Music History Notes

The Classical Era (1750-1853)

  • Focused on structure and intellect, often referred to as "the brain."
  • Main composers: Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven.
  • Beethoven: Bridged the Classical and Romantic eras, initiating the Romantic era by breaking classical bounds.

The Romantic Era (19th Century)

  • Characterized by emotion and passion, referred to as "the heart," contrasting with the structured Classical era.
  • Themes: love, tension, nature, the supernatural, dreams, spirits, and a reinterpretation of religion.
  • Served as an escape from the Industrial Revolution and various European revolutions.
  • Rubato: Flexible treatment of rhythm, pioneered by Beethoven, reflecting a "cult of individualism."
  • Melody: Became more extended and expressive.
  • Harmony: Chromaticism, offering a wider range of tonal colors (like the chromatic scale comprising all white and black piano keys).
  • Tone-color: Expansion of the orchestra, leading to larger ensembles compared to the Classical period.

Forms

  • Miniature: Short pieces for a small ensemble or solo instrument, conveying a single emotion.
  • Grandiose: Larger-scale compositions with multiple movements.
Miniature
  • Lied: A German Romantic miniature featuring:
    • Accompaniment: Piano serving as an equal partner to the voice.
    • Poetry of Merit: Lyrics that stand alone as poetry.
    • Intimate Mood: Designed for performance in domestic settings.
    1. Erlking (1815)
      • Composer: Franz Schubert
      • Poet: Goethe
      • Form: Through-composed (ABCD…)
      • Speakers: Erlking, son, and father (potentially a twisted reference to the Holy Trinity).
      • Themes: Nature, the supernatural, and nightmare.
      • Technique: Recitative style, a sung dialogue with minimal accompaniment.
      • Ending: Recitative with no accompaniment; abrupt piano silence heightens drama of the son’s death.
  • Song Cycle: A collection of songs sharing a common theme.
  • Character Piece: A short piano piece with a specific theme and no lyrics.
    1. Carnaval (1833)
      • Composer: Robert Schumann
      • Structure: Collection of 20 character pieces based on a Mardi Gras ball.
        • Eusebius: Represents Schumann’s tender, dreamy side.
          • Characteristics: Piano dynamics, upper register of piano, Rubato, chromatic scale.
        • Florestan: Represents Schumann’s unpredictable, bipolar side.
          • Characteristics: Sudden shifts in dynamics and tempo, shifts mode from minor to major, non-cadence ending.
        • Chiarina: Represents Clara Wiek, Schumann’s future wife.
          • Characteristics: Dotted rhythm motive, Rubato, forte dynamic.
    2. Nocturne in F sharp (1831)
      • Composer: Frederic Chopin
      • Genre: Solo piano piece with a nighttime theme. Unusual choice of F sharp scale.
      • Characteristics: Jazz-like quality, improvisatory feel.
      • Techniques: trill (fast toggle between two notes), glissando (slide between notes), arpeggio (broken chord), chromaticism, unexpected coda.
Grandiose
4.  Fantastic Symphony (1830)
    *   Composer: Hector Berlioz
    *   Genre: Program symphony with a narrative told through movements.
    *   Story: A musician’s opium-induced dreams.
    *   Fifth Movement: "Dream of a Witches Sabbath."
        *   Themes: Dreams, supernatural, oxymoron between Sabbath and a witch.
        *   Orchestration: Large orchestra.
        *   Idee Fixe: Recurring melody representing Harriet Smithson.
        *   Innovations: Mutes on brass, Col Legno.
        *   Musical Quotation: Dies Irae from a requiem mass.

Nationalism

  • Late 19th Century: Rise of nationalism, expressing pride in one's country.
  • Nationalist Music: Incorporates folk music and themes.
  • Kuchka: A group of five Russian musicians dedicated to creating uniquely Russian music.
    1. Pictures at an Exhibition (1874)
      • Composer: Modest Mussorgsky
      • Originally for piano, later orchestrated by Ravel.
        • Promenade: brass and string instruments, an irregular meter, symbolizes walking through an art gallery.
        • Gnomus: lurching rhythm and dissonant harmonies, symbolizing a nutcracker doll coming to life
        • Promenade 2: uses woodwinds, suggesting a guy looking at non-Russian art.
        • Great Gate at Kiev: the longest and most climactic section, has the promenade theme and Russian folk tunes.

Avant Garde

  • Early 20th Century: Experimental and pushing boundaries.
  • Impressionism: Using the whole tone scale (all whole steps) to create a dreamlike, floating non-gravity quality.
    1. Clouds (1899)
      • Composer: Claude Debussy
      • Style: Impressionism, suggestive with fluid colors and sounds.
      • Technique: Whole tone scale.
    2. Rite of Spring (1913)
      • Composer: Igor Stravinsky
      • Characteristics: dissonant harmonies, harsh and primal sounds.
      • Genre: Ballet music depicting birth and ritual sacrifice.
      • Reception: Caused a riot at its premiere.
      • Techniques: Strains instrumental ranges.
    3. “Night” from Pierrot Lunaire (1912)
      • Composer: Arnold Schoenberg
      • Techniques:
        • Emancipation of Dissonance: Freeing the need to resolve tension.
        • Democratization of Pitches: Making all notes equal, removing pitch hierarchy.
        • 12-tone music/Serialism: Generating melodies mathematically, assigning numbers 0-11 to each pitch.
          • Retrograde: 3,7,6,2,4
          • Inversion: 4,6,2,1,5
        • Atonal Music: Absence of a tonal center.
        • Sprechstimme: A vocal technique blending speech and song.
        • Exploitation of Extremes: Use of extreme registers for singer and instruments.
    4. Appalachian Spring (1945)
      • Composer: Aaron Copland
      • Style: Neo-classicism, return to classic tonality.
      • Genre: Ballet in six continuous sections, choreographed by Martha Graham.
      • Notable Section: Section 5 features a Shaker tune.
    5. Moldau (174-1879)
      • Composer: Bedrich Smetana
      • About: Hungarian Moldau River, folk melody from it became part of HatikvahHatikvah