Vivaldi was progressive musically. He established the concerto form as an instrumental standard, played with the idea that the soloist was at war with the larger orchestra and using the contrasts to dramatic effect, not only between players but in speed and volume levels as well, and he pushed the envelope on violin technique, something in which he probably remained untouched. His usual writing style was antiphony, a simple style, which allowed him to experiment with instrument solos and maintain a light and innocent texture to the music. Vivaldi was one of the rare Italian composers interested in woodwind instruments. He composed several concertos for the bassoon, oboe, recorder and flute, as well as the rarer clarinet.
Sonata form mainly focuses on the harmonic and thematic expression of music that sets the mood in the exposition. The development is contrasted and elaborated, and usually resolved with a safe sound of harmony in the end, recapitulating the main ideas. Among all of the examples we have heard in class like Mozart’s Symphony 25, or the Moonlight Sonata, I believe that Ludwig Van Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 represents sonata form with the most accuracy. The exposition of Symphony No.
THE CLASSICAL PERIOD (1750-1825) THE CLASSICAL PERIOD OF MUSIC 1) TIME OF GREAT MUSICAL EXPERIMENTATION AND DISCOVERY 2) CENTERS AROUND ACHIEVEMENTS OF VIENNESE SCHOOL A) HAYDN B) MOZART C) BEETHOVEN 3) THREE CHALLENGING PROBLEMS A) EXPLORE MAJOR-MINOR SYSTEM TO ITS FULLEST B) TO PERFECT A LARGE FORM OF ABSOLUTE INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC (THE SONATA CYCLE) C) TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN ITS (SONATA CYCLE) VARIOUS TYPES 1) SONATA 2) CONCERTO SYMPHONY 3) ELEMENTS OF THE CLASSICAL PERIOD 1) ELEGANT AND LYRICAL MELODIES A) ELEGANT AND LYRICAL MELODIES B) CLEAR-CUT CADENCES 2) THE HARMONIES THAT SUSTAINED THESE MELODIES A) FIRMLY ROOTED IN THE KEY RHYTHM 3) A) MUSIC WAS IN EITHER 2, 3, 4, OR 6/8 B) STAYED IN RHYTHMIC STYLE IT BEGAN WITH 4) FORM A) UNFOLDED
Dido’s Lament The Baroque period was a significant turning point for music; it began to be a separate form of art and not purely based in religion. The use of Recitative and Aria became a critical key factor to the development of opera, and is clearly used in “Dido and Aeneas” by Purcell. To enhance the characteristics of the Baroque opera, many techniques for manipulating Pitch, Duration and Dynamics were used. With these techniques it created more emphasis of the text with the use of word painting and string instruments. Throughout this piece the Recitative of the song is mainly sung in speech form, creating emphasis on specific parts of the text.
Cyclical Literature in early19th Century A song cycle is a group of songs designed to perform in a sequence during classical music. All of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet, lyricist, or relating a story. Each song sang separately, but the composer imagined that they would be performed together as one work. They are for solo voice and piano accompaniment, however, they also can be without accompaniment or instruments. It started before the Romantic period, but it become popular with German composers of the nineteenth century.
Occasionally, composer simply borrowed popular tunes, but more often, they wrote original themes with a popular character. Classical melodies often sound balanced and symmetrical because they are frequently made up of two phrases of the same length. The second phrase, in such melodies, may begin like the first, but it will end more conclusively and it will be easier to sing. Dynamics and the piano - The Classical composers' interest in expressing shades of emotion led to the widespread use of gradual dynamic change - crescendo (gradually getting louder) and diminuendo ( gradually getting softer). The end of basso continuo - The basso continuo was gradually abandoned during the classical period.
The harpsichord was phased out and replaced with the invention of the piano during the Classical period. During the Baroque period, two bass instruments would read off the same line of music with numbers written above notes for the third bass to play. Music from the Baroque period seems very one dimensional and intended to be played to a smaller audience. The text described it best (Sporre, 2013), “Classical in contrast to Baroque style, which typically dealt with a single emotion, Classical pieces typically explore contrasts between moods. They may contrast moods within movements and also within themes (Pg.
The stringed instruments were the accompaniment; therefor, they began with harmonics, chromatics, and tremolo for various measures rather than having a moving part. The melody was given to the flutes and soloist, Sami Junnonen, who was also very talented. The song was about 22 minutes long and he had the whole piece memorized. It sounded very sad, but soothing simultaneously. There were visuals around the theater, which made it easier to understand and visualize what Lopez was trying to describe when writing the song.
Three of the performers played a Bach suite, and the other two performers played a contemporary suite. Even though the performance was based around Bach, they wanted to add some variety so they played some pieces that were not written by Bach. Personally, I liked to hear the pieces that were not composed by Bach, because I was able to compare the newer music to Bach’s music. The concert was held in the Rotunda. I thought the Rotunda was a very small place to have a concert.
Heavyweights in classical music such as Edgard Varèse, Iannis Xenakis and Karlheinz Stockhausen have put out compositions and works using non-Western microtonal systems. Moreover, to label classical music as ethnocentric is equivalent to partiality. After all, those who play Debussy on the pianoforte will notice his hypnotic, gamelan-inspired textures. Furthermore, sitar maestro Ravi Shankar collaborated and performed with many big names in classical and contemporary music. To travel back further in time, how about the Cuban-esque habanera L'amour est un Oiseau Rebelle by Georges Bizet or the alla Turca (translation: in Turkish style) third movement of Sonata in A major, K. 331 by Mozart?