Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION I
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CANDON CITY
Candon City, Ilocos Sur

MUSIC 10
Quarter 1 – Week 1 - Module 2:
Prepared by: Jonathan P. Grabilez
Lesson Music of the 20th Century
1 (Impressionism & Expressionism)

I. OBJECTIVES:
1. Explain the performance practice (setting, composition, role of
composers/performers, and audience) of 20th century music. MU10TC-Ib-g-4
2. Discuss the musical styles of the 20th century.
3. Identify the composers/performers under each style.

II. GUIDE QUESTIONS:

1. What are the performance practice (setting, composition, role of
composers/performers, and audience) of 20th century music?
2. What are the musical styles of the 20th century?
3. Who are the composers/performers under each style?

III. DISCUSSION:
Impressionism was a movement among various composers in Western classical
music (mainly during the late 19th and early 20th centuries) whose music focuses on mood and
atmosphere, “conveying the moods and emotions arouse by the subject rather than a detailed
tone-picture”.
Impressionism is made use of the whole-tone scale. It is applied suggested, rather than
depicted, reality. It created a mood rather than a definite picture. It had a translucent and hazy
texture, lacking a dominant-tonic relationship. It made use of overlapping chords, with 4 th, 5th
octave and 9th intervals, resulting in a nontraditional harmonic order and resolution.

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 IMPRESSIONIST COMPOSERS
1. Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
He was born in St. Germain-en-Laye in France on August
22, 1862, entered the Paris Conservatory in1873. He was the
primary exponent of the impressionist movement and the focal point
for other impressionist composer. He changed the course of musical
development by evolving traditional rules and conventions into a
new language of possibilities in harmony, rhythm, form, texture and
color. In 1884, he won the top prize at the Prix de Rome competition
with his composition L ‘Enfant Prodigue (The Prodigal Son). He
spent the remaining years of his life as a critic, composer, and performer. He died of cancer
in Paris on March 25, 1918 at the height of the First World War.

Works of Debussy
 Ariettes Oubliees
 Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
 String Quartet
 Pelleas et Melisande (1895)—his famous operatic work that drew mixed
extreme reactions for its innovative harmonies and textural treatments
 La Mer (1905)—a highly imaginative and atmospheric symphonic work for
orchestra about the sea
 Images, Suite Bergamasque, and Estampes—his most popular piano compositions; a
set of lightly textured pieces containing his signature work Claire de Lune
(Moonlight)

His musical compositions total more or less 227 which include orchestral music,
chamber music, piano music, operas, ballets, songs, and other vocal music.

2. Joseph Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

He was born in Ciboure, France on March 7, 1875 to a
Basque mother and a Swiss father. He entered the Paris
Conservatory at the age of 14 where he studied with the eminent
French composer Gabriel Faure. The compositional style of
Ravel is mainly characterized by its uniquely innovative but not
atonal style of harmonic treatment. It is defined with intricate
and sometimes modal melodies and extended chordal
components. It demands considerable technical virtuosity from
the performer which is the character, ability, or skill of a
virtuoso—a person who excels in musical technique or
execution.

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 The harmonic progressions and modulations are not only musically satisfying but also
pleasantly dissonant and elegantly sophisticated.
His refined delicacy and color, contrasts and effects add to the difficulty in the proper
execution of the musical passages. These are extensively used in his works of a programmatic
nature; wherein visual imagery is either suggested or portrayed. Many of his works deal with
water in its flowing or stormy moods as well as with human characterizations. He died in
Paris, France on December 28, 1937.

Works of Ravel
 Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), a slow but lyrical requiem
 Jeux d’Eau or Water Fountains (1901)
 String Quartet (1903)
 Sonatine for Piano (c.1904)
 Miroirs (Mirrors), 1905, a work for piano known for its harmonic evolution
and imagination
 Gaspard de la Nuit (1908), a set of demonic-inspired pieces based on the poems of
Aloysius Bertrand which is arguably the most difficult piece in the piano repertoire
 Le Tombeau de Couperin (c.1917), a commemoration of the musical advocacies of
the early 18th century French composer Francois Couperin
 Rhapsodie Espagnole
 Bolero
 Daphnis et Chloe (1912), a ballet commissioned by master choreographer Sergei
Diaghilev that contained rhythmic diversity, evocation of nature, and choral
ensemble
 La Valse (1920), a waltz with a frightening undertone that had been composed for
ballet and arranged as well as for solo and duo piano
 The two piano concerti composed in 1929 as well as the violin virtuosic piece
Tzigane (1922) total the relatively meager compositional output of Ravel,
approximating 60 pieces for piano, chamber music, song cycles, ballet, and
opera

Expressionism is a musical style expressing intense, subjective emotion and

dissonance, and used atonality and the chromatic scale or twelve-tone scale. It was probably
first applied to music in 1918, especially to Schoenberg because like the painter Wassily
Kandinsky he avoided “ traditional forms of beauty” to convey powerful feelings in his
music.
EXPRESSIONIST COMPOSER
Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951)
He was born in Vienna, Austria on September 13, 1874. He
taught himself music theory, but took lessons in counterpoint. At
first, he was an avid follower of Richard Wagner but later he realized
that there should be new styles in creating music. He made used of the
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twelve tones of the chromatic scale which he used independent of

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 each other and was called dodecaphonic. He is credited with the development of the twelve-
tone system. Although full of melodic and lyrical interest, his music is also extremely
complex, creating heavy demands of the listener.Thus, his works were met with extreme
reactions-either strong hostility from the general public or enthusiastic acclaim from his
supporters. His musical compositions total more or less 213. He died on July 13, 1951 in
LosAngeles, California, USA where he had settled since 1934.

Works of Schoenberg
 Verklarte Nacht, Three Pieces for Piano, op. 11
 Pierrot Lunaire
 Gurreleider
 Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night, 1899), one of his earliest successful pieces,
blends the lyricism, instrumentation, and melodic beauty of Brahms with the
chromaticism and construction of Wagner
The twelve-tone series is based on the following chromatic scale

IV. EXAMPLES:
Analyze the following twelve tones and indicate the so-fa syllables of the given tones.

So-fa syllables
do di re ri mi fa fi sol si la li ti do

V. GENERALIZATION:
Music of the 20th century includes impressionism, whose music focuses on mood and
atmosphere; and expressionism, a musical style expressing intense, subjective emotions and
dissonance. The two impressionist composers are Claude Debussy and Joseph Maurice
Ravel; Arnold Schoenberg is the expressionist composer.

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VI. EXERCISES:
A. Directions: Match the composers to their respective masterpieces by writing the letter of
the correct answer on the space provided.

1.A.Pelleas et Melisande (1895)—hisB.famous operatic work that drew mixed

C.
extreme reactions for its innovative
Debussy Ravelharmonies and textural treatments.
Schoenbe
2. La Mer (1905)—a highly imaginative and atmospheric symphonic work
for orchestra about the sea.
3. Pavane for a Dead Princess (1899), a slow but lyrical requiem.
4. Miroirs (Mirrors), 1905, a work for piano known for its harmonic evolution and
imagination.
5. Verklarte Nacht (Transfigured Night, 1899), one of his earliest successful pieces,
blends the lyricism, instrumentation, and melodic beauty of Brahms with the
chromaticism and construction of Wagner.

B. Directions: Analyze the following twelve tones and indicate the so-fa syllables of the
given tones.Write your answers on the space provided for.

So-fa syllables do re mi fa sol la ti do

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VII. REFERENCES:
Lugue, Vivian R. 2011. Our World of MAPEH. Philippines: Vibal Publishing House, Inc.

Seneres, Charito E. 2008. Honing Your Skills Through Mapeh IV. Philippines:
Jo-es Publishing House.

Sunico, Raul M. 2015. Music and Arts Appreciation for Young Filipinos. Philippines:
Tawid Publications.

VIII. ANSWER KEY:

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