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- program music, instrumental music that carries some extramusical meaning, some “program” of literary idea, legend, scenic description, or personal drama. It is contrasted with so-called absolute, or abstract, music, in which artistic interest is supposedly confined to abstract constructions in sound.
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Feb 20, 2024 · In Western classical music, program music refers to a piece (usually instrumental rather than vocal) that is about something or that has some kind of extra-musical meaning. This is in contrast to absolute – or abstract – music, which is simply music that is written for its own sake.
Program music, instrumental music that carries some extramusical meaning, some “program” of literary idea, legend, scenic description, or personal drama. It is contrasted with so-called absolute, or abstract, music, in which artistic interest is supposedly confined to abstract constructions in.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jan 25, 2024 · Program music is a genre in classical music that utilizes instrumental sounds to tell stories, depict scenes, or convey emotions. It aims to represent extra-musical ideas through musical compositions.
- Four Sea Interludes by Benjamin Britten. Year: 1944. Britten’s Four Sea Interludes are the result of Britten’s opera Peter Grimes. The interludes condense the opera plot and use only instrumentation to tell the devastating story of how a village turns on one of its occupants.
- Rodeo by Aaron Copland. Year: 1942. Aaron Copeland is one of the most recognizable American composers of program music, and Rodeo is one of his most immediately identifiable pieces.
- Symphony No. 9 From the New World by Antonin Dvorak. Year: 1893. Dvorak's New World Symphony owes its nickname to the fact Dvorak composed it while employed by the National Conservatory of Music in America.
- L'Après Midi D’un Faune by Claude Debussy. Year: 1894. Claude Debussy almost always wrote program music, and the result is that he significantly shaped our understanding of it.
Nov 21, 2023 · The best definition of program music is music that is based on an extra-musical source such as a poem, a story, a painting or picture, nature, or a personal experience.
Program Music is music that is intended to describe a scene or tell a story. Program music is often inspired by a piece of art, a poem, or a story that a composer has heard but can also be inspired by people and places a composer encounters in real life.
Jul 15, 2023 · Program music, in simple words, is instrumental music that carries a narrative or depicts specific scenes or moods. Way before lyrics took center stage, program music was the go-to method for musicians looking to tell a tale. To the uninitiated, program music might seem like a cryptic term.
