Your Set Works
D
Odeon
Ernesto Nazareth · List D No. 3
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🔑 Key Facts
Key: C# minor
Form: Rondo ABACA
Period: Late Romantic/Popular
Composed: 1910
Tempo: ♩≈84
Style: Brazilian tango
🎭 Title
Composed in 1910 for the newly-opened Odeon cinema in Rio de Janeiro (the name originally referred to a type of theatre in ancient Greece). Written in the style of a Brazilian tango — related to the habanera; both share the characteristic accompanying rhythm.
👤 Composer Bio
Ernesto Nazareth (1863–1934), Brazilian. Born Rio de Janeiro. Studied with Lucien Lambert (African-American). Influenced by Chopin. Villa-Lobos called him "true incarnation of the soul" of Brazilian music and dedicated Choros No. 1 to him. Composed 200+ works: 90+ tangos, ~40 waltzes, ~30 polkas.
📐 Structure (Rondo ABACA)
| Section | Bars | Key | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1–17 (×2) | C# minor | Main theme — two 8-bar phrases; melody mainly in LH; habanera/tango rhythm; modulates to F# minor b.1–4 |
| B | 18–34 (×2) | E major | Episode 1 — relative major; tango rhythms in LH; upper RH chord notes are appoggiaturas; inner voice descends by semitones |
| A | 35–50 | C# minor | Main theme (without repeat, 1st time ending) |
| C | 51–69 (×2) | E major | "Trio" — even more contrasting; habanera rhythm in LH every bar; com brillo; only dim 7th, dom 7th and tonic harmony |
| A | 70–85 | C# minor | Main theme (without repeat, 2nd time ending) |
📖 Terms (Portuguese/Italian)
- Gingandoswaying
- Secco/sempre seccodry; always dry (unpedalled)
- Com brillowith brilliance
- Mimosodainty or delicate
- Menosless (softer, less brilliant)
- Expressivoexpressively
- Segue Triogo directly to the Trio
- Riten[uto]hold back speed immediately
🎨 Style Notes
Combines European Romanticism and Latin American popular dance. Characteristics: "catchy" melodies; syncopated rhythms (long-short); regular 8-bar phrase structure; colourful harmonies with expressive dissonance (appoggiaturas) and chromaticism; melodic embellishments (grace notes).
Contemporaries: Albéniz (Spanish), Granados (Spanish), Joplin (American), Villa-Lobos (Brazilian).
Contemporaries: Albéniz (Spanish), Granados (Spanish), Joplin (American), Villa-Lobos (Brazilian).
B
Lento con gran espressione (Nocturne in C♯ minor)
Frédéric Chopin · List B
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🔑 Key Facts
Key: C♯ minor
Form: Ternary (ABA)
Period: Romantic
Published: 1875 (posth.)
Composed: 1830
Time sig: 4/4 (triple time in b.33–45)
Tempo: Lento · ♩ = c.63
🎭 Title
Lento con gran espressione = slowly, with great expression. Composed 1830 but not published until 1875, more than 25 years after Chopin's death. Modern editions often call it Nocturne No. 20 (Chopin did not give it that name). A nocturne (night piece) is a short, lyrical piece, usually for piano, evoking the night; the title was first used by the Irish composer John Field. Nocturnes have long flowing melodies and gentle broken-chord accompaniments. The KK number (Kobylańska Katalog, by Polish musicologist Krystyna Kobylańska) identifies the work.
👤 Composer Bio
Frédéric (Fryderyk) Chopin (1810–1849), Polish. Born near Warsaw. Studied Bach and the Viennese Classics with Wojciech Zywny, and harmony and composition with Józef Elsner (High School of Music, attached to the Warsaw Conservatory). First public concert age 8; composition published age 15. Toured with virtuosic works for piano and orchestra (two concertos, Krakowiak). Left Warsaw 1830 (shortly before the uprising); after a brief period in Vienna settled in Paris. Disliked the virtuoso fashion (Liszt, Thalberg, Herz), virtually renounced concerts, played in aristocratic salons and taught; style became more intimate. Poor health all his life; died of tuberculosis in Paris, age 39. All works involve piano; major works include 2 concertos, 3 sonatas, 4 ballades, 4 scherzos, Fantasy, Berceuse, Barcarolle.
📐 Structure (Ternary ABA)
| Section | Bars | Key | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intro | 1–4 | C♯ minor | Two identical 2-bar phrases; sadly drooping melody moves by step from tonic to dominant; harmony i–V with German augmented 6th (A–C♯–E–F𝄪) before the dominant |
| A | 5–20 | C♯ minor | Main theme: two 8-bar phrases, lyrical melody over gentle broken-chord quavers. Falling 4ths/5ths (b.6, 9) add pathos; rising octaves (b.14–15) surge; accented dissonance b.19. Passing hints of F♯ minor (b.7–8, 15–16), no real modulation. 1st phrase rests on dominant (b.12); 2nd has Neapolitan 6th (b.17) and diminished 7ths (b.18), V⁷–i cadence b.19–20 |
| B (I) | 21–32 | A major → C♯ minor → G♯ major | Episode Part I: begins in A major over a tonic pedal; theme in F♯ minor b.25–26; back to C♯ minor b.27 (V⁷–i b.28). B.29–32 modulate to G♯ major (dominant major) with expressive dissonance, French aug. 6th and diminished 7th (b.31); V⁷–I cadence b.32. Change of meter at b.32 = written-out rubato |
| B (II) | 33–45 | G♯ major | Triple time, dance-like, dotted rhythms and triplets reminiscent of a mazurka; one chord per bar (tonic, dominant 7th or French 6th). Rests on a slowly rising G♯ major chord b.44–45, which is also V of C♯ minor — immediate return |
| A | 46–57 | C♯ minor | Main theme slightly altered, phrase order rearranged (b.46–49 from b.13–16; b.50 from b.9–10); stronger and more passionate from b.52; V⁷–i cadence b.56–57 |
| Coda | 57–64 | C♯ minor | Tonic pedal; delicate scale flourishes; harmony alternates i and ii⁷; ends on tonic major chord (tierce de Picardie) b.63–64 |
📖 Musical Terms (Italian)
- Lentoslowly
- Con gran espressionewith great (much) expression
- Con forzawith strength
- Sotto vocein an under voice
- Sempre / piùalways / more
- Rallentandogradually becoming slower
- Adagioslowly
- Morendodying away
- Appassionatopassionate
- Delicato / delicatissimodelicately / very delicately
- Similein a similar manner
- Poco più mossoa little quicker
🎨 Style Notes
Romantic characteristics: intimate nature with detailed expressive instructions; long, flowing cantabile melodies; rich harmonies with chromaticism and expressive dissonance; widely-spaced broken-chord textures requiring extensive sustaining pedal; expressive tempo variations including tempo rubato.
Nocturne features: singing melody over gentle broken-chord accompaniment; night-piece mood.
Contemporaries: Field (Irish, 1782–1837), Schubert (Austrian, 1797–1828), Bellini (Italian, 1801–1835), Mendelssohn (German, 1809–1847), Schumann (German, 1810–1856), Liszt (Hungarian, 1811–1886), Heller (Hungarian/French, 1813–1888), Verdi (Italian, 1813–1901).
Nocturne features: singing melody over gentle broken-chord accompaniment; night-piece mood.
Contemporaries: Field (Irish, 1782–1837), Schubert (Austrian, 1797–1828), Bellini (Italian, 1801–1835), Mendelssohn (German, 1809–1847), Schumann (German, 1810–1856), Liszt (Hungarian, 1811–1886), Heller (Hungarian/French, 1813–1888), Verdi (Italian, 1813–1901).
C
Sonnet 140 of Petrarch
Alexander Peskanov · Grade 8 No. 6
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🔑 Key Facts
Key: E major (no modulation)
Form: Sectional — Intro, A, B, C, Coda
Period: Neo-Romantic (21st C.)
Subtitle: Tribute to Franz Liszt
Tempo: ♩≈54 Cantabile
Phrases: mostly 4-bar (14 total)
🎭 Title
Petrarch (1304–1374) was an Italian Renaissance poet. A sonnet = 14 lines of iambic pentameter (5 weak-strong syllable pairs per line) — expressing unrequited love for "Laura". Subtitled "Tribute to Franz Liszt". In E major — same key as Liszt's Sonetto 104 del Petrarca. Final chord identical to Liszt's piece.
👤 Composer Bio
Alexander Peskanov (b. 1953), Ukrainian/American. Born Odessa. Studied at Stolyarsky School and Juilliard. Proponent of the Russian Piano School. Compositions continue the Romantic tradition. Key works: 12 student concertos, Sunshine Suite, Capricci, Elegie, Intermezzo; tributes to Bach, Beethoven, Gluck, Liszt, Mozart, Scarlatti. Brother Mark is a prominent violinist.
📐 Structure
| Section | Bars | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Intro | 1–6 | E major; tonic pedal; melody embellished with arpeggios; tonic chord alternates with half-diminished 7th (F#-A-C♮-E) — "joy and heartache"; b.5–6 arpeggiate tonic in continuous semiquavers |
| A | 7–14 | "Three hand" effect: melody in inner (tenor) voice; arpeggiated accompaniment above + bass below; two identical 4-bar phrases each ending on dominant (V); appoggiaturas create/release tension |
| B | 15–31 | Two similar 8-bar phrases beginning with a sequence; suggests C# minor, A major, F# minor via secondary dominants (not full modulations); more expansive melody with rising octave leaps |
| C | 32–49 | Melody moves to upper (soprano) voice; second phrase extended, leading to cascading arpeggios (b.45–47) on dominant minor 9th chord (B-D#-F#-A-C♮); dominant pedal b.40–44 |
| Coda | 50–61 | Similar to Intro but slightly louder; first 2 bars two octaves lower; b.56–58 use augmentation; final chord = last chord of Liszt's Sonetto 104 |
📖 Musical Terms (Italian)
- Cantabilein a singing style
- Espressivo e cantabileexpressive and songlike
- Molto legatovery smooth and connected
- Molto accel[erando]gradually much faster
- 15ma (quindicesima)two octaves higher
- 8va (ottava)one octave higher
- Tempo I / a temporeturn to original speed
- Poco riten[uto]hold back a little (immediately)
- Molto rall[entando]gradually much slower
- Smorzandodying away
- Double sharp (𝄪)raises pitch by whole tone
🎨 Style Notes
Neo-Romantic: lyrical cantabile melodies; 7th and 9th chords with chromaticism; expressive dissonance (appoggiaturas); flowing rhythms with notated rubato; widely-spaced accompaniments; extensive pedal; "three hand" texture. Closer in style to Mendelssohn Songs Without Words than Liszt.
Contemporaries: Arvo Pärt, Kapustin, Carl Vine, Phillip Wilcher.
Contemporaries: Arvo Pärt, Kapustin, Carl Vine, Phillip Wilcher.
Flashcards
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Knowledge Quiz
Musical Periods
Your 3 pieces span Late Romantic/Popular (Nazareth), Romantic (Chopin) and Neo-Romantic 21st Century (Peskanov). Know each period's characteristics!
Baroque
c.1600 – c.1750
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Characteristics
- Ornate and elaborate textures
- Instruments: harpsichord, clavichord
- Forms: binary, ternary, ritornello
- Compositions: dance suites, preludes, fugues, toccatas
- Terraced dynamics; ornamentation; basso continuo
Composers
Purcell English
Couperin French
J.S. Bach German
Handel German
Scarlatti Italian
Telemann German
Classical
c.1750 – c.1810
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Characteristics
- Light, elegant and restrained
- Instrument: fortepiano
- Forms: sonata, rondo, minuet and trio, theme and variations
- Clear, balanced phrase structures (4-bar, 8-bar)
- Homophonic texture; gradual dynamic changes
Composers
Haydn Austrian
Mozart Austrian
Beethoven German
Clementi Italian
Schubert Austrian
Romantic
c.1810 – c.1900
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Characteristics
- Passionate and expressive
- Instrument: pianoforte (still developing)
- Forms: ternary, through-composed
- Character pieces, études, impromptus, nationalistic dances
- Wide dynamic range; extensive pedal; rich chromatic harmonies
- Lyrical cantabile melodies; tempo rubato
Key Composers
Chopin Polish
Liszt Hungarian
Schumann German
Mendelssohn German
Brahms German
Grieg Norwegian
Nazareth Brazilian
Impressionist
c.1890 – c.1918
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Characteristics
- Delicate and misty
- Instrument: pianoforte
- Descriptive pieces — often water imagery
- Through-composed (free form)
- Whole-tone/modal scales; unresolved harmonies
Composers
Debussy French
Ravel French
Delius English
Scott English
Neo-Romantic / 20th–21st Century
c.1900 – present
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Characteristics
- Great diversity of styles
- Some abandoned common practice (no key/metre)
- Serial techniques: 12 chromatic pitches treated equally
- Neoclassicism: mix of traditional and modern
- Neo-Romantic (Peskanov): continues 19th-century Romantic tradition; lyrical melodies; rich harmonies
Neo-Romantic Composers
Peskanov Ukrainian/American
Rachmaninoff Russian
Medtner Russian
Miriam Hyde Australian
Arvo Pärt Estonian
Carl Vine Australian
Quick Reference
🎯 Exam Checklist
- 1Title — meaning; associated composers
- 2Composer — nationality, dates, teachers, key events, other works
- 3Time signature — explain it
- 4Main key / tonality
- 5Important modulations (relationship to tonic)
- 6Form — sections, themes, similarities/contrasts
- 7Style/period — time frame, 3 composers, typical compositions
- 8Stylistic characteristics of the piece
- 9Musical terms (Italian/Portuguese) in the score
- 10Musical signs (^, –, 𝄐, sf, 8va, etc.)
📋 Piece Snapshot
| Odeon | Nazareth · C# minor · Rondo ABACA · Brazilian tango · 1910 |
| Lento con gran espressione | Chopin · C♯ minor · Ternary ABA · 4/4 · Romantic · 1830 · pub. 1875 (posth.) |
| Sonnet 140 | Peskanov · E major · Sectional (Intro+A+B+C+Coda) · Neo-Romantic |
📖 Key Terms
| Cantabile | in a singing style |
| Dolce | sweetly and gently |
| Con forza | with strength/force |
| Sotto voce | in an under voice |
| Morendo | dying away |
| Appassionato | passionate |
| Delicato / delicatissimo | delicately / very delicately |
| Con anima | with feeling/soul |
| Lento | slowly |
| A tempo | return to former speed |
| Rubato | expressive flexibility in tempo |
| Riten[uto] | hold back speed immediately |
| Smorzando | dying away |
| Gingando | swaying (Portuguese) |
| Secco | dry, unpedalled |
| Com brillo | with brilliance |
| 15ma | two octaves higher |
| Augmentation | note values lengthened |
| Appoggiatura | dissonant note resolving by step to chord note |
🔑 Key Relationships
| C# minor → E major | Relative major — Odeon, Episodes B and C |
| C# minor → F# minor | Subdominant minor — Odeon b.1–4 |
| C# minor → G# major | Dominant major key — Nocturne b.29–45 (Section B) |
| C# minor → A major | Major submediant (VI) — Nocturne Section B opens in A major (b.21) |
| Secondary dominant | V7 of another chord; momentary suggestion only, no full modulation |
| Half-diminished 7th | F#-A-C♮-E in Sonnet 140 Intro — "bittersweet" |
| Dominant minor 9th | B-D#-F#-A-C♮ — cadenza in Sonnet 140 b.45–47 |
🎼 Chopin General Knowledge
| Born / Died | 1810, near Warsaw, Poland — 1849, Paris, France (age 39; tuberculosis) |
| Teachers | Wojciech Zwyny (piano/violin); Jozef Elsner (harmony/composition, Warsaw Conservatory) |
| Career | First concert age 8. Left Warsaw 1830. Settled Paris. Played aristocratic salons; gave piano lessons. Met George Sand 1836; lived together 1838–1847. Virtually abandoned public performing. |
| Style | All works involve piano. Intimate; lyrical cantabile melodies; rich chromatic harmonies; rhythmic independence of melody and accompaniment; tempo rubato; widely-spaced broken chord textures; extensive sustaining pedal. |
| Piano solo | 3 sonatas, 4 ballades, 4 scherzos, 4 impromptus, 27 études, ~60 mazurkas, 21 nocturnes, 12+ polonaises, 26 preludes, 19 waltzes, Barcarolle, Berceuse, Fantasy |
| Other works | 2 piano concertos (E minor, F minor); piano trio; cello sonata; ~20 songs |
| Opus/catalogues | posth. = published posthumously (from Op. posth. 66). KK = Kobylańska Katalog (Krystyna Kobylańska) identifies the work; CT = Chomiński–Turło catalogue. Lento con gran espressione: composed 1830, published 1875, often called Nocturne No. 20. |
| Contemporaries | Field (Irish, 1782–1837), Bellini (Italian), Berlioz (French), Mendelssohn (German, 1809–1847), Schumann (German, 1810–1856), Liszt (Hungarian, 1811–1886), Verdi (Italian) |