The so-called "title music" is music with words as titles. Title music is another comprehensive music produced by romantic composers who combined music with other sister arts such as literature, drama, and painting. form. Let’s follow my steps and learn more about program music!
The concept of program music
The so-called program music, It is a piece of music that uses words and titles to display plot music (expressing literary content) or simulates natural sounds (expressing painterly content) through imitation, symbolism, suggestion and other means. It originated from romantic music in the early 18th century. The term "music" was first coined by Liszt. It is the product of the organic combination of music and other sister arts. The integration of music with non-musical factors such as literature and art not only improves the expressiveness of music art but also has a positive impact on practical aspects such as performance and appreciation. Positive role and impact. The counterpart of title music is pure music, also known as absolute music, that is, untitled music. Most of the works before the 17th and 18th centuries were untitled music.
Regarding title music, people often have a misunderstanding, that is, as long as the work has a title, it is title music. We are familiar with instrumental works such as Haydn's symphonies "Clock" and "Astonishment", Beethoven's piano sonatas "Moonlight", "Passion" and other works. Although they have titles, they are not title music. The titles of these works are publishers and reviews. The title was added later by the author. It only stimulates the imagination of the audience, guides the audience's thinking, and slightly reveals the content of the work. There are obvious differences between titled music and untitled music in terms of musical expression elements, musical form structure, and content themes. The primary criterion for judging whether a work is titled music is whether the work expresses literary and painterly content. There are two ways to connect title music with literature and painting: First, the content of the work is directly based on literature or painting, such as Rimsky-Korsakov's symphony "Arabian Nights" and Mussorgsky's Piano Suite "Picture Exhibition" and Smetana's symphonic poem "My Motherland" are used; secondly, music expresses the author's feelings about life or depicts the scenery, such as Berlioz's symphony "Symphonie Fantastique", Beethoven's No. Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral". In addition, the title music refers specifically to instrumental works, and vocal works are not included. Title: The title of music is generally added by the author. The title is closely related to the music. It is a summary of the ideological content of the work and a display of the author's creative intention.
The origin of title music
The origin of title music can be traced back to the 16th and 17th centuries, in the Joscan Renaissance ballads and in Bach's "Capriccio for a Brother's Journey" Among them, the descriptive and symbolic elements of title music appeared in instrumental music works such as "The Four Seasons" by Vivaldi; title music was further developed in the classicism period. Romanticism emerged in the 19th century, and the pursuit of freedom and advocating individualism became the spirit of the times during this period. Romanticism is reflected in music by emphasizing the expressive meaning of music and bringing lyrical and emotional factors to an important position. Romantic music pursues more freedom, movement, strong passion, more changes, sharp contrasts, dramatic conflicts and the extremes of various emotions. In order to better express emotions, music has opened its own door and is closely connected with literature, drama, fine arts and other arts.
The most prominent phenomenon is that title music developed significantly during the Romantic movement in the 19th century. The romantic period of the 19th century was an important period of development of title music. Title music was perfected and carried forward. American music theorist Joseph Marklis pointed out in the book "Music Appreciation": Title music was particularly important in a period like the 19th century. During this period musicians became acutely aware that their music was closer to poetry and painting... Romantic composers had a deeper understanding of the title, which was only necessary for poetic purposes as an integral part of the whole. As something indispensable for understanding the whole, the title or song title is necessary?.
In their creation, romantic composers believed that traditional musical language could not fully reflect what they wanted to express in their hearts. The balance, order, restraint, and rationality of classicism were unacceptable. They intervened more deeply in life and expressed their emotions about life. Express your emotions about the natural phenomena in the universe, and show the subtle emotions and even momentary feelings that are the most unique of human beings. They need to use the images of literature and art such as drama and poetry to seek meanings beyond music, thus improving the imagination and expressive power of music.
Title music is a concentrated expression of Liszt’s artistic thoughts. He once said: In our opinion, the poetic narrative contained in the title of instrumental music is not so much a symptom of the exhaustion and degeneration of instrumental music. It is a phenomenon promoted by the development of our times and a necessary step on the way forward for contemporary art. In the process of the formation of certain forms that are not familiar to everyone, they gradually become insightful among artists and the general audience because of their moving magic. recognized by people? Liszt has systematically studied title music. He pointed out: Title music can no longer let the listeners guess at will, so as to avoid inconsistent and wrong understandings with the composer's original intention; title music has compared the meaning in the title. A clear hint?.
How to create title music
When creating, conceive according to the title, and ask the audience to listen to the instrumental music according to the prompts of the title. "Program" means "programme", not the title. F. Liszt defined the title as: An easy-to-understand statement written by the composer before a purely instrumental piece. The composer did this to prevent listeners from interpreting his music arbitrarily and to point out the poetic meaning of the whole piece in advance. , pointing out the most important things among them. ?("Berlioz and His "Harold" Symphony").