Claude Debussy
- is a french composer who adapted the style of impressionism to his music.
- was among the most influential composers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His mature compositions, distinctive and appealing, combined modernism and sensuality so successfully that their sheer beauty often obscures their technical innovation .
- The " The Engulfed Cathedral" by Debussy which is based on the story of an old Briton legend about the rising of the buried cathedral of Mont St. Michael and slowly sinking again in the ocean.
Schoenberg and Expressionism
Arnold Schoenberg was know for the radical sound of his music. In his song cycle, "Pierrot Lunaire", he made use of a different style of singing which is called sprechstimme. It is a manner of performing a song which sounds half-sung and half-spoken. He also introduced the use of the 12-tone scale. Based on the arrangement of the tones callled tone rows, his method of tonal organization completely abandons tonality.
"Pierrot Lunaire"
"A Survivor from Warsaw"
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), a composer from the Russia, was also one of the 20th century composers who established new trends in music. Instead of just using the new trends in music , he combined the traditional and modern trends.
"Adoration of the Earth"
The musical score of "Adoration of the Earth" from "The Rite of Spring", and take note of the frequent change in meter signatures. This trend of using different meter signatures in a composition is called multimeter.
Bela Bartok
Bela Bartok (1881-1945), a Hungarian, is considered a famous progressive modern musical composer, a great pianist, teacher, and researcher. He was one of the leaders of Hungarian nationalism and made use of the Hungarian folktunes in his music.
Bartok made use of the church modes in his music:
1. dorian - d ef g a bc d
2. phrygian - ef g a bc d e
3. lydian - f g a bc d ef
4. mixolydian - g a bc d ef g
"Concerto for Orchestra"
Electronic music
example of electronic music:
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology.Examples of electromechanical sound producing devices include the tel harmonium, Hammond organ, and the electric guitar. Purely electronic sound production can be achieved using devices such as the Theremin, sound synthesizer, and computer.
example of electronic music:
One of the most experimental composer in 20th century is John Cage. His "four minutes and thirty-three seconds" was a very radical composition. He also used a prepared piano in his composition. His reason for this kind of musical work is his belief that the listener must supply the sense which exists in sound.
Another composer is Edgard Varese (1883-1965), a french composer who built his polyphony by adding one layer of sound to another. His use of unconventional rhythms and timbres made his music interesting to the young ones. A German by the name of Karlheiz Stockhausen is another well known composer in the field of electronic music.
Chance music
Chance music or Aleatory Music
Aleatoric music is sometimes referred to as "chance music". As the name suggests, much of the performance is left to chance. For example, a composer may instruct a performer to throw the pages of music on the floor and then play them in the order in which he picks them up.
It is also a style where in various sounds , musical and non-musical where assembled, fragmented, and then combined according to precise measurements and combinations arrived at by chance operation. There are no rules to this form of music, thus, any kind of music can be created as a result.
There are many aspects of chance music, chance in composition, in instrumentation, and in performance. Naturally , chance music includes more than simple idea for melodic writing, but the materials above do illustrate the basic idea on which this type of composition is based-the exploitation of chance.
make choice using:
-Flip-coins
-Throw dice
-Use star atlas
-Impurities in manuscript method
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments. He was also instrumental in the development of modern dance, mostly through his association with choreographer Merce Cunningham, who was also Cage's romantic partner for most of their lives. Through his studies of Indian philosophy and Zen Buddhism in the late 1940's, Cage came to the idea of aleatoric or chance-controlled music, which he started composing in 1951.
" Imaginary landscape no.4 "
Among his known works are: 4'33," "construction of metal," "sonatas and interludes" "music of changes," "imaginary landscape no. 4," "HPSCHD," "etudesAustales," "roaratorio, an Irish and 2," "freeman etudes," "concert for piano and orchestra," "etcetera," "water of music," "cartridge music," and "ASLAP" (as low as posisble).
4'33"
Antonio Molina and impressionism
Dr. Antonio Molina (1894-1980) was one of the 20th century composers who wrote art music.He was a Filipino composer, conductor and music administrator who was named a National Artist of the Philippines for his services to music. . He was considered the "Claude Debussy of the Philippines" because he was the first to introduce several important devices, technically characteristic of impressionism in music. One of Molina's popularly known, compositions is "Hatinggabi".
" Hatinggabi"
Filipino Contemporary Composers
Nicanor Abelado
Nicanor Abelardo (1893-1934), who was know for is work "kundiman" and his other romantic style compositions, devoted the last years of his life on composing music with modern idioms. While studying at the Chicago musical collages, he composed music that shows the characteristic of expressionism.
"Kundiman"
Jose Maceda
Jose Maceda is the pioneer and exponent of avant-garde music in our country. When he was in France, he joined the Musique Concrete movement. An example of his work is "Ugnayan" composed in 1974.
"Ugnayan"
Ramon Santos
Ramon Santos is one of the leaders of new music in our country. He was trained in United
States on the techniques of neo-classicism, serialism, electronic music, and the computer. One of HIs composition is "Siklo". This composition views the universe through small life forms perceivable by the naked eye.
Eliseo Pajaro and Lucrecia Kasilag
Eliseo Pajaro (1913-1984) and Lucrecia Kasilag are belong to the Neo-classists.Kasilag pioneer in the reseach and use of asian musical instruments and combining it with western instruments giving an east-west flavor.
