Post on 24-Feb-2016
description
The Classical Period
1750-1820
Qualities of Classicism Order Objectivity Proportion
Emulated the art and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome
Greek architecture
The Greeks developed three architectural systems, called orders, each with their own distinctive proportions and detailing.
Unity—proportion--grace
More . . . On the Classical Period
Age of strong aristocracies– Spacious palaces; formal gardens– Balanced proportions and detail
Louis XV (France) Frederick the Great (Prussia) Maria Theresa (Austria) Catherine the Great (Russia)
Age of the patronage system
So . . .
Music centered around the courts Employed musicians to compose, conduct,
entertain And, because the aristocracies were
powerful and important, this music found its way to the “unestablished” musical world of the new America
And more . . .
French Revolution (1789-99) American Revolution (1775-83)
– These changed the political systems and social order
Industrial Revolution (c. 1750)
“Eighteenth-century Classicism,then, mirrored the unique moment in history when the old world was dying and the new was in the process of being born. From the meeting of two historic forces emerged an art of noble simplicity that constitutes one of the pinnacles of Western culture.”
Classicism in Music
The Viennese School– Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert– Composed large-scale works:
Symphony Concerto Sonata
Classical Music
Singable melodies Lyrical Diatonic harmony (predictable, pleasant) Regular rhythms (also predictable) Homophonic texture Folk elements
Classical Period– Golden Age of Chamber Music
Music for 2-10 players (with one player per part) who play together to create a piece
Most prominent was the string quartet
– Violin I– Violin II– Viola– Cello
The best were written by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
Followed the same format as the symphony
Haydn’s String Quartets
Wrote 68 The Quinten Quartet
– Fourth Movement – Sonata-allegro form– “Hungarian” folk tune quality– Listen to interplay of instruments (Violin I
dominates throughout)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart(1756-1791)
--Child prodigy—
Mozart
Made significant contributions to nearly all musical genres– Symphony– Sonata (many for piano)– Concerto– Chamber music– Sacred music– Opera
Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) -- 1787
. . . For string quartet with double bass, or chamber orchestra
. . . Listen for homophonic texture
. . . First theme is disjunct
. . . Second theme is conjunct (and graceful)
Eine kleine Nachtmusik
First movement – Sonata Allegro Form– EXPOSITION
Theme I (disjunct) Theme II (conjunct, lyrical) Closing theme
– DEVELOPMENT– RECAPITULATION
Theme I (returns) Theme II (same theme, “home key”) Closing theme (same theme, also in “home key”) Coda “tail” (the way for the composer to wrap up the piece