The Classical Period (c.1750-1830) - Music and Society

I must admit my notes on the Classical period are rather lacking in comparison to my notes from the previous periods. I mean, seriously, my Baroque period page was totally covered in STUFF while my Classical period page is rather bare. Maybe I should go back through the handouts I got and add stuff.

The Classical period saw yet another return to the styles of Ancient Greek and Roman times. Balance, symmetry and proportion were all important ideals in art. Musical phrases were balanced and music had more homophony, a stark contrast to the long-winded polyphonic phrases that were appearing in the late Baroque. Although music was a lot more controlled, it wasn't necessarily devoid of emotion. The works inspired by the Sturm und Drang (storm and stress) literary movement, such as Mozart's Symphony no. 25, are obvious examples, but there are many others. Some composers even put witty parts into their music- think Haydn and his Surprise Symphony.

The concerto developed further in this period, and chamber music also became more popular. All different types of chamber ensembles were formed, like string quartets and clarinet quintets. A new popular genre, the symphony, developed from the overtures of Baroque oratorios and operas (which were also called sinfonias). Classical symphonies have four movements: fast, slow, moderate dance-like tempo, fast.

Another important structural form that took off was sonata form (not to be confused with a sonata which is a multi-movement work for instruments). Sonata form is a bit like a musical "essay." It has an exposition, a development and a recapitulation. During the exposition, both themes are introduced (the first usually being in the tonic key and the second either in the dominant key or relative major key), unless the piece is monothematic (only has one theme). They are connected by a short bridge passage, and the second theme is concluded by a short codetta. During the development, the themes are developed further: given unexpected twists and turns, modulated, or otherwise tweaked in a variety of different ways. Finally, during the recapitulation, both themes are reintroduced in the tonic key. The whole work is concluded with a coda.

I can't believe that I've forgotten to talk about this. During the classical period, more instruments were developed. More woodwinds and brass instruments were used as a result of this, though strings were still more dominant in many musical works (unless they were works that specifically featured woodwind or brass instruments, like concertos). The piano was a very important instrument that was developed during this period. Unlike its predecessors, it could play using graduated dynamics. Because of this, Classical-era music generally did away with the Baroque style of terraced dynamics and began using graduated dynamics instead- that is, dynamics with crescendos and decrescendos. The trombone was another new instrument that was developed during this time, if I remember correctly. Also, the orchestra's best instrument was invented during this time: THE CLARINET.

Now, I was going to say that if you hadn't heard of lots of Classical-era composers, you must be living under a rock... until I realised that I actually don't know that many myself! There are some composers that I know but I don't know what era they composed in- is that a good enough excuse? Anyway, here I go with the composers that I do know about.

I'm pretty sure you've heard about Mozart. I won't talk about him so much now, I'll save that for another post.

Haydn was another big giant of that era. He is often considered to be the "Father of the Symphony" because he wrote over 100 symphonies, including the "Surprise Symphony." (I must confess that the first time I listened to this symphony was on Nintendogs. Yes, I'm so very cultured.) Haydn taught Beethoven for a short period, but the two didn't get along very well.

I know that Salieri and Albrechtsberger were also composers of that period, but all I know about them is that they also taught Beethoven.

Beethoven and Schubert were two Classical-era composers that are generally credited for making the transition to the Romantic period that followed the Classical period.

... I REALLY need to learn more to make up for my shameful lack of knowledge. I'm going to finish the posts on the Classical and Romantic periods (both of which I know rather little about...) and then read some more and learn some more to touch up these posts. Ah well, you never stop learning I guess!