The Era & its Music

Music Since 1900. What is this era? Time frame: 20th Century; 21st Century?

Do we define the era based on dates or other factors?

Cohesion? Is there an overriding style or structure?

co-existing diversity:

Relationship with past

had to compete for concert stage with classics of the past
self-consciously “modern” (1889-1918)
founded on past but need to break away:
quest for originality:
- every work an artistic statement
challenge the past:
- Functional tonality, goal-driven structures
- Some radical breaks with the past
not a steady “development”:
- decisive moments/events

19th-Century Precedents

We trace precedents on 2 paths:

RICHARD WAGNER (1813-1883), Prelude to Tristan und Isolde (1859/65 premiere)

Stretched the bounds of tonality through:

decisive historical “moment”

“crisis in Romantic harmony” (E. Kurth)
1^st chord in 5-hour opera:
- 4 dissonant chords in a row
g# b d# f: ambiguous function
- Conflation of 2 chromatic Leitmotifs
- recurring themes attached to characters, concepts, objects
Tonic chord (A minor) & cadences avoided
deepens tension & resolution of tonality: for drama
Clear resolution at very end of opera

MODEST MUSORGSKY(1839-81): “The idle, noisy day is over”, Song No. 3 from Sunless (1874)

Strong key of C: anchor, but freely roams:

Introduces “foreign” elements (B♭ & A♭)
Juxtaposition of chords for colour only, not tonal function: G♭
- e.g., G♭triad –> G7 chord (mm. 6-7, 14)–> C
Chromatic melody: moves by step
Whole-tone scale suggested (voice, mm35-36)
Influenced Debussy: piano, m16ff: Debussy borrowed pattern in Nuages

FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886), Nuages gris (Grey Clouds, 1881)

key signature & tonic triad (m.2 G B♭D) suggests g minor, but rejects traditional harmonic functions

Points to exhaustion of tonality, anticipates the crisis:

Highly chromatic: semitone movement
Augmented triad = central harmonic unit (= 2 major 3rds)
Parallel movement vs conventional chord progressions
Static bass line: oscillates B♭ - A
Avoids cadence structure, even very end of piece
Last chord = Augmented triad (E♭G B) + A
- = 4 notes from whole-tone collection: A E♭G B
  E♭[F] G A B [C#]

Claude Debussy (French, 1862-1918): Different direction: “pleasure in the moment”

Some Influences and Inspiration:

Some keys to Debussy’s style:

common-practice harmony avoided, weakened:
- tonal focus remains: but without chordal functional relationships; quasi-independent chords
- undermines need to resolve: no urgency or drive towards end goal
creates, juxtaposes musical images:
- themes & motives: not developed
- dissonances: don’t need to resolve
- Sonorities/chords move in parallel motion
- instrumental timbres/colours intrinsic to musical content
- contrasts of scale types, exotic scales
  - some scales used by Debussy: whole-tone, pentatonic, octatonic
Impressionism : music that evokes moods & visual imagery through colourful harmony & instrumental timbre
- a) Monet: through colour & light: Monet, “Impression: Sunrise”, 1874
- b) Debussy: through harmony & tone colour

“Nuages” from Nocturnes (1897-99, premiered in 1900 & 1901):

title: “Nocturnes”, focus on colour

form: A B A’: typical 3-part form

large orchestra: for colour

interaction of tone colour with motive, scale type

oscillating pattern fifths, thirds
- modelled on Musorgsky, Sunless piano acc’t
- appearances feature different tone colours, pitches
octatonic English horn motive: c# d e f b (m.5)
- motive never developed, transposed, always English horn
- complete identification between timbre and motive
middle section (B) of “Nuages”:
- 1889: Paris Universal Exposition: “Decisive moment”
  - Javanese gamelan: Indonesian orchestra – mostly gongs & percussion
pentatonic tune & similar articulation (harp & flute)

Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) : some characteristics

Ravel, Rapsodie espagnole (NAWM 173)

NAWM 173a: I “Prélude à la nuit” (Night Prelude)

Dynamics: mostly quiet
Repeating figure (ostinato): F-E-D-C#
- Opening: descending pattern: muted strings, duple meter
- Evokes Spanish accompaniment pattern
- Ambiguous: d minor scale or octatonic?
- Creates nocturnal mood
M14: clarinets: Seguidilla-like gestures
M28: diatonic string melody, woodwind flourishes (e.g., 2 bassoons)
Ends on A

NAWM 173b : II “Malagueña” = a Spanish dance or song in flamenco style

Triple meter Phrygian mode
Usually in 2 parts
Opening:
- plucking low string ~ guitar
- Repeating descending 4-note pattern ~ flamenco guitar pattern
- Muted trumpet: new f#-minor melody based on 4-note pattern
Second part (m.73): Song in Flamenco style: English horn
Closing (79): Return of 4-note pattern from I: F-E-D-C#
- Played on celesta