Puno’s Rich Folklore: Traditional Dances and Celebrations
The Charms of Puno, Peru
Peru boasts numerous provinces and cities attractive to tourists. The Department of Puno amazes travelers with its charming and rich folklore. It seems like an Inca place extracted from a fable, where traditions are artistically depicted in hundreds of dances seen in feasts and festivals.
These celebrations occur regularly throughout the year, and almost all have religious themes, blending Christian colonial past with indigenous pagan traditions. Puno festivities honor both
Read MoreGounod’s Faust: Synopsis, Music, and History
Plot
In an overture without special interest is the first frame, the study of Dr. Faust, who spent the night with books, like many others in his long life. But the more he studied, the more desperately he recognizes that there has been no progress on the big questions of existence. In a fit of melancholy, like poison, the joyful singing of the peasants, who praise God and nature, is contained. Faust decides to make one last attempt. Let Satan help! And Satan is present in the act, leans over, and
Read MoreCharacteristics of Romantic Music and the Romantic Lied
Technical Characteristics of Romanticism
Romantic music featured new melodic and harmonic organization. Unlike the classical style, which evoked strength and assent, romantic melodies aimed to surprise and express emotions. Harmonically, the well-established tonal system, based on the triad and its expansions, continued to provide a foundation for polyphony. However, composers began to explore the expressive value of isolated chords and harmonic progressions, with greater freedom in dissonances
Read MoreSpanish Baroque Literature: Styles, Themes, and Major Authors
Baroque
Historical and Social Context
The Baroque period in Spain arose during the reign of the later Habsburgs (Philip III, Philip IV, and Charles II) and was characterized by:
- Economic crisis: Spain missed the opportunity for an industrial revolution by mismanaging wealth from the New World.
- Spanish decadence: The 17th century saw increased national ruin due to poor governance, the expulsion of Jews and Moors, and continuous wars, notably in Catalonia and Portugal.
- Emigration to America: This depopulated
Modernism, Maximalism: Strauss and Mahler
Modernism
Late nineteenth and early 1914. Modernism marked by historical events and social and political decadence of Romanticism and its ideals. A new generation more optimistic. Maximalism arises from the decay of German Romanticism, looked at with irony. The new generation is at odds with romance and stretches the possibilities of music. The end of romance is the germ of the post-Romantic Movement: Expressionism, Futurism, Maximalism, Impressionism, Nationalism… the rise of the isms. The most
Read MoreJourney Through Medieval and Renaissance Music
Secular Music
The Chivalric Love
The birth of secular music around 800 AD stemmed from the human need to express feelings of joy, love, and sorrow in their own vernacular language.
The Troubadour Music
Troubadours were poet-musicians who sang in honor of their beloved. They performed in castles, courts, plazas, and pathways, using both the Occitan (OC) and the Oil (Oïl) languages.
Qualities of Secular Music
Secular music distinguished itself from Gregorian chant with a measured pace, humanized expression,
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