Western Classical Music National 5 Understanding Music Western Classical Music

Learning Intentions In this unit you will investigate some of the styles and features of Western Classical music. You will do this through a combination of listening, practical and composing tasks.     I can listen to and identify / analyse technical aspects, make informed judgments and express personal opinions on my own and others work.    I can identify and recognise the distinctive sounds, concepts within a range of music styles.

The Baroque Era 1650-1750 Baroque Music

The Baroque Era The Baroque Period is sometimes known as “The Age of Bach and Handel”, as they were the two main composers of this period. The term Baroque was originally an architectural term used to describe the highly decorative buildings that were designed at this time. Duff House in Banff is an example of a Baroque building. Baroque music reflected this trend by using lots of ornamentation in the pieces. The music is generally very busy and dramatic with many parts playing at the same time.   Bach example

Instruments Many of the instruments you are familiar with today were not yet invented or fully developed in the Baroque era. We are now going to look at some of the instruments common to this era. Harpsichord solo Harpsichord - group Organ music

Basso Continuo Continuo or Basso Continuo—– accompaniment traditionally used in the Baroque era with cello and harpsichord or organ in the bass. Listen to a piece of baroque music containing a basso continuo—what 2 instruments can you pick out? Vivaldi – Spring There were many other instruments used in the baroque era that we still use today e.g. flute, trumpet, horns and some timpani. However, the orchestra was a lot smaller than the modern day symphony orchestra we know today. Fill in the box on the next slide in your booklets.

Baroque Music Excerpt 1 Excerpt 2 Melody/harmony   (tonality, concepts relating to the tune/accompaniment) Rhythm/tempo (time signature and speed) Timbre/dynamics (Instruments and louds/softs)   

Polyphony and Homophony Baroque music is mainly POLYPHONIC. This means it sounds very busy with a lot of melodies and parts going on at the same time. This is how you describe the TEXTURE of the music. Listen to this piece of music, Fugue No 1 in C Major by Bach and notice how as each part enters, the music becomes POLYPHONIC. Another word for this is CONTRAPUNTAL. In comparison, Listen to the start of the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky This is an example of HOMOPHONY. Homophony is when all the parts move together at the same time and the result is more ‘chordal’.

Ornaments Trill Grace note As well as being mainly polyphonic, baroque music was also highly ornamented and decorative. This means it contains TRILLS and GRACE NOTES, which are extra bits added to the melody to make it sound more interesting.   Have a listen to Bach’s ‘Aria’ from “Goldberg Variations” which contains many ornaments including trills and grace notes. Trill Grace note

Canon A Canon is a piece of music whereby one part or voice is closely imitated by one or more parts or voices—a bit like a round. E.g. London’s Burning or Frere Jacques Canon in D – Pachelbel This bass line is an example of a GROUND BASS. A ground bass is a theme in the bass which is repeated while the upper parts are varied. This was a common technique in the Baroque era.

The Classical Era 1750 - 1810 Music composed after the Baroque Era ended and before the Romantic Era is known as being from the Classical era. Haydn and Mozart were the most famous composers of this era.   Now compare the following pieces of music for piano—Bach’s Fugue No.1 in C Major and Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C Major K545 1st Movement The first piece from the Baroque era and the second from the Classical era. Write down any similarities/differences you can hear.

Baroque V Classical Similarities Differences

Alberti Bass Listen again to the Mozart Sonata, concentrating on what the left hand is playing at the beginning. This style of accompaniment is called an ALBERTI BASS. An ALBERTI BASS is a series of broken chords played by the left hand outlining harmonies whilst the right hand plays the melody. Classical composers such as Haydn and Mozart used this technique extensively in their piano music ALBERTI BASS (Played in left hand) MELODY (Played in right hand)

Andante from Trumpet Concerto – Haydn The Concerto The CONCERTO was a form of music that became more popular in the Classical era. A CONCERTO is a work for SOLO instrument accompanied by orchestra. It was usually in three movements—Fast, Slow and a final fast movement.  Andante from Trumpet Concerto – Haydn   Now we are going to listen to a Trumpet CONCERTO. The tempo of the piece is ANDANTE (walking pace) and it is written in COMPOUND TIME. As you are listening, answer the questions in your booklets, using the score and enjoying music book to help you.

Cadenza CONCERTOS in the Classical Era often contained something called a CADENZA. A Cadenza was a chance for the soloist to show off his/her skills on the instrument, a bit like a guitar solo in rock music!   Listen from just before 6 minutes in Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 3 – Allegro to hear a CADENZA from the solo horn. At the end of the CADENZA, the horn plays a TRILL to indicate to the rest of the orchestra that the CADENZA is finished.

  The Symphony Another style evolving in the Classical period was the SYMPHONY.   A SYMPHONY is the name given to a large work for orchestra usually in four movements. In the Classical period the movements were normally fast, slow, minuet and trio, fast.   Listen to some of Mozart’s 40th Symphony and insert your answers in the gaps provided. Now fill in the meanings of the concepts at the bottom of your page.  

Binary Form AB A lot of the music in the Classical and Baroque eras followed certain FORMS. We are now going to look at the most common.   BINARY form is music in two sections—A then B. The sections may differ in key, rhythm, melody etc, but should be different enough for you to hear when one section finishes and the other begins. Listen to Bach’s Minuet in G from the Baroque Era, can you identify parts A and B? Follow the score in your booklet and on the following slide..  

.Circle an example of a DIMINUENDO .What does the performance indication on the first beat of the bar in bar 3 in the bass line mean? _____________________________________________________________ 3. Which bar would be played the softest? _____________________________ .Circle an example of a DIMINUENDO .What does the performance indication on the first beat of the bar in bar 3 in the bass line mean? _____________________________________________________________ 3. Which bar would be played the softest? _____________________________ .Circle an example of a DIMINUENDO .What does the performance indication on the first beat of the bar in bar 3 in the bass line mean? _____________________________________________________________ 3. Which bar would be played the softest? _____________________________ .Circle an example of a DIMINUENDO .What does the performance indication on the first beat of the bar in bar 3 in the bass line mean? _____________________________________________________________ 3. Which bar would be played the softest? _____________________________

Ternary Form ABA TERNARY form moves on from binary, returning to section A again. This makes a ‘sandwich’ effect. The sections A being the ‘bread’ and the B being the ‘filling’.   Listen to the following piece of music by Schubert (A composer from the Romantic era, which we will be looking at next). Follow the score and listen for sections A, B and the return to A as indicated on the score. Answer the questions in your booklet at the bottom of the page.

.Circle an example of a DIMINUENDO .What does the performance indication on the first beat of the bar in bar 3 in the bass line mean? _____________________________________________________________ 3. Which bar would be played the softest? _____________________________

Rondo Form ABACA... RONDO form moves on again from ternary, with the section A returning in between contrasting sections.   Listen to Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Rondo Allegro from the Classical Era. The first theme you hear is the returning theme ‘A’. Can you hear in the music when it returns? Have a look at the score on the next slide, this shows A, the returning theme.

Theme and Variations Theme and Variations is exactly what it sounds like—a main theme, followed by variations based on the main theme.   Have a look at the music below, which can be played on the piano or keyboard.

The Romantic Era The Romantic Era followed the Classical Era from around 1810—1900. The Romantic orchestra grew in size and added piccolo, trombone and more varied percussion. Music became more expressive, less structured and composers began to explore different timbre with the introduction of new instruments to the orchestra. There was much use of RUBATO. Rubato translates as 'robbed time' which means the music will speed up and slow down in order to allow for expression, therefore there will not be a strict tempo maintained. Listen to Prelude in E-Minor by Chopin and notice his use of RUBATO.  

Comparing the Eras Now listen to 3 violin concertos from the baroque, classical and romantic eras and identify which piece comes from which era and give a reason for each choice. Concerto 1 Concerto 2 Concerto 3  

20th Century As composers became bolder with their use of different instruments and techniques, this progressed into the even more varied styles and sounds of the 20th Century.   We are going to take a look at some of the techniques and characteristics of 20th Century Western Classical music.

Atonal Music Atonal music is music without a key. It is very dissonant and lacks a 'nice' melody and accompaniment. Listen to a piece of Atonal music by Arnold Schoenberg, 6 little pieces op. 19 - Orchestral version This piece is ATONAL and also contains DISCORDS—A chord in which certain notes clash. In the 20th century, many composers used discords in their music. These can also be called CLUSTERS. If you go to a keyboard or piano, and play a group of notes which are close together, for example C, C# and D, this creates a DISCORD or CLUSTER. On the stave in your booklet, draw some DISCORDS. The first has been completed as an example for you.  

20th Century Music Not all music in the 20th Century was ATONAL. Debussy is said to have led us into 20th century music with his use of timbre, dynamics and beautiful shimmering melodies to create a style known as IMPRESSIONISM.   Listen to Debussy’s Voiles. The piece begins with another concept you need to learn—WHOLE TONE SCALE. A WHOLE TONE SCALE is a scale based entirely on WHOLE TONES—no semitones. You can play a whole tone scale by playing the following on the piano

20th Century Music Listen to another piece of music by Debussy— Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun Q.1 What is the solo instrument at the beginning of the piece?     Q.2 What is the name given to the string instrument heard in the accompaniment?

Minimalism Minimalism is a late 20th Century style of music where simple patterns/ostinati are developed, extended and added to each time they are repeated. The music sometimes uses only one or two elements such as rhythm or pitch to create the whole piece. The result sounds very repetitive and quite often the music is percussive. This style is suited to an age dominated by machines because the constantly repeating melodic and rhythmic patterns sound like the motion of a machine.   Listen to a piece of Minimalist music by Steve Reich and fill in the box in your booklet first as rough work, then complete your final answer in the box on the following page.

Instruments/voices and how they are used Minimalism Rhythm/tempo   Melody/harmony Instruments/voices and how they are used Dynamics