Program Music
“Program music” tries to evoke a topic, a story, an image, a person, event, etc… through instrumental music. All aspects of the musical features including form and melody are used to portray the “program” indicated and can be very different from what happened in music from earlier time frames in order to effectively tell the “story”
For each of the 3 following examples of programmatic music listen to the examples first and discuss what your general impressions of the pieces are and what you think they could be about based on what you are hearing and the title of the pieces
After you have listened to the pieces then read the descriptions below to gain greater understanding of what the music was originally supposed to be about. How did your impression of the pieces change after you learned more information about the “topic” for each piece. Do you think each composer was effective at portraying the “program” they intended with their music? For each example try to match particular moments in the “programs” of each piece with the times that you think they occur in the music based on the sound you are hearing. Explain what is happening in the musical features which seems to go along with those ideas.
| Example 1 – “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt, Suite No. 1 by Grieg | Example 2 – “1812 Overture” Finale by Tchaikovsky | Example 3 – “Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath” – Symphonie Fantastique, Mvmt. 5 by Berlioz |
|
This music was originally written to be performed alongside a play presenting the story of a Norwegian folk character named Peer Gynt. In it’s original presentation the audience would see the action of the story and understand how that coincided with the sound of the music. In later times the music was often performed as a stand alone concert suite. During these the audience would only have the title provided to them and they would have to rely on their own knowledge of the folk story to explain the way the music sounded. The music in this example happens after Peer Gynt has been kidnapped by the troll princess and brought to their underground city. He manages to escape and tries to sneak away. He is discovered and chased by the trolls but he manages to find the exit and escape into the sunlight.[1] 1)Trolls are turned to stone in daylight so they can’t follow him |
This was written to commemorate and evoke the memory of the successful defense of Russia from Napoleon’s invasion in 1812. Tchaikovsky is able to use the year “1812” in the title and extremely recognizable melodic themes such as the French national anthem and Russian folk and religious melodies to represent the two sides of the conflict. In the end however, it is left up to the audience to be able to interpret how the sound of the piece might match with their knowledge of actual historical events. – The finale of the overture is usually believed to represent the retreat of the French forces and the following victory celebrations of the Russian people. |
This is the last part of a multi-movement program symphony. The entire symphony across all 5 movements tells the story of a young man who had become obsessed with a woman and drugs himself into a hallucination/dream state because of it. The composer provided detailed written text for the story which went along with each movement so the audience would have a clear understanding of what was being presented in each movement. Below is the specific text which was provided to go along with the 5th movement which deals with a satanic gathering: “He sees himself at a witches’ sabbath, in the midst of a hideous gathering of shades, sorcerers and monsters of every kind who have come together for his funeral. Strange sounds, groans, outbursts of laughter; distant shouts which seem to be answered by more shouts. The beloved melody [1] appears once more, but has now lost its noble and shy character; it is now no more than a vulgar dance tune, trivial and grotesque: it is she who is coming to the sabbath… Roar of delight at her arrival… She joins the diabolical orgy… The funeral knell tolls, burlesque parody of the Dies irae.[2] The dance of the witches…The dance of the witches combined with the Dies irae.” 1) This is a melody he associates with the women he loved. It appears in the clarinet and this means that she has returned from the dead in some fashion. 2) Part of the chant sung at funeral ceremonies in the Catholic church. It appears in the brass and is associated with the judgement and condemnation of unholy souls during the 2nd coming of Jesus. |
Absolute Music
The proponents of “Absolute Music” believed that music should be able to communicate the emotions intended by the composers directly to the audience without any kind of outside topic or story portrayed in the music. This music will often utilize more traditional forms and concepts of thematic development and will usually be focused on creating extremely passionate and dramatic emotional expression in accordance with the ideals of the Romantic era.
Listen to the examples and for each one discuss what your general impressions of the pieces are. What emotions or mindsets do you think the composers are trying to present and what happens with the materials of music to create them. Even though they are not supposed to portray a program or story, do these examples still evoke outside ideas or concepts beyond emotion or mental states for you? Why might this be true?
Final thoughts after you have listened to all the videos: o
- Did you have a preference for program music or absolute music or are they equally compelling to you as a listener? Please explain your thoughts.
- What could be ways that you would be able to tell the difference between absolute music and program music based on listening to a piece?
- What could be the benefits or risks of having pieces that are more subjective for the listener versus what are the benefits or risks of having pieces that are less subjective for the listener?
- Can you think of any examples of this division that still exists in the music you might listen to today?