The Middle Ages and therefore the Renaissance
The Middle Ages covers the years from just about 476 (the fall of the Roman Empire) to 1450. this era is more divided into 2 parts: the first Middle Ages (c. 476-1000) and therefore the late Middle Ages (1000-1450). although the first Middle Ages were politically formed by the clash between the Christian church and monarchies, it’s primarily because of the strength of the Church that documents (including music) from the amount have survived. within the late Middle Ages, cathedrals were designed, universities were based, a robust merchandiser category emerged, literary life flourished, and therefore the Crusades established contact between European and jap cultures.
Due to the Church’s importance, in terms of power and education, within the Middle Ages, a lot of of the living music from this point amount is sacred. quite 3000 Gregorian melodies survive. These monophonic, nonmetric, modal melodies by anonymous composers area unit classified by the melody’s relationship to the text: syllabic, neumatic, or melismatic. The chants were utilized in the Catholic liturgy (the Mass and therefore the Office). Hildegard von Bingen is a vital musician of chant melodies, and one in all the few whose name is really renowned.
Her music usually options her own texts. Her Alleluia, O precipitation go-between is for the Mass correct (the a part of the Mass that changes in keeping with the spiritual context of the actual day) and options each neumatic and melismatic text settings. Later within the amount (around 1000), polyphonic music developed, and with polyphonic music came meter (so that the various voices might sing together). Composers of polyphony like Leonin and Perotin most frequently took credit for his or her compositions.
Early polyphony was supported pre-existing chant melodies to that a brand new melody (often text-less) was side. At the tip of the thirteenth century, composers began to feature words to the higher voices of organum. this sort of composition is thought as a piece. AN example of a late thirteenth century ars antiqua piece is that the anonymous Mout ME fu grief / Robin m’aime / Portare. although a lot of of the living music from the Middles Ages is sacred, some profane examples (monophonic and polyphonic, vocal and instrumental) survive.
Polyphonic profane music flourished throughout the Ars star, a amount within the fourteenth century once writers, painters, and musicians turned their attention far from spiritual life to concentrate on human issues. AN example of this sort of composition is Machaut’s rondeau for 3 voices, Puis qu’en oubli. The Renaissance (1450-1600) saw the continuation and intensification of the ars star concentrate on human issues. within the Renaissance, this idea, galvanized by the revived interest in Greek and Roman cultures, is mentioned as humanism.
The Renaissance additionally continuing the trend towards secularization that began towards the tip of the center Ages. distinctive events and characteristics of the Renaissance embrace the exploration of distant lands, the event of printing, the distinct form of the Italian Renaissance painters World Health Organization painted realistic portraits of their subjects, and therefore the growing realization that individuals might solve their own issues through intellection and scientific inquiry (as opposition religion in God). The Church was one in all the first employers of musicians throughout the Renaissance, and in and of itself, a lot of sacred music was composed.
Early Renaissance (1450-1520) composers wrote polyphonic, a capella settings of the normal of the Mass supported either fragments of Gregorian chants or fashionable songs. AN example of this sort of composition is Dufay’s L’Homme arme Mass, a plainsong Mass supported the favored song “L’Homme arme. ” Another vital genre of the Renaissance was the piece, here a sacred genre meant for performance throughout church services. Josquin’s four-voiced piece Ave maria…virgo serena options alternations between imitative polyphonic music and homophony and between triple and dual meter that highlight the emotional impact of the words.
These characteristics mark this piece as being typical of the time within which it had been composed. Late Renaissance (1520-1600) sacred music was powerfully influenced by the Reformation and therefore the Counter-Reformation. In addressing musical problems within the Counter-Reformation, the Council of River Trent objected to the alteration of ancient chant melodies, the employment of instruments in church services, the employment of profane melodies as plainsong, and therefore the use of elaborate polyphonic textures that created the text incomprehensible. Palestrina’s Pope Marcellus Mass conforms to the stress of the Council of River Trent.
In addition to the Church, the courts were vital establishments that supported music creating within the Renaissance. Josquin’s chanson Mille regretz, maybe written for Charles V, is typical of items composed for the courts because it is for four voices and therefore the text deals with code of conduct. within the late Renaissance, Italian courts were massive supporters of madrigal composers. thanks to their word painting, Monteverdi’s madrigals, like Ecco mormorar l’onde, area unit representatives of the late madrigal vogue (1580-1620). outline of Chapters 19-27: The Baroque The Baroque Era (1600-1750) saw several vital changes in politics, sciences, and therefore the arts.
Political lifetime of the Baroque era was dominated by absolutely the monarchs, however the growing bourgeoisie challenged them for power and cash. The actions of governments were powerfully impelled by spiritual beliefs, a correlation which will be seen within the variety of religiously impelled disputes in Europe and therefore the New World. The discoveries of Galileo Galilei, Descartes, and Newton revolutionized scientific thinking. Artists, together with musicians, usually received backing from a patron (usually royal or aristocratic), the Church, or the administration of a town.
Arguably the foremost vital new music genre of the Baroque era was opera, a genre that developed within the early seventeenth century from the Florentine Camerata’s interest in monophony. Monteverdi’s initiation of Poppea (1642), AN example of Baroque opera, was written for the primary public house in metropolis (earlier opera had been written for the courts and was usually supported mythology). In England, Purcell composed Dido and Aeneas, supported AN episode from the epos, for a private school for young girls.
This opera, like Baroque operas normally, contains recitatives for a solo voice (accompanied by the basso continuo) declaiming text in an exceedingly speech-like manner and arias for solo voice (accompanied by the orchestra and basso continuo) with a clearly outlined melody and meter. Another vital genre of songs within the Baroque era was the serious music. J. S. Bach wrote over two hundred cantatas for performance at Lutheran Church services. These works contain arias, recitatives, and choruses with musical organization accompaniment (similar to operas) however have spiritual texts and area unit supported pre-existing Lutheran choral tunes.
Instrumental music rose in importance within the Baroque era because of advances in instrument construction, coaching of performers, and printing of music. vital multi-movement genres of music throughout the Baroque embrace trio sonatas (such as those by Corelli), solo sonatas (such as those by Domenico Scarlatti), concertos (such as those by Vivaldi), serious music grossos (such as those by Bach), and musical organization suites (such as those by Handel). Bach’s geographical area serious music No. two is typical of its genre and of Baroque vogue.
This concerto, like all samples of this genre, contrasts a concertino (here consisting of trumpet, recorder, oboe, and violin) and a ripieno (strings and basso continuo). Most serious music grossos, together with this explicit one, contain 3 movements: the primary movement being quick and in ritornello form; the second, slow; and therefore the third, fast. like most Baroque music, this work is tonal (in the key of F major). the range and coherence that Baroque composers sought-after is obvious within the different instrumental teams, the alternating quick / slow tempos of the 3 movements, and therefore the movement far from and back to F major.
Works for solo keyboard instruments additionally grew in quality throughout the Baroque. These works were usually written in pairs, with the primary half being improvisatory in nature (as with a prelude or toccata) and therefore the second half being supported strict imitative polyphonic music (fugue). Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, 2 books of preludes and fugues for solo keyboard, is AN example of this sort of composition. outline of Chapters 30-39: The Classical Era within the Classical Era (1750-1825), additional stress was placed on reason (logic) than passion. Indeed, this era is commonly mentioned because the Age of Reason.
Countries were most frequently dominated by monarchs; but, principles of the Enlightenment impelled the yank and French Revolutions (1775-1783 and 1789-1799 respectively). the commercial Revolution caused the principle of production, ever-changing economies from being agriculturally-based to industrial. many of us affected from rural areas to the cities in search of employment. within the arts, Reason manifested itself with a priority for order, judgment, and proportion (qualities that were revered in Greek and Roman architecture).
Composers throughout the Classical era continuing to be supported primarily by the patronage system. although musicians control basically constant standing as servants, they enjoyed a way of economic security as noble patrons appreciated music and required music for his or her varied social events. Throughout the Classical amount, there was a generalized shift of performances from palaces to fresh designed public concert halls. In these new venues, composers had the chance to reveal a bigger public to their works. Mozart wasn’t triple-crown underneath the patronage system.
In fact, he was laid-off by his patron, the bishop of Salzburg. Haydn, however, had an in depth operating relationship together with his patron, the patrician of Esterhaza. Towards the tip of his life, he additionally composed works for public concerts in London. In terms of the design of genre exemplified by Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, melodies were lyrical and musical. These melodies were usually set in an exceedingly easy homophonic texture. As within the Baroque, the harmonic language was still tonal, however harmonies within the Classical era were primarily diatonic.
Rhythms were regular, and meters were easy and simply placeable. one in all the foremost vital genres within the Classical era was classical music. String quartets area unit four-movement chamber works for 2 violins, viola, and bowed stringed instrument and area unit meant for performance in salons. the primary movement is quick and in sonata-allegro type. The second movement is slow, usually a topic ANd variations or an A-B-A type. The third movement may be a minuet and trio (though Beethoven usually replaced the minuet with a scherzo), and therefore the fourth movement is quick and in either a sonata-allegro or serious music type.
The symphony was another vital instrumental genre of the Classical era. These works were composed for the everyday Classical orchestra of 30-40 musicians (strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion). They usually contained four movements, made equally to the quartette. one in all the foremost prolific symphonic composers was Haydn: he wrote over a hundred symphonies, some for performance at the court of Esterhaza and a few, like his Symphony No. ninety four (“Surprise”), for a public concert series in London. Beethoven’s fifth symphony was additionally meant for a public venue.
His symphonies area unit usually longer and additional complicated than those of Haydn and Mozart, and a few area unit samples of diurnal type (in the fifth symphony, the S-S-S-L motive seems altogether four movements, thereby fastening them together). different multi-movement instrumental genres of the Classical era embrace the serious music and therefore the classical music. Concertos throughout this point were three-movement work for composed for one solo instrument with musical organization accompaniment. Sonatas, like Beethoven’s Moonlight classical music, were three-movement works for solo keyboard.
Other sonatas featured 2 instruments, another solo instrument and piano. In terms of songs, several of the genres continuing from the Baroque era (for example, the Mass, oratorio, and opera). 2 main styles of opera were significantly fashionable within the Classical era: opera seria (virtuosic, fashionable within the early eighteenth century amongst the aristocracy) and opera buffo (comic opera, popular bourgeoisie audiences). each styles of classical opera maintained the excellence between musical passage and aria that was utilized throughout the Baroque era.
An example of a typical opera buffo is Mozart’s the wedding of Figaro. outline of Chapters 40-62: Romanticism The revolution and its principles of liberty, equality, and fraternity were the driving forces behind Romanticism (19th century). This revolutionary spirit pervaded all of the art forms within the nineteenth century. Writers stressed feeling and individualism in their disregard for Classical conventions. Composers were inquisitive about developments in literature and painting, and lots of musical compositions were galvanized by different art works.
Other instances of political unrest prompted feelings of nationalism. Nationalist composers would create use of national lore in their compositions or would write items to celebrate national events or heroes. the commercial Revolution affected music on many alternative levels. strategies of instrument production improved, and new instruments were created. Music education reached a bigger variety of individuals, contributory to the growing virtuosic capabilities of performers and to additional widespread domestic music creating.
Performances happened additional usually publicly concert halls, and additional musical organization works were written fill the demand for these concerts. The higher bourgeoisie, that grew significantly once the revolution, became primary shoppers of art works. a brand new genre of the nineteenth century was the song. These works for solo voice and piano combined poetry and music in compositions usually appropriate for amateurs and professions alike. Some Lieder, like Schubert’s Erlkonig, area unit through-composed, whereas others like Schumann’s “In the Merry Month of May” area unit strophic.
The Schumann song is really a part of a set of songs (a song cycle) entitled Dichterliebe. because the piano had become a preferred instrument in people’s homes and because the coaching of performers had improved significantly, several works were composed for piano solo, for amateurs and professionals. Chopin is associated virtually solely with this instrument, and he composed each small-scale (such as nocturnes, etudes, and polonaises) and large-scale (such as ballades and sonatas) works for it. Franz Liszt additionally wrote several works for piano.
His works area unit usually designed to attractiveness to the general public, that at this point favored unbelievably virtuosic feats. composition illustrates the link between music and literature within the nineteenth century. Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, a five-movement program symphony, tells the autobiographical story of his infatuation with Harriet Smithson. every movement contains a descriptive title and a text that describes what happens in this explicit movement. The character of Harriet Smithson is portrayed by a melodic line, the idee fixe, that seems in numerous forms altogether of the movements.
