Classical Music

Rallentando

________ is sometimes used, to slow the music down.

Allegro

Rondo

Classical period

1750-1810

Classical music

• Art music

• Instrumental music

• Emphasis on beauty and elegance/grace of melody, and balance and control.

• More variety and contrast within a piece than Baroque (dynamics, instruments, pitch, tempo, key, mood and timbre).

Classical music: Key features (15)

• Simple, 'singable' melodies.

• Comprises short, clear-cut, regular/periodic phrase-lengths (4-8 bar phrases; 2-4 bar phrases).

• Clear, homophonic texture (less complicated texture, more lighter and more clearer than Baroque).

• Dynamics (volume) uses crescendo and diminuendo.

• Only timpani used in percussion section

• Simple harmony.

• Strings dominate orchestral sound

• Small woodwind section.

• Reasonably small orchestra.

• Use of scalic passages.

• Dominant right hand melody.

• Limited range of piano, with Alberti bass accompaniment.

• Consonant harmony.

• Tonic-dominant harmony.

• Clearly marked cadences.

Classical music: Forms and designs (5)

• Symphony

• String quartet

• Minuet (+trio)

• SONATA (most important design)

• Concerto

Classical period: Important composers

• MOZART (Clarinet, Symphony, Opera, Piano)

• HAYDN (Symphony)

• Stamitz (Symphony)

• Gluck (Opera)

• C.P.E. Bach (Style Galant, Piano)

• J.C. Bach (Style Galant, Piano)

• Beethoven (Piano Sonatas, Symphony, Opera) who used more discords, more dynamic contrast and more contrast in pitch.

Bar phrases

A section in which music seems to fall naturally that can often be played in one breath.

Homophonic

A single melody being played with accompaniment.

Alberti Bass

Bass line on piano that consists of simple broken chords, repeated in the left hand, which keeps the music going, and outlines the harmony.

Cadence

A modulation or inflection of the voice; A sequence of notes or chords comprising the close of a musical phrase.

Crescendo

Getting louder

Diminuendo

Getting quieter

Types of composition for instrumental music

Chamber music (e.g. String quartet)

Types of composition for Church music

• Mass

• Requiem

Types of composition for Dance music

• Suite

• Minuet

Types of composition for Orchestral music

• Symphony

• Concerto

• Overture

Types of composition for vocal music

• Opera

• Oratorio

• Chorale

• Aria

Theme/subject

An important melody which occurs more than once in a piece of music. A theme may be just a melodic figure.

Concord

A harmonious chord

Arpreggio

The notes of a chord played one after another instead of at the same time.

Style Galant

Early classical style, a very courtly style meant to please the listener, as opposed to making the listener think.

Chamber music

For playing in a room or chamber, i.e. written for a small number of instruments.

• string quartet (2 violins, viola, cello)

• piano trio (violin, cello, piano)

• string sextet

Orchestra

• Orchestra expands in size, dynamics and textual range.

• Harpsichord continuo gradually fell out of use.

• Woodwind becomes a self-contained section (more important), especially the horns to bind the texture.

When were clarinets introduced?

Towards the end of the 18th century

A typical Orchestra

• 1-2 flutes

• 2 oboes

• 2 clarinets

• 2 bassoons

• 2 horns

• 2 trumpets

• 2 kettle drums

• Strings

Orchestral form of Classical music (Symphony)

A large orchestral work, usually in three or four contrasting movements/sections (a sonata for orchestra). Fourth movement is commonly a Minuet and Trio.

Movements of the Symphony

• First movement: fairly fast; sonata form

• Second movement: slower speed; more song-like; ternary form or sonata form, with variations

• Third movement: Minuet and Trio, or Scherzo

• Fourth movement: Fast speed; light-hearted; rondo form or sonata form, with variations

Orchestral form of Classical music (Minuet)

• Dance in 3/4 (in 3 time)

• Often part of a Minuet and Trio

• Slow and stately waltz

Orchestral form of Classical music (Sonata form)

Consisting of two themes or groups of themes, linked by a bridge passage. It is a way of building up an individual movement, not a piece. It is the form most often used for the 1st movement of large works like symphonies and concertos.
Three sections (large 3-part form): introduction, exposition (A), development (B), recapitulation (A), with a coda to end

The Exposition (Sonata form)

• Composer exposes his musical ideas.

• First subject (main idea) is in the tonic, which modulates near the end to a bridge passage, which leads to the second subject which is in a new, but related key, often the dominant or relative major (if first subject is in a minor key).

• Second subject is usually more tuneful.

Modulates

Changes

Bridge

Transition

Development (Sonata form)

• Ideas are developed.

• Creates a feeling of tension and conflict.

• Climax may be in this section.

Recapitulation (Sonata form)

• Music is repeated from the beginning, but the second subject is now in the tonic.

• Finally, the music may have a coda, which rounds off the music.

Tonic

Chord/ Note 1

Supertonic

Chord/ Note 2

Mediant

Chord/ Note 3

Subdominant

Chord/ Note 4

Dominant

Chord/ Note 5

Submediant

Chord/ Note 6

Leading note

Chord/ Note 7

Piano

• Invented in 1698.

• Allows soft and loud notes to be played.

• More expressions can be played (legato, staccato, cantabile).

• Plucked by small hammers.

Sonata

A work, in several movements, for one or two instruments.

Trio

3 instruments

Quartet

4 instruments

Quintet

5 instruments

Sextet

6 instruments

Requiem

Roman Catholic mass for the dead with solo voices, chorus and orchestra.

Opera

Dramatic piece for orchestra, chorus and vocal soloists combining acting with music. An opera begins with an overture for orchestra (prepares the audience for what is to come), followed by choruses and arias. They also include recitatives. The orchestra mirrors the mood and drama of the action.

Opera buffa

Comic opera

Coda

Concluding passage of a piece or movement, typically forming an addition to the basic structure.

Concerto

• Solo instrument in competition with the orchestra, developed from a Baroque solo concerto.

• There is a dialogue between melodic lines and themes between the soloist and orchestra, with each taking turns to accompany the other.

• 3 movements: fast, slow, fast like the early symphony (no minuet or trio).

Define Classicism

pertains the highest level of excellence, possessing enduring value or timeless quality, refers to the cultures of Ancient Rome and Greece as well as the art, architecture, and music of the late 18th century, emphasis on symmetry, balance, and proportion

Define Viennese School

refers to the musical style forged by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven and their contemporaries, in late 18th century Vienna, Austria flourished as a musical century

Define absolute music

music without extra musical associations, also known as "pure music", generic title reflecting tempos, genres, or forms (ex Sonata, Allegretto, Menuet, Rondo)

Define sonata cycle

emerged in the Classical era, multi-movement structure, demonstrated in the symphony, sonata, or concerto

Define sonata form

formal structure often used in first movement of sonata cycle
consists of Exposition (statement of two or more contrasting themes), Development (departure), and Recapitulation (return), also known as sonata-allegro form

Define exposition

the first main section in sonata form, two contrasting themes are stated, the first theme is in the tonic key, the second theme (or themes) are in a contrasting key; generally in the dominant of relative major

Define development

the second main section in sonata form, themes from the exposition are manipulated through, fragmentation, sequential treatment or changes to orchestration, modulations and increased harmonic tension, new themes may also be introduced

Define recapitulation

the third main section in sonata form - first and second themes are both restated in the tonic

Define coda

Latin for "tail" (cauda), a concluding section reaffirming the tonic key

When was the Classical Period?

ca 1750 - ca 1825

Sonata form

Movement 1

Exposition

Movement 1 Sets forth two opposing keys and their respective themes

Dominate

Movement 1 Key center, that leads back to the tonic

Recapitulation

Movement 1 Section of restatement

Coda

The tail or tag, rounds off the movement with a vigorous cadence

ABA theme and variation

Moevement 2 Form

Slow, Adante

Movement 2 tempo

Expanding melodies

Major to minor harmonies

Rhythm

Timbres/ instruments changes

Movement 2 theme is carried by changes in ....

Minute and Trio Hayden And Mozart

Movement 3 First Form --- and trio by ----

Scartcio and trio Beethoven

Movement 3 Second Form

Rondo

Movement 4 Form

Presto

Movement 4 Tempo

A B A C A D A E A F A

Movement 4 A sample letter organization of a rondo is

Reoccurring

Or can be described as a---- theme