20th Century, 1910-2000

20th Century Characteristics

PERFORMING MEDIUM: Performing groups during this era include chamber orchestras; instrumental ensembles; orchestras; choral groups; computer generated instruments (including synthesizers); and mixed media (taped sounds with traditional instruments).

RHYTHM: Complex, individual rhythms are used, and new rhythms and meters are common such as polyrhythms and polymeters.

MELODY: Melodies are often fragmented, dissonant and experimental. Depending on the form or style used, melodies could be based on scales from non-Western countries, chromatic scales, twelve-tone rows, or microtonal scales.

HARMONY: Harmony is often experimental and dissonant. Instead of all harmony being based on the interval of a third (tertian harmony, used in much of Western tonal music), harmony is sometimes based on seconds, fourths and fifths (respectively, secondal, quartal, and quintal harmony). Atonality, meaning an absence of tonality, is present in music such as twelve-tone compositions.

TEXTURE: Polyphonic textures are often used (twelve-tone music often uses homophonic texture), and music such as impressionism or aleatory music experiment with new textures using layers of different sounds.

FORM: Musical forms from previous musical periods are used, often in experimental ways.

MOST NOTABLE  COMPOSERS 

Dominick Argento 

Edward Bairstow 

Samuel Barber 

Lajos Bardos

Bela Viktor Janos Bartok

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett

Erik (Valdemar) Bergman

Leonard  Bernstein

Benjamin Britten

Alfred Burt

Andrew Carter

Aaron Copland 

William Levi Dawson
Hugo Distler

Maurice Durufle

Sir Edward Elgar

David Fanshawe

Irving Fine 

Gerald Raphael Finzi

Dr. Edwin R. Fissinger

Stephen Collins Foster

Henryk Gorecki

Percy Aldridge Grainger

 Jonathan Harvey

Paul Hindemith 

Gustavus Theodore von Holst

Herbert Norman Howells

Charles Ives 

John Joubert 

Zoltan Kodaly

Gyorgy Ligeti

Frank Martin 

Arvo Part

 Krzysztof Penderecki 

Francis  Poulenc

Einojuhani Rautavaara
Ned Rorem

Peter Schickele 

Jean Sibelius 

Randall Thompson 

Sir Michael Tippett

Veljo Tormis

Ralph Vaughan Williams

Dominick Argento, Gloria from the Masque of Angels:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vwp-MM8lQk4 

Lajos Bardos, Libera Me:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA6Yw1FYlN4 

Leonard Bernstein, Make our garden grow:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrKNDhFNyJE 

Benjamin Britten, Five Flower Songs, Op. 47:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jrVMtn5-9A 

Aaron Copland, Ching-A-Ring Chaw:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTZLoeHubWo 

Hugo Distler, Es ist ein Ros entsprungen:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCSChyv0Pzc 

Maurice Durufle, Ubi caritas et amor:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1BTWCpEFRQ 

Edward Elgar, Owls, Op. 53:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ_rfwUBJQY&list=PLH2tnBZzETg4rLt98egOE7CAY4q5HnQKR&index=10&t=0s 

David Fanshawe, African Sanctus:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnPfEfSTcp8 

Paul Hindemith, Eine lichte Mitternacht:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqrbZVJpDJo 

Herbert Howells, Here is the Little Door:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4cHUoP8F7c 

Charles Ives, Psalm 67:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVLq5gJNSN8 

Gyorgy Ligeti, Nacht und Morgen:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go5UzWFT-cI 

Francis Poulenc, Sanctus from Mass in G:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oTJr7KnC4Q 

Randall Thompson, Glory to God in the Highest:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkiGOSj7ezs 

Veljo Tormis, Ingerimaa ohtud:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brcZdI7XHJ0