HISTORY
The Periods of Music History ................................................................................................................................................................... 2
THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD. (c. 800-1400) .............................................................................................................................................. 2
Main characteristics of Medieval Music. .............................................................................................................................................. 2
Most Important Composers. .................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Mass and Motet in the Middle Ages ..................................................................................................................................................... 3
Secular Music in the Middle Ages ........................................................................................................................................................ 4
'Ars Nova' (new art) .............................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Instrumental Music ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5
THE RENAISSANCE (C 1450 - 1600) .................................................................................................................................................... 6
Main characteristics. ............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Most important composers. ................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Professional musicians. ......................................................................................................................................................................... 6
The rise of the Merchant Class.............................................................................................................................................................. 6
Development of printing ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6
SACRED MUSIC in the RENAISSANCE ........................................................................................................................................... 7
SECULAR MUSIC in the RENAISSANCE ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Instrumental music. ............................................................................................................................................................................... 9
THE BAROQUE PERIOD C.1600 - 1750 ............................................................................................................................................ 10
The Baroque Spirit .............................................................................................................................................................................. 10
Characteristics of the period. .............................................................................................................................................................. 10
Most important composers. ................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Monody and the Camerata. ................................................................................................................................................................. 11
New harmonic structures: ................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Baroque Opera. ................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Other Types of Baroque Vocal Composition. ..................................................................................................................................... 14
Types of Baroque Orchestral Compositions. ...................................................................................................................................... 15
Baroque compositions for any combination of instruments. ............................................................................................................... 15
Keyboard Music. ................................................................................................................................................................................. 16
THE CLASSICAL PERIOD C.1750 - 1825 ........................................................................................................................................... 17
Main Characteristics of the Classical Period. ...................................................................................................................................... 17
Most Important Composers. ................................................................................................................................................................ 17
The French Rococo Period (1725-1775) ............................................................................................................................................. 17
The Viennese Period ........................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Style Gallant........................................................................................................................................................................................ 18
The Sonata Cycle ................................................................................................................................................................................ 18
The Professional Musician. ................................................................................................................................................................. 19
The Orchestra. ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Compositions of the period ................................................................................................................................................................. 19
The Piano ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 20
Religious Music .................................................................................................................................................................................. 20
Influence of Beethoven ....................................................................................................................................................................... 21
THE ROMANTIC PERIOD C.1820 - 1900 ........................................................................................................................................... 22
The Spirit of Romanticism .................................................................................................................................................................. 22
Transition from Classical to Romantic................................................................................................................................................ 22
Most important composers. ................................................................................................................................................................. 22
Main Characteristics of the Period. ..................................................................................................................................................... 22
The Professional Musician .................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Types of Composition ......................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Nationalism. ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 24
Late Romantics ................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
The Orchestra ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 25
THE 20TH CENTURY ............................................................................................................................................................................ 26
Most Important Composers. ................................................................................................................................................................ 26
Impressionism - the transition to "modern" music .............................................................................................................................. 26
Characteristics of 20th century music ................................................................................................................................................. 26
Main Currents in Early 20th Century Music ....................................................................................................................................... 26
New elements in Musical Style ........................................................................................................................................................... 27
Nationalism. ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 27
Atonality. ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 27
THEORY:
GRADE 5 THEORY: KEY SIGNATURES........................................................................................................................................... 28
RELATED KEYS CHART .................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Related major keys .............................................................................................................................................................................. 29
Related minor keys ............................................................................................................................................................................. 30
Page 1
The Periods of Music History
1) Medieval to c. 1450
350-600 AD Period of the Church Fathers
600-850 Early Middle Ages-Gregorian Chant
850-1150 Romanesque period-Development of the staff in musical notation, about 1000
1150-1450 Gothic period
2) Renaissance c. 1450-1600
3) Baroque
c. 1600-1750
1725-1775 Rococo
4) Classical
c. 1750-1825
5) Romantic
c. 1820-1900
1890-1915 Post-Romantic, including Impressionism
6) Modern
c. 1900-
Each new period is marked by changes by composers in their use of the main elements of music. These are:
a) Melody
b) Harmony
c) Rhythm
d) Timbre
e) Form
f) Texture
g) Tonality.
THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD. (c. 800-1400)
Main characteristics of Medieval Music.
1) Modal
2) Early medieval - monophonic
3) Later medieval - polyphonic settings of existing plainsong.
Organal 'layering' leading to harsh discord.
4) Cantus firmus.
5) Contrasting, rather than blended sounds.
Instrumental music unknown as such. Only used for elementary accompaniment.
Most Important Composers.
Lerotin 12th century
Perotin 12-13th century
Marchaut 1300-1377
Dufay 1400-1474
Dunstable 1390-1453
The Culture of the Period
1) Period reckoned to begin with the fall of the Roman Empire AD 476.
2) Medieval period also known as:
a) Middle Ages.
b) Dark ages:
1) Little learning.
2) Endless political and military strife.
3) What records were kept were written in the monastaries.
3) Feudalism:
a) All power, primarily in the form of land, devolved down from the king if a country was united, or the local 'hard
man' if not.
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b) Holder of land 'in fief' from immediate superior owed set amount of goods or service each year to his feudal
landlord.
c) Life for those at the bottom of this inverted pyramid (known as 'serfs' or 'vassals') was hard, brutish and short.
No time for culture.
4) The monastic influence:
a) Monastaries the only real source of civilized learning during this period.
b) Preserved the learning of the ancient world in their manuscripts.
c) Desire to enhance church services lead to music of this period being largely religious.
5) The age of knighthood:
a) High Middle Ages (1000-1400):
1) Building of great cathedrals.
2) Founding of universities.
3) Cities emerge as centres of culture.
b) Period of "chivalry":
1) Code of behaviour for knights to follow.
2) Raising of woman's status through cult of Mary, Mother of
Christ.
3) Gave rise to the 'ballad' sung by the roving minstrels
(songs telling of heroic deeds).
Mass and Motet in the Middle Ages
1) Gregorian Chant:
a) Also known as plainchant, or plainsong.
b) Named after Pope Gregory the Great (Pope c. 590-604), who assembled Church music into an organized
litergy.
c) Monophonic texture.
d) Free rhythm, following the natural rhythms of the words of the
Latin text.
e) More than 3000 Chants in existence.
f) Small movements in pitch - avoids wide leaps.
g) Usually lies within an octave.
2) Neumes (early system of musical notation):
a) Arose from the necessity to notate music previously handed down orally.
b) System of ascending or descending signs written above syllables to indicate direction of movement.
c) Lines gradually added as need for accuracy increased, up to 4 line staff.
3) Text settings:
a) 3 types:
1) Syllabic - one note per syllable.
2) Neumatic - 2-4 notes per syllable.
3) Melismatic - 5 notes or more per syllable.
b) Melismatic most frequently used - strong influence on subsequent western music.
4) Modes:
a) System of fixed tone-semitone pattern corresponding with the white notes of the piano.
b) Modal melodies lie within the octave above the first note of the mode (hence plainsong usually lying within the scope
of an octave).
c) The mode can be identified by its Final, ie the note upon which it begins and ends and by the extent of the note
range it covers.
d) Served as the melodic and harmonic basis for music throughout the period.
5) Mass:
a) Roman Catholic celebration of the sacrifice of Christ.
b) Mixture of prayers falling into two categories:
1) "Proper" of the Mass:
a) changed from day to day, according to the particular feast being celebrated.
2) "Ordinary" of the Mass:
a) Unchanged throughout the year.
b) Consists of Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei.
6) Rise of Polyphony (counterpoint):
a) Occurred towards the end of the Romanesque period (c. 850-1150).
b) European painting developed perspective at the same time.
c) Forced the development of:
1) More exact notation.
2) Regular beat.
d) Encouraged the recognition of individual composers.
e) Gothic era (c. 1150-1450):
1) Rise of Cathedrals with choirs and organs.
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2) Organum - addition of parallel moving part a 4th or 5th above or below the plainsong:
a) Parallel Organum - arose from the composers desire to embellish the Plainsong. Doubling of the chant at the
interval of a 4th or 5th below.
b) Free Organum - note against note organum added above the plainchant using parallel, contrary, similar and
oblique motions.
c) Melismatic Organum - plainsong sung in long notes and called the tenor (from Latin tenare, to hold), whilst
upper part embellished with melisma.
3) Notre Dame cathedral (Paris):
a) 12th and 13th centuries.
b) Leonin is first composer of polyphony known to us (head of School at the Cathedral).
c) Plainchant became known as the tenor.
d) Tenor notes elongated, so that upper voice could move freely around it.
e) Discant style - quicker chant moving in parallel to the upper voice.
7) Motet:
a) A term applied loosely to vocal composition, accompanied or unaccompanied, sacred or secular.
b) Founded by Perotin (12th-13th centuries):
1) 3 and 4 part counterpoint.
2) Added text to the upper parts of the Organum.
c) Cantus firmus:
1) Fragment of Gregorian chant.
2) Long notes.
3) Precise rhythm.
4) Repeated as often as necessary to complete the piece.
5) The part holding the cantus firmus became known as the tenor (from Latin 'tenare', meaning 'to hold').
d) Second, third and fourth parts added to the tenor to create the counterpoint (known as duplum, triplum, quadruplum).
e) Term 'motet' from French 'mot', meaning "word":
1) Refers to words added to a vocal line (rather than music added to words).
2) Different languages could be used in different parts.
3) Gregorian Chant in the tenor used to provide unifying element.
Secular Music in the Middle Ages
1) 'Goliard', or student songs:
a) Probably originated in University towns.
b) Celebrated more interesting aspects of everyday life eg:
1) The bottle.
2) Love, and its lack of permanence in the young!
3) Beauty of springtime.
4) Cruelty of fate (eg me as your music teacher).
2) Jongleurs:
a) The 'gossip columnists' of the day:
1) Vagabond actor/singers.
2) Versatile entertainers.
3) Frequent criminal tendencies; lived on fringe of society.
3) Troubadours (Southern France) and Trouveres (Northern France):
a) Poet-musicians presenting original material to entertain the courts of the wealthy and powerful.
b) Frequently the sons of landowners but dispossessed by the practise of primogeniture (eldest son inherits all).
4) Minnensingers:
a) German equivalent of troubadours and trouveres.
5) Roles of secular music:
a) Accompaniment for dinner and after dinner activities.
b) Add lustre to events such as tournaments and processions.
c) Military music used to support campaigns.
6) Types of songs:
a) Epic ballads.
b) Love songs.
c) Political and moral ditties.
d) War songs.
e) Laments.
f) Dance songs.
7) Nature of the songs:
a) Exalted the virtues held to be of utmost importance during this 'age of chivalry':
1) Courage.
2) Honour.
3) Nobility of character.
4) Devotion to an ideal.
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5) The quest for true love.
'Ars Nova' (new art)
1) New musical style given impulse by the break up of the feudal social structure:
a) More secular then religious.
b) Encompassed developments in rhythm, harmony, metre and counterpoint.
c) Most influential composer was Guillaume de Machaut (c.1300-77), a cleric and influential courtier in Bohemia,
Normandy and Rheims.
d) Expanded the Motet form from the previous century, especially in the use of greater variety and flexibility of rhythm.
2) The English Carol:
a) Took shape during this period.
b) Strophic song (verses) with a refrain (chorus).
c) Originated as a dance song with English or Latin text on a religious subject, often associated with Christmas.
d) Polyphonic texture for two-three voices.
e) Favoured parallel 3rds and 6ths, thus having a very 'modern' sound when compared to the parallel 4ths and 5ths of
French and Italian songs.
Instrumental Music
1) Primary use was for accompaniment of songs.
2) Instrumental pieces were frequently arrangements of vocal pieces and dances:
a) Often improvisation, so rarely written down.
3) Instrumental colour:
a) Instruments often divided into 'indoor' and 'outdoor' types:
1) Delicate timbres for indoor use.
2) Raucous timbres for outdoor use.
b) Each instrument was an individual creation - no standardisation.
c) No concern for exact instrumentation - whatever was available was used.
d) Concern was for individual instruments standing out, not blending with each other.
4) String instruments:
a) Plucked instruments:
1) Harp - ancestor of modern instrument.
2) Guitar.
3) Lute.
b) Bowed instruments:
1) Rebec - associated with 'popular' music (dance, song).
2) Vielle - ancestor of the violin. Associated with, and cultivated by, the more privileged classes.
5) Woodwind instruments:
a) Flute:
1) Originally made of wood.
2) No keys, only holes.
b) Recorder.
c) Shawm - ancestor of the oboe.
d) Crumbhorn.
6) Brass instruments:
a) Cornet:
1) Made of wood.
2) Holes for producing all the notes of the scale.
b) Sackbut:
1) Ancestor of the trombone.
2) Used slides to produce notes of the scale.
c) Slide trumpet.
7) Keyboard instruments:
a) Organ:
1) All sizes from tiny to so large that individual notes were only playable by use of clenched fist.
b) Clavichord - tiny domestic instrument for use in small rooms. Beautiful sweet tone.
8) Percussion instruments:
a) Nakers - small drums usually used in pairs.
b) Tabor - larger cylindrical drum.
c) Tambourine.
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THE RENAISSANCE (C 1450 - 1600)
1) The term literally means "rebirth of learning":
a) Not strictly correct - art and culture did flourish during Medieval times, particularly in the monastaries and university
towns but documentary evidence of life in general is sparse.
b) Greater intellectual and political freedom resulting from the gradual demise of feudalism led to greater energy being
channelled into cultural pursuits.
c) Development of the compass opened up the world:
1) Facilitated travel between countries.
2) Removed many medieval superstitions.
Main characteristics.
1) Modal, but with use of accidentals gradually creeping in until major/minor forms began to become established.
2) Richer texture in four or more parts.
3) Growing interest in harmony particularly towards end of period.
4) Church music making greater use of instrumental accompaniment and larger forces.
5) Secular music- rise of instrumental music; establishment of dance forms; increase in compositions for domestic use
eg madrigal and chanson.
6) Timbre of instruments often grouped in families eg 'chests' of viols and recorders.
7) Blending, rather than contrasting counterpoint.
Most important composers.
Palestrina (Italy)
1525-1594
Victoria (Roman School) c. 1549-1611
Lassus (Flemish school)
1532-1594
Byrd (England)
1543-1623
Professional musicians.
The increased prosperity which led to the Renaissance enabled the to employ musicians as salaried members of
their households.
Musicians were supported by the main institutions:
1) Church.
2) City.
3) State.
4) Royal and aristocratic courts.
Musicians could find profitable employment as:
1) Choirmasters.
2) Organists.
3) Singers.
4) Instrumentalists.
5) Copyists.
6) Composers.
7) Teachers.
8) Instrument makers.
9) Music printers and publishers.
The rise of the Merchant Class
1) Brought about through development of the compass - hence enhanced opportunities for world trade.
2) Resulted in:
a) Development of yet another group of wealthy patrons.
b) Emergence of a cultivated middle class with time and wealth to devote to becoming keen amateur musicians.
Development of printing
1) One of the developments most vital to modern civilisation.
2) Made music books both cheaper and more widely available.
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SACRED MUSIC in the RENAISSANCE
Motet
1) Became a purely sacred form with Latin text.
2) 3-4 voices sometimes based on cantus firmus or plainchant.
3) Top voice becomes melody, with other parts subservient, sometimes played on instruments.
Early Renaissance Mass
1) Concentrated on settings of the 'Ordinary' of the Mass (because of the complicated polyphonic settings it would have
been too great a task to set the 'Proper' as well):
a) Kyrie - prayer for mercy:
1) A-B-A form, consisting of nine sections:
a) 3 of "Kyrie eleison" (Lord have mercy).
b) 3 of "Christe eleison" (Christ have mercy).
c) 3 more of "Kyrie eleison" (Lord have mercy).
b) Gloria - Glory to God. Joyful hymn omitted in penitential seasons of Advent and Lent.
c) Credo - confession of faith ("I believe in one God, the Father Almighty). Includes:
1) Et incarnastus est (And He became flesh).
2) Crucifixus (He was Crucified).
3) El resurrexit (And He Rose Again).
d) Sanctus - (Holy, Holy, Holy). Includes:
1) Hosanna (Hosanna in the Highest).
2) Benedictus (Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord).
e) Agnus dei - Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Sung 3 times:
1) Twice conclude with Miserere nobis (Have mercy on us).
2) Once concludes with Dona nobis pacem (Grant us peace).
2) Usually based on a fragment of plainchant:
a) Became cantus firmus.
b) Supported florid parts around it.
c) Served as a unifying idea when used throughout the whole work.
3) Settings of the Mass continues to the present day.
a) Most popular setting is the Requiem Mass sung at funerals and memorial services. Includes the prayer Dies irae
(Day of wrath).
The High Renaissance Mass
1) The Counter-Reformation led by Martin Luther (1483-1546) and the deliberations of the Council of Trent (1545-63)
led to a demand for the simplification of Church music.
2) Musical practices objected to were:
a) Embellishment of the Gregorian Chant by singers.
b) Use of instruments other than the organ in Church services.
c) Incorporation of popular songs into the Mass.
d) Secular spirit invading the spirit of Church music.
e) Irreverent attitude of many Church musicians.
f) Obscuring of the text by over-thick contrapuntal textures.
3) Authorities favoured simplification of the music so that the text would be clearer.
4) Greatest exponent of this type of music was Palestrina.
English Anthem
1) Resulted from the break with Rome of Henry VIII in 1534.
2) English replaced Latin as the language of the new Church of England.
3) Composers developed 2 types of English Church music:
a) The Service - music for unchanging Morning and Evening prayers and the Communion.
b) The Anthem.
1) Devotional work similar to the motet.
2) Two types:
a) Verse anthem - solo voices with chorus for full choir.
b) Full anthem - full choir throughout.
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SECULAR MUSIC in the RENAISSANCE
Amateur Music Making
1) Much greater emphasis on secular music during this period.
2) Intended for performance by both professional and amateur.
3) All court activities included music.
4) Domestic music given great importance in the homes of the emerging middle class:
a) Homes contained lutes and/or keyboard instruments.
b) It became the 'done thing' for the daughters, especially, to take music lessons.
5) For the first time, women began to play a prominent part in musical performance - there were even famous
professional female singers in Italy by the end of the 16th century.
6) Dance music extremely popular.
Burgundian Chanson
1) Courtly love poetry of the Dukes of Burgundy and Kings of France.
2) Set for 3 voices - lower part/s often taken by instruments.
3) 3 types:
a) Rondeau.
b) Ballade.
c) Virelai.
Italian Madrigal
1) Aristocratic form of poetry and music which became a favourite in the small Italian courts.
2) Short poem, marked by:
a) Elegant diction.
b) Refined sentiment.
3) Much use maid of words for weeping, sighing, trembling and dying.
4) Madrigals featured:
a) Love.
b) Humour.
c) Satire.
d) Politics.
e) Scenes of country and city life.
5) Instruments used to duplicate or even replace voice parts.
6) Three phases can be identified in the development of the Italian madrigal:
a) c. 1525-50: written to please aristocratic amateur performers - simple parts.
b) c. 1550-80: madrigal became more accepted as 'serious' art form and written to please the listener.
c) c. 1580-1620: became highly developed form of composition:
1) Expressed composers personality and feelings.
2) Rich chromatic harmony.
3) Dramatic declamation.
4) Virtuosity.
5) Vivid musical highlighting of the words:
a) Great influence on subsequent western music, particularly opera.
English Madrigal
1) Italian madrigal adopted by the English.
2) Highly successful Renaissance art form.
3) 3 main types of madrigal:
a) The Proper Madrigal:
1) Usually involved 4-6 voices.
2) Often with instrumental accompaniment.
3) Complex counterpoint.
b) The Ballett:
1) For singing and dancing at the same time.
2) Strophic (verses).
3) Rarely contrapuntal.
4) Dance like rhythms.
5) Characterized by "fa-la" refrain (chorus).
c) The Ayre - accompanied solo song.
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Instrumental music.
1) 1500 onwards saw the rise of independent instrumental music.
2) Consisted mostly of 'dance pairs' (eg Pavane and Galliard), canzona, ricercar, toccata, allemande or variation forms.
2) Instruments apart from keyboard were lute, viol, crumhorn, rackett, sackbutt, trumpet and various percussion
instruments.
Keyboard instruments.
Church - organ.
Domestic - harpsichord, spinnet, clavichord and virginal.
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THE BAROQUE PERIOD C.1600 - 1750
The Baroque Spirit
1) Time of great change and adventure:
a) Conquest of the New World led to great wealth for many.
b) Middle classes amassed wealth and struggled with existing aristocracy for power and prestige.
c) Huge empires fought constantly.
d) Enormous wealth contrasted with horrific poverty.
2) Baroque art:
a) Forged from the emotions and conditions of the time.
b) Bold, vigorous and monumental.
3) Science:
a) Baroque period often called the "Age of Reason".
b) Many scientific developments.
4) Amateur music making:
a) Thrived during this period.
b) Based on the home, church or university (collegium musicum).
5) Politics:
a) An era of absolute monarchs.
b) Aristocratic courts modelled on that of Louis XIV at Versailles.
c) All courts maintained large musical establishments:
1) Opera troupes - opera developed during this period:
Aristocratic opera always based on lofty themes - Greek myths etc.
2) Chapel choirs.
3) Orchestras.
6) Religion:
a) A period of great devotion and struggle:
1) Constant fighting between Protestants (England, Scandinavia, Holland and North Germany) and Catholics
(dominated by the two mighty houses of Hapsburg and Bourbon).
2) By the end of the period:
a) Spanish-Hapsburg empire was broken.
b) Germany left in ruins.
c) France emerged as dominant European power.
d) England had emerged as a leading power and stood at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
b) Reformation (Martin Luther) and Counter-Reformation (Catholic Church attempting to regain its losses) helped to
maintain constant international tension.
7) Passion of art:
a) The constant conflict between old aristocracy and emerging bourgeois (middle class) power, Reformation, CounterReformation and good old fashioned territory-grabbing warring factions led to an explosion of passion in all branches
of art.
Characteristics of the period.
1) Early return, through the influence of Camerata to light homophonic texture (use of monody) with rapid return to
polyphony.
2) Development of basso continuo, or figured bass, giving music strong forward momentum.
3) One 'affection' or mood persists through whole movement.
4)Viols gradually replaced by violins, which became the basis of the rapidly developing orchestra. Harpsichord
continuo to fill out harmonies and provide ornamentation.
5) Modes totally replaced by major/minor key system by end of 17th century.
6) Development of binary, ternary, rondeau, variation, ritornello and fugue forms.
7) Development of chorale, recitative and aria, opera, oratorio, cantata; Italian and French overture, toccata, prelude,
chorale prelude, dance suite, sonata da camera, sonata de chiesa, concerto grosso, solo concerto.
8) Energy and rhythmic vitality; melodic ornamentation; contrast of timbre.
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Most important composers.
Italy
Monteverdi
Corelli
A. Scarlatti
Vivaldi
D. Scarlatti
France
Lully
Couperin
Rameau
England
Purcell
Germany
Bach
Handel
1547-1643
1653-1713
1660-1725
1670-1741
1685-1757
1632-1687
1668-1733
1683-1764
1659-1695
1685-1750
1685-1759
Monody and the Camerata.
1) Camerata were a group of Italians seeking to remove the excesses of polyphonic music from the church service.
2) Wanted music to express and enhance the text and so experimented with monody:
a) Single melody line for one singer with instrumental accompaniment.
b) Appeared in 1600.
c) Most notable composer was Peri.
d) Known as "Style moderno", as opposed to "style antico". Never caught on completely and composers continued to
use both styles.
New harmonic structures:
1) Figured bass:
a) Consisted of a bass line with figures to indicate the inversion of the chord, and thus the chord itself:
1) Played by the harpsichord.
2) Elaborated at will by the performer:
a) Trained musicians thus needed total understanding of the harmony of the period.
3) Bass line duplicated whenever possible by a sustaining bass instrument, preferably the cello.
b) Most useful form of musical shorthand ever devised:
1) Saved time in composition.
2) Saved money at a time when printed music was expensive.
3) Flexibility of embellishment and filling out of chords to allow for instrumental groupings of many different sizes.
c) Used throughout the Baroque period.
d) Also known as "thorough-bass":
1) "Thorough" is the old form of the more modern "through".
2) Change from modal to major/minor tonality:
a) Occured early in the period.
b) Resulted from the need to simplify existing harmonic systems based on too many church modes.
c) Each chord could now have an individual function in relation to the key centre:
1) Tonic/dominant harmony recognised as most important:
a) Tonic - chord of rest.
b) Dominant - chord of tension
c) Enabled easy change of key from tonic to dominant - an important element in the gradual shaping of musical
form.
3) Equal temperament - applies to keyboard instruments:
a) Because of the way in which human ears work, keyboard instruments tuned to accoustical perfection sound
wonderful in some keys but increasingly out of tune in others:
1) Certain keys were therefore unavailable to composers.
2) The scope of modulation was limited.
b) Tuning to equal temperament means leaving each individual interval slightly out of tune:
1) This is not noticeable by the human ear.
2) All keys thus become available.
3) Likewise all modulations.
c) This is the form of tuning used today.
4) Dissonance:
a) Greater harmonic tension made possible by the use of major/minor tonality.
b) Used for emotional intensity and tone colour.
c) Given the nature of the times, dissonance was inevitably going to attract the attention of composers:
1) Major/minor tonality expressed the dynamic culture and life of the period.
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5) Rhythm:
a) Energetic - based on recurrence of regular accents.
b) Relentless beat is a feature of Baroque music - drives the music forward.
c) Usually carried in the bass instruments.
d) Many pieces written in the dance rhythms favoured at the time.
6) Continuous melody:
a) Long phrases, usually of irregular length.
b) Pieces based on the continual expansion from an opening idea.
c) Highly ornamented.
7) "Block", or "terraced" dynamics:
a) Long passages of forte followed by long passages of piano - contrasting blocks of tone.
d) Increase or decrease in dynamics more often obtained by increasing or decreasing the number of players than by
making them play louder/softer.
c) Crescendo/diminuendo hardly used.
8) The rise of the virtuoso:
a) A virtuoso is someone who is a brilliant instrumental or vocal performer.
b) Arose from the increased interest in instrumental music:
1) Consequent need to master technique.
2) Demand for the manufacture of better instruments.
3) Composers thus became able to write more demanding parts, particularly for soloists.
c) Rise of instrumental virtuosity paralleled by that of the voice:
1) Encouraged by the rise of opera.
2) Castrati:
a) Singers who were castrated (ouch - this was before general anasthetic) as boys in order to preserve the alto
and soprano registers.
b) After years of training had voices of enormous power and agility.
c) The darlings of the opera - wealthy, celebrated and powerful (well, there had to be some advantages).
d) Usually used in heroic, up-an'-at-'em, gung-ho heroic roles!!!!!!!
9) Improvisation:
a) A prominent part of baroque music.
b) All melodic lines were ornamented by improvisation:
1) The individual performers contribution to the composition.
2) Music performed would thus often sound quite unlike the written notes.
c) A vital skill for the keyboard continuo player.
10) Affections:
a) Loosely, the term means the same as moods.
b) Baroque pieces maintained the same mood, or affection, throughout:
1) Contrast that with any piece you have played or sung by any later composer, and think of the different moods
within it.
11) Professional musicians:
a) Still totally dependent upon salaried employment for their living.
b) Employed primarily by:
1) Church.
2) Towns.
3) Courts.
4) Opera houses.
c) Composed "to order" - wrote whatever was required by their patron (ie employer):
1) Were therefore very close to their audiences.
2) Were usually the interpreters of their own music.
3) Managed to create music with lasting qualities despite restrictions on inspiration caused by having to compose to
order.
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Baroque Opera.
1) Opera is the setting of drama to music:
a) Combines the resources of vocal and instrumental music:
1) Soloists.
2) Ensembles.
3) Chorus.
4) Orchestra.
5) Occasionally ballet.
6) Poetry and drama.
7) Acting and pantomime.
8) Scenery and costumes.
2) Developed through this period.
a) Usually based on Greek heroic legend.
b) First known opera is Daphne, by Peri.
c) First truly great composer of opera is Monteverdi.
3) Recitative used to tell the story and keep up dramatic momentum:
a) Free rhythm - based on the natural rhythm of speech.
b) Two kinds:
1) Recitativo secco (dry) supported by plain chords on continuo.
2) Recitativo stromentato or accompagnato with simple orchestral accompaniment.
4) Aria was to display thoughts and emotions of the characters:
a) Usually in ternary (ABA) form with improvised embellishment of the recap.
b) Contains the most beautiful writing in most operas.
c) Used, and often abused, as a display vehicle for the singers' talents.
5) Ensembles:
a) Any combination of voices eg duets, septets etc.
b) All characters pour out their feelings together.
6) Orchestra:
a) Supports the music and drama throughout.
b) Plays the overture:
1) Orchestral piece at the beginning of the opera.
2) Sets the mood.
3) Introduces the most important melodies so that some audience familiarity is achieved.
c) Plays orchestral interludes:
1) Sometimes for dramatic effect.
2) More often to cover scenery changes.
7) Chorus:
a) Used in a variety of ways:
1) To provide exciting choruses.
2) Tell the story.
3) Provide extra variety and contrast within arias.
8) Libretto:
a) The words that the composer will actually set to music:
1) Usually written by a professional librettist.
2) Written in such a way that the libretto encompasses and allows for conflicting demands within opera:
a) The need to keep the dramatic action moving.
b) The need to allow the composer to create beautiful music:
1) Often exclusive to the need to maintain dramatic momentum.
2) Must take account of the fact that necessary repetition of musical ideas will require repetition of
words in a way that would be ludicrous in a purely spoken drama.
3) Must also allow for the creation of ensembles.
8) Early opera in Italy:
a) Natural result of Renaissance theatrical traditions.
b) Lavish spectacle.
c) Lush, emotionally charged music.
d) Found its first truly great exponent in Monteverdi (1567-1643):
1) Based his work on the innovations of the Florentine Camerata in their lyric dramas.
2) Responsible for a number of innovations:
a) Development of recitative into an expressive line.
b) Style concitato - express hidden tremors in the soul, using novel sound effects eg string tremolo and
pizzicato.
c) Dissonance and instrumental colour for dramatic effect.
d) Contrasting between characters with abrupt changes of key.
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3) Held the view that music was subservient to drama:
a) In this he maintained the Camerata traditions.
b) Not a view which was to be held for long by other composers, who were to put the music first with
devastating effect upon the dramatic action.
9) English opera:
a) Developed from the masque:
1) Aristocratic entertainment consisting of vocal and instrumental music with poetry and dance.
b) Only great English exponent was Purcell (1659-95).
1) Also the last great English composer for 200 years.
2) Assimilated the great Continental musical achievements into his own work:
a) Dynamic instrumental style.
b) Major/minor tonality.
c) Recitative and aria of Italian opera.
d) Rhythm of the French opera.
10) Late Baroque opera:
a) Greatest exponent was Handel (1685-1759.
b) Became totally music orientated.
c) Dominated by the "prima donna" - brilliant singer with personality problems!
1) Dramatic action was sacrificed to set piece arias.
2) Tedium is the result.
3) These works are rarely performed today.
Other Types of Baroque Vocal Composition.
1) Oratorio:
a) Developed at the same time as opera.
b) Dramatic work using the same features as opera:
1) No acting.
2) Religious theme.
3) "Story" told either through recitative or by a narrator.
c) Greatest oratorio composer was Handel.
2) Passion and Chorale.
a) Passion - oratorio on the Crucifiction.
b) Chorale - German hymn tune.
c) Most notable composer for both was Bach.
3) Cantata:
a) A sort of miniature oratorio for soloists, chorus and orchestra.
b) A different one was required for each week of the year plus
extra for special services, making a total of around 62 per year.
c) Bach composed over 350, of which 200 still survive.
The orchestra:
1) Orchestral music becomes of equal importance with choral for the first time.
2) As the 17th century progresses the violin family replaced that of the viol because of its superior tone quality.
3) Instrumentation:
a) Strings became the bases of the orchestra:
1) violins (2 parts), violas, cellos, double basses.
b) Woodwind:
1) 2 flutes (or recorders) or 2 oboes:
a) rarely used together before end 18th century.
2) 2 bassoons.
c) Brass:
1) 2 horns (during 18th century).
2) 2 trumpets.
d) Percussion:
1) drums
e) Harpsichord or organ continuo a constant feature.
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Types of Baroque Orchestral Compositions.
1) Concerto Grosso:
a) Not a concerto in modern terms.
b) Contrasted small solo group (concertino) with remainder of the orchestra (ripieno or tutti).
2) Solo concerto:
a) Popularity established by violinist and composer Corelli.
b) Not a display concerto in the modern sense but becoming more difficult for the soloist as the period went on.
c) The work of Corelli, Albinoni and Torelli extended and developed by Vivaldi:
1) Extended the scope of the solo part.
2) Established the 3 movement cycle:
a) First - allegro.
b) Second - slow, lyrical and of equal importance to the outside movements.
c) Third - allegro, but shorter than the first.
3) Established the use of ritornello form.
3) The Overture:
a) Orchestral prelude to opera. 2 types:
1) Italian (often called sinfonia):
a) Popularised by Alessandro Scarlatti.
b) Three recognizable sections - quick, slow,
quick - which later grew into the classical symphony.
2) French.
a) Popularised by Lully.
b) Characteristically:
1) a majestic, slow, dotted rhythm opening.
2) followed by a quick section using imitation.
3) the last section being wither a return to the opening or one or more dances.
b) No further development of the French overture took place.
Baroque compositions for any combination of instruments.
1) Fugue:
a) Contrapuntal piece.
b) Based on imitation but with 'free' passages interspersed, usually with 3 or 4 'voices'.
2) The Suite:
a) Evolved from the Renaissance principle of paired dances.
b) A collection of dances consisting most commonly of:
1) allemande.
2) courante.
3) sarabande.
4) gigue.
5) minuet.
6) bourree.
7) gavotte.
c) Sometimes began with a prelude and French composers (especially Couperin) often added a rondeau (rondo).
d) Dances usually in binary form which is of great historical importance as the basis for classical sonata form.
3) Baroque Sonata:
a) Compositions for any number of instruments (against "cantata" meaning sung).
b) Usually had four movements (slow-fast-slow-fast).
c) Usually had four movements (slow-fast-slow-fast).
d) Always included harpsichord continuo, which was not included in description eg. trio sonata was for three +
continuo.
e) Two types:
1) Sonata da camera - chamber sonata.
2) Sonata da chiesa - church sonata of a more serious nature with organ continuo.
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Keyboard Music.
1) Instruments available were:
a) Organ.
b) Harpsichord.
c) Virginal.
d) Spinnet.
e) Clavichord.
2) Music for organ consisted mostly of:
a) Toccata:
1) Brilliant "touch piece" designed to show of the technique of the performer.
b) Chorale prelude:
1) Composed or improvised on the hymn about to be sung.
2) Particularly popular in Germany.
c) Fugue.
d) Prelude and fugue:
1) Fugue preceded by a contrasting movement in the same key.
3) Compositions for the other instruments were mostly dances of the suite, fantasias and toccatas.
Ritornello Form
1) Favoured form of the period.
2) Term means "little return".
3) Consisted of:
a) A statement of the entire ritornello.
b) Contrasting episodes ended by re-statement of part of the ritornello.
c) A re-statement of the entire ritornello to finish.
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THE CLASSICAL PERIOD C.1750 - 1825
1) Changes in music at the same time as other branches of art and architecture.
2) Emphasis on clarity, beauty of melody, formal structure, balance, proportion and control.
3) Was largely a response to demands by audiences of the time for a more simple style than late Baroque.
Main Characteristics of the Classical Period.
1) Lighter clearer texture then Baroque music. Usually homophonic.
2) Emphasis on grace. Elegant in character with perfect balance between expressiveness and form. Expressive but
with emotion held in check. Aristocratic.
3) More variety and contrast within a piece; keys, tunes, rhythms, dynamics, mood, timbre.
4) Shorter, simpler melodies then Baroque.
a) Clearly marked phrases:
1) Usually 4 bars.
2) Clear cut cadences.
3) Periodic phrases popular, consisting of antecedent ("question") and consequent ("answer!).
b) Always singable, whatever the instrument of performance.
c) Movement mostly stepwise within a narrow range.
5) Diatonic harmony (means using notes of the scale).
a) Chords firmly rooted within the key.
b) Infrequent changes:
1) Gave a firm bass over which melodies were able flow freely.
2) Sustained the symmetry of the phrasing.
3) Helped to mark the cadences.
6) Rhythm:
a) More rhythmic variety:
1) Helps highlight the phrasing.
2) Adds variety to the melody.
3) Maintains the sense of momentum despite sparse harmonic movement.
7) Orchestra increased in size. Harpsichord continuo dropped. Woodwind forms a self-contained section.
8) Growth of piano music. Piano replaces other domestic keyboard instruments.
9) For the first time instrumental music becomes more important than vocal music. Most important types - sonata, trio,
string quartet, symphony, concerto, serenade, divertimento.
10) Development of form (Sonata form most important):
a) Enabled by Classical melody, harmony and rhythm.
b) Encouraged by the ease with which Classical music could be written in readily recognisable sections:
1) Enabled easy modulation to nearly related keys and back again.
c) Necessitated by the need to provide large scale structures for the newly dominant instrumental compositions.
Most Important Composers.
Gluck
1714-1787
C.P.E. Bach 1714-1788
J.C. Bach 1735-1782
Haydn
1732-1809
Mozart
1756-1791
Beethoven 1770-1827
The French Rococo Period (1725-1775)
1) Transition period:
a) Linking Baroque and Classical, but with the emphasis firmly on Classical ideals.
b) Reaction against what was seen as excessive emotion and complexity of late Baroque music.
2) French style:
a) From the French rocaille, meaning shell, suggesting the delicate, decorative scroll-and-shell-work characteristics of
the style.
b) Much lighter, less intense, less dense style than that of the Baroque.
c) Elaborate polyphonic texture of the Baroque gave way to single line melody with chordal accompaniment.
d) Emphasis changed from the expression of great emotion to pure enjoyment.
e) Rococo is polished entertainment music.
3) Also known as the "Age of Sensibility":
a) Born out of the desire for music to be simple, but not devoid of natural feeling.
4) Couperin (1668-1733) was the leading exponent of Rococo keyboard music:
a) Composer of "miniatures".
b) Music was light, elegant, witty.
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The Viennese Period
1) Known as such because the major composers lived and worked in, or close to, Vienna.
a) Capital of the Austrian Empire.
b) Musical capital of the world at this time.
2) Most important composers of this school were Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert.
3) Thus not quite synonymous with the Classical period because Schubert was a Romantic, whilst Beethoven is seen as
a transitional composer between Classical and Romantic.
Style Gallant
1) Name for early classical style.
2) Equivalent of Rococo outside France.
3) So simplified in all aspects as to be frequently musically inept.
4) CPE Bach was a major influence:
a) 2nd son of JS Bach.
b) Deepened the emotional content of Gallant style.
c) Played a large part in developing the piano idiom of later years:
1) Laid the groundwork for the sonata principle developed by the great masters Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
2) Developed piano technique.
5) JC Bach:
a) Youngest son of JS Bach.
b) Known as the "London Bach" - lived and worked in London.
c) A developer of Italian comic opera, and a great influence on Mozart.
The Sonata Cycle
1) Developed during this period.
2) Applied to all large scale instrumental works.
3) Four movements scheme:
Movement Character
First: Epic-dramatic
Second: Slow and lyrical
Third: Dance
Fourth: Lively, 'happy ending'
Form
Sonata form (also known as 'First
movement' & 'Sonata-allegro' forms)
Ternary (ABA): Sonata form: Theme
and Variations
Minuet (18th century)
Scherso (19th century)
Sonata form (18th century);
Rondo (ABACABA);
Theme and variations;
Epic-dramatic with triumphal ending
(19th century)
Tempo
Allegro, or some other suitable quick
tempo.
Adagio or largo.
Minuet and trio
Scherzo and trio
Allegro, vivace or presto
4) Sonata form, also known as "First movement" and "Sonata-allegro". (Use the term "Sonata form"):
Exposition
Optional slow introduction.
Development
Builds up tension against return to
home key by:
First subject group in Tonic.
Bridge, or transition. Modulates to a
contrasting key, usually the dominant
or relative.
Contrasting second subject group in
key established by the transition.
Codetta, cadence in key of second
subject group, double bar and
exposition repeat marks.
Recapitulation
First subject group in Tonic.
Bridge (rarely modulates).
1) Frequent modulation to foreign
keys.
2) Manipulation/fragmentation of
themes and motifs from the
exposition.
3) Occasionally, the introduction of
new thematic material.
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Contrasting second subject, this time
in tonic key.
Coda, in tonic key.
The Professional Musician.
1) Mostly dependent upon salaried employment until the end of the period. This is known as patronage:
a) Aristocracy dominant in terms of power and wealth:
1) Were often enlightened (by the standards of the time), cultured, intelligent, sensitive and well educated.
2) Would employ artists, musicians etc as part of their household.
b) Economic security for musicians.
c) Guaranteed audiences for composers.
2) Clearly, this system could work very well for some composers, eg Haydn.
3) Artists thus employed had the same status as that of a servant.
This did not suit everybody:
a) Mozart enjoyed several successful years as a freelance in Vienna after falling out with the Bishop of Salzbourg, but
died in poverty as a result of being unable to manipulate or accept the patronage system.
b) Beethoven was the first completely successful freelance composer to be independent throughout his lifetime,
although he often needed "bailing out" with handouts from wealthy admirers!
The Orchestra.
1) Developed throughout the period.
2) Harpsichord continuo gradually dropped.
3) Horns added with Mozart popularising the Clarinet.
4) All four orchestral groups become recognised in their own right:
a) Heart of the orchestra still the strings.
b) Woodwind used with great imagination and growing independence.
c) Brass used to sustain harmony.
d) Use of percussion gradually extended towards the end of the period. Timpani especially used to great dramatic
effect.
5) The standard Baroque orchestra consisted of:
violins
violas
cellos
double basses
2 flutes
2 oboes
2 bassoons
2 trumpets
trombones (occasionally)
drums
harpsichord continuo
a) Added to the orchestra were:
2 clarinets, 2 horns
timpani
b) The basic shape of the modern orchestra had therefore evolved.
c) Woodwind acquired independence.
d) The tendency for groups to be un-used for whole movements at a time disappeared.
e) 'Block' dynamics were no longer used.
Compositions of the period
1) Chamber Music:
a) A principal development during the period.
1) Sonata type works for more than two instruments, in any combination up to about ten.
b) String quartets were particularly popular.
c) Works usually followed the sonata cycle.
2) The Symphony, the most important orchestral form developed during the period:
a) Developed from the Italian overture (3 sections, quick, slow,
quick), each section of which became a separate movement.
b) Followed the sonata cycle.
c) Developed in tandem with sonata form.
d) Haydn wrote over 104:
1) Developed from little more than a string quartet to a full sized symphonic work.
2) Credited with establishing the 4 movement form of the symphony.
e) Mozart: 41 symphonies:
1) Reached maturity when Haydn was at the height of his powers.
2) Developed the symphony by:
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a) greater contrast of subject material.
b) greater emotional depth, often beyond the understanding of audiences of the time.
c) more adventurous harmonies.
d) more chromaticism in melody line.
e) adding clarinets to the orchestra.
f) extending the use of polyphony.
5) Beethoven: 9 symphonies:
1) Extended size of symphony - 3rd, 9th.
2) Huge developments and codas.
3) Gradual recognition of importance of emotion over form.
4) Reference to themes in other movements (5th).
5) First to carry straight on from one movement to next without a break (5th).
6) Replacement of minuet by scherzo.
7) Early form of programme music (6th).
8) Greater use of brass.
9) Wind sections totally independent of strings.
10) Gradual abandonment of slow introduction.
11) First to use choir and vocal soloists (9th).
3) The Concerto.
a) Came of age as a virtuoso display piece, laying the technical ground for the massive works of the Romantic age.
b) Summary of concerto form:
First movement
Double Exposition Form
Exposition 1: Orchestra in tonic
1st subject
2nd subject
Exposition 2: Soloist with orchestra
1st subject in tonic
2nd subject in dominant
Development: Varied treatment of themes by soloist and orchestra
Recapitulation: 1st and 2nd subjects in tonic, orchestra and soloist
Cadenza: Soloist
Coda:
Soloist and orchestra in tonic
Second movement
Third movement
Slow lyrical in ternary or theme and variations in contrasting key
Fast sonata or rondo form in tonic
4) Sonata:
a) Became a work of 3-4 movements for one or two instruments alone.
b) Followed the form of the sonata cycle.
5) Opera:
a) The excesses of Baroque Italian opera ('opera seria') were reformed, particularly by Gluck.
b) Comic opera ('opera buffa') became particularly popular:
1) A natural response to the demands for accessible music by the emerging middle classes.
2) Sung in the language of the audience for whom it was written.
6) Used plots of a more lively or down to earth nature than the lofty Greek legends favoured by the aristocracy.
The Piano
1) Gradually replaced other keyboard instruments.
2) Early keyboard music still composed for performance on all types but late Mozart and all Beethoven sonatas for piano
only.
Religious Music
1) Classical style nor conducive to the expression of deep religiousfeeling but music for the Church still composed.
2) Outstanding examples to be found in the masses of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
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Influence of Beethoven
1) The towering influence of the period.
2) Stretched all ideas of form and content until Classical ideals were extremely difficult to follow with originality by other
composers.
3) Symphonies were recognized as the greatest possible and not until the first symphony of Brahms (1876) was any
further development considered possible.
4) Established the freedom of form and expression upon which the Romantics based their work.
5) Regarded as the transitional composer between Classical and Romantic.
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THE ROMANTIC PERIOD C.1820 - 1900
The Spirit of Romanticism
1) Romantics reacted against what they saw as excessive concern with balance and form.
2) They looked for more freedom of form and greater expression of pure emotion.
3) Had links with other branches of art (particularly literature) which influenced their work considerably.
4) Regarded the individual as being all important:
a) Art and life were indistinguishable.
b) All humans are equal - thus acceptance of aristocratic patronage is impossible.
c) The artist must be independent.
Transition from Classical to Romantic
1) This was occurring throughout the Classical period.
2) Encouraged by the continual rise of the middle classes:
a) Given additional impetus by the Industrial Revolution:
1) Better technology.
2) Greater wealth.
3) More leisure time.
4) Desire for the political power held by hereditary aristocracy.
3) The French Revolution (starting 1789) led to momentous changes throughout Europe and resulted in a complete
change in the moral and political atmosphere.
4) Because Classicism was primarily an aristocratic ideal, it could not long survive the social and political changes
inherent in the Industrial and French revolutions.
Most important composers.
Weber
1788-1826
Schubert
1797-1828
Berlioz
1803-1869
Mendelssohn 1809-1847
Chopin
1810-1849
Schumann 1810-1856
Liszt
1811-1886
Wagner
1813-1883
Verdi
1813-1901
Brahms
1833-1897
Tchaikovsky 1840-1903
Dvorak
1841-1904
Elgar
1857-1934
Mahler
1860-1911
R. Strauss 1864-1949
Main Characteristics of the Period.
1) Greater freedom of form and more intense personal expression.
2) Lyrical melodies; adventurous modulations; richer harmonies and greater chomaticism.
3) More dense textures and bold contrasts.
4) Expansion of the orchestra, with brass section increased in importance.
5) Rich variety of pieces.
6) Interest in programme music fed by links with other arts.
7) Use of recurring themes.
8) Increased technical virtuosity - ascendency of the soloist.
9) Nationalism (use of folk music native to the country of the composer).
10) Expanded form.
11) Rise of the concert hall.
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The Professional Musician
1) No longer a paid servant of the aristocracy:
a) Advantages:
1) Freedom to compose whatever and whenever inspiration strikes.
2) Freedom to travel widely:
a) Assimilate fresh ideas easily.
b) Reach a wider public.
b) Disadvantages:
1) Not easy to earn a living unless famous.
2) No security.
3) No "captive" audience.
Types of Composition
1) Lieder:
a) "Art song" in which singer and pianist are a duo of equal importance.
b) Piano part as interesting and difficult as vocal line.
c) Fully developed by Schubert and Schumann.
d) Often composed as part of a "song cycle" - a set of songs with a central theme or telling a story.
2) Piano music:
a) Piano became immensely popular during the Romantic period:
1) Attractive to the amateur for its range of dynamics and harmonic potential.
2) Technical advances made the instrument much stronger and able to cope with playing of power.
3) The rise of the public concert/recital gave rise to a class of virtuosi who specialised primarily in playing other
composers music eg Thalberg and Kalkenbrenner.
4) There were staggering performer/composers open to public view, eg Chopin, Liszt, Brahms.
b) The "Miniature":
1) Short lyric piece in free form. Follows the poetic whim of the composer. Often given fanciful titles. Many kinds, eg
bagatelle
impromptu
intermezzo
nocturne
novelette
moment musical
song without words
album leaf
prelude
romance
capriccio
rhapsody
ballade
Dances, often with a nationalistic character/intent:
mazurka
polka
ecossaise
polonaise
march
country dance
3) Concert Overture:
a) One movement, short, usually programme, piece for orchestra.
b) Not connected with Opera eg
1) Mendlessohn "Hebrides".
2) Tchaikovsky "Romeo and Juliet".
4) Incidental Music:
a) Written for performance at various points in a play.
b) Often collected in suites eg Mendlessohn "A Midsummer Night's Dream" written for Shakespeare's play.
5) Programme Music:
Developed with the idea of writing instrumental music with a programme or story in mind. Highly descriptive.
a) Programme symphony:
1) Multi-movement orchestral work based very loosely on the Classical symphony.
2 ) Composed either to a descriptive story eg Liszt "Faust", or with an imagination provoking program where the
listeners are intended to provide their own mental images eg Berlioz "Symphonie Fantastique".
b) Symphonic poem:
1) The same as the programme symphony, but with the whole work composed in one through movement with
contrasting sections.
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6) Symphony:
a) Retained its basic Classical form but with Romantic textures.
b) Third movement usually a light hearted scherzo.
c) Fourth movement usually of equally dramatic intent as the first.
7) The Concerto:
a) Fully developed as a virtuoso display vehicle.
c) Concerto form treated much more freely.
8) Choral Music:
a) Primarily religious:
1) Oratorio.
2) Mass, especially the Requiem (Mass for the dead).
b) Extremely dramatic and passionate.
c) Intended for concert hall performance as well as Church.
9) Opera:
a) Dominated by Wagner and his music-dramas:
1) Ideal was the perfect merging of all aspects of the stage production.
2) Increased hugely the size of orchestral and choral forces at his disposal.
3) Eventually built his own opera house at Bayreuth in order to stage his own works more successfully.
4) Pioneered the idea of a character being represented by an individual theme (known as leitmotif in Wagnerian
opera).
c) 19th century opera fostered the national styles of the three leading European musical countries - France,
Germany, Italy:
1) France:
a) Grand opera:
1) Concentrated on serious historical themes favoured by the emerging middle classes.
2) Spectacular forces used - performance as much a spectacle as a musical event.
3) Meyerbeer (1791-1864) the best known exponent.
b) Comic opera:
1) Light opera with a cheerful story.
2) Offenbach the best exponent.
c) Lyric opera:
1) Combination of Grand and Comic opera eg Bizet "Carmen".
2) Germany:
a) See Wagner, above.
3) Italy:
a) Opera seria (serious opera - heroic legends etc).
b) Opera buffa (comic opera a la Mozart).
10) Ballet:
a) Became more and more popular towards the end of the century.
b) Most important composer was Tchaikovsky.
11) Chamber Music:
a) Not really suited to Romantic styles but still composed successfully by some composers using Classical forms.
Nationalism.
1) Direct attempt by composers to free themselves from German influence.
2) Composers are labelled 'Nationalist' if they deliberately aim to express the feelings of their country in their music,
usually through use of folk music.
3) Most important Nationalist composers were:
a) Russia
Mussorgsky
Rimsky-Korsakov
b) Bohemia
Smetana
Dvorak
c) Norway
Grieg
Late Romantics
1) Term for those who carried Romantic principles into 20th century eg Mahler, R. Strauss, Rachmaninov.
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The Orchestra
1) Increased in size, often to gigantic proportions.
2) Brass section enlarged and developed.
3) Instruments added:
a) Woodwind and brass often increased to triple or quadruple.
b) piccolo, cor anglais, bass clarinet, double bassoon.
c) 3 trombones (sometimes 4), tubas, cornets.
d) Cymbals, triangle, gongs, bells, celesta.
e) Harp.
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THE 20TH CENTURY
Readers please note: I made this summary in 1992. This section will not reflect or describe the
latest trends.
Most Important Composers.
Debussy
Ravel
Sibelius
Schoenberg
Bartok
Stravinsky
Webern
Berg
Prokofiev
Copland
Shostakovitch
Messaen
Britten
Stockhausen
Penderecki
1862-1918
1875-1937
1865-1957
1874-1951
1881-1945
1882-1971
1883-1945
1885-1935
1891-1953
19001906-1975
1908-1992
1913-1976
19281933-
Impressionism - the transition to "modern" music
1) Music intended to give an impression of a subject, rather than a direct imitation.
2) Laid the foundation for modern discordant harmony, especially
Debussy with his rows of unresolved sevenths and ninths.
3) Favoured the whole-tone scale eg C D E F# G# A# C:
a) No pull of the 7th note needing to resolve upwards.
4) Tonality:
a) Hovered between major/minor with no strict adherence to either.
5) Orchestral colour:
a) Blended rather than contrasting. Impossible to describe adequately in words. Often dreamlike.
6) Rhythm:
a) Hides the pulse.
b) No strong accentuation.
c) Makes the melody "glide" rather than force it along.
Characteristics of 20th century music
1) 'Modern' music is largely a reaction against Romanticism.
2) Melody is usually angular and spiked, sometimes absent altogether!!!!
3) Harmony is based entirely on discord or note clusters.
4) Rhythm tends to be vigorous and dynamic with great use of syncopation and change of metre (beat).
5) Timbre fascinates modern composers who experiment with as many different tone colours as are available.
6) Rarely easy to listen to.
7) Great influence from non-western cultures.
Main Currents in Early 20th Century Music
1) Expressionism
a) Term borrowed from painting.
b) Music written to express innermost states of mind (usually of the breakdown type).
2) Neoclassicism.
a) Strong reaction against Romanticism.
b) Returns to Classical ideals (form, orchestra size etc) eg Prokofiev 'Classical Symphony'.
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New elements in Musical Style
1) Revitalization of rhythm:
a) Turns away from metrical rhythm patterns.
b) Polyrhythm:
1) Several rhythmic patterns occurring at the same time.
c) Thrusting, vigorous, dynamic and syncopated.
2) Melody:
a) Abounds in wide, un-singable leaps.
b) Not symmetrical.
c) Basically, anything goes.
3) Harmony:
a) Logical outcome of chromatic colouring is the total obscuring of traditional harmony.
b) Polyharmony:
1) 2 or more streams of harmony at the same time.
c) Quartal harmony:
1) Based on the interval of a fourth, unlike 18th and 19th century harmony, which was based on intervals of a third.
Nationalism.
1) Continued strongly into the 20th century.
a) Charles Ives (USA) - folksong and dance.
b) Aaron Copland (USA) - cowboy songs.
c) Vaughn Williams (Eng.), Bartok and Kodaly (Hungary) - folk tunes.
d) Sibelius (Finland) - legends.
e) Shostakovitch (USSR) - events in Soviet history.
Jazz influences often felt eg Ravel, Gershwin, Stravinsky, Walton.
Atonality.
1) Total absence of tonality, or key.
2) Logical outcome of Wagnerian chromatic colouring of chord.
3) All twelve notes of the chromatic scale are given equal
importance.
Serialism, or 'Twelve Note Music'. Schoenberg invented the tone-row, a where each of the twelve notes of the scale
are used once only. The row can be used backwards (retrograde), upside down (inversion), backwards and upside down
(retrograde inversion) and all of these transposed. Yippee!!!
New materials and sounds taken from any source eg Musique Concrete (superimposition on tape of pre-recorded
natural sounds) and electronic music.
Aleatory music. The great grand-daddy and great grand-mummy of all total 20th century musical lunacy.
Composed at random in any manner that happens to occur and performed in the same way. Yuk, or is this merely
my prejudice showing?
Page 27
GRADE 5 THEORY: KEY SIGNATURES
The easiest way to master key signatures is to learn to write these tables quickly on a piece of rough paper. The tables
ensure you cannot go wrong when working out keys and key signatures. You will find that you will start to learn them the
more often you write the tables.
Sharp keys – start with A minor and C major. Count up a 5th at a time.
Minor keys
A
E
B
F#
C#
G#
D#
No of sharps
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Major keys
C
G
D
A
E
B
F#
C#
Order of sharps as written in the key signature:
F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#
To remember the order in which to write the sharps, invent a mnemonic (a phrase where the first letter of each word
corresponds to the sharp). The ruder the better, as it is more memorable, so:
Farting Crackpots Get Drunk And Endup Bareassed
Flat keys – start with A minor and C major. Count up a 4th at a time.
Minor keys
A
D
G
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
No of flats
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Major keys
C
F
Bb
Eb
Ab
Db
Gb
Cb
Order of flats as written in the key signature:
Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb
Bad Eggs Are Disgusting Generally Causing Farts
Page 28
RELATED KEYS CHART
Related major keys
Related keys to a major ‘home’ key are:
1. The home key.
2. Its relative minor:
3. The Dominant major (5 higher) and its relative minor
4. The subdominant major (4 higher) and its relative minor
This chart describes the relationships and might make them clearer
Subdominant
major
Major home key
Dominant major
Relative minor
Relative minor
Relative minor
G major
D major
This chart holds some examples
C major
A minor
E minor
B minor
Notice how the related keys either have the same key signature (E minor), one sharp more (D major-B minor) or one sharp less (C
major-A minor)?
This holds true for flat keys as well. Related keys have: one sharp more or one sharp less than a sharp major key; one flat more or one
flat less than a flat major key.
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Related minor keys
Related keys to a minor ‘home’ key are:
5. The home key.
6. Its relative major:
7. The Dominant minor (5 higher) and its relative major
8. The subdominant minor (4 higher) and its relative major
This chart describes the relationships and might make them clearer
Relative major
Relative major
Relative major
Subdominant minor
Minor home key
Dominant minor
Eb major
Bb major
F major
C minor
G minor
D minor
Here is an example
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