Music Appreciation - Essay Example

The term ical music” is a very broad one, referring to the mainstream music produced between the mid-16th century and the beginning of the 20thcentury: a time also known as the common practice period. But the term can be stretched back as far as the 8th century and as far forward to today. However, when we hear someone talk about “classical music”, he or she is most likely talking about the kind of musical standards set in the common practice period, when European music became different in notation from the music of other parts of the world. Because the word “classical music” is unfairly broad, it is best for music scholars and appreciators to compare classical eras, such as the Romantic era and the Baroque era. Even though the times the experts have set as either the “Baroque” or the “Romantic” are somewhat arbitrary, they are convenient. Otherwise, it is not fair to lump very different kinds of music together into one. In today’s terms, that would be like lumping pop artists with classic rock artists and bluegrass artists, stretched across a 400-year period. Within this 400-year period in European music, from the 16th to the 20th century, European music developed and perfected a system of staff notation to preserve and transmit very important information about the musical composition. With staff notation, composers gained the ability to guide performers on their use of meter, rhythm, speed, and pitch, all necessary to perform any given piece of music. As a result, European classical music became unique and different from other forms of classical music like those in the Asian continent. European classical music, with a strict system of notation, left less room for improvisation and invention on the part of performers. The performers became indistinguishable from their instruments. Although the talent of the performers was still valuable, creative performers were not in high demand, unless they started composing their own work. With more control over the music given to the composer, the structure of the symphony (with the composer as the leader) came to be (Boynick). Although “classical music” is a broad term, we can still come up with some specific things that make all of the music similar. In terms of instrumentation, classical music often uses a lot of instruments with many different pitches, from low to high. There are no set limit or kind of instruments that classical music is limited to, and can even use voice, like in opera. Changes in the eras or periods of classical music were likely brought on by technological changes in the musical instruments used by the performers. Different instruments allowed different levels of complexity and sound. Playing classical music requires a strong ability to read and play in the ensemble. Both composers and performers had to understand modulation, harmonization, texture, thematic development, phrasing, and musical form. Classical music can take the form of concerto, opera, suite, symphonic poem, sonata, symphony, and others (Boynick). Classical music as we understand it today came out of the Medieval period from the 15th century to roughly the 9th century, set apart by the religious Gregorian chant. Following the mostly religious Medieval period was the mostly non-religious Renaissance period in music from the 15th century onward to the 17th century. The Renaissance period brought secularized music to a great extent and brought more madrigals and art song. After the Renaissance period came the Baroque era, which lasted from about 1600 to 1750, and is known for the increasing complexity of the music composition and intricacy of the music’s ornamentation. From 1750 then, to about 1820, came the Classical era, which emphasized structure and balance (Boynick). Composers in this time liked having a very logical structure to follow, and standards for music really developed. In contrast, the Romantic era of classical music, which lasted from 1820 to the beginning of the 20th century, brought about a great deal of emotion and immensity to the music. Whereas the Classical era was all about structure and logic, the Romantic period was about emotion and love. Composers created more chromatic, dissonant, and free-form music . Baroque music was a particular style of classical music that began at the start of the 17th century until 1750. This era describes the time after the Renaissance period and before the Classical era. The term “baroque” has come to describe an entire movement within European art and creativity, but has its origins in the Portuguese word “barroco”, which means “misshapen pearl”, a description of the architecture (not music) of the time. Baroque became separated from the Renaissance in Italy, when composers decided that harmony was as important as polyphony. In many ways, the rise of the Baroque period was also socially important: the Pope in Italy wanted a kind of music, different from the increasingly secular Renaissance music, to promote faith in the Catholic Church. As a result of these aesthetic and religious factors, the music transitioned from the dense polyphony inherent to Renaissance-style music to a more intricate formation of the music, or homophony. This novel approach was taken by the early baroque composers like Claudio Monteverdi. Monteverdi wrote the opera L’Orfeo as a completely new style of music, one that combined elements of the old and the new (Boynick). In the middle of the Baroque era, social factors like absolutism became important. The French came to culturally dominate the rest of Europe. Once again, religion became intertwined with music, and demands for chamber music before large masses became clear. At this time, styles and forms of the new music became institutionalized, with a greater focus on harmony as well as formal systems of teaching music as an art. Famous composers from this time include Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Lully, Briton Henry Purcell, and German Dieterich Buxtehude. Lully composed operas for the King of France, an audience that shaped the tastes of Europe. In his music, Lully wrote for full orchestras, which played into the necessity of assembling large groups of musicians. He established a standard of using strings in the orchestra and focusing the audience’s attention on the inner voices of harmony. Henry Purcell added to the music by using the Baroque style in many different styles and contexts, and being able to smoothly play all of them in the same setting, wit compositions as different as stage-music and marches. And unlike Lully, Purcell wrote for the keyboards, which was an instrument in increasing supply during the second half of the 17th century. Dieterich Buxtehude, an entrepreneur rather than a member of the court, made a lasting influence on the Baroque composers by setting up effecting contrasts, and used improvisation effectively. What is considered the “late Baroque” period flows from around 1680 to 1750, and is separated from previous eras by nationalist movements in different countries toward their own unique styles of music. In addition, this time saw the first full use of tonality to give meaningful structure to compositions. Song forms such as the sonata and concerto received attention and were developed mainly based on the social and political context of the region. Although song forms became simpler, the compositions reached the height of their instrumental intricacy at this time. Antonio Vivaldi, the Italian composer, composed a number of works that used a particular style of fast-slow-fast three-movement. Other important composers, like Handel of Germany and Scarlatti of Italy, made important contributions in the area of ornamentation (Boynick). Johann Sebastian Bach, the enormously popular German composer, would gain prominence at this time. Bach learned how to play harpsichord and violin from his father. His family was very musical, including his uncle Johann Christoph Bach, who was a famous organ player. Bach’s parents died when the young boy was 10, and he moved in with his oldest brother, an organist. Bach took lessons from his brother and learned from the masters like Lully, Marin Marais, and Louis Marchand. Bach went to school in Lüneburg, and experienced a wider range of music in this time. He was a good student, and in 1703, took a position as a court musician in Weimar. He was disappointed in the level of talent he was composing for, but he still lacked great skill in organizing for large orchestras. He visited Buxtehude around this time and felt an enormous influence from the legendary composer. Bach began working in Weimar after spending some time away. There he began composing for the organ, as well as orchestras on the keyboard. He wrote dramatic openings from his Italian influences like Corelli and Vivaldi. In Weimar, Bach played with the ensemble of the duke, and made large advancements in his career: making use of a full range of keys (Kavanaugh). Bach’s music is remembered for several key and influential features, specifically his use of improvisation on the keyboards, his wide range of influences from all over Europe, his contrapuntal innovation, his use of motivic control, and his commitment to the Church. The skills Bach would come to possess as a composer arose mainly out of his early childhood, which was brought on by his family of musicians. Bach intensified and varied the existing German musical style in which he grew up. He took what existed during his time and made it noticeably more complex, more organized, more entertaining, and more intense. During his time in Weimar, his skills developed and he improved upon Buxtehude’s preludes and counterpoint. But as much as Bach enjoyed and used Buxtehude, the influx of Italian works left a lasting influence. Bach is also known for being incredibly precise with his notation for his melodic lines. He left almost no room for performers to improvise or interpolate. This may be due to his early dissatisfaction with performers he felt in his early days composing. This also allowed him to control his denser-than-usual textures, and restricting variation within those lines. Bach’s harmony is remembered for brief tonicization, which refers to faint hints at another key in order to add color to textures. Bach used contrapuntal textures more cumulative than many of those used in Germany (Kavanaugh). After the Classical period, the Romantic era emerged in about 1820 and lasted to the end of the 19th century. The Romantic saw a shift in theory, practice, and history. But the word “Romantic” refers only to the increased number of formal structures in a musical work, which makes the piece seem more expressive. As a result, composers took on an increased level of importance, since it was now much easier to associate the sound of a composition to its composer. Like the Baroque era, the Romantic era music is just one part of a new kind of art that came into Europe at this time. Romantic era, like romantic literature and philosophy, attempted to answer deep questions through emotional expression. Nationalism had gained a key place in the music world like at the end of the Baroque era. Composers from different countries would include elements from their native folk music into their works as an expression of their unique national identities (Damico). The Romantic era was established as composers made their music more chromatic and more expressive in the harmony. The use of the public concert and opera influenced young composers by exposing them to the emotional power of the music. Social and economic shifts made it possible for the middle-class to compose as well. The role of the performer, compared to the Baroque era, became more pronounced as well (Sony Music). In “virtuoso concerts”, players of violins, pianos, and other instruments would demonstrate their skills on their instruments by improvisations, with less emphasis on the structured work. In the second half of the 19th century, the music was influenced by the political and economic changes going on at this time, such as the advent of railways and the novel as the primary literary form. Patrons of music were more sophisticated and the instruments available to ensembles became more common. Composers continued to develop nationalist identities in their music, with German and Italian styles defining their own kind of Romantic compositions (Damico). Although Romantic composers created widely varying styles of work, the basic features of Romantic music can be heard and listed. The most important feature is freedom, in both design and form. The composer was entitled to a more forceful expression of imagination, adventure, fantasy, and emotionality. This was accomplished in the wide variety of forms the compositions took during this period, with songs ranging in style from short solos to long, expansive orchestras with dramatic and theatrical endings (Damico). This reflected an expansion in the orchestra, with a developed emphasis on the brass section to add weight to the texture. Both performers and composers demonstrated greater ability and mastery of the instruments, which was especially the case with stringed instruments and keyboards. The compositions became lyrical and almost song-like, with richer harmonies, more chromaticism, and more discords. The Romantic era, in addition to more nationalism than before, saw more integration of art forms between traditional lines, such as the integration of music and the poem into the symphonic poem. Program music, which is music designed to create special images in the listener’s mind, became especially popular during this time (Boynick). Richard Wagner, one of the most significant composers of the Romantic era, exemplifies this kind of musical shift toward contrapuntal texture, harmony, expressiveness, and chromaticism. Wagner used leitmotifs and musical themes similar to the way a writer would use symbols and themes in a novel. He innovated in how to use shifting tonal centers, with unique changes in “plot” (or structure) in his music. Wagner was born in 1813, and, after the death of his father, set himself on a course toward an education in Dresden. Wagner began his creative life with the goal of becoming a playwright, but took his first lessons in composition in 1828, and shifted his creative efforts. By 20, Wagner had completed his first orchestra, and continued to sell his creative works to the court. At this point, like many other composers, Wagner became involved in nationalist ideologies and left-wing politics. This no doubt influenced his music in the time between 1840 and 1850. Wagner was forced into exile in Paris after playing a role in the May Uprising and a minor attempt at revolution. For 12 years, he was isolated from German music. However, he continued to write nonfiction and compositions in the form of librettos and operas. In 1861, he was allowed back to Germany (Wagner). By the time of his return, Wagner was known quite well for his musical dramas, which are still the largest part of his legacy. Tristan und Isolde is still regarded as his best opera. Wagner produced relatively little music outside of the opera, but made himself famous with his operas from his strength as both a dramatist and composer. He strengthened the movement behind the music drama where the drama and the music are combined. Wagner was unique because he wrote both the drama and the music, where the two elements were usually written separately and then combined. He did not emphasize the singers over the orchestra, as other opera writers tended to do. He treated both of the elements equally, and this came out in the strength of the music behind the singer (Kreis). This integration of the voice and the orchestration allowed Wagner to use leitmotifs with great effectiveness, and to advance the plot of the drama by preparing the audience for characters and plot changes. The Romanticism in Wagner’s music is clear because of the emotional expression of the orchestra, modeled on the voice, in his operas. He gave new ways of performing harmony and making musical form. Wagner innovated in chromaticism, and in the use of the tonal system. Because of these innovations, Wagner is thought of as one of the closest ancestors to modern (or 20th century) classical music (Damico). Simply put, the Baroque and Romantic eras do not have many similarities except in the use of form in both periods. Because they were separated by another entirely different period of music called the Classical era, many of the innovations and styles of the Baroque era were lost before the Romantic era came in (Boynick). However, many of the structures we see in the Baroque era, like the sonata, rondo, and ternary forms, were still in use in the Romantic era. Other technical developments like musical notion, major/minor keys, contrapuntal textures, melodic chords, made the transition because of their place in European musical history. Another similarity is virtuosity. In the Baroque era, composers used the cadenza, an elaborate solo passage of virtuoso playing or singing near the end of a section or piece. In the Romantic era, when much more emphasis was placed on individual skill and voice, the same element of virtuosity can be seen all over Europe, such as in Franz Liszt (Boynick). However, the periods are markedly different in their styles and expectations from the composers. The Baroque era is identified by complex counterpoint and a continuous bass line. The use of harpsichord and organ became popular, and the beginnings of opera began to appear. The concerto and orchestra came apart. There was an emphasis on intricacy in the music, and strict structures as we see in the compositions of Bach, who left little room for improvisation in his firm notation. This reflects an emphasis on the skill of the composer to direct the performers in all aspects of the music. In contrast, in the Romantic era, the emphasis came to the music and the skills of the performers to convey drama and emotion to the audience. Works by Wagner and others, especially in program music, were designed to create specific feelings. The family of instruments grew and European culture expanded with the colonies (Damico). Preludes, fantasies, nocturnes, and other musical forms developed to reflect changing cultural attitudes. The Romantic Movement in other art forms had an influence on the form and structure of the musical work. Increased attention was paid to rhythm and melody, with all of the expressive elements in those aspects of the music. Works Cited Boynick, Matthew. The Classical Music Pages. 1996. 2009 . Damico, Ryan. The Romantic Era. 2009 . Kavanaugh, Patrick. Johann Sebastian Bach: For the Glory of God. 2009. 2009 . Kreis, Steven. Richard Wagner, 1813-1883. 2009. 2009 . Sony Music. Romantic 1825-1900. 2009 . Wagner, Richard. My Life — Volume 1. 2004. 2009 . Read More