Chapter Three Outline: “Classical and Romantic Music”

 

The Classical and Romantic Periods of Music History

            Correspond to the late 18th and 19th centuries

            Works form the basis of the core repertory today

            Not easily divided into two periods; thus, Beethoven’s music is often considered a bridge between the Classical and Romantic eras

 

Classical Music

            “Classical”=provided a model for later generations

            Important developments: formation of the modern orchestra, emergence of genres such as comic opera, and concert-going becomes a social activity

 

The Classical Audience

            Influence of entrepreneurs and the middle class in popularizing concerts

            Most music still written for aristocratic patrons or for the church

            Opera remained the most popular “public” genre, but growth of amateur private music-making becomes more important

 

Instruments of the Classical Repertory

            Piano: slowly replaced the harpsichord and clavichord

            Clarinet: introduced to the orchestra

            Abandonment of older instruments (e.g., viola da gamba and oboe da caccia)

            Orchestral instruments have changed, but the orchestra itself is essentially the same now as in the Classical period

 

Musical Elements of the Classical Repertory

            Forms: tend to be clear and relatively straightforward

            Contrasts: quick changes in timbre used to add complexity and interest

            Rhythm: steady meter, but occasional disruptive rhythmic displacement

            Texture: varies, but little use of basso continuo in comparison to Baroque era

            Phrases: short sections, usually of approx. equal length—“building blocks”

            Motive: very short, memorable unit that can be repeated and developed

 

Mozart’s Serenade No 10. Gran partita

            Written for wind ensemble

            Inventive use of tone color

            Expressive depth overlaid by surface simplicity

 

Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro

            Aria: song

            Recitative: speech-like style designed to move the plot along

            “Dove sono”: contrasts the emotional text with the balanced, elegant, and noble text. Designed to demonstrate what sort of character the Countess is.

            Blend of form and function, depth and tranquility, just like the Classical style

 

Haydn’s String Quartet in B-flat Major

            Mozart’s older, funnier contemporary, especially fond of using humor

            Breaks with convention and foils expectations to create jokes

                        “beginning with an ending,” followed by passages that seem interminable, harmonic surprises, shifting tempi

 

Focus on Joseph Haydn

            Austrian composer who became the most celebrated composer of his time

Respected throughout Europe, admired as one of the “Viennese Classics”

Excelled in every musical genre, but is known as the father of both the symphony and the string quartet for his contributions to those genres

Combines wit, originality of form, and earnest feeling

Music often reflects the Enlightenment ideal of rational conversation

 

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5

            Repetition of material in all movements makes them seem to “belong together”

            Frequently interpreted as a narrative of triumphant struggle

 

The Symphony as Musical Storytelling

            The opening, according to Beethoven: “thus fate pounds at the gate”

            Other interpretations: Morse code for V or 5; “V for victory,” etc.

                        Example of the Eroica, autobiographical elements

            Beethoven’s growing deafness as mentally devastating and socially isolating

            Narrative contour: dynamic formal trajectory that can suggest a story

                        Violent contrasts, intensity of expression, per aspera ad astra

 

Focus on Ludwig van Beethoven

            Extended the Classical tradition before embarking on an individual style

            Probably the best-known and most widely respected composer in the history of Western music; the larger-than-life inventor of the musical world in the West

 

The appeal of Beethoven depends on his ability to express fundamental conflicts of the human condition; many Romantic composers who followed extended this vision

 

Romantic Music

            Rooted in the late 18th century, perhaps beginning with the French Revolution or with the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau; product of a belief in human potential combined with a belief that reason and science were insufficient

            Importance of personal experience, direct expression of ideas, and artistic or aesthetic truth

 

The Romantic Audience

            Establishment of civic orchestras and regular public concerts in Europe and the Americas

            Continued growth of the middle class and the ideals of social accomplishment brought about a burgeoning market for sheet music for private music-making along with increased concert attendance

 

Across the Arts: William Blake’s Union of Poetry and Painting

Represented Romantic ideals: the necessity of originality, the artist as visionary, the wisdom of nature, and the superiority of imagination to convention

 

Instruments of the Romantic Repertory

            Piano: developed from a relatively small/quiet instrument to the large and powerful concert instruments of today

            String instruments: modified to make them louder and more assertive

            Winds: changes in structural designs resulted in expanded ranges and increased dynamic ranges

            Brass: technological innovations such as valves made it easier to change pitch

 

Musical Elements of the Romantic Repertory

Drew on Classical style and forms but also modified them to meet Romantic expressive demands

Forms: influence of song form, ternary (ABA) form, and the fantasy

Ensembles: larger orchestras afford different tone colors

Instrumental virtuosity becomes increasingly important

Rhythm: freedom in rhythm and frequent changes in tempo for expressivity

Harmony: often innovative or unusual, frequent key changes

Melodies: memorable long-breathed melodies contrasted with motivic development

Difficult to generalize about this music—there are many exceptions

 

Chopin’s Ballade in G minor

            Characteristics of the Romantic period: written for the solo piano, virtuosic, vibrant drama mixed with intimate poetry, descriptive title, narrative cast to the entire work

            Linked with the poetry of Adam Mickiewicz, with themes that may represent characters

 

Focus on Frédéric Chopin

            Polish-French composer with outstanding gift for melody, an ear for unusual harmony, and intuitive sense of form

            Quintessential piano music of the Romantic era

            Wrote almost exclusively for the piano

            Many character pieces, particularly nocturnes, mazurkas, and preludes

 

Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette

            A “symphony” that does not conform to the expectations of that genre

                        Has an accompanying story, uses a text sung by soloists and a chorus, seven sections instead of the customary four

            Why is it called a symphony, then? Because Berlioz did, and because most of the storytelling comes through the instruments.

 

Focus on Hector Berlioz

            French composer in a German-dominated field who struggled for recognition in his lifetime

Best known for programmatic works such as the Symphonie fantastique, but contributed works of startling originality

 

Smetana’s Šárka

Program music: music associated with a story, image, or other non-musical subject

Symphonic poem: extended piece of program music in a single movement

Šárka has an unusual program that allows Smetana to narrate through the music while avoiding clichés

Romanticism allows a wide range of emotions, contrasting sounds, and virtuosic performances to shine through music. No wonder it remains popular today!

 

Focus on Bedřich Smetana

            First Czech nationalist composer, established the national canon and

continued to influence Czech music long after his death

            Concerned with establishing a Czech musical identity, through conscious attempts to tell stories that resonated within their own culture

            Some nationalistic music uses familiar musical language and is relatively easy to understand; other examples are not

 

In History: Smetana’s Šárka

            At the time of composition, the Czechs were part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, but Má Vlast helped forge a national identity

            The movements that deal primarily with Czech national history have never become especially popular with non-Czechs

 

Diversity of Romantic Music

            Johannes Brahms is a more classically oriented Romantic composer of symphonies, chamber music, piano solo works, and A German Requiem

            See also: Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, Antonin Dvořák, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Pyotr Ill’yich Tchaikovsky