MUS 10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Il Trovatore, Late Period Of Ancient Egypt, Nibelung
MUS10 Lecture 6 – Late Romanticism
Late Romanticism
• Influenced by the World Wars: prevented musicians from expressing themselves or
composing music, and themes of death and catastrophe often present
• Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
o Composed operas such as Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata
▪ Opera was invented in Italy and became popular source of entertainment
▪ Libretto: the script of an opera (but story not as important as the music)
▪ Considered more conservative but added his own dramatic style
▪ Also composed Aida and Othello operas ased o “hakespeare’s play
• Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
o Chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centers
▪ Often music without tonics to create instability and ambiguity
▪ Reflects themes of unfulfillment
o Tristan-chord: beginning of the modern era
▪ Does not resolve but progresses to another dissonant chord
▪ Creates tension and longing, depression
o Coeted ith atiseitis Hitler’s faorite oposer
o Leitmotifs: musical phrases associated with particular character, place, symbol,
or concept (reflects action on the stage)
o Endless melodies: when one melody ends, another one starts at the same time
(no cadences or pauses)
o Called his operas Gesamtkunstwerk hih eas together art ork
▪ Operas were actually referred to as music dramas (Wagner used the
name to distinguish his own operas from traditional operas)
• Two components: music and libretto (words or story)
o Three periods: early, middle, and late periods
▪ Early period
• Rienzi opera (1840)
▪ Middle period
• Political unrest resulted in exile to Zurich, Switzerland for twelve
years
• The Flying Dutchman opera
• Tannhauser opera
• Lohengrin opera
• The Ring of the Nibelung (Ring Cycle)
▪ Late period (wrote his two last operas)
• Meistersinger comedy opera
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