unit II part 2 chapters 28 32 2 
Study Questions Unit II
Part 2 (Chapters 28-29, 32)
The Romantic Era
Chapter 28
1) How old was Mendelssohn when he composed the Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream?
17
2) How does Mendelssohn tell the story of the play through music?
By using melodies that can be readily associated with the play’s principal characters.
3) What is program music? Why was it important during the 19th-century?
Purely instrumental work openly linked in some way to an object, story, or idea outside of the music; Artists sought to integrate purely instrument music with ideas.
4) For you, do the themes in the Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream represent the characters in the play? Why or why not?
Yes, it shows how we are perceiving the characters.
5) Know the biography of Felix Mendelssohn.
Composed “Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1809-1847
6) For Mendelssohn, what was the connection between the play and his music?
They were parallel to each other in terms of the characters feelings.
7) Mendelssohn added incidental music to the play much later (1842). What famous piece comes from this addition?
Wedding March
8) Why do you think so many composers in the 19th-century found inspiration in Shakespeare’s plays?
A lot of them called for instrumental music and the composer were able to express themselves better with that.
Chapter 29
1) Describe the story of Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. In your opinion, does the music tell this story in a compelling way? Why or why not?
A young artist dreams that he killed his unfaithful lover and that he is being led away to scaffold, where he will be executed.
2) What is orchestration? Why is Berlioz considered a pioneer in orchestral effects?
Art of arranging music for the instruments of the orchestra.
3) What is the idée fixe?
Musical image
4) How does the music represent the guillotine? Why is it important that it interrupts the idée fixe?
Fall of the guillotines blade; so the audience can experience fear when they watch it.
5)
Part 2 (Chapters 28-29, 32)
The Romantic Era
Chapter 28
1) How old was Mendelssohn when he composed the Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream?
17
2) How does Mendelssohn tell the story of the play through music?
By using melodies that can be readily associated with the play’s principal characters.
3) What is program music? Why was it important during the 19th-century?
Purely instrumental work openly linked in some way to an object, story, or idea outside of the music; Artists sought to integrate purely instrument music with ideas.
4) For you, do the themes in the Overture to a Midsummer Night’s Dream represent the characters in the play? Why or why not?
Yes, it shows how we are perceiving the characters.
5) Know the biography of Felix Mendelssohn.
Composed “Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream 1809-1847
6) For Mendelssohn, what was the connection between the play and his music?
They were parallel to each other in terms of the characters feelings.
7) Mendelssohn added incidental music to the play much later (1842). What famous piece comes from this addition?
Wedding March
8) Why do you think so many composers in the 19th-century found inspiration in Shakespeare’s plays?
A lot of them called for instrumental music and the composer were able to express themselves better with that.
Chapter 29
1) Describe the story of Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz. In your opinion, does the music tell this story in a compelling way? Why or why not?
A young artist dreams that he killed his unfaithful lover and that he is being led away to scaffold, where he will be executed.
2) What is orchestration? Why is Berlioz considered a pioneer in orchestral effects?
Art of arranging music for the instruments of the orchestra.
3) What is the idée fixe?
Musical image
4) How does the music represent the guillotine? Why is it important that it interrupts the idée fixe?
Fall of the guillotines blade; so the audience can experience fear when they watch it.
5)