1. Music and the Enlightenment
Chapter 12
Prelude:
Music and the Enlightenment

2. Key Terms Repetition Enlightenment Cadences Rococo Sonata form
Minuet
Rondo
Theme and variations
Enlightenment
Rococo
Divertimento
Opera buffa
Classical style
Classical orchestra
Classical counterpoint

3. Classical Timeline

4. Late 18th Century Enlightenment flourished New Classical style emerged
Vienna a center for music
Rise of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven

5. The Enlightenment Intellectual movement centered in France
Rooted in a faith in reason and science
Applied rational methods to social sphere
Attacked social injustice and religion
Major figures: Voltaire and Rousseau

6. Emperor Joseph II “Enlightened” ruler
Emancipated peasants
Furthered education
Reduced power of clergy
Supported music and literature
Encouraged free press
Reigned during Vienna’s golden years (1780–1790)

7. Vienna as Musical Center

8. American Contribution to the Enlightenment
Declaration of Independence and Federalist Papers
A new state founded on rational principles
Emphasis on human rights
“life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”

9. Art and Entertainment An age of good living
Valued intelligence, wit, sensitivity
Invented salon, coffee house, public concert
Arts meant to entertain, to please
Rococo style
Similar style in music
Light, charming, frivolous
Divertimento—designed to divert and entertain

10. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The first “alienated” intellectual
Emphasized nature and the individual
Blasted social institutions
Wrote articles on politics and music
Attacked Baroque opera
Advocated simpler, more natural music that focused on real life
Encouraged development of comic opera

11. The Novel Genre took hold around 1750
Literary equivalent of the new comic opera
Realistic observation of contemporary life
Sensitive depiction of feeling
Could be sexually explicit, sentimental, and moralistic all at once

12. The Rise of Concerts Prompted by growing middle class
Proliferated throughout Europe
Lent new importance to orchestral works
Composers began to write for public concerts (Haydn, Mozart)
Church and court patronage, opera houses still important

13. Two Central Concepts The “natural” and “pleasing variety”
Can work hand in hand
Can also oppose each other
“Natural” can be too simple, boring
“Pleasing variety” can invite “unnatural” complexity
Appear in all elements of Classical technique
Create a new expressive quality

14. Rhythm “Pleasing variety” dominates New flexibility valued
Gradual increase or decrease in energy
Sudden contrasts
Sudden stops
Smooth, continuous motion
Pressing forward by fits and starts
Real contrasts become possible

15. Dynamics “Pleasing variety” dominates
New precision in notating dynamics
New emphasis on gradations of volume
Rise in popularity of the pianoforte

16. Tone Color “Pleasing variety” dominates
Increasing attention to tone color
Orchestra developed into subtle, versatile instrument

17. The Classical Orchestra
Strings still at the heart
Woodwinds and brass given clearly defined roles
Percussion used in new ways
Offered enormous variety in musical elements and overall effect

18. Development of the Classical Orchestra

19. Melody: Tunes The “natural” dominates Baroque melody now “unnatural”
New preference for clear, simple tunes
Some works use tuneful phrases
Others use entire tunes (theme and variations)

20. Texture: Homophony The “natural” dominates
A single melody dominates the texture
Simple but flexible accompaniment
Continuo fell out of use
More control over specific color and spacing of chords

21. Classical Counterpoint
Homophony was dominant
Polyphony still offered expressive possibilities
Creating tension and intensity
Creating contrast with homophony
Contrapuntal texture frequent in sonata form development sections

22. Baroque vs. Classical Style
Repetitive, dance-influenced rhythms
Only two dynamics (f, p)
Same colors throughout
Basic or festive Baroque orchestra
Complex, ornate melodies
Unequal phrase lengths
Polyphonic texture
Constant continuo support
Homogeneous—single affect expressed in each work
Classical
Flexible, constantly changing rhythms
Many dynamic gradations
Variety of colors in one piece
Larger orchestra, regular use of brass and winds
Clear, memorable tunes
Regular phrase lengths
Homophonic texture
Constantly varied accompaniment
Heterogeneous—variety of feelings express in each work

23. Form in Classical Music
The problem:
How can you extend a musical work over a long time span when music must be “natural,” simple, and easy to understand?
The Classical solution:
Repetition and return
Transitions between themes
Clear cadences

24. Repetition and Return First theme repeats immediately
First theme often returns later
Other main themes handled the same way
Makes themes easy to remember
Return provides a “homecoming” feel

25. Transitions between Themes
Themes connected with transitions
Prominent; distinct from surrounding themes
Not very melodic—no clear tune, no repetition
Create urgency to get to next theme
Transition lends emphasis to beginning of next theme

26. Clear Cadences Themes often end with repeated cadences
The more important the theme, the more emphatic the repetitions
Clear cadences strengthen the ending of a theme

27. Repetitions and Cadences
Haydn, Symphony No. 95, II
Mozart, Don Giovanni, “Ho capito”

28. Classical Forms A frame of reference for composers and audiences
Permit contrasts—“pleasing variety”
Control, even tame contrasts
Clarified by repetitions, transitions, and cadences
Sonata, minuet, rondo, theme and variations