RCM Level 10 History Classical Era

What period does the Classical Era embrace?

The period from Bach's death in 1750 to the early 19th century.

What emerging ideals characterized the Classical Era?

Modern ideals emphasizing reason, knowledge, equality, proportion, symmetry, and balance.

What was the 18th century called by historians?

The Age of Enlightenment.

What characterized the Age of Enlightenment?

Rational thinking, pursuit of knowledge, and a growing desire for social equality.

What Baroque style was replaced by the Classical style?

The ornate, opulent style of the late Baroque.

What ideals characterize the Classical style?

Proportion, symmetry, and balance.

What textures did Classical composers favor?

Simplified textures, especially homophony.

What structural designs did Classical composers favor?

Relatively straightforward structural designs.

How did the rise of the middle class affect music?

It increased amateur music-making and expanded public access to musical experiences.

When did the middle class rise significantly?

In the mid-18th century.

What types of amateur music-making grew in the Classical Era?

Solo keyboard, accompanied art song, and chamber music performance.

How did public concerts affect musical society?

They allowed anyone who could afford a ticket to enjoy music previously available mainly to nobles.

What is Classicism?

A late-18th-century cultural style emphasizing symmetry, balance, proportion, quality, enduring value, and timeless excellence.

What is the sonata cycle?

A Classical-era multi-movement structure exemplified by the symphony, string quartet, sonata, and concerto.

What is sonata form?

A three-section form consisting of exposition, development, and recapitulation, derived from rounded binary form.

What was one of the most important compositional developments of the late 18th century?

The creation of sonata form.

How long did sonata form remain influential?

It was used in many genres well into the 20th century.

What instrumental genres did the Classical sonata cycle define?

The symphony, string quartet, solo sonata, and concerto.

What normally occurs in the first movement of a four-movement sonata cycle?

It is normally in binary form.

What forms can the second movement of a four-movement sonata cycle use?

Ternary, sonata, rondo, or theme and variations.

What normally occurs in the third movement of a four-movement sonata cycle?

A minuet and trio or scherzo and trio in ternary form.

What forms can the fourth movement of a four-movement sonata cycle use?

Sonata, rondo, sonata-rondo, or theme and variations.

What Classical forms demonstrate proportion, symmetry, and balance?

Sonata form, rondo form, and theme and variations.

Why is sonata form considered the hallmark of the Classical Era?

It clearly demonstrates Classical ideals through a straightforward, balanced structural design.

What form did sonata form develop from?

Rounded binary form.

What is Section A of sonata form?

The exposition.

What does the exposition present in sonata form?

Two themes or theme groups, connected by a transition and rounded off by a codetta.

What separates the first and second themes in a sonata form exposition?

A transition or bridge.

What is a codetta?

A concluding passage that rounds out the exposition.

In what key is the first theme normally presented in sonata form?

The tonic key.

In what key is the second theme normally presented in a major-key sonata-form work?

The dominant.

In what key is the second theme normally presented in a minor-key sonata-form work?

The relative major.

What is Section B in the basic description of sonata form?

The development and recapitulation.

What happens in the development section of sonata form?

The themes are developed while the music modulates through a variety of keys.

What happens in the recapitulation section of sonata form?

The first and second themes return, both in the tonic key.

What happens to the second theme in a major-key sonata-form recapitulation?

It normally appears in the dominant.

What happens to the second theme in a minor-key sonata-form recapitulation?

It most likely appears in the relative major.

What texture replaced dense late-Baroque polyphony in the Classical Era?

Homophony, with single melodies supported by harmonies.

How were Classical phrases typically structured?

In balanced four-measure phrases defined by clear cadences.

What keyboard instrument gradually replaced the harpsichord?

The fortepiano.

What was the fortepiano?

A simpler, more delicate prototype of the modern grand piano.

What four instrumental families defined the Classical symphony orchestra?

Strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.

What was Vienna's status in the late 18th century?

It was a leading cosmopolitan center and a major musical center.

Where is Vienna located?

In Austria, at a crossroads between Europe and the East.

What kinds of artists were attracted to Vienna?

Leading artists, architects, writers, and musicians.

Which major composers gravitated to Vienna?

Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert.

What did Vienna provide for Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert?

An environment where they developed important career phases and aspects of their styles.

What political context surrounded Viennese Classical composers?

Great political upheaval.

What Classical traits became hallmarks of the Viennese style?

Balance and symmetry.

How did social change influence Beethoven's music?

Rumblings of social change and rising individuality encouraged more personal expression.

What Beethoven techniques helped create a more personal emotional expression?

Bold dynamics, unexpected modulations, and integrated motivic designs.

Which composers helped introduce early Romantic stylistic elements?

Beethoven and Schubert.

What was Sturm und Drang?

A late-18th-century German literary movement emphasizing intense emotion and individual revolt against conventional society.

What does Sturm und Drang mean?

"Storm and stress."

Where did Sturm und Drang emerge?

Germany.

What did Sturm und Drang literary works emphasize?

Emotion and the individual's revolt against conventional society.

Which authors exemplified Sturm und Drang?

Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

What was the artistic aim of Sturm und Drang?

To frighten, shock, or otherwise overwhelm the reader with emotion.

How did Sturm und Drang affect Classical music?

It produced passionate outbursts, minor-key emphasis, abrupt tempo and dynamic shifts, stronger harmonic intensity, and heightened emotional expression.

Which composers show Sturm und Drang influence?

C.P.E. Bach, J.C. Bach, and minor-key works by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.

What does Classicism refer to historically?

The culture of Ancient Greece and Rome and the art, architecture, and music of the late 18th century.

What principles does Classicism follow?

Symmetry, balance, and proportion.

What values does Classicism emphasize?

High quality, enduring value, and timeless excellence.

What genres exemplify the sonata cycle?

The symphony, string quartet, sonata, and concerto.

What are the three sections of sonata form?

Exposition, development, and recapitulation.

What does the exposition mean in sonata form?

Statement: two or more themes are introduced, normally separated by a transition.

What does the development mean in sonata form?

Departure: exposition material is developed and modulated.

What does the recapitulation mean in sonata form?

Return: the main themes return, normally in the tonic.

What is another name for sonata form?

Sonata-allegro form.

What did the string orchestra with continuo become in the early 18th century?

A standard performing ensemble.

Which Baroque composers sometimes added winds to orchestral works?

Handel and J.S. Bach.

What did experiments with wind instruments help establish?

The modern symphony orchestra with strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion.

What became the dominant genre of instrumental music in the Classical Era?

The symphony.

How many symphonies did Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert create collectively?

Over 150.

Who is considered the father of the Mannheim School?

Johann Stamitz.

What was the Mannheim School?

A group of early Classical composers who introduced orchestral techniques that strongly influenced the Viennese School.

What is a Mannheim rocket?

A swiftly ascending broken-chord passage or ascending arpeggio.

What was the most important and popular instrumental genre of the 18th century?

The symphony.

Approximately how many symphonies were composed between 1720 and 1810?

Over 13,000.

What does the word "symphony" mean?

"Sounding together."

How far back were "symphony" and "sinfonia" used as titles?

As far back as the Renaissance.

How did the symphony become an independent genre?

It developed from orchestral sinfonias that preceded operas and oratorios.

What structure did early sinfonias commonly use?

Three sections: fast-slow-fast.

What could early sinfonias do besides precede stage works?

Introduce themes and motives from works that followed.

What happened to basso continuo in the early Classical symphony?

It was gradually replaced by independent written orchestral parts.

How did Classical orchestral texture differ from Baroque texture?

It became less contrapuntal.

What did the symphony become a major setting for?

Experimentation with formal devices and orchestral effects.

What did the Mannheim School introduce?

Orchestral gestures using striking and startling special effects.

Where and when were Mannheim School composers active?

At the German court of Mannheim in the mid-18th century.

Where did the Mannheim style originate?

In the Mannheim court orchestra during the mid-18th century.

What made the Mannheim orchestra famous across Europe?

Precision, wide dynamic changes, dramatic effects, and innovative orchestral techniques.

What is the Mannheim rocket?

An ascending arpeggio.

What is the Mannheim roller?

An extended crescendo using a rising melodic line over an ostinato bass.

What is the Mannheim sigh?

An emphatic stress on the first two notes of a descending slur.

What is the Mannheim crescendo?

A dramatic crescendo performed by the entire orchestra.

What is the grand pause in the Mannheim style?

A full-orchestra stop producing dramatic silence.

What is an exposition in sonata form?

The first main section, presenting contrasting themes.

What is a development in sonata form?

The second main section, where exposition themes are transformed and modulated.

How can development themes be transformed?

Through fragmentation, contrapuntal manipulation, sequential treatment, orchestration changes, and modulation.

Why does modulation in the development increase tension?

It moves the music away from the home key and increases harmonic instability.