Music in the Romantic Era

1820-1900

The Times

• General Characteristics– Age of Extremes, Age of Unending Lyricism– “Roman” – a French Medieval novel

– Timeframe: ends clearly with Modernism; beginning is more fluid

Ludwig Von Beethoven1770-1827

• Crucial figure in the transition from Classical to Romantic• Romantic period began around 1815. Works from this

period are characterized by their intellectual depth, their formal innovations, and their intense, highly personal expression. For example, the String Quartet, Opus 131 has seven linked movements, and the Ninth Symphony adds choral forces to the orchestra in the last movement

String Quartet in Bb Major, Opus 130, 4th Movement

– French Revolution Ideals: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité

– Romantic times stressed: Individuality, Emotion, Imagination

– Importance of nature. Romantics idealized nature in both visual art and music for its power, beauty and unpredictability

Caspar David Friedrich1774-1840

Social and Political Influences

• Industrialism– Occurred first in Britain– Power shifted from aristocratic landowners to middle

class city dwellers. – Populations moved from an agrarian center to an

urban center.

Inventions

Nationalism and the Spread of Democracy

• One of the most meaningful and definitive forces in the 19th century

• Throughout Europe people began to promote their own national identities and resist outside authority. This push for national identity created new countries (unification of Italy, formation of German empire, United States).

• The principles and practices of democracy were on the rise.

Napoleon Bonaparte

• “After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the monarchy was restored in France and the old aristocratic order returned.

• Revolutionary fervor and optimism gave way to disbelief and dissatisfaction and romanticism to a more realistic view of the world.

• People yearned for reform and a new society.

The Arts in the Romantic The Arts in the Romantic PeriodPeriod

– Stressed Individualism and EmotionStressed Individualism and Emotion– Breaking away from rules and Breaking away from rules and

conventionconvention– Glorification of NatureGlorification of Nature– NostalgiaNostalgia– The Macabre and the supernaturalThe Macabre and the supernatural– Exotic InfluencesExotic Influences– RealismRealism

Literature and Writing

• Romanticism was born towards the end of the 18th century with the works of these two great German writers. Goethe wrote poetry, novels and plays; Schiller was a playwright. Both of their writings were used to express romantic fascination with emotion, life and death, sin and redemption, guilt and selflessness.

Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

• Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

– French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist

– Explored the Romantic theme of conflict between the individual and society

– Les Miserables, 1862

• Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

– English novelist and social campaigner– Novels are works of social commentary– Fierce critic of poverty and social stratification

• Karl Marx (1818-1883)

• German philosopher and economist• The ideas of Marx, while most influential in the 20th century , said that the history of society is one of struggle between the ruling class

(capitalists) and the working class (proletariat) who are being exploited.

• He predicted a revolution. • He believed in a society in which all people give according to their

means and take according to their needs.”

• Charles Darwin (1809-1882)

– In On the Origin of Species, Darwin argued that all species of life on earth, whether human, animal or plant, were the result of what he called “natural selection”.

– He coined the phrase “survival of the fittest” to explain why some species continue to exist while others die out. He believed that man was simply the end of a long chain of organisms that stretched back to the first forms of life.

– This theory challenged not only religion but also had social repercussions.

Art Song and Song Cycle

• Lieder, chansons, art songs

• Compositions for solo voice and piano

• Poetry and music are intimately fused

• Typical forms used: strophic and through-composed

Franz Schubert (1787-1828)

Austrian composerProlific and gifted composer who wrote 600 lieder, piano sonatas, character pieces, 15 string quartets, 9 symphonies

Erlkönig (1815) poem by Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThrough-composed form

Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1896)

• German composer and pianist• Married Robert Schumann and

premiered many of his piano compositions

• Composed a piano concerto, piano trio, solo piano pieces and songs

• Romance

Visual ArtVisual Art

ArchitectureArchitecture

SculptureSculpture

PaintingPainting

Architecture

• The Romantic period did not produce its own distinguishing architectural style. Instead architects chose from the building styles of the previous eras resulting in an eclectic style

House of Parliament, London, Gothic Revival

Supreme Court Building, Washington DC, Greek Revival

Royal Pavilion, Brighton, England, Eastern culture

• Opera Garnier, Paris, Neo-Baroque

• A few buildings erected during the period showed how the Industrial Revolution had affected architecture.

Crystal Palace, London, made for World’s Fair 1851

Tour Eiffel, Paris

Sculpture

• Francois Rude (1784-1855)

Arc de Triomphe “Departure of the Volunteers”

• Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875)

“The Dance”, Opera Garnier

• Auguste Rodin (1840-1917)

The Thinker

The Burghers of Calais

The Kiss

The Gates of Hell

Painting

• Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) – Leader of the Romantic movement,

represented social concerns

Liberty Leading the People, 1831

• Camille Corot (1796-1875)

View Near Volerra, 1838

• Francisco Goya (1746-1828)

The Third of May, 1808

• Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)

Burial at Ornans, 1850

Impressionists

• Provided transition to the 20 th century

Claude Monet (1840-1926) Impression Sunrise, 1872

Rouen Cathedral, 1894

• Edouard Manet (1832-1883)

Dejeuner sur l’herbe, 1863

• Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

The Rehearsal, 1874

• Pierre Auguste Renoir (1841-1919)

Le Moulin de la Galette, 1897

Post-Impressionists

• Georges Seurat (1859-1891)

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1886

• Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

Starry Night, 1889

• Paul Gauguin (1848-1903)

Day of the Gods, 1894

Music

• Musical Milieu – Public and Subscription Concerts

– Founding of Conservatories

Composer

• Composers gradually left the patronage system and became free agents of their own works.

• This meant that the composer, their music and their livelihood depended on the public’s approval.

• For the first time, a composer’s work might not be publicly performed during his or her lifetime.

• Romantics saw themselves as outsiders, isolated from mainstream society, struggling to express their creative ideas.

• In general, composers held higher social status than in the Classical period.

Performer

• Rise of virtuosic performers

• the public was captured by virtuosity and showmanship

Niccolo Paganini Franz Liszt

Conductor

• Resulted from the orchestras growth in numbers and complexity• Became necessary to have one person to lead and control the

orchestra

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)• Polish composer and pianist• Lived in Paris for most of his life• Associated with George Sand (Aurore

Dudevant)• The only major composer to have

completely oriented his creative life around the piano.

• Piano compositions are generally dances or free-form works (preludes, etudes, nocturnes and impromptus).

• Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2, 1830-1831

• Night piece

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)• Hungarian composer and virtuosic pianist• Showman• Daughter married Wagner• Innovative composer both harmonically

and formally. • Used complex and unusual chords• Created the symphonic poem and utilized

thematic transformation (influenced Wagner)

• Composed two symphonies, symphonic poems, piano music, orchestral and operatic transcriptions

• Transcendental Etude No. 10 in F Minor, 1851

General Musical General Musical CharacteristicsCharacteristics

IndividualityIndividuality

Expressive Aims and SubjectsExpressive Aims and Subjects

Nationalism and ExoticismNationalism and Exoticism

Rise and Importance of Program MusicRise and Importance of Program Music

Musical Elements

• Melody– Age of lyricism – unending melody– Melodies appealed to the emotions– Phrases tended to be longer and irregular in

length– Themes were more complex and utilized

chromaticism– Advent of theme transformation (Berlioz,

Wagner)

Harmony

• Basically tonal

• By end of the 19th century chromaticism (movement by half steps) stretched tonality to the breaking point

• Chromaticism imbued greater dissonance and tension into the sound

Rhythm

• Metric• Rhythmic effects were used for “color” – rubato• Articulations in the instruments tended to be

heavy and intense• A new vocabulary of music terms arose that

indicated how to achieve the composer’s desired sound – cantabile, dolce, con amore, allegro agitato. These designations produced a more emotional sound and response.

Texture

• Essentially homophonic

• The sonority tended to be thick, heavy and lush

Timbre/Instrumentation

• This period saw a full exploration of the instrumental families.

• Instruments were used for both their individual and collective color potential.

• Instrumental timbre was used to convey mood and atmosphere.

• The orchestra became much larger – from 70 players to more than 100 (resulting in the necessity of a conductor).

• Instruments could play louder and carry farther. • Instruments were capable of major changes in dynamics.

Strings

• String sections increased in size and were given more difficult accompaniment parts (scales, arpeggios)

Woodwinds

• Development of new instruments – saxophone (baritone and tuba) were invented

by Adolf Sax – piccolo, bass clarinet and English horn were

added.

• Important improvements in wind instruments– “Boehm system” of fingering for flutes and

clarinets achieved better facility and intonation for the performer and greater musical range

Saxophone

English Horn

Piccolo

Bass Clarinet

Brass

•Addition of valves and improvement to valves on brass instruments allowed the playing of a full chromatic compass for the first time and to more easily play quick runs of notes

•Tubas and Trombones were added

Percussion

• Expanded to include bass drum, snare drum, cymbals and other exotic percussion instruments (gong, castanets)

Vocal Genres

• Opera

• Music Drama

• Mass and Requiem

• Art Song

Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)

• Italian composer of 15 operas, a Requiem, a string quartet

• His music became a symbol of the Italian liberation movement (struggle against Austrian domination)

• Rigoletto, 1851• Act III – La donna è mobile

Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924)

• Italian opera composer• Unlike Verdi and Wagner – did

not involve himself in politics• Known for his beautiful lyricism

(critics often cite a “popular” less-crafted style of composition)

• La Bohème 1896• Act I: Rodolfo and Mimi arias

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)• German composer for the stage – music dramas• Rejecting Italian opera, Wagner worked out a theory

about combining poetry, music, philosophy and drama into one “complete art work” – music drama.

• He had complete control of every aspect of these music dramas – music, libretto, staging, costumes

• Incorporated German folktales and legends• Used “leitmotifs” – thematic transformation• Extreme use of chromaticism

• Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), 1856• The second of the four music dramas in Der Ring des

Nibelungen• Wagner uses Nordic mythology to warn that society

destroys itself through lust for money and power.• Act I, Love Scene

Instrumental Music• Absolute music tended to reflect the Classical heritage of Mozart and

Haydn; it tended to be more traditional in compositional style and instrumentation

Symphony, concerto, sonata, string quartet

• Program music was compositionally guided by a story, poem, idea or scene; it tended to be more progressive in compositional style and instrumentation

Program symphony, Tone poem, Symphonic poem

• Character Pieces

In contrast to the large instrumental genres, these were smaller pieces typically for piano called character pieces

Dynamics

• Gradual

• Much wider range – extremes of dynamic variation

• Used extensively throughout the compositions

Form

• Stretching of the classical forms:

sonata-allegro

rondo

theme and variation

minuet and trio

Composers

• Traditionalists– Tended to compose in the style of their

teachers (classical era). While extending the elements of music, they rarely went outside of the norms.

– Composer Examples: Brahms, Tchaikovsky Schumann, Mendelssohn, Franck, Schubert, Chopin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Puccini, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Clara Schumann

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)• German composer – 4 symphonies, violin

concerto, string quartets, 200 lieder, German Requiem

• Befriended by the Schumann family• Classicist in the Romantic period – often

criticized for being “out of step” with the music of his time.

• Avoided newly invented forms (program symphony, tone poem)

• Preferred to say new things within traditional forms

• Symphony No. 4 in E minor, 1885• 4th movement

• Progressives

– Tended to extend the boundaries of traditional sound and scope in their compositions. They utilized new instrumental techniques and color. They used increasingly more chromaticism.

– Composer Examples: Wagner, Liszt, Berlioz and Verdi

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)

• French composer of programmatic works.

• Most of his works call for huge instrumental and vocal forces

• Very influential in his techniques and writing about orchestration

• Symphonie fantastique, 1830• Program symphony in five movements• Uses idée fixe – thematic transformation

• Fourth Movement: March to the Scaffold

• Nationalists– Following the many wars and conflicts of the

19th century country boundaries in Europe became more defined. Nationalistic music (music that highlighted folksongs, dances, folklore) abounded. Most nationalistic music followed a more traditional pattern of composition and sound. Many composers utilized nationalistic melodies, dances and stories.

– Composer Examples: Smetana, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Wagner, Chopin, Verdi, Puccini, Liszt

Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)

• Russian composer• One of the Russian Five: Mily Balakirev,

Cesar Cui, Alexander Borodin, Nikolai Rimsky-Karsaov Modest Mussorgsky

• Utilized Russian folksongs – often based on church modes, irregular in meter

• Pictures at an Exhibition, 1874• Originally a cycle of piano pieces inspired by

pictures in a memorial exhibition honoring Mussorgsky’s recently deceased friend, the Russian architect and artist Victor Hartmann.

• 10 pieces with descriptive titles• This work is best known in its orchestrated

version by Maurice Ravel (1922)

• Great Gate of Kiev

Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884)

• Bohemian (Czech Republic) composer of opera and symphonic poems, pianist and conductor

• Founder of the Czech national music

• Music steeped in folk songs dances and legends of Bohemia

• The Moldau, 1874• Part of Ma Vlast, a cycle of

symphonic poems