Enjoyment of Music – MUL 2010 (Fall 2008) - Warfield

Review Sheet # 5 - Classic era Music

This review sheet covers materials presented in Wright, Listening to Music, Chapters 15-16-17-18-19-20-21, which will be tested in the near future in MUL 2010.

The following concepts and terms in boldface (as well as a few others not specifically listed, but indicated in these review questions) will be included on the second of the three large mid-term tests. You should know all of these terms, including their (1) spelling, (2) definition, and (3) be able to use them correctly in speaking and writing about music.

Dictionary definitions may be found in glossary section of your textbook or in the Music Materials section of the publisher-sponsored web site that supports your textbook.

Additionally, you should know by sound the eight music examples (Listening Guides, p. 191, 196-7, 202-3, 204-5, 212, 216, 233-4, & 240-1) that support this portion of the textbook.

    Chapter 15

  1. What are the rough dates for the Classic (or Classical) Era, and what are the eras on either side of this one?
  2. What does the term "Classical" mean or imply, and how does it stand in contrast to the term "Romantic"?
  3. Why is this era (late 18th century) often called the "Age of Reason" or the Enlightenment, and how might those ideas and ideals have influenced the arts of that time?
  4. What ancient civilization served as a prototype for this era, and what are some examples of the ways in which this 18th-century era modeled itself on the earlier one?
  5. What are some of the basic Elements of Classic Style? What are the most important style traits of music in the Classic Era? What are antecedent and consequent phrases? What is an "Alberti bass?

Chapter 16

  1. What major European capital city was the leading center of the musical style that best defined the Classic era?
  2. Who are the three major composers most often associated with this musical style?
  3. Who was Joseph Haydn, and where and when (roughly for each) was he born?
  4. What sort of musical training did Haydn receive (and why)?
  5. Who was Haydn's most important employer, and what was Haydn's job like?
  6. In what important genres did Haydn compose the most ("Father of....?"), and what was his reputation at the time of his death?
  7. Who was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and where and when (roughly for each) was he born?
  8. What sorts of musical activities did Mozart do as a child, and what is a prodigy?
  9. How did Mozart support himself at first when he became an adult, and why was he fired from (or quit) this job in 1781?
  10. How and where did Mozart support himself for the last ten years of his life? What does it mean to be a freelance musician?
  11. What kinds of music did Mozart compose in his lifetime, and what is the reputation that he has today?
  12. How do the lives and careers of Haydn and Mozart represent the old and the new ways of making a living as a musician in the late 18th century?

    CHAPTER 17

  1. What is meant by "musical form," and how do repetition, contrast, and variation create form?
  2. What is a ternary form and how might it be diagrammed?
  3. What is a binary form, how might it be diagrammed, and what is a Minuet and Trio?
  4. What is a sonata-allegro form and how do its constituent parts resemble a binary form? (In addition to the text, see the chart on p. 188.)
  5. What are the three large sections of a sonata-allegro called, which two resemble each other the most (A and A'), and which part is different (B)?
  6. What are the four constituent parts of the first large subsection in a sonata-allegro form? How do these parts relate to their equivalents in the third subsection?

    7. Listening Guide (p. 191, Mozart)

  7. What kind of piece is this, and who composed it?
  8. What is the basic meter (rhythmic movement) of this piece, and which movement within the larger work is it?
  9. What specific formal plans are used to build this movement? (Can you diagram the overall shape of the movement and its constitutent parts in a simple letter schema?)
  10. What are the performing forces?

    11. Listening Guide (p. 196-7, Mozart)

  11. What kind of piece is this, and who composed it?
  12. What is the general form of this piece, and which movement within the larger work is it?
  13. What specific formal plans are used to build this movement? How do you hear the changes from one subsection to the next within the progress of this work? (Can you diagram the constitutent parts in a simple letter schema?)
  14. What are the performing forces?

CHAPTER 18

  1. What is a Theme and Variation movement, and which formal plan might it often use?
  2. What is a Rondo, and how might it be diagrammed?

    3. Listening Guide (p. 202-3, Haydn (Intro CD])

  3. What kind of piece is this, and who composed it? Where and when was this piece first performed?
  4. What is the significance of the nickname "Surprise" for this excerpt? Where do you find the surprise, and what is it?
  5. What are the performing forces of this work?
  6. What is the form of this movement, and how does Haydn use this form to create variety in the piece?

    7. Listening Guide (p. 204-5, Mozart)

  7. What kind of piece is this, who composed it, and why (for whom was this work composed)?
  8. What is the basic formal plan of this movement, ahd how do you diagram it?
  9. What are the performing forces of this work?
  10. What is the "mood" of this movement, especially when compared to most "sonata-allegro" movements?

CHAPTER 19

  1. What is a genre, and what are the most important genres of the Classic era?
  2. What are the following genres: Symphony, Concerto, String Quartet, Sonata, and Chamber? What are the usual performing forces for each of these genres? (NB. You may need to consult other chapters for some of this information.)
  3. What are the four typical movements of a symphony (in order), and what the preferred formal plans or other defining traits of those movements?
  4. How is a Classic era Orchestra different from a modern orchestra? (Also, see Chapter 8 for some of this information.)
  5. What is chamber music (three basic traits), and what are some common examples of chamber ensembles?
  6. What is a String Quartet (both the ensemble and the composition)?
  7. How does the Classic era concerto compare to that of the Baroque era? Which prefered solo performers to a group of soloists? What were the favorite solo instruments in the Classic era?
  8. How is the Baroque ritornello principle applied to a Classic era concerto? What "returns" in Classic era concertos?
  9. In the "double exposition" of a Classic era concerto, how does the second pass through the exposition (the one for the soloist) differ from the orchestral exposition (the first time through the materials)? (Look for two specific differences.)
  10. What is a cadenza, and where in the concerto's first movement will you find it?

    11. Listening Guide (p. 212, Mozart)

  11. What kind of piece is this, and who composed it?
  12. What is the general form of this piece, and which movement within the larger work is it?
  13. What specific formal plans are used to build this movement? How do you hear the changes from one subsection to the next within the progress of this work? (Can you diagram the constitutent parts in a simple letter schema?)
  14. What are the performing forces?
  15. In general, are there any significant differences between this movement, and the 1st movement of "Eine kleine Nachtmusik"?

    16. Listening Guide (p. 216, Haydn)

  16. What kind of piece is this, and who composed it?
  17. What is the general form of this piece, and which movement within the larger work is it?
  18. What are the performing forces?
  19. What "classical" traits do you hear in this music?

CHAPTER 20

  1. How is opera different in the Classic era, especially when compared to Baroque opera? Who was the audience for opera in the 18th century, and how did Classic era opera better reflect the values of the 18th century?
  2. What is opera buffa (what does the term mean), and what are some of the ways in which opera became more "realistic" or "natural" in this era?
  3. What is Mozart's greatest opera, and what is its general plot about?
  4. Who was Lorenzo da Ponte, and what did he contribute to the history of opera?

CHAPTER 21

  1. Who was Ludwig van Beethoven, and where and when did he live?
  2. How and why are Beethoven's life and career divided into three style periods? In very basic terms, what is the music of each period like?
  3. What important event or circumstance) in Beethoven's life separates the first style period from the second? What is the effect of this event on the music of the later two periods?
  4. How is the music of his second and third periods different from the Classical style of Haydn and Mozart? (1-2 basic reasons are sufficient.)
  5. Why and how is the piano an important instrument for Beethoven, especially in his early years? How is the piano different in Beethoven's day from the pianos used by Mozart and Haydn? How does Beethoven's approach to the piano differ from that of earlier composers? (See Chapter 8 for some of this information.)
  6. How many symphonies did Beethoven compose, and what is so different about them, especially when compared to symphonies by Haydn and Mozart? Why are some of Beethoven's symphonies referred to as "Heroic"?
  7. What is new or unusual about the Symphony No. 3, and why is it nicknamed "Eroica"? To whom was it dedicated and why; and what happened to that dedication?
  8. What are some of the new or unusual features of the Symphony No. 5? How does Beethoven connect the four different movements?

    9. Listening Guide (p. 233-4, Beethoven)

  9. What kind of piece is this, and who composed it?
  10. How closely does this piece adhere to sonata-allegro form, and what feature(s) violate that form?
  11. What are some ways in which features of the developing piano are used? (What could not have been done on an earlier instrument?

    12. Listening Guide (p. 240-1, Beethoven)

  12. What kind of piece is this, and who composed it?
  13. What are the performing forces, and how do they differ from those used by Haydn and Mozart?
  14. How closely does this first movement follow the sonata allegro plan? What sections of the movement are unusual (when compared to an earlier symphony)?
  15. What is unusual about the thematic material of this first movement (especially the first theme)?