THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

Original in Spanish by PAOLA OLIVA CASTRO Translation by CRISTINA MARTÍNEZ PECES

CHRONOLOGY

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

• The Classical period in music begins with the death of J. S. Bach in 1750 and ends in 1827, approximately, with the death of Beethoven.

• In music, this era is understood as the time of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. It coincides with the so-called Neo-Classicism in the other arts.

• A great cultural movement, the Enlightenment, promotes the ideal of equality and prosperity for everyone through education.

SOCIETY

• Absolute monarchy is giving way to Enlightened Despotism ("Everything for the people but without the people").

• There is a process of popularization of art and education. Naturally, this amateur audience demands and buys an easy to understand and play music.

• REASON is the tool that will change the world, and will guide humanity.

• The break with the Old Regime comes with the French Revolution (1789).

ART

• Architecture returns to the straight line and gives up unnecessary adornments.

• In sculpture, they look for models of the classical antiquity.

• In painting, sculptural models predominate, and drawing is more important than color.

Classicism (Neo-Classicism in the other arts) is balance, moderation and serenity.

DISCOVER HOW IT SOUNDS

a) The melodies are not as ornamented as in the Baroque. They are based on simplicity, elegance and clarity and structured in symmetrical phrases, organized into two parts (question and answer). They are usually easy to remember.

b) The gradual dynamic appears, with many crescendos and diminuendos which are combined with sudden changes.

c) The rhythm is regular, but not mechanic, looking for making easier the musical phrasing.

d) The predominant textures are homorhythmic and melody with accompaniment.

INSTRUMENTS

• As the figured bass disappears, the harpsichord is abandoned. A new key instrument that will become very important, comes up: the piano.

• Another new instrument comes into fashion: the clarinet.

• The french horn now takes on more importance.

• Instrumental music becomes more and more important.

THE CLASSICAL ORCHESTRA

• There is an enlargement in the orchestra, especially in the strings family, which is composed of the same instruments, but increases their number.

• Compared to a current orchestra, the classical orchestra would have half the components, but for that time, was awesome.

MASSREQUIEMORATORIO

CLASSICALOPERA

VOCALMUSIC

PROFANE

Vocal Music

RELIGIOUS

SERIOUS

BUFFA

COMPARISON between BAROQUE and CLASSICAL OPERA

Baroque Opera

• Solemnity.

• Musical virtuosity.• Boring plots.• Stereotyped characters.

• Intended for the aristocracy and nobility

Classical Opera

• Sense of humor.

• Musical and scenical simplicity.

• Entertaining plots.• Close and believable

characters.• Intended for the bourgeois

audience.

Instrumental MusicSONATA

For 1 to 3 instrumentsSONATA

For an orchestraSYMPHONY

For soloist and orchestraCONCERTO

For 4 instrumentsQUARTET

The sonata is a form that appears in the classical period and has 3 parts: Exposition - Development - Recapitulation and 2 themes, A and B. These 2 themes in the Exposition "are presented", in the Development "are varied", and in the Recapitulation "say goodbye".

COMPOSERS

Haydn Mozart Beethoven

-104 symphonies

-60 piano sonatas

-68 string quartets

- Some masses and oratories

-25 operas (10 lost )

-41 symphonies

-18 piano sonatas

- Some String quartets

-21 piano concertos

- Some masses and religious music

-20 operas

-9 symphonies

-32 piano sonatas

- Some String quartets

-5 piano concertos

- Some masses and religious music

-1 opera : “Fidelio”

➢ The contents in this presentation have only a didactic nature.➢ The images have been obtained using the Google searcher or specialized webpages.➢ If you have any problem with the copyright of the elements included here, please contact me and they will be deleted.➢ Of course, this presentation can be used by any intererested person, provided that it will be with pedagogical purposes. Cristina Martínez Peces Music teacher in IES Rafael Alberti, Cádiz, Spain