Q&A Hero

Q: Debussy was greatly influenced by the non-Western music he heard at the Paris World Exhibition of 1889.

Q: Impressionist composers avoided ninth chords because they were prohibited in the Classical system of harmony.

Q: Impressionist composers felt, even more strongly than their predecessors, the need to resolve all chords back to the tonic.

Q: The Symbolist movement began in England.

Q: Impressionist painters slowly recreated an idealized impression of an object with perfect lighting.

Q: Impressionism takes its name from a painting by Claude Monet.

Q: Impressionist artists abandoned the grandiose subjects of Romanticism.

Q: Where did Debussy first encounter non-Western scales and instruments? a. while studying in Rome c. while living in Tahiti b. at the 1889 Paris Exhibition d. on an 1889 trip to Egypt

Q: What did Debussy help to establish as a French national art form? a. opera c. mlodie b. the symphony d. the piano sonata

Q: The Symbolists sought to evoke poetic images: a. through suggestion rather than description. b. through description rather than suggestion. c. through statement rather than symbol. d. through the use of precise language.

Q: Which of the following does NOT characterize Nijinskys choreography for Debussys Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun? a. It caused a scandal in Paris. b. It was a turning point in modern dance. c. It continued the traditions of classical ballet. d. It featured one of the great male dancers of the time.

Q: What is a blue chord? a. chord with lowered thirds and sevenths c. chord played by muted horns b. chord built on the note B d. chord built on the whole-tone scale

Q: Which sentence best describes the opening of Debussys Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun? a. It opens with solo bassoon in the high register. b. It opens with a drumroll and fanfare. c. It opens with a flute solo in the velvety lower register. d. It opens with unison strings.

Q: The overall form of Debussys Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun is best described as: a. binary. c. sonata-allegro. b. ternary. d. rondo.

Q: The program of Debussys Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun evokes: a. a nationalistic folk dance. b. a river flowing through France. c. a childs view of heaven. d. a landscape with a mythological creature.

Q: Debussys opera Pellas and Mlisande is based on a Symbolist drama by: a. Giraud. c. Maeterlinck. b. Ibsen. d. Mallarm.

Q: What nationality was Claude Debussy? a. German c. Italian b. French d. Austrian

Q: Impressionism in music is best exemplified by the works of: a. Claude Debussy. c. Hector Berlioz. b. Gustav Mahler. d. Frdric Chopin.

Q: The Impressionist painters interest in color is paralleled by the Impressionist composers interest in: a. rhythm. c. timbre. b. melody. d. texture.

Q: Which of the following is/are characteristic of Impressionist music? a. whole-tone scales b. ambiguous tonality c. ninth chords d. all of the answers shown here

Q: The whole-tone scale used by Impressionist composers derives from: a. the post-Romantic music of Mahler. c. medieval church music. b. non-Western music. d. the Classical-Romantic tradition.

Q: The Symbolist poets were strongly influenced by the works of: a. George Sand. c. Robert Frost. b. Emily Bront. d. Edgar Allan Poe.

Q: Mallarm and Verlaine were: a. Symbolist poets. c. Impressionist composers. b. Impressionist painters. d. none of the answers shown here

Q: The French movement in poetry that revolted against traditional modes of expression is called: a. Imagism. c. Expressionism. b. Symbolism. d. Impressionism.

Q: Which of the following best describes the effect achieved by Impressionist painting? a. bold, brilliant colors c. luminous, shimmering colors b. drab, dark colors d. consistent use of a single color

Q: Which of the following best describes the work of the Impressionist painters? a. They adhered firmly to academic traditions. b. The hero of their painting was man. c. They attempted to capture the freshness of first impressions. d. They preferred to do their painting indoors.

Q: Which of the following painters was associated with the Impressionist school? a. Delaunay c. Renoir b. Schoenberg d. Picasso

Q: Impressionism was a style of painting that was cultivated principally in: a. Paris. c. Berlin. b. London. d. Rome.

Q: Impressionism: Sun Rising, the painting that sparked the Impressionist art movement, was created by: a. Auguste Renoir. c. Claude Monet. b. Edgar Degas. d. Paul Verlaine.

Q: The earliest harbingers of modernism were artists and writers from: a. Russia. c. France. b. Spain. d. Germany.

Q: Why did ballet principally develop in France and Russia?

Q: Discuss the musical elements that make The Nutcracker a representative Romantic work.

Q: Tchaikovsky was a Russian-born composer who wrote most of his works while in exile in France.

Q: Marius Petipa brought the art of staging ballets to unprecedented heights.

Q: Ballet is a choreographed dance that began during the Baroque era.

Q: The Nutcracker takes place at an Easter celebration.

Q: During the Trepak, Tchaikovsky enlivens the sound of the orchestra by adding a celesta.

Q: Tchaikovsky utilizes the celesta during the Sugar Plum Fairys dance.

Q: Tchaikovskys three ballets (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker) are part of the Russian repertory.

Q: Tchaikovsky was the first Russian composer whose music appealed to Western tastes.

Q: Ballet developed as an independent art form during the early twentieth century.

Q: In England, staged dancing was known as masque.

Q: What instrument does Tchaikovsky use to enliven the sound of the orchestra during the Trepak? a. celesta c. guitar b. tambourine d. tympani

Q: What Russian dance features the famous Cossack squat-kick? a. the Trepak c. the pas de deux b. the celesta d. the intermedio

Q: The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy features the ______, an instrument Tchaikovsky discovered in Paris. a. piano c. celesta b. glockenspiel d. tambourine

Q: Who is/are the ruler(s) of Confiturembourg? a. the Sugar Plum Fairy c. the Nutcracker b. the Mouse King d. Clara and Fritz

Q: Where does Act I of The Nutcracker take place? a. at a Christmas party c. in Trepak b. in Confiturembourg d. on New Years Eve

Q: Which Tchaikovsky ballet is performed every Christmas all over the world? a. Swan Lake c. The Nutcracker b. The Sleeping Beauty d. Romeo and Juliet

Q: Which composer became a giant of Russian ballet in the later nineteenth century? a. Tchaikovsky c. von Meck b. Debussy d. Rubinstein

Q: What is the name of the wealthy widow who became Tchaikovskys patron? a. Nadezhda von Meck c. Clara Schumann b. Fanny Hensel d. Marius Petipa

Q: In 1891 Tchaikovsky was invited to participate in the inaugural concert of ________. a. Carnegie Hall in New York c. the Garnier Opera in Paris b. Albert Hall in London d. the Moscow Conservatory

Q: Where was Tchaikovsky born? a. Germany c. France b. Russia d. England

Q: Staged dancing in Italy was known as: a. masque. c. intermedio. b. ballet de cour. d. pas de deux.

Q: Who invented the structure of the classic pas de deux? a. Marius Petipa c. Fred Astaire b. Vaslav Nijinsky d. Martha Graham

Q: ______ is a choreographed dance that began in the Renaissance and was central to lavish festivals and theatrical entertainments presented at the courts of kings and dukes. a. Ballet c. Pas de deux b. Tap d. The Lindy Hop

Q: Discuss how contemporary film, television, or video games incorporate Wagners concept of leitmotif.

Q: Describe Wagners innovations in opera and his desire to unite music and drama. Give examples from works mentioned in the textbook.

Q: In the final scene of Die Walkre, Wagner uses a leitmotif to introduce a character who has not even been born.

Q: J. R. R. Tolkiens epic Lord of the Rings was inspired by Norse mythology and Wagners Ring.

Q: Wagner developed an endless melody that was molded to the natural inflections of the German language.

Q: One of the leitmotifs from Wagners Die Walkre is the magic fire music.

Q: In Wagners Ring operas, Brnnhilde is Wotans wife.

Q: In Wagners operas, the recurring themes, which represent specific characters, emotions, or ideas, are called leitmotifs.

Q: Wagner pushed major-minor tonality to extreme limits with his style of chromatic harmony.

Q: The focal point of Wagnerian music drama is the voice.

Q: Wagner strove for a continuous flow of melody, unlike the divisions of aria and recitative in Italian opera.

Q: Wagner did not wish to change the prevailing form of opera in the nineteenth century.

Q: Wagners operas employ the supernatural as an element of drama and glorify the German land and people.

Q: Because of his dominating personality, Wagner frequently changed librettists while composing his music dramas.

Q: Richard Wagner composed the first Singspiel.

Q: Where was Wagner born? a. France c. Germany b. England d. Austria

Q: A scene in German musical theater that contains spoken dialogue or minimal singing but also features striking orchestral accompaniment to intensify the dramatic effect of the words is called: a. melodrama. c. Gesamtkuntswerk. b. leitmotif. d. Nibelungenlied.

Q: Who established the idea that multimedia can convey multiple meanings at once? a. Richard Wagner c. W. A. Mozart b. Giuseppe Verdi d. none of the answers shown here

Q: Why does Wotan deprive Brnnhilde of her immortality and leave her sleeping inside a ring of fire? a. because she drew the sword out of the stone b. because, overcome with compassion, she attempted to save Siegmunds life in battle c. because she fell in love with a mastersinger of Nuremburg d. because she allowed her winged horse, Pegasus, to die in battle

Q: In the orchestral prelude to Act III of Wagners Die Walkre, the Ride theme primarily is played by: a. strings. c. brass. b. woodwinds. d. percussion.

Q: In Act III, Scene 1 of Die Walkre, what are the Valkyries carrying on their horses? a. weapons of war c. armor b. fallen heroes d. slain foes

Q: In Wagners Ring of the Nibelung, who are the Valkyries? a. the nine daughters of Wotan c. the Rhine maidens b. the Nibelung dwarfs d. the enemies of Wotan

Q: In the Ring cycle, who is the father of the gods? a. Siegfried c. Wotan b. Loge d. Brnnhilde

Q: The emotional quality of Wagners music is heightened by his use of: a. separate arias. c. chromatic dissonance. b. exotic instruments. d. rubato.

Q: Wagner based his musical language on: a. chromatic harmony. c. monophonic harmony. b. diatonic harmony. d. atonal harmony.