STUDY GUIDE FOR TEXTBOOK FACTS Vocal Literature Fall 2019
STUDY GUIDE FOR TEXTBOOK FACTS Vocal Literature Fall 2019
Below is a brief study guide of the more general, “need-to-know” facts to supplement the above mentioned resources. Here goes . . .
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What is the “birthday of the Lied”?
ANSWER: October 14, 1814 — the day Schubert composed “Gretchen am Spinnrade.”
Who were the most important composers of High Romantic Lied in the nineteenth century and why?
ANSWER:
- SCHUBERT (Revolutionized song composition. Piano supports voice with coloristic, descriptive accompaniments. Prodigious gift of melody. Piano creates and atmospheric and poetic support for the vocal line.)
- SCHUMANN (Piano now equal with voice. Uses unifying themes in song cycles.)
- WOLF (Sensitivity to literature. Poem comes first before melody with closest possible fusion of word and tone.)
- BRAHMS (Melody and bass lines are primary. Classical tonal plan for form.)
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Who were the earliest singers of German Lied?
ANSWER: The minnesingers
What were the volkstümliches Lieder of the eighteenth century?
ANSWER: Early form of Lieder originating in German theatrical Singspiele. They were self-contained strophic songs with simple accompaniments.
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Prior to Schubert, who was the transitional figure in the development of the Lied?
ANSWER: Beethoven
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What was the new type of song appearing in Germany in the late eighteenth century that most influenced Lieder composers, and why?
ANSWER: The ballad (They were dramatic stories requiring more from the piano to express lots of emotion. Led to a closer relationship between voice and piano.)
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What were the three factors that contributed the most to the maturing of the German Lied?
- The new lyricism in German poetry full of personal expression and awareness of self. It emphasized the themes of nature, night, longing, moonlight, fantasy, and magic.
- The “new” pianoforte with its technical and expressive possibilities
- The rise of the middle class and a tradition of domestic music making, especially by women.
Who was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe?
ANSWER: The leading poet of the new Romantic Lyric German Poetry.
Who were some notable German poets whose poetry was set by classical song composers?
ANSWER: Heinrich Heine, Joseph von Eichendorff, Friedrich Rückert, Eduard Möricke.
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What is a song cycle?
ANSWER: A grouping of songs by a single composer with a common poetic theme or story.
What is the name, date, and composer of the first song cycle?
ANSWER: An die ferne Geliebte by, Beethoven in 1816.
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Who was the composer who had the “miraculous Liederjahr” (Lieder year)? When and why did this happen?
ANSWER: Robert Schumann in 1840, the year he married Clara Wieck.
What was the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik?
ANSWER: An influential music magazine founded and edited by Robert Schumann
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What is the French term for classical “Artsong”?
ANSWER: Mélodie
What is the name of the earlier French song-type dating from the eighteenth century?
ANSWER: Romance
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Who was the first composer to call his songs mélodies?
ANSWER: Hector Berlioz
What is the name, date, and composer of the first French song cycle?
ANSWER: Les Nuits d’été by Hector Berlioz in 1841.
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Which French poet had his works set the most by French song composers?
ANSWER: Paul Verlaine
Name some other popular poets whose works were set by French song composers?
ANSWER: Théophile Gautier, Victor Hugo, and Charles Baudelaire.
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What was the group “Les Six” or “Groupe des Six”?
ANSWER: A group of Parisian composers of the 20th century reacting against Romantic and Impressionistic styles in music. Major influencers were the composer Eric Satie and writer Jean Cocteau.
Who were the composers in “Les Six”?
ANSWER: Georges Auric, Louis Durey, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Germaine Tailleferre, and Francis Poulenc.
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