MUSC-101: Classical Period Study Guide

Period dates

1750-1820

Roccoco

“Tawdry or tastelessly florid,” referring to the light, delicate, and playful style of many Classical composers

Style galant (galant style)

Roccoco subset style, ornate, playful, witty, and developed in French aristocratic courts

Empfindsamer stil (expressive style)

Roccoco subset style, expressive, sensitive, simple, a thing of the middle class, and developed in Germany

Mannheim School

Most important forerunner of the Classical period, established the Viennese Classical School’s foundation and the symphonic styles of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven

Berlin School

Conservative school, often recalled contrapuntal techniques from the Baroque period, were cautious of sharp contrasts between musical movements, lightly used thematic development, preferred three-movement symphonies

Italian School

School responsible for creating contrasting theme format of sonata form, actively involved in the creation of the Classical symphony

Viennese School

School that contributed most to the development of sonata-allegro form

Classicism

Aesthetic attitudes based on the culture, art, and literature of ancient Greece and Rome and characterized by emphasis on form, simplicity, proportion, retaining value, and restrained emotion

Minuet and trio

Third movement in a symphony with ternary form

Absolute music

Instrumental music with no references to other arts (such as poetry or literature)

Preclassical genres

Rococo, Galant, and Empfindsa-keit

Subject of Classical operas

Myths of Greek and Roman antiquity and the plights of noblility

Concerto

A “conversation” happens between the soloist and the rest of the orchestra, with an exposition both for the soloist and the orchestra

Rondo

Musical form with a recurring “lead theme,” often present in the final movement of a sonata or concerto

Chamber music

Small-scale music written for intimate circles with one player to every part

Quartet instrumentation

Two violins, one viola, and one cello

Recitative

The narrative role, unmetered and sung in natural speaking meter

Aria

Highly demanding solo

Arioso

More demanding than a recitative yet less dramatic than an aria

Chorus

Part used for emphasis

Ensemble

Ensemble part

Opera seria/grand opera

Serious opera

Opera comique/opera buffa

Comic opera

Overture

Instrumental introduction

Cadenza

Improvisational solo section

Sturm und Drang

Emotional distress and anger expressed in music

Patrons of the Classical arts

The aristocracy

Intermezzo

A short play with music that occurred between the acts of an opera

Ensemble finale

All singers gradually return to the stage as an act draws to a close until all are present for the climax

Vaudevilles

Comedies that were interspersed with songs or just songs sung in a theatrical setting and particularly in opera-comique

Ariette

A short aria or song (like vaudevilles) present in opera-comique