The Classical Period

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The Classical Period

• 1750-1820

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Qualities of Classicism

• Order
• Objectivity
• Proportion
• Emulated the art and architecture of ancient
  Greece and Rome

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Greek architecture
The Greeks developed three architectural systems,
called orders, each with their own distinctive
proportions and detailing. Unityproportion--grac
e
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More . . . On the Classical Period

• Age of strong aristocracies
• Spacious palaces formal gardens
• Balanced proportions and detail
• Louis XV (France)
• Frederick the Great (Prussia)
• Maria Theresa (Austria)
• Catherine the Great (Russia)
• Age of the patronage system

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So . . .

• Music centered around the courts
• Employed musicians to compose, conduct, entertain
• And, because the aristocracies were powerful and
  important, this music found its way to the
  unestablished musical world of the new America

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And more . . .

• French Revolution (1789-99)
• American Revolution (1775-83)
• These changed the political systems and social
  order
• Industrial Revolution (c. 1750)

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Eighteenth-century Classicism,then, mirrored
the unique moment in history when the old world
was dying and the new was in the process of being
born. From the meeting of two historic forces
emerged an art of noble simplicity that
constitutes one of the pinnacles of Western
culture.
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Classicism in Music

• The Viennese School
• Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert
• Composed large-scale works
• Symphony
• Concerto
• Sonata

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Classical Music

• Singable melodies
• Lyrical
• Diatonic harmony (predictable, pleasant)
• Regular rhythms (also predictable)
• Homophonic texture
• Folk elements

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Classical Period Golden Age of Chamber Music

• Music for 2-10 players (with one player per part)
  who play together to create a piece
• Most prominent was the string quartet
• Violin I
• Violin II
• Viola
• Cello
• The best were written by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
• Followed the same format as the symphony

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Haydns String Quartets

• Wrote 68
• The Quinten Quartet
• Fourth Movement Sonata-allegro form
• Hungarian folk tune quality
• Listen to interplay of instruments (Violin I
  dominates throughout)

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart(1756-1791)--Child
prodigy
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Mozart

• Made significant contributions to nearly all
  musical genres
• Symphony
• Sonata (many for piano)
• Concerto
• Chamber music
• Sacred music
• Opera

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Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A Little Night Music) --
1787

• . . . For string quartet with double bass, or
  chamber orchestra
• . . . Listen for homophonic texture
• . . . First theme is disjunct
• . . . Second theme is conjunct (and graceful)

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Eine kleine Nachtmusik

• First movement Sonata Allegro Form
• EXPOSITION
• Theme I (disjunct)
• Theme II (conjunct, lyrical)
• Closing theme
• DEVELOPMENT
• RECAPITULATION
• Theme I (returns)
• Theme II (same theme, home key)
• Closing theme (same theme, also in home key)
• Coda tail (the way for the composer to wrap up
  the piece