Noah Romantic Study Guide

Dates: 1820 - 1900

How did the music change? Themes of death, destiny, and other heavy themes are prominent, diminished and augmented chords. Stronger emotion. Fuller bigger chords. Bigger dynamic range. More instruments, the orchestra expanded. More tempo expansion. People that we remember focused on the keyboard. More focused on the public, aristocrats couldn’t afford it due to war, composers needed income.

• Chromatic harmony – When every half step is included and throws off home base key, you can use every half step to create chords even if it is not part of the key
• Diminished and Augmented chords - clashing chords
• Ballet - A staged performance where storytelling is done entirely through dance
• Rubato – Speeding up and slowing down (shift in tempo) used to create intensity and other emotions
• Thematic transformation – A character or emotion who has a theme of music connected to them, this theme is introduced when this person or concept is on stage
• Symphonic Poem or Tone Poem - A work written that complements another work of art in a different medium and captures the idea of that work, is inspired by this work
• Rhapsody - freeform
• Transcendentalism - A focus on nature
  
• NEW FORMS:
• Romance - Short lyrical piece (melody focused) for piano, sometimes with solo instrument, beautiful pieces
• Nocturne- Night music in French, slow music for piano, very similar to romance
• Etude- Means to study, piece of music used to teach students certain techniques
• Polonaise - Originally Polish court dance, normally in triple meter (¾, 6/8), piano solo
• Nationalism - Bringing in themes from a nation, native with national pride or foregin from visit