part 2 the tumultuous nineteenth century chapter 7: concert music america’s musical landscape 6th...

1

Part 2The Tumultuous Nineteenth

CenturyChapter 7: Concert Music

America’s Musical Landscape 6th edition

© 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved

2© 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Part 2: The Tumultuous Nineteenth Century Chapter 7: Concert Music 2

Chapter 7: Concert Music Differences between popular and classical music assumed more

significance in America as the nineteenth century progressed

Those differences were less distinct than the subjective lines drawn today between vernacular music (“for the people”) and art or concert music (for an audience viewed as somewhat select)

During the decades before and after the Civil War

household music and religious songs remained vital

Interest grew among composers, performers, and listeners in music for the concert hall



Orchestral Music in the Late Nineteenth Century: Background Music activity increased greatly across America, including

Outstanding conservatories=professional music schools Concert halls Opera houses

1882: Metropolitan Opera House, New York City 1891: Carnegie Hall, New York City

Americans enjoyed access to more concert music of greater variety and finer quality than ever before

Choral and chamber societies presented programs Serious and light opera became popular Great virtuosos continued to attract an appreciative audience



Orchestral Music Americans preferred the German Romantic

style in orchestral music

Romantics (Germans and others) approached the elements of music differently from their classical forbears



Characteristics of Romantic Music Long and lyrical melodies Asymmetrical phrases Repeated songlike melodies with variation or embellishment Chordal harmony became fuller and steadily more dissonant

Dissonant = less harmonically stable Expansion of tonal harmony through addition of new tones to

familiar chords Newly varied and colorful effects

Freer treatment of rhythms Sometimes avoiding regularly recurring patterns of a certain

number of beats per measure; phrases of irregular length



Romantic Music and the Exploration of Timbres Timbre = color (of sound)

Nineteenth-century music includes increasingly rich and imaginative instrumental effects Technological changes increasing capabilities of woodwind and

brass instruments encouraged their wider use in the orchestra A greatly expanded percussion section added variety in timbre Additional strings added to balance the increased winds and

percussion

The Romantic orchestra was larger than that of the Baroque or Classical period, with a richer variety of timbres



European Orchestras in America Performed European works The visiting orchestra led by French

conductor and showman Louis-Antoine Jullien (1812-1860) was The first ensemble to give American

orchestral music serious attention Jullien gave a flashy looking concert

1853: Added American musicians to his orchestra

Started to program works by American composers



Orchestras Throughout the Nineteenth Century Large orchestras held little interest for the young republic

Few orchestras existed Professional and amateur musicians tried to make the orchestras

appealing to American taste 1820: Moravians founded a Philharmonic Society in Bethlehem, PA

Philadelphia: American and immigrant musicians organized a Musical Fund Society to perform Symphonic music and choral music accompanied by orchestra

1842: The New York Philharmonic Society, the nation’s oldest orchestra still in existence today was founded But it was a loosely organized and haphazard association



Theodore Thomas (1835-1905) A German-born violinist

who joined the New York Philharmonic Society Played for theater and

opera orchestras Intended to become an

orchestral conductor To raise the level of

Americans’ appreciation for orchestral music

His dream came true!



Theodore Thomas Scornful of the casual rehearsal and concert

procedures of the New York Philharmonic Society Formed his own orchestra

Hired the best musicians Rehearsed rigorously 1864: Started performing public orchestra concerts

guaranteed to please an audience Altered the balance in his concerts between light, familiar

pieces and more serious, challenging works His listeners became experienced with orchestral fare



Theodore Thomas and His Contributions to American Music Invited solo virtuosos to perform for an enthusiastic audience

Alternated audience favorites with more serious pieces Gave some attention to American music

Traveled widely with his orchestra Bringing orchestral music to new audiences Extending musicians’ employment season

Established and conducted the Theodore Thomas Orchestra Later known as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Other orchestras formed in America during the next decades By the mid-twentieth century orchestras across the country rendered

America a veritable nation of symphony orchestras



Romantic Virtuosos Virtuoso: A performer who possesses dazzling

technical brilliance; a quality of musicianship

Musicianship is the broad combination of talents possessed by the consummate performer, and includes

Sensitivity to the style of the music, which differs from one period and one culture to another

Originality of interpretation

Accuracy



Romantic Virtuosos and American Audiences Nineteenth-century Europeans enjoyed expressive extremes

Europeans responded with equal enthusiasm to a large symphony orchestra and an intimate solo recital

But Americans had more access to recitals

Americans attended concerts in the same frame of mind as viewing a circus or minstrel show; they enjoyed

Solo virtuosos’ dazzling displays of technique Familiar pieces they knew and loved

The unfamiliar new music of composers was undesirable to the American public



Romantic Virtuosos: Performers The conspicuous lack of interest in American music on either

continent frustrated American composers

But the great nineteenth-century virtuosos benefited from the American passion for their brilliant performances

Europeans were starting to tire of their virtuosos

Performers flocked gratefully to America

An adoring American public eagerly applauded their showy performance techniques



Romantic Virtuosos: Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) Gottschalk was a virtuoso pianist of diverse heritage, with…

An English Jewish father educated in Germany

A Creole mother from a wellborn French family that had emigrated to the West Indies

Creole refers to people of mixed racial heritage

The Creole aspect of Gottschalk’s maternal side of the family caused some to believe erroneously that Gottschalk had African American ancestors

Multilingual, Gottschalk spoke French, Spanish, English



Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Growing Up Growing up in New Orleans, Gottschalk absorbed the sounds of

various cultures

French Spanish African American Creoles

Age 13: Recognizing his talent and lack of opportunities to learn at home, Gottschalk’s parents sent him to France to study music

Abroad for 13 years, aristocratic Europeans admired… Gottschalk’s youthful compositions for piano And his astonishing virtuosity



Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Back home in America 1853: Gottschalk, after much success, returned to America

Audiences felt his long stay abroad had made him respectable They enjoyed his performances of his own piano pieces

Gottschalk then spent years in the West Indies, whose native musical sounds went into his own piano compositions 1862: Returned to the United States to find America at war

He sided with the North Toured extensively

Performing his own music Reaching people who had never heard concert music Contributing payments to the Union cause



Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Later Days Criticized by some for playing his own tuneful compositions

instead of classics by Beethoven, Chopin and others He replied that he played what the audience wanted to hear He felt that American musical taste improved during his lifespan

1865: Left the United States following a scandal in which he probably was innocent; traveled to South America There, organized huge concerts reminiscent of Patrick

Gilmore’s mammoth concerts Including a festival in Cuba involving 650 performers

Age 40: Died of mysterious causes, possibly yellow fever



Piano Music By 1800 the piano was the keyboard instrument of choice

The ideal Romantic instrument for its expressive capabilities

The damper or “loud” pedal (to the player’s right) Held tones, connecting them for a legato (smooth) lyrical melody line Allowed sounds to accumulate to thunderous effect

The una corda (one string) or “soft” pedal (on the left), shifted the keyboard and

Dampened the volume Altered the color of the sound

The center sostenuto pedal on larger pianos allowed the player to sustain some tones while others sounded cleanly above them



Pianos and Their Popularity Piano music was immensely popular in the United States

Varied concert programs often included a virtuosic piano performance

The best pianos in the world were produced in the United States 1854: Henry Mason, son of Lowell, cofounded the famous

Mason and Hamlin piano company Others in America included

Jonas Chickering William Knabe Henry Steinway

Mid-nineteenth century: Pianos were common in the home The average young lady could master “household” piano music



Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Piano Music Gottschalk’s musical output

includes Songs Orchestral works Piano music especially

Piano pieces based upon popular dances; also, character pieces

Character piece=A relatively short piano piece evoking a particular mood or scene



Gottschalk’s Best Known Piano Compositions Included… Character pieces that capture the mood or character of their

subject in musical terms; examples are… “Berceuse” (“Lullaby”) “The Banjo”

Popular dances for piano, not intended for dancing, but to capture the mood, style, tempo, form, and meter of a popular step

Gottschalk composed waltzes = ballroom dances in triple meter

He composed mazurkas = Polish folk dances of varying character, in triple meter



Listening Example 26Le bananierBy Louis Moreau GottschalkListening Guide page 110

Genre: Character pieceTimbre: pianoTexture: HomophonicForm: Theme and Variations = A melody or theme recurring

throughout the piece is varied, perhaps in tempo, timbre, rhythm, meter, accompaniment, ornamentation, etc., thus providing both unity and contrast

Meter: Duple

The left hand introduces an “obstinately” repeated rhythmic and melodic pattern called an ostinato, which will accompany the first sectionof the theme (a), played by the right hand. Section a repeats. The second half of the theme (b), higher than a in range, accompanied a new ostinato. Repeat. b is delicately embellished by the right hand, with chords in the left hand. A variation of a played in a major key repeats an octave higher. A section of new material sounds improvisatory. The major version of Ais played by the left hand while the right hand plays runs. b recurs. Bits of a and virtuosic figures end the piece.



Rise of Nationalism in Music Strong European nationalistic efforts in the second half of the

nineteenth century

Artists in Russia, Bohemia, Norway, and Finland establish strong national styles

Drawing inspiration from folk takes, legends, religious music

Interest in peasant traditions



The Rise of Nationalism in Music American paintings began to

reflect America’s splendors

A few composers set out to Capture the American spirit in music Get American music performed

The attempts were unsuccessful Ignored by audiences Europeans considered

Americans to be novices in art—and Americans agreed

In the FieldsPainted by Eastman Johnson (1824-1906)



Rise of Nationalism in Music

America’s best-known composers continued to make their music sound as German as possible

A few American composers set out to capture the American spirit in music and to promote performances of American music, but were largely ignored

1892: Mrs. Jeanette M. Thurber, an American interested in establishing a nationalistic music style, invited Antonín Dvořák,a prestigious Bohemian nationalist composer to direct the National Conservatory of Music in New York City



Antonín Dvořák in America: He was fascinated by the music of

African Americans and Native American Indians

Perplexed that Americans lacked interest in “native” music

Illustrating his ideas, plus America’s beauty, he wrote Symphony No. 9 (From the New World), and chamber pieces

Used scales of black or Indian music

Harmonized and orchestrated as per Western custom

The Scout, Friend or Enemy?Painted by Frederic Remington (1861-1909)



The Second New England School New York City was the center of music performance in the late

nineteenth century

The Boston area nurtured significant developments in music, philosophy, literature

New England produced most of the important American composers of the era

1881: The Boston Symphony Orchestra was founded Supported efforts of local composers

Brought their music to public attention Often with repeated performances of a well-received work



The Second New England : Members The first American composers to write significant works in all the

large concert forms

Their music was comparable in style and quality to music of many of their European contemporaries

Dubbed the “Boston Classicists,” they shared a dedication to

The principles of German music theory

Concern for craftsmanship

Contributed to every genre of concert music



The Second New England School: Members Many were church musicians and organists who included organ

transcriptions of opera arias and symphonic music in their recitals

They brought this music to Americans who would otherwise not have access to opera or orchestra concerts

Transcription = An arrangement of a piece originally composed for a particular instrument or ensemble so that it can be played by a different instrument or combination of instruments

These intrepid pioneer composers also contributed compositions for organ and choral music to the American music repertoire



Second New England School:John Knowles Paine (1839-1906) The oldest member and leader of the Second New England School

Paine: An American who was educated in music in Germany

While in Germany, Paine wrote his Mass in D for chorus, soloists, and orchestra, reminiscent in style to a well-known mass by Beethoven

This was the first large composition by an American to be performed in Europe

Mass = A setting to music of the most important Roman Catholic worship service



John Knowles Paine: The Educator 1861: Back home in America during wartime,

Paine became the organist at Harvard University

He offered free noncredit lectures in music (not considered a proper course of study in universities at the time)

The lectures were well received

1875: Harvard became the first American college to include music in its formal curriculum

Paine became the first American professor of music



John Knowles Paine: Music Compositions His Symphony No. 1

First performed by Theodore Thomas’s orchestra in 1876 The first American symphony to be published—but in

Germany rather than America—only after Paine’s death

He wrote many other kinds of music as well Songs Hymns An opera Several fine keyboard compositions for organ or piano



Listening Example 27Fuga giocosa, op. 41, no. 3By John Knowles PaineListening Guide page 114

Form: FugueKey: G majorThe subject (main melody) of this three-voice fugue is based on an old

baseball song, “Over the Fence is Out, Boys.” It is tossed—like a baseball, perhaps—from one voice to another.

After the exposition, Paine explores several major and minor keys throughout the rest of the fugue. He sometimes treats thefirst four notes of the subject as amotive, repeating the bouncing figure at different levels of pitch,a technique called musicalsequence.

Occasional large chords provide effective contrast to the polyphonictexture, and the piece becomesincreasingly virtuosic and dramatic.It is never pretentious, and at the end, like the beginning, is light andhumorous.



Fugue: A polyphonic composition with three to five

melodic lines or “voices” entering one at a time in imitation of each other, according to specific rules

Originally conceived as a form of European keyboard music Highly structured Suitable for every performing medium, including voice



Fugue: Form of the Exposition Exposition = The beginning section of the fugue, in which all

the voices are introduced (“exposed”)

The principal theme or subject enters alone After the subject has been heard in entirety, it is imitated by

each of the other voices in turn until each has made its entrance The first entrance—the subject—is on the tonic The second voice, or answer, begins on the dominant

The answer is similar but not identical to the subject The remaining voices (usually a total of three or four)

alternate entrances between tonic and dominant until each voice has been introduced



Fugue: After the Exposition Following the exposition, each voice proceeds

with independent material, referring to the subject and answer more or less frequently throughout the piece

There may be a second theme, or countersubject Introduced in the same manner as the subject Recurring throughout the fugue Motive = a short melodic phrase that may be developed



The Form of a Fugue Exposition of a four-voice fugue (page 116)

Subject (tonic) (Other thematic material)

Answer (dominant) (Other thematic material)

Subject (tonic)

Answer (dominant)



Amy Marcy Cheney Beach

Recognized early as an outstanding pianist

The first American woman composer to Rank with such highly educated and sophisticated musicians as

those of the Second New England School Write a successful mass and a symphony

Women of Beach’s day were not given the education, the financial and social support, or the patronage required to succeed as professional composers



Mrs. H. H. A. Beach = Amy Marcy Cheney Beach Beach’s parents and husband recognized her talent up

to a point Childhood: Studied piano but had little training as a composer

She trained herself by translating into English important foreign treatises on instrumentation and orchestration

Performance career Before marriage performed as pianist with the Boston

Symphony Orchestra and also the Theodore Thomas Orchestra Married, her husband preferred that she compose only

It was improper back then for married women to perform After her husband’s death, Beach resumed her concert career



Amy Cheney Beach: As a Woman Composer Beach’s compositions were widely performed in America and

Europe

She could not escape references to her sex in reviews of her work

Criticism at times for trying to sound masculine

Praise at other times for her properly feminine graceful melodies and more gentle symphonic passages

She handled the symphonic medium very capably, but Beach composed more art songs than any other form

Her contemporaries readily accepted songs as fitting examples of feminine creativity



Amy Cheney Beach: Views Concerning American Music Pertaining to Dvořák’s recommendation to produce American music

based on ethnic and traditional idioms

Beach disagreed that African American or Native American music represented the influences prevalent in her society

Stated most people’s ancestors were English, Scottish or Irish, and…

Music should be based on songs from those areas Much of Boston’s population was Irish

Thus, Beach based her Symphony in E minor (“Gaelic”) upon Irish tunes



Listening Example 28Symphony in E minor (“Gaelic”) second movementBy Amy Marcy Cheney BeachListening Guide page 118

Form: The coda is the closing sectionTempo: A is slow, relaxed; B is fast (allegro vivace)Meter: A is in compound quadruple meter (12/8), with four slow beats per

measure, divided by three; B is in simple duple meter (2/4)

One section or movement of a symphony describing the struggles, laments, romance, and dreams of the Irish people

A B A coda

A: Oboe introduces the lovely theme, accompanied by other woodwinds (the Irish tune “The Little Field of Barley”)

B: Beach transforms the now excited theme, which repeats in different keys with great variety

A The theme returns, along with a romantic climax

B The coda, with the agitated B theme, brings the movement to a satisfying end



Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) MacDowell was not a member of the First New

England School

Too romantic to be called a classicist

Too individual to be included in a school of composers

MacDowell was the first American to write concert music in a style distinctively his own



Edward MacDowell: Background As a talented teenager MacDowell went to Paris

to study art and music

Then selecting music, traveled to Germany to study music theory and composition

An accomplished pianist, he performed widely while in Europe

Some of his songs and pieces in the German style were published in Germany before his 1888 return to America



Edward MacDowell: Columbia University Years Following years of performing, composing, and teaching in the

Boston area…

1896: Accepted the position as head of the newly established music department at Columbia University, New York City

MacDowell was now able to implement his ideal of teaching music as related to the other arts

Created a curriculum similar to a humanities program As composer, poet, and artist, MacDowell believed…

The arts cannot be understood in isolation from each other



Edward MacDowell: Beliefs and Music Did not espouse the claim that quoting African American or Indian

themes would establish a characteristically American music

Believed that American music should seek to capture the youthful, optimistic spirit of the country

Nevertheless, he was unable to resist references to American Indian music in several of his pieces

Example: Indian Suite, based on Native American lore or experience, using American Indian or Indian-like melodies

Suite = An orchestral work consisting of several sections or semi-independent pieces



MacDowell’s Piano Pieces Reflect his romantic love of nature

Painting in musical terms idyllic scenes of woodland lakes and hills

Example: Woodland Sketches, two movements of which are…

“To a Wild Rose” “From an Indian Lodge” (notice the American Indian

theme)

These delicate, intimate, modest piano miniatures capture the essence of the sounds and moods of nature



MacDowell’s Legacy: The MacDowell Colony MacDowell’s vision of music as one of the

integrated arts has benefited American arts to this day

After his death, his widow established a summer colony on their estate at Peterborough, New Hampshire

Artists, musicians, and literary figures are invited to spend uninterrupted summers working within their chosen field at what is now called the MacDowell Colony


Part 2: The Tumultuous Nineteenth Century Summary 50

Part 2 Summary The turn of the nineteenth century:

Americans were more romantic than classical in their style of expression

Americans had romantic zeal to improve conditions of life

Initiated religious and social reform movements

Initiated efforts to reform American music by making it sound more European



Lowell Mason Lowell Mason led the movement to reform

musical taste in America

Mason

Wrote hymns

Brought music education to the public schools

Attempted to raise the level of musical awareness and appreciation



Country Folk Continued to practice and enjoy their accustomed ways of

reading and singing music

Singing schools were popular in rural areas Shape-note songbooks such as The Sacred Harp were used as

teaching materials

During the Great Revival people of all ages and races attended camp meetings They enjoyed singing rousing hymns and spirituals

Secular songs became popular Reflecting experiences of everyday life



City Residents Theaters offered popular entertainment that was

primarily musical

Popular types of music included Religious songs Sentimental ballads Songs of social protest Glees sung in parlors and concert halls Performances of well-known singing families such as the

Hutchinsons Minstrel shows



Minstrel Shows Minstrelsy:

The most popular entertainment of the period leading to the Civil War

White men darkened their skin and imitated songs, dances, dialect of stereotypical African Americans

Stephen Foster wrote outstanding minstrel songs

Genteel society preferred his love songs, Civil War songs, sentimental ballads about home



Concert Bands

Concert bands became balanced ensembles capable of performing

Transcriptions of orchestral and operatic literature

More popular pieces



Virtuosos Mid-nineteenth-century Americans enjoyed music

performed by virtuoso soloists

Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American composer and pianist Gottschalk was internationally acclaimed Introduced American Civil War era audiences to piano music

Performed his own light but stirring compositions

Presented orchestral programs that pleased audiences, raising the level of appreciation for orchestral music (primarily European)



Composers The Second New England School of Composers

Produced the first significant American concert music

Primarily in German-Romantic style

Edward MacDowell (not of the Second New England School)

Developed a characteristic, although not distinctively American idiom of his own

The MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, invites artists in every discipline to spend summers there



Image Credits

Slide 6: The Scout, Friend or Enemy? painted by Frederic Remington (1861-1909) © COREL

Slide 7: Conductor Silhouette Highlighted on Music, © Digital Vision/Getty Images

Slide 9: Conductors Hands, © Digital Vision/Getty Images Slide 12: Portrait of a Violinist,

© Ryan McVay/Getty Images Slide 21: Grand Piano in a Living Room Royalty-

Free/Corbis Slide 25: In the Fields, by Eastman Johnson (1824-1906)

© Corel

part 2 the tumultuous nineteenth century chapter 7: concert music america’s musical landscape 6th...

Documents