MUS 150
Art of Listening
Listening Assignment No. 4

Due Date: Thursday, November 7

This assignment will ask you to listen to and compare several works from the Baroque period (1600-1750), the Classical period (1750-1825), and the Romantic Period (1820-1900).

Listen to each selection, and try to get the best sound possible (headphones sometimes help).

Using the check list of musical style from our earlier class as your guide, discuss what you hear in the following excerpts, i.e., how are the features of music gone over in class exemplified in these pieces, if at all?


Prelude and Fugue: Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (pipe organ)


Symphony: Mozart: Symphony In G Minor, K. 550, 1st movement (orchestra)


Symphony: Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique, 5th movement (orchestra)

Pitches: general comments and observations (conjunct, disjunct, phrases, cadences, melody, harmony, consonance, dissonance, like/dislike, etc.)
Durations: general comments and observations (steady beat, meter, tempo, rhythms, syncopations, like/dislike, etc.)
Dynamics: general comments and observations (initial dynamic level, does it change, gradually or suddenly, notice crescendo/decrescendo, terraced dynamics, etc.)
Timbre: general comments and observations (what instruments do you hear, do you notice harpsichord sound in orchestral works, chords and basso continuo, melody in higher pitched instruments, like/dislike, etc.)

Then see if you can break it down a little further:
Harmony Ð can you hear the changes of harmony (chord changes)? Do you hear/feel/recognize the ÒkeyÓ or Òhome soundÓ? Do some harmonies sound more stable than others (consonant dissonant),
Texture Ð how is the melody treated: monophonic, homophonic, polyphonic, canÕt tell, changes from _______ to _______, etc.
Form Ð how is this work organized? Do you hear the work broken down into sections? Are any of the sections repeated? How are the concepts of repetition, variation, and contrast used throughout the work?

You can set this up in a spreadsheet type of idea, or a chart, or just a general sentence/paragraph format to freely discuss your findings.

What I hope that you get out of this assignment is the answer to the question "What are the differences in sound between a more romantic style (the Baroque period and Romantic period) and a classic style (the Classical period)?"