Mu 110: Introduction to Music

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1 Mu 110: Introduction to Music Instructor: Dr. Alice Jones Queensborough Community College Sprg 2017 Sections F1 (Mondays 12:10-3) and F4 (Thursdays 12:10-3)

2 Richard Wagner, Prelude to Lohengr, Act III (1850) 1. What are your first impressions of this piece? 2. What does this piece seem to communicate or convey? What feelgs does it still you (the listener)?

3 Richard Wagner, Prelude to Lohengr, Act III (1850) What imitable art did Beethoven employ his C-mor Symphony, [No. 5], order to steer his ship from the ocean of fite yearng to the haven of fulfillment! He was able to raise the utterance of his music almost to a moral resolve, but not speak aloud that fal world; and after every onset of the will, without a moral handhold, we feel tormented by the equal possibility of fallg back aga to sufferg, as of beg led to lastg victory. Nay, this fallg-back must almost seem to us more necessary than the morally ungrounded triumph, which therefore not beg a necessary consummation, but a mere arbitrary gift of grace has not the power to lift us up and yield to us that ethical satisfaction which we demand as outcome of the yearng of the heart 3. Why do you thk Wagner looked to Beethoven as a role model? How does Wagner see himself relationto Beethoven? How does Wagner feel about his cultural leage?

Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, (1865) Act III Liebestod [Love-death transfiguration] Idealizes death (a climactic, beautiful, romanticized event) Isolde hallucates about Tristan The orchestra is

4 Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde, (1865) Act III Liebestod [Love-death transfiguration] Idealizes death (a climactic, beautiful, romanticized event) Isolde hallucates about Tristan The orchestra is equally important as the sger The voice is sometimes enfulfed by the orchestra (just like Isolde is engulfed by her passion) Leontyne Price (b. 1927), soprano How Shall Do I alone hear this Are his they I drk melody heart gentle of them, swells plunge so aerial wondrously with waves beneath courage, them? gushg Breathe How and rgg How gently softly full out my he glows and clearly, life away gently majestic he soundg surgg his sweet ever smiles, breast? around scents? brighter, from with me? How In him, how Are the raisg bliss they heavg sweetly tender lamentg, billows bliss swell, himself high sweet his all-expressg, of the blissful amidst eyes breath resoundg open fragrance? echoes, the stars? gently can gently As the they Do you wafts universal you reconcilg, see, seethe stream not my see friends, it? from of do piercg and the you his roar world-breath not lips me, about see it? me, Friends! to soarg shall drown, I breathe, Look! aloft, Do to its shall founder you sweet I give not echoes feel ear? and see it? unconscious utmost resoundg rapture! about me?

.. Never before has my soul been deluged with such floods of sound and passion, never had my heart been consumed by such yearng

5 Reactions to Tristan und Isolde "So there I sat the topmost gallery of the Berl Opera House, and from the first sound of the cellos my heart contracted spasmodically... Never before has my soul been deluged with such floods of sound and passion, never had my heart been consumed by such yearng and sublime bliss... A new epoch had begun: Wagner was my god, and I wanted to become his prophet. Bruno Walter, conductor 1889 There was only Beethoven and Richard [Wagner] and after them, nobody. Gustav Mahler, composer (1904)

Sometimes I feel like the one sane person the community of the mad.

6 Reactions to Tristan und Isolde "I know of some, and have heard of many, who could not sleep after it, but cried the night away. I feel strongly out of place here. Sometimes I feel like the one sane person the community of the mad. Mark Twa, 1891 It was "the most repugnant thg I have ever seen or heard all my life. Clara Schumann

7 Richard Wagner, Prelude to Lohengr, Act III (1850) 4. Who is another artist or musician that you thk commands the same tensity of reaction, admiration, and fluence that Wagner did his time? 5. How do Wagner s ideas make you feel? 6. How is your listeng experience different now compared with your first impressions of the piece?

durg performances Sunken orchestra pit Every musician workg the West at the turn

8 Wagner s fluence Concert gog: Bayreuth Festspielhaus Stadium seatg (no private boxes and the audience s attention is focused on the stage) Lights are dimmed durg performances Sunken orchestra pit Every musician workg the West at the turn of the 20 th century had to contend with the shadow of Wagner: imitate, follow, or reject

9 Homework and remders Weekly readg is available onle (blues, jazz, Harlem Renaissance) Onle Discussion #7: your morals and art (ends Sunday) Onle Discussion #8: March 27-April 2 Student Blog Post 2 nd round of proposals: your SBP first draft is due March 30 Course Intro Essay: if you submitted a fal draft on time, you have the option of rewritg it for a higher grade due April 6 Concert Response Essay due at the fal exam (date TBD) Have a great weekend!

Mu 101: Introduction to Music

Mu 101: Introduction to Music Instructor: Dr. Alice Jones Queensborough Community College Fall 2017 Sections J2 (Tuesdays 3:10-6) and C3A (Wednesdays 9:10-12) Richard Wagner, Prelude to Lohengrin, Act