MODERN MUSIC
The story of music in the 20th century is largely one of exploration and experiment, leading to a fascinating variety of new trends, new techniques and, in some cases, entirely new sounds – all of which make this one of the more exciting periods in the history of music. As each new trend has appeared, so has a new ‘label’ been eagerly found to describe it, resulting in a bewildering array of ‘-isms’ dand ‘-alities’! As we shall find, most of these share one thing in common- a deliberate reaction to 19th century Romantic style. This has led some critics to describe such music as ‘Anti-Romantic’. The most important trends and techniques in 20th century music include: Impressionism, Atonality, Microtonality, 20th century Nationalism, Expressionism, Musique Concrete, Pointillism, Electronic music, Jazz influences, Serialism, total serialism, Polytonality, Neoclassicism and Aleatory music.
Not all 20thcentury composers, however, use extreme techniques. Some have continued to compose in what is basically a warm Romantic style while injecting a degree of dissonance and rhythmic vitality which clearly marks their music as belonging to the 20th century. Examples are the English composer, William Walton (especially in his concertos for viola, violin and cello) and the American composer, Samuel Barber. And there are other composers who defy classification according to any label -–unless it be that of ‘traditionalist’, for these composers have forged a distinctive, personal style mainly based on traditions to the past. Such a composer is Benjamin Britten who has avoided following any fashionable trends.
The Modern Musical Style
1. TONALITY Music became atonal.
2. HARMONY Chords used were dissonant and required no resolution.
3. MELODY a. Notes leap widely from one to another.
b. Chromatic notes were also widely and freely used.
c. Melodic notes appeared in fragments
d. Melodies were sometimes based on the tone-row system.
4. TEXTURE Though the homophonic texture was used, the contrapuntal texture more popular
5. RHYTHM a. Rhythm played an important role in modern music.
b. Irregular time-signatures were common.
c. Notes were grouped in an unusual manner to create new rhythmic interest.
d. At times, two or three time-signatures were used simultaneously.
e. At times, time-signatures are changed in every bar or so.
f. Bar-lines were also displaced in the music to create a syncopated feel.
MUSICAL TERM
ATONAL -A piece of music without a key centre
SYNCOPATION -Accents are placed on the weaker beats of a bar to create rhythmic interest.
THE MODERN COMPOSERS
The more outstanding Modern composers in chronological order are:
| Elgar (British) |
| Mahler (Austrian) |
| Debussy (French) |
| Delius (British) |
| Rakhmaninov (Russian) |
| Schoenberg (Austrian) |
| Ravel (French) |
| Bartok (Hungarian) |
| Stravinsky (Russian) |
| Prokofiev (Russian) |
| Shostakovitch (Russian) |
| Britten (British) |
| Gershwin (American) |
| KIND OF WORK | FAMOUS COMPOSERS |
| Symphony | Elgar, Mahler, and Shostakovitch |
| Opera | Delius, Bartok, and Britten |
| Ballet | Ravel, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev |
| Orchestral Work | Elgar, Debussy, and Britten |
| Chamber Music | Bartok, Stravinsky, and Britten |
| Piano Work | Debussy, Rakhmaninov, and Bartok |
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE INSTRUMENTATION OF THE DIFFERENT ERAS
BAROQUE (1600-1750) |
CLASSICAL (1750-1820) |
ROMANTIC (1820-1899) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
STRING |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
WOODWIND |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BRASS |
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PERCUSSION |
|
|
|