2019-2020 High School Music Listening Contest

Regional Contest – Round 1, Musical Identification

*** ANSWER KEY ***

You will hear 10 musical excerpts of works from the Study Guide. Each will last from 10 to 30
seconds. You will have approximately 15 seconds between each excerpt. Please identify both the
composer and title. The title must be the “testable title” noted in the Study Guide.

1. Composer: (Igor) Stravinsky

Title: Le Sacre du Printemps or The Rite of Spring

2. Composer: J.S. Bach

Title: Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor

3. Composer: (Dominick) Argento

Title: Letters from Composers

4. Composer: (Igor) Stravinsky

Title: Requiem Canticles

5. Composer: (Caroline) Shaw

Title: Partita for 8 Voices

6. Composer: (Louise) Farrenc

Title: Nonet in E-flat Major or Nonet in E♭ Major

7. Composer: (Aaron) Copland

Title: Rodeo

8. Composer: (Igor) Stravinsky

Title: Circus Polka

9. Composer: (Wolfgang Amadeus) Mozart

Title: Symphony No. 40

10. Composer: Walther von der Vogelweide

Title: Palastinalied

Put down your pencils and turn the test over as soon as the end of the round is announced.
 2019-2020 High School Music Listening Contest
Regional Contest – Round 2, Excerpt–based Short Answer

*** ANSWER KEY ***

In this round, you will hear six musical excerpts of works taken from the Study Guide. You will
have one minute in which to answer the questions associated with each excerpt. Write each
answer on the line to the right of the corresponding question.

Excerpt 1: Antonio Vivaldi – Violin Concerto in E Major, Op. 8, No. 1 “Spring” (p. 14)

1. This piece is an example of what musical form/genre? concerto

2. Fill in the blank: This work is from a collection of pieces collectively The Four Seasons
known as ________________.

3. True or False: This composer primarily wrote music in Spain. False

Excerpt 2: Silvestre Revueltas – Sensemayá (p. 59)

4. When was this piece composed (within 5 years?) 1938 (1934-1942)

5. In what meter is this piece written? 7/8 or septuple

6. In what state was this composer born? Durango

7. What instrument can be heard soloing over the repeated ostinato rhythm tuba
in this excerpt?

Excerpt 3: Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Symphonic Variations on an African Air (p. 27)

8. What is the nationality of this composer? English

9. Identify the song that inspired this piece. I’m Troubled in

Mind

10. This work is written for what type of ensemble? orchestra

 Excerpt 4: Igor Stravinsky – Septet (p. 43; see also p. 36)

11. In what country was this composer living at the time this piece was United States or
composed? America

12. Identify the musical form of this movement. passacaglia

13. True or False: This piece is an example of serialism. True

14. True or False: This piece is written for wind instruments only. False

Excerpt 5: Poul Ruders – Serenade on the Shores of the Cosmic Ocean (p. 53; see also p. 34)

15. True or False: This piece was composed the same year as Partita for 8 False
Voices.

16. Identify the instrument featured in this piece. accordion

17. Name the astronomer who inspired this piece. Carl Sagan

Excerpt 6: Wipo of Burgundy – Victimae paschali laudes (p. 3)

18. This piece was likely performed during what holy day? Easter

19. Fill in the blank: Early music was written down using ____________, neumes
which were a precursor to modern notation.

20. This piece was likely written during what century? A (c. 1010-1050)

A. 11th century (1000-1099)

B. 12th century (1100-1199)
C. 13th century (1200-1299)
D. 14th century (1300-1399)

Put down your pencils and turn the test over as soon as the end of the round is announced.
 2019-2020 High School Music Listening Contest
Regional Contest – Round 3, Lightning Round

*** ANSWER KEY ***

You will hear 20 musical performances of works from the Study Guide in rapid succession. Each
will last from 2 to 10 seconds. You will have 10 seconds between each excerpt. Place the letter of
the correct composer and title from the list on the left in the blank for each excerpt. During this
round each letter may be used once, or more than once, or not at all.

A. Anna Amalia – Erwin und Elmire 1. T

B. J.S. Bach – Goldberg Variations 2. A
C. Beethoven – Symphony No. 7 3. D
D. Blanche de Castille – Amours, u trop tart me sui pris 4. K
E. Boccherini – String Quintet in C Major, Op. 30, No. 6 5. O
F. Caccini – La liberazione di Ruggiero (The Liberation of Ruggiero) 6. C
G. Dunstable – Quam pulchra es
7. I
H. Galindo – Sones de Mariachi
8. P
I. Hadyn – Il mondo della luna
9. M
J. Holst – The Planets
10. H
K. Moncayo – Huapango
11. B
L. Montgomery – Strum
12. K
M. Ortiz – ¡Únicamente La Verdad! (Only the Truth)
13. N
N. Ponce – Concierto del Sur
O. Revueltas – Sensemayá 14. L

P. Schumann – Der Mond kommt still gegangen 15. Q

Q. Scriabin – Vers la flamme 16. K

R. Sessa – Vattene pur lasciva 17. R
S. Shaw – Partita for 8 Voices 18. J
T. Stravinsky – Serenade in A 19. U
U. Williams – Close Encounters of the Third Kind 20. G
V. Wipo of Burgundy – Victimae paschali laudes

Put down your pencils and turn the test over as soon as the end of the round is announced.

You have an additional minute to fill in answers.

 2019-2020 High School Music Listening Contest
Regional Contest – Round 4, Multiple Choice

*** ANSWER KEY ***

You will have 15 minutes to answer the questions below. Select the best answer from the
choices given and write it on the line to the right. All correct answers can be deduced from the
material presented in the Study Guide.

1. Who is the only Danish composer in this year’s study guide? B (p. 53)

A. Anna Amalia
B. Poul Ruders
C. Clara Schumann
D. Tylman Susato

2. Who is the first woman known to compose an opera? C (p. 13)

A. Anna Amalia
B. Blanche de Castille
C. Francesca Caccini
D. Claudia Sessa

3. Who wrote the text for the opera Erwin und Elmire? D (p. 19)

A. Anna Amalia
B. Francesca Caccini
C. Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
D. Goethe

4. Which composer is associated with “mystic chord”? D (p. 28)

A. Boethius
B. Pythagoras
C. Poul Ruders
D. Alexander Scriabin

5. What is “HIP”? D (p. 2)

A. Historically interesting performance

B. Historically informed practice
C. Historically instrumental programming
D. Historically informed performance
6. Who was the artistic director of the Ballets Russes? B (p. 35)

A. Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov
B. Sergei Diaghilev
C. George Balanchine
D. Vaslav Nijinsky

7. Fill in the blank: Boccherini’s String Quintet in C Major evokes the sights and A (p. 20)
sounds of an evening in __________.

A. Madrid, Spain
B. Barcelona, Spain
C. Venice, Italy
D. Milan, Italy

8. What is the primary difference between a haut ensemble and a bas ensemble? B (p. 7)

A. Dynamic range
B. Timbre
C. Both of these
D. None of these

9. What country produced the most operas during the Romantic Era? B (p.24)

A. Germany
B. Italy
C. United States
D. France

10. Which composer once said: “I think it’s always dangerous to only be speaking D (p. 34)
about music that is in a certain tradition.”?

A. Jessie Montgomery
B. Gabriela Ortiz
C. Silvestre Revueltas
D. Caroline Shaw

11. Fill in the blank: Louise Farrenc was a _________________. D (p. 25)

A. Composer
B. Performer
C. Scholar
D. All of the above
12. Fill in the blank: Otello is based on ____________. B (p. 26)

A. A true story
B. A stage play
C. A passage of the Bible
D. Both B and C

13. The percussion parts for Chávez’s Xochipilli are scored for what two indigenous B (p. 58)
instruments?

A. Nahuatl and huēhuētl

B. teponaztli and huēhuētl
C. huēhuētl and cuicacalli
D. teponaztli and Nahuatl

14. According to one account, this composer “died young, just when she had begun D (p. 10)
to compose those same musical works that she then sang at the feast days.”

A. Anna Amalia
B. Francesca Caccini
C. Blanche de Castille
D. Claudia Sessa

15. Fill in the blank: The first symbol in traditional music notation is a ________ A (p. xvi)
symbol, which indicates which pitches are to be associated with each of the lines
and spaces on the staff.

A. Clef
B. Key signature
C. Both of these
D. None of the these

16. Which musical work inspired Beethoven, resulting in Beethoven copying 29 D (p. 21)
measures of the piece into his own sketchbook?

A. Bach’s Goldberg Variations

B. Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor
C. Haydn’s Il Mondo della luna
D. Mozart’s Symphony No. 40
17. Der Mond kommt still gegangen is an example of what genre? B (p. 50)

A. aria
B. lied
C. opera
D. none of the above

18. Which composer was NOT a student of Chávez? C (p. 60)

A. Jose Pablo Moncayo

B. Blas Galindo Dimas
C. Manuel Ponce
D. Silvestre Revueltas

19. Which composer once said: “I utilized texture motives, or layers of rhythmic or A (p. 33)
harmonic ostinati that string together to form a bed of sound for melodies to weave
in and out.”?

A. Jessie Montgomery
B. Alexander Scriabin
C. Caroline Shaw
D. Igor Stravinsky

20. The following musical excerpt is from what piece of music? A (p. 22)

A. Symphony No. 7, by Ludwig van Beethoven

B. String Quintet in C Major, by Luigi Boccherini
C. The Planets, by Gustav Holst
D. Octet, by Igor Stravinsky

Put down your pencils and turn the test over as soon as the end of the round is announced.
 2019-2020 High School Music Listening Contest
Regional Contest – Round 5, Mystery Round

*** ANSWER KEY ***

You will hear 10 musical excerpts. Although all excerpts were written by a composer included in
your Study Guide, nothing in this round is taken from your included Study Guide playlist. Each
excerpt is from 10 to 30 seconds in length. You will have 20 seconds between each excerpt.
Identify the period of composition by selecting the appropriate letter from the possibilities listed
and then identify the composer by (testable) name. You will receive one point for each correct
period and one for each correct composer.

A: Medieval/Renaissance B: Baroque C: Classical D: Romantic E: Last Century

1. Period: E Composer: (Aaron) Copland

2. Period: E Composer: (Gustav) Holst

3. Period: E Composer: (Igor) Stravinsky

4. Period: A Composer: (Tylman) Susato

5. Period: D Composer: (Giuseppe) Verdi

6. Period: E Composer: (Caroline) Shaw

7. Period: C or D Composer: (Ludwig van) Beethoven

8. Period: B Composer: (Antonio) Vivaldi

9. Period: E Composer: (Gabriela) Ortiz

10. Period: E Composer: (John) Williams

Put down your pencils and turn the test over as soon as the end of the round is announced.
 2019-2020 High School Music Listening Contest
Regional Contest – Tie-breaker Round

*** ANSWER KEY ***

Teams involved in the tie-breaker will listen to excerpts one-at-a-time until the tie is broken.
Each excerpt is by a composer in the Study Guide but is not one of the included pieces, just like
the Mystery Round. After each excerpt is played, teams will have 20 seconds to furnish an
answer. You will receive one point for each correct period and one point for each correct
composer. All teams providing and incorrect answer are eliminated unless no team gets the
answer correct, in which case all teams advance. The last remaining team wins.

Should two or more teams remain after the fifth tie-breaker question, the tie will be broken by
comparing the test scores from the Mystery Round (Round 5). The team with the highest score for
that round will win the tie-breaker. Should there still be a tie, other test round will be compared in
a similar manner, in the following order: Round 2, Round 4, Round 3, and Round 1.

A: Medieval/Renaissance B: Baroque C: Classical D: Romantic E: Last Century

1. Period: D Composer: (Alexander) Scriabin

2. Period: E Composer: (Igor) Stravinsky

3. Period: C Composer: (Wolfgang Amadeus) Mozart

4. Period: C or D Composer: (Ludwig van) Beethoven

5. Period: B Composer: (Francesca) Caccini