Transcript Document
The Classical Era 1750-1825 Jean-Jacques Rousseau • Rousseau was very critical of Baroque Opera. He claimed the storyline was too complicated. • He wanted real stories about real people. • Praised Pergolesi for his opera La Serva padrona (The Maid as Mistress) 1733 -about a servant girl who tricks a rich old man to marry her. Inventions of Note • Music boxes become popular • The Novel as we know it today becomes popular. • The symphony becomes an often written for style of music • Composers start writing “Divertimentos” (which are pieces designed to divert, amuse, and entertain). Comic Opera • It is because of Rousseau, Pergolesi, and Mozart that comic opera becomes popular. • Mozart writes Don Giovanni -Don Juan Giovanni is a ladies man with a catalog of conquests numbering about 2,065 and he is looking for more. He invites death (in the form of a statue) to join him for a feast where he becomes consumed by the fires of hell. Famous Novels • Jane Austin writes “Pride and Prejudice” • Henry Fielding writes “Tom Jones” Neoclassicism • Neoclassicism is the return to what is simple. People of the sub-group of the classical period reject the complex art and entertainment from the Baroque and Rococo periods for what they considered to be natural and simple art forms. Public Concerts • Public concerts began to grow in number. • 1748 Europe’s first concert hall is built in Oxford holding 150 people. • Because of the rise in concert halls, Orchestral music starts to move to the forefront. In the past there was not a venue for it so it has not been as prominent. • Mozart wrote most of his piano concertos to be performed in these new halls. Features of Classical Music • The goal of classical music was to be natural and have enough variety to keep from being bored. It becomes less predictable. • Tempo and meter remain constant throughout pieces but the rhythms change between themes. • Composers began to call for many different levels of dynamics rather than either being just loud, or just soft. They would also change during a piece or movement over a couple of measures. They were not instant changes like before. The Orchestra • With the classical period the Orchestra became standardized. Strings The Classical Orchestra Woodwinds Brass Violins 1 Violins 2 Violas Cellos Bass viols 2 Flutes 2 French Horns 2 Oboes 2 Trumpets* 2 Clarinets* 2 Bassoons *=Optional Percussion Timpani Melody…. • The melody in the Baroque period was too complex. The people called for simple tunes that were clear and easily identified. • Compositions were written using homophony. (Melody with supporting harmony)