music

• Franz Peter Schubert

  Prolific composer and teacher, born January 31, 1797 in Vienna, Austria
• Franz Peter Schubert


  • Received music instruction from his father and brother at a young age
  • Received music lessons from Michael Holzer, an organist and choirmaster
  • Received a choir scholarship at the Stadtkonvikt (Vienna imperial Court Chapel Choir) at age 11
  • Taught at his father's school to teach the youngest students in 1814
  • Wrote almost 1000 works by age 31, with 60% or over 600 being art songs
  • Elevated the art song to a position of supreme artistry
• Giuseppe Verdi


  Most important Italian composer of the second half of the nineteenth century, born October 9 or 10, 1813 in a small village of le Roncole in Italy
• Giuseppe Verdi


  • Received first music education from the local church organist
  • Accepted the position of musical director in Busseto
  • Married the daughter of a local merchant who sent him to Milan and paid for his studies
  • Vowed not to compose again after an unsuccessful opera, but was convinced to compose Nabucco which was a successful opera
  • Italian nationalism was a significant ingredient in his operas
• Giacomo Puccini


  Greatest composer of Italian opera after Verdi, born December 22, 1858 in Lucca, Italy
• Giacomo Puccini


  • Received general education from the Seminary of San Michele in Lucca and a cathedral seminary
  • Received music education supervised by his uncle Fortunato Magi
  • Received a diploma from the Pacini school of Music in 1880
  • Sent to the Milan Conservatory with the aid of a scholarship grant from Queen Margherita of Italy
  • Wrote operas at the urging of his teacher Amilcare Ponchielli
  • Used the artistic trend of verismo, the realistic depiction of many facets of real life including violence, in his operas
• Richard Wagner


  Great and powerful opera composer, born May 22, 1813 in Leipszig, Germany
• Richard Wagner


  • Tried to study violin and music theory but gave up, thinking that rules in music were a problem
  • Studied the scores of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, and studied composition and counterpoint with the choir director of St. Thomas church
  • Married Mina Planer, an actress, in 1836, but the marriage was never happy
  • Had his fortune changed dramatically in 1864 when King Ludwig II became his benefactor
  • Cosima Liszt, daughter of Franz Liszt, left her husband Hans von Bulow for Wagner, and they married in 1870
  • Concept of opera as Gesamtkunstwerk, a perfect blend of stagecraft, music, visual arts and literature, requiring a specially designed theater called Bayreuth Festival Theater
  • Used legends, national folklores, medieval plots, redemption and supernatural elements in his opera texts
  • Utilized the device of leitmotifs, literally "leading motives", to unify the music and enhance the drama
• Romantic Period opera


  • Extreme expressiveness
  • Devotion to one's country
  • Fascination with Romantic symbols
• Operas during the Romantic Period are primarily produced in Italy, France and Germany
• Italian opera


  The most significant contribution of Italy to the music of the nineteenth century
• Subjects like escape and freedom from bondage are typically used
• Bel canto style


  The art of beautiful singing
• Gioachino Rossini


  • Renowned for his vivacious and comedic operas
  • His works are celebrated for their brilliant coloratura arias and sparkling overtures
  • His compositions are marked by their infectious energy and humour
• Giuseppe Verdi


  • His masterpieces are cherished for their emotional depth and memorable melodies
  • His operas often explore themes of love, politics, and human suffering
• Vincenzo Bellini


  • His operas are known for their bel canto style, characterized by beautiful, lyrical vocal lines
  • His works epitomize the elegance and expressive capabilities of the human voice
• Gaetano Donizetti


  • His operas are celebrated for their melodic richness and vocal virtuosity
  • His works showcase his talent for crafting captivating characters and intricate ensembles
• Grand opera


  A new genre of opera that is characterized by being built on a very large orchestration with very impressive plots and highly colorful spectacle
• Lyric opera


  A mixture of French opera-comique and grand opera
• Periods of German opera in the nineteenth century

  • The first half (Romantic opera)
  • The second half (Richard Wagner's music dramas)
• Characteristics of German Romantic opera

  • Folk tunes and melodies are used
  • Dissonant treatment of harmony and orchestral timbre is employed to enhance the emotion of a particular scene
  • Stories are based on mystery, mysticism, and supernatural elements
  • Themes are derived from folk legends and fairy stories of the Middle Ages
• Richard Wagner's concept of opera

  • Opera is the combination of the arts and he called it music drama
  • Opera should be a unification of music, literature, visual arts and stage craft
• There are two periods of opera: Romantic opera and music drama
• Stories in German Romantic opera are based on mystery, mysticism, and supernatural elements
• Grand opera


  A type of opera that is characterized by being built on a very large stage orchestration
• Opera comique


  A type of opera where the difference of serious and comic opera is maintained
• lyric opera

  mix of opera comique and grand opera
• Art song


  • A vocal form that is distinct from folk song, popular song, and operatic aria
  • A composition for solo voice and piano
• German art songs or lieder are produced more than any other languages
• Art song

  Equivalent to the Kundiman of the Philippines
• Art song


  • Composers thoughtfully combine melody, poetry and accompaniment which are all equally important
  • The melody is essentially lyrical rather than dramatic
  • Musical tone-painting is a characteristic of art song
• Musical tone-painting


  Somewhat similar with the word painting of madrigals during the Renaissance period
• Art song accompaniment


  • Piano is used
  • Accompaniment emphasizes each part of the poem with an instrumental music in between
  • Harmony and melody are provided to support the voice
  • Accompaniment also creates the tone painting
• Art song form


  • Strophic form, through-composed form, or modified strophic form
  • Other musical structures like AABA, ABAB, or ABCA can also be used
• The Romantic period is not one of the great periods for sacred music
• Cantatas and oratorios are subordinate to art songs and operas during the Romantic period</b>
• melody - essentially lyrical rather dramatic