Transcript Music History

Music History
An Abbreviated History of
Western Classical Music
The Romantic Period
1820 - 1900
The Romantic Period was a time of “isms:”
 Nationalism
 Liberalism
 Emotionalism
The Romantic Period
1820 - 1900
Significant Events:
 American Civil War
 Invention of the telephone,
telegraph, photograph, railway,
steamboat
 Rise of capitalism and socialism
The Romantic Period
1820 - 1900
Achievements in science:
 Louis Pasteur
 Pasteurization process
 Samuel F. B. Morse
 Morse Code
 Charles Darwin
 Theory of evolution
 Thomas A. Edison
 Invented light bulb, telegraph, phonograph,
microphone, etc.)
The Romantic Period
1820 - 1900
Achievements in literature:
 Leo Tolstoy (War and Peace)
 Herman Melville (Moby Dick)
 Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer)
 Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two
Cities, A Christmas Carol)
Musical Characteristics
Very expressive, emotional, tense, moody
Melody, harmony, and rhythm explored to
their fullest yet
Greater interest (by composers) in wind
instruments
Emphasis on the virtuoso performer
Nationalism
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Composers incorporated native folk songs and
styles into their music
Program music
Russia was the leader of this movement
Important Instruments
 Trombone and tuba first used in the symphony
orchestra
 Valves added to trumpets and French horns
 Metal keys added to all woodwinds
 Saxophone invented in 1840 by Adolfe Sax
 Improvements made to the piano
 Steel frame
 Thicker strings
 Pedal mechanism improved
Instrumental Musical Forms
 Romantic Symphony
 Longer, additional movements
 Program symphony
 Depicts scenes in nature or tells a story
 Tone Poem
 One long movement
 Programmatic (tells a story through music)
 Concert Overture
 Grew out the popularity of opera overtures
Symphony No. 6, op. 68 “Pastoral”
By
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony
Sonata Form - expanded to five movements
I. Awakening of joyous feelings upon arrival in the
country. Allegro ma non troppo
II. By the brook. Andante molto mosso
III. Happy gathering of country folk. Allegro
IV. Thunderstorm; Storm. Allegro
V. Shepherd's song; cheerful and thankful feelings
after the storm. Allegretto
Symphony No. 9, op. 125 “Choral”
By
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony
The symphony is in four movements, marked as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso
Molto vivace
Adagio molto e cantabile
Presto/recitative - Allegro ma non troppo/recitative - Vivace/recitative Adagio cantabile/recitative - Allegro assai/recitative - Presto/recitative:
"O Freunde" - Allegro assai: "Freude, schöner Götterfunken" - Alla
marcia - Allegro assai vivace: "Froh, wie seine Sonnen" - Andante
maestoso: "Seid umschlungen, Millionen!" - Adagio ma non troppo,
ma divoto: "Ihr, stürzt nieder" - Allegro energico, sempre ben marcato:
"Freude, schöner Götterfunken" / "Seid umschlungen, Millionen!" Allegro ma non tanto: "Freude, Tochter aus Elysium!" - Prestissimo:
"Seid umschlungen, Millionen!"
Symphonie Fantastique
By
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
Symphony Fantastique
The symphony is a piece of program music which tells the
story of "an artist gifted with a lively imagination" who has
"poisoned himself with opium" in the "depths of despair"
because of "hopeless love." There are five movements, which
was unconventional for a symphony at the time:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Rêveries - Passions (Dreams - Passions)
Un bal (A Ball)
Scène aux champs (Scene at the Country)
Marche au supplice (March to the Scaffold)
Songe d'une nuit de sabbat (Dream of a Witches'
Sabbath)
Barber of Seville Overture
William tell Overture
By Gioacchino Antonio Rossini (1782-1868)
The Nutcracker
By
Peter Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Morning and In the Hall of the Mountain
King
From Peer Gynt
By
Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)
Norway’s greatest
composer
German Opera
Richard Wagner (ree-card vahgner)
1813-1883
The Ring of the Nibelungen
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Das Rheingold
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Die Walküre
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Siegfried
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Götterdämmerung
Wagner’s Ring
 Composed from 1848 to 1874 and produced
theatrically for the first time in 1876, The
Ring represents major turning points in the
history of opera, as well as in orchestral
music, the art of singing and the production
of operas.
 Use of the leit motif
 Comparisons to modern films
The End