Part 2

The Tumultuous Nineteenth CenturyChapter 8: American Concert Music Comes of

Age: The Late Nineteenth Century

America’s Musical Landscape 5th edition

PowerPoint by Myra Lewinter MalamutGeorgian Court University

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Part 2: The Tumultuous Nineteenth Century Chapter 8: American Concert Music Comes of Age: The Late Nineteenth Century

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American Concert Music Comes of Age: The Late Nineteenth Century

Americans preferred the German Romantic style in orchestral music

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

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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 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 Rich, imaginative instrumental effects affected timbre (color)

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Romantic Music and the Exploration of Timbres Timbre=Color

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

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The Late Nineteenth Century and Nationalism in America America’s best-known composers continued to

make their music sound as German as possible

But a strong nationalistic urge developed among a few dedicated American musicians and listeners

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

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)

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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)

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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

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The Second New England School of Composers: 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

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The Second New England School of Composers: 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

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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

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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)

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

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John Knowles Paine: Music Compositions Paine’s orchestral music is far more significant

than that of Heinrich and Fry His Symphony No. 1 was

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

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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

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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

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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

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The Form of a Fugue Exposition of a four-voice fugue (page 132)

Subject (tonic) (Other thematic material)

Answer (dominant) (Other thematic material)

Subject (tonic)

Answer (dominant)

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Listening Example 27Fuga Giocosa, Op. 41, No. 3By John Knowles PaineListening Guide page 132

Form: FugueKey: G majorThe subject, based on an old baseball song, “Over the Fence is Out,

Boys,” includes a distinctive upward leap of an octave. It enters on the tonic note (G) and is soon answered at the level of the dominant (D). The third voice enters (tonic), and then the subject 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.

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The Second New England School of Composers: Other Members Most members were

Trained in Europe Found it necessary to hold academic positions to make a living

American audiences offered little support to American composers

Today’s reviewers have admired the musical quality and expressed regret that the music has been long ignored

Names most likely to appear today on a concert program George Chadwick (1854-1931) Horatio Parker (1863-1919) Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867-1944)

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Amy Marcy Cheney Beach Also known as Mrs. H. H. A. Beach; after her marriage at the age of

eighteen she used her married name professionally

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

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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

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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

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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

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Listening Example 28Symphony in E minor (“Gaelic”) third movementBy Amy Marcy Cheney BeachListening Guide page 135

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)

This Irish based symphony had a program: 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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 Peterboro, 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

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Arthur Farwell (1872-1952) Like other American composers, studied music in Germany

Believed that American music should express the American Indian influence, and…

Native American music was more than art or entertainment Arranged Native American tunes Composed original pieces based upon Indian melodies

His American Indian Melodies (1900) reflects the myths or legends upon which its songs were based

Used European based harmonies and instrumentation unrelated to the Native American Indian experience

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Arthur Farwell and the Wa-Wan Press Music publishers were not receptive to American composed music

And Farwell’s music was rejected by publishers and audiences

1901: Farwell established the famous Wa-Wan Press

The name is from a ceremony of the Omaha tribe

Wa-Wan Press was dedicated to producing American music

In business for a decade, published several hundred pieces Boosted the reputations and careers of several struggling

American composers

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Chapter 8 Conclusion The market for music remained minimal

Few composers or listeners of the late nineteenth century showed much interest in music that sounded American

The latter part of the nineteenth century: Americans composed impressive works in all large instrumental and vocal forms Symphonies, concertos, sonatas, operas, choral works

These composers finally were being given a respectful, if limited, hearing; most of them Studied in Germany Wrote most of their music in the German Romantic style

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Part 2 Summary The turn of the nineteenth century:

Americans were more romantic than classical in 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Concert Bands Concert band directors:

Patrick Gilmore John Philip Sousa, the march king

Sousa’s bands achieved the highest levels of professionalism

Concert bands became balanced ensembles capable of performing Transcriptions of orchestral and operatic literature More popular pieces

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Virtuosos Mid-nineteenth-century Americans enjoyed music

performed by virtuoso soloists

Jenny Lind, European singer

Ole Bull, European composer and violinist

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

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The Establishment of Music After the Civil War

Conservatories, concert halls, opera houses were built in several American cities

Concert music grew in significance

Theodore Thomas presented orchestra programs His programs pleased audiences He gradually raised audiences’ level of music appreciation

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American Nationalism Seeds of American nationalism, sown during

the nineteenth century, bore fruit slowly

Yet there were nationalists in America who sought to awaken American appreciation for American-sounding music

Anthony Philip Heinrich

William Henry Fry

Dvořák encouraged Americans to develop a characteristic sound of their own

Benjamin Reber’s Farmpainted byCharles Hofmann, 1820-1882

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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 Peterboro, New Hampshire, invites artists in every discipline to spend summers there

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Image credits Slide 6: The Scout, Friend or Enemy?

painted by Frederic Remington (1861-1909) © COREL

Slide 41: Benjamin Reber’s Farm, painted by Charles Hofmann (1820-1882) © COREL