Chapter 38 Sounding a Nation: Grieg and Orchestral Nationalism
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This document discusses musical nationalism in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It provides context on the political climate and new forms of transportation and communication that facilitated the spread of national pride and folk traditions. Notable composers who incorporated elements of nationalism in their works are discussed for several European countries, including Grieg in Norway, Sibelius in Finland, and The Russian Five led by Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov in Russia. Specific pieces that exemplified nationalism, such as Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, are highlighted.
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Chapter 38 Sounding a Nation: Grieg and Orchestral Nationalism
- 1. THE ENJOYMENT OF MUSIC ESSENTIAL LISTENING EDITION by Kristine Forney Andrew Dell’Antonio Joseph Machlis THIRD EDITION Lecture Slides
- 2. Chapter 38 Sounding a Nation: Grieg and Orchestral Nationalism
- 3. Nationalism • Refers to deliberate, conscious attempt to develop artworks characteristic of a particular country or region • Attempt to break away from German-Austrian style • Proof that other countries had composers also • Political climate of Europe
- 4. European Politics of the Late 19th/Early 20th Century • Citizens demanded democratic forms of government • French and American Revolutions sparked similar unrest in many countries throughout Western Europe, Russia, and Scandinavia • Europe became industrialized; farmers moved to cities; people recognized shared heritage. • National pride developed, and musicians incorporated folk traditions in their works.
- 5. New Republics Formed • 1830: The Netherlands became independent • 1830 Belgium became independent • 1861: Italy unified its city-states • 1871: Germany unified into an empire • 1872: Portugal became republic • 1917: Russians overthrew Czar; beginning of Soviet Union
- 6. Changes in Transportation • Passenger trains took people all over Europe: replaced stagecoaches • Steamships replaced sailing ships; allowed relatively easy Transatlantic crossings • Musicians, writers, and artists traveled and experienced other cultures; they included them in their compositions, poems, and artworks.
- 7. Romantic Program Music Musical Nationalism • Inclusion of folk dance • Reference to folklore or peasant life • Programs: national hero, historic event, scenic beauty of land • Censorship • Powerful symbolism Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 2 Smetana: Furiant from The Bartered Bride
- 8. Schools of Musical Nationalism Russia • Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka • “The Mighty Five” – Mily Balakirev – Alexander Borodin – Cesar Cui – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov – Modest Musorgsky Czech • Antonin Dvořák • Bedřich Smetana England • Edward Elgar • Frederick Delius Spain • Isaac Albeniz • Enrique Granados • Manuel de Falla Norway, Edvard Grieg Finland, Jean Sibelius
- 9. 19th Century Nationalism in Russia: The Russian Five • 5 Russian composers band together – Promote purely Russian music – Incorporate history, folklore, legends, native instruments, native music • Nikolai Rimsky- Korsakov • Modest Mussorgsky • Alexander Borodin • César Cui • Mily Balakirev
- 10. Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) • Born in Pskof, Russia: aristocratic family • Worked in the Russian Guard and composed on side • Trained by Balakirev • Incorporated inflection of Russian language in his compositions • An original and influential composer
- 11. Modest Mussorgsky(1839-1881) • Considered least accomplished during lifetime • Now greatest of Russian Five • Not interested in musical career, entered military academy • Skilled at piano & singing, popular at parties • Alcoholic, bizarre behavior • Died age 42 • Rarely finished works, much completed by Rimsky-Korsakov
- 12. Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) • Some famous works – Opera: Boris Godunov – Songs: The Nursery, Sunless, Songs and Dances of Death; many others – Orchestral music: tone poem Night on Bald Mountain (one of pieces in Disney’s Fantasia) • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLCuL-K39eQ – Piano music: Pictures at an Exhibition
- 13. Pictures at an Exhibition • Promenade • The Great Gate of Kiev • Rock version by Emerson, Lake, & Palmer
- 14. Pictures At An Exhibition https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=jO4lEEigeeo
- 15. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) • Born in Tikhvin, Russia • Served 11 years in Russian Navy as Inspector of Naval Bands • Then taught composition and orchestration at St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music • Arranged and edited collections of Russian folk music • Edited many of Mussorgsky’s and Borodin’s works for performance • Famous students: Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev (20th century composers) • Best known for symphonic poems and operas – Scherezade – Flight of the Bumblebee
- 16. Flight of the Bumblebee • https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=aYAJopwEYv8&list=PLD2FA7A1A4352F58A& index=85
- 17. Other Nationalist Composers • Edvard Grieg-Norway – Peer Gynt Suite-incidental music for Henrik Ibsen play • Jean Sibelius-Finland – Finlandia-became national of country • Edward Elgar-England – Pomp & Circumstance • Ralph Vaughan-Williams-England – Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis • Manuel de Falla, Isaac Albañiz, Enrique Granados-Spain
- 18. Program Music • Symphonic poem-An orchestral form in which a poem or program provides a narrative or illustrative basis • One movement • Flourished in 1840’s to 1920’s • Satisfied three aspirations of 19th century – To relate music to the outside world – To integrate multi-movement form – To elevate instrumental music to a higher level than that of vocal music
- 19. Also sprach Zarathustra • https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=IFPwm0e_K98
- 20. Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) • Bergen, Norway • Attended Leipzig Conservatory • Preferred smaller forms – Piano works – Folk tune arrangements • Stipend from Norwegian Gov’t • Henrik Ibsen, playwright – Peer Gynt • Died of heart failure
- 21. Peer Gynt • Morning Mood – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=- rh8gMvzPw0 • In the Hall of the Mountain King – https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=kLp_Hh6DKWc • Rock versions – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf2aIVKp1OY – https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=mOKoLiOkWWQ
- 22. Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 (Op. 46), excerpts
- 23. Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 (Op. 46), excerpts
- 24. Bedrich Smetana(1824-1884) • Small town in Bohemia • Studied in Prague • Pianist for Kaiser Ferdinand • Became deaf toward end of life, declining health (syphillis) • No believer in “absolute music” • The Moldau(1874) – Best known work from Ma Vlast(My Country)
- 25. Smetana: The Moldau • Second of the symphonic poems from My Country • River Moldau (Vlatava) • Music suggests scenes along the shore of the river
- 29. by Kristine Forney Andrew Dell’Antonio Joseph Machlis Lecture Slides THIRD EDITION THE ENJOYMENT OF MUSIC ESSENTIAL LISTENING EDITION http://wwnorton.com/web/enjoyess2
Editor's Notes
- ■ Prominent types of Romantic program music include the concert overture, incidental music to a play, and the symphonic poem (a one-movement work). ■ Political unrest throughout Europe stimulated schools of nationalistic composers in Russia, Scandinavia, Spain, England, and Bohemia. ■ Bedřich Smetana wrote about his Bohemian homeland in a set of six symphonic poems entitled My Country; the most famous of these is The Moldau.
- Romantic composers often based their music on songs and dances of their people, or referred to folklore or peasant life. Operas were written that celebrated the exploits of a national hero, an historic event, or the beauty of the composer’s country. Censorship often influenced these works of art, because the authorities were not unwise to the political implications of political nationalism and the power of symbolism. This proved to be the case with many of Verdi’s operas, which had to be altered again and again to suit the Austrian censor—as the plots often portrayed unjust rulers or suggested “dangerous” ideas. In World War II, the Nazis outlawed the playing of Chopin’s polonaises in Warsaw and Smetana’s symphonic poems in Prague due to the powerful symbolism in these two works. A Listening Guide for Smetana’s The Moldau follows.
- In addition to the Czech school, which included Smetana, and the Scandinavian school of Sibelius (from Finland) and Grieg, Europe cultivated a national voice through music in several other regions. Russia cultivated a circle of musicians known as “The Mighty Five” or “The Mighty Handful” that included Musorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov who sought to create their own sound that was free from the influence of the German symphony, Italian opera, or French ballet. England and Spain produced nationalistic composers as well. [Reference to map on slide]
- The Moldau is the second of the six symphonic poems from My Country. Listen for the wide-range river theme that is heard throughout the work. The piece begins in 6/8 but changes to duple meter for the peasant dance, then back to 6/8. Shifts occur between major and minor mode, and the aim of musical expression is to depict scenes along the river Moldau. Instrumentation varies for each scene—flutes for bubbling spring, French horns for hunt, staccato strings for peasant dance, double reeds for nymphs in the moonlight, and brass for the ancient castle at the end of the piece. Following is Smetana’s program for the The Moldau. ‘‘Two springs pour forth in the shade of the Bohemian forest, one warm and gushing, the other cold and peaceful. Coming through Bohemia’s valleys, they grow into a mighty stream. Through the thick woods it flows as the merry sounds of a hunt and the notes of the hunter’s horn are heard ever closer. It flows through grass-grown pastures and lowlands where a wedding feast is being celebrated with song and dance. At night, wood and water nymphs revel in its sparkling waves. Reflected on its surface are fortresses and castles—witnesses of bygone days of knightly splendor and the vanished glory of martial times. The Moldau swirls through the St. John Rapids, finally flowing on in majestic peace toward Prague to be welcomed by historic Vyšehrad. Then it vanishes far beyond the poet’s gaze.’’
- Listening Guide 26—Smetana: The Moldau
- Listening Guide 26—Smetana: The Moldau