Music of the Classical Period (1750-1820)

“Classical” Defined A “classic” is any supreme accomplishment of lasting appeal (for example a movie classic or classic rock song) “classical” music (lowercase “c”) usually refers to any music that is NOT rock , jazz, folk, or popular “Classical” music (uppercase “C”) refers to music written between 1750-1820, which exhibits some of the artistic ideas found in “Neoclassic” visual art and architecture In visual art and architecture, “Classical” Art refers to Greek and Roman antiquity Baroque period, era in the history of the Western arts roughly coinciding with the 17th century. Its earliest manifestations, which occurred in Italy, date from the latter decades of the 16th century, while in some regions, notably Germany and colonial South America, certain of its culminating achievements did not occur until the 18th century. The work that distinguishes the Baroque period is stylistically complex, even contradictory. In general, however, the desire to evoke emotional states by appealing to the senses, often in dramatic ways, underlies its manifestations. Some of the qualities most frequently associated with the Baroque are grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitality, movement, tension, emotional exuberance, and a tendency to blur distinctions between the various arts. A term used in the literature of the arts with both historical and critical meanings and as both an adjective and a noun. The word has a long, complex and controversial history (it possibly derived from a Portuguese word for a misshapen pearl, and until the late 19th century it was used mainly as a synonym for `absurd' or `grotesque'), but in English it is now current with three principal meanings.

Classicial Historical Highlights Age of Enlightenment; using reason to solve social problems Age of violent upheavals - French & American Revolutions, Napoleonic Wars Political power shifts from noble courts and church to the newly empowered middle class Composers move from high-class servants to free-lance, self-employed artists

Classical Artistic Highlights New emphasis on balance and clarity of structure Neoclassic Architecture and Painting firm lines & clear structure balance & symmetry moralistic subject matter Greek & Roman references Arts meant to please and entertain rather than instruct: new emphasis on naturalness & pleasing variety Rococo artists: Watteau; Fragonard

Upper Belvedere, Vienna 1721-22

Temple of Love at Versailles, 1775

David, Mars disarmed by Venus, 1824

Fragonard The Reader

Classical Music Genres Vocal Music Genres Opera Instrumental Music Genres Orchestral Music Symphony Concerto Chamber Music String Quartet Serenade

Classical Musical Highlights New emphasis on pleasing variety Highly flexible rhythms (i.e. all different lengths of short and long notes) More difference between musical ideas within a single movement or piece Introduction of crescendo and diminuendo into varied dynamic changes New emphasis on naturalness Demand for simplicity and clarity in melody and harmony Use of secular pop/folk “tunes” in art music More melody & accompaniment (homophonic) textures New emphasis on morality, common people, and everyday life in OPERA Example: W.A. Mozart’s Act 1, Scene 1 from Don Giovanni

Opera Sung theatrical work Staged with costumes and sets Example: WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Act 1, excerpt from Opening Scene from Don Giovanni

Classical Music Style Characteristics Timbre End of basso continuo; evolution of standard orchestra with all four “choirs”; strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion; transition from harpsichord to piano Rhythm Emphasis on flexibiliy and naturalness; unexpected pauses; syncopations; frequent changes from long to short note patterns Melody Tuneful, easy to remember; folk-like, often “borrowed”; balanced and symmetrical phrase lengths; tend to be rounded Form New emphasis on symmetrical structures and clear formal designs; new emphasis on rounding; new emphasis on multi-movement instrumental works; widespread use of Sonata form Dynamics Widespread use of gradual dynamic changes (I.e.crescendos & diminuendos); transition from harpsichord to piano Texture Basically HOMOPHONIC MELODY & ACCOMPANIMENT but flexible; sudden appearances of small bits of imitative polyphony Harmony Less dense; simpler and more stretched out harmonic progressions; gradual abandonment of basso continuo Mood Emphasis on variety and contrast

Karlskirche, Vienna 1716-33

Petite Trianon at Versailles, 1726-68

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Ludwig Van Beethoven