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MU111: Unnerving Exam QuestionA. Name the:
• composer• genre (type of composition), and • briefly explain your reaction to hearing works in this genre.
1730 1750 1770 1820
Death of J. S. Bach=End of Baroque
First worksby Haydn Mozart in mature classical style
Early Classical Styles Evident
I. Dates/Basics A. Classical Period Conventionally = 1750-c. 1820
B. Period of transition btw. Baroque & Clasical (1730-1770):
Wright’s end of classical Pd.
C. High Classical Era: “Big 3”=Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
1. Pre-Classical Period 2. Early Classical Period 3. Galant Period
?
II. Social and Cultural Background to the Classical Era
A. Enlightenment Ideals: Reason & Equality
1. Equality of Access to Ideas
2. Political Equality
3. Social Equality
4. Equality of Taste
B. Musical Consequences of “Equality”= New Audience1. Rise of Public Concerts
2. Comic opera (opera buffa)
= Increased Importance for Instrumental music
II. Social and Cultural Background to the Classical Era
A. Enlightenment Ideals: Reason & Equality
1. Equality of Access to Ideas
2. Political Equality
3. Social Equality
4. Equality of Taste
B. Musical Consequences of “Equality”= New Audience1. Rise of Public Concerts
2. Comic opera (opera buffa)
3. 18th-cent. as the Age of the Dilettante
= Increased Importance for Instrumental music
II. Social and Cultural Background to the Classical Era
A. Enlightenment Ideals: #1. Equality
1. Equality of Access to Ideas
2. Political Equality
3. Social Equality
4. Equality of Taste
B. Musical Consequences of “Equality”= New Audience1. Rise of Public Concerts
2. Comic opera (opera buffa)
3. 18th-cent. as the Age of the Dilettante 4. Simplification: short phrases; often repeated; melody & accompaniment texture (not complex counterpoint)
= Increased Importance for Instrumental music
II. Social and Cultural Background to the Classical Era (cont.)
C. Enlightenment Ideals: #2. Reason/Rational Thought(Esp. logic, unity, order, proportion)
C. Enlightenment Ideals: #2. Reason/Rational Thought
D. Musical Consequences:
Symmetry, Antecedant-Consequent Phrases, Clear Forms
II. Social and Cultural Background to the Classical Era (cont.)
F. Musical Consequences1. Rejection of the artificial
2. Emphasis on the facile, comprehensible: (rejection of complexity, esp. counterpoint)
E. Enlightenment Ideals: #3. Fascination with Nature and The Natural
III. Musical Style in the Classical Era
A. Melody
1. Phrases often stated, then repeated (w or w/o variation)
2. Sections connected by transition (theme vs. filler)
3. Phrases marked off by clear cadences
4. Antecedent/Conseqent pairs common
B. Rhythm
1. Baroque driving, uniform rhythms rejected; instead changes/contrasts in surface rhythm
2. Changes/contrasts can be abrupt or gradual
5. Classical Melodies shorter, simpler, discrete sub-phrases
III. Musical Style in the Classical Era (cont.)
C. Dynamics
1. Specified more by composers
2. Gradual changes (crescendo/diminuendo) more important
3. Volume not an ornament but structurally important
D. Harmony
1. Similar to Baroque (mainly diatonic)
2. Harmony frequently changes more slowly (harmonic rhythm)
E .Texture
1. Homophonic/Melody + Accompaniment
IV. Vienna and the Mature Classical Style (after 1770)
A. Haydn, Mozart (1770s), later Beethoven (from 1790s)
B. Vienna as Cultural Crossroads
1730 1750 1770 1820
Death of J. S. Bach=End of Baroque
First WorksOf Haydn Mozart in Mature Classical Style
Early Classical Styles Evident
Classical Period Conventionally = 1750-1820
Wright’s End of Classical Pd.
IV. Vienna and the Mature Classical Style (after 1770)
A. Haydn, Mozart (1770s), later Beethoven (from 1790s)
B. Vienna as Cultural Crossroads
C. Retain Virtues of Enlightenment values(clear, lucid, widely intelligible)
•Irregularity/disruption gains expressive effect
•Reintegration of imitation/polyphony
•Gradual changes project changing emotions
•Reintroduce chromaticism
But re-introduce complexity for expressive effect
D. Bottom Line on High Classical Style:
•Retain: clarity, lucidity, wide appeal of early classical style
•Reintroduce: Complexity. (And against background of simple, complex moments = gain in expressive power!)
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