Brian Guay Music History I Research Paper William Byrd was considered a great English composer of his time, one of the greatest. He wrote for several different genres including sacred music, and he also wrote secular vocal and instrumental music. Byrd lived during the Late Renaissance, a time of reformation and change. However, as people were breaking away from the Catholic Church, William Byrd remained Catholic. The church began to use English in services rather than Latin, however Queen Elizabeth allowed Latin to be used in some sacred music (Burkholder, Grout, Palisca, 222).
However, in bar 114 the texture converts from homophonic to polyphonic. In this bar the bassoons and lower strings play the first subject, while woodwind play a counter melody. This creates a polyphonic, or contrapuntal, melody. Pedals are used frequently throughout the symphony. In the first subject, the main theme is harmonised by a tonic
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
The music of the Classical Period is characterised by objectivity and emotional restraint, clarity of form and adherence to certain structural principles. Although Beethoven made use of the concepts of music predominantly in the style of the classical era, he incorporates several aspects which are more evident in the romantic period. As a composer of the late classical and early romantic periods, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 epitomises the stylistic characteristics of the classical era but also a progression into romanticism is evident. Structure • Sonata form – repeat of the exposition was predominantly used in the classical period • Exposition x 2: o 1st subject – b.1-43 o Bridge passage – b.44-58 o 2nd subject – b.59-94 o Codetta – b.95-124 • Development – b.125-247 • Recapitulation: o 1st subject – b.248-287 o Bridge passage – b.288-302 o 2nd subject – b.303-372 • Extended Coda – b.373-502 Pitch Melody: • Piece begins in C minor with several modulations throughout: o The second subject modulates to E flat major through the descending arpeggios in the bridge passage o The development is in F minor before modulating back to the tonic of C minor in the recapitulation o The second subject in the recapitulation is in C major, the tonic major o The piece is back to C minor in the coda and there is an extended tutti perfect cadence from bar 496 to the end o The modulations are of major and minor tonalities, a classical characteristic • From bar 6 there is the use of imitation and sequences in the throughout the strings before the whole orchestra restates the theme at bar 18.
The honor of being the “father of music” was assigned to him by Plutarch, the Greek biographer who wrote Parallel Lives (46?-120 AD.) The music of the flute, which had formerly been peculiar to Phrygia was said to be “naturalized,” or normalized by him. Olympus was also a great inventor of rhythm. Three of them being Ison, where the arsis and thesis are equal, displasion, where the arsis is twice the length of the thesis, and hemiolion, where the length of the arsis is equal to 2 short syllables and the thesis is equal to 3. However, there is doubt that the last form, hemiolion, was ever actually used by him.
He composed scores for a number of ballets, including two of the most popular of the time: “Agnes DeMille’s Rodeo” (1942) and Martha Graham’s “Appalachian Spring” (1944), for which he won the Pulitzer Prize. Probably the most important and successful composition from this time was his patriotic “A Lincoln Portrait” (1942). The piece for voice and orchestra presents quotes from Lincoln’s writings narrated over Copland’s musical composition. Throughout the 1950s, Copland slowed his work as a composer, and began to try his hand at conducting. He began to tour with his own work as well as the works of other great American musicians.
- 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.
There was also a specific layout for symphonies, which, according to classical standards, should have four movements, with the last being a spectacular show of the skills of the composer and the performers, producing a breath-taking grand finale. Dmitri Shostakovich was born in St Petersburg on the 25 September 1906, and began attending what was then the Petrograd conservatory at the age of 13 to study piano and composition(Richards, 2008, p203). He later went on to become one of the most important composers of the 20th century. In his time at the Conservatory (now the St Petersburg Conservatory) he will have been well schooled in the composition techniques of the classical era, and it is very possible it is here that he found his ‘idol’ in Beethoven. In his String Quartets, Shostakovich uses all the traditional instrumentation.
Music imitates the atmosphere of the eras, then as now as always. Likewise the cellos, violins and other stringed instruments of the baroque masters are the high-quality belongings of today’s expert string players. The domestic, and later concert keyboard tool delivers a sample of vanishing, replacement, then and reawakening. The baroque age preferred the harpsichord, in which the strings are plucked and the player cannot differ the pitch through finger touch. After 1750 the piano took over, posing touch sensitivity, and developing later into the “iron grand” The human voice is the eldest and, in some ways, the most expected of enjoyable tools.
A: Between 1170 and 1310. 3. what does he phrase ars antigua mean? A: It means "antique art" in latin. 4. what was a troubadour or trouvere? A: An intinerant musician who wrote lyrics for jouglars to perform.