Chapter 14: Fundamental Forms, V. Free Forms
You might enjoy this poem: "Baby Wrens' Voices," by Thomas R. Smith
Please note that the Appendix page HERE includes a link to performance of the work analyzed in the text Appendix III.
Don't forget to check for student input at the bottom of the page.
Assignment
In What to Listen For in Music, by Aaron Copland, read Chapters 13 & 14 before coming to this class. Also study Appendix III, just to get the gist of what Copland is trying to do for you. As you read, be sure to listen to the musical excerpts provided within the chapters (below on this page). Listen to them as you encounter them; then continue reading.
In Case You Missed It
I added this video late to the Class-6 page. It's worth watching!
J.S. Bach -- Musical Offering, Canon 1 á 2 This video illustrates several ways in which a composer can produce a fugue by reversing and inverting a musical line.
Listening Assignments
1) Let's listen to a symphony.
Listen to Jean Sibelius, Symphony no. 5. In one of the comments, there is a list of movements and their timing. This performance lasts about 36 minutes.
First, just listen to it. Then read about it at Wikipedia, HERE. Begin by looking down through the article for simple renditions of the main themes. Do they sound familiar now that you have heard the symphony?
Don't worry too much about the fine details of this article, which has an especially long discussion of the first movement. But do notice how much controversy there is about the analysis, and of just whether, or even how, the first movement fits the definition of sonata form.
We will listen in class to the this symphony, and talk about how it is like, and unlike, "typical" symphonic form. "Typical" is rare after the big, early symphonists, so the deviations are the norm (?!?!?!). But on your first listening, just let it carry you away.
2) The second listening assignment is the ultimate challenge for those of you trying to read musical scores. Listen to the first movement of Beethoven's "Waldstein" Sonata (analyzed in detail in Appendix III). See if you can follow the score just well enough to keep your place.
Now if for you, this is like leaping over tall buildings at a single bound, I certainly understand. This stretches me farther than I've ever been stretched in try to understand a piece of music. Don't worry about it. Just forget the score and listen to the first movement (we listened to it earlier in the course). To keep your spirits up, you might want use this version, and just watch the performer sweat instead. You've seen the score; you know why he's sweating. Just listen for short and simple melodies repeated, moved around, and frilled up.
For those intrepid enough to face this score, notice that the score includes numbered measures, so it fits perfectly with Copland's detailed analysis in Appendix III. This is still a challenging proposition, even with this aid, but worthwhile to give it a try. Copland probably picked it for its fit to truly standard sonata form, and the simplicity of its theme, but it is fast. I have the best luck with it when I watch the measure marks and count 1-2-3-4 for each measure. Still, I get tripped up by changes of tempo, when the performer slows greatly, which means that the 1-2-3-4 count goes more slowly. The movement lasts only ten minutes, so give a try or two at keeping with it.
When you can keep up with it a bit, then try to identify the three elements the Copland mentions on page 242-3. They are short but they stick out when first played, and they will be repeated often, and with many different variations. You'll find them all in the first four measures. Try to hear them on first appearance. Sing them to yourself. Ear worm warning: you might be singing them later when you (or others nearby) don't want to hear them.
See what you can do. Don't be dismayed. At least, do enjoy the music.
Listen !
Chapter 13 (sonata form and symphony)
Excerpts for Chapter 13
No excerpts in this chapter.
Copland's Musical Recommendations for Chapter 13 (sonata form and symphony)
1) Beethoven—“Waldstein” Sonata, Op. 53
2) Mahler—Symphony No. 2 in C minor
3) Brahms—Symphony No. 4 in E minor
4) Schumann—Symphony No. 4 in D minor
5) Sibelius—Symphony No. 4 in A minor More about this symphony at Wikipedia.
6) Jean Sibelius, Symphony no. 5. Read about it at Wikipedia.
Additional, for Chapter 13 (sonata form and symphony)
• H. Berlioz, Symphonie Fantastique At least listen to the last movement. Read more about it HERE. Although it is entitled "Symphonie", Copland talks about it in the next chapter on free forms.
• R. Vaughan-Williams, Symphony no. 3, A London Symphony Ralph Vaughan Williams paints a tribute to his capitol city. This YouTube version connects the symphony beautifully to art of the composer's time, with links that identify each painting, and allow you to jump to them. Click on READ MORE to see these features.
Symphonies and Opera Overtures?
Copland tells us that the classical symphony did not derive from baroque concertos and concerti grossi, but instead from the overtures of Italian operas.
• W.A. Mozart, The Magic Flute, Overture Can you find elements of sonata form or symphony in this overture?
• If you are an opera fan, listen again to the overture of a favorite opera. Can you find elements of sonata form or symphony in it?
• Here are some overtures to works of musical theatre:
-- A. Lloyd Webber, Cats, Overture and Phantom of the Opera, Overture
-- S. Sondheim, A Little Night Music, Overture
-- H. Schmidt and T. Jones, The Fantasticks, Overture
••••••
Excerpts for Chapter 14
Page 164
Score for above; click to enlarge.
Page 165
Score for above; click to enlarge.
1) Bach—Well-Tempered Clavier
2) Debussy—Preludes for Piano
3) R. Strauss—Don Quixote See Copland, page 171.
4) R. Strauss -- Till Eulenspiegel See Copland, page 171.
4) Tschaikovsky—Romeo and Juliet, Fantasy Overture
5) A. Copland -- Appalachian Spring Orchestral Suite (derived from music for a ballet). With score, and helpful links to the sections, under READ MORE.
6) R. Wagner -- Lohengrin, Prelude
Additional, for Chapter 14 (free forms)
• A. Honegger -- Pacific 231 Under READ MORE, notice the composer's comments on the reception of this piece.
• L. Janáček -- Sinfonietta Read about this piece HERE. Good example of programmatic music that stands well by itself, even if you don't know its composer's intended meaning. Janáček was listening to a concert band in 1925, eight years after the liberation of Czechoslovakia from Germany. He wrote:
• Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, "Knife-Edge" , rock song based on the fanfare of Janáček's Sinfonietta.
• Alan Hohvaness -- Mysterious Mountain What familiar forms can you find?
• Camille Saint-Saëns - Danse Macabre (arr. Kevin MacLeod ~ "Danse Macabre - No Violin").
As the music plays, watch Earth's crustal plates drift for the past 540 million years, ending in their current locations. The Danse Macabre becomes a dance of the continents. If Saint-Saëns was describing anything, it certainly was not this!
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The Science of Music 7
Hearing: testing and protecting your ears.
