Bell Ringer – 11/12/2013
m.socrative.com - Room #38178
 QUESTION:
 1. Name a classical composer.

If you don’t know one, name a famous composer you’ve heard of…
 Answering today will get you points – you don’t have to be right (but you probably will be…)
The “Enlightenment”
NEW TAB – CLASSICAL PERIOD
This is a BIG unit – now through December.
The Enlightenment - Introduction
 18th Century (1700s)
 The “Age of Enlightenment”
 A change in styles, philosophies, and politics
 Art, Music, Dance, and Drama will begin to develop in separate directions
at different times
The Enlightenment - Introduction
 Main Themes of 18th century thought:
 Faith in science
 Faith in human rights arising from natural law
 Faith in human reason
 Faith in progress
 Progress: the assumption that the conditions of life could only improve
with time and that each generation made life even better for those
following
The Enlightenment - Introduction
 The age becomes increasingly secular – enlightenment, reason, and
progress are secular ideas
 Politics and business superseded religion
 Leadership was wrestled away from the Church
 Religious toleration increased
 Persecution and the imposition of corporal punishment for religious offense
became less popular
The Enlightenment - Introduction
 The “ancient” thought: the works of the Greeks and Romans would never
be surpassed
 The “modern” thought: science, art, literature, and the inventions of their
own age were better since they were built upon the achievements of their
predecessors
New Technology
 Telescopes and microscopes improved
 Who invented the telescope?? GALILEO!
 The invention of the steam engine gave rise to other machines and paved
the way for the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 18th century
 Coal fuel takes the place of charcoal
 Improvements in iron and steel pave the way for structural improvements
in bridges and buildings
New Technology
 The introduction of power machinery revolutionized the English textile in
the late 18th century
 Human, animal, wind, and water power were replaced by machine
New Technology
 Undoubtedly the most significant invention: the STEAM ENGINE
 First developed in England in 1699
 Early steam engines were used to drain mine shafts
 Some wealthy people were using steam engines to pump domestic
water supplies (filter)
 First successful steam engine locomotive – 1804
 Could generate an estimated 1000 horsepower
 Started the Industrial Revolution
Philosophers and Philosophes
The Philosophes
 The Enlightenment was concerned MORE with philosophy than invention
 Humanitarianism – all men and women had a right, as rational creatures,
to dignity and happiness
 Philosophes: were not philosophers in the usual sense of the word. They
were publicists.
 Pulled thought from great books and translated it into simple terms that
could be understood by a reading public
The Philosophes - Encyclopedia
 The most serious of all the philosophe enterprises: Encyclopedia
 In France
 Editted by Denis Diderot (1713-84)
 70 volumes
 Took from 1751-1772 to complete
 Compilation of scientific, technical, and historical knowledge
 Major contributors – Voltaire and Rousseau
Classicism
Aesthetics and Classicism
 Aesthetics: the study of beauty and theory of art
 Classical influences dating from the Renaissance continued to
be important
 The excavation of the ruins of the Roman city of Pompeii, found
virtually intact, in 1748 caused a wave of excitement
 A “classical education” was considered essential for all members
of the upper classes
MUSIC CHARACTERISTICS
A Review of Terms
 Concerto: two or more dissimilar musical forces are used – such as one or
more soloists playing opposite an orchestra
 Program Music: illustrates an external idea (music to tell a story)
 Absolute Music: purely musical ideas (music for the sake of music –
opposite of program music)
 Sonata: any piece played on instruments that’s not a fugue or a concerto
Ornamentation – Baroque Idea
 Mary Had a Little Lamb
 Ornamented
Common Ornaments
Mordent – go up or
down one note, then
back
Turn – go up, back, down, and back
Trill – quickly move between the
note and the note just above
Classical Style
 Music started being composed not only for the aristocracy but to the
middle classes as well
 Mostly absolute music – music simply because it sounds nice
 Philosophes inspired composers to seek larger audiences
 Excessive ornamentation and excessive complexity (baroque) as not
appealing to a wide audience
 Classical music will avoid artificial decoration
Classical Style
 There was a move toward order, simplicity, and careful attention to form
 Classical – rather than neoclassical or classical revival, because although
the other arts returned to Greek and Roman prototypes, music had no
known classical antecedents to revive.
 It turned to classical ideals, though not to classical models (because none
existed)
 This period in Drama and Art is referred to as NEOCLASSICAL or “new
classical.” They are looking to the Greeks and Romans and making it
something new
Classical Style
 Five Basic Characteristics:
 Variety and Contrast in Mood

Major to minor, happy to sad, etc.
 Flexibility of Rhythm/Tempo

Could “push and pull”, speed up or slow down
 Predominantly Homophonic Texture

All parts will work together
 Memorable Melody
 Gradual Changes in Dynamics

Dynamics didn’t exist before the classical period
We’ll look at each of these
individually in the next few
slides.
Classical Style - Characteristics
 Variety and Contrast in Mood
 Baroque typically dealt with a single emotion
 With classical, moods could change within movements or even within
themes

“theme” in music refers to a recurring melodic idea
 Could be more gradual or sudden
 Well controlled, unified, and logical
 Example: Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
Classical Style - Characteristics
 Flexibility of Rhythm
 Explores a wide variety of rhythms
 Utilizes unexpected pauses, syncopations, and frequent changes from
long to shorter notes (or even slower to faster tempos)

Syncopation – a rhythm with accents on the upbeat (in between beats)
 May be sudden or gradual
 Example: Mozart – Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Classical Style - Characteristics
 Predominantly Homophonic Texture
 Texture is also flexible – with sudden and gradual shifts from one texture to
another – but mostly homophonic with all lines working together
 Simpler texture than Baroque pieces
 A work may begin homophonically, with a melody and simple
accompaniment, and then shift to complex polyphony featuring two
simultaneous melodies or melodic fragments among the instruments, back to
simple homophony
 Example: Mozart – Symphony no. 40
Classical Style - Characteristics
 Memorable Melody
 Themes tend to be very tuneful and often have a folk or popular flavor (easy
to sing)
 Melodies tend toward balance and symmetry
 Have two phrases of equal length

Phrase – musical sentence, music comes to an ending
 The second phrase often begins like the first, but ends more decisively
 Example: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 Finale (2:52)
Classical Style - Characteristics
 Gradual Changes in Dynamics
 The replacement of the harpsichord with the piano

The piano was more capable of handling dynamic patterns
 Crescendo: gradually getting louder
 Diminuendo: gradually getting softer
 Example: Beethoven’s 5th Symphony
The Classical Orchestra
 Similar to our orchestra today, minus a few instruments




Strings: 1st Violins, 2nd Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses
Woodwinds: 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, 2 Bassoons
Brass: 2 French Horns, 2 Trumpets
Percussion: 2 Timpani
 No Trombones or other percussive instruments yet
 New addition from Baroque – the clarinet
 Approximately 30 string players (approx. 40-50 instrumentalist total)
Classical Forms - Sonata
 Change of definition – more specific now
 Sonata: a piece for…
 One or two keyboard instruments
 For another instrument accompanied by keyboard instrument
 Composition included several movements
 Example: Beethoven’s Pathetique (mvt. 2)
Classical Forms - Symphony
 The word “symphony” comes from the Latin symphonia meaning
“sounding together”
 A symphony is an extended composition typically lasting between 20
and 45 minutes and exploring the broad range of tone colors and
dynamics
 Example: Beethoven’s Symphony 5
 Mvt. 1 – Beginning
 Mvt. 2 – 7:26
 Mvt. 3 – 17:25
 Mvt. 4 – 22:48
Classical Forms – Sonata Form
 Not to be confused with “sonata,” “sonata form” is applied to the first movement
of a symphony
 Three main sections:
 Exposition – presents the musical themes
 Development – themes are treated in new ways, developed in different keys
 Recapitulation – themes return
 ABA Design
 When we look at specific symphonies by Mozart and Beethoven over the next
week, I will show you how sonata form works
Classical Forms – Theme & Variations
 Theme & Variations
 Widely used as an independent piece or as one movement of a
symphony, sonata, or string quartet
 The theme is repeated over and over, each time with some change

Could be mood, rhythm, dynamics, and so on
 Example: Mozart “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” Variations
On the Quiz and Test you’ll need to recognize certain famous
pieces of music. They will always be ones we’ve gone over in
class that have stood the test of time (still very popular today.)
Listening Recognition Practice
 On your paper is a list of pieces you heard today that you’ll need to
recognize on the next quiz and test.
 For today, simply write the number next to what you think is being played.
 Once we study these pieces more closely over the next few days, I’ll ask
you to match the composer with the title. We will add a few more.