Expressionism

A modern artistic movement, beginning in music around 1910, giving expression to the inner state of a person's mind and emotions. The term itself originated in painting.

Expressionism reflects extreme and anxious moods characteristic of modern life in a musical idiom that frequently uses ATONAL melodies and short, restless rhythms.

Expressionism stands in opposition to IMPRESSIONISM. Impressionism derives its source of inspiration from external sources such as nature, whereas expressionism draws on the inner world of the mind. Impressionism tends to be pictorial and natural, while expressionism tends to be introspective and dreamlike.

In music, the two movements are equally different. Impressionism favors rich orchestral colors, free-form structures, and lush melodies accompanied by complex harmonies. Expressionism is usually performed by a limited number of instruments, short structures, and brief statements of melodies with little harmonic accompaniment.

Impressionism developed in France, expressionism in Germany. In French impressionist poetry, the music of the words is emphasized; so French impressionist songs has flowing, euphonious melodies matched to the texts. On the other hand, the German language is noteworthy for its harsh, broken syllables, and a heavy, guttural pronunciation. This is reflected in expressionist songs that have similarly sharp, abrupt melody lines.

Some key proponents of expressionist writing are ARNOLD SCHOENBERG and ALBAN BERG.