3. Originally a term used by a group of early
20th – century German artists to describe their
aesthetic principles and art.
Its typical trait is to present the world solely
from a subjective perspective, distorting it
radically for emotional effect in order to
evoke moods or ideas
4. Expressionist artists sought to express
meaning or emotional experience rather than
physical reality
Expressionism was developed as an ”avant-
garde” style before the First World War
5. a group of people who develop new and often
very surprising ideas in art, literature, etc
7. Group of German expressionist artists,
mostly painters
Portrays Landscapes, Nudes, Carnival
Performers with STRONG COLORS and
BROAD FORMS
Revived “woodcut” tradition
“Die Brücke” “The Bridge”
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11. A group of German artists mostly
expressionist painters
ranged from pure abstraction to
romantic imagery, attempting to
express spiritual truths
“Der Blaue Reiter” “The Blue Rider”
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16. Expressionist music sounds very odd to
most people
Characteristics include extremes of
dynamics (very quiet to very loud), lots of
dissonant chords (clashing) and unusual
combinations of instruments, at times
playing the very lowest and very highest
notes of their range.
The music is described as being atonal (not
set in key).
17. Melodies tend to be disjunct (lots of leaps)
and ‘tunes’ are always avoided
Composers were more concerned with
sound colour (combination of instrumental
sounds) as oppose to a good melody.
Textures vary greatly throughout a piece of
expressionist music, from solo sections to
full passages for orchestra.
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19. 1. Pierrot Lunaire
What instruments do you hear?
What vocal range is it composed for?
Is it dissonant or consonant?
2. Five Pieces for Orchestra
What instruments do you hear? How is it
similar/different to the Peirrot Lunaire piece?”
What do you think makes it reflect the
goals/ideals of expressionism?”
How does it differ from impressionistic music?
What’s similar?