Main Events during the Classical Period (1750-1825)
The Enlightenment (Age of Reason) –
centred in France (though spreading across Europe),
this was a cultural movement which promoted intellectual
interchange and opposed intolerance and abuse from the
Church and state.
Mannheim School –
orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of
Mannheim which influenced composers such as Haydn,
Hofmann and Mozart.
1760 – The Industrial Revolution (major changes in agriculture,
manufacturing, mining, transportation and technology had a
profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions
of the time).
1769 – Watt’s Steam Engine is patented
The American Revolution
(1775-1783)
1775 – Electric battery invented by Volts
1776 – American Declaration of Independence
1787 – French Revolution the absolute monarchy that had
ruled France for centuries
collapsed in three years as society
underwent an epic transformation.
1796 – First vaccination
Feudal, aristocratic and
religious privileges evaporated
as ideas about hierarchy and tradition succumbed to new Enlightenment principals.
1804 – Napoleon crowned Emperor
1819 – First steamship crosses the Atlantic Ocean
1821 – Faraday invents the electric motor and generator
Robert Burns (1759-1796)
Jane Austin (1775-1817)
Music’s Place in Society - Composers
The late 18th century was a period of great social upheaval. The breakdown of the old
social order reached its culmination in the French Revolution (1789-99) and music ceased to
be the exclusive preserve of pampered aristocrats or prelates (high ranking member of the
Christian clergy). This radical social shift is reflected in the careers of the four great Classical
composers.
The Classical period boasts some of the best known classical composers in the history
of Western music – namely Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. These composers
formed what is now known as the First Viennese School of Composition and their works are
still part of the core repertoire of classical music as a whole.
Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) - Austrian
Joseph Haydn was the eldest and longest lived of the ‘First Viennese
School.’ Born when Bach and Handel were at the height of their fame,
he outlived his friend Mozart by 18 years and saw his former
pupil Beethoven well established in his own career. It was Haydn who
practically invented the Classical musical forms of symphony,
concerto, string quartet and sonata. Haydn’s life spanned a period
of great social change. He was one of the last major musicians to work for a single
aristocratic patron – in his case, the Hungarian Esterhazy family at the castle of Eisenstadt,
80km from Vienna. Haydn was isolated at Eszterhaza where there was no one to bother him,
and he was, as he said, ‘forced to become original.’ By the 1780s his international reputation
was spreading rapidly and he managed to negotiate a new contract with his employer which
allowed him to compose for other patrons and have his work published. After the death of
Prince Nikolaus Esterhazy in 1790, he was free to travel for the first time, spreading
European reputation. During his long career, Haydn wrote 104 symphonies, string quartets,
concerts, 15 surviving operas and 12 Masses.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) - Austrian
By the age of four, Wolfgang began to study keyboard and
composition with his father. His elder sister Maira Anna
was also a talented pianist. His father, Leopold, a talented
violinist in the court orchestra of the Archbishop of Slazburg,
saw it as his duty to exhibit his exceptional children to the
world. Mozart wrote his first symphony at the age of eight and by
nineteen was touring in his own right. He moved to Vienna in
1781 were he wrote some of his most celebrated work including his operas The Marriage of
Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan Tutte and The Magic Flute (full of Masonic symbolism – it
has been suggested that he paid for this with his life) where he displayed his talent for
bringing characters to life and allowing them to express real human emotions through music.
However, the Viennese audiences of the time did not always appreciate this. Mozart wrote 21
piano concertos, 41 symphonies, 24 string quartets and 17 Masses among other chamber
work and concertos. For several years Mozart’s career of teaching, composing and giving
concerts of his own works proved successful. However, Mozart had a reputation for his
arrogance which made him many enemies, including the powerful court composer, Antonio
Salieri. Saleri and his friends were intensely jealous of Mozart’s abundant talent as depicted
in the Oscar-winning film Amadeus which asserts, somewhat unfairly, that he poisoned the
composer. The final years of his brief life were a dismal catalogue of financial worry,
constant moves to cheaper apartments and failing health. His last work was an anonymous
commission for a Requiem Mass. As he worked on this, he became obsessed by the idea that
it would be his own and that he was being poisoned (in fact he had advanced kidney disease).
He died in his wife’s arms in 1791 but because he left little money he was given the cheapest
possible funeral in an unmarked grave. Few mourners accompanied the cortege. The
unfinished Requiem was completed after his death by one of his pupils.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) - German
Mozart died in Vienna in 1791, a year before the 20 year old
Beethoven arrived in Vienna, keen to make his name as a musician.
By this time, the face of European society was changing fast. The
French Revolution was in full swing and Austria – horrified at the
treatment meted out the French monarchs, particularly Queen
Marie Antoinette, a former Austrian archduchess – had declared
war on France. For more than two decades, Europe would be
ripped apart by war. While Mozart’s life had remained largely
unaffected by international politics, Beethoven’s revolutionary artistic vision was shaped by
the ideology and volcanic social change of the turbulent times in which he lived.
In 1787, Beethoven had hoped to take lessons with Mozart who was much impressed
by the young man’s talent. But his trip was curtailed by news of his mother’s serious illness.
He found an influential patron who later persuaded the elector to allow Beethoven leave to
study with Haydn in Vienna. Beethoven found that his lessons were not a great success but
quickly began to make his name as a pianist with a formidable reputation for improvisation.
Beethoven’s early works show his desire to push the boundaries of conventional
compositional technique, to expand sonata form and to infuse his work with unheard-of
drama and passion. During his life he developed the ‘symphonic ideal’ which Beethoven
perfected at a stroke with his Third Symphony (dedicated to Napoleon) and further celebrated
with his Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Ninth. This was a revolutionary method of unifying the
symphony through the development of short melodic fragments or motifs over the course of
the work. Beethoven felt that the minuet and trio which traditionally constituted the third
movement of a symphony had outlived its purpose and from the Second Symphony onwards,
replaced with a faster, more dynamic and rhythmically propelled scherzo which still retains
the ternary form structure with a slower, more lyrical middle section.
By the age of 30, at the height of his career, Beethoven was forced to acknowledge
that he was going deaf. For several years he tried to hide his hearing problems for social and
professional reasons. During this time he composed some of his most famous and enduring
work including his only opera Fidelio and Symphonies no.3-6. Symphony no.5 includes the
famous ‘de de de derrr, de de de derrr’ motif and Symphony no.6, The Pastoral is one of
the earliest symphonic examples of ‘tone painting,’ illustrating scenes of Austrian country
life which was revolutionary for its time. In 1824, Beethoven unveiled his 9th symphony,
bursting the bonds of convention by introducing into the finale a setting for solo voices and
chorus of Schiller’s ‘Ode to Joy.’ Beethoven died of liver disease in 1827 with 10,000 people
said to have watched the funeral procession. The poet Franz Grillparzer spoke these words at
his funeral, ‘[he is] the man who inherited and enriched the immortal fame of Handel and
Bach, of Haydn and Mozart…Until his death he preserved a father’s heart for mankind. Thus
he was, thus he died, thus he will live to the end of time.’
Sonata and Sonata Form
Sonata Sonata Form Exposition First Subject Second Subject
Development Recapitulation Bridge Transition Coda Variation
Alberti Bass Modulation Dominant Tonic Scherzo Minuet and Trio Sequence
Sonata: A work for solo piano, or a solo instrument accompanied by piano, in three or four
movements. The typical structure is:
i. Moderate tempo in sonata form.
ii. Slow tempo.
iii. Scherzo or Minuet and Trio.
iv.
Fast tempo.
Sonata Form: Important form for Classical instrumental music. The structure is:
i.
Exposition. Introduces the two main themes which are known are the first
subject and the second subject. These themes are written in different keys
and are separated by a transition or bridge passage – a short piece of music
which connects the two themes. The first theme is presented in the tonic while
the second theme is often written in the dominant key (5th higher or 4th lower
than the tonic). The Exposition may end with a brief coda – a short piece of
music which rounds off the section. The Exposition will end in the dominant
key.
ii. Development. The composer develops the first and second subjects. Ideas
from both subjects will be taken and developed. For example, he may take the
opening notes of the first subject and create a sequence from these. The
composer will modulate several times in this section before returning to the
tonic at the end of this section.
iii. Recapitulation. The first subject is repeated in a related key. The second
subject, which was originally heard in the dominant, will now be heard in the
tonic. The music will end with a coda – a short passage which rounds off the
music.
First
Subject
in Tonic
(C)
Bridge
(Transition)
linking the
first and
second
subjects
Second
Subject in
Dominant
(G)
Coda
I
(G)
Developmen
t
Several
modulations
ending in the
tonic (C)
First
Subject
in a
related
key
Exposition
Development
The composer presents the
two themes (the first and
second subjects) in the tonic
and dominant keys.
The first and second subjects are
developed. For example, he may take
ideas from both subjects and write a
sequence, use imitation of the ideas
between parts, combine ideas. There
will be several modulations before
returning to the tonic.
Bridge
(Transition)
linking the
first and
second
subjects
Second
Subject
in Tonic
(C)
Coda
II
Recapitulation
The first and second subjects
are presented in the tonic
before ending with a coda.
Study Score – Movement I of Mozart’s Piano Sonata No.15 in C
First subject
Written in the tonic key of C major. Note the use of an alberti bass as an accompaniment in
the first phrase. The second phrase begins with a sequence of scales.
Transition I
This passage continues the scalic movement, modulating to the dominant of G major (note
the use of the F# accidental in bar 10) in bar 12.
Second Subject
Written in the dominant key of G. This theme uses a descending triadic figure whereas the
opening theme uses an ascending triadic figure its first phrase.
Transition II
Reinforces the dominant key of G major which the second subject is written in.
Codetta
Short series of perfect cadences in the dominant key of G major.
Development
Having concluded the exposition in the dominant (G major), Mozart now starts the
development in G minor (the dominant minor). He combines an idea from the codetta
(derived from the broken chords found in the first phrase of both subjects, their
accompaniments and the second phrase of the second subject) with the scalic passages found
in the second phrase of the first subject and the first transition.
The music modulates through the following keys – G minor, D minor, A minor – with
imitation between two distinct voices. Modulations are achieving through tonic-dominant
relationships (see score) before moving to the key of F major for the start of the
recapitulation.
Recapitulation
The first subject is now heard in the key of F major.
Transition I’
Starting in F major, this mirrors transition I. However, this time Mozart switches the voices,
giving the scalic passage to the bass voice and chords to the treble voice. As in transition I,
the music then modulates to the dominant before the one bar introduction to the second
subject takes us to the tonic key (C).
Second Subject
As expected, the second subject can now be heard in the tonic of C major.
Transition II’
This is the same as transition I except for the shift in key.
Coda II
Mirroring coda I, firmly establishing the tonic of C major.
Chamber Music
Chamber music: Music written for a small group of musicians with one player per part.
Examples of this are a string quartet, a piano trio (typically a piano, violin and cello), a
woodwind quintet, a solo instrument (flute, cello, violin, clarinet, etc) accompanied by the
piano.
Symphony
Symphony
Modulation Sonata Form
Recapitulation
Minuet and Trio
Motif
Unison
Relative major
Trio
Minuet and Trio
Triple time
Exposition
Development
Scherzo
Question and Answer
Theme and Variations
Scherzo
Fugue
Coda
Compound Time
Symphony: A large work for an orchestra usually in four movements. In the Classical period
the movements were usually:
i. Fast. Often written in sonata form.
ii. Slow
iii. Minuet and Trio (3 beats in a bar). This minuet was later replaced by a scherzo which
is in triple time (3 beats in a bar or in compound time).
iv.
Fast
Theme and Variations
Theme and Variations
Development
Triplets Imitation
Canon
Sequence
Coda
Repetition
Theme and Variations: The theme is a melody, a tune which is the main idea for a
composition. In theme and variations, the theme may form a whole section of the
composition. The variations occurs when the main theme or tune is altered, perhaps by
adding extra notes, changing from major to minor or vice versa, changing harmony, rhythm,,
time signature, or when the them is played in the bass, etc.
Opera – Coloratura
Opera
Overture
Aria
Da Capo Aria
Coloratura
Recitative Chorus
Opera: Drama set to music with soloists, chorus, acting and orchestral accompaniment. It
normally performed in a theatre.
Coloratura: Term for high, florid vocal singing which involves scales, runs and ornaments.
Sometimes these passages were written down but often they were extemporised by the
performer.
Excerpts from Mozart’s
‘Queen of the Night’ aria
from The Magic Flute
NEW INVENTIONS!!!
The Piano
The pianoforte was invented around 1709 by Bartolomeo
Cristofori, a harpsichord builder and keeper of the royal
musical instruments in Florence. Early Cristorfi pianos
looked and sounded like contemporary harpsichords and
were half the size of modern pianos.
The main difference between the piano and the
harpsichord was that the strings of the former were
struck by hammers rather than being plucked by quills as
in the harpsichord. The earliest music for the piano was a sonata composed by Lodovico
Giustini in 1732, the year after Cristofori’s death.
The square piano was made in 1742 by Johann Sacher.
Although cheaper to produce, the bass strings had to be
short and were therefore weak in volume. In Britain, square
pianos were made by Johannes Zumpe from 1760 and it was
on one of these instruments that J.C.Bach (a son of J.S.Bach)
gave his London recital. French builder Sebastien Erand
improved the mechanics and sound of the instrument in the
early 19th century.
By the end of the 18th century the piano had become more than just a fashionable toy and was
a living force in culture and entertainment in the homes of the wealthy.
In 1739, Domenico del Mela experimented with the upright piano. About 1800 it was
discovered that the soundboard could be dropped towards the floor, placing most of the string
length behind the keyboard in front of the player’s knees, thereby decreasing the overall
height of the instrument. In the 1830s the problem of short bass strings was solved with the
invention of the overstrung piano in which shorter strings ran vertically and the bass strings
crossed obliquely over them allowing for greater length. This method is still used today.
Many experiments in the 18th century helped to develop
the mechanics, function and sound created by the pedals.
In addition, several changes took place with the types of
materials used for the strings. Beethoven and Mozart would
not recognise their music now as the ‘modern’ piano did not
begin to appear until about 1850. The string of the early 19th
century were still quite light and thin and at much lower tension
than today’s models in which they are so rigid that they act
like bars. To increase the volume of the instrument, makers
increased the thickness of the strings.
The Clarinet
The clarinet was invented in the first few years of
the 18th century by the renowned woodwind maker
Johann Christoph Denner or his Jakob in Nuremburg.
In 1809, Iwan Muller, one of the finest clarinettists of
his day, brought out the prototype of his 13-keyed
model pitched in B flat which was to become the
standard instrument for the next hundred years. The
final major modification occurred between 1839 and
1843 when clarinettist Hyacinthe Klose collaborated
with the maker Louis-August Buffet to simplify the
fingering system.
Mozart was a massive fan of the clarinet, writing
three important works for the clarinettist Anton
Stadler – the Kegelstaff Trio, the Clarinet Quintet and
the Clarinet Concerto.