Chapter 57: Neo-Romantic Evocations: Higdon and Program Music into the
Twenty-First Century
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The postmodern approach that mixes styles from the nineteenth century with contemporary ones is
called:
a. minimalism. c. post-Romanticism.
b. post-minimalism. d. neo-Romanticism.
2. Which music group or performer influenced the career of Jennifer Higdon?
a. the Rolling Stones
b. the Beatles
c. Jimi Hendrix
d. Janis Joplin
3. Which of the following best describes Higdon’s treatment of harmony?
a. She avoids triads. c. Her music is rooted in tonality.
b. Her music is highly dissonant. d. Her music lacks tonal centers.
4. Higdon chose the title blue cathedral as a tribute to:
a. gospel singers. c. a minimalist church in New York.
b. the French painter Matisse. d. her brother.
5. Higdon’s blue cathedral was written for a performance by:
a. gospel singers. c. a full symphony orchestra.
b. an a cappella choir. d. a small chamber orchestra.
6. Which American composer was one of the most prominent twentieth-century exponents of the
continued commitment to Romantic musical ideals?
a. Samuel Barber c. Duke Ellington
b. Aaron Copland d. George Gershwin
7. Who is one of the most widely performed living American composers?
a. Jennifer Higdon c. Leonard Bernstein
b. Aaron Copland d. John Adams
8. Higdon won the Pulitzer Prize in 2010 for:
a. her Violin Concerto. c. West Side Story.
b. blue cathedral. d. Adagio for Strings.
9. Higdon creates a dialogue between which two instruments during blue cathedral?
a. flute and clarinet c. clarinet and oboe
b. flute and oboe d. clarinet and English horn
10. Which instrument in blue cathedral represents Jennifer Higdon’s brother?
a. solo flute c. solo oboe
b. solo clarinet d. the violin section
11. Which genre best describes blue cathedral?
a. symphony c. concerto
b. orchestral tone poem d. mass
TRUE/FALSE
1. Jennifer Higdon’s performance background is as a flutist.
2. Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral contains shimmering, bell-like timbres.
3. The reclaiming of nineteenth-century harmonic and melodic language in a new context that takes
into account the postmodern world is known as neo-Romanticism.
4. Neo-Romanticism favors the lush harmonic language of the late Romantic era.
5. Composers such as Jennifer Higdon aim to modernize the nineteenth-century orchestral tradition.
6. blue cathedral contains musical borrowing from Asian soundscapes.
7. John Cage was one of the most prominent twentieth-century exponents of the continued
commitment to Romantic musical ideals.
8. blue cathedral uses a variety of orchestral colors.
9. Higdon studied composition with John Cage at the University of Pennsylvania.
10. Neo-Romantic works such as blue cathedral often feature program elements connected with a
personal story.
11. The title of Higdon’s work blue cathedral is a reference to her father.
12. blue cathedral is best described as a symphony.
ESSAY
1. Discuss how Jennifer Higdon creates a Romantic character within a modern musical style.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 3 REF: Essentials: pp. 323–324
TOP: Higdon MSC: Applied
2. Discuss how some early twentieth-century composers continued to update the Romantic style.
ANS:
Answers will vary.
PTS: 1 DIF: 2 REF: Essentials: pp. 322–323
TOP: Neo-Romanticism MSC: Applied