Musical quotation is the practice of directly quoting another work in a new composition. The quotation may be from the same composer's work (self-referential), or from a different composer's work (appropriation).
Sometimes the quotation is done for the purposes of characterization, as in Puccini's use of The Star-Spangled Banner in reference to the American character Lieutenant Pinkerton in his opera Madama Butterfly, or in Tchaikovsky's use of the Russian and French national anthems in the 1812 Overture, which depicted a battle between the Russian and French armies.
Musical quotation is to be distinguished from variation, where a composer takes a theme (their own or another's) and writes variations on it. In that case, the origin of the theme is usually acknowledged in the title (e.g., Johannes Brahms's Variations on a Theme by Haydn).
In the case of quotations, however, an explicit acknowledgment does not generally appear in the score. Some exceptions are found in Robert Schumann's Carnaval:
in the section "Florestan" he quotes a theme from his earlier work Papillons, Op. 2, and the inscription "(Papillon?)" is written underneath the notes (he quotes the same theme in the final section "Marche des Davidsbündler contre les Philistins", but without acknowledgement)
in the final section, he also quotes another theme first used in Papillons, the traditional Grossvater Tanz (Grandfather Dance), but this time the inscription is "Thème du XVIIème siècle".
Examples
Examples of musical quotations in classical music include:
Georges Bizet used a song "El Arreglito" by Sebastián Iradier as the basis for the "Habanera" (L'amour est un oiseau rebelle) in his opera Carmen, believing it to be an anonymous folk song. When he discovered its true author, who had died only ten years earlier, he made an acknowledgment in the vocal score.
Brett Dean's work for violin and orchestra, The Lost Art of Letter Writing (2006), includes two quotations from Johannes Brahms: the slow movement of the Fourth Symphony and the Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann.[2]
Alberto Franchetti quoted widely from German popular songs and from the work of several German composers in his opera Germania, in order to lend the score a German color
Sir Arthur Sullivan did quote actual melodies by Franz Schubert and Johann Sebastian Bach, but he was more adept at deliberately imitating the styles of other composers without actually quoting their works. The styles of Bellini, Bizet, Donizetti, Dvořák, Gounod, Handel, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Rossini, Verdi, Wagner and others can all be found in his works.
Heitor Villa-Lobos quoted Yara, a schottische composed in 1896 by Anacleto de Medeiros, in his Chôros No. 10 (1926), as well as the text added in 1907 by Catullo da Paixão Cearense, from which Villa-Lobos took the subtitle of his work, "Rasga o coração" (It Rends Your heart").[4]
Quotation is also a tradition in jazz performance, especially of the bebop era. Charlie Parker, for instance, quoted Stravinsky's Rite of Spring in his solo on "Repetition", and "Country Gardens" on his Verve recording of "Lover Man"; Dizzy Gillespie quotes David Raksin's "Laura" on "Hot House" during the Massey Hall concert. Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins are especially famed among jazz fans for their addiction to quotation. Often the use of musical quotation has an ironic edge, whether the musician is aiming for an amusing juxtaposition or is making a more pointed commentary (as when a youthful Rollins, playing alongside Charlie Parker on Miles Davis's Collector's Items, throws in a snippet of "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better,"[5] or when the avant-garde saxophonist Ornette Coleman rebuffs a skeptical heckler at the Croydon Hall concert with a snippet of the jazz standard "Cherokee").[6]
^Robert Maycock, "Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959): Chôros No. 10, ‘Rasga o coração’ (1926)". Proms 2009: What's On / Programme Notes: Prom 76. BBC Radio3 website (Accessed 13 July 2012).
^MILES DAVIS Collector's Items (Original Jazz Classics) Review by Ron Saranich, October 2000
^Free radical Andrew Purcell, The Guardian, Friday 29 June 2007
Sources
Nicolas Slonimsky, Richard Kassel eds., Webster's New World Dictionary of Music
August 19, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Musical quotation news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message Musical quotation is the practice of directly quoting another work in a new composition The quotation may be from the same composer s work self referential or from a different composer s work appropriation Sometimes the quotation is done for the purposes of characterization as in Puccini s use of The Star Spangled Banner in reference to the American character Lieutenant Pinkerton in his opera Madama Butterfly or in Tchaikovsky s use of the Russian and French national anthems in the 1812 Overture which depicted a battle between the Russian and French armies Sometimes there is no explicit characterization involved as when Luciano Berio used brief quotes from Johann Sebastian Bach Ludwig van Beethoven Alban Berg Pierre Boulez Gustav Mahler Claude Debussy Paul Hindemith Maurice Ravel Arnold Schoenberg Karlheinz Stockhausen Richard Strauss Igor Stravinsky Anton Webern and others in his Sinfonia Contents 1 Quotation vs variation 2 Examples 3 See also 4 References 5 SourcesQuotation vs variation EditMusical quotation is to be distinguished from variation where a composer takes a theme their own or another s and writes variations on it In that case the origin of the theme is usually acknowledged in the title e g Johannes Brahms s Variations on a Theme by Haydn In the case of quotations however an explicit acknowledgment does not generally appear in the score Some exceptions are found in Robert Schumann s Carnaval in the section Florestan he quotes a theme from his earlier work Papillons Op 2 and the inscription Papillon is written underneath the notes he quotes the same theme in the final section Marche des Davidsbundler contre les Philistins but without acknowledgement in the final section he also quotes another theme first used in Papillons the traditional Grossvater Tanz Grandfather Dance but this time the inscription is Theme du XVIIeme siecle Examples EditExamples of musical quotations in classical music include Arnold Bax quoted a theme from Richard Wagner s opera Tristan und Isolde in his 1919 symphonic poem Tintagel 1 Beginning of Bach s quoted chorale settingAlban Berg quoted Johann Sebastian Bach s setting of the chorale Es ist genug It is enough the closing chorale of Bach s cantata O Ewigkeit du Donnerwort BWV 60 with variations in the final movement of his Violin Concerto subtitled To the memory of an Angel in memory of Manon Gropius who died at age 17 In the fourth movement of his Lyric Suite for string quartet Berg quoted a phrase from the third movement of Alexander Zemlinsky s Lyric Symphony that originally set the words Du bist mein eigen mein eigen Thou art mine own mine own Georges Bizet used a song El Arreglito by Sebastian Iradier as the basis for the Habanera L amour est un oiseau rebelle in his opera Carmen believing it to be an anonymous folk song When he discovered its true author who had died only ten years earlier he made an acknowledgment in the vocal score Johannes Brahms quotes Gaudeamus igitur and other popular university songs in his Academic Festival Overture Benjamin Britten quoted many other works e g Wagner s Tristan chord in his opera Albert Herring Frederic Chopin quoted the tenor aria Vieni fra queste braccia from Rossini s opera La gazza ladra in his Polonaise in B flat minor Adieu a Guillaume Kolberg Op posth Chopin and Kolberg had seen the opera together Brett Dean s work for violin and orchestra The Lost Art of Letter Writing 2006 includes two quotations from Johannes Brahms the slow movement of the Fourth Symphony and the Variations on a Theme of Robert Schumann 2 Claude Debussy quoted the opening of Tristan und Isolde disparagingly in the Golliwogg s Cakewalk from his Children s Corner suite for piano Sir Edward Elgar quoted The First Nowell and some of his own earlier music in The Starlight Express Manuel de Falla quoted the opening of Beethoven s 5th Symphony in his ballet The Three Cornered Hat 3 Alberto Franchetti quoted widely from German popular songs and from the work of several German composers in his opera Germania in order to lend the score a German color Umberto Giordano quoted the French national anthem La Marseillaise in his opera Andrea Chenier Charles Ives was particularly fond of quoting other composers themes in his works They can be found in works such as Three Places in New England and his Piano Sonata No 2 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart quoted a theme by his recently deceased mentor Johann Christian Bach in his Piano Concerto No 12 Giacomo Puccini quoted the U S national anthem The Star Spangled Banner in his opera Madama Butterfly Sergei Rachmaninoff based his song Fate on the first two measures of the opening movement of Beethoven s Fifth Symphony Robert Schumann quoted La Marseillaise in his song The Two Grenadiers and his Carnival Jest from Vienna he also quoted two themes from his Papillons Op 2 in his later work Carnaval Op 9 one of which was the traditional Grossvater Tanz further he quoted Beethoven s An die ferne Geliebte and more distantly Seventh Symphony in his Fantasie in C Op 17 Dmitri Shostakovich various examples for instance the Can Can from Jacques Offenbach s opera Orpheus in the Underworld Richard Strauss quoted the funeral march from Beethoven s Eroica symphony No 3 in his Metamorphosen for 23 solo strings Strauss used many quotes from his own works in his symphonic poem A Hero s Life Strauss quoted Luigi Denza s song Funiculi Funicula in his symphonic poem Aus Italien believing it was a folk song Igor Stravinsky quoted a theme from Franz Schubert s Marche Militaire No 1 in D in his Circus Polka Sir Arthur Sullivan did quote actual melodies by Franz Schubert and Johann Sebastian Bach but he was more adept at deliberately imitating the styles of other composers without actually quoting their works The styles of Bellini Bizet Donizetti Dvorak Gounod Handel Liszt Mendelssohn Rossini Verdi Wagner and others can all be found in his works Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky quoted the Russian national anthem God Save the Tsar La Marseillaise a Russian Orthodox plainchant God Preserve Thy People and some Russian folk songs in his 1812 Overture He used folk material in other compositions such as the 4th Symphony and the 1st Piano Concerto He quoted the traditional Grossvater Tanz in Act I of The Nutcracker And in Act 2 Scene 2 of The Queen of Spades he has the Countess sing Laurette s aria Je crains de lui parler la nuit from Andre Gretry s opera Richard Coeur de Lion Ralph Vaughan Williams quoted the theme from the Epilogue of the third movement of Arnold Bax s Symphony No 3 in his Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra 1 Heitor Villa Lobos quoted Yara a schottische composed in 1896 by Anacleto de Medeiros in his Choros No 10 1926 as well as the text added in 1907 by Catullo da Paixao Cearense from which Villa Lobos took the subtitle of his work Rasga o coracao It Rends Your heart 4 Quotation is also a tradition in jazz performance especially of the bebop era Charlie Parker for instance quoted Stravinsky s Rite of Spring in his solo on Repetition and Country Gardens on his Verve recording of Lover Man Dizzy Gillespie quotes David Raksin s Laura on Hot House during the Massey Hall concert Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins are especially famed among jazz fans for their addiction to quotation Often the use of musical quotation has an ironic edge whether the musician is aiming for an amusing juxtaposition or is making a more pointed commentary as when a youthful Rollins playing alongside Charlie Parker on Miles Davis s Collector s Items throws in a snippet of Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better 5 or when the avant garde saxophonist Ornette Coleman rebuffs a skeptical heckler at the Croydon Hall concert with a snippet of the jazz standard Cherokee 6 Although less common musical quotations can be found in rock music for example Barenaked Ladies Hello City quotes a stanza from The Housemartins Happy Hour See also EditContrafact Quodlibet Variation music List of variations on a theme by another composer Sampling music Composer tributes classical music Interpolation popular music References Edit a b Baxworks Boosey amp Hawkes http www mansfieldtickets com files musicnotes Hot 20Latin 20Nights index htm Archived 2012 03 31 at the Wayback Machine Mansfield Tickets Robert Maycock Heitor Villa Lobos 1887 1959 Choros No 10 Rasga o coracao 1926 Proms 2009 What s On Programme Notes Prom 76 BBC Radio3 website Accessed 13 July 2012 MILES DAVIS Collector s Items Original Jazz Classics Review by Ron Saranich October 2000 Free radical Andrew Purcell The Guardian Friday 29 June 2007Sources EditNicolas Slonimsky Richard Kassel eds Webster s New World Dictionary of Music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Musical quotation amp oldid 1170741846, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
