Music of the Romantic Era
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Transcript of Music of the Romantic Era
1830-1900
MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC ERA
Melody
Melody receives the greatest
emphasis and its style is chiefly "melody with
accompaniment".
Melodies are more disjunct and have
wider ranges, particularly in R. Strauss's music.
FormsNew Forms Symphonic
poemsSong cycle
Music drama
New Genres
Piano character piecesLieder
Song cycle
Programmatic overturesSymphonic poems
Many forms
Taken from the Classic period, but were
greatly expanded.
Sonata form became much longer with
emphasis given to an expanded
development section and coda (particularly
in Beethoven and Brahms).
Unity on a large scale: merging of separate movements into a single span (Liszt's Sonata in B minor)
RhythmsMore complex than
in Classic period and include use of compound meters, changing meters,
cross rhythms (especially in Chopin and
Schumann), greater syncopation, and use of rubato in
Chopin and Liszt.
Some composers (e.g. Chopin, Schumann,
Wagner) fixate on one rhythmic
pattern extensively
Tonality began to break down because of extreme chromaticism (especially
in Liszt and Wagner).
Minor keys became more frequent, and modulations occur frequently by third-relations and to remote
keys.
Composers include greater complexity in use of dissonant chords -
particularly diminished sevenths, half-diminished
sevenths, augmented triads, augmented sixth chords, and Neapolitan
chords
Harmony
Thematicism
Thematicism plays a more important role in a sonata movement than tonality.
Thematic metamorphosis: A programmatic approach
to composition often associated thematic
material with a character or idea
Changing circumstances or emotional states were
represented by the transformation of the
thematic material (as in Faust Symphony or Symphony Fantastique),
The Orchestra
Berlioz and Wagner greatly expanded the orchestra and
incorporated new instruments into it.
Program music became common in the music of
Berlioz, Liszt, and R. Strauss.
Older Elements Revisted!Ba
ch • The revival of polyphony and Baroque forms under the influence of JS Bach Greter intrest in mdal scales.
Med
ieva
l M
odes• Greater
interest in modal scales
Folk-HeritageStudy of the folk-heritage in music
and imitation of folk-like melodic simplicity.
Chopin's more than 50 mazurkas
represent one of the earliest examples of overt nationalistic
sentiments in music
Chopin, Tchaikovsky, the Russians
Dynamics
Extremes of dynamic
contrasts and levels occur from
pppp to ffff
Expression markings become
increasingly more numerous
and detailed