Romantic A
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- Gesamtkunstwerk
- A term used by Wagner for his notion of an art form that combined various media within the framework of a drama like ancient Greek drama where dance, music and poetry had been ideally combined, reunification of the arts
- symphonic tone poem
- An orchestral form in which a poem or programme provides a narrative or illustrative basis. Liszt
- Lied
- A song in the German vernacular, an art form in which musical ideas suggested by words were embodied in the setting of those words for voice and piano. Ex. Schubert Gretchen am Spinnrade
- grand opera
-
French opera of the Romantic period, sung throughout, generally in five acts, grandiose in conception and impressively staged.
Ex. Meyerbeer - program music
- Music of a narrative or descriptive kind; all music that attempts to represent extra-musical concepts without resort to sung words.instrumental music with a narrative or descriptive ‘meaning’ Liszt
- character piece
- A piece of music, usually for piano solo, expressing either a single mood (e.g. martial, dream-like, pastoral) or a programmatic idea defined by its title. Schumann
- polonaise
- A Polish dance. Often of stately, processional character, more elaborate as it developed into an instrumental piece for dancing at grand society occasions, Chopin
- Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik
- Schumann, Leipzig journal of music, Schumann was editor from 1834-1844, Essays introduced a number of important composers: Chopin, Brahms, and the instrumental music of Schubert
- program symphony
- 'Programmatic' music of a narrative or descriptive kind
- bel canto opera
- the elegant Italian vocal style of the 18th and early 19th centuries, a bel canto singer involved three requirements: a naturally beautiful voice, even in tone throughout its range; effortless delivery of highly florid music; mastery of style, Rossini
- music drama
- The term is generally used to distinguish Wagner’s works from Das Rheingold onwards, ‘acts of music made visible,’ dramatic work with music, and particularly one in which the music plays a primary role
- "mad" scene
- An operatic scene in which a character, usually the soprano heroine, displays traits of mental collapse, supplies brilliant vehicle for the display of a singer’s vocal talents. elaborate coloratura writing and participation of a wind instrument, Donizetti - Lucia di Lamermoor
- Songs without Words
- A short piece of a lyrical nature, confined to piano music. melodious, but varied in mood Mendelssohn
- Gesamkunstwerk
- Wagner's concept of a 'total-work' of art, Two-fold nature of drama:'Inner' aspect: province of instrumental music, 'Outer' aspect: sung words, Ex. Tristan und Isolde
- nocturne
- A piece suggesting night, usually quiet and meditative in character, often ABA in form Chopin
- Leitmotif
- A musical theme associated with a particular person, thing or idea, Association is established by sounding the motive (usually by the orch.) at the first appearance or mention of the object of reference, Successive appearances bring repetitions of the motive. Wagner
- transcendental etudes
- Set of 12 studies publ. In 1826 Liszt, resemblance to the programmatic character-piece, pervasive technical difficulty
- Davidsbund
- Imaginary society of characters found in Schumann's writings, Florestan: the impulsive revolutionary, Eusebius: the youthful dreamer, Raro: the wise mature master
- Florestan and Eusebius
- In order to express different points of view on artistic matters, invented contrasting artist-characters, of whom Florestan and Eusebius were the most important, Imaginary society of characters found in Schumann's writings, Florestan: the impulsive revolutionary, Eusebius: the youthful dreamer
- Idee fixe
- A term coined by Berlioz to denote a musical idea used obsessively, he applied it to the principal theme of his Symphonie fantastique, used the theme to describe the artist’s obsession with his beloved
- nationalism
- Accentuation of national styles in music, Importance of native folk melodies as expression of the national soul, Nationalism as a reaction to political supression
- cabaletta
- the second, usually fast movement of a double aria in an Italian opera, Rossini, also used to describe the final movement of a duet. melody being sung successively by each singer and a third time, after an orchestral ritornello, by both voices in unison, harmony or more rarely in dialogue (Lucia di Lammermoor, Donizetti
- etude
- The French equivalent of ‘Study’, widely adopted for fairly short pieces whose principal aim is the development or exploitation of a particular aspect of performing technique Chopin
- verismo
- A movement in Italian literature, and subsequently in opera, which developed in the 1870s, sharing certain characteristics with naturalism – an impersonal narrative style, an interest in the lower social strata, a true-to-life approach in dealing with contemporary reality, markedly regional character to their works, total absence of bel canto coloratura. Verga’s Cavalleria rusticana
- thematic transformation
- the process of modifying a theme so that in a new context it is different but yet manifestly made of the same elements, giving greater cohesion both between and within separate movements of multi-movement works. It was also widely used in opera. Liszt