Lecture Notes - Classical Chamber Music (1)-1.docx

Lecture Notes

Classical Chamber Music

The Classical era was the "golden age" of chamber music, composed for ensembles of two to ten performers, with one player performing each instrumental part. The string quartet was the most important chamber music genre of the era; duos, trios, quintets, serenades, and divertimentos were also cultivated. The form of a string quartet generally follows the standard four-movement structure and corresponding tempos, as follows:

  1. First movement – fast

  2. Second movement – slow

  3. Third movement – moderate dance

  4. Last movement – fast

The string quartets by Franz Josef Haydn, which epitomized the music written in the genre, are characterized by:

  • Dense textures

  • Use of folk elements as themes

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Austrian child prodigy, started to compose music before the age of five. Living only to the age of thirty-five, Mozart nevertheless produced a prolific amount of music in nearly all genres with significant contributions to the following:

  • Symphony

  • Sonata

  • Concerto

  • Chamber music

  • Sacred music

  • Various types of opera, including 
    buffa – comic opera
    seria – serious opera
    Singspiel – opera with spoken dialogue

Mozart's music is particularly notable for:

  • Lyrical melodic lines

  • Colorful orchestration

  • Dramatic content

    1. What is the standard four-movement structure of a string quartet in the Classical era?

    Answer: First movement – fast, Second movement – slow, Third movement – moderate dance, Last movement – fast

    1. What are the characteristics of Franz Josef Haydn's string quartets in the Classical era?

    Answer: Dense textures, Use of folk elements as themes

    1. What are the significant contributions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in music genres during the Classical era?

    Answer: Symphony, Sonata, Concerto, Chamber music, Sacred music, Various types of opera

    1. What are the notable features of Mozart's music in the Classical era?

    Answer: Lyrical melodic lines, Colorful orchestration, Dramatic content

One of Mozart's best-known works is Eine kleine Nachtmusik (“A Little Night Music], K. 525, a serenade for strings. Listen to the complete First Movement, Allegro, in the Listening Selections page on Blackboard, and follow the sonata-allegro form in Listening Guide 20 on pages 170-171. Notice that Theme 1, which is first heard at the beginning of the exposition, is a "rocket theme." Theme 1 and the closing theme, used as thematic material, are then altered during the development before they return along with Theme 2 in the recapitulation.