GCSE Music
5 Musical Eras:
1. Renaissance
2. Baroque (required for IGCSE music)
3. Classical (required for IGCSE music)
4. Romantic (required for IGCSE music)
5. 20th Century Music (required for IGCSE
music)
Research
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Harmony and counterpoint (e.g. circle of fifths used from baroque period onwards, chromatic
dissonant harmony of romantic era, and the atonal unresolved dissonances of the 20th century).
Melodic devices (long melodies of Romantic eras
Style(s)
What occasion and for whom was this music written? – for church, court, public entertainment in a
concert hall…?
Scales, keys, modes, tonality (e.g. in baroque, classical and romantic eras use of major and minor
diatonic scales; in the 20th century, use of 12-note tone rows, or in Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring,
church modes; in Debussy and Messiaen use of whole-tone scale).
Use of instruments: how was the baroque orchestra different from the classical orachestra? How
was the romantic orchestra different from the classical orchestra?
Use of voices: in the 20th century what kind of extended vocal techniques were used by composers
such as Cathy Berberian?
Names of composers: list the main composers of the baroque, classical, romantic, and the 20th
century eras?
Genres:
What were the min kinds of ensembles in the baroque, classical, romantic, and the 20th century
eras? (e.g. string quartet from classical era onwards)
Find examples of the different kinds of music from different eras. Collect a series of youtube
extracts.
How
• Composition (30%)
• Performance (30%)
• Listening (40%)
• Total (100%)
Agnus Dei, qui tolis peccata mundi,
Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of
the world,
miserere nobis.
have mercy on us.
Renaissance
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Modal (not tonal) the music is not in major or minor keys – cannot modulate – stays in one mode with a few notes changed by musica ficta (accidentals, i.e. added
sharps and flats)
Orchestra:
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Strings: viols: fretted older grandparents of modern stringed instruments
Woodwind: recorders
Brass: trombones, cornett
Baroque
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Continuo (bass line plus chords played by harpsichord or organ)
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Less emphasis on vocal music, more on instrumental, or writing for instruments became more important to composers and their employers.
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Tonal, not modal – the can modulate to other keys. Now the music has major and minor keys.
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Counterpoint, contrapuntal (the music has two or more equal independent lines)
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Single affect (mood) throughout
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Smaller orchestra (20 people or smaller often)
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Classical
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Strings (1 or two to apart) violins, violas, cello, double bass
Woodwind: flute, recorders, oboes (2), sometimes oboe d’amore (lower key), bassoon
Brass: natural horns (2), natural trumpets (3), trombones – one type at a time. Trumpets often play high melodic lines
Percussion: timpani
Contrasting moods throughout, more use of dynamics and change of instruments
Orchestra larger (up to 30 people) otherwise similar to baroque
Woodwind: same but also clarinet
Brass: often combines horns and trumpets. Now brass plays very simple music only to accompany
Romantic
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Harmony becomes more chromatic:
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Virtuosic (difficult) to play
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Long winding melodies
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Very big symphony orchestra (100 people)
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Brass have valves – no longer natural instruments – can play all chromatic notes.
20th Century
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Electonic instruments
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Harmony – modal (Stravinsky rite of Strong)
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Disossanance
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John Cage (questioning the central philosophical assumptions of Western music)
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Minimalists, Steve Reich ‘piano phase’ much repetition, slow very gradual change
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Serialist: No tonal centre (no key), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF-dk5ieDDg
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Sometimes big romantic orchestras (Rite of Spring)
Renaissance (not required for IGCSE)
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Harmony and counterpoint
– Assonnance, dissonance was according strict rules
– Contrapuntal textures, use of imitation
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Style(s) – contrapuntal texture, equal importance to teach part
Use – for church, court, public entertainment…Mostly for the church, so often
vocal music
Scales, keys, modes, tonality – music is modal (ionian, dorian, phrigian, lydian,
mixolydian, aoelean), stays on a certain mode generally throughout without
changing key. Not much major or minor.
Use of instruments
Precursor of modern stringed instruments are viols, spinet (harpsichord), organ
Use of voices: most music vocal, of unaccompanied, or with instruments doubling
the voices
Names of some composers: Palestrina, Byrd, Monteverdi (also baroque)
Genres: Mass (vocal work sung in Church)
Baroque (c.1600-1750)
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Harmony and counterpoint: again polyphonic textures, with Bach increasingly
complex (e.g. Art of Fugue); beginings of tonal harmony, use of cadences with
chords moving in a more logical direction.
Style(s) – elaborate, much use of running passages, ornamentation, mix of
counterpoint and homophonic textures. The music generally keeps to one mood
(‘affect’) throughout a single movement.
Use – for church, court, public entertainment… Church and court (J.S. Bach worked
for courts and churches during his career)
Scales, keys, modes, tonality: no longer modal, now in either a major or minor key.
Also the music can change key, can modulate.
Use of instruments
Modern stringed instrument (no longer viols); trumpets or horns used sometimes
in high melodic style (natural instruments without valves and limited number of
notes); woodwind: oboe, flute, bassoon; use of continuo (bass instruments cello
bassoon + harmony instrument such as harspichord, organ, lute, theorbo, guitar)
Use of voices: often in counterpoint although Bach chorales (hymns) use
homophony too.
Names of some composers: Monteverdi (also Renaissance) also Bach, Handel,
Scarlatti, Vivaldi,
Genres: Cantatas, concertos (after Vivaldi’s model using ritornello form), oratorios,
operas, recitative (sung without fixed metre to follow the natural rhythm of the
words), sonatas, fugues…
Classical (c.1750-1810)
• Harmony and counterpoint: often homophonic textures
• Style(s): graceful, aimed to please the ear, not so reverent in style;
sweet, charming, seemed more superficial, not as deep.
• Use – for church, court, public entertainment…More public
entertainment: music now commercial; church music continued
• Scales, keys, modes, tonality: Continued to use only major and
minor keys
• Use of instruments: new inventions: piano, clarinet
• Use of voices: as with baroque
• Names of some composers (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (also
Romantic)).
• Genres
Romantic (c.1790-1900)
• Harmony and counterpoint: chromatic harmony, dissonance; dissonance
takes longer to resolve; more added notes
• Style(s): expansive symphonies, long winding melodies; nationalist
composers (e.g. Tchaikovsky) wrote music using folk songs of their own
countries
• Use – for church, court, public entertainment… public concerts, operas
• Scales, keys, modes, tonality – major and minor keys, sometimes hints of
modal.
• Use of instruments: bigger orchestras, brass use valves (can play all notes
of the chromatic scale)
• Use of voices: huge choruses used in operas and oratorios.
• Names of some composers: Chopin, Grieg, Liszt, Mussorgsky, Wagner,
Clara Schumann,
• Genres: longer symphonies, bigger operas, grander longer works
20th Century (1900-1999)
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Harmony and counterpoint: much dissonance in some (e.g. Webern, Schoenberg, Berg), dissonance not resolved
in some cases. Used counterpoint by serialist composers (like renaissance and baroque).
Rhythm and Metre: often complex (e.g. Messiaen
Style(s) include:
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Expressionism (seeking to make music an authentic reflection of the troubled human soul) includes atonal music (music having
no home key) serialism/12-tone style
Minimalism; generally tonal music, based on repeated ostinati, often crossing over into popular styles
The huge symphonic ballets of Stravinsky (e.g. The Rite of Spring)
Pop and jazz influences (e.g. Gershwin’s use of blues harmonies and jazz syncopations in Rhapsody in Blue)
Neoclassical style (baroque and classical styles with a few modern touches such as dissonant harmonies (‘wrong’ notes),
syncopations, modern symphonic instruments, switches of time signature; much more emotionally restrained than Romantic
music (it came about as a reaction to Wagner’s romanticism)
Electronic music (created in studios); e.g. Stockhausen
Messiaen, using ‘modes of limited transposition (e.g. whole tone scale, octatonic scale…); experimental metres and rhythms
based on Messiaen’s reinvention of traditional Indian decitalas.
Impressionism (Debussy, Ravel); often
Use –often for small elite audiences (atonal, serial music) but also increasingly for public consumption (large
Ballets of Strvinsky), in the case of minimalism often attracting pop and jazz audiences
A greater variety of scales, keys, modes, tonality/atonality
Use of instruments – traditional symphonic instruments (as found in the romantic orchestra) but also electronic
instruments
Use of voices: vary varied – often using extended vocal techniques
Names of some composers: Webern, Schoenberg, Berg, Steve Reich, Philip Glass (Wrote Einstein at the Beach,
long opera), Stockhausen, Cathy Berberian, Messiaen
Genres: as romantic, but with minimalist composers mix of pop and ‘high art’ genres; new experimental genres