Listening Gallery: Expository and Developmental
Summary: This module includes exercises to practice listening for expository and developmental passages.
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Problem
1:
Please listen to each pair of excerpts, and indicate which is expository and which developmental.
Musical Example:
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3, I, excerpt 1
Musical Example:
Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3, I, excerpt 2
Correct!
Incorrect.
The first excerpt is expository. The solo piano presents a lyrical melody, supported by the orchestra. The second excerpt is developmental: It is fast changing, with an intricate dialogue between the piano and the orchestra.
Problem
2:
Please listen to each pair of excerpts, and indicate which is expository and which developmental.
Correct!
Incorrect.
The first excerpt is expository: It is repetitive, presenting successive statements of the theme. The second excerpt presents overlapping entrances of the theme in rapidly changing instruments and registers. It is developmental.
Problem
3:
Please listen to the following short work. Which predominates---the expository or the developmental?
Musical Example:
Leroy Anderson, Jazz Legato
Correct!
Incorrect.
Exposition predominates: The entire piece is characterized by uninterrupted phrases, repetitions of large sections and consistency of texture.
Problem
4:
Please listen to the following short work. Which predominates---the expository or the developmental?
Musical Example:
Aaron Copland, Down a Country Lane
Correct!
Incorrect.
Exposition predominates. A short developmental section separates the opening thematic statement and its closing restatement.
Problem
5:
Please listen to the following short work. Which predominates---the expository or the developmental?
Musical Example:
William Bolcom, “Fast and furious” from Twleve New Etudes
Correct!
Incorrect.
Development predominates. The etude traverses the entire range of the piano, is fleet, fragmentary and non-repetitive.
Problem
6:
Please listen to the following short work. Which predominates---the expository or the developmental?
Musical Example:
Frederic Chopin, Prelude No. 18 in f-minor
Correct!
Incorrect.
The Prelude barely stands still. Therefore, development predominates. The music’s virtuosic character is created by its thorough, rapid progress and lack of extendive repetition.
Problem
7:
Please listen to the following short work. Which predominates---the expository or the developmental?
Correct!
Incorrect.
Exposition predominates. The music is strongly grounded. The violin and piano play a repetitive, rhythmically continuous accompaniment that “shimmers” as the clarinet’s unfurls a long, constantly evolving tune. The Liturgie certainly has developmental attributes: The improvisatory nature of the clarinet’s line keeps the music from sounding redundant or predictable. However, the underlying stability of the accompaniment and the persistent prominence of the clarinet make this primarily an expository statement.
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Last edited by Elizabeth Gregory on Jan 11, 2007 10:47 am US/Central.