Music History and
Composer Study
Spring 2015
Lake Nona MS
Ms. Hobbs
Introduction
 Music has been a part of culture for thousands of years.
It has evolved over time to have a variety of sounds and
uses.
 People who study music have divided history
into SIX general time periods of music.
 Each time period has certain characteristics and
composers that help define their era.
The six time periods are (in chronological order):
Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and
20th Century (Modern)
Medieval
(500-1400)
• Most medieval music
was vocal.
• Any instrumental music
was usually folk-like and
social
• The church was an
important place for
musicians
Medieval (5001400)
Gregorian Chant
Originally created and
sung in monasteries by
monks.
Chants were religious,
often psalms or
scripture.
Named after Pope
Gregory the Great.
Renaissance (1400-1600)
Rebirth and
Re-discovery
• Art and music become
more important in
society
• Renaissance fairs are
held today, and are a
spectacle of art, music,
and theatre.
• Time of Christopher
Columbus, Leonardo da
Vinci, and Shakespeare
Giovanni da Palestrina (15251594)
 Italian composer of sacred
music
 He greatly influenced the
music of the Catholic
Church. (He wrote over 100
masses!)
 One of the first well-known
composers of polyphonic
music (music with
harmonies)
Missa Papae Marcelli
Pope Marcellus Mass
 Pope Marcellus Mass by Pro Cantione Antiqua
 Composed in honor of Pope Marcellus II
 Written for six a capella voices – SATTBB (Soprano and
Alto parts were not sung by women!)
 Like all masses, consists of multiple movements (Kyrie,
Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei)
Baroque (1600-1750)
Baroque
Characteristics
• The Baroque period was a
time of extravagance in all
forms. Art, music, and
architecture reflect a new
sense of drama and excess.
• Instrumental music
becomes more important.
• Music in general continues
to be more expressive, less
tied to religion.
Johann Sebastian
Bach
(1685-1750)
• Born in Germany to a
musical family
• Played many instruments,
but was considered a
virtuoso on the organ
• Church musician
throughout his life.
Composed an enormous
amount of music for the
church.
• Had 20 children!
Toccata and Fugue in D
Minor
 Written by Bach for his most beloved instrument
 A toccata is a composition written for a keyboard
instrument composed in a ‘free style’ (no set structure).
 A fugue is a very structured piece that repeats one
particular theme/melody many times throughout,
harmonized with different melodies.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho9rZjlsyYY
George F. Handel
(1685-1759)
 Originally studied law
because his father did not
approve of his son
becoming a full-time
musician.
 Lived in Germany, Italy,
and England at different
times in his life and
composed in German,
Italian, and English
Hallelujah Chorus from
Messiah
 Part of an oratorio (a musical work written for chorus,
vocal soloists, and orchestra). Often with a religious text.
 Most often performed during the Christmas season.
 King George II stood upon hearing its magnificence;
many audiences still stand today.
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZEtVbJT5c
Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)
 Italian composer, also ordained as a priest.
Because of this and his fiery red hair, he was
nicknamed ‘The Red Priest’
 Spring from The Four Seasons
 Violin Concerto
 A concerto is a musical work for solo
instrument, often accompanied by an orchestra
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjpLxlSMJ
Po
Classical
(1730-1820)
The Classical
Time Period
• Music becomes more
formalized, structured,
and ‘classical’ in the sense
of the word as we use it
today
• The orchestra as we know
it today begins to form in
terms of instrumentation
and size
• The American Revolution
takes place during this
period
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)
 Child musical prodigy
from Austria.
 Wrote his first
composition at the age of
5, and his first symphony
at the age of 8!
 A symphony is a
large-scale
composition usually
with 3-4 movements.
Almost always
performed by an
orchestra.
Eine kleine nachtmusik
 ‘A Little Night Music’ or ‘A Little Serenade’
 Written for string chamber ensemble of full orchestra
 Four movements:
 I. Allegro
 II. Romanze: Andante
 III. Menuetto: Allegretto
 IV. Rondo: Allegro
 https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=eine+kleine+
nachtmusik
Ludwig Van
Beethoven
(1770-1827)
• German composer
• Began losing his hearing at the
age of 20, and eventually
became completely deaf.
• Wrote 9 symphonies
• His music is thought to be a
sort of transition from the
Classical period to the
Romantic period
Symphony no. 5
 Four movement symphony written for orchestra
 Four movements:




I. Allegro con brio
II. Andante con moto
III. Scherzo: Allegro
IV. Allegro
 One of the best known symphonies of all time
 First four notes are very memorable and reappear throughout the
piece (BABABABAAAA)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOk8Tm815lE
Bonus! Symphony no. 9
 Beethoven’s last completed symphony
 “Ode to Joy”
 Performed by orchestra, chorus, and vocal soloists.
Symphony no. 9 is the first major example of a composer
using voices in a symphony
 Composed when Beethoven was completely deaf
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IInG5nY_wrU
Romantic
(1780-1910)
Romantic Characteristics
 Music in the Romantic era
was more expressive,
emotional, and reflective.
 Composers began to let go
of some of the strict
structure of the Classical era
 Music becomes more
available to the common
person (not as many
“royalty-only”
performances)
Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
• Composer from Germany.
• Wrote vocal and instrumental
music.
• Though he was a musician his
whole life, he achieved little
success until he was 40 years old.
• He was a perfectionist, and was
known to destroy pieces that he
did not deem good enough
Wiegenlied: Guten Abend, Gute
Nacht
 Widely known as ‘Brahms’ Lullaby’. Literal translation
from German to English is ‘Lullaby: Good Evening,
Good Night’
 Performed by only piano and solo voice
 A melody known around the world
 One of Brahms’ most simple compositions, though
arguably his most famous
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5N22354GBg
Peter Ilyich
Tchaikovsky
(1840-1893)
• Composer from Russia
• Composed mostly orchestral music
• Thought of as the first Russian
composer to be known and loved
internationally
• Helped create and popularize the
Russian classical sound
• Composed the suites for the famous
ballets The Nutcracker, Swan Lake,
and Sleeping Beauty
The Nutcracker
 Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker is a ballet suite. The story of the
ballet is taken from E.T.A. Hoffman’s story The Nutcracker and
the Mouse King
 Performed by orchestra
 Most often performed during the Christmas season
 Premiered in 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz_f9B4pPtg
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_UK--FYo4Q
th
20
Century
1900-2000
Jackson Pollock
The Modern Age
 Composers begin experimenting with new and different
sounding harmonies and keys (not just major or minor).
 Some composers even write atonal music (Music without a
key!)
 Electronic music takes on a larger role.
 Film scores become their own genre.
 Jazz flourishes, beginning in the United States (specifically
African American communities). Jazz music features
improvisation, lively rhythms, and specific instrumentation
(often brass, woodwind, piano, and string bass)
George Gershwin (1898-1937)

American composer and
piano player.

Wrote both popular and
classical music. Often
combined many different
styles, such as jazz and
classical.

Tragically died of a brain
tumor at the age of 38.

Composed the opera Porgy
and Bess (Summertime is from
this opera) and many other
compositions with his brother
Ira.
Rhapsody in Blue
 Written for solo piano and jazz band. (A “jazz concerto”)
 Featured in Disney’s Fantasia 2000
 Combines elements of classical music and jazz
 “It was on the train, with its steely rhythms, its rattle-ty bang, that is so
often so stimulating to a composer... And there I suddenly heard, and
even saw on paper – the complete construction of the Rhapsody, from
beginning to end…I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of
America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of
our metropolitan madness.”
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFHdRkeEnpM
Aaron Copland
(1900-1990)
• Composer from the United
States.
• Often incorporated American
folk and jazz melodies into his
music.
• Nickname: the “Dean of
American Composers”
• Copland wrote for a variety of
genres and performing ensembles:
orchestra, choir, band, vocal
solos, instrumental solos, ballets,
operas…
Appalachian Spring
 Orchestral piece written for the ballet of the same name.
 Won the Pulitzer Prize for music.
 The ballet is about American pioneers of the 19th
century celebrating after building a new Pennsylvania
farmhouse.
 The most famous segment samples the Shaker melody
‘Simple Gifts’
What happened after the
year 2000?
 Music in the classical style is still being composed!
 Music continues to be composed and transformed to this
day. We don’t know what music historians centuries
from now will label our time period yet!
 Some composers from the 21st century you may know:
Alan Menken (Disney), Andrea Ramsey (Hallelujah for the
Day, Dream Keeper), Michael John Trotta (Make Space for
Life to Live), Jim Papoulis (Give Us Hope), Eric H. Thiman
(Path to the Moon), Patricia Runkle (Trouble, Fly)