___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

4. Give one local artist that inspired you to do art. Why?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Reference:
Jadulco, L., Art-App-06.-Soulmaking-Appropriation-and-Improvisation
https://www.scribd.com/presentation/408835585/Art-App-06-Soulmaking-
Appropriation-and-Improvisation-pptx.

Lesson 7 Medieval Period

The Medieval Period of music is the period from the years c.500 to 1400.
It is the longest “period” of music (it covers 900 years!!) and runs right through from
around the time of the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the beginning of the
Renaissance.
Here is an overview of several features of Medieval music that is good for you to have
an understanding of.
MONOPHONIC MUSIC

The vast majority of medieval music was monophonic – in other words, there was
only a single melody line. (“mono-phonic” literally means “one sound”).
The development of polyphonic music (more than one melody line played at the same
time (“poly-phonic” means “many sounds”)) was a major shift towards the end of era
that laid the foundations for Renaissance styles of music.
GREGORIAN CHANT

Gregorian chant, consisting of a single line of vocal melody, unaccompanied in free

rhythm was one of the most common forms of medieval music.
This is not surprising, given the importance of the Catholic church during the period.
The Mass (a commemoration and celebration of The Last Supper of Jesus Christ) was
(and still is to this day) a ceremony that included set texts (liturgy), which were spoken
and sung.
Have a listen to this example of Gregorian Chant:

Play Procedamus in Pace

By Paterm (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons]

The chants were also based on a system of modes, which were characteristic of the
medieval period.
There were 8 church modes – (you can play them by starting on a different white note
on a piano and playing a “scale” of 8 notes on just the white notes. For example, if you
start on a D and play all the white notes up to the next D an octave higher, you will have
played the “Dorian Mode”).
THE DEVELOPMENT OF POLYPHONIC MUSIC

As the Medieval Period progressed, composers began to experiment and polyphonic

styles began to develop.

ORGANUM

Organum was a crucial early technique, which explored polyphonic texture.

It consisted of 2 lines of voices in varying heterophonic textures.
The 3 main types of organum are:
Parallel organum (or “strict organum”)
One voice sings the melody, whilst the other sings at a fixed interval – this gives a
parallel motion effect.
Have a listen to this synthesised example of parallel organum:
Parallel Organum audio example

Free organum
The 2 voices move in both parallel motion and/or contrary motion.
Have a look at this example of free organum and listen to the track of the beginning
being played on a synthesised choir sound:

Free Organum audio example

Melismatic organum
An accompanying part stays on a single note whilst the other part moves around above
it.
Have a listen to this synthesised example – notice how the 2nd voice stays on the same
note whilst the 1st voice “sings” the melody:
Melismatic Organum audio example

Here are some other recorded examples of organum, which are worth listening to:

SHEET MUSIC IN THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD

The Catholic Church wanted to standardise what people sung in churches across the
Western world.
As a result, a system of music notation developed, allowing things to move on from the
previously “aural” tradition (tunes passed on “by ear” and not written down).
NUEMES

These were signs written above chants giving an indication of the direction of
movement of pitch.
Here is an example of an 11th century manuscript containing nuemes:

As the medieval period prgressed, nuemes developed gradually to add more indication
of rhythm, etc..

INSTRUMENTS OF THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD

There were a number of characteristic instruments of the Medieval Period including:

 Flutes (made of wood)
Medieval flutes looked more like the modern day recorder as they had holes for fingers
rather than keys.

Dulcimer
The medieval dulcimers were originally plucked, but then hit with hammers as
technology developed.

Lyra
The lyra is considered to be one of the first known bowed instruments
Other medieval instruments included the recorder and the lute.

The period was also characterised by troubadours and trouvères – these were
travelling singers and performers.
SECULAR STYLES OF MEDIEVAL MUSIC

Ars Nova (“new art”) was a new style of music originating in France and Italy in the
14th century.
The name comes from a tract written by Philippe de Vitry in c.1320.
The style was characterised by increased variety of rhythm, duple time and increased
freedom and independence in part writing. These experimentations laid some of the
foundations for further musical development during the Renaissance period.
The main secular genre of Art Nova was the chanson.
Examples of Art Nova composers include Machaut in France and G. Da Cascia, J. Da
Bologna and Landini in Italy.
Lesson 8 The Baroque Period

History of Baroque Music and Origins

Baroque theatre in Český Krumlov

Teatro Argentina (Panini, 1747,Musée du Louvre)

BAROQUE MUSIC

Baroque music is a style of Western art music composed from approximately 1600 to
1750. This era followed the Renaissance, and was followed in turn by the Classical era.
The word “baroque” comes from the Portuguese word barroco meaning misshapen
pearl, a negative description of the ornate and heavily ornamented music of this period.
Later, the name came to apply also to the architecture of the same period.

Baroque music forms a major portion of the “classical music” canon, being widely
studied, performed, and listened to. Composers of the Baroque era include Johann
Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Alessandro Scarlatti, Domenico
Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, Henry Purcell, Georg Philipp Telemann, Jean-Baptiste
Lully, Arcangelo Corelli, Tomaso Albinoni, François Couperin,Denis Gaultier, Claudio
Monteverdi, Heinrich Schütz, Jean-Philippe Rameau, Jan Dismas Zelenka, and Johann
Pachelbel.

The Baroque period saw the creation of tonality. During the period, composers and
performers used more elaborate musical ornamentation, made changes in musical
notation, and developed new instrumental playing techniques. Baroque music
expanded the size, range, and complexity of instrumental performance, and also
established opera, cantata, oratorio, concerto, and sonata as musical genres. Many
musical terms and concepts from this era are still in use today.
Etymology

Periods of
Western classical music

AD / CE

Early

Medieval c. 500–1400

Renaissance c. 1400–1600

Common practice

Baroque c. 1600–1760

Classical c. 1730–1820

Romantic c. 1815–1910

Modern and contemporary

Modern c. 1890–1930

20th century 1901–2000

Contemporary c. 1975–present

21st century 2001–present

History of European art music

The term “Baroque” is generally used by music historians to describe a broad range of
styles from a wide geographic region, mostly in Europe, composed over a period of
approximately 150 years.

Although it was long thought that the word as a critical term was first applied to
architecture, in fact it appears earlier in reference to music, in an anonymous, satirical
review of the première in October 1733 of Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie, printed in
the Mercure de France in May 1734. The critic implied that the novelty in this opera was
“du barocque,” complaining that the music lacked coherent melody, was filled with
unremitting dissonances, constantly changed key and meter, and speedily ran through
every compositional device.
The systematic application by historians of the term “baroque” to music of this period is
a relatively recent development. In 1919, Curt Sachs became the first to apply the five
characteristics of Heinrich Wölfflin’s theory of the Baroque systematically to
music. Critics were quick to question the attempt to transpose Wölfflin’s categories to
music, however, and in the second quarter of the 20th century independent attempts
were made by Manfred Bukofzer (in Germany and, after his immigration, in America)
and by Suzanne Clercx-Lejeune (in Belgium) to use autonomous, technical analysis
rather than comparative abstractions, in order to avoid the adaptation of theories based
on the plastic arts and literature to music. All of these efforts resulted in appreciable
disagreement about time boundaries of the period, especially concerning when it
began. In English the term acquired currency only in the 1940s, in the writings of
Bukofzer and Paul Henry Lang.
As late as 1960 there was still considerable dispute in academic circles, particularly in
France and Britain, whether it was meaningful to lump together music as diverse as that
of Jacopo Peri, Domenico Scarlatti, and J.S. Bach under a single rubric. Nevertheless,
the term has become widely used and accepted for this broad range of music. It may
be helpful to distinguish the Baroque from both the preceding (Renaissance) and
following (Classical) periods of musical history.
History

The Baroque period is divided into three major phases: early, middle, and late. Although
they overlap in time, they are conventionally dated from 1580 to 1630, from 1630 to
1680, and from 1680 to 1730.

Early baroque music (1580–1630)

Claudio Monteverdi in 1640

The Florentine Camerata was a group of humanists, musicians, poets and intellectuals
in late Renaissance Florence who gathered under the patronage of Count Giovanni de’
Bardi to discuss and guide trends in the arts, especially music and drama. In reference
to music, they based their ideals on a perception of Classical (especially ancient Greek)
musical drama that valued discourse and oration. As such, they rejected their
contemporaries’ use of polyphony and instrumental music, and discussed such ancient
Greek music devices as monody, which consisted of a solo singing accompanied by a
kithara. The early realizations of these ideas, including Jacopo
Peri’s Dafne and L’Euridice, marked the beginning of opera, which in turn was
somewhat of a catalyst for Baroque music.
Concerning music theory, the more widespread use of figured bass (also known
as thorough bass) represents the developing importance of harmony as the linear
underpinnings of polyphony. Harmony is the end result of counterpoint, and figured
bass is a visual representation of those harmonies commonly employed in musical
performance. Composers began concerning themselves with harmonic
progressions, and also employed the tritone, perceived as an unstable interval, to
create dissonance. Investment in harmony had also existed among certain composers
in the Renaissance, notably Carlo Gesualdo; However, the use of harmony directed
towards tonality, rather than modality, marks the shift from the Renaissance into the
Baroque period. This led to the idea that chords, rather than notes, could provide a
sense of closure—one of the fundamental ideas that became known as tonality.
By incorporating these new aspects of composition, Claudio Monteverdi furthered the
transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He
developed two individual styles of composition – the heritage of Renaissance polyphony
(prima pratica) and the new basso continuo technique of the Baroque (seconda pratica).
With the writing of the operas L’Orfeo and L’incoronazione di Poppea among others,
Monteverdi brought considerable attention to the new genre of opera.

Middle baroque music (1630–1680)

The rise of the centralized court is one of the economic and political features of what is
often labelled the Age of Absolutism, personified by Louis XIV of France. The style of
palace, and the court system of manners and arts he fostered became the model for the
rest of Europe. The realities of rising church and state patronage created the demand
for organized public music, as the increasing availability of instruments created the
demand for chamber music.
Jean-Baptiste Lully

The middle Baroque period in Italy is defined by the emergence in the cantata, oratorio,
and opera during the 1630s of the bel-canto style. This style, one of the most important
contributions to the development of Baroque as well as the later Classical style, was
generated by a new concept of melody and harmony that elevated the status of the
music to one of equality with the words, which formerly had been regarded as pre-
eminent. The florid, coloratura monody of the early Baroque gave way to a simpler,
more polished melodic style, usually in a ternary rhythm. These melodies were built
from short, cadentially delimited ideas often based on stylized dance patterns drawn
from the sarabande or thecourante. The harmonies, too, were simpler than in the early
Baroque monody, and the accompanying bass lines were more integrated with the
melody, producing a contrapuntal equivalence of the parts that later led to the device of
an initial bass anticipation of the aria melody. This harmonic simplification also led to a
new formal device of the differentiation of recitative and aria. The most important
innovators of this style were the Romans Luigi Rossi and Giacomo Carissimi, who were
primarily composers of cantatas and oratorios, respectively, and the VenetianFrancesco
Cavalli, who was principally an opera composer. Later important practitioners of this
style include Antonio Cesti, Giovanni Legrenzi, and Alessandro Stradella.
The middle Baroque had absolutely no bearing at all on the theoretical work of Johann
Fux, who systematized the strict counterpoint characteristic of earlier ages in
his Gradus ad Paranassum (1725).
One pre-eminent example of a court style composer is Jean-Baptiste Lully. He
purchased patents from the monarchy to be the sole composer of operas for the king
and to prevent others from having operas staged. He completed 15 lyric tragedies and
left unfinished Achille et Polyxène.

Musically, he did not establish the string-dominated norm for orchestras, which was
inherited from the Italian opera, and the characteristically French five-part
disposition(violins, violas—in hautes-contre, tailles and quintes sizes—and bass violins)
had been used in the ballet from the time of Louis XIII. He did, however, introduce this
ensemble to the lyric theatre, with the upper parts often doubled by recorders, flutes,
and oboes, and the bass by bassoons. Trumpets and kettledrums were frequently
added for heroic scenes.

Arcangelo Corelli

Arcangelo Corelli is remembered as influential for his achievements on the other side of
musical technique—as a violinist who organized violin technique and pedagogy—and in
purely instrumental music, particularly his advocacy and development of the concerto
grosso. Whereas Lully was ensconced at court, Corelli was one of the first composers
to publish widely and have his music performed all over Europe. As with Lully’s
stylization and organization of the opera, the concerto grosso is built on strong contrasts
—sections alternate between those played by the full orchestra, and those played by a
smaller group. Dynamics were “terraced”, that is with a sharp transition from loud to soft
and back again. Fast sections and slow sections were juxtaposed against each other.
Numbered among his students is Antonio Vivaldi, who later composed hundreds of
works based on the principles in Corelli’s trio sonatas and concerti.

In contrast to these composers, Dieterich Buxtehude was not a creature of court but
instead was church musician, holding the posts of organist and Werkmeister at the
Marienkirche at Lübeck. His duties as Werkmeister involved acting as the secretary,
treasurer, and business manager of the church, while his position as organist included
playing for all the main services, sometimes in collaboration with other instrumentalists
or vocalists, who were also paid by the church. Entirely outside of his official church
duties, he organised and directed a concert series known as theAbendmusiken, which
included performances of sacred dramatic works regarded by his contemporaries as the
equivalent of operas.

Late baroque music (1680–1730)

George Frideric Handel

Johann Sebastian Bach, 1748

Through the work of Johann Fux, the Renaissance style of polyphony was made the
basis for the study of composition.

A continuous worker, Handel borrowed from others and often recycled his own material.
He was also known for reworking pieces such as the famous Messiah, which premiered
in 1742, for available singers and musicians.
Timeline of Baroque composers
Baroque instruments

Baroque instruments including hurdy gurdy, harpsichord, bass viol, lute, violin, and
guitar

A double-manual harpsichord after Jean-Claude Goujon (1749)

Strings

 Violino piccolo
  Violin

 Viol

 Viola

 Viola d’amore

 Viola pomposa

 Tenor violin

 Cello

 Contrabass

 Lute

 Theorbo

 Archlute

 Angélique

 Mandolin

 Guitar

 Harp

 Hurdy gurdy

Woodwinds

 Baroque flute

 Chalumeau

 Cortol (also known as Cortholt, Curtall, Oboe family)

 Dulcian

 Musette de cour
  Baroque oboe

 Rackett

 Recorder

 Bassoon

 Clarinet

Brasses

 Cornett

 Natural horn

 Baroque trumpet

 Tromba da tirarsi (also called tromba spezzata)

 Flatt trumpet

 Serpent

 Sackbut (16th- and early 17th-century English name for

FR: saquebute, saqueboute; ES: sacabuche; IT: trombone;
MHG: busaun, busîne, busune / DE (since the early 17th century) Posaune)

 Trombone (English name for the same instrument, from the early 18th century)

Keyboards

 Clavichord

 Tangent piano

 Fortepiano – early version of piano

 Harpsichord

 Organ
Percussion

 Baroque timpani

 Wood snare drum

 Tenor drum

 Tambourine

 Castanets

Styles and forms

The Baroque suite

The Baroque suite often consists of the following movements:

 Overture – The Baroque suite often began with a French overture (“Ouverture”
in French), which was followed by a succession of dances of different types,
principally the following four:
 Allemande – Often the first dance of an instrumental suite, the allemande was a
very popular dance that had its origins in the German Renaissance era, when it
was more often called the almain.[citation needed] The allemande was played at a
moderate tempo and could start on any beat of the bar.
 Courante – The second dance is the courante, a lively, French dance in triple
meter. The Italian version is called the corrente.
 Sarabande – The sarabande, a Spanish dance, is the third of the four basic
dances, and is one of the slowest of the baroque dances. It is also in triple meter
and can start on any beat of the bar, although there is an emphasis on the second
beat, creating the characteristic ‘halting’, or iambic rhythm of the sarabande.
 Gigue – The gigue is an upbeat and lively baroque dance in compound meter,
typically the concluding movement of an instrumental suite, and the fourth of its
basic dance types. The gigue can start on any beat of the bar and is easily
 recognized by its rhythmic feel. The gigue originated in the British Isles. Its
counterpart in folk music is thejig.

These four dance types (allemande, courant, sarabande, and gigue) make up the
majority of 17th-century suites; later suites interpolate one or more additional dances
between the sarabande and gigue:

 Gavotte – The gavotte can be identified by a variety of features; it is in 4/4 time

and always starts on the third beat of the bar, although this may sound like the
first beat in some cases, as the first and third beats are the strong beats in
quadruple time. The gavotte is played at a moderate tempo, although in some
cases it may be played faster.
 Bourrée – The bourrée is similar to the gavotte as it is in 2/2 time although it
starts on the second half of the last beat of the bar, creating a different feel to the
dance. The bourrée is commonly played at a moderate tempo, although for some
composers, such as Handel, it can be taken at a much faster tempo.
 Minuet – The minuet is perhaps the best-known of the baroque dances in triple
meter. It can start on any beat of the bar. In some suites there may be a Minuet I
and II, played in succession, with the Minuet I repeated.
 Passepied – The passepied is a fast dance in binary form and triple meter that
originated as a court dance in Brittany. Examples can be found in later suites such
as those of Bach and Handel.
 Rigaudon – The rigaudon is a lively French dance in duple meter, similar to the
bourrée, but rhythmically simpler. It originated as a family of closely related
southern-French folk dances, traditionally associated with the provinces of
Vavarais, Languedoc, Dauphiné, and Provence.

Other features

 Basso continuo – a kind of continuous accompaniment notated with a new music

notation system, figured bass, usually for a sustaining bass instrument and a
keyboard instrument.
  The concerto and concerto grosso

 Monody – an outgrowth of song

 Homophony – music with one melodic voice and rhythmically similar

accompaniment (this and monody are contrasted with the typical
Renaissance texture,polyphony)

 Dramatic musical forms like opera, dramma per musica

 Combined instrumental-vocal forms, such as the oratorio and cantata

 New instrumental techniques, like tremolo and pizzicato

 The da capo aria “enjoyed sureness”.

 The ritornello aria – repeated short instrumental interruptions of vocal passages.

 The concertato style – contrast in sound between groups of instruments.

 Extensive ornamentation

Genres

Vocal

 Opera

o Zarzuela

o Opera seria

o Opéra comique

o Opera-ballet

 Masque

 Oratorio

 Passion (music)

 Cantata
  Mass (music)

 Anthem

 Monody

 Chorale

Instrumental

 Chorale composition

 Concerto grosso

 Fugue

 Suite

o Allemande

o Courante

o Sarabande

o Gigue

o Gavotte

o Minuet

 Sonata

o Sonata da camera

o Sonata da chiesa

o Trio sonata

 Partita

 Canzona

 Sinfonia
  Fantasia

 Ricercar

 Toccata

 Prelude

 Chaconne

 Passacaglia

 Choral

Lesson 8 The Classical Music

Classical Music (1750-1810)

Classical with a 'c' means anything that is top class, and particularly refers to
the ancient Greeks and Romans. With a 'C' it means a specific style of
composers. The term classical is commonly and incorrectly applied to any
music which is not modern. The correct term for this is actually art music.

Composers of the Period

Composer Na!onality Composer Na!onality

Beethoven (1770-
Stamitz German (Bohemian) German
1827)

Gluck (1714-
German Haydn (1732-1809)* Austrian
1787)

C.P.E. Bach German Mozart (1756-1791)* Austrian

J.C. Bach German

The composers marked with an asterisk are the most important to remember.
Style Galant

This is an early classical style, and a very courtly style. It was meant to please
the listener, as opposed to making the listener think. C.P.E. Bach and J.C.
Bach were the main composers who made use of this style.

Later Classical Style

This style made more of balance and control, grace and beauty of melody,
and the form or design became important.

Texture

Classical music is basically homophonic. (Baroque music was polyphonic.)

The Orchestra

The Orchestra began to grow. The harpsichord continuo gradually fell out of
use. Wind instruments became more important, especially the horns to bind
the texture. Strings were still the main instrument to which were added two
horns, one or two flutes, or a pair of oboes. Gradually, composers added one
or two bassoons, and occasionally a pair of trumpets, or a pair of kettle drums.
Clarinets were introduced towards the end of the 18th Century. Mozart was
the composer responsible for popularising the clarinet. The woodwind section
became a self-contained section:

 One or two flutes

 Two oboes
 Two clarinets
 Two bassoons
 Two horns
 Two trumpets
 Two kettledrums
 Strings

Music for Piano

Invented as early as 1698, by Cristofori in Italy. This instrument allows soft

and loud notes to be played. The strings were hit by hammers, as opposed to
being plucked. More expression could be played (e.g. Legato, staccato,
cantabile.)

The Alberti Bass is simple broken chords, repeated in the left hand, which
keeps the music going, and outlines the harmony.

C.P.E. Bach was one of the first piano composers, and started composing
around 1750. J.C. Bach gave the first piano performance in London. A lot of
music was printed for harpsichord or piano, but the harpsichord gradually
faded out of use.

Sonata

A Sonata is a work, in several movements, for one or two instruments. With

three instruments it is a trio, with four it is a quartet, and with five it is a quintet.

The Symphony

Symphony means a sonata for orchestra. It grew from the Italian Overture, but
the Symphony has three movements, instead of three sections. Later on, a
fourth movement was added (commonly a minuet in trio). Stamitz was the
frost famous symphony composer, and the father of this style, Haydn and
Mozart perfected the Symphony in the second half of the 18th Century. The
Symphony can be broken down into:

 First movement: Usually fast, and in sonata form.

 Second movement.. Usually slower and more song-like. It could be in
sonata form or ternary form, and perhaps with variations.
 Third movement: Haydn and Mozart wrote a minute in trio at this point.
Beethoven later turned this into a Scherzo (A direct translation is joke.)
 Fourth movement: Fast, often light hearted, perhaps in Rondo form, or
sonata form, or with variations.

Haydn wrote numerous sonatas, including the Surprise Symphony, the Drum
Roll Symphony and the London Symphony. Trios and quartets were also in
four movements. Sonatas might have three or four movements. The Classical
Concerto did not include the minuet, so only had three movements.
Sonata Form

Sonata form is a way of building up an individual movement, not a piece. It

consists of three sections:

1. The Exposition: The composer exposes his musical ideas. The main
ideas are called subjects. The first subject is in the tonic, which
modulates (changes key) near the end to a bridge (transition) passage,
which leads to the second subject. The second subject is in a new, but
related, key, often the dominant (Sta) or relative major (If the first
subject is m a minor key). The second subject is usually more tuneful.
2. Development: Here the ideas are developed. It creates a feeling of
tension and conflict. The climax may be in this section.
3. Recapitulation: The music is repeated from the beginning, but the
second subject is now in the tonic. Finally, the music may have a coda
(A direct translation is tail), which rounds off the music.

The Concerto

It contains a solo instrument and an orchestra. There are three movements

(slow, fast, slow). The first movement has a double-exposition. The first is for
the orchestra alone, followed by the soloist. The second, with the second
subject group in the related key. Then comes the development and the
recapitulation, for both the orchestra and the soloist. Towards the end, the
orchestra pauses, and the soloist plays a cadenza (a short passage,'based on
themes heard earlier, which displays the brilliance of the player.) When the
soloist finishes, the soloist ends with a trill, which signifies the orchestra
should come in and finish off the piece. The orchestra plays the coda to end.

Opera

Classical composers wrote much vocal music, especially opera. Gluck was an
important opera composer. Orfeo ed Euridice is one of his works. He made
the actions more important in the opera. At the start of the opera, the overture
prepared the audience for what was to come, Mozart wrote operas including
The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni. The Magic Flute
is an example of singspiel (an opera in which singing is mixed up with
dialogue). The orchestra mirrors the mood and drama of the action. Don
Giovani is an example of 'opera buffa' (comic opera).
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Beethoven composed to please himself. He wrote 32 piano sonatas, nine

symphonies. The 9th Symphony is the Choral Symphony. He wrote one
opera, called Fidelio. Towards the end of his life he became deaf. He could
still composer, and hear the sounds in his head, but had great difficulty in
conducting his works.

Beethoven modified Classical music. His music is weightier, and on a larger

scale. There is more emotion in his music, and his last movements are usually
the most important. He uses more discords, more dynamic contrast and more
contrast in pitch. He increased the size of the orchestra, for example, he often
added a 3rd horn and a piccolo, and also added a choir in his 9th symphony.

The Main Characteristics of Classical Music

1. Less complicated texture than Baroque (more homophonic).

2. Emphasis on beauty, elegance and balance.
3. More variety and contrast within a piece than Baroque (dynamics,
instruments, pitch, tempo, key, mood and timbre).
4. Melodies tend to be shorter than those in baroque, with clear-cut
phrases, and clearly marked cadences.
5. The orchestra increases in size and range. The harpsichord fails out of
use. The woodwind becomes a self-contained section.
6. The piano takes over, often with Alberti bass accompaniment.
7. Importance was given to instrumental music - sonata, trio, string quartet,
symphony, concerto.
8. Sonata form was the most important design.

Classical Music (1750-1810)

Classical Music (1750-1810)

Classical with a 'c' means anything that is top class, and particularly refers to the
ancient Greeks and Romans. With a 'C' it means a specific style of composers. The
term classical is commonly and incorrectly applied to any music which is not modern.
The correct term for this is actually art music.
Composers of the Period
Composer Nationality Composer Nationality

Beethoven (1770-
Stamitz German (Bohemian) German
1827)

Gluck (1714-
German Haydn (1732-1809)* Austrian
1787)

C.P.E. Bach German Mozart (1756-1791)* Austrian

J.C. Bach German

The composers marked with an asterisk are the most important to remember.

Style Galant

This is an early classical style, and a very courtly style. It was meant to please the
listener, as opposed to making the listener think. C.P.E. Bach and J.C. Bach were the
main composers who made use of this style.

Later Classical Style

This style made more of balance and control, grace and beauty of melody, and the form
or design became important.

Texture

Classical music is basically homophonic. (Baroque music was polyphonic.)

The Orchestra

The Orchestra began to grow. The harpsichord continuo gradually fell out of use. Wind
instruments became more important, especially the horns to bind the texture. Strings
were still the main instrument to which were added two horns, one or two flutes, or a
pair of oboes. Gradually, composers added one or two bassoons, and occasionally a
pair of trumpets, or a pair of kettle drums. Clarinets were introduced towards the end of
the 18th Century. Mozart was the composer responsible for popularising the clarinet.
The woodwind section became a self-contained section:

 One or two flutes

 Two oboes
 Two clarinets
 Two bassoons
 Two horns
 Two trumpets
 Two kettledrums
 Strings

Music for Piano

Invented as early as 1698, by Cristofori in Italy. This instrument allows soft and loud
notes to be played. The strings were hit by hammers, as opposed to being plucked.
More expression could be played (e.g. Legato, staccato, cantabile.)

The Alberti Bass is simple broken chords, repeated in the left hand, which keeps the
music going, and outlines the harmony.

C.P.E. Bach was one of the first piano composers, and started composing around 1750.
J.C. Bach gave the first piano performance in London. A lot of music was printed for
harpsichord or piano, but the harpsichord gradually faded out of use.

Sonata

A Sonata is a work, in several movements, for one or two instruments. With three
instruments it is a trio, with four it is a quartet, and with five it is a quintet.
The Symphony

Symphony means a sonata for orchestra. It grew from the Italian Overture, but the
Symphony has three movements, instead of three sections. Later on, a fourth
movement was added (commonly a minuet in trio). Stamitz was the frost famous
symphony composer, and the father of this style, Haydn and Mozart perfected the
Symphony in the second half of the 18th Century. The Symphony can be broken down
into:

 First movement: Usually fast, and in sonata form.

 Second movement.. Usually slower and more song-like. It could be in sonata
form or ternary form, and perhaps with variations.
 Third movement: Haydn and Mozart wrote a minute in trio at this point.
Beethoven later turned this into a Scherzo (A direct translation is joke.)
 Fourth movement: Fast, often light hearted, perhaps in Rondo form, or sonata
form, or with variations.

Haydn wrote numerous sonatas, including the Surprise Symphony, the Drum Roll
Symphony and the London Symphony. Trios and quartets were also in four movements.
Sonatas might have three or four movements. The Classical Concerto did not include
the minuet, so only had three movements.

Sonata Form

Sonata form is a way of building up an individual movement, not a piece. It consists of

three sections:

1. The Exposition: The composer exposes his musical ideas. The main ideas are
called subjects. The first subject is in the tonic, which modulates (changes key)
near the end to a bridge (transition) passage, which leads to the second subject.
The second subject is in a new, but related, key, often the dominant (Sta) or
relative major (If the first subject is m a minor key). The second subject is usually
more tuneful.
 2. Development: Here the ideas are developed. It creates a feeling of tension and
conflict. The climax may be in this section.
3. Recapitulation: The music is repeated from the beginning, but the second
subject is now in the tonic. Finally, the music may have a coda (A direct
translation is tail), which rounds off the music.

The Concerto

It contains a solo instrument and an orchestra. There are three movements (slow, fast,
slow). The first movement has a double-exposition. The first is for the orchestra alone,
followed by the soloist. The second, with the second subject group in the related key.
Then comes the development and the recapitulation, for both the orchestra and the
soloist. Towards the end, the orchestra pauses, and the soloist plays a cadenza (a short
passage,'based on themes heard earlier, which displays the brilliance of the player.)
When the soloist finishes, the soloist ends with a trill, which signifies the orchestra
should come in and finish off the piece. The orchestra plays the coda to end.

Opera

Classical composers wrote much vocal music, especially opera. Gluck was an important
opera composer. Orfeo ed Euridice is one of his works. He made the actions more
important in the opera. At the start of the opera, the overture prepared the audience for
what was to come, Mozart wrote operas including The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic
Flute and Don Giovanni. The Magic Flute is an example of singspiel (an opera in which
singing is mixed up with dialogue). The orchestra mirrors the mood and drama of the
action. Don Giovani is an example of 'opera buffa' (comic opera).

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Beethoven composed to please himself. He wrote 32 piano sonatas, nine symphonies.

The 9th Symphony is the Choral Symphony. He wrote one opera, called Fidelio.
Towards the end of his life he became deaf. He could still composer, and hear the
sounds in his head, but had great difficulty in conducting his works.
Beethoven modified Classical music. His music is weightier, and on a larger scale.
There is more emotion in his music, and his last movements are usually the most
important. He uses more discords, more dynamic contrast and more contrast in pitch.
He increased the size of the orchestra, for example, he often added a 3rd horn and a
piccolo, and also added a choir in his 9th symphony.

The Main Characteristics of Classical Music

1. Less complicated texture than Baroque (more homophonic).

2. Emphasis on beauty, elegance and balance.
3. More variety and contrast within a piece than Baroque (dynamics, instruments,
pitch, tempo, key, mood and timbre).
4. Melodies tend to be shorter than those in baroque, with clear-cut phrases, and
clearly marked cadences.
5. The orchestra increases in size and range. The harpsichord fails out of use. The
woodwind becomes a self-contained section.
6. The piano takes over, often with Alberti bass accompaniment.
7. Importance was given to instrumental music - sonata, trio, string quartet,
symphony, concerto.
8. Sonata form was the most important design.