Transcript Music in the Age of Enlightenment

MU111: Unnerving Exam Question
A. Name the:
• composer
• genre (type of composition), and
• briefly explain your reaction to hearing works in this genre.
J. S. Bach: Fugue from The Art of the Fugue
I. Dates/Basics
A. Classical Period Conventionally = 1750-c. 1820
Early Classical
Styles Evident
1730
Death of
J. S. Bach=
End of Baroque
1750
?
First works
by Haydn
Mozart in mature
classical style
1770
Wright’s
end of
classical
Pd.
1820
B. Period of transition btw. Baroque & Clasical (1730-1770):
1. Pre-Classical Period
2. Early Classical Period
3. Galant Period
C. High Classical Era: “Big 3”=Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
I. Dates/Basics (cont.)
D. Classical Era in Music = Age of Enlightenment/Reason
II. Social and Cultural Background
to the Classical Era
A. Enlightenment Ideals: Reason & Equality
1. Equality of Access to Ideas
2. Political Equality
3. Social Equality
4. Equality of Taste
B. Musical Consequences of “Equality”= New Audience
1. Rise of Public Concerts = Increased Importance for
Instrumental music
2. Comic opera (opera buffa)
II. Social and Cultural Background
to the Classical Era
A. Enlightenment Ideals: Reason & Equality
1. Equality of Access to Ideas
2. Political Equality
3. Social Equality
4. Equality of Taste
B. Musical Consequences of “Equality”= New Audience
1. Rise of Public Concerts = Increased Importance for
Instrumental music
2. Comic opera (opera buffa)
3. 18th-cent. as the Age of the Dilettante
II. Social and Cultural Background
to the Classical Era
A. Enlightenment Ideals: #1. Equality
1. Equality of Access to Ideas
2. Political Equality
3. Social Equality
4. Equality of Taste
B. Musical Consequences of “Equality”= New Audience
1. Rise of Public Concerts = Increased Importance for
Instrumental music
2. Comic opera (opera buffa)
3. 18th-cent. as the Age of the Dilettante
4. Simplification: short phrases; often repeated;
melody & accompaniment texture (not complex counterpoint)
II. Social and Cultural Background
to the Classical Era (cont.)
C. Enlightenment Ideals: #2. Reason/Rational Thought
(Esp. logic, unity, order, proportion)
C. Enlightenment Ideals: #2. Reason/Rational Thought
D. Musical Consequences:
Symmetry, Antecedant-Consequent Phrases, Clear Forms
II. Social and Cultural Background
to the Classical Era (cont.)
E. Enlightenment Ideals: #3. Fascination with Nature
and The Natural
F. Musical Consequences
1. Rejection of the artificial
2. Emphasis on the facile, comprehensible:
(rejection of complexity, esp. counterpoint)
III. Musical Style in the Classical Era
A. Melody
1. Phrases often stated, then repeated (w or w/o variation)
2. Sections connected by transition (theme vs. filler)
3. Phrases marked off by clear cadences
4. Antecedent/Conseqent pairs common
5. Classical Melodies shorter, simpler, discrete sub-phrases
B. Rhythm
1. Baroque driving, uniform rhythms rejected;
instead changes/contrasts in surface rhythm
2. Changes/contrasts can be abrupt or gradual
III. Musical Style in the Classical Era (cont.)
C. Dynamics
1. Specified more by composers
III. Musical Style in the Classical Era (cont.)
C. Dynamics
1. Specified more by composers
2. Gradual changes (crescendo/diminuendo) more important
3. Volume not an ornament but structurally important
D. Harmony
1. Similar to Baroque (mainly diatonic)
2. Harmony frequently changes more slowly
(harmonic rhythm)
E .Texture
1. Homophonic/Melody + Accompaniment
IV. Vienna and the Mature Classical Style
(after 1770)
A. Haydn, Mozart (1770s), later Beethoven (from 1790s)
B. Vienna as Cultural Crossroads
Classical Period Conventionally = 1750-1820
Early Classical
Styles Evident
1730
Death of
J. S. Bach=
End of Baroque
1750
First Works
Of Haydn
Mozart in Mature
Classical Style
1770
Wright’s
End of
Classical
Pd.
1820
IV. Vienna and the Mature Classical Style
(after 1770)
A. Haydn, Mozart (1770s), later Beethoven (from 1790s)
B. Vienna as Cultural Crossroads
C. Retain Virtues of Enlightenment values
(clear, lucid, widely intelligible)
But re-introduce complexity for expressive effect
•Irregularity/disruption gains expressive effect
•Reintegration of imitation/polyphony
•Gradual changes project changing emotions
•Reintroduce chromaticism
D. Bottom Line on High Classical Style:
•Retain: clarity, lucidity, wide appeal of early classical style
•Reintroduce: Complexity.
(And against background of simple, complex moments = gain in expressive power!)
Small hint of what’s in store:
Mozart:
Symphony No. 39
in E-flat Major (finale)