite”: (new grove 2nd edition: Crouch Ref. ML 100.N48 v.18

“in a general sense, any ordered set of instrumental pieces meant to be performed at a single
sitting; during the Baroque period, an instrumental genre consisting of several movements in the
same key, some or all of which were based on the forms and styles of dance music”

“Courante” v.4:
French translates to “running”, “flowing”
origins are hard to discern; examples include Pierre Phalèse’s “Currendo”, Sebastian
Vredeman’s “Le courante”, and Emanuel Adriaenssen’s “courrante”, all of these are from the
mid to late 16th century

Was popularized as a dance in France and Italy by the early 17th century; the end of the 17th
century saw two distinct types: the Italian “corrente”, which usually used binary form, was in a
fast triple meter, and usually had a clear melodic journey; and the French “Courante”, which was
in a slow triple (usually 3/2), frequently used the hemiola, and was quite contrapuntal and noble

German trained in Italy were more likely to compose the Italian style, Germans not in Italy
leaned toward the French style

New Grove says “The early 17th century Italian corrente was a courtship dance combining fixed
with improvised step patterns. A general air of gaiety prevailed, the dances seeming to run
rather than walk, moving from side to side in zigzag fashion.”

The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book actually had 14 pieces that were labeled “corranto”, and the
Elizabeth Roger’s Virginal Book from 1657 also had “corantos”, so they were more common
than might first be apparent.

Correntes in Germany were not only integrated into standard practice, but were also written to
show off the full features of the keyboard.
In contrast to the lightheartedness of the Italian Corrente, the French Courante was a weighty
dance that modeled nobility and formality.

___________________________________________________

MARSHALL 154-155:

Scarlatti researchers:

 not well known in the beginning of the 19th century, only a few piano sonatas might be
played at the beginning of a recital
 Ralph Kirkpatrick published the first full-scale study of Scarlatti in 1953, concluding
biographical info, his life in context, analytical model for his sonatas, his instruments,
performance / performance practice, etc.
 Joel Sheveloff’s doctoral dissertation questioned Kirkpatrick’s research/conclusions, and
also continued in two monographs on Scarlatti
 Robert Pagano’s “Scarlatti, Alessandro e Domenico: due vote in una” isn’t available in
English but looks into Scarlatti’s relationship with his father, which was/is very
mysterious
 more on Scarlatti later

Domenico Scarlatti:
 keyboard sonatas are in three major sources, none of them autograph:
 Essercizi per Gravicembalo (1739)
 set of 15 manuscript volumes in Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Mss.
9770-9784
 another manuscript set of 15 volumes in Parma, Conservatorio Arrigo Boito
 all three collections have 30 sonatas
 each work only needs one page turn, large font which seems to be for someone
nearsighted

KIRBY 66-71

Italy had significant musical developments:

 sonata becoming established as an important keyboard genre
 fugue was still used by more conservative musicians (Giuseppe Bencini, Gaetano
Greco, Antonio Caldara,, Andrea Basilii); declined by end of the 18th century
____________________________________________________________

Bach/Suites:

Dinu Lipati - performer

Bach’s ornament table was based on Couperin’s

French suites are smaller in scale and much easier than English suites
French suites are at least one movement smaller than the Partitias and English suites; more
top-line / melodically oriented, not based on imitative counterpoint

3/4 time signature: Corrente has 3 syllables! go off of time signature

3/2 or 6/4 is Courante

French Suite No. 4 in E-flat major: Allemande is almost all written in stile brise, the only of its
kind

French Suites: first 3 (d min, c min, b min) are more old-fashioned, more contrapuntal, last 3
(Eb, G, E) more melodic, a bit lighter

Partitas:
 1: Bb Major (Listening)
 starts with Praeludium, written in style of sinfonia
 1st in Bb Major is most accessible, rest are more challenging
 written basically second half of 1720s, starts going out of style - bending rules /
tendencies, going against type
 Assimilation: the prevailing triplet subdivision forces the dotted rhythms to line up
with triplets - triplet with the overarching 3 was not in notation at the time
 2: C Minor, most commonly done
 has dramatic opening (Sinfonia (but not THAT sinfonia) Grave with dotted
rhythms), kind of in the style of a French overture, arioso = song-like with top line
melody and bass accompaniment
 includes a Rondeau, ends with a Capriccio - not typical Bach, but French idea of
suite was a lot more flexible
 4: D Major
 starts with overture, fast rising scales, dotted rhythms throughout, in binary form,
leads to a fugue in second half
 6: E Minor (Listening), pinnacle of difficulty / complexity
 notes on the listening page

French Overture: key of B Minor

 starts with a… French overture, ends with a fugue
 evoking older French style
 tons of dances compared to typical bach suite

Italian Concerto:
 several un-Bach elements in imitating lighter Italian style; less sophisticated imitation
 contrasting section in concerto grosso style, very simple clearly accompanimental LH
and piano/forte markings, soloistic (uses two manuals)
 both marked forte later, showing migrated back to a single manual, really utilized the two
manuals
 unusual for these markings to be explicitly marked in a piece, very clear of what Bach
intended
Domenico Scarlatti: Italian, son of Alessandro Scarlatti who was also a well-known musician,
until age 35 his father’s career overshadowed his; 1719 appointed chapel director in Lisbon,
Portugal; teaches the princess of King Barbara, follows her to Madrid when she marries Spanish
crown prince; Scarlatti spent rest of his career on the Iberian peninsula; wrote a lot of music but
is remembered as a keyboard composer and what he calls sonatas

 most sonatas are based on “sonata principle”

 7 fugues
 4 rondos
 some titled menuet, pastorale, etc.
 most behave as binary form using the sonata principle
 nothing autographed by Scarlatti so dates are uncertain, every Scarlatti sonata is mid-
18th century for test
 2 manuscript collections: Venice and Parma, mostly the same content
 earliest things written: Essercizi per Gravicembalo written by 1738, published in London
 Rosengrave (same one who did unauthorized Handel edition) repeat printed the
essercizi + various other sonatas
 Miscellaneous manuscripts make up the rest of 560 sonatas
 Ralph Kirkpatrick: authored scholarly biography which analyzed Scarlatti’s style as a
composer as well as overview of his life, he created a catalogue of Scarlatti keyboard
compositions (that’s the K number! K for Kirkpatrick)
 improved Alessandro Longo’s publication from c. 1900, valuable because it was
the first time Scarlatti sonatas were put together in modern edition, but he added
slurs, dynamics, changed notes, arranged them into suites with no basis, etc.
“bowdlerized”
 some of Kirkpatrick’s concepts: Parma and Venice manuscript collections were major
source of his analysis, noted that there were a number of sonata that seemed to be
paired with a keynote relationship, end of sonata had “volts subito” meaning turn right
away, so you would go right onto the next sonata; has come under scholarly scrutiny but
not something to worry about as a performer
 form of most of these are binary with double bar
 sonata principle: two part of binary form
 ||: A - B :||: A (or C) - B :||
 tonic (A) modulates to dominant (B), second part can begin in any key (within reason,
doesn’t have to be dominant etc, can use old material or be entirely new), at some opint
prepares the dominant of the Tonic, strong restatement of B rather than A; modulatory to
V7 to T; sonata principle is because the material from the dominant key has to come
back in the tonic key TEST QUESTION ON THIS
 what’s new in the dominant has to come back in the tonic - that’s the big idea of sonata
principle
 Kirkpatrick also noted closed vs. open structures,
 closed “A” idea opens 2nd half
 open: new material opens 2nd half; can have free vs. concentrated
 free = entirely new
 concentrated uses motivic snippet from the opening
 symmatrical vs. asymmetrical = are the two parts about he same length,
or is one significantly longer
 influences: Italian keyboard style: sonata de chiesa, sonata de camara; 2-pat texture,
imitation at opening, violinistic figuration (arpeggios, crossing strings)
  Iberian characteristics: folk elements (hard to identify, but specifically Iberian = guitar
was a favorite instrument, so imitation of guitar is an Iberian element)
 accaciatura: uses a non-harmonic tone that is not resolved; used for percussion effects,
textural dynamics, accents, strumming effects on guitar; K. 120-220 concentrate on this
technique (100 sonatas, wow)
 harmony: surprising harmonic progressions, “vamp” technique after double bar
 rhythmic elements: often short, incisive motive, often repeated; cross-rhythms, including
hemiola, different rhythmic groupings going on at the same time
 instrumental effects: strumming, repeated notes to sustain melody, fanfares which are
triadic or have fourths/fifths with two voices (horn calls)
 technique: very virtuosic, repeated notes, arpeggios,hand crossing, leaping, most overtly
virtuosic keyboard composer of this time period

 Lesson (English), Exercise (Italian), Handstück (German) all meaning general keyboard
piece
 TEST ASKS FOR DATES FOR PIECES ON LISTENING LIST (within 5 year range)

collections of London sonatas from 1738 (30 sonatas) are sometimes mislabeled as Essercizio

K numbers: first 30 K numbers are the sonatas from the Essercizi, then next 40-50 sonatas are
pulled from misc. sources, hard to know if they are truly early or later, then after about sonata
~100, Kirkiaptrick is pulling from the Venice manuscript and going in order, Scarlatti possibly
hired a professional copyist to copy them and because of that order could be somewhat set by
Scarlatti himself

significant parts in sonatas:

 there is a first group that establishes the tonic key - could be a theme but sometimes just
motivic/firgurational
 some point at which the new key is really established, known as the “crux”; gets you
from tonic to dominant, then from whatever the new key is back to the tonic
 SO IMPORTANT because tensions are focused on that moment, CRUX IS KEY,
decorated with figuration usually, highlighted with special ornaments etc.
 job as the performer is to make the crux evident to the listener
 crux doesn’t have to rest on the new chord for long!
 2nd half: is it open or closed? closed = begins the exact same way as 1st half; open =
doesn’t begin exactly the same way; if open, either free or concentrated
 free = totally new material; concentrated = some relationship to opening material
 that’s DEFINITELY going to be one of those listening questions
 also listen for a crux in the second half!
 Scarlatti K. 30 - cat’s sonata fugue (not on listening but cool)
 accacciature
 don’t expect recapitulation format from Scarlatti!
 liked to imitate guitar in K. 261 ,sounds like the strumming of a guitar
Galant:
 trends that began developing in Italy at beginning of the 18th century around mid
century, really becomes the predominant style, starts spreading northwards
 terms like “rococo” or “pre-classical” (pre-classical is unfair, go with rococo)
 also a term applied to architecture, which is credibly ornate - not the same scale
as the architecture
 unequal adoption of style - not used everywhere
 church music was old style, preserved (music with figured bass, lots of imitation)
 defendant on geographical location: France was slower because they were tied
to national identity; took longer to go northward
 some Bach partitas are titled “Galanteries”, Bach himself used the term
 term was first used in 1713 by Mattheson
 lighter pieces of a dance character
 his examples are Vivaldi, Telemann, Handel
 Schiebe: “witty, pleasant, flowing, and unaffected” (same guy that critiqued Bach)
 meant to be uplifting, entertaining, easily accessible
 Age of Enlightenment ideals:
 rational view of the world, but music influences the emotions
 not everything is governed by a spiritual viewpoint governed by the church, but
looking at what is possible in mankind and interacting with the world
 Plato said in the Republic that is should be regulated because it was so powerful
it could manipulate the masses - fun tidbit
 music should educate sentiment; excessive but restrained
 the arts should be universal = easily accessible
 Galant traits that make it accessible: slow harmonic rhythm; singing style so melody is
easily heard; simple texture, and short phrases
 Bach italian concerto embodies all of these traits
 Social influences:
 growing secular spirit, feeling of independence from the church
 economic factors:
 new markets for publishers: amateurs, (young) women (usually daughters
of wealth aiming to have things to play for suitors)
 Nichelmann: sonatas “ad uso della dame” (for the use of women) (don’t
need to know him!)
 CPE did the same thing
 Paganelli: “for the fairer sex”
 Musical influences:
 Italian vocal music: opera, singing style
 comic opera: intermezzi, commedia per musica
 would come in between a dramatic opera
 comedy = quick stage action, needs a nimble musical style (lots of
contrast)
 hard to ave a complex underpinning while this goes on, so
harmonic structure is more simple
 “unitary affect”: emotional content / character; jealousy aria, angry aria,
etc.
 simple harmonic structure: tonic/dominant

Domenico Alberti: amateur, did compose, diplomatic corps as his profession; not much Alberti
Bass in his own compositions
La serva pedrona: short comic opera from the 1730s; short phrases, very simple harmonically;
jumps around a lot, contrasts, quite Galant

CPE Bach: “the most famous son of J.S. Bach”

 lessons on figured bass, how to improvise, etc.
 HUGE book
 Galant music was predominant but north Germany had developed its own unique style:
“empfindsamer Stil, “Empfindsamkeit” (ultra-sensitive style, ultra-sensitive)
 summary of some of his important keyboard works on the handout
 established the fast-slow-fast of 3-mvt sonatas as standard
 sonata form with recapitulation
 CPE was a huge influence to Haydn; many things seen in CPE are “refined” in Haydn
 wrote out his varied reprises because he complained that performers were sloppy with
their ornaments
 later in his life he wrote fantasies: in his treatise he gives a formula on how to
compose/improvise one, gives you a figured bass and a bass line and you elaborate
figuration on top of that

_______________________________________________

TELEMANN:
This. Is. Telemann. #2 in d minor, from Douzaine 1, which is more influenced by the Italian
Style. This can be seen by its lively nature, as opposed to the French nobility. This work is in the
Concerto Grosso style, which imitaties a small solo group (concertino) and an orchestra (ripieno
or tutti). This style is often signaled by doubling at the octave. This also features ritornello form.
1732

HANDEL:

This is Handel’s Allegro from Suite no. 7 in G minor. This piece is in triple meter, and has a
gentle flowing quality. This piece is in binary form. The opening material is brought back for the
second half of the piece. This piece is a two-part texture. 1720

The Harmonious Blacksmith! AKA Suite no. 5 in E Major. This piece exhibits Divisions, in which
the melody starts in 8th notes, then changes to 16ths, and eventually transferring to 32nd notes.
Handel’s famous singing melodic lines are clearly heard in this piece. 1720

J.S. BACH:

J.S. Bach invention in d minor (no. 4): this is a two part work. this piece is in a triple meter.
imitative and uses sequencing. This piece modulates to the Tonic Relative. 1720
J.S. Bach Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, Book 1 No. 2. rhythmically relentless. this peice has
rounded modulations and the exposition modulates to the Tonic Dominant. This is an example
of arpeggiation outlining chords (while including neighbor tones). This piece sounds more
aggressive on the harpsichord due to its percussive nature and the harsh tone on the chromatic
moving notes.

J.S. Bach Prelude in E-Flat Major, No. 7: highly imitative! The entire opening section is just
imitation between the hands. This prelude has a ricercar, toccata, and a double fugue. first big
leap is a 7th! No. 7!!

UNIT THREE:

around 1750 keyboard builders had refined fortepiano design making it a mainstream
instrument, gradually pushed out harpsichord as the primary utilitarian instrument

installed bass: people aren’t just throwing out their harpsichords, so publishers would add a note
that the peice could be played on harpsichord in order to appeal to a wider audience

Transitional material often changes the rhythmic quality

often use terms of masculine and feminine to define character traits, but now we don’t
use them haha

Boring note that’s just repeated: drum bass / Trommel Bass

Broken repeated octaves: murky bass

Mannheim style: big symphonic sound, mirroring the large orchestra that was in the area

(Mannheim) Rocket: dramatic rising figure (even a simple triad)

Franz Joseph Haydn: 1732-1809

 was a slow starter, good thing he lived a long life!
 born in Rohrau, Austria (Eastern Austria); sandwiched between Hungary and Slovak
Republic
 began training as a chorister at age 6, accepted to St. Stephen’s Cathedral choir school
age 8
 “practical” training, but no music theory; training them to be effective choristers,
so vocal technique, counting, reading, etc.
 expelled when his voice changed at age 17, just on the streets now because his family
was poor and rural
 lived in poverty, gradually teaching himself and giving lessons, writing little pieces for the
keyboard (early piano sonatas), lived in a garrett, impoverished conditions
 officially 52 sonatas by him, first dozen or so were pedagogical works to teach his
students
 Nicola Porpora (opera composer) aided him, hired Haydn to accompany his
students’ voice lessons, gave him connections
 Haydn studied C.P.E. Bach’s Versuch, source of knowledge for him
  first official position was in 1758 (Count von Morzin)
 hired by Esterhazy court in 1861 as assistant conductor
 music director in 1866, stays there for the rest of his life* (mostly)
 located outside Vienna in Eisenstadt; all of these things happened in a small area
but in those times it was far away and was somewhat isolated
 allowed him to experiment rather than having to compete with
conventional composers; he was able to do his own thing and basically
invent the modern symphony, the string quartet as we know it, etc.
 after 1790 he has no duties but is still paid (dang I wish); he travels, including
going to England (London symphonies for a series of concerts, two piano
sonatas influenced by this time) (Mozart died in 1791)
 important genres for Haydn:
 symphonies (104) 4 mvt
 string quartet (~60) 4 mvt (3rd mvt is minuet and trio)
 piano sonatas
 piano trios (boring for cello, very piano-centric)

Haydn Piano Sonatas:

 exact number is hard to determine
 many missing works and misattributions
 Haydn himself tracked his works in a catalogue: 52 in Hoboken (Hoboken is the first guy
to catalogue them) catalogue, but 62 in Landon catalogue (orange cover, highly
respected edition)
 earliest are from the 1750s and 1760s, latest are from the London period
 early teaching sonatas: he actually called them partitas
 very Galant, not yet Classical
 more mature style starts with Hob. 19 in D Maj, Hob. 46 in A-Flat Major
 Roman numeral XVI = piano sonatas
 1-52 within that, mostly chronological with some mistakes
 Early “sets”:
 1773, published in 1774 - “Esterhazy” sonatas: Hob. 21-26 (6)
 1774-1776, pub. 1781 - Hob. 27-32 (6)
 1771-1780, pub. 1780 - Auenbrugger sonatas, Hob. 20 (1771), 35-39
(late 1770s) (missing 33 and 34) (6)
 after these, he just wrote out sonatas individually
 Late sonatas:
 3 for Maria Esterhazy: Hob. 40-42
 Nos. 48 and 49, pub. in 1792, individually
 “London” sonatas: Hob. 50-52
 most important: Hob. 50 in C Major, 52 in E-Flat Major
 Style:
 mostly 3-mvt cycle, a few 2-mvt and some early sonatas have 4 mvts
 last mvt often short, light, playful in character, bouffa style
 early: related to Viennese suite, aka partita and divertimento
 light, galant, many triplets, trills, not challenging, “witty, pleasant,
flowing, unaffected”
 early maturity: late 1760s - early 1780s
 mixture of styles: serious + light
 influence of Strum und Drang (sonatas in minor keys especially)
 a lot of the missing sonatas are in minor keys :(
 Late Period: 1784-1794
  mastery of form and knows how to manipulate it, variety of
expressive styles
 influence of the English pianos in the London sonatas

When Haydn writes tenuto, it means the note for the full value (as per original sources from the
time)

_________

Haydn’s first substantial works: 1760s

Mozart likes Alberti bass, great melodist

Haydn was fairly motivic, liked 2-note bass (low-high-low-high) or 3-note low-middle-high, as
opposed to Alberti bass (low-high-middle-high), not striking melodies

Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 has first keyboard concerto cadenza all written out

tilde with strike through it = the Haydn ornament

ex. Adagio from F Major Sonata, beautiful
 he was the only composer who used that
 not always clear what he means: 2 ways to interpret
 played like a turn (upper-main-lower-main)
 played as a mordent (main-lower-main)

Haydn often played on formal expectations and then break those expectations; often ornaments
the recapitulation (modeling CPE Bach in his varied reprises)

alternating variation: uses two themes, alternated the modes of the themes when they come
back (ex. theme in Major and theme in minor, swap when they come back)

things Haydn discovered in London:

 different type of fortepiano than was found in german-speaking regions of Europe;
manufacturer was Broadwood, became synonymous with the English style pianoforte;
bigger tone, heavier action, damping mechanism was not as efficient and took longer,
not as precise as the Viennese fortepiano; to us would just sound like a wimpy
fortepiano and we wouldn’t really notice the subtle differences

fantasy elements: chromaticism, free form, fast figuration that uses wider range of the keyboard

Malcolm Bilson: Knowing the Score

durchbrochene Arbeit - thematic ideas that are broken up in multiple layers of the texture

rhetorical interpretation: based on rhetoric, organization of timing analogous to the way we

speak; Bartok Mikrokosmos!
 Haydn link in modules - fascinating but not The Way to Play
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: 1756-1791
 fast start to his career, Haydn and Mozart influenced each other, both had very high
genuine regard for one another
 from Salzburg, in his day it was the end of the world; not a regional hotspot, but a dead
end and he hated being there
 close to Munich
 father was a well-known musician who wrote a treatise on violin playing
 Mozart was an incredible prodigy, his father Leopold exploited that by taking him on
exhausting tours in front of nobility and rich people, improvisation, weird party tricks
 Prague, Vienna; Western Europe; Italy; Germany and France (this one is
Mozart’s own choice)
 employment: tours were trying to get patronage and commissions in addition to the bits
of money from the tour itself
 two types of patrons: the church, or a private patron (count, duke, prince, etc.
usually nobility)
 settles for a position with Archbishop of Salzburg (whom he loathed) 1773-1777, 1779-
1781 (break is the tour for southern Germany into France, trying to get a way to be
independent but it doesn’t work out)
 1781: settles in Vienna, works as a free artist (no specific patron); first example of an
independent artist
 very successful artistic career
 commissions, subscription concerts, opera, teaching, publications
 Important genres:
 solo sonata (main genre, 18 solo sonatas, all 3-mvts, usually fast-slow-fast; 1st
mvts = sonata-allegro form, 2nd mvts = sonata form, ternary; 3rd mvts = sonata-
allegro or sonata-rondo)
 independent variation sets (flashy, improv tradition)
 concerto (23 + 4 arrangements of other music)
 duet sonata (+ 1 duo)
 buried in a pauper’s grave (mass grave); had a rough patch toward the end of his life
because of wars going on and nobility therefore fleeing Vienna, lost his income

know Rosen’s terminology for sonata rondo form!

movie called Amadeus: apparently a must-watch, one of the best about classical music even
though premise is invented

Mannheim pop group

Mozart solo sonatas:

 18 of ‘em, all 3-movement format
 mostly fast-slow-fast
 1st movements: Sonata-Allegro form
 2nd movements: Sonata form, ternary
 3rd movements: Sonata-Allegro or Sonata-Rondo
2 periods:
 9 pre-Vienna (1775-1778)
 9 in Vienna (1781-1791) K. 330, 331, 332, 333 mostly written together, later ones are
scattered

K. for Mozart = Koechel / Köchel

revised numbers are for scholarship, K. numbers are most common

K # and key memorized, put into categories of either pre-Vienna or in-Vienna

pre-Viennese sonatas:

K. 279 in C = starting K. number

K. 280 F (up a fourth for the first four)
K. 281 Bb
K. 282 Eb
K. 283 G (normal circle of fifths onward)
K. 284 D (Durnitz)

^ Galant in style, composed for his own use as a pianist on is concert tours; last is the most
challenging of this set

309 C
310 a (relative minor) (tumultuous, possibly related to his mother’s death?)
311 D (no pattern)

^ composed during Mannheim/Paris tour

Viennese sonatas:

K. 330-333 (short time span, 1783-1785)

C, A, F, Bb
combined Galant features with rich stylistic features
strong emphasis on cantabile / singing styles; superb melodist

K. 475 fantasy / 457 sonata (ends in 5 = fantasy, sonata written first so it has lower K. number)

K. 533 / 494 F Major (1788/86)

final mvt Rondo (494) was composed as a free-standing piece
first 2 mvts composed as a pair
rondo later added by Mozart to compete a standard sonata

K. 545 (1788) C Major

K. 570 (1788) Bb

K. 576 (1789) D Major, 6/8 time signature, unusual

NMA = notes from Mozart scholarly edition, scores online

Mozart’s interest is inherent musical material itself, not varying the form

dot staccato = light, wedge staccato = sharper, ending to something else

drum bass = same note repeated over and over (CPE would’ve hated it)

Mozart knew J.C. work, arranged it as a concerto, K. 284 reflects it strongly

autograph = hand written version, other version = what was published

calando = dim.

starts using pp and ff 15 years after JC Bach specifies that with fortepiano

___________________________________________________

4 types of sonata form:

 1st movement (fast movement) sonata form (aka Soanta Allegro form) more formally
structured
 slow movement form (aka sonatina form; no development)
 menuet sonata form
 finale sonata form (sonata rondo) looser and freer structure: A B A C A B (tonic,
dominant, tonic, C can be anything, tonic, tonic)

by 1780s: Mozart and Haydn are exploring the idea of counterpoint much more extensively

 Mozart trained in learned counterpoint from an early age

 mainly applied in sacred music until his later piano sonatas
 early 1780s (Viennese period) Mozart renewed his interest in counterpoint
 Haydn string quartets Op. 33 (1781) - use of fugue in finales
 Mozart arranged several Bach and Handel fugues for string quartet (1782)
 Mozart composed a fugue for 2 pianos K. 426 (1783)

Counterpoint in Mozart’s Works:

 Fugue in C minor fro 23 pianos K. 426
 K. 546
 K. 459 has a double fugue within last movement of Piano Concertco
 String quartets from early 1780s
 symphonies
 C Major
 later period (Viennese) sonatas show increased use of imitation
  K. 457
 K. 533
 K. 570
 K. 576

Fantasy characteristics:
 wide range of modulations, can happen quickly
 divergent sections
 sounds improvisatory

kind of like the fantasy from the sonata in c minor, K. 475

Mozart’s works - top line oriented

fugato = fugue-like section which is smaller, doesn’t have all of the fugue characteristics, don’t
last as long

Mozart’s Jupiter symphony - one of Dr. Marks’ favs, TONS of imitation in the coda, super cool

K. 24 and K. 25 were Mozart’s first tour variation sets

 playing for the Netherlands’ king and queen, used a Dutch melody (possibly their
national anthem?)
 meant to be show-off-y
 improvising was a practice at this time; take one theme and riff off of it, means to create
variation sets

“stock” figure: patterns you can pull out of your bag of tricks, like written-out turn figures, scales,
etc.

ornamented Adagio - ALWAYS second-to-last variation, long, lots of black notes, etc.
last variation tends to be freer: ability to change time signature, break of phrase structure,
cadenza, etc. are all options

Sinistra = Left Hand, Dritta = Right Hand

only 2 minor key sonatas, and 2 minor key concertos

V. = abbreviation for Verzeichnis, meaning catalogue

Mozart concerto # = ordering in a catalogue with the complete works for Mozart, some reason
those have stuck, so the K. numbers aren’t needed for concertos
 1-4 are not Mozart; arrangements of works by other composers as training; fist real
concerto is #5 in D Major, K. 175
 #9, K. 271 in E-Flat Major, “Jeunehomme” first mature
 17-27 are Viennese works; each one of these is a masterwork
 K. 488 in A Major = Dr. Marks’ desert island piece
Orchestra parts= ritornello
anytime the piano is playing = solo (not ACTUALLY a solo most of the time, orchestra can be
playing with it)

Mozart was great at using winds, very operatic interaction of parts, 17-27 have winds and puts
them a bit ahead of the earlier concerti

Robert Levin - plays on fortepiano, improvises his cadenzas

Clementi -
 Kramer - student of Clementi, more concise and higher musical value
 Clementi wrote many sonatas in late 1770s, 1780s
 went on hiatus for a while
 took it back up in second decade of 19th century, style had become more Romantic style
 most are from that late 18th century period

Clementi sonatas: typically fast-slow-fast, after CPE Bach mowers

false recap: seems to be heading to the recapitulation but is in the wrong key

other good Clementi option: Op. 14, No. 3 (f minor)

later Clementi became more Romantic; tempo changes, expressive, etc. didn’t stay in the 18h
century, evolved into a 19th century composer

Mozart:

283 munich G (in 3), 310 mannheim / paris a (1775)

1785, Vienna all) F 32, G 455 Unser dummer Pöbel meint by Gluck (in 4), Sonata in C minor, K.
457 (uses Mannheim rocket)/ Fantasia in c minor, K. 475, Rondo in a minor K. 511, Sonata in D
Major K. 576

Clementi: 1785

f# minor, OP. 25, no. 5. mvt 1 and 3

Bb Major, op. 24, no. 2

Rosen forms:
1st movement sonata form
slow movement sonata form
minuet sonata form
finale sonata form, sometimes includes Rondo sonata form

Mozart periods: pre-viennese and viennese

Munich
Paris . Mannheim
Vienna

Haydn periods:
Esterhazy
Auenbrugger
London

Mozart piano concerto form:

Ritornello I
Solo I
Ritornello II
Solo II
Solo III
Ritornello III (divided halfway with piano cadenza)

durchbrochene Arbeit: weaving motifs through the texture

Empfindsamkeit - ultra sensitive

UNIT FOUR:

not historically accurate, but Immortal Beloved movie is kind of good

Beethoven:
 his father was a professional chorister, tried to get Beethoven to tour around Europe for
him, Wunderkind, etc.
 also an alcoholic, abusive, troubled relationship
 possible root of Beethoven’s problem with authority later in life
 Beethoven traveled to Vienna to study with Mozart, but mother fell ill so he went home,
when he returned Mozart had died, so he studied with Haydn
 “to receive the spirit of Mozart from the hands of Haydn”
 bad relationship: Beethoven bad student, Haydn maybe bad teacher
 seeing another teacher on the sly, fooling his sponsors by showing them old
music and passing it off as new
 made his reputation as a powerful performer and improvisations; began publishing works
after that which created his reputation as a composer
 after 1800, he realized he was becoming deaf
  Heiligenstadt testimony - wrote a letter to his brothers about becoming deaf, his
depression about his deafness, considering suicide, comes to the conclusion that
for the sake of his art he will go on; never mailed it
 marks the transition from the early to the middle (Heroic) period; piano music
clearly marks this transition
 with Beethoven, the piano works are emblematic as his achievements as a
composer
 uses the piano music as a way to develop new ideas; these new ideas
later show up in more public genres, like symphony or string quartet
 Beethoven’s student, Carl Czerny: more popular in these days in Asian teaching than
the American / European teaching scene
 quite prolific, tons of etudes
 teenager when he studied with Beethoven
 “this time when Beethoven told me he is embarking on neue Bahn (new
path)”
 boundary to middle-late style has a fallow period where he doesn’t do lots of composing
(late teens?)
 legal battle for custody of his nephew Carl (brother had died, brother’s wife didn’t
seem to be morally capable of bringing him up)
 he did eventually get custody of his nephew
 late period works: roughly Op. 100 through end (late 130s)

Op. 49 are smaller scale, more like sonatinas; Opus number is off, these are actually earlier
works

Works that Beethoven published but didn’t give an Opus number to: Werke ohne Opuszahl
(works without opus number) WoO

Bonn period = before he goes to Vienna

Cooper (editor of ABRSM) added 3 sonatas because the Op. 49 are included, to total 35; but we
stick with 32 piano sonatas

Beethoven’s 32 sonatas:
 significant in all 3 style periods
 central importance in output
 contrast with Mozart and Haydn
 often experimental
 new ideas show later in other types of works
 Overview:
 “grand” sonatas: style
 evokes symphonic scale
 length - 4 mvt
 first mvt is substantial; long, technically difficult, something
 grandiose sound
 weighty slow mvt
 minuet or scherzo
 substantial finale, usually some kind of Rondo form
 sonatas: Opus number and Key
  “Grand”
 Op. 2, No. 1 f minor (thick chords in LH)
 Op. 2, No. 2 in A Major
 Op. 2, No. 3 in C Major
 Op. 7, E-Flat Major
 Op. 10, No. 3 in D Major
 Op. 22 in B-Flat Major
 Op. 28, D Major
 “Grand-ish” - not necessarily light, but lack either 4-mvt format, or something
about the formal structure of movements changes from usual structure
 Op. 13 in c minor “Pathetique” (3 mvts)
 Op. 26 in A-Flat Major (starts with set of variations)
 Op. 27, No. 1 in E-Flat (“quasi fantasia”, 1st mvt is not in sonata form,
third is kind of short)
 Op. 27, No. 2 in c-sharp minor (“Moonlight Sonata”, only 3 mvts)
 Lighter: lighter in character or much shorter
 Op. 10 No. 1 in c minor (tiny finale, only.3 mvts)
 Op. 10, No. 2 in F Major (light character, short last movement)
 Op. 14, No. 1 in E Major (smaller in scale, lighter in character)
 Op. 14, No. 2 in G Major (smaller in scale, lighter in character)
 test questions can address every sonata

Middle period sonatas:

 experimental in some way
 Op. 31 Nos. 1-3, Neue Bahn, have many novel features “
 Op. 34 and 35, have sets of variations
 Op. 53, 57, 81a: 2nd mvt attacca into 3rd
 53 (waldstein), 57 (appassionata) long, difficult, “monumental”,
monumentalism = typical of middle period
 Op. 54 F, Op. 78 F#, Op. 90 e: 2 mvt sonatas, lighter in character

Late Period Sonatas:

 new, often formal procedures: fugue, variation
 increased technical demands; many of these are among the most technically difficult
works
 extremes in length: compact / extended
 Op. 101: fugue, cyclic (cyclic = thematic material from mvt 1 that’s recurring in
later movements)
 Op. 106: fugue, extreme length, technical difficulty, “Hammerklavier”, very difficult
and long, arguably the hardest of them all, Franz Liszt was one of the only pianist
who would play it, ends with huge fugue
 Op. 109: compact sonata form, variation; first mvt is very compact, not lighter just
very efficient, a lot packed into a little space, new approach to variation form
 Op. 110: fugue, cyclic
 Op. 111: new approach to variation form

Beethoven uses rhythmic structure to show structural elements; rhythm groupings are more
important for him than Mozart or Haydn
not every moment needs to be significant - it’s the way the moments add up

Beethoven went through a period when he tried to use German terminology, either in addition or
instead of Italian terminology: ex. Langsam, Empfindsamkeit …

Modules -> informational handouts -> sonata key form date PDF

Richard Goode: featured performer for most Beethoven performances

Beethoven uses texture as a musical element that stands almost on the same level as thematic
or tonal elements would otherwise be used for content purposes

if you’re not doing Beethoven’s sfz’ s, you’re missing Beethoven

harmonically static sections = building drama

problem with dating early Beethoven Sonatas and knowing their generation because we don’t
have any of the autographs, would bet that the F minor is much earlier than the next two due to
the length and technically difficulty

lots of Beethoven slow movements: melodies are constructed around turn figures (middle-low-
middle-high)

Op. 2, No. 3, last movement = Sonata Rondo form

A B A C A B A (coda)
C G C F mod, V7, C C

Beethoven = more measures, drawing out the form

VERY strong dynamic contrasts

Op. 7 in E-Flat Major; one of the least played, though it’s lovely; probably the longest of hs
earlier sonatas, tricker than you might think; grand format

Op. 10, No. 1: no dance movement, the finale is very quick, speculation that Beethoven wanted
it in Grand Format but didn’t follow the format and instead made it lighter

Op. 10, No. 2: also shorter and lighter, many interesting features; comic / bouffa style in first
movement - lots of pauses, contrasting elements; no real slow movement, because mvt 2 is
basically a minuet and is allegretto; light bouncy presto as the finale, also bouffa style

extra rests at the end = Beethoven just adding more drama, suggesting that the final chord is
really just an upbeat to the silence

mesto = sad or sorrowful

Pathetique notes: he called it Grande Sonate pathetique; substantial introduction, very dramatic
and extended; grand-ish sonata because it’s not technically a Grand Sonata; French Overture
topic at introduction because of dotted rhythms and slow, formal melody;
Op. 14, No. 2 = one of Dr. Marks’ favorites; uses Scherzo to describe character, not formal
structure

Op. 26 = experimenting with expectations of the form, uses variations; Marcia Funebre in piano
sonata = experimenting with it before it shows up in the Eroica Symphony! more weight falling to
the end of the sonata, lighter stuff at the beginning (as opposed to the inverse which was
previously the standard)

senza sordini / sord. = put the pedal down (translates to “without dampers” so lifting the
dampers with the right pedal)

strain = independent section, harkens back to virginalists’ time

Op. 27, No. 2 (moonlight)

 calls for sempre pp and senza sordini - on Beethoven’s piano you really could hold the
pedal throughout and he seems to enjoy those dramatic pedals, but you can use
fractional pedaling to create a similar effect
 some hold sostenuto pedal after silently hitting low notes (that aren’t used) to create
overtones
 first movement = sonata form, conventional sonata form = last moment
Op. 28: “Pastoral” (not added by Beethoven)
 grand style of early period
 drone = clue for pastoral style

Claude Frank: highly regarded Beethoven player, his set of Beethoven sonatas = one of the
best

“singing allegro” = HAS to be allegro (fast tempo); simply top-line oriented = arioso

Middle Period begins at Op. 31!

 Heiligenstadt Testament written in 1802
 Czerny mentions Beethoven was determined to take a “new path” in his works
 piano sonatas: Op. 31, No. 1-3, Piano Variations Op. 34, 35

New Path characteristics:

 ambiguity: often playing with expectations of form / function
 “Grand” format disappears (4-mvt form with big outer movements, weighty slow
movement); they are not light, just doesn’t require the fourth mvt to accomplish drama
 Op. 31, No. 3 in E-Flat is the last 4-mvt sonata, but not typical grand format either
because no substantial slow mvt (Beethoven homage)
 Key relationships are expanded
 mediant key area for the 2nd theme Op. 31, No. 3; Op. 53
 first movements contain many irregularities
 opening idea in G Major, Op. 31, No. 1 is not very theme-like, not a balanced
melodic idea; 11 ms. long, ends on dominant, many stops and starts
 answering 11-bar phrase abruptly goes to flat 7th, weird key relationship for a
modulation; odd modulations
 doesn’t follow formal structure expectations; goes to the mediant instead of the
dominant, keeps the same humor in second theme rather than going to a lyrical
style
Op. 31, No. 2 -
i-
 main theme; is that really the main theme or is it an intro? if theme, why so fragmented?
 not rounded out like a main theme; it’s immediately thrown into a transition,
doesn’t reappear in the recapitulation (post-143ish)
 2nd key area is dominant minor
 not too unusual, but keeps the drama
 always restless, agitated
 evades the root position tonic, more unstable
 development section:
 unusual key (f# minor)
 recitative-like cadenzas
 interesting pedal effects
 ending is very quiet in contrast to the loud opening; another dramatic effect, just
different kind of energy

ii - slow mvt sonata form

 no development, so there’s an ornamented recapitulation
 melody is disjunct, spread out registrally; orchestral illusion
 use of submediant
 programmatic elements - rhythm in low bass evokes drums, military illusions (Napoleon,
wars at this time)

Op. 31, No. 3 in E-Flat Major, “The Hunt”

 4 mvts
 last mvt makes it feel like a hunt, 6/8
 first mvt opens with a ii 6/5 chord
 second mvt is a tarantella in sonata form, also associated with hunts bc of 6/8

Op. 53, “Waldstein”

 great length
 1st mvt: 301 mm.
 3rd mvt: 543 mm.
 tightly integrated mov’t structure
 2nd acts as an introduction to the 3rd mov’t
 dramatic weight shifted to end of each mov’t, and last mov’t the most dramatic of
all
 large codas in outer mov’ts
 last mov’t even longer and more dramatic than 1st
 first mov’t:
 opening idea is motivic rather than clear theme
 goes to the flat 7th (Bb Major) very quickly (5 ms. in)
 second theme is in the mediant
 recapitulation: goes from E Major, to A Major, then to a minor, then to C
Major
 highly motivic development, takes ideas and chops them into smaller and smaller
bites
 VERY dramatic retransition that immediately becomes soft
  long, dramatic coda; use of Neapolitan rather than sub-dominant
 arpeggio section equivalent of the Op. 2 No. 3
 third mov’t:
 rondo form, but the end of each section (episode) and going back to opening
theme, he makes a big deal of the retransition
 lots of dominant preparation
 coda: last movement coda has doubled the first mov’t coda, tons of dominant
preparation for it, marker prestissimo
 ends with famous octave glissandos (Daniel Barenboim on YouTube)
 very beautiful; melody is sol sol, mi re sol do

Andante favori - Beethoven’s old designation for old 3rd mov’t

Monumentalism: Waldstein sonata, the Eroica symphony, the Appassionata sonata

Op. 57 “Appassionata” (example of monumentalism)

 i: some of the same techniques that we’ve seen in the neue Bahn sonatas
 massive amounts of sound
 uses texture as a thematic element almost (alternating extremes of thick and thin)
 first Beethoven work (probably first work period) where the sonata form does NOT have
a repeat for the exposition, so it is no longer binary because we hear it as a three-part
form

Monumentalism:
 technical difficulty
 large sound

Sonata Op. 81a, “Farewell” or “Les Adieu” / “Das Lebewohl”

 written in German, each movement titled in German, not extremely programmatic but
reflecting his friend Archduke Rudolph leaving because of the war
 French title was attached by his publisher because he thought more people would know
French, even though Beethoven himself attached the German name
 still middle period
 first movement
 opens with a horn call, associated with travel
 titled Fare Thee Well
 much more conventional in the binary section
 ms. 30 has a scary section with double thirds and chords, fast
 not as thickly textured as other middle period sonatas; challenges are
musical-structural control and facility
 second mov’t: “Absence” / Abwesenheit
 translates Andante espressivo to In gehender Bewegung, doch mit
Ausdruck “in a moving tempo, but with expression”
 6/8 depicts horses galloping, excited anticipation, general programmatic
elements
Sonata Op. 54:
 2-mov’t sonata
 charming but kind of odd
 first mov’t:
 tempo d’un Menuetto
 lots of octaves
 second mov’t:
 sonata form

Sonata Op. 78 “one of my favorite”

 F-Sharp Major
 first mov’t:
 short introduction, much slower tempo (adagio cantabile) than the allegro ma non
troppo that follows
 one of his most lyrical works
 much, much smaller than things like Waldstein
 second mov’t:
 “jocular”

Sonata Op. 90: “one of my favorite sonatas”

 first mov’t:
 sonata form
 not transitional, still middle period
 strong dynamic contrasts at the beginning
 has one of the more notorious passages for the LH, basically an expanded alberti
bass
 hides the main theme in a way that makes it seem to just be figuration
 German titles for movements
 second mov’t:
 beautiful lyrical melody
 rondo form

Late Period Sonatas: 101, 106, 109, 110, 111: A Bb E Ab c

Late-Period Sonata characteristics:

 looking at the big picture of the sonata and looking at what it can be
 new formal procedures including fugue, variation
 increased technical demands
 extremes of length: compact / extended
 Op. 101: fugue, cyclic
 Op. 106 “Hammerklavier”: fugue, extremely long, technical difficulty
 Op. 109: compact sonata form, variation set (“starter” late sonata)
 Op. 110: fugue, cyclic
 Op. 111: variation set
Sonata Op. 110 in A-Flat major, sometimes called “The Resurrection” (not his words)
 first mov’t:
 very lyrical opening
 no double bar, so no repeat
 compact first mov’t
 string quartet topic, independent voice in the bass with stripped interior voices
and arioso style
 texture of transition has been repurposed for the accompaniment in the
recapitulation
 why did he do that? is there some communicative element to the use of
that rhythmically active section that changes our experience of the
opening theme?
 gives it a bubbling texture, “levitating” feeling
 gives us the theme in the “wrong” key then fixes it
 second mov’t:
 doesn’t use a heavy double bar at the end of the first mov’t
 not in triple meter, doesn’t function like a scherzo so it’s more of a character
description
 odd little coda at the ending
 third mov’t:
 imitating Bebung on clavichord: once you strike a note, you can add vibrato; play
the second note to where you can just barely hear it, VERY subtle effect
 fourth mov’t:
 syncopations to create tension
 klagender Gesang = sorrowful song
 fugue in A-Flat major then moving to G minor, yet another half step relationship
 a proper fugue, not a fake fugue, has the true structure going back to Bach
 uses weird syncopation with rests at a transition section, telling you to play it as
an anticipation
 uses diminution, augmentation, inversion, clear demonstration of skill
 “coming to life” shown by diversity leading to unity, solves the problem of fugue
structure

Op. 111: massive, solves problems of variation sets to being a good overall format
 first mov’t:
 big introduction in c minor, like the Pathetique
 theme is very motivic, lots of fermatas
 development section uses short double fugue, fugue subject has hidden unity
with introduction
 theme is tightly integrated! works as strongly in this sonata as in the A-Flat
 second mov’t:
 arietta - little song
 set of variations based on this little song
 chorale style opening
 binary form (8 bars x 2, each repeated)
 variations are NOT marked, rely on texture
 First variation- rhythmically smaller (diminution) divisions style
 by variation four, repeat sign is no longer used but instead an alternate version is
notated
 of course there’s a trill variation. of course.
  departure from tonality + tonality restored = imitating sonata form; finds a way to
use key relationships and texture to make variations a dramatic form

Op. 109: Variation set

 same diminution process, more concentrated in the last variation; texture giving sense of
excitement and development

Works without Opus (WoO) were written “to make a buck”, weren’t significant to him

Op. 34 - neue Bahn

 Six Variations on an Original Theme
 first variation set that he gave an opus number
 starts breaking rules / expectations of variation set
 goes down by thirds for the keys of each variation (F, D, Bb, G, E, c (V7), F
 Topical variations: hunt, minuet, march

Op. 35 - also neue Bahn: Beethoven’s name = Fifteen Variations and Fugue, also called“The
Eroica Variations” more famous (Eb Major)
 theme taken from his ballet about Prometheus
 works out the Eroica theme, which he later used in his symphony
 opening theme is so bare bones; it’s no theme at all, it’s a bass line
 ground variations
 *Intro: bare bones, octaves, duet, trio, quartet, theme
 *Var I: ground + quick waltz pulse
 *Var II: Triplets + ground
 *Var III: Chord based
 *Var IV: Arpeggiations
 *Var V: simple
 Var VI: goes to relative minor as opposed to the standard parallel minor
 Var VII: canon, bombastic bass in second half
 *Fugue/ Finale: unique to variation set to end in a fugue
 Theme same as variation set
 Brilliant conclusion
 Fantasy cadenza extension
 Idea that became a great hit in later composers (Brahms)

Opus 34 and 35- New path Variation sets (neue Bahn - I would expect German on the test / for
us to know it when he asks)

WoO: 32 Variations in C minor (Serie 17 No 181)

 based on figuration
  lots of repeated notes in all of them. oops.
 Lots of figurations that outline the harmonic figure
 Like a set of mini etudes (8 bars long except last one); covers lots of material /
techniques

Diabelli Variations, Op. 120 “one of the great works of the repertoire”
 story behind it: Diabelli composed sonatinas (nice, little), but was also a publisher;
around early 1820s he had the idea of writing a theme (what we see at the beginning),
wanted to send it to all the important composers in Europe; sent it to Beethoven and
Schubert
 C major, not great opening at the beginning
 Beethoven originally didn’t want to participate but then wrote variation after variation -
published it (not with Diabelli… awkward), wrote these 32 variations off of “a goofy little
waltz”
 many refer to specific styles / topics

7 Bagatelles: Op. 33
 one of three sets of his bagatelles (Op. 119, 126)
 wonderful, often quite short, none very extended
 seems to be cobbled together from odds and ends, along with Op. 119
 translates to “a little nothing” or “a trifle”

Op. 119: 11 Bagatelles

Op. 126: last set of 6 Bagatelles

 seems to have been written as a set, rather than being stuck together

contemporaries of Beethoven -

Cramer:
 Beethoven put him as the best pianist, second to himself
 Beethoven knew and used his studies / cycles; one edition has Beethoven’s annotations
 student of Clementi
 Studies by Cramer; Dr. Marks likes them for warm-ups / studies

John Field:
 student of Clementi
 active career was mostly in Russia
 credited with inventing the Nocturne; 18 Nocturnes (1810s-20s)
 pervasive arpeggiated LH, expanded range, need to use the pedal because you
can’t reach em all
 long lined melody on top of chordal bass
 several of his students founded the Russian School of Piano
Vaclav Tomasek:
 cultivated short works for piano that are essentially lyrical, simple format, character
pieces with many names; most are called Eclogue (Greek pastoral poetry, reflecting
pastoral nature)
 wrote tons of Eclogues; composing them in the first couple decades of the 19th
century (height of Beethoven’s career)

Jan Vorisek: (VORE-ih-scheck)

 well-known in Vienna in his time
 also wrote character pieces
 late teens, early 20s of 19th century
 successful in his time, especially impromptus

Carl Maria von Weber:

 died young
 very important composer
 active all throughout Europe, mainly German
 great improviser, virtuoso pianist, well-known conductor, composer of opera
 developed the Germanic, Romantic opera, relies on orchestral color
 four piano sonatas, grand-style sonatas
 not often played today
 also wrote a Konzertstück (concerto)
 had a huge hand, wrote octave glissandi
 Aufforderung zum Tanze (1820; Invitation to the Dance)*
 waltz was taking over Europe in this time as the premier social dance; has
evolved from Germanic folk dances
 waltzen = to dance / to spin
 virtuosic versions of waltzes as show-off pieces
 DR MARKS MET HIS WIFE WHILE WALTZING THAT IS SO CUTE
 Walzkette = sequence of waltzes chained together
 Kette = chain
 Verzeichnis = catalogue
 Wiegend = swaying
 perpetual motion: endless rhythmic, breathless style; relentlessly rhythmic
 Sonata No. 1: I like this one
 last mov’t: brilliant, presto, quite virtuosic

Franz Schubert:
 also a contemporary of Beethoven
 very prolific, began to write big things around teenage years
 dies at 31
 catalog = Otto Deutsch, so D.
 960 cataloged compositions, crazy for someone who died at 31
 only famous one that was actually born in Vienna
 amatuer music-making in the home
 sang in the Vienna boys choir, same one as Haydn did in his youth
 teenage years = tried to make a living as a teacher in his father’s school
 never good at promoting himself
 he was a competent performer but not a virtuoso
 wrote a number of operas but they were all flops
 always at best, poor, usually truly impoverished
 contracted syphilis
 had a group of good friends who supported them as best they could
 had friends over and they were known as Schubertiads
 Schubert was one of those
 emphasis on lyricism, short forms, use of pedal for harmonic support; but also lived in
the world of Beethoven, so he wrote works like symphonies, string quartets, and piano
sonatas, more so than his contemporaries
 continues a Classical tradition while adopting elements of newer style
 dance music is very important or Schubert; music with movement, Vienna was the
epicenter of the waltz in 1810s-1820s
 permeated with song and dance
 wrote a really depressing letter, yet his music is usually so sunny
 Schubert’s Style:
 14 complete sonatas
 composed throughout his career
 1st in 1915 (18 years old)
 last 3 in his final year D. 958-960
 many incomplete attempts (8)
 most are in 4 movements (“grand” form), several in 3 movements, one in
5 movements
 numerous character pieces, including:
 8 officially titled impromptus (11 including D. 946)
 6 Moments Musicals / Musicaux (second is correct spelling)
 400+ short dances (waltzes, Ländler, German dances, ecossaises)
 3 fantasias, including the “Wanderer”, D. 760
 dances:
 over 400
 most are in sets, widely varying length (between 2 and 34)
 usually all the same type in a set, eg. all eccossaise
 triple-meter dances:
 Ländler, deutscher (s.) or deutsche (pl.) Tanz, waltz
 duple-meter dances:
 ecossaise (Scotch dance)
 character pieces:
 2 sets of impromptus, 4 in each set
 D. 899, Op. 90 (only first two were published in his life); D. 935,
Op. 142 (post.)
 opus number tells you nothing about chronology, Schubert had
little power because he wasn’t very financially successful or
influential so his publishers would abuse him; intentionally messed
with his opus numbers to make it look more experienced, but
KNOW DEUTSCH NUMBERS
 3 Klavierstücke, D. 946 (similar to impromptus; magnificent, don’t
believe Kirby)
 numerous misc. invidividual works
 Fantasy in C Major, D. 760*, the “Wanderer”
 Schubert Style Characteristics:
  extensively uses pedal tones
 can be in any voice, not just bass
 can last a few beats or several measures
 creates rich and colorful harmonic surface
 mediant relationships
 very common—becomes a standard organization tonal relationship for
him
 key element in Schubert’s concept of harmony: tonality as a colorstic tool
 can be abrupt and in quick succession; not always modulation, just
different colors of the same key, will flip back and forth within a phrase or
even a measure
 unexpected or unprepared harmonic shifts
 Sonata in C minor, D. 958, 2nd mov’t
 extended sections of unchanging rhythm and texture
 creates a sensation of statis, important in how it relates to the sections
around it rather than what is in that particular section , balance of the
larger picture of the piece

Schubert Sonata D. 784 = really pretty

Impromptu I (D. 899): Form = super Complex, very unformulaic

 March like
 Unprepared key changes
 Presents the same themes in different textures
 Not simple structure
 flipping back and forth through major and minor as different colors, rather than different
keys
 chromatic mediant modulations
 pedal tones
 most complex of this set

Impromptu II:
 elements of dance music (waltz) - often hidden in some form in Schubert
 facile figures in RH
 impromptu didn’t really have a genre characteristic
 possibly influenced Chopin’s impromptus, especially Fantasie-Impromptu

*Impromptu III: (Op90/3 Andante, D.899) G-flat major

 adapts the older cut time signature and uses double cut time
 publisher adapted it for the first version: changed to G Major, changed note values to
sixteenths instead of eighths
 in Schubert’s lifetime, equal temperament was theoretically in place; not a scientific
understanding on how to consistently tune a piano in equal temperament that would
allow a tuner to be consistent
 Helmholz published about overtones and counting beats to reliably tune to equal
temperament (~1860)
 what’s the history of G-Flat Major? dissertation option
 ABA form
Impromptu IV:
 regular rhythmic pattern that evokes dance in LH
 starts in A-flat minor, goes to A-flat major in mid-section
 Trio section: strongly cantabile in character
 wishlist piece
 beautifully melodic

Op. 142 (D. 935)

 quite challenging, think twice about doing a whole set
 includes a variation set
 complex structure
 substantial last piece in the set, like a finale mov’t
 dance-like 2nd mov’t
 is not intended as a sonata but does hold the piece together as a set
 requires lots of musical problem-solving
 *Impromptu I: Allegro moderato in f minor
 f minor
 distinctive first theme
 second theme in A-Flat Major: duple meter dance (Ecossaise)
 third theme is ab-minor: long stretches of closed position arpeggios
 f, Ab, ab, f, F, f, codetta with opening theme (ABCABC + cd. form)
 new material from the old keys has to reoccur in the tonic keys (f/F)
 II: Allegretto in Ab Major (I think)
 Ländler (triple meter)
 III: Andante in Bb Major
 Rosemunde theme
 Theme + 6 Variations + Codetta
 steals his own themes and that’s why they have names (Trout theme)
 creates the mood with his accompaniment patterns along with his beautiful
melodies
 you do NOT see the typical variation progression where you have a gradual
subdivision and complexity; more like Beethoven F Major Variation set
 IV: Allegro scherzando
 3/8
 structure more complex than just ABA

Schubert Moments Musicals, Op. 94 D. 780 (1,2**)

 lighter in character, not substantial in length
 *I: C Major (Moderato)
 possible hunt topic at introduction
 some imitation from RH to LH
 2:3 / swapping from triple to duple meter
 *II: A-Flat Major
 triplet rhythm evokes dance rhythm, even though not a dance time
signature (9/8)
 use of “portado” (staccatos and slur overhead), seems to mean play as
legato-like as possible, not like we would think of as being very
expressive
  III: F minor
 often arranged as a piano duet
 IV: C-sharp minor
 first of the second book / half of the set
 evoking a Bach prelude
 V: F minor
 a wild Ecossaise
 VI:
 a kind of Ländler
 A-Flat Major

Schubert: Three Piano Pieces (D. 946) “these are FANTASTIC pieces”
 pretty substantial, ~25 mins for whole set
 I. Allegro assai
 ABA (ternary)
 Schubert crossed out a C section from a previous manuscript, can be
included if playing solo, turns into 5-part song form
 modulation from E-Flat Major to B Major (one of Dr. Marks’ favorites in
the whole literature)
 II. Allegretto
 evokes character of Ländler, even though in 6/8
 two episodes (5-part song form)
 Gorgeous melody
 E-Flat to C-minor modulation
 III.
 active A section, syncopation
 B section = same rhythmic and melodic material, all about changes of
color

Schubert Sonatas:
 trying to be as dramatically effective as Beethoven sonatas in a new way while
combined with Schubert’s other elements, such as dance elements, use of pedal tones,
Major/minor opposition, mediant relationships
 uses both three-movement and four-movement (grand) sonata forms

D. 537 in A minor: (1817)

 dance elements
 modulates to F Major (mediant relationship)
 use of long-line melodies

*D. 664 in A Major Op. 120

 around 1820, maybe late teens “call it 1820” so probably on the test
 lyricism
 evoking Beethoven, in the shadow of Beethoven
 *I. Allegro Moderato
 Tuneful, immediately melodic
 Character found in melody
 Second theme in e minor/ E major
  *II. Andante (D Major, middle section in b minor)
 “remarkable”
 not technically difficult but interesting formal construction
 shows the typical Schubert traits of harmonic color
 another instance of portado
 sonata form
 III. Allegro
 dance elements combined with brilliant style
 recapitulates on the sub-dominant, automatically adjusts to the tonic

D. 784, Op. 143 in A minor*

 I. Allegro giusto
 blends drama a la Beethoven with his own subtleties of tonal color
 drama!!!!
 pedal tones blending in second theme, LH ostinato in development
 transforms drama dotted-note character into dance-like episode
 major / minor very sudden changes
 II.
 ABA structure
 III. Allegro vivace
 brilliant style
 fast with triplet subdivisions
 dance and song theme
 theme changes from single notes to octaves at very end, what was previously
very accessible is now difficult

D. 845, Op. 42 in A minor (1825)

 I. Moderato
 opens with open octaves
 march-like, sense of movement
 II.
 theme and variation set (long)
 III. Scherzo and Trio
 scherzo - faster
 trio - slower
 IV. Rondo

______ all grand sonatas, very mature, highly crafted from here on _______

D. 894 Op. 78 in G Major

 I. Molto moderato e cantabile

D. 850 Op. 53 in D Major

____ last three sonatas, most celebrated is 960, all three are very important

each of them seem to represent a different approach that Schubert has to style and character:
  C minor = attributed to Beethoven, variations in C minor (WoO 80) has similar chord
progression, beginning of the movement is very dramatic

D. 958 in C Minor
 I. Allegro
 very dramatic- evocation of Beethoven; opens with big chords and long scale
 last movement of Op. 34 No. 3 (The Hunt) also has the same LH
 chose Beethoven’s favorite key
 Mediant flip to flat submediant
 Use of pedal tones
 dramatic development section, but in a low register with fixed arpeggio position,
LH has melody
 retransition pulls out tension by using a long chromatic scale and rising LH
chords, extended dominant preparation
 II.
 five-part song form, slow
 wide variety of key changes in the coda
 colorful use of tonal relationships
 III.
 IV. Allegro*
 tarantella - triadic accompaniment, ba-dum rhythm, 6/8
 theme comes back in Major
 rondo form
 chord progressions fly by, tonal kaleidoscope

D. 959 in A Major (the BIG A Major)

 I. Allegro
 homage to Haydn - material is chosen because it is neutral and is able to be
developed
 opens with big chords as a dominant preparation
 II. Andantino
 slow in F-Sharp minor, full of pathos
 very passionate, deeply moving
 III. Scherzo and Trio
 IV. Rondo - Allegretto
 lighthearted, as seen in Haydn and Beethoven

D. 960 in B-Flat Major (massive, the granddaddy)

 Romantic work, plays on favored Romantic elements, emphasis on melody
 I. Molto Moderato*
 immediately characterized by a gorgeous Romantic melody
 variants of the same theme
 very long, lots of coloristic work, long-lined melodies
 II. Andante sostenuto
 beautiful, sensitive
 III. Scherzo and Trio
 IV. Allegro ma non troppo
 tonal trick at the beginning starting with a G octave
 relief from the intense mood of earlier movements, semi-lighthearted
“The Wanderer”, D. 760
 probably one of his most influential pieces
 he takes a single motivic idea and transforms it in a number of ways, always maintains a
thread of identity to original motive to transform the character for different purposes
 sonata-like structure by having sections that sound like a dramatic first movement, slow
movement, scherzo, finale
 Liszt rearranged it for piano and orchestra, cyclic structure is important to Liszt,
especially two piano concertos and sonata in b minor
 title is based on his song with the same name, using poetry from Goethe
 changes his arpeggiation from in-place to a virtuosic style that travels up and down the
keyboard
 doesn’t really play to his strengths
 nothing spectacularly difficult, there’s just a lot of it
 *I. Allegro con Fuoco
 *II. Adagio
 keys blended in together, tonic and relative keys

Fantasie in F minor - Piano Duet

 has the same cyclic structure as the Wanderer
 not virtuosic like the Wanderer but is challenging
 one of the greatest works for piano duet in piano literature

Schubert can feel timeless, but takes a LOT more work than it seems to the listener

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

 starts the next generation of Romantic composers
 some things that set Mendelssohn apart from other Romantic composers which lump
him in with Schubert as a bridge from Classic to Romantic styles
 has both a Classic and Romantic side, weighted more to Romantic
 Mendelssohn was a prodigy, writing wonderful works while a teenager, didn’t quite
develop into a Mozart-level composer but did well
 his upbringing: grew up in Berlin, very conservative corner of the world in early 19th
century
 highly educated, came from a well-respected family; had a privileged educator,
grandfather was a famous philosopher
 compositions show a high level of craft; question is how much of a trailblazer was he,
and is that important
 in this time, new currents of music were flowing and inspiring creativity, Mendelssohn
never consistently got in the mainstream
 could write fugue, raised on WTC, knew the classics - Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart
(can be seen in his music)
 responsible for the revival of Bach, conducted the first public performance in about a
century of the St. Matthew Passion
 a great pianist, super virtuoso
 piano trios are HUGE, great concertos
 piano works use the full range of the keyboard, Mendelssohn’s arpeggios are moving up
a no down the keyboard very extensively, utilized the virtuosic capabilities of the piano
  unbelievable improviser!
 included by Bach, Beethoven, Weber

———————-Dec 6 2022 - Last day of class! ———————-

Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words

 Romantic tendencies come through fully
 6 songs in each, 8 published sets, except the last two publications are posthumous
 if you play Op. 85 or 102 (post.), know that it’s not a set collected by
Mendelssohn but a decision by a publisher
 Opus numbers ascend logically but only to a certain point, then you can’t trust they they
were chronological or approved for publication
 Mendelssohn: anything higher than Op. 72 is posthumous; date of composition
could be at any time
 in publishing an Opus, Mendelssohn thought about contrast of tempos, character,
variety; if you play an entire Opus it is a nicely balanced set
 Mendelssohn thought that piano alone was more clear than song with words (aesthetic
stance); people generally thought the opposite
 he and Fanny (sister) played a game where they added words to his Songs Without
Words, but we don’t really have those
 Songs Without Words:
 generally ABA
 rarely does B section have a contrasting texture
 contrast is expressed some other way; ex. modulations
 lyricism, singing melodic lines
 would make great sight reading exercises for melodic examples
 some older editions include titles that were added after the fact
 descending interval = cookoo, who brings Spring and… infidelity (?)
 Three Types of Songs:
 solo song
 choral song - choral texture, can include an introduction so don’t be
thrown off by that, homophonic
 duet style - simple, parallel thirds or sixths in upper voices, imitates a type
of simple art songs
 “Duetto”: most outstanding from LoW
 different style than Venetian boat-style duets; melody is constructed like a
mini opera scene between male and female main characters, dramatic
conversation going on
 *Op 38 No 6: depiction of feminine / masculine parts based on dynamics,
forceful nature, etc.
 *Op. 67 No. 2 in F-Sharp minor: LISTENING
 much harder than expected when listening
 staccato accompaniment with smooth melody

Mendelssohn: Op. 7
 young Mendelssohn starting his character pieces
 counterpoint, intricate writing
 already very talented even as a young writer
  Op. 7 No. 5 is a fugue, titled as such

Mendelssohn = exceptionally good at writing scherzos

 Op. 16, Three Caprices: No. 2
 famous one that starts with the repeated B, then thirds, then chords come in

Op. 72: Six Pieces for Children- on ped final

 great set of pedagogical works

Op. 104: two books

 three preludes (book 1) and three etudes (book 2), not sure who added the title
 preludes can also be considered etudes
 “Three-Handed Technique” in Op. 104 Book 2 No. 1 - tune is hidden in the middle so
both hands have to alternate playing notes from the tune

Op. 14: Rondo Caproccioso

 *Andante
 slow, lots of repeated chords, then RH takes melody
 dramatic pedal effects at the end (probably from Beethoven)
 *Presto
 famous march-sounding
 6/8 menacing sound
 double thirds passage
 very independent articulation between hands
 very light dynamic range, requires control
 reminiscent of Fanny Mendelssohn’s “December” from Das Jahr

Op. 35, 6 Preludes and Fugues (1837)

 no one else was writing concert preludes and fugues at this time
 *No. 1 in E minor - a handful but honestly really cool
 Prelude:
 uses three-handed technique, both hands occupied with arpeggiations
with melody tucked in the middle
 consistent figuration throughout
 Fugue:
 andante espressivo, so not too fast or too slow
 textbook approach, by the book counterpoint
 some harmonies aren’t quite Bach
 develops the texture without ever fully abandoning the fugue
 extended fugal exposition
 inverts the subject, so truly is learned counterpoint
 use of accelerando, builds to a chorale at the end, also evoking Bach and
the church
 extensive octave passage at the end

Wrote 3 Sonatas, two have Op. # in the hundreds so those are Post.

Sonata, Op. 6:
 not played often, not bad but not to his standard
  imitates Beethoven Op. 101
 Op. 90 second mov’t imitated also

Fantasy in F-Sharp minor, Op. 28:

 started as a teenager, originally titled Sonata-Ecossaise but was different than sonatas
at that time so he changed it to Fantasy
 dedicated to Ignaz Moscheles
 wrote a lot of etudes, pianist
 *I. Con moto Agitato
 pedal tone
 sonata form, but different than standard sonata technique
 brief introduction, then main theme (Andante)
 super famous one
 second theme in relative Major, traditional key relationship
 recapitulation in octaves
 coda settles on tonic major, very long pedal marking which requires careful
fractional pedaling on modern pianos
 II. Allegro con moto
 duple meter but stands in place of Minuet mov’t
 III. Presto
 brilliant style with bits of scherzo-like character
 typical Mendelssohn

Op. 54: Variations Serieuses in D minor

 composed for a fundraiser which included an anthology of new music, proceeds would
go to construction of a monument
 other composers included Liszt, Chopin, Czerny, and 6 others
 18 variations, 17 of which are numbered, last one is a coda but functions as an 18th
variation
 “Serious” alludes to Beethoven String Quartet Op. 95 “Serious”
 opposite in character to prevailing variation style of the time, which was shallow, ultra-
virtuosic
 wide variety of styles and textures
 not conventionally virtuosic but very challenging technically and musically
 difficulty stands out from Mendelssohn’s other works
 each variation maintains the phrase structure of the theme until almost the very end
 often pairs variations together based on texture, treatment, etc.
 *Theme
 constructed motivically in falling seconds , allows flexibility
 *Var I, II - paired by texture
 independent voice movement, articulation is challenging
 16th notes variation 1
 6-tuples on variation 2
 *Var III
 octave chord study, much heavier
 *Var IV
 canon at the 2nd
_________________________________________________________________________

PIANO LIT II

UNIT ONE:

JAN 17

Lizst took longer to develop than Chopin and Schumann

Frederic Chopin:
 Solange Sand quote about Chopin “angel’s soul”
 “tortured body” = TB / consumption
 last work he published = Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 65
 written for a buddy of his
 Op. 66 onward = posthumous
 supervised by friend Fontana
 Smaller-scale works
 27 etudes: 2 books of 12, and 3 additional etudes (trois novelle)
 25 preludes: 24 (all keys) and the free-standing prelude in c#minor
 21 nocturnes
 8 polonaises
 49 mazurkas
 13 waltzes
 4 impromptus
 Larger-scale works
 3 sonatas
 4 ballades
 4 scherzi
 fantasy
 barcarolle
 berceuse
 born and raised near Warsaw, Poland
 Poland absorbed into Russian Empire by 1810
 1831 brief resurgence as Poland, quickly goes back into Russian Empire; Chopin
doesn’t leave because of this revolution, but for career purposes
 trained in music by Joseph Elsner
 musical genius from early age
 improvised full-fledged compositions as a teenager
 his teachers left him to develop new things rather than forcing an older style on
him
 1830-31: travels to Vienna, settles in Paris
 realized Poland wasn’t multicultural enough for him
  great pianist and quickly regarded as such, but didn’t like big, public concerts
 preferred intimate social settings
 Chopin met Berlioz, Liszt, George Sand (pen name), Degas (painter) through these
salons
 Professional activists:
 teaching (high fees!)
 many students were young women of wealthy backgrounds
 mostly taught his own music to them
 composer
 publications in France, Germany, England
 still pre-copyright law, so it’s important to publish quickly
 lot of variants in pieces because there are 4 urtexts: autograph and the 3
areas of publications
 often in poor health
 summers at George Sand’s estate
 met in 1836, had intimate relationship 1838-1846
 falling out over Sand’s daughter, Solange (the quote!)
 “Chopin’s Funeral” book: talks about their relationship
 Chopin’s health declines after they break up, death from TB in 1849

Chopin’s Works:

Etudes:
 Op. 10 (12 etudes, 1833)
 Op. 25 (12 etudes, 1837)
 Trois Nouvelles études (3 etudes, 1839)
 fancy names are added after the fact

Character of Etudes:
 virtuosic character piece, musical study / technical study
 form is unambiguous: ternary form
 texture is often uniform, even in ternary structures (like Mendelssohn’s Songs Without
Words)
 flexibility of arm and wrist are essential to Chopin’s technique
 Chopin believed each finger had unique characteristics and capabilities; several
etudes focus on particular finger functions
 use of arm as a guide, flow from note to note, not expecting a large hand span
 revolutionary compared to the coin on top of the hand method

Op. 10, no 1 in C Major: extended hand technique

Op. 25, No. 1 in F-Flat Major: extended hand positions (
Aoelian harp)
Op. 10, no 11 in E-Flat Major: extended hand positions (rolled chords)
Op. 10, No. 2 in a minor: longer over shorter fingers (lots of chromatic notes, light and legato)
Op. 10, no. 8 in f minor: twisting arpeggio figures (needs flexible wrist and use of arm, centering
over keys)
op. 25 no. 11 in a minor “Winter Wind”: also twisting figures
op. 25, no. 10 in b minor: legato octaves (4-5)

concepts from etudes are found in other works: some ballades (Ab, f,
Nocturnes:
 Op. 9
 Op. 72 (post.)

some variations in his students’ scores

_______________________________________________________

Plantinga reading: “Romantic Music”

 “Romantic” = preference for original rather than the typical; looking for uniqueness,
enriched harmonic vocabulary, new tone colors, etc.
 Arthur O. Lovejoy “romantic means nothing at all anymore because it means too many
things”
 Amadeus Wendt - music critic in Leipzig; established Classic period made of Mozart,
Haydn, Beethoven (almost exclusively)
 Romantic and Classic cannot easily be separated; there are aspects of each in the 18th
and 19th centuries, and there isn’t a clearly linear growth of musical ideas

Loesser reading: “Men, Women, and Pianos: A Social History”

 Sebastien Erard creating “double escapement” action in 1821; Erard action is also
known as “repetition action”
 Liszt’s favorite piano
 First only in Erard grand pianos, but 1830s in all of their instruments; was adopted by
all within 20 years, and is still used today
 Previous action made of deer leather became brittle and hard with age; made a sharp
tone
 1826: patent taken out on covering hammer heads with felt
 Metal frame, felt-covered hammers, and double-escapement action produced
virtuosic concert pianos that could fill rooms with sound

Schonberg 144-160:
 Chopin was very class-conscious when it came to his social circle
 Chopin was a big spender
 Disliked the word “romanticism” and same attitude for music of his day, including
Berlioz, Liszt, Schumann, Mendelssohn, Schubert, even Beethoven (though he got
along with them personally)
 His favorites were Bach and Mozart whom he well respected
 “Hats off, gentlemen! A genius!” - Schumann (either Robert or Clara, we don’t really
know for certain), about Chopin
 Taught by Joseph Elsner; seeds of romanticism were sown in him by Field, Spohr,
Hummel and Weber
 Chose not to study with Kalkbrenner because he did not want to become a copy of him
 Played mainly in salons, which was beneficial to his lack of sound which he was
critiqued on when he played for a gallery
 Love-hate relationship between Liszt and Chopin; Chopin was jealous of Liszt’s power
  Chopin’s pianistic style includes supple technique, nuance of touch and tone, and
revolutionary fingering
 Rubato = a Polish characteristic which he applied liberally to everything eh played;
some said his mazurkas seemed to be in 4/4 rather than 3/4 when he played them
 Chopin’s reputation as a fine concert pianist is made from about 30 public concerts
 Dedicated the Scherzo in C-sharp minor to his student Gutmann
 Chopin left some notes on a book which he intended to publish regarding teaching
 “Everything depends on good fingering.”
 “Forearm and upper arm should be used in addition to the wrist, hand, and
fingers.”
 Chopin recommended no more than 3 hours daily practice
 Abrutissement = stupor brought on by overpractice
 Listen to great singers in order to learn how to do great legato.
 Fingers are unequal in strength. Each finger should be developed individually.

Rosen 83-87 and 344-352:

 A set of Fragments create Chopin’s Preludes, Op. 28, and is considered a cycle
 This was not intended to be performed as an entire set, but rather in small
groups of pieces; this reflects Bach’s Klavierubung, Part III
 Chopin’s preludes model Bach’s WTC in terms of systematic ordering, but not the exact
same; Chopin uses the circle of fifths, doing Major, then relative minor; C Major, a minor,
G Major, e minor, etc.
 Etude in C-Sharp minor Op. 25, No. 7 “Cello Etude” comes from Bellini’s Norma
(scena, Act III)
 Coda of the Nocturne in B major, Op. 32, No. 1 has a recitative section
 Most dramatically operatic is the final section of Nocturne in G Minor, Op. 15, No. 3
 Chopin’s friends wanted him to write an opera; this might’ve been the result.
 You can hear a bell tolling and a hymn being chanted by a “chorus offstage”.
 Chopin often uses heterophony; his preference was for the melody to be a large
rhythmic value while the accompaniment is a much smaller, more fluid subject.
 Nocturne in D-Flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2 shows this well.

Rosen 7-13:
 The Bach “revival” in the 19th century was not truly a revival, as earlier composers also
loved and honored Bach in their studies of him.
 Schumann’s Humoresk: Hastig contains a middle stave which contains the melody,
which is not to be played; this is a new, Romantic idea.
 Schumann focuses on tone color rather than melody and harmony.

Chopin Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20, No. 1 - opens with the big chord super high, then chord
lower, then the fast passages; le - sol audible.

Chopin Sonata in D-Flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2: do sol mi sol mi do sol do LH

___________________________________________________

JAN 19

Chopin’s Funeral: Benita Eisler

  covers last 10 years of his life
 relationship with George Sand and her children
 Chopin’s personality
 someone warns Sand (I think) that Chopin was a “moral vampire”

Chopin: Pianist and Teacher as seen by his pupils, by Jean-Jacques Eideldinger

 stories from pupils and other composers, friends, etc.
 appendix contains marks in scores from some students
 James Sterling - Scotch pianist, student of Chopin’s (she)
 also contains alternate fioritura, especially in Nocturnes
 bel canto = most popular opera style at this time
 emphasis on vowels

Bel Canto associations:

 Chopin knew Bellini well because they were in the same circles, he loved his operas
 Rossini and Meyerbeer were also favorites of Chopin’s
 playing grace notes on the beat

fioritura = extra ornamental figure, like a cadenza

 cannot be notated by a symbol, unlike mordants or turns
 more extensive, takes several beats, even multiple measures

Nocturnes:
 use of pedal to sustain the harmony / sustain while hand reaches (but really just flexible
wrist usually)
 very long pedal sustains, requires fractional pedaling today
 use of fiorituri: sometimes small notes, sometimes enlarged notes
 use of portado to show delicate touch; may also imply rubato
 distinguished himself from John Field’s nocturnes by extending his harmonic palette; use
of pedal tones, mediant relationships, borrowed minor chords
 subtle counterpoint; countermelody, two-part writing in an interior voice, sometimes in a
lower voice written with extra stems to show melodic content
 structure: many can be classified as ternary, but Chopin was creative within this
structure
 hushed, intimate passages that go on for a long time; sotto voce (whispered)
 Pleyel was Chopin’s favorite piano; known for whispering treble range
 big contrasts, colorful tonal elements
 sometimes uses weak beats to change harmony; disorienting
 Op. 27 works are mature
 make sure you use a good edition, then try to understand Chopin’s pedal markings,
even when they are odd; but if they don’t work on a modern piano, find something else
 as he matured, he marked pedaling that was not typical rather than marking everything

Op. 27, No. 1 in C-Sharp minor

 changing low note is on the weak beat, disorienting
 radical for its time - melody fading away too early, chromatic/modal shifts, etc.
 grand-scale nocturne
 very dramatic!
  includes a mazurka within it
 strophic

Op. 27, No. 2 in D-Flat Major

 strophic
 highly decorative
 LH evokes melody as well
 dramatic dynamic differences
 Chopin was always composing and indecisive; changed some dynamics
 lots of harmonic colors
 two-voice writing (subtle)

Op. 62, No. 2 in E Major

 great melody
 alternating sections has sophisticated lines, some counterpoint inside


Ballades:
 Chopin created his own form
 4 of Chopin’s Ballades
 each different, but have similarities
 ballade = narrative poem, tells dramatic / sad story; in iambic pentameter (short-long-
short-long); often sung (think I Saw Three Ships)
 Musical Characteristics of Chopin’s Ballades:
 compound triple meter
 imitating iambic pentameter
 not actually written from ballades
 contrast between lyrical and dramatic
 narrative quality
 musical elements / structure interact and evolve like characters in a story
would
 structural elements:
 some sonata-like structures
 contrasting themes
 developmental sections
 big, dramatic codas
 NOT in sonata form
 key relationships are not standard
 resolution of dramatic tension in coda, not recapitulation
 Ballade No. 1, Op. 23
 groundbreaking, innovative, etc.
 dramatic unison introduction, Eb not resolved
 first theme harmonically stable, rhythmically unstable
 no bass notes on strong beats
 second theme is lyrical
 central section (kind of development) unstable, tension
 distantly related keys
  no root position chords
 virtuoso octave passages
 fast waltz-like theme
 retransition to the original key
 grandiose restatement of second theme
 first theme returns in tonic, but only 6/4 position chords
 Ballade No. 2 - F Major
 strong contrasts between themes
 unusual key scheme: F - a - F - d - a
 A B A’ B’ Coda
 uses progressive tonality = ending in a different key than it started
 “doesn’t mean the piece is left-wing” - Dr. Marks
 first A section is calm, A’ is disturbed / dramatic
 B section is dramatic nad infiltrates into A section
 unusual slur markings, very long
 ends very quietly in a minor
 Ballade No. 3 - A-Flat Major
 contrasting themes
 consistent tempo
 developing themes
 no restatement of B theme in “recap”
 “recap” of A theme is short but very dramatic
 Ballade No. 4 in F minor
 figure out what the formal structure is… yikes
 “introduction” “a theme” “b section”
 a dozen markings or so
 everything is arguable, so just think through it!
 Chopin’s Scherzi
 structure is simpler and lots of repetition especially in A sections
 most are ABA + Coda structure
 more overtly virtuosic
 No. 1 in B minor Op. 20 (same time as Ballade 1)
 redefines potential of genre
 models Beethoven’s strong accents and contrasts
 more virtuosic and darker in character
 Schumann’s review of the First Scherzo: “How should gravity be clothed
when jest is so darkly attired?”
 if this is supposed to be humorous, what will you do when there’s
really something serious?
 short, dramatic introduction
 ii7 half-dim: emotionally amped-up chord for Romantic composers
 virtuosic figuration in A section
 quasi-developmental section
 B section = contrast; use of Polish carol
 one of the only times Chopin uses a melody that is not his own
 coda with risoluto and intensity
 ii7 - i comes back at ending
 No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31 (same thing with Ballades)
 lots of repetition
 No. 3 in C-sharp minor, Op. 39
 ABAB + Coda
  No. 4 in E Major, Op. 54
 richest, most complex
 Other large, freestanding works:
 all have loose structures, largely determined by musical content; music >
structure
 culminate in dramatic fashion - “apotheosis” (uh-paw-thee-OH-sis)
 Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49
 Barcarolle, Op. 60
 Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61
 different enough from a polonaise to stand apart
 Polonaises:
 Polish dances: triple meter, accompaniment either uses 1-and-a or 1-a rhythms
on downbeats
 eventually settled on the heroic style rather than brilliant style
 Grand Polonaise, Op. 22
 dedicated to Baroness D’Este, same that the Fantaisie Impromptu was
dedicated to (his student)
 introduction = Andante Spinato
 one of his last compositions in his brilliant style
 chromatic alterations, going up and down the keyboard
 tons of black notes, figuration
 Polonaise Op. 53
 given subtitle “Heroic” after Chopin’s time, not by him
 less figuration, more massive sound and rhythmic solidity
 almost sounds modern in his odd chords and rhythms in introduction
 introduction + ABA
 Smaller Forms: some including salon music
 salon music would be exploited by other composers
 closest thing Chopin wrote to salon music would be his waltzes
 Waltzes
 some are lyrical, some are brilliant; it varies
 Valse Brilliante, Op. 34, No 1
 Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64
 more sophisticated than earlier examples
 Berceuse
 series of melodic variations over an unchanging bass line
 series of verses: 8th notes, then two parts, grace notes, subdivisions,
kinds of figuration, etc.
 only on last page do we get different harmonic progressions
 Mazurkas: 1820s and 1830s
 revealing of Chopin’s creativity, abilities as a composer, and his
personality in an intimate way
 pedal tones are common
 folk dance roots
 typical collection of four
 three short, and fourth more extensive
 do not need to be played in an opus set; can mix and match
 many have a Lydian component, if not overtly in Lydian mode
 Mazurka = umbrella term for more specific subtypes (in reading):
 Kujawiak
 a bit slower
  Obertaz
 Oberek
 Op. 6
 Op. 7
 Op. 17
 No. 4: unstable/non-functional harmonies, ending up in A minor;
not strongly rhythmic; LH fifth drone in B section
 Op. 24
 No. 4: weird chromatic notes sliding down; uneven rhythm from
Friedmann’s almost making it be 4/4
 weird, not very pretty imo
Op. 56
Op. 67
Op. 68
 Preludes
 not intended to be played beginning to end as a cycle; Chopin would sub-
group them
 not sure what they’re intended to be a prelude to
 Op. 28: set of all 24 keys, organized by circle of fifths by Major + relative
minor
 No. 4 = Raindrop Prelude
 No. 1 = arpeggiated, mirroring Bach
 Op. 45 in C-sharp minor
 probably a written-out variation
 contribution to the fundraiser
 Sonatas:
 Op. 1, C Major:
 student work, you’ll never hear it
 Op. 35 in B-flat minor
 4-mm. introduction
 signature extended arpeggiations
 gorgeous second theme
 typical sonata form
 recapitulation does not include opening material, reflecting Scarlatti:
Sonata Principle
 second mov’t: virtuosic scherzo
 third mov’t: funeral march with trio
 fourth mov’t: played entirely unison at octave, two hands
 Op. 58 in B minor
 stands with F minor Ballade as a magnificent example of his craft
 mastery of counterpoint
 recurring descending 5-note figure which becomes a 6-note figure
 huge ascending LH chromatic lines, RH counterpoint with large spans
 vertical curved line connecting chords = rolled chord
 nocturne-like second theme
 closing group
 virtuosic scherzo + ambiguous trio; where’s the tune?
 opera-like slow mov’t
 finale = alla tarantella (not labeled as that but that’s the style)
 LH has rumbling arpeggios that are a lot harder than they seem
 shows Chopin’s reliance on flexibility and arm movement
Schumann: I’ve played Widmung, Papillons, and Intermezzo from Fasschingwank aus Wien
 over 35 published works for solo piano
 lots of collaborative works (Lieder, chamber music, piano concerto)
 genres:
 character piece (cycles)
 sonatas (3)
 variations
 etudes
 fantasia - some say greatest work for piano; similar to sonata in many ways
 literary influence = extremely important
 son of a bookseller in Zwickau; father died when he was a teen
 fascinated by books / literature
 fine writer himself
 founded important music literary magazine
 read Romantic authors: Jean Paul (Johann Paul Richter) and E.T.A. Hoffman
 founded Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal for Misc) in 1834
 literary and extra-musical elements found their way into his music
 Abegg Variations, Op. 1: theme derived from person’s name (cryptogram)
 mother sent him to law school, he left and took lessons from Friedrich Wieck
(1830)
 injury made him abandon piano in 1832 and he focused on composition instead
 chiroplast-equipped piano?
 mercury pills treating syphilis -> neurological damage from mercury
poisoning
 Papillons, Op. 2: inspired by a scene from one of Jean Paul’s novels
 Davidsbündler Tänze, Op. 6: based on a work by Clara Wieck (his future wife)
 Carnaval, Op. 9: “portraits” of people, actual and imaginary (and more
cryptograms)
 Kreisleriana - inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman
 psychological challenges:
 suffered from depression, increasingly severe after 1833
 possibly genetic; father had nervous condition, sister committed suicide in
her teens
 marriage to Clara Wieck in 1840 = stability or him
 mental state got worse in 1840s, attempted suicide in 1854, having
hallucinations; institutionalized afterwards
 died institutionalized
 incredible imagination
 thought music needed to be a progressive art
 developed imaginary people and personalities and groupings of people to
represent issues that came about advocating for progressive art
 Florestan and Eusebius = characters from Jean Paul novels
 F = outgoing
 E = introvert, poet
 Master Raro = mediator
 Friedrich Wieck? or Clara and Robert?
 his imaginary band of artists = Davidsbund
 the opposition = the Philistines
 those rooted in tradition afraid to move forward
  artists who are superficial; lots of those in Schumann’s day,
especially in piano world
 most solo works written in 1830s
 Opp. 1-23 = all solo works
 early 1840s focused on Lieder
 Symphony No. 1, Op. 41 = first work not for piano or voice
 earlier works for solo piano = generally considered his best
 revisions of Opp. 1, 6, 13, 16 in 1850s = problematic
 be careful of which edition you buy!
 Schumann’s style:
 rhythmic ambiguity
 syncopation, hemiola, irregular groupings
 people didn’t understand how they fit into the genres of the day
 his musical syntax seemed irrational
 arational: depicts inner psychological states and reactions to whatever
the story may be, not the actual story itself
 long pedals
 creates new sound worlds
 frequent retardandi, often with no a tempo marking following
 the virtue to that: your own interpretation has more freedom, helps the
communication of interior states
 special tonal effects
 fragments
 modeling literature around this time as well
 music can seem spontaneous; like our mental states, some things break
off without become fully rounded thoughts
 juxtapositions of unrelated material
 piano: hands often moving in conjunction
 think Widmung!
 Abegg Variations, Op. 1:
 dedicated to Comtesse Pauline v. Abegg
 standard work; doesn’t represent Schumann’s future style, but shows the style of
the time which he later abandoned
 Var I: conventional variation set in lots of respects
 chromatic lines, moving up and down the keyboard, brilliant style
 Var II: hand crossing, hands being out of phase (rhythmically offset)
 one of Schumann’s favorite techniques
 Var III: another brilliant one
 Finale alla Fantasia: more brilliance, very sparkly
 theme by subtraction leading up to the a tempo: starts with the full
chord, then takes away notes one by one
 Humoresque, Op. 21
 technically and musically difficult
 write a melody in small notes between the two staves; not supposed to play it,
just supposed to imagine it
 Early Character Sets:
 Papillons, Op. 2 (1829-1831)
 large composition composed of small modules
 dance forms, mainly waltzes (Waltzerkette)
 great internal variety
 beginning and end bound together but thematic and tonal connections
  inspired by a novel: Flegeljahre (“Years of Indiscretion”) by Jean Paul
[Richter]
 characters: Walt and Vuth
 one is outgoing, one is poetic, like Carnaval
 wrote in a letter to family that they should read the final scene of
Flegeljahre to show the composition was meant to depict the masked ball
 some pieces already had a previous existence and he patched them
together; not written all in one go
 programmatic, but not an outward story; shows inward reactions
 disappearing chord at end like Abegg, but not thematic significance; tonal
effect
 psychological unity from last piece - knits everything together, creates
relationship from beginning to end
 Davidsbündler Tanze, Op. 6
 based on mazurka by Clara Wieck (before / just as they were becoming
romantically together)
 a sort of variation set, but very loose connection to the theme
 sequence of dances (a la Walzerkette) but many dance types included
 18 pieces, divided into 2 books of 9 each
 both books must be performed to be meaningful as a set
 dance models are often altered or distorted
 demonstrating what progressive art can be
 uses motto of descending half-step from Clara; not truly a variation set
because it’s not a theme, but it does create unity
 everything after the double bar in the first piece = Schumann
 constant syncopations
 each has a marking at the end: F, E, or F.u.E.
 F = Florestan
 E = Eusebius
 F.u.E. = Florestan und Eusebius
 No. 3: progressive becasue hands are rhythmically out of phase
 hahnbüchen = clumsily
 ungeduldig = impatiently
 No. 4 Waltz style but also rhythmically out of phase
 use of circle of fifths
 No. 6 = tarantella with misplaced accents
 No. 10 = Ballade style, 2:3 rhythm
 No. 13 = hands out of phase
 No. 17 = crucial piece in the set
 creates a sense of distance, retrospective and perspective; it’s
been about 25 minutes since the start of the set!
 only piece that’s attaca from No. 16
 blurred harmonies
 slow harmonic rhythm
 pervasive syncopation in slow rhythm, very disorienting
 No. 2 by Eusebius returns, as is a recollection of past;
amorphous
 wie aus der Ferne = as if from a distance
 No. 18 begins with description of Eusebius “saying” the following
 use of clock chime = 12 low C’s
 Carnaval, Op. 9
  real title is long: translates to “Carnaval: tiny scenes over 4 notes for
piano”
 Original title was “Carnaval: Merry Tales on Four Notes for Piano, by
Florestan”
 united by motives (sphinxes) on letter-note correspondences
 sphinxes represent an enigma
 3 sphinxes: S-C-H-A, As-C-H, A-S-C-H
 Es = Eb
 H = B natural; letter B = Bb
 As = Ab
 Asch = name of a town in now Czech republic, was perviously in
German-speaking realm; birthplace of Ernestine von Fricken
 first and last pieces are relatively long, rest are shorter
 most depict some real or imagined character or person
 friends / professional acquaintances
 “Estrella” depicting Ernestine von Fricken
 Clara Wieck “Chiarina”
 Chopin “Chopin”
 Niccolo Paganini “Paganini”
 Eusebius and Florestan, Schumann’s alter-egos
 characters from Commedia dell’arte; improvised comedy based on
stock masked characters / distinctive clothing
 Pierrot
 Arlequin
 Pantelon
 Columbine
 21 total, often grouped into sets of 2-3
 does not use the Schumann theme
 symphonic sound
 virtuosic
 metrical ambiguity
 “Paganini”
 leading to Valse Alamande; only ABA set
 hands are out of phase
 extra beat for a hemiola effect
 very coloristic
 Phatasistucke, Op. 12
 doesn’t need to be played as a whole set; rare to hear it as a whole
 8 pieces with fanciful titles
 inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Fantasiestucke in Callots Mainer (1814)
 Kinder sehen, Op. 15
 not music for children, but about childhood
 Kreisleriana, Op. 16
 inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman’s novel Kater Murr (Cat’s Growl)
 “autobiography” of Kapellmeister Johannes Kreisler + commentary
by his cat
 juxtaposition of disparate elements, characters
 only 8 pieces, but each longer than in previous sets
 internal structure of each piece also more complex
 depicts abstract character, mood (psychological states)
 one of Schumann’s favorites of his own works, one of Dr. Marks’ favorites
  #1
 LISTENING
 character of Kreisler character; fiery
 ABA structure
 begins abruptly, as if in the middle of something already
happening
 hands are out of phase
 B section = semi-lyrical contrast
 unexpected accents imply syncopated inner voice
 #2
 more complex structure: ABAC-transition (fantasy)A
 more reflective, colorful
 substantial differences between first edition and revisions
 requires careful use of pedal
 #4, 6
 both very introspective, spontaneous-sounding
 dreamlike, seems to be without form (but really they do have form)
 #7
 LISTENING
 turbulent energy
 ABA-Coda
 prominent use of circle of fifths
 B section uses “learned style” topic
 Coda = chorale
 evokes Kreisler’s Kapellmeister profession
 comes out of nowhere; dreamlike
 #8
 five part rondo: ABACA
 A section is light and playful, but minor key = dark element
 each return becomes more enigmatic, LH becomes more
out of phase with RH
 sounds like someone unraveling
 piece ends quietly, ending of the whole cycle
 honestly sounds really fun to play
 Novelletten, Op. 21
 8 pieces
 pretty extensive; many of them 4-5 minutes
 Schumann had programs in mind for each piece but doesn’t tell you that
in the music; thought them to be self-evident
 #8 = LISTENING
 longest, most complex
 very fast, pretty virtuosic, dramatic
 has two intermezzi
 Nachtstücke, Op. 23
 Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 25
 sonata-like, has 5 movements
 big outer movements
 last movement = sonata form
 first movement is rondo-like: ABACADAEFA + Coda
 middle movements function like mini versions of sonata
movements
  #2 Romanze (slow mov’t), #3 Scherzino
 #4 Intermezzo doesn’t fit with sonata concept
 3 Romances, Op. 28
 #2 most often played, most lyrical; Clara’s favorite
 Waldscenen, Op. 82 (1849)
 9 pieces, most are quite short
 later style = less turbulent, less impulsive, less psychological; more
conventional in romantic tone painting and Romantic evocation of a
scene
 Single Character Pieces:
 Toccata, Op. 7
 etude-like
 Arabesque, Op 18
 often played
 Blumenstuck, Op. 19
 lyrical
 loosely-related episodes
 Schumann said he wrote these so he would be popular with
women in Vienna
 rarely done
 Humoreske, Op. 20
 large, complex virtuosic work
 quite varied material, like a suite, but interconnected, so parts
can’t be separated
 3. Hastig
 features Innere Stimme which is not to be played audibly

Piano piece by Schumann = 1830s

__________________________________________________

Arabesque in C, Op. 18:

 movement in ballet - curvy arms, graceful, etc.
 Arab-esqe; Islamic architecture, flowers curving around a window; curvy

Sonatas:
 3 total sonatas - g, f, f# Op. 14
 multi-movement
 g and f# = 4-mov’t
 f = somewhere between 3-5 mov’t
 publisher didn’t like having two scherzi, so he removed those, published
as concerto without orchestra
 republished with one scherzo
 symphonic, grandiose quality in each
 No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22
 so rasch wie möglich = as fast as possible
 Coda = schneller
  sonata form
 first and second themes, closing group, etc.
 second mov’t: loose readaptation of a pervious Lied he wrote
 rondo = second ending mov’t that he had; Clara didnt’ like the previous finale
mov’t

Fantaisie, Op. 17
 previously entitled sonata, but too loose for the genre so he swapped
 3 mov’t
 written for dedicated of a monument for Beethoven in Bonn - combined with
Mendelssohn’s Variatinos seriues and Chopin’s free-standing Prelude, BUT didn’t end
up being included
 first mov’t was previously going to be free-standing work entitled ‘Ruins’
 movements are titled “Ruins”, “Trophies”, “Palms” - titles removed from published
version
 poem by Schlägel talking about a dreamlike world, things to learn for those that listen
secretly
 hides a Beethoven theme!
 an die Verenigde liebte, starts in “In Legendonton”
 doesn’t have a fast concluding mov’t
 harmonic, tonal ambiguity - tension through the first mov’t
 dominant chord never resolving to tonic - Wagnerian opera technique
 ______ton = in the style of ____
 second mov’t infamous for Coda
 tons of jumps right before the end
 5-part rondo form ABACA Coda
 third mov’t
 has a small introduction - similar pattern to Widmung

Symphonic Etudes aka Etudes in the Form of Variations, Op. 13

 theme, Etude I, Etude II, etc. OR theme, Variation I, Variation II, Etude III, Variation III,
very weird
 written as a set of variations, but the variations are written as etudes
 3 and 9 are not based on theme, but all others are
 theme is by Baron von Fricken, father of Ernestina von Fricken, his one-time fiancée;
father was a flutist
 etude 2: massive chords, definitely shows the symphonic nature
 etude 3: RH imitates violin bow-crossing, melody in bass as cello
 etude 6: hands out of phase, “good old fashioned etude”
 etude 8: French overture topic
 etude 9: lots of hopping chords
 etude 11: the only one not in the tonic key; in g# minor
 etude 12: kind of inversion of the theme; theme is from an opera by Spohr, but related to
main theme
 contrasting episodes

_______________________________________________________

FEB 7
Franz Liszt:
 contemporaries:
 Chopin
 Schumann
 Mendelssohn
 perhaps greatest virtuoso pianist of all time
 equally notable and influential as a composer
 piano works = major part of his output
 orchestral compositions also important
 developed the symphonic poem (Les Preludes, Orpheus, Mazeppa,
etc.)
 influential leader of progressive music movement
 “New German School” formed 1859
 use of thematic ideas, content, etc.
 Liszt, Wagner, Berlioz
 very influential piano teacher (especially after 1848)
 students:
 Hans van Bülow (married Liszt’s illegitimate daughter, Cosima,
who eventually ran off with Wagner)
 Karl Tausig
 Eugen d’Albert
 Frederic Lamond
 Emil von Sauer
 Alexander Siloti
 probably can trace teacher lineage back to Liszt!
 these were some of the great pianists of the late 19th century (plus many
more)
 Liszt’s students essentially lived with him in one of his residences, earlier
students were usually in Weimar
 Liszt taught in masterclasses / studio classes
 “The Piano Master Classes of Franz Liszt” book!
 born in Raiding, Hungary (Austria-Hungarian Empire) in 1811
 spoke German rather than Hungarian
 Liszt was mostly self taught, only studied with Czerny for some months
 1823: moves to Paris
 starts composing
 1826: Etude in 48 exercises op. 6
 1827: father dies, he becomes breadwinner
 1832: Liszt hears Paganini perform in Paris
 afterward, he practices “four to five hours of trills, sixths, octaves, tremolos,
repeated notes, cadenzas, and the like”
 Liszt’s Technique Book - Alfred Edition
 around this time he’d had about 6 years of being a concert virtuoso under his
belt
 First important solo piano work of 1830s = Harmonies poetiques et religiuses (1834)
 almost all works he wrote in the 1830s were revised in 1840s and 1850s - shows
his skills and greater understanding of the piano
 Transcendental Etudes
 Paganini Etudes
 Harmonies poetiques et religieuses
  most works from 1830s are transcriptions (songs, symphonies) and paraphrases (opera
arias or scenes)
 these allowed greater accessibility
 this technique was not unique to Liszt
 Countess Marie d’Agoult
 mistress in 1835
 travel extensively
 Switzerland, Italy
 Album d’un voyageur (1838) = musical sketch of their journeys
 have 3 children together, including Cosima
 1839-1847: Glanzzeit = time of brilliance
 intense period of concertizing
 “invents” the solo recital
 only performer
 profile to audience rather than back to audience
 performs from memory
 becomes a rockstar
 Weimar, Germany
 primary residence 1848-1861
 period of most intense compositional activity
 Sonata in B minor
 Annees de pelerinage
 many revisions of earlier works
 symphonic poems
 begins teaching more extensively
 1861: gives up position, goes into minor orders of the Catholic church
 not a priest, but had the credentials to have official capacities in the church
 had a fascination with mystical religious movements way back into the 1830s
 Saint Simonism
 1869: “Vie trifurquee” (three-fold life; his words) - residences divided between Rome,
Budapest (Hungary), and Weimar

Piano Music:
 1830s
 transcriptions
 paraphrases
 early versions of later works
 harmonies
 voyageur
 grande etudes pour piano -> transcendental
 etudes d’ execution -> grande
 grand and transcendental titles get swapped during revisions
 1840s and 1850s
 revisions of earlier works
 new works
 sonata in b minor
 2 ballades
 3 concert studies (including Un Sospiro)
 3 Liebestraume
 6 Consolations
  Piano concerto #2 in A Major

Liszt and the Etude:

 Transcendental Etudes (12): 1851
 began as a series of “etude in the form of exercises”, composed in 1826
 four books of 12 (48 total) originally planned but ultimately only 12 were
published in 1827
 very conventional, similar to Czerny studies
 key scheme: C a F d Bb g (Major-relative minor around the circle of fifths
on the flat side)
 before Chopin wrote his preludes by more than a decade
 1839: reimagines them as more difficult, renames them
 1851: renamed again to Transcendental Etudes
 textures somewhat simplified - earlier version was too thick
 more idiomatic to the piano
 still remarkably challenging
 Grand Etudes of Paganini (6): 1851
 first version published in 1840 = transcendental etudes after Paganini
 6 etudes based on caprices for solo violin by Paganini (except 3 “La Campanella”
- that’s from a Paganini concerto)
 use of register adds interest
 revised in 1851 as Grandes Etudes de Paganini
 3 Concert Etudes: 1849 (names are added after Liszt’s death)
 2 Concert Etudes: 1862 (titles are from Liszt)
 1. Waldesrauschen
 2. Gnomenreigen

Liszt and the Character Piece:

 Major collections:
 Years of Pilgrimage (1842)
 3 volumes (years)
 26 pieces
 inspired by landscape, art, and literature of their locations
 year 1: Switzerland (1855)
 9 pieces, 7 are revisions (not 5 and 7)
 more prefaced by literature
 picturesque
 includes water music (evoking water)
 large scale: Vellee d’Obermann
 themes:
 self-doubt
 emotional isolation
 communion with nature
 Caspar David Friedrich painting
 year 2: Italy (1858)
 7 pieces with a “supplement” of 3 later pieces
 includes 3 “sonnets of Petrarch” solo piano arrangements of
earlier songs
 two inspirations from visual art
 Sposalizio by Raphael
  Il pensieroso by Michelangelo
 large scale work: Dante Sonata
 full title comes from a poem by Victor Hugo
 referencing Dante’s “Inferno”
 year 3: Unspecified (1883)
 7 pieces
 most have titled or inscriptions of a religious nature
 The Fountains of the Villa d’Este = most often performed
 Poetic and Religious Harmonies
 10 pieces
 many individual small pieces
 2 ballades (B minor = best known)
 2 Legends of St. Francis Assisi
 3 Nocturnes
 6 consolations
 4 waltzes??
 likes to use F# Major when dealing with religious themes

TEST MATERIAL:
 both large scale works
 thematic transformation !!!!!
 themes with different characters from a single melodic germ
 programmatic: psychological
 loose sonata forms
 large scale: 13 mins and 16 mins

LISZT SONATA:

My vote is that this sonata should be interpreted as a four-movement sonata, rather than single-
movement work. I believe this because frankly, I don’t think the audience’s musical attention
span and short-term memory can encompass a 30-minute work properly in order for it to be
abstractly analyzed as a single-movement work—even as the performer, this would be a stretch
(for myself). Though the single-movement work is credible from a theoretical standpoint, I simply
don’t think it is practical. In addition to this, I believe the audience would be more familiar with a
four-movement sonata form, and therefore would inherently understand this piece through that
lens and see what the single-movement analysis would call a Recapitulation instead as a
recollection of earlier moments rather than being encapsulated within the same structure.

_________________________________________________________________
Liszt Technical Exercise Book - TONS of material

other technical books:

 Brahms
 Dohnanyi
 I. Phillip

beatific key = F# Major

association with death = D minor (Mozart’s requiem, etc.)

Structure of the Dante Sonata: less like sonata form than Vallee
 Descent into Hell: Introduction
 Wailing of damned souls: First Theme, D minor
 Angelic / Love: Second Theme, F# Major
 example of thematic transformation: chromatic turns diatonic
 beatific key
 “Francesca da Rimini” theme = her sin was adultery, passage is marked
dolcissimo con amore
 Struggle between Good and Evil: Development
 first swipe is done by evil: tritone
 perfect intervals = good
 Resolution / Triumph of Good: Recapitulation, first + second, D Major
 high, tinkly D Major = Heaven
 rhythmically, texturally displaced

Essay Question: comparing Chopin, Schumann and Liszt’s treatment of character piece:
how they try to make it a big, significant genre that kind of takes the place of a piano
sonata

Chopin Ballades, scherzi, barcarolle, polonaise fantasy

Schumann sets of character pieces knit together
Liszt Dante Sonata, Vallee d’Oberman

Poetic and Religious Harmonies:

 most commonly played of the set = No. 7 Funerailles (Burial) and No.
 No. 7, ~12 mins
 written for friends who died in the Austro-Hungarian revolution
 evoking church bells, march-like movement
 dramatic fanfare-like figures
 reference to Chopin’s Heroic Polonaise (Op. 53 in A-Flat Major) in middle
section
 No. 3 Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude (The Blessings of God in Solitude),
~16-17 mins
 just a big ABA structure
  quite a long piece for such a simple structure
 colorful harmonies
 key of F# Major; again, beatific key
 sounds like a hymn

Annees de Pilgrimage:
 Sonnet (1 of 4)
 most commonly played
 from a song he reworked
 Murray Pariah recording
 struggle to make it sound natural; difficult interpretation

Concert Paraphrases -

Rigoletto:
 reworks many themes from the opera into virtuosic material
 introduction
 main theme
 sol, sol sol do do do mi, do sol - super famous
 second theme
 sol sol sol la li ti re do mi fa la sol mi do sol
 quite virtuosic

Late 1840s = lots of new countries appearing and disappearing

 revolution throughout Europe, very turbulent
 even affected Brahms in Northern Germany
 Austro-Hungarian revolution, lasted about a year
 some of Liszt’s friends were killed in that, No. 7 written in memory of them

Sonata:
 four-movement or single-movement?
 innovative formal structure, modeled after Schubert Wanderer sonata
 fast dramatic opening section, lyrical section, scherzo-like section, and finale
 Hungarian minor: Harmonic minor + raised 4th
 rejected a bombastic ending in favor of a quieter ending
 similar cyclic structure to his concerti - Eb, A

Rhapsodies:
 No. 6 - LISTENING: George Czifira
 “folk music”, but not true folk music
 evoking urban popular music that was common in Hungary at the time;
Romani / Gypsy music
 imitating instruments: favorite = hammered dulcimer
 quasi zimbalon
 melodically impulsive = typical of rhapsodies
 fast concluding section
  tons of fast octaves

_______________________________

UNIT TWO:

Johannes Brahms:
passionate person in all respects, including music
Hamburg - lots of Hungarians that ended up in Hamburg after the Hungarian Revolution
Hungarian influences in his music
Hungarian Dances - piano duets, orchestrated later
establishing his career as a performer as a young man
only extensive tour = working with Hungarian violinist, Edward Remini, going around
leading venues in Europe and some small places
transposed an entire concert ½ step up because piano was out of tune
also had the opportunity to visit Liszt, had his Scherzo Op. 4 manuscript with him -
Liszt invited him to play it for him, Brahms refused, so Liszt sight read the
manuscript and made comments over his shoulder the entire time
Brahms didn’t really take a liking to Liszt
set in opposition of the New German School later
also met Joseph Joachim; known as a composer, but really his work as a conductor
and violinist were more important
Brahms’ Violin Concerto = written in close collaboration with him
Joachim introduced him to the Schumanns; Brahms and Clara had a strong
bond, some speculate about that becoming romantic but Dr. Marks
suspects no
R. Schumann lauded Brahms as one of the next great composers, good
career boost
Brahms used some themes by R. Schumann and incorporated them in
variation sets
piano duet based on the “Ghost” theme
embarked on a career as a conductor and director of choral groups
exposed to a lot of “ancient music” (high Renaissance and Baroque)
German Requiem - brought him to fame as a composer
based on secular texts
chorus + orchestra + soloists
after this, he made his living as a composer, occasional conducting gigs
settles in Vienna, base of operations
interested in older music!
edited and published some older scores from Couperin, C.P.E. Bach, etc.
New German School:
open letter in opposition to NGS published with a number of signatories
 Edward Hanzlich associated with opposing group
Brahms’ name got tagged onto the signatories of the letter unbeknownst to him
he admired the music of Liszt and Wagner
opposition has been overstated
three general periods of compositions:
some other types to come up within these periods, but in general the focuses on these
types
early period = focusing on solo piano sonatas
middle period = variation sets
comes into maturity as a composer
most famous = variations and fugue on a theme of Handel
apex of his variation works
also a set for piano duo = variations on a theme of Haydn
late period = the character set
loves thick textures
LH plays chords or 8ve with 3rd; parallel, middle voice jumps
fond of a somewhat particular piano called the Beckstein
still had the old fashioned Viennese action; was straight-strung rather than
cross-strung
crossed, overlapping strings concentrate sound
string strings bring clarity
low register wouldn’t have sounded nearly as grumbly
hemiola!
everywhere in his compositions
some instances of writing out a ritardando with note values rather than a rit.
mature works use technique similar to Liszt’s thematic transformation called developing
variation
by his point of maturity, Brahms was associated with abstract music
don’t require any grand thought or literary understanding
early works don’t hold to this; he had Romantic spirit (inspired by Schumann)

Brahms Sonatas: early period

grandiose, technically challenging, thickly textured
early 1850s
grand form except F Minor, which had five movements
Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 - LISTENING
2:3 on both small and large scale!
very passionate
huge octaves
contrasting lyrical second theme
harmonic color creating expressive element
traditional formal structure
lots of motivic development in the development section
typical recapitulation
2nd mov’t quotes poetry - non-abstract
very passionate

Brahms Variation Sets:

generally start in the mid-1850s through the early 1860s
most renowned = Op. 24 - Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Handel
 takes the aria literally, doesn’t change a note
rising do-re-mi becomes kernel for variations and bass structure
not a series of nice melodic variations of the Handel theme
Brahms thought that Beethoven’s variation structure (Eroica / Prometheus
variations) was the best
motivically based, with inventive harmonic structure
phrase structure remains consistent (8-bar phrases)
variations 23-25 culminate in the fugue

Brahms Character Pieces

Brahms uses type of titles in his pieces consistently
Ballade = dramatic, short
Intermezzo = short, lyrical
Capriccio = short, lively
Rhapsody = dramatic, extensive
Ballades, Op. 10 (4 pieces)
disparate origins; works well as a set, but can be played individually as well
No. 1 is often played individually
“after the Scottish Ballad ‘Edward’ in Herder’s ‘Stimmen der Volker’”
Edward killed his father after being goaded into it by his mother
lyrics fit perfectly with the melodic line
feeling of meter change when Edward speaks: 4-phrases of 5 beats
each
“hemiola city” in the next section
highlights how Brahms was a Romantic in his early works - so
programmatic
No. 2 = beautiful, Nocturne-like
Rhapsodies, Op. 79
technically challenging, musically satisfying, dramatic
published in 1880
more extensive
hard to get clarity
formally complex, not so standardized
No. 1 in B minor
encompass full range of the piano
drama: hands falling, rising, spreading apart
motivic aspect
thick texture, dramatic dynamics
counterpoint in lyrical development
not a clear form
No. 2 in G minor
thick texture, rapid register changes
sonata form (less connecting material, not exactly handled like a piano
sonata usually would be, but still sonata form)
quasi rit. at end

Op. 76 (late 1870s)

8 pieces
No. 2 - Capriccio
 developing variations!! know this for the test - whiteboard
continually developing material by varying a single idea
contrasting theme in thematic outline: ms. 7
finger legato necessary in second theme
dance-like; Hungarian refugees coming into Hamburg, dance-like rhythm in
the Hungarian style
not obligated to do the whole set, but they do make sense as a set
probably not conceived as a set, but we can’t know for certain

Op. 116: Fantasien

each work has its own title
7 pieces
begins and ends in D minor
hard to say whether it was conceived as a set or not
developing variation first seen in No. 4 - falling line
No. 6 = great voicing exercise

Op. 117: Drei Intermezzi

No. 1
Scottish herders lullaby text penned to it
also tricky to voice
No. 2
E-Flat Minor
dark, poignant character
kind of compressed sonata form; recapitulating binary

Op. 118
6 pieces
No. 2 - Intermezzo in A Major
possibly most renowned Brahms piece
includes a canon between parts in development

Op. 119 - Vier Klavierstücke

3 Intermezzi and a Rhapsody
No. 1
lots of tension, intimate writin
No. 2 Intermezzo (LISTENING)
LOTS of developing variation
main theme + four variants following

Op. 116, 117, 118, 119 = his last four works, all character pieces

Edvard Grieg:
1843-1907
writing in forms that are in the Germanic canon
sonata, concerto, etc.
studied in Leipzig
 met Rikard Nordraak, influenced Grieg to tap into his Norwegian heritage
nationalist element
lyric pieces
many with Norwegian elements

Modest Mussorgsky:
1839-1881
nationalist element
not thorough music education
music can be called “flawed”
led to him being very creative and inventive
use of octatonic and whole-tone scales
worked as a civil servant, didn’t have time to compose
Pictures at an Exhibition
imagining strolling through the exhibition of a friend’s art, named pieces which reflect
the artwork
orchestrated by Ravel, Leopold Stakovsky, and others
part of the Mighty Handful
included his teacher
highlighted national themes
not trying to write in a received style
Memories from Childhood, On the Soutehrn Shore of Crimea

Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky:

B minor concerto
opening is not original to Tchaikovsky - originally started with rolled chords, which his
friend Solatie critiqued nicely
less known for solo piano works
Op. 59 - engaging
The Seasons (12 pieces)
No. 6 (June)
barcarolle but in the wrong meter - should be compound triple
very lyrical, gorgeous melodic line

Sergei Rachmaninoff:
1873-1943
exact contemporary = Scriabin
Rachmaninoff never had the evolution that Scriabin did; stayed in late 19th century
style
came from a wealthy family
his father wasted the family money, so it didn’t last long
studied at St. Petersburg and Moscow
Bolshevik Revolution: fled, was an expatriate for the rest of his life
strongly evokes Russian nationalism throughout his works
evocation of bells - Russian Orthodox churches
great performer
made his living mostly as a performer after fleeing the U.S.; only a few compositions
after that period
includes the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
 he couldn’t get off stage without performing the Prelude in C-Sharp Minor - became a
kind of burden
Schoenberg reading = what Rachmaninoff thought was important to communicate; “The
Point” = KNOW THAT!
he thought that the goal of every piece he performed was to communicate the point
of greatest intensity within the piece

Prelude in C-Sharp Minor:

Igudesman + Joo, “Big Hands”: comedy sketch
Rachmaninoff knew how to write in order to get the power of the piano and concentrate the
sound
“The Point” also has a bearing on this piece
concept as a performer that goal of performing was communicating the point of
greatest intensity in the piece

Fantasy Miniatures (Morceaux de Fantasie), Op. 3 - mid 1890s

strong connection between French and Russian culture in 17th-19th century, hence the
French title
Russian Tsars wanted to emulate French autocrat - Tsar Nicolas II = last Tsar of
Russia
Elegie, No. 1
E-Flat minor - dark, despair, great Russian key
cross-strung piano; mid 1870s = our modern piano is common
building on texture, thickening as we reach first climax
Prelude, No. 2
also builds texturally

Six Moments Musicaux, Op. 16

must heavier than Schubert’s Moments Musicals
many are etude-like
No. 3
B minor, beautifully dark
varied subdominant chords; ii7
frequent technique of Romantic music
shows Rachmaninoff’s tune-crafting skills
No. 4 in E minor - LISTENING
example of how Rachmaninoff builds sound
fast and furious
pacing = very important

Ten Preludes for Piano, Op. 23

part of Rachmaninoff’s total 24 preludes; standalone C#, Op. 23 with 10, Op. 32 with 13: 1
+ 10 + 13 = 24
not systematically organized
No. 2 in B-Flat Major
tons of notes
Rachmaninoff-esque octave-smaller interval-octave-smaller interval (ex. 8ve-3rd-
8ve-3rd)
 No. 4 in D Major
lyricism
sonority of the piano in a more intimate context
harmonic tension on a subdominant
highlighting the tension before the tension of the V makes it special
The Point!
the climax - the predominant chord leading up to the return of the first theme
obbligato
melody on top
high bells on top
No. 6 in E-Flat Major
endless chromatic quasi-arpeggiated accompaniment

13 Preludes for Piano, Op. 32

No. 5 in G Major
I’ve played this!
spun out melodic lines
tricky to pedal
No. 10 in B minor
evokes bells, gong-like reverberations
No. 12 in G-Sharp minor
evoking high bells

Etudes-Tableau: Op. 33 and Op. 38

Op. 33 has 3 numbering systems
9 planned pieces, pieces he actually wrote, then those that were actually published
from those
some published posthumously had originally been conceived as a different
placement in the slot
summary: it’s not standardized
we have 8 overall, 9 originally planned, only 6 published in the original run
Op. 33 - 8 pieces
a little less performed than Op. 39
No. 8 in G minor = the one I’ve played
No. 6 = fairly virtuosic, running chromatic lines
Op. 39 - 9 pieces
stronger set, more often performed
No. 1 in C minor
twisting RH figurations
No. 2
more lyrical, not often played
No. 3
not often done but great etude
No. 5 in E-Flat minor
concentrates sound
evokes bell-like sounds
again, dark Russian E-Flat minor
No. 6 in A minor
“hard as the Devil”
No. 8 in D minor
 harder than it looks
very pretty
No. 9 in D Major
evoking HUGE bells

Preludes + Etudes = can all be called character pieces (but hard ones!)

Variation Set on a theme of Chopin, Op. 22

uses theme from Chopin C minor
from the 19-teens
not often played

Variations on a theme of Corelli, Op. 42

the Folia tune and chord structure, but named after Corelli’s variations for violin and
keyboard (continuo) from the early 18th century
written post-Revolution; one of the few
kind of a study before the Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini

Piano Sonata in D minor

quite thorny, harder than it looks

Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36

staple of the repertoire
VERY hard, massive even from the opening
pre-Revolution, but revised and re-published in the 1930s
simplified some of the textures
excised a fair amount of material and shortened it
people sometimes combine versions, including Horowitz; people often follow
Horowitz’ lead
non plus ultra = doesn’t get bigger than that

Piano Concertos
1.
less commonly done
2.
3.
4.
less commonly done
G minor

Gabriel Faure:
French
 best known as a song composer, but lots of solo piano contributions too
harder than it looks
often doesn’t fit under the hands as you’d expect
unexpected harmonic choices
Nocturnes, Barcarole, 5 Impromptus
indebted to Chopin and training at a school for church musicians, directed by
Camille Saint-Saenz
very conservative school
modal inflections from church stuff as well
trained as an organist - church training important, organ not so much
French chanson
inventive textures
beautiful melodies
harmonic color
Ballade, Op. 19 (1880)
first solo piano piece that put him on the map
F-Sharp Major
surprising chord changes
mix of lyricism, harmonic color, and twisty figuration
a major work - about 13 minutes
Nocturne in D-Flat Major, Op. 63 (1890s) LISTENING
best known of his nocturnes, which is his best known genre for piano
even more harmonically fluctuating, less predictable
use of a hemiola - harkening back to Brahms and Schumann
rhythmically ambiguous
typical of Faure nocturnes: quite sectional, a lot of different material; not as simple as
ABA
A at beginning and end, some repetition of the stuff in the middle, but organic
from piece to piece
B section = tricky syncopation, pedaling
unpredictable harmonic color = building toward impressionists
Barcarolles
still a lyrical style, dramatic contrasts; more movement than nocturnes
Faure’s neurological condition bent pitches in high registers down (around a minor
3rd); some of his late compositions are a bit odd
later pieces use some whole tone, etc.
Theme and Variations in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 73 (1890s)
out of the mainstream of Faure
sounds pretty fun

Cesar Franck:
born in Belgium, but spent most of his career in France and the French claim him
his dad wanted to turn him into the next Liszt - didn’t go so well
made a career as a church musician
renowned for his improvisations
trained as an organist - very important
must from the last ten years of his last = what we focus on today
symphony, piano quintet, etc. very nice
influence from Liszt and Wagner
 cyclic form - Berlioz (idee fixes), Liszt (thematic transformation)
chromatic
Prelude, Chorale and Fugue in B minor (1890)
cyclic ideas = key!
difficulties are substantial: some is overtly virtuosic, some just has a lot of notes
without sounding impressive; about 20 minutes long
lot of chromaticism, lots of notes to learn, hard to memorize
improvisatory style - harkening to his improv skills
thickly textured
cyclic form can be phrases coming back, texture coming back, etc.

Isaac Albeniz: (Al-BEN-ith)

Iberian Peninsula
Romantic tradition
performer
child prodigy
had many tricks like playing on the backs on his hands
early works: sonata, salon pieces (limited length, often suites; essentially character pieces)
studied with Felipe Pedrell
indigenous Spanish styles
change in Albeniz’ style which employ these Spanish elements
nationalist: Germanic style = big dog on the block, but other countries were trying to assert
their own national identity / culture
Spanish elements:
dance rhythms
melodic elements
Muslim / Moorish influence
emphasis on vocal style which has narrow range (little more than a 4th)
melismatic
microtonal - manny small pitch inflections that fall outside our standard 12-
note scale
these were incorporated into the flamenco style
triplet ornamental figure comes from the melismatic ornamentation as well
Phrygian progression
(do te le sol chords: A, G, F, E)
all of these elements - cante jondo
begins incorporating cante jondo in his 1880s piano stuff
Suite Espaniola
not profound music; charming music in his pre-French era
settles in France in 1893, becomes familiar with French styles, transforms and composes
Iberia Suite which is different in style, length, pianist difficulties, and musical content /
quality
much more ambitious scale
Prelude from Op. 232, No. 1
reused in other stuff; some slight differences but mostly the same
imitating the guitar; multiple string texture
ternary, ABA form
limited melodic content in B section = cante jundo
 use of the habanera - dotted quarter, eighth, quarter, quarter (Cuban rhythm, later imitated
by French composers)
Iberia
four books: 3 pieces in each book
all except the first have the title of a city / refer to a
No. 1: just generally evoking Spanish qualities
No. 2: El Puerto (the Port; referencing a specific port)
very dance-like
rhythmic element which is part of the Spanish style of dance, which is
based on hemiola
sounds super fun - already on wishlist lol
No. 3: titled with “El Corpus en Sevilla” (Corpus Christi day in Seville) or the
French name, which is “Fete Dieu a Seville” (just the French translation)
saeta = a large group song; simple, long notes
Corpus Christi day = people marching down the street carrying
statues of Mary, sing a mass song
extreme dynamics - 3, 4, 5 p’s and f’s
difficult passage where hands are on top of each other
outlining a whole tone progression without solely using the notes of a
particular whole tone system
No. 6 (Book 2): Triana - most notorious of the 12 pieces because of a
virtuosic passage; extremely hard
whole tone writing, harmonic extensions, richer harmonic palette
texturally much more complex and varied
incorporating many Spanish elements (cante jundo)
melodies emerging from different layers of texture - creates color and
variety
copla = song-like Spanish rhythm

Enrique Granados:
Romantic tradition
remarkable performer, renowned for his improvisations
informs his style for writing for the piano
studied with Felipe Pedrell
largely self-taught otherwise
important musician in furthering Spanish musical culture in Spain
established a school
legacy of his students that persists to this day
20th century American Frank Marshall furthered the Granados/Spanish
tradition
wrote a lot of solo piano music
much is very charming
his magnum opus = Goyescas
inspired by the art of Spanish painter Goya
written around 1910, same rough time period as Iberia
depicting the majos / majas (sing. majo/maja) which Goya had painted
lower/middle class segment of Spanish society that had a fiery spirit
often dressed in exaggeratedly Spanish costumes
turned this suite for piano into an opera
 was performed at the Met Opera during WWI
President Woodrow Wilson invited Granados to play at the White
House, which delayed his return
changed their travel plans, went on a boat which was torpedoed and
he drowned trying to rescue his drowning wife
No. 1 - Los Requiebros
contains pre-existing Spanish folk music
full of little tempo adjustments and tenutos
tonadila = sung, dramatic work; comes from a sung tradition,
sometimes designates the folk tune being used
No. 4 - Quejas o la Maja y el Ruisenor (The Maiden and the Nightingale) -
LISTENING
contains pre-existing Spanish folk music which he heard a young girl
singing outside
love triangle
maiden is complaining to the nightingale about the two men that are
soon to fight over her
structured as a series of free variations (not structured, but variations
on the basic melodic idea)
last page features the nightingale
always has a strong connection to Romantic tradition
not so much impressionist color / whole tone
very rich but 19th century tonality
Granados would improvise something, then polish the improvisation into a form that he
wanted, published, and then keeps playing with it and messing around with it
later versions of his performances that don’t line up with the original publications
Dances Espanolas
No. 5 = most often done, I’ve played it
imitates percussive guitar strum
colorful interior voices
Allegro de Concierto, Op. 46
written for a contest
not especially Spanish but does show off his pianism

Sibelius - “Was It A Dream?”

Claude Debussy:
1862-1918
many 20th century pieces would be unthinkable without Debussy
didn’t immediately come into his style
something happened around 1900, starts being even more imaginative
new elements in 1900 onwards:
new concepts of harmony, direction, texture
non-functional triadic
whole tone concepts incorporated - rarely purely whole tone in content
harmony purely as color rather than function
suspension of direction (static)
interest in foreign cultures (gamelan, Spain)
Estampes
inspiration from art (painting, ceramics, etc.)
inspiration from nature
 Reflets dans l’Eau
genre types:
suites (character pieces)
not the same thing as sets of character pieces! this was unusual for the time
evolution in the way he used his musical / pianistic materials
the French invented the keyboard dance suite, so this was harkening back to
historical elements—nationalistic
Suite Bergamasque: Prelude, Minuet, Clair de lune, Passepied (some
pieces started by 1890, but revised and published in 1905)
weird publishing issue to where he grouped works together and
slapped a label on them
Pour le piano: Prelude, Sarabande, Toccata (1894-1901)
Estampes: Pagodes (groundbreaking!), Soiree dans Grenade, Jardins sous
la pluie (1903)
Pagodes:
Debussy heard gamelan music (Indonesian) at the Paris Exposition in
1900
different layers according to the size of the matallaphones
cyclical time rather than metrical time: not divided notationally
into regular chunks with a set meter, but many Eastern
musical cultures conceive of music as a cycle which
repeats back to a point of reference; recurring point
static repeated patterns which imitate gongs, establishing the
rhythmic cycle of the piece
different layers of rhythmic and melodic figuration, similar to the
metallaphones
La soirée dans Grenade (An Evening in Grenade)
uses the Habanera rhythm
static repetition again in those different layers
cante jondo - narrow range, augmented interval
tempo giusto = be strict in time! NOT fast
Jardins sous la Pluie
again, static layering
Image: (2 sets, 1905 and 1908)
Reflets dans l’eau, Hommage a Rameau (essentially a sarabande),
Mouvement (toccata-like mov’t)
Cloches a travers les feuilles, Et la lune descend sur la temple qui fut,
Poissons d’or (Goldfish)
Reflets dans l’Eau
opening: what’s the tune?
brilliantly inventive, it sounds natural but it doesn’t align with
Western music prior to that time
planing = parallel chords played in a row
comparing Debussy and Ravel (Burge): Debussy’s music
constantly evolves, there are rarely simple repetitions in his
works; Ravel is more classically structured
whole tone + triadic material
Poissons d’or (Goldfish, inspired by an image on a ceramic)
reflected light and movement
Debussy Preludes (2 books of 12 (1910 and 1913): 24 total)
represent the epitome of his invention
Book 2 = more extensive and thickly textured
titles are at the end of the preludes; images are not quite as closely tied to
the music, but they are still quite informative
Book 1:
most often played of Book 1:
2. Voiles (Veils / Sails)
large sections of outwardly whole-tone writing
ABA form - rare for Debussy to have such a clear
form
B section is extremely short, only 6 measures
A sections are entirely whole-tone, anchored by B-Flat
pedal tone
B section = pentatonic, centered on B-Flat (all black
keys)
lots of layering
4. Le Sons et les Parfums
from a poem by Charles Baudelaire
use of tonal references (V-I) but also coloristic use of
harmony (parallel dominant 7th chords, but stripped
away from tonality to only be color)
some reference of popular songs (ex. ms. 9 = in the
style of a popular tune)
use of planing / parallelism
I like this one!
5. The Hills of Anacapri (small island off the coast of Italy
near Naples)
“island of goats”
the prelude never modulates (key of B Major), but we
never hear a V7 chord, and hardly ever any
dominants throughout
again, popular tune styles
LOVE this!
8. The Girl with the Flaxen Hair
10. The Sunken Cathedral
Debussy’s Prelude in C-Sharp Minor - super famous
for him
published in 1910, only 8 more years to live, but still
strongly associated with him during his life
based on the Breton (southwestern France) legend of
the submerged city of Ys, whose cathedral
emerges from the waves at sunset; not evocative,
but specifically programmatic
lots of planing
climactic section evokes bells in 6/4 position, Medieval
technique
concludes with figuration suggestive of lapping waves
6/4=3/2 time signature is problematic because pulse
that had been quarter notes becomes half notes
(based off of Debussy’s performance)
 book by Paul Rogers
12. Minstrels
Book 2:
3. La Puerto Del Vino (one of 3 Spanish piece Debussy wrote)
also refers to Granada, Spain
use of habanera rhythm to evoke Spanish locale
short, fast melismatic figures referring to Arabic melodic style
6. General Lavine
portrait of an American vaudeville performer named
Edward Lavine who performed in Paris
use of a “cakewalk” rhythm, but never establishes a
steady rhythmic flow (unlike Golliwog’s cakewalk)
established exaggerated rhythmic gestures to create a
comic effect
7. La Terrasse… (terrace of the moonlit audiences)
inspired by an article from India describing King
George IV as emperor of India, describing
reception after the coronation, etc. and Debussy
imagines what it would’ve been like to have been
there
distinct sections employ subtle changes of texture to
evoke different moods and “scenes”
super cool, very pretty colors and neat layers
12. Feux d’Artifice (Fireworks)
almost like a little etude; fairly virtuosic for the preludes
depiction of different kinds of fireworks
one of the most picturesque of the preludes; giving a
distinct visual impression
intricate texturing; crazy fast beginning with
overlapping hands
Etudes (2 books of 6: 12 total)
“equally marvelous”
written at the end of his life; last couple of years
also composed two sonatas for solo instrument and piano during this time
later style, a bit more lean
had a “Neoclassic” turn in his writing later in life, these are a hint of
that
going back to embrace a more traditional aspect of Western musical
culture
textures are a bit more spare
more technically challenging
not immediately inspiring to audiences, not as commonly done
Book 1: the numbers book (all pieces talk about a number, often intervals)
1. Pour les “cinq doigts”—d’apres Monsieur Czerny
mocking the simplistic Czerny etude
“quickly goes off the rails”
2. Pour les tierces (thirds)
very rich, one of the more lush etudes
3. Pour les quartes (fourths)
4. Pour les (sixthes)
5. (pour les octaves)
 also a bit richer than most
pour les huit doigts (for the eight digits)
designed to be played without thumbs
Book 2: different musical techniques / features
1. (or 7.) chromatic degrees
2. ornaments
3. repeated notes
4. opposed sonorities (harmonic color)
5. for the composite arpeggios
prettiest of the set; colorful, imaginative
6. for the chords
lots of target practice - jumping chords
misc. individual works
2 Arabesques
the original Suite Bergamesque - pieces went to different publishers, so
never published together
D’un cashier
masks
L’isle Joyeuse
inspiration in artwork; French classic painter by Anton
Watteau
known for his luminous colors
“Embarkation for Cythera”; party of people out to
enjoy a picnic on this island
Debussy’s favorite vacation spot - The Isle of Jersey
most technically ambitious work for solo piano
mix of whole tone and diatonic
Lydi-Myxolydian element in melody
French tradition prides clarity in pedaling
VERY broad ABA + Coda form
Children’s Corner: Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum (harkening back to Clementi’s treatise),
Jimbo’s Lullaby, Serenade for the Following, Golliwog’s Cakewalk, etc.
evolution in style after Ravel’s Jeux d’eau in 1900
Debussy’s formal structures are often complex and more organic, a contrast to Ravel, who
tended to use more traditional, planned formal structures
symmetry: a collection of pitches that has a point at which, when you start from the later
point, you get the same sequence of intervals; limited number of transpositions;
Messiaen calls them modes of limited transposition
only two transpositions of the whole-tone scale before you’re duplicating it
octatonic scale has three transpositions

Maurice Ravel:
very challenging music
1875-1937
innovative - sonority, texture
“the Liszt of the early 20th century”
use of texture, contrast, etc.
came into maturity around 1900, same as Debussy (because of his slower growth)
raised in Paris, studied at the Paris Conservatoire with G. Faure
competed for Prix de Rome 4x but never won
compositional prize, winner studied in Rome, Italy
Debussy won, hated being in Rome
anti-establishment personality
member of avant-garde groups: Les Apaches (The Ruffians) and Société Musicale
Independente (promoting new music)
difficulty finding venues, so promoted their own music
served as a truck driver near the front in WWI
developed neurological problems after the war; negative effects on emotional and
mental health
car accident in 1932 worsened his condition
developed an aphasia (brain deficit)
Oliver Sacks, “Awakenings” and “The Man That Mistook His Wife for a Hat” (just a
side note); “Musicophilia”
Ravel’s aphasia had to do with writing
after the accident, he could no longer write down music; be could hear it internally,
but couldn’t notate it
died after brain surgery in 1937
major works for solo piano:
Jean d’eux (1901)
Sonatine (1905)
Mirrors (1906)
Gaspard de la unit (1908)
Valse nobles et sentimentales (1911)
Le tombeau de Couperin (1917)
minor works:
Pavane pour une Infante defunte (1899)
Minuet on the theme of Haydn (1909)
don’t have to play the whole suite for most works!
exception would be Gaspard
style formed early in career, didn’t change substantially over time
use of color, dynamics, and texture add the interest rather than the melodic material
influences: Chabrier, Faure, Satie, Debussy
form: “classical” approach
melodic material governs phrasing
formal structures are usually quite clear; some are pre-existing forms, sometimes not
harmony:
triadic, colored by added 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths
modal + functional tonal foundation
diatonic in the sense of a standard scale as the underpinning
general style:
meticulous notation
expected performers to adhere exactly to the score!
that makes his aphasia even more sad :(
greatest abilities:
novel use of texture
new idiomatic concepts for instrumental writing
master orchestrator
pianistic style:
extensive use of arpeggiation - quickly and lightly flowing throughout the keyboard
often quite unpredictable / non-formulaic in pitch content and contour
 novel figuration
melodic material embedded within the texture
difficult arpeggiations that have the tune in the middle
repeated notes
Jeux d’eau
very important work: Ravel himself said that it was at the origin of whatever pianistic
technique he might’ve discovered
inspired by water, fountains, streams
sonata movement form without conforming to key relationships
arpeggiations grouped in Major 2nds
complex arpeggios with embedded melody
Gaspard de le unit
title from work of a famous writer from early French 19th century: Aloysius
Bertrand
mysterious, fantastic
I. Ondine
Ondine = water nymph
shimmering texture from RH figuration
mix of single and double notes in figuration
complex arpeggiations
embedded melody
II. Le Gibet (the gallows)
depicting corpses hanging from gallows in a field
Bb ostinato which sounds like a heartbeat
III. Scarbo
most difficult of the set
Scarbo = devious spirit
relentlessly difficult: moving up and down keyboard, lots of seconds, repeated
notes, etc.
Tombeau de Couperin
Toccata
repeated notes
Miroirs - 48 pages, 7 pieces
fast, light repeated notes
complex arpeggiations
embedded melody
1. Noctuelles (Night Moths)
2. Oiseaux Triste (Sad Birds)
sounds like two birds calling to each other
influence from Debussy to Ravel: layering
calls on top, falling third, ostinato, harmonic foundation
kind of static texture, but not as static harmonically
4. Alborada del gracioso
Spanish influence
repeated notes
glissandi in intervals: 4ths, 3rds
5. Vallee des Cloches
valley of the clocks
Le tombeau de Couperin
6 pieces: Prelude, Fugue, Forlane, Rigaudon, Minuet, Toccata
Neoclassic
 not as lushly textured because of Neoclassic reference
IV. Rigaudon = From The Top theme song
as a whole it’s an homage to early French baroque music, but he dedicated each
individual piece to a friend he lost in WWI
Sonatine: 3 mvts
quite sophisticated musically, though not as challenging technically
requires control of balance and texture
tune is doubled in outer voices with figuration in the middle which is often divided
between the hands
very classical in structure: 3 mvts
Valse nobles et sentimentales (noble and sentimental waltzes)
title taken from a published set of waltzes by Schubert
written around the same time a Miroirs (mid first decade 20th c.)
not as technically difficult, but controlling tone, color, sonority and pacing are every
bit as challenging as his other works
8 waltzes, some quite short
should be played as a whole since the pieces are shorter and don’t stand so well on
their own

UNIT THREE:

MAR 21

oh my word… so many composers (12!)

“piano has become less central in compositional output”

this unit = divided into geographical areas

different styles / currents during this time: “isms”

nationalism
drawing on non-Western European influences; nationalist composers are reacting
against German Western culture
impressionism
acting as an influence on composers, even if their style is not primarily
impressionistic
orientalism, now called world music
composers from the broadly Western tradition begin to reach outside those traditions
for materials, ideas, inspirations, etc.
goes back at least to Debussy, if not earlier
expressionism - concentrated
early 20th century-ism
 a lot packed into short amount of time
every note becomes laden with musical expression
Second Viennese School
modernism
higher level of dissonance
more propulsive or jagged rhythmic contours
wider range of emotions than would typically be associated with artistic musical
endeavors; agony, anguish, gore, etc.
mysticism
Scriabin!
accessing spiritual realms through musical endeavor
neoclassicism
an approach that reaches back to a style / musical process that has gone out of use
and gets renewed, but with new elements that are distinctly present
many people have different definitions of neoclassicism
minimalism
John Adams specifically, but also Phillip Glass, Terry Riley, Lamont Young
reaction in some ways to serialism, which can be overwhelming
serialism
Schoenberg
total serialism applies serialism to rhythm, dynamics, etc. and is highly organized,
though can sound random

Scriabin:
find biography on Canvas - read it! didn’t print it :|
late Romantic, colorful, melodic, approachable… but doesn’t stay that way
evolution in style
indebted to Chopin, starts career in Chopin-esque way
meticulous notation
went to school with Rachmaninoff, knew each other well
many descriptive markings in French
begins Romantic, but evolves his own harmonic style
chromesthesia; had synesthesia
mystic philosophy (theosophy)
threads of Eastern philosophical / religious thought, adapted for Western
consumption; theosophical societies developed, got some currency in the early
20th century
Kirby definition = limited
important for transmitting ideas from Eastern cultures into Western thought -
mysticism
3 periods:
Early: 1886-1903
complex rhythmic groupings
arpeggiations with wide spans
tonal (functional) harmony, but with frequent extensions (9ths, 11ths) and
alterations by using flat 5 - dominant 7th can go to French aug 6th or to
the tonic - depends on the root
“ecstatic” climaxes (repeated chords)
Middle: 1903-1909
harmonic style becomes more ambiguous
 frequent use of the dominant 7th chord with flat 5 (French aug 6th chord)
unresolved suspensions
narrative (programmatic) elements based on philosophy
Late: 1910-1914
harmonic style: totally centered, but no functional relationships
mystic chord (C-F#-Bb-E-A-D)
whole tone / octatonic collections, often blended together or shifted between
them
very active rhythmic surface, but little rhythmic direction
static quality to musical movement
Scriabin’s Piano Works
10 sonatas
#5-10 are 1 mvt; sonata-form movements
85 preludes
25 etudes
mazurkas, waltzes, impromptus, nocturnes, poems
typically straightforward form
important piano works:
sonatas -
#3 F# minor, Op. 23 (4 mvts)
#4 F# Major, Op. 30
#5 F# Major, Op 53 (1 mvt)
#9 F Major, Op 68 “Black Mass” (1 mvt)
most renowned of the late sonatas
in sonata form
character pieces
etude in D# minor, Op 8/12
etude c# minor, Op. 42/5
24 preludes, Op. 11
Poeme, Op. 72, “Vers la flamme”
character piece of lyrical inspiration, otherwise non-specific
mystic chord
chord built in 4ths
eg. C-F#-Bb-E-A-D
aug 4–dim 4–aug—perfect—perfect
will rarely be found in his music - more likely to find a version that has a D#, Db or an
Ab; not more than one
depending on the variants, it either maps into the octatonic scale or the whole
tone scale
mystic chord is the theoretical average between the whole tone and the
octatonic
Preludes, Op. 11: structured like Chopin: circle of fifths, Major then relative minor
No. 1
wide span of LH arpeggios
beamed in a way that doesn’t fit the bar lines, but rather as a musical element
- new!
should be understood as gestures rather than 100% precise mathematical
equations
No. 3
G Major
light and fleeting character - same as Chopin’s G Major prelude
 No. 4
e minor, quite well known
No. 7
very complex
No. 15
Eb minor, quite well known in the set
supposedly inspired by water tumbling over rocks in a stream
again, groups of 5
3 Preludes, Op. 35 (1903): middle period
No. 1
RH grouped into 5, whether quintuplets or four 16ths and an 8th
5 Preludes, Op. 74: late period
No. 1
still has a fondness for quintuplets (RH) and groups of 5 (LH)
far less functional harmony - can’t find a Major or minor triad
somewhat creepy, unsettling
melodic cells rather than a strong lyrical element
not organized according to our usual principles
operating in an octatonic collection, as seen and facilitated by the mystic
chord in ms. 3
Prelude for the Left Hand in C-Sharp Minor: Op. 9
over-practiced and injured his right hand, so he wrote this and the Nocturne for LH,
both of which are lovely
great for voicing practice
Etudes: Op. 8 (1894)
12 Etudes
4. B Major
groupings of five, hands never matching in rhythm
large spans of arpeggios in both parts
very Chopin-esque
chromatic B section
ABA form; formally straightforward
12. D-Sharp minor
most famous
wide LH spans, RH 8ve study
alternative middle section which is entirely different
ecstatic chord at end
beautiful lyrical B section
LH arpeggiation turn into repeated chords in A’
Etudes: Op. 42 - middle period (still tonally based)
8 Etudes
5. in C-Sharp Minor
quite difficult
some unresolved chords
LH covering a lot of ground quickly
thick texture
Etude in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 2, No. 1 (1887)
lyrical study
Poeme: Vers la flamme, Op. 72 (1913/14) - late period
evokes theosophically influenced mystical ideas
octatonic scales - nodes
 two fully diminished 7th chords
point of symmetry that can be referred to
this and Black Mass Sonata = two most-played late works
lots of tritones
complex rhythmic surface
markings about “fleeting joy” and “newly created emotion”
dynamics and texture create structure
tonal center of E, but not functional tonality, nor modal
Scriabin’s Piano Sonatas:
10 total
1-3 = early (1894-1898)
4-5 = middle (1903-1908)
6-10 = late period (1911-1913)
No. 4 (1903)
No. 9 (1913)
multi-movement works are typically cyclic
No. 5 —> = only 1 movement, tightly integrated
starting with No. 3 = theosophical programs
No. 7 = White Mass, No. 9 = Black Mass, titles are from Scriabin himself
early and middle period:
grand format in 4-movement sonatas (1, 3)
cyclical elements in multi-most sonatas
themes reappear
often in coda in climax
late period:
still in sonata form but single movement
tension/resolution created more by texture and rhythm rather than harmony
style:
early / middle
grandiose and virtuosic
combination of dramatic/motivic and lyrical melodic
programmatic elements first element in No. 3
late period
more static sections (eg. Vers la flamme)
often fast rhythmic subdivisions, but not driving
rhythmically very complex
early period: Sonata No. 3 (1898)
4 movements, fast outer movements, 2nd = moderate
sonata forms in outer movements
traditional use of tonality in sonata structure
often motivic - rising 4th is recurring motivic idea
the dominant places us in A Major for B section; never get a new tonic chord
III - uses theme from beginning of I
attached program retrospectively
Sonata No. 4 - Listening Analysis AND Listening List
first of the middle period works
among the most played sonatas, along with No. 5
only 8 minutes long, fairly short
first movement acts as a prelude to the sonata movement portion, which is
the second movement
based on melodic motive at the beginning
 use of portado reminds me of Chopin
first movement leads attaca into second movement
SEND ANNA NOTES FROM THIS POINT ONWARD
cyclic element = melody from the prelude is incorporated in development of
second movement
coda has ecstatic chords + melody from previous movement
Sonata No. 5
has a lot of similarities with No. 4; feels like a rewrite of No. 4 as a single-
movement sonata
12-14 minute sonata, depending on tempo
ecstatic conclusion, same melody from earlier, etc. = similarities to No. 4
Sonata No. 9: “Black Mass”, Op. 68 (1913)
looks deceptively simple at beginning, but rhythmic elements quickly become
complex
includes lots of trills
descending chromatic line in intro, repeated notes in interrupting theme (me
me me me do, mi me)
full of low tritones, again harkening to nodes

Sergei Prokofiev:
1891-1953
9 piano sonatas
5 Piano Concertos (No. 5 = LH concerto)
4 Etudes, 1 Toccata
numerous character pieces, dances, and children’s pieces
early
his mother played piano and often played dance music, and inspired his own love of dance
music
studied at St. Petersburg Conservatory with Anna Asipova
settled in Paris in the 1920s because of the Revolution, French influences
repatriated after the Revolution around 1932
made his own arrangements of his pieces for solo piano (Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, etc.)
some say that he was restricted by Social Realism, an aesthetic dictate from the Socialist
state on how artists should focus their works
needed to appeal to the masses and inspire them
highly intellectualized = a no-no
State could impose its control with this vague definition
7th Piano Sonata won the Stalin Prize
wrote an autobiography
wrote it when he was in his twenties
isolated, mother was a musician
parents recognized he was talented, brought in a tutor - Reinhold Gliere
comment from teacher about harmony made him want to be more innovative in his
harmonic structure
soon sent him to the St. Petersburg Conservatory
collected everything about himself
later wrote a short autobiography, which includes his 5 Lines
stylistic overview:
liked to think of himself as a modern composer, but many ways he was traditional
use of traditional forms and phrase structures
 innovative use of harmony, but within a tonal framework
3 branches that he explored early in his career, which he explored throughout
his life
Prokofiev’s 5 Lines - how his style developed
1. Classical: formal structures, phrasing
2. Innovation: harmony, expression of strong emotions
3. Toccata: a strongly motorik element in many works
4. Lyrical: an under-appreciated element in Prokofiev’s music; more pronounced in
later works - he complained that audiences didn’t appreciate these melodies
5. Grotesque: scherzo-like quality; jest, laughter, mockery
his use of harmony: 3 aspects (considered himself to use harmony in an innovative way)
1. triadic and functional, but chords displaced by half step to create unpredictable
and colorful harmonic surface
not dissonant because the chords are triadic, but the relationships as
opposed to our diatonic expectations are disorienting
2. triadic and functional approach, but added non-harmonic tones to create surface
dissonance
known as “wrong-note style”
3. diatonic but non-functional
modal
stylistic elements:
pianism - very fine pianist
variety of textures
percussive effects
transparent, balanced phrase structure
notable use of strongly rhythmic textures
ostinato figures - unifying element in absence of other elements
occasional use of octatonicism
high degree of virtuosity
important piano works:
Sonatas:
#2 in D minor, Op. 14 (4 mvts) early 19teens
#3 in A minor, Op. 27 (1 mvt)
#6 in A Major, Op. 82 (4 mvts) - war sonata
#7 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83 (3 mvts) - war sonata
Character Pieces:
Suggestion Diabolique, Op. 4, No. 4 (became well-known because of this
piece, kick-started his career)
Toccata, Op. 11
expanded version Suggestion Diabolique - more difficult
5 Sarcasms, Op. 17 (peak of early dissonance)
still tonal, but dissonant because of displacement
Fugitive Visions, Op. 22 (20 pieces, modal)
modern, still dissonance but not as harsh - modal inflections, some
octatonicism
10. marked Ridiculosamente = ridiculously, example of his 5th line,
grotesque (satire, mockery)
Romeo and Juliet (arr. for piano by Prokofiev of his popular ballet suite)

Suggestion Diabolique: (1908-1911)

 horrified traditionalists
introductory material
crawling chromatic chords
minor 9ths in the bass
example of triadic function but surface dissonance; single-note displacement
example of his motoric style

Sonata No. 2, Op. 14 in D minor

clear phrasing and formal structures
requires lots of control to show layers
scherzo is typical, toccata-style
slow movement (iii) is marked andante, but that’s too fast - needs to be adagio
lots of ostinatos and layering
last movement is very toccata-like, in sonata form

Sonata No. 3, Op. 28 in A minor

indicated (From Old Notebooks), so juvenilia
reworked into this sonata
sonata-allegro form
second theme: ECHE, last name of a girl in his class
independent lines moving at the same time

Sonata No. 7, Op. 83 in B-Flat Major:

first movement = sonata form
really famous movement is the third / final movement
won the Stalin Prize

Dmitri Shostakovich:
1906-1975
Soviet composer
constantly had to grapple with Social Realism
“Lady MacBeth of the Tenth District” got him in hot water with Stalin; music is
obscene as well as the content
when in trouble: all performances and publications were banned, you were cut off
from any professional activity, and you could be tried and jailed
back in good standing by his Fifth Symphony which both conforms to Social
Realism but also can be seen as subversive by some gestures
best known as a symphonist (15 or 16), also known for chamber music and string quartets
Piano Music:
2 Piano Sonatas
24 Preludes and Fugues (Bach)
24 Preludes (Chopin)
3 Fantastic Dances
10 Aphorisms
 stylistic characteristics:
best known as a symphonist
use of extreme registers
linear, contrapuntal textures; not a lush composer
sharp contrasts of mood
frequent use of musical satire (more than Prokofiev!)
tonal, modal harmonic language (inf. by Prokofiev)

Three Fantastic Dances:

early work (1922)
intermediate difficulty
chromatic shifting

Sonatas:
No. 1, Op. 12
early (1926)
1 movement
chromatic, dissonant, but tonal
rarely played
No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61
mature work (1941)
3 movements
dark, intense in character
more often played, but still relatively rare

24 Preludes, Op. 34
composed 1932-33
tonal organization: like Chopin’s preludes (circle of fifths, sharp side + relative minor: C-a-G-
e)
many based on short genre types, such as fugue (4), polka (6), dirge (14)
No. 17: Sentimental Waltz
example of musical parody
sentimental waltz evolves from salon music
style elements taken to the extreme / distorted
oom-pa-pa bass with lyrical melody
triple meter veers off into common time
tempo = unstable
harmony veers into odd regions before returning
great example of musical satire
sounds fun!
Tatiana Nikolaiva - closely associated with Shostakovich, cool Bach preludes and
fugues

24 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 87

1952
same tonal plan as preludes
 divided into 2 parts by the composer: 1-12 and 13-24
each part also has 2 groups of 6: first introductory, 2-3 grows tension, 4th is largest,
5 relieves tension, 6 acts as a finale
preludes show genre characteristics in some cases
1 is a chorale, 6 in French overture style, 10 in invention style, 12 a passacaglia
fugues:
sometimes thematic connections with peludes (12, 20, 24)
a single motive occurs in several subjects based on 1-5-6 scale degrees
Fugue 1 in C, Fugue 3 in e, Fugue 10 in c#, Fugue 14 in eb
use of learned techniques
double fugue: no. 4, 24
augmentation, diminution, retrograde inversion, stretto (none of these in 24)
Prelude and Fugue No. 24 (LISTENING)
large-scale, dramatic ending to the set
prelude is modal, somber
chorale texture
rising 4th relates to fugue subject - thematic connection with prelude
double fugue; dramatic, quite long (over 8 minutes!), subjects get combined near
the end

neoclassicism:
reaching back to style elements that had gone out of practice which are then revived in a
new context which alters them
sonata form ≠ neo-classicism: had been in continuous usage
imitating Baroque textures, not Classic

Igor Stravinsky:
1882-1971
3 Movements from Petrouchka (1921)
Sonata (1924)
Serenade in A (1925)
Concerto for Piano and Winds
misc: 3 Etudes Op. 7, Rags (look up later), Tango
3 Periods:
Primativist (ballet suites)
Rite of Spring (1913)
Petrouchka (1911)
Firebird (1909)
all written for Russian ballet company which was the rage in Paris in the
second decade - Ballets Russes headed by Sergei Diaghilev
neo-classical
serial (late) - no piano music
non-functional tonality
 mixture of diatonicism and octatonicism
rhythm and structure:
most revolutionary aspect of his works
modular construction: succession of internally static sections; blocks based on
texture and material, which change in order to propel the piece
frequent use of irregular meters
what is the meaning of music? the music (objectivity)

3 Movements from Petrouchka:

most famous and difficult of his piano music
arrangement for Arthur Rubinstein of 3 scenes from his famous ballet
Primitivist work (1911) but arrangement came 10 years later
musical construction from repetition of short ideas
juxtaposition between subjects
originally conceived as a concerto for piano and orchestra
piano plays large part in orchestral version
how to create layers?
Danse Russe
white note music
not much direction within the phrase
each section lacks strong internal direction
structure = contrast and relationship
Chez Petrouchka
irregular groupings: 7s and 5s
layering
La semaine grasse
lots of grace notes
static figures
orchestral reduction
requires very solid rhythm for the motoric element
frequent, large skips

Sonata:
wrote to play himself - relatively limited pianistic capabilities
neo-classic style
sparse texture, imitating Baroque texture (18th century Italian keyboard writing)
I.
three staves at some points
Stravinsky’s revolution = rhythm: time signature swaps between 2/4 and ¾, hemiola
effects, etc.
use of sequencing
spacing out the trill: 9th rather than 2nd
II.
3 staves
similar to Bach’s Italian Concerto (slow movement) - tons of RH ornamentation
III.
sometimes 3 staves
unpredictable time signature changes, inclusion of 5/8 and 5/16; similar to Rite of
Spring
Karol Szymanowski:
Piano Music: 3 Sonatas, 9 Preludes, 16 Etudes, Fantasy, 2 Variation Sets, 22 Mazurkas,
Character Pieces: Metopes, Masques
considered the second greatest Polish composer, after Chopin
1882-1937
Eastern Europe
evolution is comparable to Scriabin in some areas (Romantic phase)
three stylistic periods:
early Romantic phase influenced by Chopin and Schumann
Preludes, Op. 1; Etudes, Op. 4
middle period of Impressionistic influence (19teens)
Metopes and Masques, and Sonata No. 3
late Nationalistic phase (1920s)
takes over leadership of the conservatory
post-WWI
20 Mazurkas, Op. 50
stylistic characteristics:
very technically demanding

4 Etudes, Op. 4 (1903)

colorful late 19th century harmonic language
extensions
can have a strong lyrical component
virtuosic, crawling chromaticism
No. 3 (LISTENING)
RH in octaves, opening 4th
thick textures

Fantasy, Op. 14
cyclic, kind of following Liszt’s model
3 large sections, played without interruption
stretches aspects of the style
tick textures

middle period:
influence from Scriabin
octatonicism
colorful
static, lacking direction
parallelisms, planing
richly textured
eg. Metopes, Op. 29
No. 2, Calypso (LISTENING)
1915
Metope = Greek architecture; No. 2 = referring to the Calypso legend
parallelism cascading downward
thick texture, 3 staves
very different from his early phase
third / late / Nationalist period: 1920s
interest in Polish themes, genres
leaner style
less thickly textures
restores tonal direction, but with dissonant bite (“wrong notes”)
eg. 20 Mazurkas, Op. 50
1924
can be selected from; doesn’t have to be the whole set

Bela Bartok:
Eastern Europe
wrote hundreds of children’s pieces; important pedagogical composer
Piano Music: 1 Sonata, 2 Suites, 14 Bagatelles, 3 Etudes, folk tunes and dances, children’s
pieces, 3 Piano Concertos
he and Sultan Kodaly went into countryside and recorded folk tunes; one of the first
ethnomusicologists
reportedly had “perfect tick” (tempo indications)
good Bartok performers: Jeno Jando and Zoltan Kocis
stylistic elements:
integration of Western art music with Eastern European folk elements
master of structure and form (Fibonacci series, Golden Mean)
piano = important part of his repertoire; fine pianist himself
strong rhythmic drive; motoric, similarities to Prokofiev at times
folk elements eventually get abstracted out to not sound like folk music at all
percussive effects
five aspects:
1. Lisztian (Germanic) musical tradition /style prior to 1905
2. begins to start incorporating his folk music; straightforward
accompaniment to folk tune
3. folk material transformed in new ways
4. folk material present, but less important than surrounding material
(setting > folk tune itself; abstract)
5. newly invented material in the style of folk music
rhythm and structure
important and distinctive element in Bartok’s music
Fibonacci series
found in nature
bouncing between the ratios (2:3, 3:5, 5:8) gets you closer and closer to
Golden ratio (1.61) without ever fully reaching it
Golden section (Golden ratio) = 1.618033
used often when structuring climaxes
gives sense to order and proportion, not necessarily aesthetically good
rubato parlando vs. tempo giusto (free vs. strict)
not revolutionary, but something that is absorbed from folk music
Sonata:
not totally functional, but has formal sonata-allegro form
Bagatelles, Op. 6 (1906):
14 pieces, most are quite short, last is a bit longer
among the first pieces he wrote, the first extensive work that was informed by his
study of folk music with Kodaly
 use of bitonality visually, but the ear can’t really register two independent tonal
centers; ear assembles into a vertical complex as a single tonal center if one is
discernible
wide use of materials, so it’s hard to categorize his works
bagatelle = trifle, something insignificant; but put together, a good set
Suite, Op. 14 (~10 mins)
quite feasible compared to other ambitious, virtuosic works
elements of folk music extrapolated in an abstract way
focus on tritone, both in pitch relationships and tonal relationships
ex. B-Flat Major -> E Major = tritone relationship
chromatic elements
tempo indications are key
incremental things like poco vs. pochissimo
sounds fun
ends with a slow movement
Eight Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Op. 20
actual Hungarian music
triadic root relationships that aren’t diatonic - chromatic
quasi-fiddle imitations and bagpipe drones
imitation of Hungarian instruments?? look into it

mid 1920s - two major piano works

Out of Doors (1926):

five pieces
I. With Drums and Pipes
rhythmic, percussive, toccata-like element
very low register for the drums section
non-symmetrical rhythmic groupings
II. Barcarolla
only get our usual compound-triple for a single line, and then the rhythm changes
lots of counting needed
III. Musettes
bagpipe, features a drone
IV. The Night’s Music
most influential of the set
evokes things that go bump, chirp, etc. in the night
harmonic color due to layering of chromatic cluster
V. The Chase
a Hunt / Chase piece - genre goes back to late 18th century
evokes gallop of a horse in a hunt in 6/8
LH ostinato increases in span throughout the piece, very fast
much more difficult than the other four in terms of technical challenges

Sonata (1926)
tonal analogues that Bartok uses, tonal center
technique similar to Alberti bass spaced out with different harmonic structure
I.
structure in sonata form without exact harmonic implications
II.
 in the form of a dirge, heavy
III.
rondo, returning rondo theme is always somewhat varied

Mikrokosmos
started as pieces written for his son, but quickly outgrew him
6 sets of pieces, over 150 pieces total
progressive in their musical development and challenges
shows a wide range of his compositional techniques
great pedagogical works and good works
pieces that don’t have consistent meter:
mixed meter, variable meter, alternating meter
variable meter (eg. Stravinsky); lots of different time signatures, can’t predict what’s
coming next
Bartok uses alternating meter in his Bulgarian Dances, Book 6 from Mikrokosmos

Arnold Schoenberg:
Op. 11 (3), Op. 19 (6), Op. 23 (5 - first serial work, last is first twelve-tone piece), Suite
Op. 25 (6), Op. 33a, Op. 33b
arguably most influential composer of 20th century
harmonic and melodic content, organization of pitch content
autodidact; self-taught, didn’t have extensive training
developed his own concepts of theory, wrote a book
took on students, including Berg and Webern
developed his twelve-tone system
said emphasis should be on the writing, not on the method; doesn’t make it good
music
use of Sprechstimme
is a subset of serialism
series can be made out of any aspect of the music
serial music doesn’t have to use all twelve tones in order to be serial
Crumb used smaller series
three compositional periods:
early: 1890s-1908
essentially a late Romantic composer
Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night) - lush, melodic
middle:
1909-1920
atonal, not serial
late:
1920-
12-tone (dodecaphonic)
use of set theory
Schoenberg didn’t like the word atonal; said that he was a pantonalist
stylistic characteristics:
formally based on established models
19th century character piece (Opp. 11, 19, 23)
dance suite (Op. 25)
sonata form (33a/b)
usually linear, contrapuntal texture
 rhythmic ambiguity confuses the pulse
saw himself as an evolution from tradition, rather than breaking it
piano works:
Op. 11 - landmark work
1909
first fully atonal composition
varying tempo markings (schneller, langsamer)
uses diamond notehead notation to show silently depressing notes, followed
by a loud chord which gives sympathetic vibrations
Op. 19
features extreme brevity, lack of development
no real formal structure because ideas are not developed
expressionism
set of 6 small piano pieces, most are 1 page long
very detailed markings; tenutos, hairpins, etc.
Op. 23
first published serial AND 12-tone work
row is not a complete 12-tone row until the very last piece of the set
Op. 25
all pieces based on the same row
Suite for Piano
traditional Prelude, Gavotte, Musette, Intermezzo, Menuett, and
Gigue
Op. 33a
12-tone, uses sonata form
technically neo-classical
opens with 6 chords

Alban Berg:
student of Schoenberg, most liberal interpretation of Schoenberg’s rules
only 1 piano composition, Op. 1
Piano Sonata, Op. 1
tonal!
key signature of B minor
very dense, chromatic
very compact, everything is significant; expressionist
constructive rhythm: rhythmic cells take on a thematic, organizational role taken in
many melodic contexts
descending chromatic ideas, V-i cadence; definitely some tonality

________send Anna notes from here_______

Anton Webern:
student of Schoenberg, most stringent interpretation of Schoenberg and even went beyond
his rules a bit
most influential of Schoneberg’s students, even more influential than Schoenberg himself
Op. 27: Variations
use of palindromes
markings that show expression; shouldn’t be performed calculatingly
sonata form despite the variations title - ABA
 only the third can truly considered a variation set

Paul Hindemith:
Solo Piano Music: 3 Sonatas, Suite “1922”, Ludus Tonalis
wrote at least one sonata for pretty much every instrument
Piano Sonata No. 3 = most commonly done
Suite “1922”
does’t reflect his fully evolved style, fairly early
three stylistic periods:
early (1918-1923):
eclectic
played in bars and brothels: popular, ragtime, jazz
middle (1924-1933):
neo-baroque
late (1934-)
neo-tonal
“Craft of Musical Composition” = lays out compositional stuff
stylistic characteristics
fortspinnung = technique of working out a melodic / rhythmic motive to produce a
long melodic line (a la Bach)
gebrauchsmusik: “practical” music for everyday music making
believed in the supremacy of the major tried; every one of his mature pieces ended
with a major triad
loved marches, a lot of his music is march-like
tonal principles strongly at work in his mature compositions to show most closely
related v. most distantly away (handout has detail)
theory of tonal relations - C G F A E Eb Ab D Bb Db B F#
textures based on traditional models; most of his music could be considered
neoclassical in that respect
Sonata No. 2
sometimes called a Sonatina, but not what he called it
written in 1930s
melodic, lyrical, traditional
tonal ≠ V-I; just founded on the triad and centered tonal
sonata form of course
Sonata No. 3
most commonly played
finale is a quite substantial fugue
Ludus Tonalis (Play of Tones)
1942
his Well-Tempered Clavier; prelude and postlude, fugues, separated by interludes
triple fugue - three distinct subjects
interludes often have genre characteristics associated with them (eg. March,
Pastoral)

Charles Tomlinson Griffes (he literally STARTED talking about him at 10:45…)
Roman Sketches, Op. 7 (1915)
The White Peacock
impressionist style
 lots of parallelisms, harmonic color
new linear style after 1917
artificial scale: underpins his piano sonata
D Eb F G# A B C# D
has two augmented intervals in it
Sonata

read Ives Concord Sonata readings! listening = 3rd movement (slow mov’t)
hymn / popular tunes woven into texture

informational handouts section of Canvas: PDFs of PowerPoints for Griffes and Ives

course eval notes:

doesn’t budget time well
stringent exam requirements
material is included in exams even if not lectured about (Griffes)

Scriabin:
early: tonal, late Romantic
middle: experimental, more dissonances, still tonal
late: on the edge of atonal, very dissonant

Hindemith:
early: experimental, variety of genres
middle: neo-Baroque maturity
late: Polish nationalism, tradition

Griffes:
early: sounds like Brahms and Strauss
middle: impressionist; whole tones, ostinato,
late: experimental, artificial scales, dissonance
UNIT FOUR:

Les Six:
Darius Milhaud
Francois Poulenc
Georges Auric
Arthur Honegger
Germaine Tailleferre
Louis Durey

represent style that was starting to be evident at the time, got grouped together for stylistic
similarities
father of this movement = Eric Satie
Les Six were not closely united in aims, but had certain similarities
jazz (popular music), parisian music hall, lack of seriousness, bright sonorities

Eric Satie:
more important as an influence than for his music
“musique d’ameublement” (armchair music)
take it or leave it; not listening to an hour-long symphony full of meaning and
significance
reacting against dominant Germanic style
amusing, satirical, nonsensical titles: Dessicated Embryos, 3 Pieces in the form of a pear,
Frigid pieces
making fun of the sophistication of musical form and classical preoccupation with
form
not a member of Les Six, but an inspiration to them
Jean Cocteau’s “Le coq et l’arlequin” was the manifesto of the times (post-WWI) in France

Darius Milhaud:
incorporated popular music styles (jazz, latin rhythms) in his music
worked in the diplomatic unit in Brazil
clear textures, strong melodic presence, polytonality, glaring dissonance
Saudades do Brazil (1921)
based on his knowledge of Brazilian music during his stay there
each short piece (2 pages) depicts a district of Rio de Janiero
argument that it can be heard in 2 keys - layering in one register in one key, other
layer in another key
use of Afro-Brazilian rhythms, later used in cool jazz
Scaramouche for Duo Piano
rearrangement - previously sax and piano

Francois Poulenc:
 fine pianist, great improviser
most important member of Les Six
style:
lush textures (lots of pedal)
tertian harmonies with many extensions
great melodic charm
not intellectual music, but always well crafted
had a great sense of how the piano worked, what felt right, and what would sound
good
all Poulenc sounds the same - no stylistic evolution
country home = Nazelles, would have parties there and would improvise portraits of his
friends
important piano works:
3 Novelettes
3 Pieces: Pastorale, Toccata, Hymne
Les soirées de Nazelles
Napoli (suite of 3 pieces)
15 Improvisations (1932-59)
8 Nocturnes (1930-38)
Toccata from Three Pieces for Piano (1953)
great example of improvisatory style
full of small musical ideas, not particularly organized into some larger significant
pattern
very fun and spontaneous
no larger significance
Improvisation No. 15 in C minor (1959)
dedicated to a popular French lounge singer, Edith Piaf, one of Poulenc’s
contemporaries (born around 1910)
lots of lush bass notes and grace notes
circle of fifths progression

Manuel de Falla:
1876-1946
works mostly composed between 1900s-1920s
Spanish, generation after Albaniz and Granados
studied with Felipe Pedrell, like those other two
reputation was established by his opera La Vida Breve
2 ballets using Spanish idioms
El Amor Brujo (Love, the Magician)
El Sombrero des Tres Picos (The Three-Cornered Hat)
made arrangements for piano from these works - very effective
not a huge amount of original piano works
lived in Paris from 1907-1914
influenced by Impressionist styles
returned to Madrid in 1914
creation of most tistinctive Spanish-influenced works in the following few years
bellets, Nights in the Gardens of Spain (piano and orchestra, not quite a
conventional concerto - almost chamber music), Fantasia Baetica (big
solo piano work)
works from the 1920s onward are less Spanish, more Neo-Classical
 helped organize the Cante Jondo competition, to reignite interest in Flamenco singing styles
named president of the “Institute of Spain” by Francisco Franco (fascist) in 1938
1939 onward, lived and worked in Argentina, where he ultimately died
solo piano music:
Allegro de Concierto (1904)
entered as a contest piece, but lost to Granados’ piece of the same name
4 Pizzas Espanolas
Fantasia Baetica
Pour le tombeau de Paul Dukes
various piano arrangements from his operas and ballets
style characteristics:
Spanish dance rhythms
Cante jondo (deep song)
imitation of a vocal style
narrow melodic range
melismatic
guitar characteristics
phrygian cadences and melodic gestures
4 Piezas Españolas
some whole-tone
Cante Jondo
Fantasia Baetica (1920)
his magnum opus for piano
large fantasy for piano
more modern-sounding harmonic structure, still Spanish in character
invokes vocal microtonal inflections - grace notes offset by ½ step
evokes tuning of the guitar: E A D G B E (minor chord sus 4)

Alberto Ginastera:
from Argentina
important piano works:
Danzas Argentinas, Op. 2 (1937)
3 Pieces, Op. 6
Malabo, Op. 7
12 American Preludes, Op. 12
Suite de Danzas Criollas, Op. 15
Rondo sobre temas Argentinas Infantiles, Op. 19
Sonata No. 1, Op. 22 (1956) subjective nationalism
Sonata No. 2, Op. 52 never played, inferior
Sonata No. 3, Op. 53 never played, inferior
most important ones are from 1930s-mid 50s
3 style periods: self-identified, like Porkofiev’s Five Lines
1) Objective Nationalism 1934-47
2) Subjective Nationalism 1947-57
Neo-expressionism 1957-83
how does he use nationalism?
Argentinian folk music - molambo
Argentina = well-suited for ranching, cattle ranches
Gauchos = cowboys
 dances based on rhythmic patterns sung by the Gauchos, accompanied by
guitar with simple, repetitive musical content
strong rhythmic drive combined with lyrical element
syncopations and irregular rhythmic groupings
hemiola: alternating between 6/8 and 3/4
relied on traditional formal structures
Danzas Argentinas:
set of 3 pieces
molambo rhythmic pattern
I. Dance of the Old Cowboy
polytonality - different key signatures in the hands
hands are rhythmically out-of-phase
lots of cluster chords
ends with the guitar tuning sequence
II. Dance of the Graceful Maiden
syncopation despite lyrical style
4ths evoking guitar tuning
ABA form
III. Dance of the Outlaw
dizzying ostinato pattern and chromaticism
syncopation
Piano Sonata, No. 1
four movements, outer movements in sonata form - traditional structure
subjective nationalism
taking elements of Argentinian syncopation and abstracted them out - difficult
to see how it is malambo-like
ever-shifting time signatures

Heitor Villa-Lobos:
1997-1959
Brazilian
uneven as a composer - some great, some low quality
prolific
important works are from mid 1910s-mid 1930s
Prole de Bebe (Doll’s Family, 1920)
Rudepoema (substantial)
Bachianas Brazilieras No. 4
style:
strongly nationalistic
traveled in Brazil, absorbed folk styles and popular elements
studied in Europe in the 1920s
French influence: Impressionist
Stravinsky: Primitavism
all of those combined = sincretismo
different stylistic elements occurring in one place
uses massive sonorities
lots of dissonances combined with simple, folk-like tunes
ostinato
improvisational style and avoidance of standard forms - no pieces called sonata,
even some short pieces without ABA
 Prole de Bebe / The Baby’s Family:
each has a descriptive title: the porcelain doll, the paper-mache doll, etc.
O policinelo (Punch), No. 7
commedia del arte
a standard repetition of the end of the piece has evolved which is not notated
- very short without this
black keys over white keys, very fast
Rudepoema
folk-like elements in structure
ostinato patterns
dense textures
diatonic melody in LH underpinned by low grace octaves, plus 5-note chords in RH
highly dissonant

Bachianas Brazilieras: No. 4

evoking Bach and Brazil: sincretismo!
folk tune in tenor
sequencing
motoric arpeggiation

Olivier Messiaen:
imprisoned in a POW camp
Quartet for the End of Time written during this
piano, cello, clarinet, violin
ornithologist
recorded bird calls
specific markings regarding which critters are included in pieces
very detailed notation markings
studied at the Paris Conservatory at age 11 (so early!)
influenced by Debussy early on, evolves his own style
very influential teacher in post-WWII period
similar to Bartok, Hindemith because of unique, irreproducible works
profoundly religious, brought up in Roman Catholic tradition
organ music, written for the church
spirituality was widely-encompassing: Medievalism, Gregorian chant, Asian thought
and techniques, mysticism, nature
synesthesia; also a chromesthete, like Scriabin
taught Pierre-Laurent Aimard
taught Yvonne Loroit, who he later married - she premiered a lot of his works
harmonic language
The Technique of My Musical Language:
Medievalism
Asian (Hindustani rhythmic modes)
Impressionism
Mysticism
Birdsong (nature in general as well)
Oneness
8 Preludes (late 1920s)
 early works; in his early twenties
not considered mature, but wonderful compositions
parallelism, coloristic, evocative titles
Modes of Limited Transposition: 7 of them
elements of symmetry in their construction - you can only do so many transpositions
and still get a unique pitch collection
modes 3-7 are unique to Messiaen, don’t have a name
12 / divided by / # of brackets = number of transpositions
Mode 1) whole tone collection
only 2 transpositions
Mode 2) octatonic collection
3 transpositions
Mode 3)
W-H-H-W-H-H-W-H-H
4 transpositions
Mode 4)
6 transpositions
Mode 5)
6 transpositions
Mode 6)
6 transpositions
Mode 7)
6 transpositions
use of polymodality
multiple layers of texture happening simultaneously
use of cyclic procedures
place of realignment = sam (pronounced SUM)
always going to come back to the sam after the same amount of time
not going to add any chunks into the cycle - highly regulated
# of times before you return to the sam = important
use of asymmetrical expansion
takes an idea, next time it’s used individual notes are transposed up or down
by a half step (like Prokofiev)
use of non-retrogradable rhythm (aka palindrome)
either side from the central nome (point of symmetry) = same rhythmic
stream
extremely intuitive composer, incredible imagination
started with the artistic realm rather than the intellectual realm
these are simply techniques which organized his thoughts
Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jesus (1944): (pronounced VANT)
twenty contemplations on the Infant Jesus
about 2.5 hours of music
can be played as a whole
more common to do selections of pieces
cyclic
common musical ideas and themes recur
totally centered on F-Sharp Major, but not diatonic
extra-musical meaning: lots of symbolism
each piece is titled and has explanatory text within
titles indicate religious contemplation on some aspect of the infant
Jesus
cyclic themes:
“Theme of God” - appears in many of them, including 15
“Theme of the Star and the Cross”
“Theme of Mystical Love”
“Theme of Chords”
many centered on F-Sharp Major - not atonal
symbolism:
numerical:
No. 1 = contemplation of the Father, Father = first person of
the Trinity
No. 5 = contemplation of the Son upon the Son (Trinity) = 3
staves, upper two in canon, bottom plays Theme of God
No. 6 = By Him Everything was Made (crazy fugue, one of the
longest pieces in the set) = 6 days of creation
three part structure reflects the Trinity
visual:
Theme of the Star and the Cross = visually looks like a cross
cultural:
number 5 = associated with the god Shiva in Hinduism,
Messiaen thought Shiva was the most Christlike god of the
Indian pantheon
Nos. 5, 10, 15, 20 = some aspects of the trinity
nature-related:
birdsong in Nos. 5, 8, 14
symbols of God’s joy in the world
No. 15 = The Kiss of the Infant Jesus
LISTENING
most commonly done
includes the “Theme of God” - Mode 2 / octatonic-based theme
“Theme of Chords”
tonality of F-Sharp Major - not atonal
starts with the Theme of God
in the style of a lullaby
structured almost as a theme and variations
first two pages = chorale-like setting of Theme of God
progresses to a more decorated version, trills, obligato parts
on top
Theme of God separated out into chords
becomes more active
ends with florid accompaniment
1950s = embarked on mission to catalog bird calls in France
adjusted whatever pitch relationships the bird calls had in order to fit
into our twelve-tone system
slowed them down a bit in order to make them practical
each book is a collection of birds, 6 books total
each piece is not a single bird; it features a certain bird, but includes
many characters in it
L’Alouette Calendrelle from Catalogue d’Ouiseaux
three-toed lark
includes cicadas, lark, falcon, quail, meadow larks, and landscape in
addition to the three-toed lark
 all of these creatures can be found in the same region / location
opens with two lush sonorities, then bird calls
shortest of the Catalogue - 5.5 minutes
Mode de valeurs (rhythmic values based on modes, late 1940s)
most influential piece
specific pitches and registers associated with dynamic level and
rhythmic length
eg. Eb 6 = always ppp and a 16th note
modes are operating simultaneously, varied in certain ways (eg.
retrograde, inversion, etc.)
pointillism = melodic element is often displaced by register and
instrumental color
painter: George Serant (Sunday in the Park with George by
Stephen Sondheim)
kind of a one-time experiment for Messiaen, but post-WWII serialists
jumped on it and created total serialism

Pierre Boulez:
1925-2016
3 piano sonatas: 2nd is most important and well-known
Sonata No. 2
conventional sonata
4 movements
all played conventionally on the piano
serial - explanations on YouTube if interested

Karlheinz Stockhausen:
serialist
highly controlled music, highly organized but not according to what our ears can perceive
insanely difficult metric values: 11:10 and 7:5
pointillistic
use of Fibonacci sequence
Klavierstück X
entirely new notation:
note values written above staff to designate how much time is supposed to
transpire
beam going up = accelerando
beam going down - decelerando
tone clusters played with palm
glissandi played with palm = played with fingerless glove in order to not tear
up hand
extremely influential piece - NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT
theatrical element, over 20 minutes long
Kirby 371 categorization:
chromatic dissonant tradition
Ligeti
often serial
almost always atonal
compositions that are often serious, large-scale, complex, intense
going back to Schoenberg
extended techniques and sounds
Stockhausen, Berio
tone clusters, glissandi
George Crumb
open form
indeterminate / aleatoric
minimalism
new tonality / new Romanticism
composers who “rediscovered” 19th century
George Rachburg
conservatism
sounds modern, but still rooted in fundamental tonal procedures
Samuel Barber

Samuel Barber:
under criticism for looking backwards / being retrospective as a composer
didn’t adopt serialism
completely tonal
important for piano, especially his piano sonata
fine pianist himself
nationalist element
The Hermit Songs - song cycle
more misc. songs
Four Excursions, Op. 20
written to characterize American musical styles
each one represents an American musical style in some way, but abstracted into a
contemporary interpretation
No. 1 = inspired by boogie-woogie
No. 2 = blues
No. 3 = set of variations on Streets of Laredo, a cowboy song; 7:8
 No. 4 = imitating fiddle, hoedown music
Piano Sonata, Op. 26
1950
premiered in Cuba by Horowitz
standard repertoire
adopts some serial techniques, but not a serial piece
mm. 9-10 = 12-tone row
slow movement also has a 12-tone row unpinning in bass
sonata in Grand Form = 4 mov’ts
sonata form first movement
scherzo
expressive slow movement
finale = fugue
technically challenging + making sense of melodic and structural content = very hard
third mov’t
adagio mesto = slow and mournful
first ms = 12 notes, 12-tone row that recurring
fourth mov’t
definite countersubject
use of learned techniques: augmentation, diminution, inversion
chords near end = stretto canon of fugue subject (follow individual voices)

John Cage
I-Ching = ancient Chinese divination / reflection process
chance procedures
generated random numbers associated with the symbols associated with casting the
objects, these would be associated with dynamics, notes, etc
created the Music of Changes
proportional notation
spacing on page = equivalent to time
very good at rhythm
intricate rhythmic proportions between smaller and larger parts
sections have precise proportions
unconventional sound production in places - extended techniques
plucking strings
slamming lid
use of “beaters” (hit strings directly)
Etudes Australes
overlaying staff paper on star map
transmitting visual distant as time - will be approximate
silence is equal to sound
duration is the most fundamental musical characteristic
music can be imagined without sound, but not without time
Sonatas and Interludes
 16 sonatas in groups of 4, and each group is followed by an interlude, so 20 pieces
in all
originated when he started accompanying dance performances by future life partner
Merce Cunningham
prepared piano created a quasi-percussion ensemble
intended to express the “permanent” emotions of Indian philosophy
most sonatas are AABB form
rhythmic structure is carefully calculated
No. 5
4:5 relationship

George Crumb:
King of Extended Techniques
some of his works were premiered by Burge

first minimalist piece: “In C” by Terry Riley (1964)

whole score is about a page, piece takes an hour to play
little melodic riffs of various lengths
ensemble that’s unspecified, piano is required
piano pulsates high C octave to synchronize the ensemble
ensemble has freedom of which riff to play when
modular repetition - became associated with minimalism
repetitive figuration
minimalism = “severe reduction of materials”
often demonstrated with repetitive figuration