"Programme Music"

[Guest]

For my Music Theory Exam later this summer, I have to submit an assignment of around 1500 to 2000 words on the subject,

"The 19th Century was the Great Age of Programme Music"

I'm not looking for the answers here, just a guiding hand, but presumably Beethoven's Pastoral, Tchaikovsky's Pathetique, Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique is the sort of work they're asking for, am I right?

Mario

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

All the above, but don't neglect the Symphonic Poem (for example Smetana's Vltava, Liszt's Orpheus, Tchaikovsky's Romeo & Juliet, Strauss' Don Juan) and Smetana's String Quartet From My Life and Schönberg's Transfigured Night. There's quite a bit of solo Piano Music, too (not least the original and best version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition).

You could also be a bit of a clever clogs at the start and say that there was at least as much Programmatic activity going on in the Baroque Period, too!

Best Wishes.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Not sure about Tchaik 6th, but no. 4 is openly programmatic. You could add all the Strauss tone poems.

[Auferstehen2]

Nope, you're dead right Eine Alpensinfonie. I confused the 4th and 6th.

Thank you and to you too fhg - some VERY useful additions there!

Mario

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Not sure about Tchaik 6th, but no. 4 is openly programmatic. You could add all the Strauss tone poems.

... but for a 2000 word essay, he would benefit from including all those "hidden programme" works like the Pathetique, too. (According to Chris de Souza, that would include Brahms' 1st and Schumann's 2nd, but that's really pushing it!)

Tchaikovsky's Manfred in comparison with his Fourth might be an interesting paragraph-or-two!

[Norfolk Born]

Don't forget Sibelius: 'Kullervo' and other Kalevala-based works were published in the 19th century.

[Roehre]

Mario,

Talking about programme music in the 19th Century means a strict relation between a subject -most, but not all, literary- and a musical description of that subject. Hence a description of what the composer has set to music is a necessity.

Beethoven's Pastoral is programme music of the descriptive kind, an example of a musical "portrait" not based on a literary source, but on personal impressions, in this case the feelings of being in the country side.

Berlioz's Fantastique is another example of a musical "portrait" not based on a literary source, but his Romeo et Juliette obviously has got one.

Tchaikovsky's Pathetique (or any of his other symphonies for that matter) is IMO not a "traditional" piece of programme music, as though there are obvious non-musical thoughts behind the notes, it is only speculation what these are as there isn't a programme note left by the composer. IMO using this as an example of "programme music" means you're walking on thin ice.
His Manfred symphony on the other hand is programme music, as are his Romeo and Juliet and the two Storm overtures e.g.

Liszt's symphonic poems, and both his symphonies, on the contrary, are all programme music. Liszt even uses (perhaps even invented) the name "symphonic poem" in stead of (simply using the neutral)) "overture". In the latter category Mendelssohn with his Calm Sea and prosperous Voyage, based on Goethe, is an example, but his Italian and Scottish symphonies less so.

Smetana's and Dvorak's overtures are in the programmatic category, as are the latter's symphonic poems opp.107-111 and the former's Ma Vlast cycle, thought in all these cases these are more descriptive than actually following a poem or text closely.

Mahler's symphonies 1-4 are alle programmatic (Wunderhorn based), as obviously the Richard Strauss symphonic poems (Don Juan, Don Quixote).

At the end of the century programme music entered the chamber music, by Schönberg's Verklärte Nacht, which meticulously follows a Dehmel poem with the same name.

There is piano music in abundance which is programmatic, like Liszt's (and that includes the transcriptions of the Beethoven and Schubert songs).

Bws.
R.

[Chris Newman]

Hi Mario,
FHG has mentioned Smetana's Vltava. You could include the whole of the Ma Vlast Cycle from which it comes. Vysehrad (the famous castle in Southern Prague) a storehouse of Czech memories and legends. Vltava, the River from its two sources and its journey to Prague. Sarka, the gilted princess who murders all men in revenge. From Bohemias Woods and Groves, gentle pastoral stuff, mostly. Tabor and Blanik, two movements played without a break that demonstrate the fears and then the hopes of Czechs based upon legends of (a) a town and (b) a hill.

Staying in Czecholslovakia, Dvorak finished the nineteenth century with an amazing group of symphonic poems based on mostly gruesome tales by Karel Jaromír Erben. They are vivid depictions of witches, murderers and poisoned love lives. Works like The Noonday Witch, The Wood Dove, The Golden Spinning Wheel are quite terrifying. Long neglected they have recently become highly regarded by Dvorak lovers as the changing point in his style where he adopts a modern abbrasive and dramatic sound that much influenced his friend Janacek. Had he lived longer one can only guess what his music would have become.

bws
Chris

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Mario,
Tchaikovsky's Pathetique (or any of his other symphonies for that matter) is IMO not a "traditional" piece of programme music, as though there are obvious non-musical thoughts behind the notes, it is only speculation what these are as there isn't a programme note left by the composer.

Yes; but you can cite the notes Tchaikovsky wrote for his Fourth and Fifth Symphonies.

At the end of the century programme music entered the chamber music, by Schönberg's Verklärte Nacht, which meticulously follows a Dehmel poem with the same name.

And Smetana's String Quartet No1, From My Life which incorporates autobiographical ideas, the most jaw-dropping being the interruption of the dance Music of the finale by a very high E, representing the onset of the composer's tinnitus. (You could compare & contrast this with Marin Marais' "depiction" of his gall stone operation in the seventeenth century)

[Auferstehen2]

Wow!

I'm embarrassed by the riches I've been pointed to here - thanks to all of you, really much appreciated!

I am of course writing a 1,500/2,000 word essay, not a book! I'm also unsure of my dates and whether all the works fall under the C19.

Thanks again,

Mario

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I'm also unsure of my dates and whether all the works fall under the C19.

All the works mentioned so far (except for Marin Marais and Mahler 3 & 4) were written in the 19th Century.

Don't neglect the title of your essay, Mario; it's not a simple "Write about Programme Music in the 19th Century". The wording suggests to me that your Examiners will be hoping that some candidates will mention some aspects of Programme Music from other centuries, if only for comparison. Don't get carried away, but don't neglect this entirely.

Oh: and enjoy discovering the Music and communicate this enjoyment in your writing - the purpose is "education", to demonstrate your knowledge. NOT to "pass the exam".

Best Wishes.

[Donnie Essen]

I'm also unsure of my dates and whether all the works fall under the C19.

Say you consider a century to be sorta elastic if you wanna cover a bit more -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_nineteenth_century

I didn't know there was a long nineteenth century til I looked it up. I'd heard about the long eighteenth one, though, from an English class way back when.

"a more natural historical period than the simple use of the standard calendar definition," says the Wiki on it.

Charles Ives is good for program music, if considered in that respect.

[Auferstehen2]

Most ingenious of you Donnie Essen! I fear though that I may struggle somewhat in selling THAT particular concept to my tutors (or to be more exact the English Examining Boards).

As I know not a note, not a single note, of Charles Ives' music, please excuse me if instead I roam around my rather familiar and well-fallowed field!

Thanks for your input.

Mario