Which term designates music that has no literary, dramatic, or pictorial program?

• A. Nationalism in Music
• B. Programmatic Music
• C. Absolute Music
• D. Impressionist Music

Answer: (C)

Music without any literary, dramatic, or pictorial program is called Absolute Music. The idea is that the work exists for its own sake, with meaning found in the music’s form, harmony, rhythm, and timbre rather than in depicting a story or image outside the music. Listen for pieces where the attention is on the music itself—the structure, development, and expression within the sounds—without a narrative guide or descriptive title.

In contrast, programmatic music is written to evoke something external, like a tale, a landscape, or a dramatic event, often accompanied by a program note or descriptive title. Nationalism in Music draws on folk tunes or regional themes to convey a sense of homeland, while Impressionist music emphasizes color, atmosphere, and mood, sometimes blending sounds to create a sensory impression rather than a narrative.

So, the term for music that has no external program is Absolute Music.