CHAPTER 41 Personal Soundtracks: Berlioz and the Program
Symphony
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Instrumental music endowed with literary, philosophical, or pictorial associations is called ________ music.
a. absolute c. background
b. program d. pure
2. Which of the following compositions is LEAST likely to be an example of program music?
a. 1812 Overture c. Harold in Italy
b. Romeo and Juliet d. String Quartet in B-flat Major
3. Music composed without literary or pictorial meanings is called ________ music.
a. absolute c. incidental
b. program d. background
4. A multimovement, programmatic work for orchestra is called a
a. symphonic poem. c. concert overture.
b. program symphony. d. sonata.
5. Which of the following composers is considered the first great exponent of musical Romanticism in France?
a. Schubert c. Liszt
b. Berlioz d. Wagner
6. Hector Berlioz was born and spent most of his career in
a. Italy. c. Germany.
b. France. d. Hungary.
7. Which of the following best characterizes the music of Berlioz?
a. It calls for huge orchestral and choral forces.
b. It features brilliant orchestration.
c. It has programmatic implications.
d. All answers shown here.
8. Which of the following works were composed by Berlioz?
a. Les Troyens, Roméo et Juliette, Symphonie fantastique
b. Roméo et Juliette, Italian Symphony, Symphonie fantastique
c. Symphonie fantastique, King Lear, Night on Bald Mountain
d. Symphonie fantastique, Night on Bald Mountain, Italian Symphony
9. Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique is an example of a
a. tone poem. c. program symphony.
b. symphonic poem. d. concert overture.
10. How many movements are in Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique?
a. one c. three
b. four d. five
11. Which of the following inspired Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique ?
a. Goethe’s poems c. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
b. the actress Harriet Smithson d. Bach’s music
12. Which of the following is true of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique?
a. The program is thought to be autobiographical.
b. The program was inspired by the composer’s infatuation with an actress.
c. The program presents a morbid artist in lovesick despair.
d. All answers shown here.
13. In Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, the idée fixe
a. symbolizes the beloved.
b. recurs as required by the literary program.
c. unifies the five movements, which are diverse in character and mood.
d. all of the answers shown here.
14. In Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, what is the idée fixe?
a. a chant from the Mass for the Dead appearing in the finale
b. a shepherd song in the third movement
c. the basic theme of the symphony, heard in every movement
d. a theme and variations, heard in the march movement
15. The technique of altering a theme to give it a different character is often called
a. thematic transformation. c. motivic development.
b. augmentation. d. sequencing.
16. Which of the following characterizes the March to the Scaffold from Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique?
a. duple meter, diabolical mood, minor mode
b. dominance of the string instruments, minor mode, diabolical mood
c. joyful mood, minor mode, duple meter
d. major mode, joyful mood, triple meter
17. The Dies irae is
a. the idée fixe in Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.
b. a Lied by Schubert.
c. a chant from the Mass for the Dead.
d. an opera by Berlioz.
18. The piano manufacturer in New York that made major improvements to the instrument was
a. Steinway. c. Wurlitzer.
b. Stradivarius. d. Chickering.
19. Through which innovation did Theobald Boehm improve musical instruments?
a. valves for brass instruments c. a stronger violin bow
b. key mechanism for woodwinds d. the cast-iron frame for pianos
20. What new instrument was developed in the nineteenth century?
a. bassoon c. bugle
b. English horn d. saxophone
21. What is the MOST revered form of absolute music?
a. the symphony c. the string quartet
b. the sonata d. opera
22. What coveted composition prize did Berlioz win in 1830?
a. Prix de Rome c. Esprit de Corps
b. Prix de France d. the Pulitzer Prize
23. Thematic transformation is the technique of
a. altering a theme to give it a different character.
b. altering the harmony of a work.
c. changing the rhythm of select notes.
d. applying literary ideas to a musical work.
24. What did the piano acquire in the nineteenth century?
a. a cast-iron frame c. a wooden frame
b. the use of quills d. plastic keys
25. Which innovations to improve musical instruments occurred during the nineteenth century?
a. valves for brass instruments c. a stronger violin bow
b. a key mechanism for woodwinds d. All answers shown here.
1. Music endowed with literary or pictorial associations is called absolute music.
2. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 is a good example of a program symphony.
3. Berlioz was one of the boldest musical innovators of the nineteenth century.
4. Berlioz was awarded the Prix de Rome in the year that he wrote his Symphonie fantastique.
5. Berlioz, who exceled in composing orchestral works, wrote no operas.
6. In his Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz used a recurrent theme that he called the idée fixe, symbolizing the beloved.
7. In Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, the idée fixe melody appears only at the very end of the fourth movement, March to the Scaffold.
8. The fourth movement to the Symphonie fantastique contains two principal themes.
9. The finale to the Symphonie fantastique projects a satanic character.
10. Adolphe Sax was responsible for developing valves for brass instruments.
11. Thematic transformation turns absolute music into program music.
12. Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique is a good example of a program symphony.
13. Berlioz was a French composer who spent most of his career in Italy.
14. Theobold Boehm invented the flute in 1854.
15. Foot pedals were added to both the harp and timpani during the nineteenth century.
ESSAY
1. Describe the difference between program and absolute music, citing examples of each.
2. What is “Romantic” about the program and music of Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique?
3. Describe a few twentieth-century innovations to musical instruments that have altered the way composers create music.
4. Can program music convey meaning if the listener doesn’t know the story?