Was known to dress in men’s clothing and smoke in public like men Mazurka as a genre – A Polish folk dance in triple meter (first beat gets the emphasis) O But in the Mazurka it’s the second beat that gets the emphasis – Traditionally danced to (Chopping weren’t danced to in the beginning) – Chopin composed 69 Mazurka, 59 are published – Political implications Mazurka in a-flat, pop. L no. 7 Texture O Homophobic (melody & accompaniment) Melody (ABA(BAA)CA(CA)) – similar to Rondo form O A – stepwise upward motion, all conjunct O B – undulating motion (up and down)
O C – downward motion, the accompaniment is drone bass. Rhythm O Rubout – robbed time – means the performer will take some extra time in some spot and catch up in some other part. Passionate and direct music. – German composer and a conductor O Made a living from conducting for quite a while – Highly controversial fugue O Anti-Semitic O Left wing radical – Ended up having to flee to Switzerland because of arrest warrant – Financial difficulties – always fleeing from creditors Music AAA – Frederic Chopin By Arabian_456 O B- undulating motion (up and down)
S Helped support him and to pay off some of his debt – 1876 – and large opera house (Effectiveness) was built for Wager’s operas in Bayreuth, Bavaria – Lots of affairs – married twice and his 2nd wife, Cosmic, 26 years younger than him – Composed more than dozen operas – His music elicits strong reactions. You either hate him or love him as a figure and a composer – Moved to Latvia, to work as a conductor. Munich – under the patronage of Ludwig – Died in Venice in 1883 in Italy. The Ring Cycle – Comprised of 4 operas O The Rhine Gold O The Valerie O Siegfried
O Twilight of the Gods – All in German – Libretti by Wagner, based on old Germanic legends O Gods, heroes and mythical creatures who fight over this magical ring that grants domination over the entire world. – Didn’t write the 4 operas in order but that’s the order he prefers – Monumental work over 15 hours to perform – Worked on opera cycle over several decades The Lord of the Rings – Similarities between LOTT and Ring cycle – Each cycle consists of 4 works – prequel and 3 main ones – Both cycle begin in a state of innocence that is corrupted and then ultimately stored.
Plot center on efforts to own and control the ring – Ring hold great power but also brings on grief – Giants, Dragons The Valerie, Act Ill – Whatnot’s Farewell Best known for the beginning of Act Ill, The Ride of the Valerie – Characters O Watson – chief of the god O Brainchild – his daughter; a warrior-like Valerie S Valhalla – Actions Verdi vs.. Wagner Verdi – Virtuosic vocal writing (Melissa) Wager – The singer and the orchestra integrated; equal parts – Syllabic vocal writing; very little text repetition O Wanted them to be more inherently dramatic
O Like real life O Music dramas – Wanted to be more “faithful” to the drama (Wagner described his operas as “music dramas” – What happened on the stage is tangible reflection of what is going on in the music – Gauntness’s O Sesame – total, Skunks – work of, were – art O The orchestra needs to match the costumes, the costumes need to match the scene. O Integrating all of the parts into a whole – Wager’s term. O Leitmotif – guiding motif – A brief musical phrase associated with some person, event or idea in the drama – Transformed depending in situation – sad, happy, tragic
