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Chapter 33
Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Union: Concert Paraphrase on National Airs
Chapter at a Glance
Listen to This First
Historical Context: Music in the Civil War
Patriotic Melodies Made Virtuosic
Same Melodies, Different Textures
Connect Your Playlist: Virtuosity
Listening Guide: Union: Concert Paraphrase on National Airs
A Closer Look
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter and listening to the work, students should be able to:
33.2 Describe the role of music in the American Civil War.
33.4 Describe how Gottschalk manipulates textures in Union: Concert Paraphrase on
National Airs.
33.5 Describe the virtuosic nature of this work.
r and composer.
Key Concepts
virtuosity, nationalistic melodies, homophonic versus polyphonic texture
Chapter Highlight: Virtuosity
Although a great deal of music was written for amateur performance, some composers
wrote music that was well beyond the reach of any but the most accomplished
Chapter Summary
Louis Moreau Gottschalk was a native of New Orleans, but he was a Union sympathizer,
against slavery. To make a political statement, he wrote Union: Concert Paraphrase on
National Airs
halk studied
piano in Paris and dazzled his audiences when he toured the United States. He
exercised sensitivity in programming his concerts, avoiding pieces like Union and
In Union: Concert Paraphrase on National Airs, Gottschalk builds from a
homophonic texture to a polyphonic one, all the while using familiar tunes. It is another
Listening Guide
In the Listening Guide, Bonds notes the three melodies that form the basis of Union:
Concert Paraphrase on National Airs
MyMusicLab Resources
Automated Listening Guide: Louis Moreau Gottschalk: Union: Concert Paraphrase on
National Airs
Chapter Audio: Chapter 33
Discussion Topics and Critical Thinking Questions
1. Union considered to be a political statement? How does it
compare with other political pieces you have encountered in Listen to This!?
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2. south, to Cuba
Activities and Exercises
1. The piano changed dramatically over the course of the 19th century, and not all
sic on the same type of piano. Have the
class divide into groups to investigate different types of pianos and manufacturers in
the 19th century, including their costs and share their findings.
2. There are several drawings and paintings of Gottschalk from the period in which
Journaling Prompt
During the Romantic period, music seems to become more and more difficult to
perform. Why?
Up to this point in Listen to This!, the two American composers we have studied both