CLASSICAL

The Orchestra – New Instruments

Piano Sonata ~ Moonlight The Piano replaced the Harpsichord giving new opportunities for dynamics, tone and expression. Beethoven Piano Sonata ~ Moonlight

Sonata Form Sonata form was not just developed for the sonata (a solo work with piano accompaniment), but was created as a framework for 1st movements of symphonies, concertos and overtures. It has 3 sections as follows: EXPOSITION RECAPITULATION DEVELOPMENT 1st Subject (Tonic key) Bridge passage (Transition) 2nd Subject (Related key – dominant, subdominant, relative minor/major) Codetta 1st Subject (Tonic key) Bridge passage (Transition) 2nd Subject Coda 1st and 2nd Subjects are developed - modulations, imitation, sequences, inversion; motifs taken from main themes and developed.

Minuet & Trio The minuet is a graceful French dance with three beats in a bar. It originated in the Baroque period and was now lengthened in the Classical period, becoming a set form of composition. The trio is a contrasting minuet after which the first minuet is repeated. MINUET – TRIO – MINUET In a Classical Symphony, the 3rd Movement is often in Minuet & Trio form, sounding dance like and lively.

Scherzo Scherzo literally means joke and is a lively movement in triple time. As the Classical period developed, the Minuet and Trio was replaced by a Scherzo as the 3rd movement in a Symphony. Beethoven was the 1st Composer to use the Scherzo In his symphonies. This shows How he was at the heart of Developing music into the Romantic period.

Concerto Classical composers developed the 3 movement form created by the Baroque solo concerto. The movements were mainly FAST, SLOW, FAST The final movement included a section for the soloist to show off. The orchestra stopped playing and the soloist would demonstrate their technical ability, often ending in a trill, signalling the orchestra to re-start. This is called a CADENZA Classical composers wrote for new instruments like the clarinet and horn

Symphony Classical composers started to shape instrumental music into 3 sections, creating a ‘Sonata’ for orchestra. Movement 1 (Fast) - usually an allegro and in what became known as sonata form. Movement 2 (Slow) and often in a simple form Movement 3 (Minuet and trio) - a dance borrowed from the Baroque period and in ternary form. Movement 4 (Fast) and usually an allegro - often light-hearted in style and in a form such as rondo form, theme and variations or sonata form.

Sonata Sonata was the name given by classical composers to works in a number of contrasting movements by one or two instruments, for instance for piano alone or for violin and piano. The movements were normally FAST, SLOW, FAST, with the 1st movement being in Sonata form Listen out for ALBERTI BASS in the piano sonatas and accompaniments

Chamber Music Other works for larger groups were generally named after the size of the group so a trio was for three instruments, a quartet for four, a quintet for five and so on. Chamber music was for performance in a room and one of the most popular groups in this style was the string quartet. By now the viols of the 17th century were completely out of favour and were replaced by the now more familiar violins, violas and cellos. These quartets were most often in four movements: a fast movement, most often in sonata form a slow movement a minuet and trio a fast movement, often a rondo, or theme and variations, or even another movement in sonata form.

Vocal Music OPERA By the end of the Baroque period, operas were all about the singer rather than reflecting the story. Mozart was the master of opera and every one he composed has memorable arias for all types of voice. The Marriage of Figaro and the Magic Flute are amongst his most famous. Not only is the music great for the singers but the story line is always pushed along and reflected in the music. Opera also became more light-hearted and comical in this period, which would eventually be overtaken by serious, dramatic opera in the Romantic period. Religious Music Mozart and Haydn wrote several Masses with an orchestral accompaniment and in particular the funeral mass, Mozart’s Requiem, stands out as one of the great choral works of the period.

Main Characteristics To a musician, Classical refers to a short period of musical history from around 1750 to around 1810. During this period the popular forms of the Baroque Period began to develop e.g Overture into Symphony The style was simplified and the ornate Baroque flourishes were replaced with predictable harmonies and melodies. Form was often quite strict, with composers using Sonata Form and 3 movements for their works. New instruments were introduced and composers explored dynamics and tone in a new way

Test on Concepts below… Sonata form Exposition, Development & Recapitulation Sonata Symphony Concerto Minuet & Trio Chamber Music Scherzo Cadenza Variation form Cadences – perfect, imperfect, plagal, interrupted Harmony – dominant 7th chord & Relative major/minor modulations Alberti Bass Sequence Binary, ternary and Rondo form