The Classical Period

1750-1820

Qualities of Classicism

   Order Objectivity Proportion  Emulated the art and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome

Greek architecture

The Greeks developed three architectural systems, called orders, each with their own distinctive proportions and detailing. Unity —proportion--grace

More . . . On the Classical Period

 Age of strong aristocracies – Spacious palaces; formal gardens – Balanced proportions and detail  Louis XV (France)  Frederick the Great (Prussia)  Maria Theresa (Austria)  Catherine the Great (Russia)  Age of the patronage system

So . . .

 Music centered around the courts  Employed musicians to compose, conduct, entertain  And, because the aristocracies were powerful and important, this music found its way to the “unestablished” musical world of the new America

And more . . .

 French Revolution (1789-99)  American Revolution (1775-83) – These changed the political systems and social order  Industrial Revolution (c. 1750)

“Eighteenth-century Classicism,

then, mirrored the unique moment in history when the old world was dying and the new was in the process of being born. From the meeting of two historic forces emerged an art of noble simplicity that constitutes one of the pinnacles of Western culture.”

Classicism in Music

 The Viennese School – Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert – Composed large-scale works:  Symphony  Concerto  Sonata

Classical Music

 Singable melodies  Lyrical  Diatonic harmony (predictable, pleasant)  Regular rhythms (also predictable)  Homophonic texture  Folk elements

Classical Period – Golden Age of Chamber Music

    Music for 2-10 players (with one player per part) who play together to create a piece Most prominent was the

string quartet

– – – – Violin I Violin II Viola Cello The best were written by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven Followed the same format as the symphony

Haydn’s String Quartets

 Wrote 68  The

Quinten Quartet

– – Fourth Movement – Sonata-allegro form “Hungarian” folk tune quality – Listen to interplay of instruments (Violin I dominates throughout)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) --Child prodigy —

Mozart

 Made significant contributions to nearly all musical genres – Symphony – Sonata (many for piano) – Concerto – Chamber music – – Sacred music Opera

Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) -- 1787

. . . For string quartet with double bass, or chamber orchestra . . . Listen for homophonic texture . . . First theme is disjunct . . . Second theme is conjunct (and graceful)

Eine kleine Nachtmusik

 First movement – Sonata Allegro Form – – – EXPOSITION  Theme I (disjunct)   Theme II (conjunct, lyrical) Closing theme DEVELOPMENT RECAPITULATION     Theme I (returns) Theme II (same theme, “home key”) Closing theme (same theme, also in “home key”) Coda “tail” (the way for the composer to wrap up the piece