Contrary to popular belief, composing new works with existing folk music is a rather difficult task. Borrowing a folk melody requires not only to stay true to the original peculiarity of the music, but the unique character of the music also complicates its use in a new composition. Some have suggested that folk tunes can simply exist as musical themes in compositions if the composer has a lack of inspiration. However, the need to have musical themes in music is a nineteenth century ideal. Bach and Handel modeled their compositions after predecessors, and their new compositions were so different from their models that the originals are easily forgotten. A contemporary composer can borrow from folk music in the same way. Folk music can be used to develop musical styles without the need to force the music in conventional forms. It requires great skill and knowledge to use folk music in compositions.

Index Classifications: General, 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

The definition of folk music is music of the population that is least affected by city culture, and music of great temporal and spatial extent. It is generally believed that Chopin and Liszt were the first composers who were inspired by folk music, but the term folk music does not accurately describe the influence on their music. Although these composers were certainly influenced by aspects of folk music, a truer characterization of this music is popular folk music. Pure folk music did not influence art music until the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, and particularly in the music of Debussy and Ravel. These composers used idioms from Eastern European and Eastern Asian folk music, which paved the way for composers such as Stravinsky and Kodály. True folk musical influences are characterized not by the use of folk melodies, but rather by an understanding of the inherent spirit of folk music.

Works: Stravinsky: Pribaoutki (318-19).

Index Classifications: General, 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

It is commonly known that Hungarian art music is heavily influenced by folk music. There are a few distinctions in how this occurs. Contrary to popular belief, the simple insertion of folk tunes in art music does not constitute influence. Rather, composers acquire the Hungarian folk idiom like a native language, and the use of folk aspects occurs naturally and subconsciously. In Bartók’s music, there are three categories of musical transcription. The first includes a piece of music in which the original folk tune is more dominant than the newly composed material. The second category includes music in which both folk music and newly composed art music are equal. The final category is the transcription of folk music that takes on the form of an original work.

Works: Bartók: Suite, Op. 14 (350), Rumanian Folk Dances (352), Improvisation on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Op. 20 (352).

Sources: Kodály: Háry János (352); Bartók: For Children (352).

Index Classifications: General, 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

There is a distinct difference between popular art music and real folk music. Authentic folk music (better identified as peasant music) comprises melodies that are representative and uniform among the peasant class in a nation. It is a natural phenomenon that is instinctive, and requires artistic perfection. Conversely, popular art music is derived from primarily Western art music and a hint of peasant music, giving the music an exotic flavor. Nationalism in the nineteenth century increased the demand for a national sound, but rather than looking at peasant music, the focus was on popular art music. Composers of art music rarely encountered authentic peasant music, and, as such, the vague allusion to peasant music is essentially an obscured view of the original.

There are some composers whose music originates in peasant music, most notably Mussorgsky, Stravinsky, and even Beethoven. While Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps is likely one of the best examples of works to include authentic peasant music, Stravinsky still attempts to put peasant music in a structure it was not meant to be in, thereby ignoring musical characteristics inherent to the music he borrows. In numerous symphonies by Haydn, Beethoven, and Mozart, Slavonic peasant music is suggested, primarily the final movements. Croatian melodies are found in Haydn’s Symphony No. 104 in D Major, as well as in two movements of Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony.

Works: Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps (325); Haydn: Symphony No. 104 in D Major (328); Beethoven: Symphony No. 6 in F Major (“Pastoral”), Op. 68 (328).

Sources: Franjo Ksaver Kuhač: Južno-slovjenske narvodne popievke (327).

Index Classifications: General, 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

Although Lutoslawski’s Funeral Music was written in 1954 for the tenth anniversary of Béla Bartók’s death in 1945, there was no intention to imitate Bartók’s musical style in this piece. Some of Lutoslawki’s stylistic interests are closely aligned with those of Bartók, which results in several accidental resemblances in the work. Of particular interest is the twelve-note structure (with alternating semitones and tritones) in the harmonic continuo in the second movement. Unlike the practice by composers in the Second Viennese School, this twelve-note structure does not exhibit serialism. Rather, the twelve-tone quality is found in vertical spaces of the harmonic continuo, in which thirds are absent.

Works: Lutoslawski: Funeral Music (17-21).

Sources: Lutoslawski: Two Etudes for Piano (17), Variations on a Theme of Paganini for 2 Pianos (17), Symphony No. 1 (17), Overture for Strings (17).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

Bartók’s use of Ravel’s “Scarbo” motive as the main folk-like theme in his 1911 piano work Allegro Barbaro, particularly his barbaric transformations of the motive, should be interpreted as a musical joke targeted at French critics. Allegro Barbaro can be considered as a representation of Bartók’s career because it reflects his formal musical training as well as his interest in folk music. Bartók’s education in art music is reflected by the influence of Debussy’s music, whereas his folk influence came from his interaction with the authentic Hungarian folk music that he collected. The first theme in the A section is distinctively composed in a Hungarian folk-like style, and in the B section, the barbaric folk style is dramatically transformed into the French art idiom through Bartók’s borrowing of Debussy’s “Minstrels” motive. This idiosyncratic source of borrowing should be viewed in an ironic and humorous light. Then, the barbaric, folk-like style immediately attempts to reassert its dominance over the French art style throughout the rest of the B section. The returning A section continues this dramatic play, with the French Impressionistic style further emphasized by “planing.” The reassertion of the Hungarian folk style comes immediately with the return of the tonal center of F-sharp.

Generally, Bartók’s quotations can be divided into four groups: the first is one in which Bartók borrows from his predecessors and contemporaries, the second includes programmatic and autobiographical quotations, the third contains humoristic quotations, and the fourth contains shopwork, in which he self-borrows. In Allegro Barbaro, Bartók employs the third group, and he conveys an ironic narrative.

Works: Bartók: Allegro Barbaro, Sz. 49 (165-71).

Sources: Ravel: “Scarbo” from Gaspard de la nuit (165-66, 168-71); Debussy: “Minstrels” from Préludes, Book I (170).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd, Jingyi Zhang

In The Dreams and Prayers of Issac the Blind for Klezmer Clarinet and String Quartet, Osvaldo Golijov uses musical imitation and quotation to present the history of Judaism. Each of the three movements presents a different language of Judaism: Aramaic in the first movement, Yiddish in the second movement, and Hebrew in the third movement and postlude. In order for music to be considered klezmer, three elements have to be presents: gustn (modal scales), instrumentation (subdivided into melody, harmony, and rhythm sections), and the use of dreydlekh (ornamentation), all of which are present in this piece. In addition, Golijov quotes Jewish prayer tunes and liturgy. The ornamentation in the first movement is a stylistic allusion to klezmer music, and Golijov uses a wide variety of klezmer ornamentations. In the second movement, Golijov quotes the klezmer tune The Old Klezmer Band (also known as Odessa Bulgar). The final movement is an instrumental adaptation of K’vakarat.

Works: Osvaldo Golijov: The Dreams and Prayers of Isaac and the Blind for Klezmer Clarinet and String Quartet, Yiddishbbuk (6), Ayre (8); Giora Feidman: Viva el Klezmer (43).

Sources: Anonymous: Dybbuk (39), Avina Malkeinu (39-40); Giora Feidman: The Old Klezmer Band (Odessa, Bulgar) (43); Anonymous: Mi Sheberakh (44), K’vakarat (45-49).

Index Classifications: 2000s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

Italian composer Bruno Maderna was one of the many composers who joined Darmstadt’s Summer Schools in the Castle of Kranichstein, where his music was programmed for public performances. Two of Maderna’s piano works for four hands are of major interest in this context: Concerto per due pianoforte e strumenti, and Fantasia per due pianoforte (B. A. C. H. Variationen für zwei klaviere). Although the Concerto was performed first, there are indications that the Fantasia was composed before the Concerto. Nonetheless, both are derived from the same model: Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. The Concerto features percussive idioms, suggesting a relationship to Bartók’s work, which was known in Italy during this time. The Fantasia exhibits an ostinato figure derived from the B-A-C-H. motif, which is reminiscent of Bartók’s use of ostinato.

Works: Bruno Maderna: Concerto per due pianoforte e strumenti (15-18), Fantasia per due pianoforte (B. A. C. H. Variationen für zwei Klavier) (15-20).

Sources: Bartók: Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110 (18); Johann Sebastian Bach: Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich hiermit, BWV 668 (20).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

In Omaramor, a work for solo cello, Osvaldo Golijov pays tribute to Carlos Gardel by quoting one of Gardel’s most famous tango songs, Mi Buenos Aires querido. The melody of Gardel’s song is used as the foundation for a fantasy, and the influence of various Argentine dances make this piece a twenty-first century tango interpretation for the cello.

Works: Osvaldo Golijov: Omaramor (9-19).

Sources: Carlos Gardel: Mi Buenos Aires querido (3, 9-12, 16); Anonymous: Milonga (5-6).

Index Classifications: 2000s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

Jewish composer Giacomo Meyerbeer used Jewish musical and literary references in his operas. However, likely due to the anti-semitic tendencies in European culture in the nineteenth century, he did this almost without anyone noticing. In Jephtas Gelüdbe, Meyerbeer inserts a particular Jewish message, but the opera is generally devoid of Jewish music. Of interest regarding the inclusion of Jewish musical influences are Meyerbeer’s operas Les Huguenots, Le Prophète, and Vasco da Gama. In Les Huguenots, Meyebeer uses the stylistic elements of cantorial singing in arias. In Le Prophète, Meyerbeer includes a Kaddish, a Jewish prayer, as well as the Hebrew chant El Adon by Samuel Naumburg. By using Naumburg’s chant, Meyerbeer is following an old practice in which he honors other musicians by using their music. The opera Vasco da Gama includes a theme from the play Der Paria, which was written by Meyerbeer’s brother, Michael Beer, as well as a quotation from Halévy’s opera Charles VI, “Guerre aux Tyrans.” In addition to Jewish influences, Meyerbeer also self-borrows in his operas. For instance, in Les Huguenots and Le Prophète, Meyerbeer includes his own music from Jephtas Gelüdbe.

Works: Jacques Fromental Halévy: La Juive (43-44), Le Juif Errant (43), Noe (43); Giacomo Meyerbeer: Jephtas Gelüdbe (43, 45-46, 53), Les Huguenots (43, 46-47, 51), Vasco da Gama (43, 49-52), Le Prophète (43, 46-48); Anonymous: Zemirot Yisroel (47); Michael Beer: Streuensee (52), Clytemnestra (52).

Sources: Giacomo Meyerbeer: Jephtas Gelüdbe (46); Anonymous: Kaddish (47); Samuel Naumburg: El Adon (47-49); Michael Beer: Der Paria (49-52); Jacques Fromental Halévy: “Guerre aux Tyrans” from Charles VI (50).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

Robert Schumann’s musical work had a penchant for contrastive illusion, in which the borrowed materials in a musical work allude to another in a manner that contrast with the meaning and function of the original source. Schumann uses contrastive allusion in two ways: one method in which both text and music is contrasted, and a second type where the music is stylistically different from the source but retains its original meaning. This first type is exhibited in the song cycle Dichterliebe, and the song Schlußlied des Narren. Schumann based the first song of Dichterliebe, “Im wunderschönen Monat Mai,” on the aria “Euch werde Lohn in Bessren” from Beethoven’s Fidelio, and the poetry of Mendelssohn’s Faustian cantata Die erste Walpurgisnacht. While the aria is not overtly present in the final version of the song, noteworthy are the phrases borrowed from Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht. Both Schumann’s and Mendelssohn’s works share musical material, particularly harmonic and phrase structure, but Schumann’s work is contrastive because it reflects opposites for text, tempi, dynamics, and articulation compared to the source. Similarly, in the song Schlußlied des Narren, Schumann alludes to the symbolic interaction between a father and child in Schubert’s Erlkönig. However, Schumann’s allusions to Schubert’s work are more aligned textually than musically.

The second type of contrastive allusion can allude to multiple works, including short motives, as observed in Schumann’s Vogel als Prophet. In this song, Schumann uses the common diatonic motive 1-7-2-1-4-3, as found in the chanson Mon fils est là by Pierre Joseph Guillaume Zimmermann, and in Snart er Natten svunden by J. P. E. Hartmann, to depict a mood closely related to the original meaning. In the middle section of the song, Schumann self-quotes, particularly from his Szenen aus Goethes Faust, to represent the bird in the song. Vogel als Prophet also alludes to Mendessohn’s Im Walde, which represents the prophet in the song. This use suggests a more assimilative allusion because of the way Schumann imitates the character of the song. Multiple allusions allowed Schumann to communicate a specific message to those who would recognize his references in the future.

Works: Robert Schumann: “Im wunderschönen Monat Mai” from Dichterliebe, Op. 48 (70-72), 5 Lieder und Gesänge, Op. 127 (72-75), Waldszenen, Op. 82 (77-81); Max Bruch: Normannenzug, Op. 32 (81).

Sources: Beethoven: Fidelio (70); Mendelssohn: Die erste Walpurgisnacht, Op. 60 (70); Schubert: Die Erlkönig, D. 328 (74-75); Pierre Joseph Guillaume Zimmermann: Mon fils est là (76); J. P. E. Hartmann: Snart er Natten svunden (76); Robert Schumann: Szenen aus Goethes Faust, WoO 3 (78-79); Mendelssohn: “Im Walde” from 6 Lieder, Op. 41 (79-80).

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

Modena, Biblioteca Estense Universitaria, Alpha.M.5.24 (often referred to as the “Modena Manuscript”) is an important collection of Ars subtilior French songs, including some composed by Matteo da Perugia and Antonella de Caserta. The contributions by these two composers have garnered attention because they invoke music from the previous generation’s most influential composer, Guillaume de Machaut. Following a common practice of the late 14th century, Antonello de Caserta imbues his song Biauté parfaite with the metrical and textual qualities found in Machaut’s song of the same title. Matteo da Perugia uses Machaut’s Se vous n’estes as a scaffolding for a new composition by adding a new countertenor to the original song. He also quotes two Machaut songs directly in his ballade Se je me plaing de fortune. Tables and charts with extensive musical examples highlight the connection between the Modena Manuscript and Machaut’s works. These examples also demonstrate the variety of borrowing and reworking that occurs in compositions of the early fourteenth century, which are consistent with copying and transmission practices elsewhere during the period. Even so, the relationship of the composers represented within the manuscript to their looming predecessor is difficult to interpret without the referencing later notions of authorship and authority. This problem is alleviated by the emerging sense of authorship for secular songs and a new practice of circulating polyphonic songs. This opens the possibility for seeing an emerging historical self-consciousness among composers at the end of the fourteenth century. Thus, the invocation of Machaut in the Modena Manuscript can be interpreted as an early example of the borrower invoking the authority of the source.

Works: Antonello de Caserta: Biauté parfaite (172, 175-77); Matteo da Perugia: Se vous n’estes (172, 177-80), Se je me plaing de fortune (172, 180-87); Anonymous: Dame qui fut (185-87); Johannes Ciconia: Sus une fontayne (187).

Sources: Machaut: Se vous n’estes (177-80), De Fortune je me doi plaindre (179-87), Se je me plaing, je n’en puis mais (179-87); Filippotto da Caserta: En atendant, souffrir m’estuet (188), Sus une fontayne (188).

Index Classifications: 1400s

Contributed by: Jaime Carini, Elizabeth Stoner, Nicolette van den Bogerd

Bartók’s interest in the music of Bach, Beethoven, and Debussy, and the desire to incorporate their styles in his music, is evident in his Second String Quartet. The work exhibits contrapuntal texture, classical form, and complex harmonies. All three movements are based on classical forms: the first movement is in sonata form, the second movement is in a rondo form, and the final movement is a sonatina. Debussy’s influence on this quartet is demonstrated by Bartók’s musical phrases that are built on seventh and ninth chords that descend in parallel motion, as well as the use of whole tone scales. The use of contrapuntal techniques and the polyphonic texture allude to Bach’s compositional style.

Works: Bartók: String Quartet No. 2, Sz. 67 (30, 32), Twenty Hungarian Folk Songs for Voice and Piano, Sz. 92 (32), For Children, Sz. 42 (32), Sonatina for Piano, Sz. 55 (32).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd

Bartók’s early choral works are seen as a continuum of musical growth that occurred simultaneously with a personal maturing process. Musically, this is particularly evident in three of his early choral works: Four Slovak Folk Songs, Four Hungarian Folk Songs, and Cantata Profana. Bartók generally used three methods for incorporating folk music into his compositions. First, he treated the folk element as ornamental (as in Four Slovak Folk Songs). Second, Bartók characterized the folk melody as a “motto,” using it as the main theme in the music (as in Four Hungarian Folk Songs). Finally, Bartók mixed folk and modern music (as in his Cantata Profana). Although the borrowing of folk music was criticized, Bartók defended using it because he believed it would limit him as a composer if he did not use folk music.

Works: Bartók: Four Slovak Folk Songs, Sz. 70 (33-36), Four Hungarian Folk Songs, Sz. 29 (33-36), Cantata Profana, Sz. 94 (33-36), Village Scenes, Sz. 78 (34), Twenty Hungarian Folk Songs, Sz. 92 (34-36), The Miraculous Mandarin, Sz. 73 (34), Dance Suite, Sz. 77 (34), Piano Concerto No. 1, Sz. 83 (34), String Quartet No. 3, Sz. 85 (34), String Quartet No. 4, Sz. 91 (34), From Olden Times, Sz. 104 (36).

Sources: Anonymous: Parlando melodies (34), Tempo Giusto melodies (34).

Index Classifications: 1900s

Contributed by: Nicolette van den Bogerd