Romantic music in Renaissance painting - Essay Example

Themes of Romantic music a development of Renaissance painting Romanticism may be defined as different distinct groups of musicians, artists, philosophical, social and political thinkers, poets and writers in the 18th and 19th century. Romantics of the 19th century mainly treasured nationalist and national history. It loved the ancient social and religious content. They valued the idiosyncratic. They were the first to realize the progressive value in the middle ages. The art of history was centered by romantic ideas as an inspiration, aesthetic measure of metaphors nature and organic growth, and the spiritual. Romantics argued that art could show universal truth better than science would. Though, the Romantics underscored the usefulness of expressing art for the society and individual. Ralph waldo in his essay `` The Poet” asserts, ``For all men live by truth, and stand in need of expression. In love, in art, in avarice, in politics, in labor, in games, we study to utter our painful secret. The man is only half himself, the other half is his expression.” (Fredrich, 124). The major theme for Romanticism is that of advancement of self. Self-awareness is the major method. If all humanity was same as one’s self then the person should have a moral duty to restructure the inequalities in the society so that human suffering is relieved. Change in economy did not only make individuals attractive but it also created free markets for the art entrepreneurs in writing, painting and composing. According to romantic theory, nature and self were one. Self-awareness was as a channel of knowledge and it was not a selfish dead end which opened the universe. The distinctive subjective self-developed to be important the same way dominion of psychology was. There were several artistic techniques and effects that were developed to arouse intensified psychological states. Another purpose of Romantic music was that it had non-musical influences. Changes and events that occur in the society such as discoveries, ideas, inventions, attitudes and historical events which will affect the music at all the time. For instance, by early 19th century the industrial revolution was in fully effective and it had a great effect on music. One effect was that there were great improvements in the mechanical valves. This meant that due to the innovative instruments music could be played with more simplicity and easiness. Also the instruments became more reliable. Development in music was also caused by increase of middle class. Composers previously lived on the benefaction of the aristocracy. The audience was small most of the times and the music was only composed by people who had music knowledge and the upper class ones. On the other hand romantic composers wrote mainly for public festivals and concerts, they had large audiences. Nationalism was another theme during Romantic era. For instance, Jean Sibelius is mainly read to represent the Finland nation which was rising during that period and which was expecting to gain freedom one day from the Russians. Another example of musical nationalism which is well seen in the productivity of the romantic ages is where Joseph Machlis states that`` Poland’s struggle for freedom from tsarist rule aroused the national poet in Poland.” The development of Renaissance painting is an odd age in the history. It is not only that the time was peculiar but is the way the historians defined it as unusual era which was so distinct (Applegate, # 135).The era is foremost well-defined by a writer who was an Italian during the 16th century. He applied it mainly on Italian sculptors and painters. Though, others arts were included in the mix, it was only in 19th century when Jakob Burckhardt made Renaissance to develop a historical age. There are other eras which are Chronological. There is also classical world and the modern times, which are subdivided into pre-modern, middle ages and early-modern. Before the modern histories there was the renaissance itself. The medieval historians they mainly focused on writing about universal history. Their main theme was on religion rather than political themes. They do not concentrate on writing on explaining happenings in terms of social systems or human motivations (Abrams, # 87). Humanists’ main value of history was for literacy, patriotic worthy and pedagogical. Their main concern was on politics and they were not concerned with social analysis or economic forces. For instance, the Italian humanists’ concentration was only on Italian States so that’s why they started with the fall of Rome. Thus, why they separated History into two eras, ancient and modern. The next development was known as `antiqua’ pre-christian Rome and the age that followed `nova’. Nova is the modern era which is mainly called tenebra meaning shadow or dark. Christians believed that ancient eras were better than the present days, hearkening to the apostolic church. Subsequently those ultimate times the church declined steadily. Later Petrarch changed the idea to culture from religion which had declined, enabling secular interpretations. The completion of conception of Renaissance was done by Giorgio Vasari in lives of great Architects, painters and Sculptors. He also determinedly created classifications of chronology and styles, molding them to the whole picture. The development of Renaissance has established its art ii several stages with each staged been related to the next stage. Giorgio Vasari lead the history of art during 17th century while pierre Bayle linked the 18thn century rationalists. The several philosophies in 18th century absolutely rejected the conception of history of theology. In cases where the Italian humanists had disregarded providence, the philosophy replaced their own casualty. Their replacement was a natural law. Middle ages acted as the whipping boy and it was the era of Barbarians (Applegate, # 132). The historians of art were the first to identify the renaissance as a different historical period. Condemning or praising it several writers observed it on their own perspective and documented the renaissance as a different phase that would end later in 16th century. Early 19th century there was no existence of Renaissance until Hegel who gave motivation to the period of general history that has been used up to date in literacy, art and religious history. He showed that renaissance was a feedback to the middle ages and their reaffirmation of the morals of the people and transcendentalism. His spiritual reconciliation and intellectual autonomy are still implied in art. Romanticism and development of Renaissance were varied. Their first variation was observed in role in religion, romantics are the ones who took first initiative in 19th century to observe the character of individualism happening in the middle ages. Generally, in the view of Medieval mysticism prepared and anticipated the method of Renaissance (Ford, # 43). Another difference is seen in the role of Nationalism. Romantics stressed the prevalent origin of national culture. Some Italians fingered that the prominence on classical antiquity had given little credit to interpretation of Renaissance in continuation of middle ages. The types of instruments used in romantic music were mainly developed in the mid-19th century. They mainly consist of instruments used in concert bands and orchestra. They were used in combination to other solo instruments such as organ, string and harpsichord. Unlike in romantic music, development of renaissance came with great changes like use of outdoor instruments which are loud. Work cited Abrams, Meyer . The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition. New York,NY: Oxford University Press, 1971. Print. Applegate, Celia. Bach in Berlin: Nation and Culture in Mendelssohns Revival of the St. Matthew Passion. Cornell University Press, 2005. Print. Ford, Joseph. Orpheus in the Twenty-first Century: Historicism and the Art Music Renascence. Gainesville, Florida: New Music Classics, 2003. Web Fredrich Blume. Classic and romantic music: A comprehensive survey. NewYork, NY: Herter Norton, 1970. Print. Read More