The art song flourished in the Romantic period as composers sought to capture the emotional impact of poetry through music. The genre is well-suited for personal expression, using a solo voice accompanied by piano. Notable composers of lieder, the German art song, included Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. Their songs often combined to form song cycles on a theme. Character pieces for solo piano were also a form of program music from this era, allowing composers like Chopin to portray a mood or moment through music. Larger programmatic works included Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, which used a recurring theme to unite a multi-movement work depicting a story.

1. The Art Song

2. Art Song – Old Yet New
n Romantic relationship of poetry and music
– Profusion of Romantic poetry
– Composers sought to capture the poem’s
emotional impact in music
n The composing of songs was not new but
Romantic, particularly German, composers
placed great emphasis on the genre due to
expressive possibilities

3. Art Song
n Well suited to task of personal expression
n Solo voice and piano accompaniment
n Many German composers of art songs in
Romantic period
n German art songs called lieder (sing. lied)

4. Three Common Forms
n Through-composed
– Music unfolds without significant repetition
– Constantly changing music suited to storytelling
n Strophic
– Same music for each strophe (stanza) of text
n Modified strophic
– Strophic with new music for the final strophe, or
– Variations on each subsequent strophe

5. Song Cycle
n Multiple art songs or lieder
n Thematic connection
n Famous examples:
– Die schöne Müllerin, Schubert (20 songs)
– Winterreise, Schubert (24 songs)
– Dicheterliebe, Schumann (16 songs)

6. Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
n Vienna native - sang in Vienna Boy’s Choir
n Studied with Antonio Salieri in 1810
n Taught primary school for three years then quit
n Lived a bohemian life, eschewing the aristocracy
n Substantial compositional output, but was known
in his time primarily for his lieder
n Songs performed at Schubertiads

7. Franz Schubert (cont’d)
n Suffered from syphilis (no cure at that time)
n Torchbearer at Beethoven’s funeral (1827)
n Died at age 31 (1828) – buried next to Beethoven
n Leading composer of art songs (wrote 600+)
n Music bridges Classical/Romantic like Beethoven

8. Listening Example
n Title: Erlkonig
n Composer: Franz Schubert
n Genre: Art Song/Lied

9. Notes on Erlkonig
n Four characters portrayed by the singer
– Narrator
– Boy
– Father
– Elf King
n Note the galloping quality of the piano
n Through-composed form – no repetition
n Performed by a tenor

10. Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
n Studied law but switched to music
n Dreams of piano virtuosity crushed by injury
n Turned to composing and music criticism
n Founded a music journal that still exists
– Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal of Music)
– http://www.schott-music.com/shop/Journals/Neue_Zeitschrift_fuer_Musik/
n Married his teacher’s daughter, Clara Wieck, 1840
n That same year he composed approx. 150 lieder

11. Robert Schumann (cont’d)
n Suffered from depression all his life
n Became delusional, possibly from treatment
for syphilis - mercury
n Attempted suicide by throwing himself into
the Rhine river in 1854
n Died in an asylum in 1856

12. Listening Example
n Title: Du Ring an meinem Finger
n Composer: Robert Schumann
n Genre: Art Song/Lied

13. Notes on Du Ring an Meinem Finger
n Rondo form
n Common time/quadruple meter
n 4th song in Frauenliebe und Leben cycle
n Performed by a mezzo-soprano
n Slow tempo that gradually increases near
end

14. Early Romantic Piano Music

15. Evolution of the Piano
n Like the orchestra, the piano grows in size
and power – Industrial Revolution
n Cast iron frame allows for steel strings
n This enables wider dynamic contrast
n Range of pitches grows:
– In Mozart’s day the keyboard spanned 5 octaves
– By 1820 it spanned 7 octaves

16. Evolution of Piano (continued)
n Foot pedals added by middle of century
– Right pedal sustains the pitch
– Left pedal dampens the pitch (softer)
n These and other developments bring the
piano into its modern form
n The instrument’s basic design unchanged
since 1850’s, though more pitches added

17. Character Piece
n Broad category of Romantic era piano
music based on a single idea
n Form of program music on small scale
n Short pieces for solo piano
n Emphasis on capturing a mood or the feel of
a particular moment

18. Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)
n Born in Warsaw, Poland
– Father was French, Mother was Polish
n Received education in Warsaw
– Father taught at elite aristocratic school
– Attended the Warsaw Conservatory
n Arrives in Paris, France in 1831
n Performs in homes of aristocracy & gives
lessons for very high fees

19. Frédéric Chopin
n Associates w/Liszt, Berlioz, and other
artists and writers
n Roughly 10-yr relationship w/George Sand
– Pen name for Baroness Aurora Dudevant
– Novelist and iconoclast
n Died of tuberculosis at age 39
n Considered a national hero in Poland

20. Chopin’s Music
n Compositions centered around the piano
– Works for solo piano
– Ensemble works that feature the piano
n Use of rubato
– Literally means “robbed time”
– Generally means freer tempo
– Chopin kept LH in strict time, w/rubato in RH

21. Listening Example
n Title: Nocturne in C# minor
n Composer: Frédéric Chopin
n Genre: Nocturne

22. Notes on Nocturne
n Nocturnes are characterized by a
melancholy, bittersweet quality
n Note the use of tempo rubato
n Rising chromatic line builds tension
n Frequent minor and major shifts
n Final major resolution releases tension

23. Program Music

24. Century of Program Music
n Instrumental music that tells a story or
paints a picture
n Some composers still write absolute music
n Programmatic genres:
– Overture (Dramatic and Concert)
– Incidental Music
– Program Symphony
– Symphonic Poem (Tone Poem)

25. Overture
n Dramatic Overture
– Precedes a staged work: often an opera or play
– Encapsulates the essence of the drama in music
– One movement, often sonata-allegro form
n Concert Overture
– Similar but not connected with a staged work
– Programmatic music intended for concert hall
n Incidental Music
– Music during and between scenes of a play

26. Program Symphony
n A symphony with 3 – 5 movements
n Movements depict a series of events
n Composers did not feel bound by multi-
movement cycle rules, but used as a guide
n Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique best-known
example of a program symphony

27. Symphonic Poem
n Also called a Tone Poem
n Very similar to concert overture
n Large scale, programmatic orchestral work
n One movement, no set form
n Often features many contrasting sections
n This genre invented in the Romantic Era

28. Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
n Born in Grenoble, France
n Abandoned study of medicine for music
n Cut off financially by his father
n Couldn’t play the piano well, couldn’t
teach
n Earned a living as a music critic
n Despite lack of training, he became one of
the greatest orchestrators

29. Hector Berlioz
n Heavily influenced by literature and drama
n Married an English Shakespearean actress
n Did not hesitate to alter or mix genres in
pursuit of dramatic effect
n Berlioz’s music, like the man, marked by
extremes of emotional expression
n Recognized today as a brilliant orchestrator

30. Idee Fixe
n A recurring theme or “fixed idea”
n Theme occurs in each movement
n It unifies a multi-movement work
n The theme represents something
– In Symphonie Fantastique it is the “beloved”

31. Listening Example
n Title: Symphonie Fantastique, 5th mvt.
n Composer: Hector Berlioz
n Genre: Program Symphony

32. Notes on Symphonie Fantastique, 5th mvt
n Unusual orchestral effects
– Col legno – strings playing with the wood of
the bow instead of the hair
– Pizzicato – string players pluck the strings
instead of bowing them
– Unorthodox combinations – four bassoons and
two tubas initially play the Dies Irae
n Parody of the idee fixe

33. Notes on Symphonie Fantastique, 5th mvt
n Use of well known chant: Dies Irae
– Played in horns
– Slow at first, then in rhythmic diminution
n Intensifying counterpoint depicts the
ghoulish dance of the witches
– The Dies Irae becomes a fugue subject