* We will discuss three major musical composers: * Johann Sebastian Bach – Baroque Period * Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Classical Period * Ludwig van Beethoven – Romance Period Get out a piece of paper and fold it so that there are three distinct sections. For each composer, close your eyes and just let the music create a picture in your mind. Write down what you see.

* Johann Sebastian Bach * Father of Baroque Music * The man who inspired both Mozart and Beethoven * Considered by some to be the most influential of the classical composers. * Born in 1685, died in 1750 * Held a number of important positions throughout Germany. * Came from a musically gifted family.

* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * Considered the greatest of the “Classical Era” composers * A child prodigy who was an expert harpsichord player, and composer, by 6. * Was for all intents and purposes a musical genius. * Died in his 30’s of mysterious causes. * Was childish, immature, and crude. This was probably due to never having a real childhood. * Was mildly popular in his lifetime. After his death, he was regarded as a genius.

* Ludwig van Beethoven * The composer who begins the transition from Classical to Romance music. * Had intended to be Mozart’s protégé, but Mozart died after they had met only once. * A republican. * Moody, cranky, and prone to violent rages. Was also a renowned womanizer. Some say he might have been bipolar. * Started going deaf at 20. By the time he was 50, he was completely deaf. * He composed perhaps his greatest work, the Ninth Symphony, while totally deaf.

* The son of a deaf surgeon, Miguel de Cervantes was born near Madrid in He became a soldier in 1570 and was badly wounded in the Battle of Lepanto. Captured by the Turks in 1575, de Cervantes spent five years in prison. He was freed in 1580 and returned home. De Cervantes finally achieved literary success in his later years, publishing the first part of Don Quixote in He died in 1616.

* Don Quixote is a middle-aged gentleman from the region of La Mancha in central Spain. Obsessed with the chivalrous ideals touted in books he has read, he decides to take up his lance and sword to defend the helpless and destroy the wicked. After a first failed adventure, he sets out on a second one with a somewhat befuddled laborer named Sancho Panza, whom he has persuaded to accompany him as his faithful squire. In return for Sancho’s services, Don Quixote promises to make Sancho the wealthy governor of an isle. On his horse, Rocinante, a barn nag well past his prime, Don Quixote rides the roads of Spain in search of glory and grand adventure. He gives up food, shelter, and comfort, all in the name of a peasant woman, Dulcinea del Toboso, whom he envisions as a princess.

1600 – From a Portuguese word “barocca”, meaning “a pearl of irregular shape.” Implies strangeness, irregularity, and extravagance. The more dramatic, the better!

Dramatic, emotional. Colors were brighter than bright; darks were darker than dark. Counter-Reformation art. Paintings & sculptures in church contexts should speak to the illiterate rather than to the well-informed. Ecclesiastical art -> appeal to emotions. Holland -> Real people portrayed as the primary subjects.

Baroque Renaissance

* French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school. * Led the transition from Baroque to Romance Art. * He focused on expressive brushstrokes and studied the optical effects of color. * Used symbolism, stressed motion and multiple subjects. * Did not limit himself to only painting scenes from the Bible or Mythology.

Romance Baroque

* All-weather roads improved year-round transport and trade. * An all weather-road is one made of stone, concrete, etc. Essentially, not a “dirt road.” This is important because dirt roads turn to mud in snow or rain, and make travel very difficult (sometimes impossible). * New designs in farm tools increased productivity (agricultural revolution). * New plowing and threshing methods are developed: makes it easier to farm large amounts of grain. This, in turn, means more people can be fed. This means cities can get bigger. This means more specialization, which means more money for more people. * Improvements in ship design lowered the cost of transport. * Steam boats start to arrive for short distances. Ships that travel across overseas Empires are better designed; faster, sturdier, and can carry more goods with smaller crews.