Castrati links

For your enjoyment, here are links to the
Article
and the
Recording

I for one am thankful those days are past!

Electronic Music - Notes & Vids

1. We'll listen to a bit more of the Varese piece Monday - but I wanted you to take a listen to some other stuff. Using Electronics to make music is fairly old by now - CLICK HERE to read about the 1897 Cahill Telharmoium (all 200 tons of it - it took 36 boxcars to transport). So the idea of using electronic gizmos to produce music is nothing new.
2. Ever heard of the "Hammond Organ"? You've definitely heard the sound - it's also electronic, and can be called the first commercially available sysnthesizer. (But they called it an organ because an organ would - but a "synthesizer" no one would buy.
3. Another electronic instrument - the Theremin - is the only instrument you don't touch. It's electronic, and has been used all over. Here's a BBC story about the Theremin:
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. ....and here's another performance of an artist playing a Debussy piece on the Theremin:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Watch this one, and look at how the experiments of the last century have produced something that you hear every day.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. ..and finally, an interview on "ScreenSavers" with Dr. Robert Moog, who took all the stuff the electronic musicians were doing and put it in a small, portable, easily usable (relatively speaking) case. He also demos a Theremin that the company makes.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Writing a Concert Report

HERE is an online version of the "How to Write a Concert Report" document I was mentioning in class that is on the CD-ROM (which we don't have).

It is VERY useful - read it before you head off to a concert.

Remember, you need to do TWO reports this semester. Due date: Last day of class. I will NOT accept any late ones, and you'll be happier if you get them done early.

Why? Because everyone is way overloaded starting about the first of October.

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A former student sent this to me a few years ago. I though it was good thing to use as an outline when writing your concert reports. I do still want them as essay format (i.e. paragraphs and such), but these questions are a great way to organize your thoughts.

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1) Date of concert:
2) Name of location (theatre, city):
3) Name or performer(s):
4) Classifiation of music ensemble (Soloist, Quartet, Symphony, Bluegrass Band):
5) What style of music was performed (Classical, Romantic, Baroque, 20th century....)
6) What instruments, if any, were used in the performance?
7) How long was the performance. When did it begin?
8) How did the performers visually present themselves (costumes, sitting, standing
moving across the stage or stationary)?
9) I liked the concert because (describe):
10) I disliked the concert because (describe):
11) My favorite part of the concert was (explain):
12) Name two musical things you learned from viewing the performance that you
can apply to your own performance skills (explain):

In-Class presentation grading example

Since I was printing one to be xeroxed, I thought I'd post a version of the form that you'll be using to grade your classmates' in-class presentations:


What you'll do is circle the grade in each category, as they do the presentation. (Now, you can stop worrying about it, in case you were!)

3 2 1 0

Music played X X X X

Source Identified X X X X

Form discussed X X X X

Instrumentation covered X X X X

Interesting tidbits X X X X

Writer/Performer info X X X X

Interesting? X X X X

Pachelbel's canon

Notice how many of the styles that he lampoons all have the same exact chord progression.

Funny, and well done.

Thanks, Stevie - I really enjoyed this.

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Final Exam Study Ideas - Thurs update

If this page gets updated later, I'll change the title.

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Material from earlier eras will come directly from the earlier test. Yes, verbatim.

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Listening:
There are will be 2 types of listening on this test. The first type will be just as we've had before, drawn from the 20th century tracks on your CDs. (Beginning with Debussy, stopping just BEFORE the Jazz.)

The second type will test your ability to describe what you are hearing, and your ability to figure out what period a piece is from. The pieces could be anything - literally - and you will describe what you are hearing..... I suggest you bone up on all those notes you took at the beginning of the semester on how to talk about music - the parts of music.

I'll have a few questions to guide you as you write.

I'll be looking for good points that you make. You are not penalized for stating something wrong (for example, by guessing the wrong composer). You are given credit for stating something correct (for example, stating that the piece sounds too dissonant to be anything other than 20th century).

Yes, it could literally be anything. Be prepared to be surprised!

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20th century:
Focus on the characteristics that make 20th century unique, musically speaking. Which composers are assoicated with which movements (impression, expressionism, etc.)? What are the musical characteristics of each movement? Watch out for those musical terms (usually in boldface or italics).

These will be multiple guess format, just like always.

Jazz:
Get a handle on which style has which basic characteristics, and the particular order the "periods" show up. You'll have ALL FOUR pages of the handout Monday. But here's the order, anyway:

Ragtime
Blues
Chicago - piano
Swing (a.k.a. Big Band)
Bebop
Cool
Third Stream & Fusion

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Miscellaneous tips:

Get a handle on which composers hail from which era.

Focus on general musical characteristics of each era.

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Final note: (pun intended!)

I'll have a place for you to make up a "code" - one that you will know, but that no one else will be able to ID you with. Do NOT use a username / facebook name / myspace name / email address / etc.

IF you put a code on your test, I'll post your final exam grade here on the blog with your code. If you leave it blank, I'll leave it off.

I'll leave that posting up for about a week, and then delete it.

Romatic test study sheet

Apologies in advance for typos - it's well after midnight,
and the dyslexia combines with fatigue to produce interesting typing........

Listening portion will be pulled from these pieces:
A Schubert: Erlkonig (The Erl-king)
B Dvorak: Symphony #9 in E minor (New World)
C Robert Schumann Carnaval
D Clara W. Schumann Liebst du um Schonheit
E Chopin Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op. 9, #2
F Chopin Etude in C Minor, Op. 10, # 12 (Revolutionary)
G Berlioz Symphonie fantastique, IV (March to the Scaffold)
H Smetana The Moldau
I Brahms Symphony #3 in F Major
J Puccini La Boheme, Act I: excerpt (Mimi…Rodolfo)
K Wagner Die Walkure, Act I (Love Scene, Conclusion)

Be able to ID what TYPE (genre) the piece is: Opera, art song, character piece, program symphony, tone poem, string quartet, nationalistic symphony, or something else

There will be between ONE and ELEVEN listening selections. (feel free to say "well, duh!" after reading this)



General characteristics of Romanticism

• general characteristics of the music
• new techniques like double-stopping, rubato, orchestration
  
• how the orchestra changed since the Classical era
• how composers made a living
• how the Romatics viewed the Classical era
• the effect of the middle class
• What composers were active
  

Genres

• Opera - general characteristics, including verismo and music-drama
  
• Art Song - the two forms
  
• Character pieces
  
• Chamber music (String quartets/quintets/etc)
• Concerto
• Tone Poem
• Symphony

Movements and Thoughts

• Exoticism
• Absolute vs Program music
  
• Nationalism - how would you write something Nationalistic, anyway?
  

Classical era study sheet (1/08 update)

This is NOT comprehensive. Treat it as a suggestion for some things to look at. After all, I haven't made up the test yet!

1. A-list Composers - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
2. What their jobs were like - i.e. how a career as a musician changed from Haydn -> Mozart -> Beethoven
3. Overall characteristics of the music (beginning of chapter)
4. Forms: know the official definitions: Sonata-Allegro, Rondo, Theme and Variations, Minuet & Trio
5. Genres: Symphony, Concerto, Chamber music (String Quartets), Opera, Sonata (esp. Piano Sonata)
6. The 4 movement set that I called the Sonata format
7. Why is it called the "Surprise" symphony?
8. If there is a term in bold in the text, it'd be a good idea to know what that term means.