The Musical Expedition

8/6/2019 The Musical Expedition

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The Musical Expedition: The Baroque,

Classical, and Romantic Eras

Jonathan Huang4th period orchestra

Dallas Symphony Orchestra ± February 25, 2010



The Calling of Saint Matthew by CaravaggioCunningham, Lawrence. Culture & Values: A Survey of the Humanities. Belmont:

Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. p. 375

Classical Era

Shortly After the Marriage by William HogarthCunningham, Lawrence. Culture & Values: A Survey of the Humanities. Belmont:

Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. p. 424

Romantic Era

Baroque Era

The Family of Charles IV by Francisco GoyaCunningham, Lawrence. Culture & Values: A Survey of the Humanities.

Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. p. 460

ART



grade because it was that piece, but it also reminded me of Finlandia

because of the suspense and many emotions that are expressed. The

tremolos in Finlandia were like the calm and soft sections of this

piece, and the beginning was very loud and adventurous. This piece

really wanted me to move because not only could I hear the energy,

but I could feel the energy through the orchestra¶s movement. If I

was deaf, I could even imagine the changes in dynamics because of

the movement of the orchestra.

After the concert, I looked around and saw everyone awe-

inspired with their jaws down. This piece was definitely the musical

work of the century. With such an incredible performance, it was

difficult getting out of the Theatre because of the mass amount of

people just commenting on the greatness of the piece. When I finally

got to the time machine, I looked at the time and it read: 11:08 PM. I

was dismayed because it was so late, and I couldn¶t get the ten hours

of sleep I usually get, but I was still content with the amazing

performance. While all the little kids were running around outside, I

was able to experience the musical works of the great musical eras.



It was a beautiful day outside: sunny and warm with a slight breeze

in the air, but I was inside. I was always inside working on

something whether it was as simple as a new computer program or as

complicated as a time machine. And on that fine Tuesday afternoon,

I was working on the time machine alone in my room. All the other

kids were playing outside, but what¶s the use? Making a time

machine would at least contribute something for the human

advancement while playing outside would only provide a little

enjoyment if any. Nevertheless, I spent my time working, working

on something bigger than NASA¶s ever done. It was great, more than

great, and I was almost finished. No wonder it was a fine day

because on that day, I finally finished my 6-year project.

At exactly 8:24 PM, I finished The Time Machine. It was

beautiful, more than beautiful. After spending ten minutes staring at

it, I had a problem. What should I do with it? Where should I go

first? I spent an hour thinking, just thinking of where I should go. To

1907 when Albert Einstein published his Theory of Relativity? To

the Bubonic Plague? To when Alexander the Great ruled almost all



added a new texture that was really enjoyable. The third movement

wasn¶t all that great, but the crescendos were apparent, and the

repeated lines by the cellos were tuneful. The flute¶s, lyrical lines

really compounded the cellos and the strings which brought a nice

balance to the orchestra, especially with the large orchestra that was

common. This movement didn¶t have as much mood which made it

seem like Beethoven broke away from the Classical mechanics for

that movement. The fourth movement really ended this whole

symphony well, especially since I played this piece before. Like the

first movement, the beginning started with a bang. The spicatto (15)

added texture and the brass really set the tone for the suspense and

foreshadowing. Again, there was not as much rhythmic change, but

there were some syncopations. The fourth movement was mostly

played moderately fast, maybe an allegretto. The mood swings were

quite apparent, and the melody popped up time and time again. Many

of the characteristics followed other Classical Era pieces, especially

since the pieces were mostly homophonic. This piece not only

reminded me of ³Symphony No. 5 Mvmt. 4´ that I played in eighth

for the Classical Era, and the conductor finally looked normal,

standing on the podium with a baton.

Right before the concert started, the audience became silent,

and the suspense built. The first four notes told my all I needed to.

This piece was the bomb. It started with a bang, but then it suddenly

got soft, and then loud, and then soft. The mood was ever-changing.

The brass came in, but then the flutes and clarinets played a very

lyrical passage that introduced the legato-styled violins. There were

many sudden changes, and the music was very suspenseful. The

crescendos were really full, and the brass sounded like they were part

of nobility. There were many syncopations and rhythmic differences

in the piece. The melodies really stood out and stuck to my mind.

The wide emotional range was pleasant to the ear. The best part was

that this was only the first movement. Although the other movements

weren¶t as epic, they were fantastic. The second movement was very

graceful with the flutes in parallel with the violins. The brass

sounded, again, very noble, and although this movement was very

calm, it still had a sense of disturbance in the air. The pizzicato



of Eurasia? But in the end, I decided to travel to the Baroque era

when the performance of ³Concerto No. 1 in A minor for Violin and

String Orchestra´ was about to start. Don¶t ask me why out of all the

places I could be, I chose here. I just needed some peace and quiet

after my success of creating the first time machine.

I always had a thing for music, but I have to admit, Bach let

me down. I expected a beautiful piece with its use of emotion and

ornamentation, but I just didn¶t feel it. There was just so much to

listen to. Sure, it had a distinct violin melody with a rhythmic

harmony in the cellos, but everything was just so loud or so soft. I

know in the Baroque era, there isn¶t that much dynamic contrast, but

in this piece, I felt like there was absolutely no contrast that made me

feel dead. Lots of the things were Baroque like the apparent rhythm

along with its consistency and its lack of dynamics. However,

although the emotion didn¶t touch me like Romantic music does, I

could definitely sense the individual emotions from the musical

patterns set by the doctrine of affections (1). The notes were very

legato yet I was able to hear some very stressed or marcato (2) notes.

To me, the second movement felt really seasick. The harmony would

always butt in, and the solo (3) part always fought back even though

it was only one player. Worst of all, it happened again and again and

again. The dynamics were the same each time, and I even wondered

if Bach just wrote ³simile (4)´ and drew in a repeat sign at least ten

times. Again, the emotion was definitely there, but only with the

solo. It seemed like she was longing for something, but her parents,

or the harmony, would never give it to her. The orchestra was big

too. I mean the orchestra is supposed to be pretty small, like an

ensemble (5), but here, the orchestra was huge with more than

twenty violins and ten violas already. The third movement was a

little better with some parallel action going on between the cellos and

violins. The basso continuo (6) or thoroughbass was easily heard as

it ran continuously throughout the piece. I was able to hear some

more ornamentation with the trills and detached notes singing in the

background, but the dynamic contrast still lacked, probably because

it was a characteristic of the Baroque era, and it seemed as if Bach

followed the characteristics pretty well. It¶s comparable to Russlan



I was thinking to myself: ³It must be one of his symphonies, but

which one? How many symphonies did he even have?´ But then it

hit me. ³Four notes, very catchy ± it must¶ve been µBeethoven¶s

Symphony No. 5¶! Of course,´ I thought. I quickly ran to the time

machine and pressed the year 1808 in Vienna. The adrenaline was

rushing through my veins. I could hear the classic piece being played

for the first time. I know I didn¶t want to hear another piece of music

played again, but this was epic. It was even in the Classical Era,

meaning that I could tell my orchestra teacher that I witnessed

arguably three of the best eras for music.

Finally, I arrived. The atmosphere was full of anticipation

for greatness. Everyone was told that this would be the piece of the

century, and only I knew it actually was going to be. I walked into

the Vienna Theatre and rushed to get one of the closest seats. I

noticed that a lot of people were staring at me, wondering the

abnormal clothing I wore, but I didn¶t mind them because the piece

was about to start. I became excited. The orchestra was large, typical

though this Serenade was much calmer. The moving lines were both

characteristics of the pieces, but the lines were much more legato in

the Serenade. Supposedly, there were supposed to be many changes

in time signatures, but I couldn¶t really hear it. Maybe Dvorak

separated from the Romantic characteristics in that way. Naturally, I

liked this piece because it was a Romantic-styled piece, but the great

changes in dynamics really inspired me to exaggerate my dynamics

when I¶m playing in an orchestra. Fortunately, the audience was

impressed too so I could listen to the piece without too many

irritations like I¶ve experienced before.

Looking back, I was quite content that Zorro pushed me into

the time machine, thus, making me listen to this wonderful piece.

However, I already watched two musical performances, and that was

all I could handle in one day. But then, I suddenly remembered the

epic piece I played in eighth grade. It had something to do with

Beethoven, but I couldn¶t quite clearly remember. I could remember

the teacher saying, ³It was a remarkable piece with its four note

motif,´ but I still couldn¶t quite grasp the name.



and Ludmilla by M. J. Glinka because mostly everything is loud with

a long and easily recognizable melody line. Although Glinka was

alive during the Classical era, some of the characteristics in Russlan

and Ludmilla seemed to have been reflected off from the Baroque

era. After listening to this performance with a massive audience, I

realized that instead of just playing your part, you need to listen to

other sections. Like this orchestra, if you don¶t listen and pay

attention to your other sections, nothing will blend, and people like

me will be left with this bad impression of Bach and the conductor.

Although the performance didn¶t really impress me, I was interested

in the art, and I even took some pictures to show for it. With this

depressing concert, I sulked my way back to my incredible time

machine and thought of going to Sparta. Unfortunately, as I was

about to step inside the machine, a masked man whose name was

presumably Zorro from all the people calling him that, knocked me

aside and my hand accidentally pushed the lever to the date 1875

when Dvorak debuted his ³Serenade in E major for String Orchestra,

Op. 22´.

Many of you might be thinking, ³Why are you so upset if you could

just go back and change the date?´ But the thing is, it¶s not as simple

as that. Once you go to a specific date, you can¶t go back until you

finish what you came there for.

Anyways, after watching the concert, I have to admit,

Dvorak is a beast. The beginning of the first movement was very

catchy with some parallel structures between the cellos and violins. I

enjoyed the long lyrical lines that were common in Romantic music,

and the graceful or cantabile (7) style of music really brightened the

piece. Furthermore, I really liked the dynamic contrasts of the piece.

With all the crescendos and decrescendos, the piece was really

emotional and touching. Similar to many other Romantic pieces, the

long lyrical lines were obviously present. Throughout the piece, it

seemed like there were many tempo changes or accelerandos.

However, the theme always reverted back to the beginning melody

so I imagined that Dvorak must have written in many ³a tempos (8)´

because it seemed like the piece slowed down a lot. Being for a

string orchestra (9), the orchestra didn¶t include a piano which was



often used in the Romantic era. At the end, the harmonic (10) was

very touching because of the lightness of the note. In the second

movement, there were many tempo (11) changes. Overall, all the

movements had many passages that sounded sweet or dolce (12).

During the performance, I was very laid back and impressed with the

orchestra. The size was perfect. This large group had the talent and

size to be able to perform this piece, especially since Romantic

music was meant more for larger orchestras and string sections.

Personally, the long lyrical lines impacted me the most. With the

deep emotions expressed by the violins and cellos, I could just feel

the passion the orchestra. I could tell that not only was I impressed,

but everyone around me was too. Whether they were listening

intently, or laid back, I could tell that the passionate crescendos and

decrescendos really resounded in their hearts. Practically the whole

piece was arco (13), but I would have thought it would have been

nice to throw in some more pizzicato (14) when the decrescendos

slowed down the piece and made it more tranquil. It somehow

reminded of Ballo Tedesco with its many dynamic contrasts even

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