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Chapter 48
Germaine Tailleferre
Concertino for Harp and Orchestra, finale
Chapter at a Glance
Listen to This First
Melody: A Return to Tradition
Tonal Harmony with Modern Inflections
Transparent Timbre
Connect Your Playlist: Glissando
Clarity of Form
Listening Guide: Concertino for Harp and Orchestra, finale
Profile: Germaine Tailleferre (1892 1983)
Expand Your Playlist: Tailleferre
Chapter Objectives
After reading this chapter and listening to the work, students should be able to:
48.3 Describe how the harmony in this finale sounds different from that of the
Classical period.
48.5 Discuss the relationship between the solo harp and the orchestra.
48.7 Discuss why artists sometimes refer back to idioms of the past in their works.
Key Concepts
periodic phrase structure, transparency of texture, rondo form
Chapter Highlight: Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism was a response to modernism. Neoclassical works draw on the idioms of earlier
eras even while incorporating at least some modern elements as well. No one would mistake
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Chapter Summary
Modernism became an accepted style among composers early in the twentieth century, but soon
thereafter other composers responded with a counter movement, one that was more deeply
rooted in the traditions of earlier periods (but not the nineteenth century). In the wake of World
War I, a group of six young French composers (Les six) wanted to write distinctively French
music and to disavow themselves from German composers like Schoenberg and the
Expressionists. Germaine Tailleferre was the only female member of that group, four of whom
had studied counterpoint together at the Paris Conservatory.
Listening Guide
Bonds designates with both letters (ABACABA) and numbers (1213121). These can be seen in the
MyMusicLab Resources
Automated Listening Guide: Germaine Tailleferre: Concertino for Harp and
Orchestra, finale
Chapter Audio: Chapter 48
Discussion Topics and Critical Thinking Questions
1. There are three examples of rondo form in Listen to This! that follow the form ABACABA:
The
Marriage of Figaro (Chapter 24), and this finale by Tailleferre. How similar is the form in
each of these three works? On what other aspects of the work these Classical composers does
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Activities and Exercises
1. Assign groups of students to the following topics: Classical in art and architecture from
antiquity; Classical in music from 1750 1828; Neoclassical in art and architecture from 1750
1820; Neoclassicism in music, early twentieth century. Students should describe and define
Journaling Prompt
movements in the course of music