From Baroque to Classical

history of this century is a long, lively, leisurely argument about older and newer styles
older 18th century - late baroque styles of bach, handel, etc
newer 18th century - age of reason/enlightenment, classic era
classical - later 18th century composers such as haydn, mozart, and beethoven * classic because it shares many attributes with older art and architecture * noble simplicity, balance, perfection of form, diversity within unity, seriousness of purpose, restrained use of ornamentation * classic era - 1730-1815 * galant - elegant and courtly 18th century literature as well as flirtatious paintings; everything modern, smart, chic, smooth, easy, sophisticated; freer, more chordal, more natural musical style * empfindsam - quality associated with intimate, sensitive, subjective tendencies of some 18th-century literature and art

political and social:

moved from continuity with the past to radical change
balance of power was emerging among several strong, centralized states * france had the biggest army but louis xiv was too extra and depleted the treasury * england had the most powerful navy and took india, canada, and caribbean islands from france during the seven years’ war * austro-hungarian empire saw the emergence of its capital, vienna, as the leading musical city in europe * american revolution and french revolution were stirring
population was rapidly growing * new agriculture methods and crops were needed * roads improved * poor were dislocated from land and overcrowded in cities * aristocracy dwindled in favour of middle class growing clout
education * new schools founded for elite and middle class * males were becoming literate and females were catching up * daily newspapers, books, public coffeehouses - coffeehouses were important * thinkers spawned the enlightenment

enlightenment:

embraced rationalism - reason combined with experience and knowledge could solve problems, including scientific ones
mind and feeling were not total opposites
valued individual faith and practical morality over the supernatural and the church
naturalness was preferred to formality and artificial conventions
looking within - trying to communicate emotions in a clear and relatable way, more than the baroque (no more rage arias and breakup monologues) - free intellect and introspective sympathy
philosophes - french leaders of the enlightenment * social reformers who developed doctrines about human rights * set the stage for the french revolution * rousseau made the first encyclopedia - politically inflammatory * kant aimed to unite reason with experience rather than relying on reason on its own
enlightened rulers patronized the arts and promoted social change
freemasonry - fraternal order of masons, whose tenets were based on humanitarianism and universal brotherhood * spread rapidly among statesmen, poets, composers, and kings
arts * novels emerged - celebrated the lives of ordinary people * symphony was an expression of communal sentiment and new democratic ideals

sons of bach:

bach is the father, we are the kids - mozart said this about js bach’s son, ”old sebastian” was kind of this stuffy old guy
cpe and jc bach were formerly considered the founding fathers of this style of music, js and handel were added to the canon of the tradition much later

french revolution:

first phase - reformist, uprising forced the king to accept a new constitution and set up elected local governments
second phase - radical, france declared republic, king and queen executed, government maintained control by executing political opponents (reign of terror)
third phase - government became more moderate and sought to restore order
bonaparte consolidated power and crowned himself emperor * overran nearby countries to expand french territories * ended the holy roman empire * created new states * introduced reform and a stable government * was defeated and exiled in 1815 at waterloo in belgium

aim of classicism was to construct an ideal vision of life and nature in tune with enlightenment goals of realism, restraint, harmony, order
renewed study of classical past - perceived as a worthy and achievable goal, directed at the moral improvement of the viewer to give art a socially beneficial role * we’re imitating greek and roman culture again but this time it has a moral implication * major archaeological excavations started happening - pompeii was being discovered for the first time
history paintings featured morally uplifting themes from antiquity
rationalism was tempered by sensibility in literature and the arts * feeling arose that sentiment/feeling is more important than reason, culture and progress * genre painting - concentrated on themes of ordinary family life, equivalent to empfindsam composers and jane austen
pendulum swing between arts & feelings and stem & reason

growing public interest in hearing and making music * amateur musicians bought easy music and most published music was designed for beginners for fun * encouraged connoisseurs - informed listeners who cultivated a taste for the best in music
bringing culture within the reach of all * comic opera satirized opera seria and set a course for opera reform * more people read about and discussed music, giving rise to music reviews, news, and criticism * first universal histories of music were published
many styles coexisted * each country had distinctive traditions and a national form of opera * audiences and critics preferred music that featured a vocally conceived melody in short phrases over spare accompaniment * the language of music should be universal rather than limited by national boundaries and should appeal to all tastes at once * the best music was noble, entertaining, expressive within the limits of decorum, and natural