Opera in the Baroque Period Opera is an aesthetic art form of the highest quality because it incorporates music, literature, acting, dance, costumes and scenery all delivered through a performance. Opera was created to unify words and tones, play and music. But what are the origins of opera as we know it today? To answer this question one has to go deep into the roots of music history, specifically the baroque period (1600 – 1750). The setting of opera is credited to a group of intellectuals to whom history has given the name of the Camerata.
Antebellum Reform Movement: Music Princeton University defines music as “an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner.”1 Though there is a universal definition for music, music itself is constantly changing. The growing popularity of spiritual music, the transformation of parlor music, and the influence of immigrants on music in the United States all represent the change in music from 1790 to 1860. The religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening caused rapid popularity for spiritual song traditions throughout the United States. The movement was centered partially around outdoor worship gatherings and simple hymns. One group that was known for their ecstatic form of worship were referred to as the Shakers, though they called themselves the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.
The late 19th and the 20th Centuries contributed new genres to the production of music. This made music much more popular around the world, advancement in technology made it easier for artist to record and distribute music. This helped innovation artist to gain global recognition. Modernism was a big event during the 19th and the 20th Centuries this led to rapid growth in cites in which followed World War I. Trends furthered into the Romanticism this effected the Industrial Revolution.
A court musician is an individual that plays for hire. Court musicians usually shared their abilities off during banquets, weddings, and other events. Mozart was among one of the most versatile composers of his time. During his early travels, “he became a master of opera undermining other musicians with his supreme abilities to coordinate music and stage routines” (Music 179). “From 1762 to 1791, Mozart traveled to other countries and nations such as London, Berlin, Munich, and
Brian Naughton MUSC1100_30 Opera Evolution Essay4 4 March, 2012 Opera’s Evolution from Baroque Era to Classical. Classical Opera's expansion and evolution owes a great deal of gratitude to the Baroque era of the early eighteenth century, but where Baroque opera was mainly designed and created for aristocracy or royal audiences, Classical opera branched out as a form of musical entertainment for the general public using the opera house as a center of experimentation. The population of the middle class would eventually become the mainstream participant engaging in opera entertainment as a response to aristocratic forms of opera. Some of Baroque's composers like Handel and Monteverdi used speech-like melodies in polyphonic textures in a linear-horizontal dimension consisting of continuous melody with wide leaps and chromatic tones for emotional effect where as classical composers such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven incorporated homophonic textures of chordal-vertical dimension with melody in balanced phrases and cadences with diatonic scales involving narrow leaps in their compositional works. The Baroque expressive effects of chromatic harmonies established in the major-minor key system with very brief expansions to other keys would evolve into Classical opera's favoring of diatonic harmonies expanding on the tonic-dominant scale which became the basis for classical opera's large scale form.
At first the violin wasn't popular, in fact, it was considered a musical instrument of low status. But by the 1600s such well-known composers as Claudio Monteverdi used the violin in his operas, thus the violins' status grew. The violins' prestige continued to rise during the Baroque period, made more notable by such celebrated figures in music as Antonio Vivaldi and Johann Sebastian Bach. By the mid-18th century, the violin enjoyed a vital place in instrumental music ensembles. In the 19th century, the violins' rise to fame continued in the hands of virtuoso violinists such as Nicolò Paganini and Pablo de Sarasate.
The concept of Enlightenment dominated this decade in Vienna, bringing to light the importance of logic and reason. It was the Freemasons who stimulated the Enlightenment, encouraging intellectuals to lead civil society rather than those who inherited the roles distributed by the feudal system. Within Le Nozze di Figaro, social barriers are broken down; the aristocracy are associated with immoralities and lies. It is left to their servants to bring about a solution with the use of logic. Through music, Mozart transformed stereotypes of early Opera Buffa and Commedia dell’Arte into more complicated and realistic characters that his audience in Vienna would appreciate.
The Great American Symphony After World War I, anti-German feelings started to diminish the dominance that European music had on American Composers. These composers wanted to break the traditions of European music and create a style and sound that was “American.” When Dvorak came to America, his thoughts and ideas boosted self-esteem among American composers, encouraging them to find their nationalistic voice. Composers started using musical themes from popular music and experimented with different forms. When an “American” sound was established, composers started to write pieces that they were hoping would become known as the definition of American music; music that is accessible to everyone and that is distinctively American. They wanted to write The Great American Symphony.
He also developed many pieces by introducing new techniques that we use today. The Classical Period from 1730 and 1820 was where there was a change of music from well known composers after the Baroque Period. As the Baroque period was extremely structured, the Classical was a little more free but it was preside over by many musical forms such as the sonata form, which the classical mostly uses. Moods changed, phrases extended longer, huge use of homophonic sounds and polyphony. More dynamics were put into music by composers.
Alicia Liu English 104 24 November 2011 The Benefits of Listening to Classical Music By Xuefei Liu Why is it that nearly every generation listens to classical music? What is its lure? Why does it seem to pull us toward it when there are so many other types of music to choose from? It certainly has its own type of charm. One of the reasons is because of the benefits of classical music, which seems to draw almost everyone to them at some point in his or her life.