The World of Music7th edition

Part 4

Listening to Western Classical Music

Chapter 12: Music of the Romantic Period

(Nineteenth Century)

Attributes of the Romantic Period

• Revolution(s) – (French Revolution = 1789-1799)– Latin American separations = 1810+)

• Capitalism– Because of the end of the

Aristocracies• Emotion

– Especially in Art + Music• Imagination• A Desire to be Different• Nationalism

– Individual national sovereignty and the distinctions between countries and their art & music

Changes in Musical Life

• Patronage System in Decline– Accelerated due the rise of capitalism– Composers must promote themselves and their music– Creates need for:

• Concert Managers (a.k.a. Impresarios)• Music Publishers• Music Critics

• Virtuosi (plural of Virtuoso) become Celebrities– Most Music is too difficult for Amateurs– Creates need for Teachers

• Virtuoso = A person who excels in their chosen art and musical form. They can be performers, conductors, or composers.

Absolute and Program Music

• Absolute– Classical in form

• Retains Classical formats but experimented with different sounds and combinations of instruments

– Music for its own Sake– No Intended Imagery– Characteristic of:

• Sonata• Symphony• Concerto

• Program– Composers went to greater

lengths than in the Classical period to express these feelings, etc. without words.

– Depicts: • Moods• Images• Stories• Characters

– Reflects Interest in Poetry and Unity in words and music

– Became the prevailing/favored style

Nationalistic Music

• Is definable by national, regional, or geographic characteristics– Uses Folk music melodies– Used in Folk/Cultural traditions– Parodies of Historical events, tales, or legends of a Nation– Patriotic themes and glorification of a nation and its people

• Emerged as a reaction to the dominance of German Romanticism in Europe – typically Eastern European in location

• Major Composers include:– Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Russian)– Antonin Dvorak (Czechoslovakia – Currently the Czech Republic

and Slovakia (1993))– Bedrich Smetana (Czech as well)

Characteristics of Romantic Music

• Mostly Programmatic– But composers also wrote Absolute music

• Lyrical, Singable Melodies– Along with Folk melodies or melodies that sounded Folk-like

• Mainly Homophonic• An increase in Chromaticism and Dissonance

– This increased musical tension and thus the perceived emotion in the music

• Emotional– Strong contrasts– Unexpected chords and chordal progressions– Long buildups of emotions and their release of tensions

Characteristics of Romantic Music Continued

• Complex Rhythms– Syncopated– Polyrhythms– Less regular – More complex– Varied Tempos (Tempi) and varied the tempo in the music

• Rubato, Accelerando, Ritardando• Bigger and varied Orchestras

– Due to the Industrial Revolution• Tuba• Wagner Tuba / Euphonium• Adolph Sax and the Saxophone• Bass Clarinet• Contra-bassoon• Percussion beyond the Crash Cymbal, Tympani, Glockenspiel, Snare and

Bass Drums of the Classical period

Forms of the Romantic Period• Sonata Form common, but less strict and often expanded in length, and

developmentation (sp?)– Vague cadences to promote forward motion and continuation

• Symphonic Poem– One movement (Typically with contrasting moods/sections)– Programmatic

• Stage Forms– Overture (used to precede a Ballet or Opera)– Prelude (preceded another work, but was expended in the Romantic Period into

a stand alone work) – Suite (Individual sections plucked from an Opera or Ballet and combined and

then combined into one work)– Incidental Music (typically music from Opera or Ballet, but instead of the actual

songs/features, these are the in between music and then combined into one work)

• Many Different Chamber Groups other than the String Quartet and Piano Trios

– Mainly the WW Quintet (Fl, Ob, Cl, Hn, and Bsn) and String sextet (typically 2 violins, 2 violas, and 2 Celli (Cello plural))

Opera in the Romantic Period• Grand Opera

– Large Number of singers– Elaborate Scenery and Stage craft– Serious and Complex plots– Visual Diversions including Ballet

• Comic Opera (Opera Comique) and Operettas– Smaller– Lighter – Less Complex– Often Satirical of common situations– Spoken dialoque

• Vocal Parts – Chorus = Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass (Can be in multiple parts e.g. Soprano 1 and 2, Alto 1 & 2, etc)– Soloists

• Women: Coloratura, Lyric, or Dramatic Sopranos and Contraltos• Men: Dramatic, or Lyric Tenors, Baritones, and Basso Profundos (Castrati are no longer appropriate)

• Composers– Verdi (Italian)– Wagner (German)– Rossini (Italian)– Puccini (Italian)– Richard Strauss (German)

• Romantic Operas Still Performed Today throughout the world on professional, collegiate, and semi-professional / amatuer stages.

Ballet

• Originally Part of Opera

• Features Dancing– Solo– Ensemble

• Famous Tchaikovsky Ballets– Sleeping Beauty– Swan Lake– The Nutcracker

Keyboard Music

• New Miniature Forms– Character Pieces– Solo (Voice) Song with

Piano

• Expressive• Lyrical and Dramatic• Technically

Demanding

• Chopin Miniature Forms– Impromptu– Nocturne– Mazurka– Polonaise– Prelude– Waltz– Étude

Songs

• Solo Voice with Piano– All categories of Voice (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass)

• Usually Short• Big and Best Composer = Franz Schubert

– Wrote over 600 Songs (Lied “Leed” singular or Lieder “Leeder” plural)

– Frequently used words of German Poets (ex. Goethe)

• Highly Expressive• Often Strophic (Same Music, Different Verses)

– But can be symbolic of the mood portrayed and the music can change

• All languages, not just Italian or German

Female Composers of the day

• Clara Schumann– Married Robert Schumann– Pianist, Composer, Teacher– Mostly Songs, and Piano music, but also

Choral, chamber music and 1 Piano Concerto

• Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel– Felix’s Sister– Pianist, Composer– Mostly Songs and Piano works

Johannes Brahms (1833 – 1897)

• German, moved to Austria• Traditionalist in contrast to musical

revolutionaries like Wagner and the German School

• Traits of his Music– Passionate– Introspective– Rich/Dark– Lyrical– Complex Rhythms– Intricate Polyphony– Mostly Absolute

• Output– 4 Symphonies– 1 Violin Concerto– 2 Piano Concertos– Chamber Music– Sonatas

• Piano• Cello• Violin• Clarinet

– German Requiem (Ein deutsches Requiem )

• Titled for the language used instead of the intended audience at the time

• The work emphasizes comforting the living, beginning with the text "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." A comparable sacred, humanist worldview persists through the work. A notable omission of Christian dogmas is often a critical remark

Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)

• Polish born and educated• Professional life in Paris

(France)• Pianist

– Preferred smaller audiences of the Aristocracy and monetarily gifted folks

• Unique Compositional Style– Elaborate Decorative

Melodies– Colorful, Dissonant

Harmonies– Extreme Rubato

• Output– Many Miniatures

• Impromptu• Nocturne• Mazurka• Polonaise• Prelude• Waltz• Étude

– 3 Piano Sonatas– 2 Piano Concertos

Felix Mendelssohn (1809 – 1847)

• German• Wealthy Family

– Silver Spoon – Had his own Orchestra to perform his works as they are composed

• Widely Traveled• Traditional, Classical

Style - In form and structure

• Romantic in Emotional Expression in melodic material

• Well-Known Pieces– “Scotch” Symphony– “Italian” Symphony– Elijah Oratorio– Violin Concerto in E Minor– Hebrides Overture– Midsummer Night’s Dream

Incidental Music

Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828)• Prolific Song Composer

– 143 works before his 19th birthday, wrote 179 works the next year

• Struggled with poverty and illness– Had no major, continuous patron

or teaching/performing position/job• Style

– Great variety– Lyrical melodies– Colorful harmonies– Great sensitivity to poetic texts

• Another child prodigy that died early in life. What if…

• Output– 600 + Lieder

• Wide range of feelings– The Erlking– Who is Sylvia

– 2 Song Cycles• A song cycle is a set of songs

with a unifying factor or theme– 9 Symphonies

• Another example of the curse of #9

– 22 Piano Sonatas– Piano Miniatures– Chamber Pieces

• Trout piano quintet– Choral Works

• Mass in G (Major)

Pyotr I’yich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)aka Peter Ilyich Tchaikowski

• Russian Nationalist– Used his position at the St.

Petersburg Conservatory to study the Western Style to apply to Russian Musical concepts and Melodic material

• Influences– Russian Folk Songs– Italian Opera– French Ballet– German Symphonies/Songs

• Style– Tuneful– Accessible– Emotional

• Output– 6 Symphonies– Concertos

• Violin• Piano

– Ballets (choreographed by others than Tchaikovsky)

• Swan Lake• Sleeping Beauty• The Nutcracker• Suites from the above

Ballets are popular Concert music today

Guiseppe Verdi (1813 – 1901)• Italian• Steady Job AND a wealthy

Patron of his work (unusual for the time)

• Known for Opera– Unhappy– Tragic Endings– Use Heroes and Villians to

portray the plot and characters– Full of conflict and tension

• Invited to open Carnegie Hall in 1891

• Style– Conventional Harmonies– Predictable Rhythms– Superb Melodies– Theatrical

– Representative Works other than Opera

• Choral– Te Deum– Requiem

Verdi continued…• Representative Operatic Works

– Rigoletto• In the 1550s, Mantua, the Duke, a celebrated ladies man, seduces Gilda, the beautiful daughter of his

sharp-tongued jester, Rigoletto. Vowing revenge, her furious father hires Sparafucile, a notorious assassin, to avenge his family’s honor - a decision that ends in tragedy.

– La Traviata• A story of doomed love in 1840s Paris. Violetta, who is the mistress of a wealthy baron, hosts a lavish

party to celebrate her improved health after a bout with tuberculosis. There she meets Alfredo and becomes smitten with him as he, she, and the guests join in the famous "Drinking Song." Violetta leaves the baron, and she and Alfredo move into a secluded country villa together, where they live happily for a while. But unknown to Alfredo, his father convinces Violetta that continuing her relationship with Alfredo will prevent Alfredo's sister from making a good marriage. With great sadness, Violetta decides that she must not only break permanently with Alfredo, she must keep him at a distance by returning to the baron. Misunderstanding her motives, Alfredo goes into a jealous rage that leads to tragic consequences

– Aida• Aida, an Ethiopian princess, is captured and brought into slavery in Egypt. A military commander,

Radames, struggles to choose between his love for her and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, Radames is loved by the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris, although he does not return her feelings.

– La Forza del Destino• An opera that can leave even diehard Verdi lovers shaking their heads. Its story can be as

confounding as the music is compelling, with a plot in which a single, unfortunate happenstance drives characters to lifetimes of incomprehensible behavior. There's one character who travels the world, braving war and desolation, in an obsessive quest to murder his own sister.

*The above program synopsis’s are not mine, but borrowed from many sources

Richard Wagner (1813 – 1883)• German• Self taught• Revolutionary

– Had to flee Germany because of his participation and support of the uprising and subsequent events

• His Music Drama (Operas) had equal portions of:

– Music– Drama– Poetry– Stagecraft

• Bayreuth was created just for Wagner’s opera’s

– His work is uses Dissonances, Chromaticism, vague cadences, and unresolved tensions

– Powerful Brass writing (Ride of the Valkyries – Elmer Fudd’s “Kill da Wabbit”)

• Style– Symphonic– Strong Brass– Leitmotiv– Colorful– Wrote own Libretti

• Music Dramas– The Ring of the Nibelung

• Took 20 years to complete and is designed to be performed over 4 consecutive evenings

– Das Rhinegold– Die Walkure

» Kill da Wabbit!– Siegfried– Gotterdammerung

» Swimming Rhinemaidens

– Tristan and Isolde• Recenty (2006) a non-operatic movie

Other Romantic Composers• Hector Berlioz

– France• Symphony Fantastique (Programatic)

• Antonin Dvor˘ák– Czechoslovakia

• Edvard Grieg– Norway

• Franz Liszt– Hungary

• Pianist

• Gustav Mahler– Austria

• Symphony of 1000 (No. 8)– 850 Choir + 171 Inst.

• Another curse of the 9th (omitted)

• Giacomo Puccini– Italy– Opera

• Sergei Rachmaninoff– Russian, emigrated to US due to Russian

Revolution– Pianist and wrote for the Piano as a Soloist

with Orchestra or as a Solo/Chamber work– Big Hands person

• Nicolay Rimsky-Korsakov– Russian– Part of the “Mighty Five” – Nationalistic writing

• Gioachino Rossini– Italian– Opera (Serious and Comic – Barber of Seville

(Bugs) and William Tell (Lone Ranger theme))• Robert Schumann

– German– Mostly piano

• Bedrˇich Smetana– Czechoslovakia

• Folk / Nationalistic flavors

• Richard Strauss– German

• Operas and Tone Poems (Also Sprach Zarathustra - 2001-Space Odyssey)

– Not related to the Austrian Composer of Waltzes, Johann Strauss

– Was R. Strauss a Nazi?? (1864–1949)