Definition of programme music Programme music
pro•gramme mu•sic
We found 2 definitions of programme music from 2 different sources.
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What does programme music mean?
WordNet
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| programme music - musical compositions intended to evoke images or remind the listener of events | ||
| program music | ||
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Wikipedia 
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Programme music (or "program music" in US English)is a piece of music for instruments which describes something or tells a story. It is the opposite of "absolute music" which is not trying to describe anything, just the sound of the piece. Programme music was very popular in the 19th century although there are examples of programme music written earlier.
History.
Some composers in the Renaissance and Baroque periods wrote music which described battles. Antonio Vivaldi wrote a very famous set of four concertos for violin and strings called "The Four Seasons". Each of the movements describe things happening during the year's seasons, e.g. the birds singing in the spring, snowy winter days, etc.
At the beginning of the 1800s, Beethoven wrote a Pastoral Symphony which describes the peaceful life in the countryside. This way of making music describe things became very popular with Romantic composers. Mendelssohn wrote "concert overtures" which were overtures which had nothing to do with an opera but were simply short pieces of music for orchestra which told a story. "Hebrides Overture", for example, describes the sound of the sea lapping into Fingal's Cave in the Scottish Hebrides.
Franz Liszt made programme music very popular in his symphonic poems. Hector Berlioz's "Symphonie Fantastique" describes a story he made up himself about a man who has dreams about a woman he loves. This man is represented by a tune (melody) which is heard in different ways during the symphony. It is ca
