The Combinatorial

Enlightenment

Music 1
29 February

Announcements
You should have received a study guide for our Midterm, which is coming
up on 12 March. I will talk about the exam itself more on Wednesday!
You will receive your listening quiz back in quiz this week. If you have any
concerns about your performance, please come talks to us! Were happy
to help.
Tomorrow: Don Giovanni is being screened in Currier House at 7pm, in
the Fishbowl! You can come have dinner and watch the opera!
If you cant come to the screening, please try to see a production of Don
Giovanni this week. Well be showing the 2001 production conducted by
Nikolaus Harnoncourt with Rodney Gilfrey as Don Giovanni.

Todays Lecture
The Idea of the Classical Style
Enlightenment Taxonomies
Musical Combinatoriality and the Idea of
the Musical Topic
Sonata Form

Kristian Bezuidenhout
The Freiburger Barockorchester
Orchestre des Champs Elyses
Orchestra of the 18th Century
English Concert
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Concerto Kln
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Chicago Symphony
Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Collegium Vocale Gent

Kristian Bezuidenhout

The Christoph Wolff Residency

Today, 4pm: Open Rehearsal with

the Harvard Baroque Chamber
Orchestra, in Memorial Church
Friday, 4 March and Saturday, 5 March,
with the Boston Baroque:
Beethoven, Symphony No. 5
Beethoven, Piano Concerto No. 2
Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory

We are entering a new

musical era

Johann Adolf Scheibe, on J. S. Bach

(1737)
This great man would be the admiration of whole nations if he
had more amenity, if he did not take away the natural element in
his pieces by giving them a turgid and confused style, and if he did
not darken their beauty by an excess of art. Since he judges
according to his own fingers, his pieces are extremely difficult to
play; for he demands that singers and instrumentalists should be
able to do with their throats and instruments whatever he can play
on the clavier. But this is impossible. Turgidity has led [Bach] from
the natural to the artificial, and from the lofty to the somber; and
one admires the onerous labor and uncommon effort-- which
however are vainly employed, since they conflict with Nature.

The Galant Style

Emphasis on textural clarity, clear phrasing,

and singability
Musical analog to elegant courtly
conversation

The Enlightenment Era

Wait I
thought this
was the
Classical Era?

Did Mozart or Haydn think of

themselves as classical?

In their time, they were heard as

Modern

19th- and 20thCentury

Ideology

Late
Enlightenment
Music
My street,
February 2015

Listening for the

smoothness versus
listening for the variety.

Dynamic
integration of
styles & themes

Beaumarchais (Pierre-Augustin Caron), La

Folle Journe, ou Le Mariage de Figaro (1778)

Beaumarchais, La Folle Journe ou Le

Mariage de Figaro (1778), Opening Scene
Le thtre reprsente un chamber demi
dmeuble: un grand fauteuil de malade est au
milieu. Figaro, avec une toise mesure le plancher.
Suzanne attach sat te, davant une glace, le petit
bouquet de fleur dorange, appel chapeau de la
marie.

A half furnished room, with a large high-backed

chair in the middle. FIGARO is measuring the floor
with measuring rod. SUZANNE is sitting in front of a
mirror trying on a wreath of orange blossoms, her
bridal veil.

FIGARO
Dix-neuf pieds sur vingt-six.

FIGARO
Nineteen feet by twenty-six.

SUZANNE
Tiens, Figaro, voil mon petit chapeau: le
trouves-tu mieux ainsi?

SUZANNE
Look, Figaro, here is my little hat. Do you
like it better so?

FIGARO, lui prend les mains

Sans comparaison, ma charmante. O! que
ce joli bouquet virginal, lev sur la tte
dune belle fille, est doux le matin des
noces loeil amoureux dun poux!

FIGARO, taking her hands

Without comparison, my lovely! Oh!
How sweet in the loving eyes of husband
is that pretty virginal wreath, on the head
of his beloved on the morning of their
wedding!

Da Pontes Version

The Libretto for Prague, 1786

FIGARO:
[misurando]
Cinque ... dieci ... venti ...
trenta ... trentasei ... quarantatre.

FIGARO:
[measuring]
Five ... ten ... twenty ...
thirty ... thirty-six ... forty-three.

SUSANNA:
[specchiandosi]
Ora s ch'io son contenta;
sembra fatto inver per me.
Guarda un po', mio caro Figaro,
guarda adesso il mio cappello.

SUSANNA:
[looking at herself in the mirror]
Yes, I'm happy with it now;
It seems as if it was made for me.
Just look a moment, my dearest Figaro,
look over here at my hat.

FIGARO:
S mio core, or pi bello,
sembra fatto inver per te.

FIGARO:
Yes, my heart, it's much prettier now,
It seems as if it was made for you.

SUSANNA:
Ah, il mattino alle nozze vicino
quanto dolce al mio tenero sposo
questo bel cappellino vezzoso
che Susanna ella stessa si fe'.

SUSANNA:
Ah, on the morning of our wedding day
How sweet to my loving bridegroom
is this charming little hat,
which Susanna made herself.

FIGARO:
Ah, il mattino alle nozze vicino
quanto dolce al tuo tenero sposo
questo bel cappellino vezzoso
che Susanna ella stessa si fe'.

FIGARO:
Ah, on the morning of our wedding day
How sweet to your loving bridegroom
is this charming little hat,
which Susanna made herself.

Mozart, Le Nozze di Figaro (1786), opening duettino

A
B
A+B
B!
B+B

FIGARO:
[misurando]
Cinque ... dieci ... venti ...
trenta ... trentasei ... quarantatre.

FIGARO:
[measuring]
Five ... ten ... twenty ...
thirty ... thirty-six ... forty-three.

SUSANNA:
[specchiandosi]
Ora s ch'io son contenta;
sembra fatto inver per me.
Guarda un po', mio caro Figaro,
guarda adesso il mio cappello.

SUSANNA:
[looking at herself in the mirror]
Yes, I'm happy with it now;
It seems as if it was made for me.
Just look a moment, my dearest Figaro,
look over here at my hat.

FIGARO:
S mio core, or pi bello,
sembra fatto inver per te.

FIGARO:
Yes, my heart, it's much prettier now,
It seems as if it was made for you.

SUSANNA:
Ah, il mattino alle nozze vicino
quanto dolce al mio tenero sposo
questo bel cappellino vezzoso
che Susanna ella stessa si fe'.

SUSANNA:
Ah, on the morning of our wedding day
How sweet to my loving bridegroom
is this charming little hat,
which Susanna made herself.

FIGARO:
Ah, il mattino alle nozze vicino
quanto dolce al tuo tenero sposo
questo bel cappellino vezzoso
che Susanna ella stessa si fe'.

FIGARO:
Ah, on the morning of our wedding day
How sweet to your loving bridegroom
is this charming little hat,
which Susanna made herself.

Bryn Terfel and Alison Hagley (Conducted by John

Eliot Gardiner)

What if we dont have words?

MUSICAL TOPICS
A topic is a clearly identifiable musical idea. It
could refer to a dance type (minuet, gigue, etc.),
other kinds of functional musics (hunting calls,
marches), a performance style (the brilliant
virtuosic style or the lyrical singing style), or a
compositional style (the fugue). We can think of
these as little nuggets of meaningful
associations.

Contradanse

The
March

The
Minuet

Fugal style

TOPICS
Brilliant
style

Alla Turca

Singing
style

The Hunt

We could place this in

the broader context of
the taxonomic urge of
the Enlightenment

Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778)

Diderot & DAlembert, Encyclopdie

(1751-1772)

Taxonomy of Human
Knowledge:
Memory (History)
Reason (Philosophy)
Imagination (Poetry)

The Enlightenment style was

good at taking many different
kinds of musical ideas and
mixing them together in
dynamic ways.

Mozart Sonata in D major, K. 284

Orchestral
Tutti
Unison

Singing
style

Brilliant Style!

Brilliant
Style!

Fanfare

Singing
style

Singing
style

Fanfare

Stile
concitato
the agitated
style

Fast
march

Mini
Fanfare

Singing style

Singing Orchestral Singing

Orchestral
Fanfare
Unison
style
style
Unison

That looks like a crazy

jumble of ideas. How is
it organized?

Tonality
Idea that different harmonic areas have different
functions
The strong sense of direction and home: the home
key (the tonic) functions as the center of gravity for
a piece
With that sense of home, the sense of distance from
home

Haydn, Symphony No. 88 in G major:

Mvt. III: Minuet and Trio

|: A :|

|: B

Grand,
Regal Minuet

More dynamic &

harmonic contrast

|: C :|
Rustic and pastoral
with slightly comic
horns

A :|
Back to our opening

|: D :|
Still rustic

The minuet:
|:A :||:B A:| =
Rounded Binary

Sonata form

Warning:
Sonata form
is not the form of a
sonata.

Sonata versus Sonata Form

A sonata is a multi-movement composition for
a solo instrument or small ensemble (i.e. a
Piano Sonata, or a Sonata for Cello and Piano).
The form of a sonata varies, but is often a three
or four movement work. A sonata is a GENRE.
Sonata form is the FORM of a single
movement, and is found in many genres:
symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, etc. etc.

Sonata form seen from a distance:

A B

(It looks rather like a rounded binary form, like Haydns minuet)

Sonata form, seen closer.

Exposition

Development

A
Recapitulation

Even closer...
Exposition

Development

Presents thematic
material

Recapitulation

Brings thematic
Material back to the tonic

Takes thematic
material and breaks it down,
reworks it, wanders to
other keys

More details...
INTRO ||: Expos. :||(:) Develop. Recap. (:)|| CODA

Repeat signs
(Often performances will omit the repeat
of the development and the recapitulation)

Exposition
Medial
Caesura

Secondary Closing Theme

Theme Area
Area

Primary
Theme Area
Energy Gain &
Transition

Tonic

Dominant
(Or mediant in the minor)

Development
No set form in development sections!
It is a free space for the elaboration of musical material
we have already encountered
Often well find our basic musical ideas broken down and
recombined sometimes in stormy, agitated ways
Sometimes a composer will throw in a false recapitulation
It can end with a re-transition back to the primary theme or the
composer can suddenly jolt us back to the primary theme!

Recapitulation
Medial
Caesura

Secondary
Theme Area

Primary
Theme Area

Tonic

Energy Gain &

Transition

Closing
Theme
Area

Coda
(optional)

Tonic

The recap brings us back to the primary theme, most often in the
tonic; most often, the entire recap stays in the tonic key. Some recaps
can be very close repetitions of the expositions. Others might leave
out material, abbreviate, or re-compose material.

MOZART SONATA IN D MAJOR, K. 284.

EXPOSITION
Medial
Caesura
(pause)

Exposition

||:

Primary
Theme Area

Energy
Gain!

Transition!

Cadence?
Cadence!

Secondary Theme
Area

(not a single theme,

but lots of thematic ideas!)

D major

A major

Closing
Area

:||

MOZART SONATA IN D MAJOR, K. 284.

DEVELOPMENT AND RECAPITULATION
Development

||:

Instant
storminess:
move to a
minor key!

Sequencing

Recapitulation
Primary
Theme area!

Wild contrasts:
expressive cries
and storminess!
Medial Caesura

Energy Gain and Transition

pure
agitation!

Retransition

Cadence!

Secondary Theme
Area

Closing
Area

:||

MOZART SONATA IN F MAJOR, K. 332

Conclusions
The enlightenment style is marked by a move towards
clarity of texture and an emphasis on clear, singable
melodies
but also wild contrasts and thematic diversity!
We also encounter new forms of musical organization
with sonata form, which brings together diverse
material in a coherent structure.

Coming up next: Don Giovanni

Listening:

from Mozart, Don Giovanni (1787):

Aria (Masetto): Ho capito [II/39]

Recitative (Don Giovanni and Zerlina): Alfin siam liberati [II/40]
Duet (Don Giovanni and Zerlina): L ci darem la mano [II/41]
Aria (Donna Elvira): Ah, fuggi il traditor [Canvas]
Recitative and Aria (Donna Anna): Crudele!... Non mi dir" [Canvas]
Reading:

Chapter 14 , Kickstarter #10

Viewing:

Mozart, Don Giovanni