lecture notes

MUSIC HISTORY & LIT I: CHAPTER 16

France, England, Spain/New World, and Russia, in the 17th Century

National Style

■ Politics and culture are now affecting musical style

■ Italy was still the musical center of Europe (virtuosic, expressive)

■ France, with king in power, was a huge competitor to Italy (elegance, restraint)

■ England/Germany were influenced by Italy and France, but with their own twist

■ Spain/New World had a unique multicultural style with syncopated rhythms

■ Russia became more interested in the styles of Italy and France

France ■ Dance was very important

■ Role of the arts was important to the monarchy (King Louis XIV)

■ Louis shaped French culture during his 70-year reign – used the arts to portray power

■ Portrayed himself as the "Sun King"

■ Louis rebuilt the Louvre, built the palace of Versailles

– Used these places to entertain nobility who were part of government rebellions

– Focused on etiquette, court ceremonies, and entertainment to keep nobility under control

French Court Dance ■ Social dancing was expected/the norm,

especially at court – Court ballet

■ Choreography/ballet positions were invented (notation for dance)

– King Louis XIV and Pierre Beauchamp

■ In 1700, Beauchamp's ballet notation was named "choreography" and published in a book by Raoul Auger Feuillet

■ Dance notation changed the world of dance just like musical notation affected music

■ Dance and politcal control vs Italian style

Music at the French Court ■ Musicians were organized to 3 areas like in the Renaissance – chapel, chamber,

and the great stable (150-200 musicians) – Chapel: singers, organists, other instrumentalists for religious services – Chamber: solo singers and string, lute, harpsichord, flute players (indoors) – Great Stable: winds, brass, percussion (military, outdoor ceremonies)

■ Louis's wind ensembles influenced the development of instruments and playing techniques

■ ORCHESTRA!!!! We have an orchestra! – French created the first large ensembles of stringed instruments with 5-part

texture (1670s)

Jean-Baptiste Lully ■ Louis's favorite musician for over 30 years

■ Wrote ballets, sacred music, and dramatic music

■ Created a distinctive French opera that lasted 100 years – Tragedie en musique or tragedie lyrique – Long passages of recitative were considered ridiculous

in France, so along with librettist Philippe Quinault, Lully created operas that were rich in dance, lyrical singing, and instrumental pieces

– French overture – entrance of the king – Divertissements (examples) – Music moves seamlessly without stopping (unlike Italian

operas)

■ Influenced Bach and Handel

French Performance Practices

■ Notes inegales (unequal notes): weight on downbeats, shortening off beats, creating a lilting rhythm

■ Overdotting – holding a dotted note longer than acutally written

■ Agrements – ornamentation to cadences or other important notes, sometimes improv/sometimes written by the composer

■ Tonal music – traditional major/minor tonalities

French Church Music ■ Same style as Renaissance until about 1650 ■ 2nd half of the century – borrowed secular styles

■ Most sacred music was categorized as a motet (petit/grand) ■ Marc-Antoine Charpentier (1643-1704)

– Brought the oratorio to France – He wasn't part of the royal courts, which allowed him to combine Italian styles

with French ■ Michel-Richard de Lalande (1657-1726)

– Louis's favorite sacred composer, organist – Worked under Charpentier and also combined Italian style with French

■ Organ music – French style of organ musicc for church services emerged – Used stops for various timbres, imitated large court wind ensembles

Keyboard and Lute Music

■ Agrements (ornamentation)

■ Style luthe/style brise

French Dance Music ■ Many dance songs were arranged for lute or harpsichord and were

attended for the entertainment of the player or small audience

■ Many dance forms emerged (previously mentioned)

■ Forms – Binary form ■ Two equal sections, sometimes contrasting ■ 1 section was usually in the tonic key, 2nd section was usually in the

dominant key

– Rondeau (rondo) ■ Piece that always returned to a refrain

Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre (1665-1729) ■ Child prodigy, began playing for King

Louis at age 5

■ Was a skilled singer and harpsichordist, born to a musical family

■ King Louis was her patron and most of her works were dedicated to him

■ First woman to write a ballet and/or an opera

■ Output was small, but she wrote for all genres and was widely recognized by her peers as a very talented composer

England ■ Inspired by Italian and French styles, combined them with native traditions

■ Limited monarchy: royalty ruled with Parliament

■ Some history: – 1603: England and Scotland were united under the rule of James I – His son, Charles I, wanted the monarchy to have power, which resulted in civil

war (1642-49) – Charles I was executed in 1649 and England went under the militaristic rule of

Oliver Cromwell – 1660: England returned to a limited monarcy – Monarchy still struggled with wanted supreme power until 1689, a Bill of Rights

passed that subjected the monarchy to the rule of the law. ■ Monarchy spending was overseen by Parliament, so there wasn't as much money

available to spend on music, like in France

English Musical Theatre ■ The English preferred their native version of musical theatre

■ Masque – English version of an opera, a favorite of King Henry VIII

■ Under Cromwell, who was a Puritan inspired by Calvinist theology, public performances were prohibited, private concerts continued

■ After the restoration of the monarchy (1660), concerts were opened to the public again – French opera was attempted to be introduced in 1670 and failed

Music in English Society ■ Large vocal works were popular

■ Royal family commissioned works for ceremonies or state occasions

■ Catch: humorours vocal work for men

■ Church music: – Under Cromwell, organs and musical instruments were purged – With return of the monarchy, there was a move back to motet style sacred

music

■ Instrumental music – used for social gatherings and dancing, usually based on folk melodies

■ 1670s: public concerts, paid ticketed events – Middle class became interested in music performances – King was unable to pay musicians, so they looked for employment elsewhere

Henry Purcell (1659-1695)

■ English composer supported by royal patronage

■ He was a choirboy for the Chapel Royal, and published his first song at 8

■ Held many religious positions, including a post at Westerminster Abbey as the organist (1679), and the organist of the Chapel Royal (1682), eventually promoted to organ maker

■ Died young (36)

■ Wrote a large amount of music, mostly vocal works, in all genres

■ Known for his gifted setting of English words in a way that sounded natural and expressive

Spain and the New World ■ By 1600, Spain was the richest country in Europe due to silver mining

in its colonies – Spain = Portugal, half of Italy, Netherlands, Phillipines,

settlements in India and Africa, almost all of Central and South America, and much of North America (Florida, Texas, California)

■ Much of Spain's money was spend on military operations, was defeated by France in 1640 – Revolutions in NE Spain, Portugal, Southern Italy, and Brazil ■ Portugal and Brazil gained independence

■ Spanish colonization resulted in a vast mix of cultures and traditions – Musically, each group had its own style, and then borrowed from

those around them

Spain in 1600

Music in Spain ■ There was an attempt at Spanish opera, but it didn't catch on

■ Zarzuela – Spanish musical theatre – sung and spoken dialogue – Most roles were played by women

■ Independent song genres – Romance: 2-4 voices with guitar or harp accompaniment – Tonada: solo song

■ Church music – Catholic mass in Latin, sacred villancico (vernacular, attracted large crowds)

■ Instrumental music – not much survived. What we do have are solo organ, harp, and guitar works

– Organ: tiento (Spanish toccata) – Harp and guitar: dance music

Russia (Wait, Russia?!) ■ Russia appeared (in the Western music world) in the 1650s, with an influx of

musicians coming to Western Russia – Ended up with the first known writings about the circle of fifths (by Nikolay

Diletsky) ■ They imitated styles from France and Italy, but with their national flavor

■ Church music (prior to 1650): still chant (znamenny), instruments were banned (Russian Orthodox Church)

– There was special funeral and wedding music (skomorokhi) ■ Church music (after 1650)

– Konsert: like a sacred concerto but for voices only, no instruments (Russian Orthodox did not use instruments in church)

– Kant: a 3-voice simple, short song

■ Peter the Great – Began rule in 1682, had goals of westernizing Russia

Looking Back: Italy, France, England, Spain, Russia ■ How did each of these countries' governments affect the

development of music in the Baroque era?