The Romantic Period 1820 - 1900

What is Romantic Music? The period of music from approximately 1820-1900. It is the period in music after the Classical period. Composers began to look for more freedom in their music. They incorporated powerful and intense expressions of emotion, often revealing their innermost thoughts, feelings and sufferings.  

Ludwig Van Beethoven Beethoven (1770-1827) – German composer. Towards the end of his life, he wrote Romantic music, often expressing anger and sadness – his feelings as he became deaf. Beethoven was responsible for bridging the gap between the Classical and the Romantic eras.

The Romantic Orchestra The orchestra grew in size in the Romantic period: Classical orchestra – about 60 -70 players. Romantic orchestra – up to 120 players.

The Classical Orchestra (Revision) Strings Woodwind Brass Percussion Violins Viola Cello Double Bass Flute Oboe Clarinet Bassoon French Horns Trumpet Timpani

The Romantic Orchestra

Let’s have look at each section.. STRINGS – Many more players were added. The harp joined the orchestra.

Woodwind Again, there were more players. Instruments such as the piccolo, cor anglais, bass clarinet and contra bassoon were added. The piccolo is the highest pitched woodwind instrument. It is half the size of a flute and plays notes an octave higher. The piccolo uses the same fingering as the flute. As well as in orchestras, piccolos can be heard in wind bands and other ensembles.

Brass The Brass section became much more important. The trombone and tuba joined the orchestra.

Percussion Many more percussion instruments were added. There was now a wide varirty of tuned and untuned percussion including xylophone, tubular bells, gong, bass drum and cymbals.

Romantic Forms All the major forms from the Classical period were still used in the Romantic period: Symphony Concerto Opera

WATCH THIS EXAMPLE OF A ROMANTIC SYMPHONY BY BERLIOZ.. How does this compare to a classical symphony? Things to think about– Harmony Melody Dynamics Hector Berlioz (1803 –1869) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts (Requiem).

Rubato Rubato is a rhythmic concept which is a common feature of the music of the Romantic period. Rubato translates as ‘robbed time’ which mans the music will speed up and slow down in order to allow for expression, therefore there will not be a strict tempo maintained. Video

Lied/Lieder Vocal Music Means song Refers to works for solo voice and piano in the Romantic era Both these instruments had the same importance Text is in German Can be strophic, or through composed

Vocal Music Through composed Strophic The term applied to songs in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Most modern pop songs are in strophic form. The term applied to music that is relatively continuous, non-sectional, and/or non-repetitive. A song is said to be through-composed if it has different music for each stanza of the lyrics.  An example of a pop song that is through composed is Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Listening Track Strophic OR Through composed Voice: Identify the following: Leider Strophic OR Through composed Voice: Modulation Vamping Rubato Compound Perfect cadence Trill

Impressionist This is term borrowed from a style of painting in which the images were blurred and hazy. Claude Monet for example was more concerned with the effects of light on an object rather the an exact picture. Early 20th Century Impressionist composers, such as Claude Debussy (1812 – 1918), attempted to incorporate the same vague, hazy feelings into their music. Garden in Giverny by Claude Monet

Main Characteristics of Impressionistic style Melodic –Use of scales such as whole- tone, pentatonic, modal & chromatic. Harmonic -Discords (often 9th or 13th) in parallel motion. Rhythmic -Often vague, fluid rhythms, no clear sense of pulse. Structural -Although carefully contrasted, the effect is of no clear-cut outlines. Timbre - Colourful use of contrasted orchestral and instrumental sounds. Style/Form -Often programmatic or descriptive. Claude DebussyL’Apres-Midi D’un Faune

Musique Concrete A musical form made from recordings of musical instruments, voice, and the natural environment as well as those created using synthesizers and computer-based digital signal processing. Also, compositions in this idiom are not restricted to the normal musical rules of melody, harmony, rhythm, metre, and so on.  Pierre Schaeffer - Apostrophe Pierre Schaeffer- «Etude aux chemins de fer »

Minimalist A development in the second half of the 20th century where music is based on repeated patterns of notes, e.g. several ostinati played at the one time. Often based on simple rhythmic and melodic figures which are constantly repeated with very slight changes each time. Six Marimbas - Steve Reich

Late 20th Centaury/21st Centaury Jazz funk Soul music a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat (groove), electrified sounds and an early prevalence of analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre whose spectrum is quite wide and ranges from strong jazz improvisation to soul, funk or disco with jazz arrangements, jazz riffs, and jazz solos, and sometimes soul vocals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UDYwWqBnd8 a popular music genre that originated in the United States in the 1950s and early 1960s. It combined elements of African-American gospel music, rhythm and blues, and often jazz. Soul music became popular for dancing and listening in the United States. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1nNdTyDZEs