The Romantic Era
u Romanticism
u As
a musical style, encompasses a wide range of works by composers in all genres.
u Covers
the time from the early 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century.
u Painting
was inspired by nature and the exotic, the irrational, and the sublime.
u Art
reflected a wide range of human emotions including fear, awe, and wonder.
u William
Turner was a forerunner of the Impressionist movement in painting.
u Of
all the arts, music was the most Romantic.
u It
embraced nature, nationalism, the exotic, the minute, and the monumental.
u It
focused on individual consciousness and was fascinated with extremes of
expression.
u In
the 19th century, music became more of a public entity.
u Concert
halls were built in every town.
u Many
cities had their own symphony orchestras.
u Instruments
& Concerts
u Pianos
were cheaper and plentiful; by the end of the century most middle-class homes
had one.
u As
audiences and concert halls grew larger, orchestras increased in size and
instruments were modified to sound louder and fuller.
u Instruments
were also built for speed and virtuosic playing.
u New
instruments were invented, especially brasses.
u Saxophone
u Made
of brass but considered a woodwind
u Tuba
u Pianos
- makeover.
u Small,
delicate wooden instruments Haydn and Mozart knew were replaced by larger and
louder instruments.
u A
new mechanism was invented to allow much more rapid playing and faster note
repetition.
u Range
was greatly expanded from 5 to 7 octaves.
u Orchestras
increased in size.
u A
Mozart symphony required about 25 players, while a Brahms symphony needed 50 or
60.
u Some
compositions required more than 100 players.
u General
Musical Characteristics
u Dynamics
u Range
went from moderate changes (pp to ff) in the
classic period to extreme changes (pppp to ffff) in
the Romantic era.
u Changes
in dynamics were much more frequent and less predictable in the Romantic era
than in in the Classic period.
u In
the Classical period, music was
considered "absolute."
u This
meant that it told no story and represented nothing but itself.
u In
the Romantic period, absolute music continued, but program music became
very popular.
u Program
music tells some kind of story or represents something outside itself.
u Many
of the same genres that were popular in the 18th century continued to be
popular in the 19th.
u Opera
and symphony
u Voices
also used in Romantic songs and in Requiem Masses.
u Intimate
songs contrasted with large choral works, like the Requiem Mass.
u Solo
concertos continued to be popular, especially for piano and violin.
u Virtuoso
playing reached extremes.
u Concertos
were written for other instruments.
u Cello,
flute, clarinet, and even viola
u Works
for solo piano were extremely popular.
u 19th
century opened doors to women that had been previously closed.
u Most
orchestras were still composed of men, but many women performed solo on
instruments, particularly piano, or sang.
u Some
women acted as patrons for composers/artists of the day.
u Two
important female composers
u Fanny
Mendelssohn Hensel (1805–1847)
u Clara
Schumann (1819–1896)
u Romantic
Song as a genre
u These
are intimate miniatures, accompanied by piano.
u Designed
to be sung in private parlors rather than in large concert halls.
u Setting
of song reflects the text either with specific word painting or general
atmosphere.
u Form
could be strophic or through-composed.
u Strophic
u Same
music for each stanza (verse) of poem
u Through-composed
u Music
is different for each stanza of verse.
u Modifications
of these 2 forms were also possible.
u Groups
of songs could be linked together into a song cycle.
u These
shared a common theme or created a narrative.
u They
could also represent different facets of the same idea.
u Franz
Schubert
u Wrote
over 900 pieces in his 31 years
u More
than Mozart
u Greatest
gift was his genius for capturing the essence of a poem and setting it
to music.
u He
was most famous for his more than 600 songs.
u His
melodies, harmonies, and piano accompaniments turned even mediocre poetry into
beautiful songs.
u Fanny
Mendelssohn Hensel
u WOMAN
COMPOSER!!!
u Composed
a great deal of music, despite being discouraged by her father and brother.
u Some
of her early songs were published under her brother's name.
u She
composed about 400 works, but most of them were never published.
u Composers,
Patrons, Audiences
u Music
for the middle classes
u Middle
class of the cities were the largest audience for music.
u They
were also "consumers" who bought a great deal of sheet music for
playing in the parlor.
u Composers
were also middle class and earned their living through negotiating fees with
publishers and concert promoters.
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