It started before the Romantic period, but it become popular with German composers of the nineteenth century. The first generally accepted example of a song cycle is Ludwig van Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, opus 98. It considered being the first true song cycle by a major composer. He composed in 1816, and it can be seen as the first real song cycle by a great composer in the sense that it is a number of songs by voice and piano that are clearly related with each other. The six songs of the cycle flow into each other, the tonal structure is very clear, and the poetic structure is also clear.
They may contrast moods within movements and also within themes (Pg. 302).” The piano took the place of the harpsichord during the classical era and was favored by the composers of the time. Mood plays a big part of Classical music with its fluctuation of movement within each piece of music. Classical music is said to have five basic characteristics according to Sporre (2013), “1. Variety and contrast in mood, 2.
The early Christians inherited the Jewish chants of synagogues. One chant came out this in 1101 AD called Gregorian chant is monophonic, that is, music composed with only one melodic line without accompaniment. Middle ages music was both secular and sacred. Around the end of the ninth century, singers in monasteries such as St. Gall in Switzerland began experimenting with adding another singing to the chant c which represents the beginnings of harmony. In the years 1170 to 1250 began Ars antiqua in Notre Dame School of polyphony.
Sonata Form There is no perfect definition of sonata form. Sonata form came about to represent a piece of music that has no words to go with it. Also, the popular form of choosing two themes, repeating them, developing from them, and recapitulating those themes is whats given sonata form its name. Over the past 200+ years, sonata form has grown into this commonly used structure of music. Sonata form mainly focuses on the harmonic and thematic expression of music that sets the mood in the exposition.
The early fifteenth century was dominated initially by English and then Northern European composers. The Burgundian court was especially influential, and it attracted composers and musicians from all over Europe. The most important of these was Guillaume Du Fay (1397–1474), whose varied musical offerings included motets and masses for church and chapel services, many of whose large musical structures were based on existing Gregorian chant. His many small settings of French poetry display a sweet melodic lyricism unknown until his era. With his command of large-scale musical form, as well as his attention to secular text-setting, Du Fay set the stage for the next generations of Renaissance composers.
- The Baroque gave rise to a remarkable variety of musical style, ranging from the expressive monody of Claudio monteverdi (1567-1643) to the complex polyphony of J.S. Bach (1685-1750). -Baroque also introduce many new musical genres--opera, cantata, oratorio, sonata, concerto, and suite -Despite the quick stylistic changes and all the new types of music created, two elements remain constant throughout the Baroque period: an expressive melody and a strong supportive bass. Expressive Melody: - In early Baroque music, the voices are no longer equal. Rather a polarity develops in which the musical emphasis gravitates toward the top and bottom lines.
Primarily the Sonata from can be looked as a innovation, or an advancement of binary form (A-B-A) which was common in French dance movements. “The origins of the ‘simultaneous returns are more complex. A return of the opening Music in the tonic was common following a ‘Trio’, and in the da capo aria, the Italian opera overture, the concerto and the simple aria. Sonata form transformed the division within the second part of rounded binary from into a return to the original theme in the tonic.” (Webster) Writing in a piece in Sonata Form for an 18th century composer it is important to remember there are not specific rules to this form, the structure that is
Annie Vincenti Music in Western Civilizations Lombardi December 12, 2011 Secular Music in The Middle Ages Popular music, usually in the form of secular songs, existed during the Middle Ages. This music was not bound by the traditions of the Church, nor was it even written down for the first time until sometime after the tenth century. For this reason it often presents many challenges in study of early secular music. Having said this, hundreds of these songs were created and performed by bands of musicians that went across Europe during the 12th and 13th centuries, the most famous of which were the French trouvères and troubadours. The monophonic melodies of these musicians, to which may have been added improvised accompaniments, were often rhythmically lively.
An Italian harpsichord maker, Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731), invented the fortepiano and continued to develop this instrument until the 1720s. In the 1730s, Gottfried Silbermann, a German constructor of keyboard instruments, took up the work of Cristofori and built several grand pianofortes based on Cristofori’s design. The classical fortepiano has lighter, thinner, less emphatic, more transparent and sustained tone color than the modern piano we have now. The lightness of its construction produced a crisper sound that is characteristic of the music written of this day. Cristofori’s pianos were not treasured in the beginning since his pianofortes were still very similar to the clavichords.
At the same time the flutist presses finger keys that are positioned along the tube. The keys open and close tone holes to make different sounds. Throughout the 16th century flutes were one of the most popular instruments of the Italian musical scene. Even King Henry VIII had a very large collection of flutes. Mozart and Hayden also played the flute in the 18th century.