Music of the
20 Century
th
Periods in Western Music
Medieval or Middle
Ages
Renaissance Baroque
Roman Classical
NEPTUNE
DID YOU KNOW?
IMPRESSIONISM
Impressionism is a French
movement from the late 19th to
the early 20th century. It took
place between 1890 to 1920.
In music, Impressionism was started
by Debussy in reaction to the
dramatic emotionalism of romantic
music
Impressionism may be describe as:
o -having refinement
o -vague in form
But how do you know if you are listening to
impressionist music?
Ambient Music
This are often used as background music. This
style has an element of space when you
listen to it.
Three Characteristics of
Ambient Music
Color Atmosphere
Chords
Color
Impressionist music made use of dark
colors through orchestration
instruments were played in new ways
like flutes, french horn clarinets playing
darker lower sounds
Chords
Composers of impressionism experimented with
writing music by using unusual skills.
Impressionist composers like Debussy made
extensive use of whole tone scale in music a
whole tone scale is a scale in which each note is
separated from the next by the interval of a whole
tone or whole step.
Chords
Remember that the whole tone
scale is made up entirely of whole
step intervals or tones whole
tones are quite rare in music.
ATMOSPHERE in
impressionist music is achieved
largely through the departure
from tonal harmony, and the
adoption of musical modes,
borrowed scales, dissonant
chords, and chromaticism.
Debussy was born from a poor family in
Saint Germain en Laiye, France on
August 22,1862.
At age 7, he started taking piano lesson
and at 11, he entered Paris Conservatory
where he encountered Tchaikovsky and
became his music teacher.
At age 22, he won the Prix de Rome for
Claude Debussy his cantata L’Enfant Prodigue (The
Prodigal Child) in 1884.
Claude Debussy is one of the most
highly regarded French composer,
founder, and the leading exponent of
musical Impressionism. He was known
as the father of the modern school of
composition. He was the principal
exponent of the impressionist
movement and the inspiration for other
impressionist composers. Debussy
Claude Debussy reformed the course of musical
development by eliminating traditional
rules and conventions into a new language
of possibilities in harmony, rhythm,
form, texture and color.
Claude Debussy
Best known works of Claude
Debussy and its Characteristics
o Ariettes Oubliees (1888)
o Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
(1892)
o String Quartet (1893), Claire De
Lune
o Pellèas et Mèlisande ( 1895)
o La Mer, a symphonic work for
orchestra
Claude Debussy
A French composer, at age of 14 he was admitted to
the Paris Conservatoire. Completing his piano
studies, he returned to study composition with
Gabriel Faure’, writing the important piano piece
JEUX D’EAU (completed 1901) and a string quartet.
Maurice Ravel
He was noted for musical craftsmanship
and perfection of form and style in his
works. Most of his works deal with
water and its flowing stormy moods as
well as human characterizations
Ravels compositional style:
*uniquely innovative
*not atonal style of harmonic treatment.
Maurice Ravel
FAMOUS WORKS OF RAVEL:
• Jeux D’eau,
• Miroirs No.2,
• Rapsodie Espagnole,
• Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
BOLERO is Ravel’s most famous
composition and one of the
Maurice Ravel
most frequently performed
works of the 20th century.
Maurice Ravel
Expressionism
The term expressionism was
originally used in visual and
literary arts and was probably
first applied to music in 1918.
Expressionism
FEATURES OF
EXPRESSIONISM
▪ High degree
of dissonance
FEATURES OF
Expressionism
EXPRESSIONISM
Extreme
contrast of
dynamics
FEATURES OF
Expressionism
EXPRESSIONISM
▪Constant
changing of
texture
Expressionism
FEATURES OF
EXPRESSIONISM
Distorted
melodies and
harmonies
FEATURES OF
Expressionism
EXPRESSIONISM
Angular
melodies with
wide leaps.
Expressionism is a movement that emerged simultaneously in
various cities across Germany as a response to a widespread
anxiety. It took place before world war one and extended to the
period between the two major European wars.
During these times it was one of the reasons
why expressionist artists sought to express
psychological experiences and feelings rather
than physical facts. The feeling of anger, rage,
sorrow, and depression are mostly heard on
composer’s compositions.
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was born on September 13,
1874 in a working-class suburb of Vienna
Austria he taught himself music theory but took
lessons in counterpoint. Schoenberg's style in
music changed from time to time. His tonal
preference gradually evolved to something
dissonant and atonal as he explored the use of
chromatic [Link] was responsible for
the establishment of the 12-tone system.
12-Tone Scale
Arnold Schoenberg's works include the following;
❑ Pierrot Lunaire
❑ Three pieces for piano opus 11 and violin
concerto
Igor Stravinsky
Born in Russia on June 17, 1882 in his first
notable [Link] firebird suite. His
skillful handling of material and rhythmic
inventiveness went beyond anything written by
his Russian Predecessors. He added a new
ingredient to his nationalistic musical style.
Stravinsky wrote approximately 127 pieces
including:
❑ Concerti
❑ Orchestral Music
❑ Opera
❑ Ballets
❑ Solo Vocal
❑ Choral Music
Igor Stravinsky
He died in New York City on
April 6, 1971. The works of
these composers may seem
unconventional but they have
inspired a lot of succeeding
musicians to explore new
ways of writing music.
