Transcript classical
Classical Music Is it for the common man? Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copland Presentation A history lesson? X The idea of this presentation is to bring classical music alive for you A Short History of Classical Music We are talking about Western music, principally European Definition By Classical Music, we mean serious music, not the music of the people Origins Classical music was for many centuries centred around court and church Evolution of Classical Music • History of European art music • • • • • • • • Early / Medieval Renaissance Baroque Classical Early Romantic Late Romantic 20th century Contemporary (500 – 1400) (1400 – 1600) (1600 – 1750) (1730 – 1820) (1815 – 1850) (1850 – 1910) (1900 – 2000) (1945 – present) Classical music has evolved through a succession of artistic movements Structure of Music At its most basic, music is a series of single notes of different pitch Pop goes the Weasel Major & Minor Scales • Western music is generally written in keys, eg A major, C minor • of the 12 semitones in an octave, only 7 are used in any one key Chords and Harmony • A major chord uses the 1st, 3rd & 5th note of the octave C major • C major uses C, E & G • this is harmony Monophonic • Early Music • Plainsong • Gregorian Chant • play Polyphonic • madrigals Palestrina (1525 – 1594) • motets • church music • many Italians Allegri (1582 – 1652) • play Baroque • the Germans & the Italians J S Bach • Purcell in UK (1685 – 1750) • more ornate • use of continuum – harpsichord or organ • play Vivaldi (1678 – 1741) Classical Period • the Austrians Haydn (1732-1809) • wrote in a formal, elegant style • emphasis on structure Mozart • employed by patrons (1756-1791) • play Early Romantics • German symphonists Beethoven (1770 – 1827) • broke the classical mould Schubert (1797 – 1828) • found freer modes of expression • concentrated on individuality • play Mendelsohn (1809 – 1847) Schumann (1810-1856) Still the Romantic Period Rossini • Italian Grand Opera (1792 – 1868) • long tradition in Italy Verdi 1813 – 1901) • bel canto • full of passion & tragedy Puccini (1858 – 1924) • play Late Romantics • Germans, Russians and Austrians Wagner (1813 – 1883) • bigger and bigger Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893) • over the top • play Mahler (1860 – 1911) 20th Century • out with the old • away from keys • discord & dissonance • anything goes • play New Musical Language • breaking the mould – again Debussy (1862 – 1918) • the French Impressionists • no regular rhythms Ravel (1875 – 1937) • play English Music • revival after inactivity Elgar (1857-1934) • national identity • incorporating folk tradition Vaughan Williams (1872 – 1943) • play Eastern Europeans • strong, masculine rhythms Bartok (1881 – 1945) • unusual time signatures Stravinsky • folk influence • ballet (1882 – 1971) Prokofiev (1891 – 1953) • play Post World War 2 • avant garde • experimentation • pots & pans • non-music for the elite? • like modern art in music • play A return to music? • reaction to avant garde & experimenters John Tavener (with Bjork) • recognisable as music (b 1944) • still modern, new & exciting Karl Jenkins • play (b 1944) Classical Music for All • not elitist • something for everyone • no barriers to overcome • just try it • play