The Periods of Western Musical History. What is “classical music?”

The Periods of

Western Musical History

What is “classical music?”

Periods of Western Musical History1. Antiquity (?B.C.-500A.D)2. Medieval (476 A.D. to 1400 A.D.)3. Renaissance (1400 to 1600 A.D.)4. Baroque (1600 to 1750)5. Classical (1750 to 1820)6. Romantic (1820 to 1900)7. Impressionist (1875 to 1925)8. Modern (1900 to 1960)9. Post-Modern (1960-present)

(a.k.a. Contemporary)

Periods of Western Musical History

Music of Antiquity

Dates: ?B.C.-500A.D

ANTIQUITYDates: ?B.C.-500A.D. Very little is known about the composers

or their music at this time.

One of the few examples is The Epitaph of Seikilos, composer unknown. This song was written on a tombstone with these words: “I am a tombstone, an image. Seikilos placed me here as an everlasting sign of deathless remembrance.”

Listening Examples:Epitath of SeikilosHymn to the Sun Hymn to Zeus

Birth of Athena

The Discus Thrower

Sack of Troy

Venice de Milo

Painting on an ancient vase, Zeus

Periods of Western Musical History

Medieval (476 A.D. to 1400 A.D.)

Well-known instrument of the time:The Pan Flute

Detail from Monks Singing the Office; Olivetan Master and the Maestri del Corali di Lodi, parchment, Italy (c. 1439-1447)

Mary Magdalene, Crimelli, 1420’s-1430’s

Fragment of a Medieval Tapestry, Switzerland

Medieval Musical Examples

Gregorian ChantOrganum ChantLiturgical DramaGoliardMotetTroubadours

Periods of Western Musical HistoryRenaissance (1400 to 1600 A.D.)

French for "rebirth,” the period of music history from around 1400 to the early 1600’s that coincided with a revival of interest in art, architecture, literature, and learning throughout Europe is referred to as Renaissance.

Sistine Chapel ceiling, painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512

Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, 1503–1517

David, Michelangelo,1501–1504

TERMSMain forms of sacred vocal music: Mass and Motet• Mass -sacred musical choral composition that sets invariable

portions of the Eucharistic liturgy  ("Communion Services") principally that of the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism, to music. Most Masses are in Latin, the traditional language of the church.

• Kyrie (Lord Have Mercy, Christ have Mercy…)• Gloria (Glory to God in the highest…)• Credo (I believe in one God, the Father Almighty…)• Sanctus and Benedictus (Holy, Holy, Holy … Blessed is

He who comes… )• Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)

• Motet (Sacred piece of music in several parts with words)

Main form of secular vocal music: Madrigal • Madrigal - Secular song which has been written or arranged

for several vocal parts, many times unaccompanied.

Three of the notable composers:Josquin Des PrezGiovanni Pierluigi da

PalestrinaThomas Morley (Secular)

Well-known instrument of the time:

The Lyre (listen)

Josquin Des Prez

Let’s Listen!Kyrie Eleison

(Lord Have Mercy)

Dates: 1450?-1521

The first master of polyphonic vocal music.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Let’s Listen!

Dates: 1525?-1594

The Italian of the Renaissance

Sicut Cervus (motet, Psalm 42)Gloria (part of Mass)Exaltate Deo (motet)

Thomas Morley

Let’s Listen!

Dates: 1557 or 1558 - 1602

Two English MadrigalsNow is the Month of MayingMy Bonnie Lass She Smileth

Morely was an English composer, theorist, singer and organist of the Renaissance. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Morely was also involved in music publishing, holding a printing patent which at that time was a type of monopoly.

Periods of Western Musical HistoryBaroque (1600 to 1750)

The period called "Baroque" in music history extends roughly from 1600 to 1750. Three of the most important Baroque Composers are J. S. Bach, George Frederick Handel, and Antonio Vivaldi.

Well-Know Instrument of the Time

The Harpsichord Let’s Listen

Johann Sebastian Bach 1685 - 1750

TermWhat's a Concerto?

A concerto is a piece of music in which one or more solo instruments get to shine in front of an orchestra. A concerto can be written for any instrument. A "concerto grosso" is a concerto for two groups of instruments -- a smaller group of soloists alternating with a larger group.

Listening Example Johann Sebastian Bach

Brandenburg Concerto No. 2

Movement 1Performed by: Capella IstropolitanaConductor: Bohdan WarchalCD: Naxos 8.550047Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, Movement 1

George Frederick Handel

1685 - 1759 

Listening Example George Frederick Handel

Water MusicHornpipe

Performed by: Capella IstropolitanaConductor: Bohdan WarchalCD: Naxos 8.550109George Frederick Handel, Water Music, Hornpipe

Messiah, Hallelujah

Antonio Vivaldi1678 -1741

Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice, Italy, which is where he spent most of his life. His father, a barber, baker and violinist, taught him to play the violin, and the two would often perform together. Vivaldi was the oldest of six (some say nine) children. Vivaldi inherited his father's musical talent, and his flaming red hair. Vivaldi became a priest, but he spent most of his life composing and teaching music.

Listening Example

Antonio VivaldiThe Four SeasonsSpringPerformed by: Capella IstropolitanaConductor: Stephen GunzenhauserSolo: Takako Nishizaki, violinCD: Naxos 8.505013The Four Seasons, Spring

Periods of Western Musical History

Classical (1750 to 1820)The term "classical" is often used to describe music that is not rock, pop, jazz or another style. However, there is also a Classical era in music history that includes compositions written from about 1750 to 1820.

Three of the musical masters of the Classical Period are Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Well-Known Instrument of the Time

The Clarinet (Let’s Listen)

Classical Masters

Franz Joseph Haydn Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Ludwig Van Beethoven

Franz Joseph Haydn1732 - 1809 

Franz Joseph Haydn was the most famous composer of his time. He helped develop new musical forms, like the string quartet and the symphony. In fact, even though he didn't invent it, Haydn is known as the "Father of the Symphony." 

TermWhat is a Symphony?

A symphony is an extended elaborate musical composition for an orchestra, usually in 4 sections (movements.)Franz Joseph HaydnSymphony No. 94, "Surprise"Second MovementPerformed by: Camerata CassoviaConductor: Johannes WildnerCD: Naxos 7081

“Surprise” Symphony

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart1756 - 1791

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, where his father Leopold was a violinist and composer. Wolfgang was a child prodigy. He composed his first piece of music at age five; he had his first piece published when he was seven; and he wrote his first opera when he was twelve. By the time Wolfgang was 6, he was an excellent pianist and violinist. He and his sister Maria Anna traveled all over Europe performing for royalty. 

Terms

What’s a Sonata?Sonata (literally “to sound” as opposed to “sun”) is a large scale work for an instrument, usually keyboard, usually with 3 sections (movements:) I. a tune is played and varied II. slow III. fast.

What's a Rondo?Rondo is an Italian word that means round. A rondo is an instrumental form with a refrain that keeps coming back. Unlike the verses of a song, though, the music in a rondo changes between each repetition of the refrain.

Listening Example:

Wolfgang Amadeus MozartPiano Sonata No. 11 in ATurkish RondoSolo: Jeno Jando, pianoCD: Naxos 8.550258

Piano Sonata No. 11, Turkish Rondo

The Marriage of Figaro is comic opera in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered in Vienna in 1786. The Marriage of Figaro is now regarded as a cornerstone of the standard operatic repertoire, and it is on the list of the most-performed operas worldwide.

Listening Examples – synopsis of plot, excerpts from opera.

The Marriage of Figaro

Ludwig Van Beethoven1770 - 1827

Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany. Beethoven is considered one of the greatest musical geniuses who ever lived. He may be most famous for his nine symphonies, but he also wrote many other kinds of music: chamber and choral music, piano music and string quartets, and an opera.

Listening Example

Ludwig van BeethovenSymphony No. 5, First Movement Performed by: Nicolaus Esterházy SinfoniaConductor: Béla DrahosCD: Naxos 8.553476

Fur Elise

Moonlight Sonata

Periods of Western Musical History

Romantic (1820 to 1900)

 Romantic music came into its own at the beginning of the 19th century. Music from this era sounds almost boundless and free from any limitations of form. Much of this music is programmatic—that is, it is meant to describe something, perhaps a scene in nature or a particular feeling.

Romantic

Dates: 1815-1910

Who were the notable composers? Richard Wagner Hector Berlioz Frédéric Chopin Franz Liszt Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Sergei Rachmaninoff

Well-known instrument of the time:The Piano

Richard Wagner, Germany

Let’s Listen!Ride of the Valkyries

Bridal Chorus

Dates: 1813-1883The father of chromaticism

.Chromaticism, or Chromatic

Scale, is a music scale made up of 12 notes, each

a half step apart. For example, on the piano a chromatic scale is played by playing each white and

black key between two notes with the same letter

name.

Hector Berlioz, France

Let’s Listen!La Damnation De Faust (March

)Symphonie

Fantastique, 5th Movement –

Dream Of A Witches Sabbath

Dates: 1803-1869The troubled master of fantasy - far ahead of his time, Berlioz composed “Program Music”. Program music is any piece of instrumental music that is based on a book, story or picture and is trying to tell about it through the music.

Frédéric Chopin, Poland

Dates: 1810 –1849Frédéric Chopin was one of the greatest pianists of his day. Chopin was born in a town just outside of Warsaw, Poland. Let’s Listen!

Polonaise in A Major, Military MarchNocturne Op.9 No.2

Franz Liszt, Hungary

Dates: 1811 - 1886 

While Franz Liszt was a composer, conductor, critic and teacher, he was best known as a pianist.

Let’s Listen!Hungarian Rhapsody, No. 2

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russia

Dates: 1840 - 1893 

Tchaikovsky’s compositions are some of the most popular works in the repertoire of classical music.

Let’s Listen!War of 1812 Overture

Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russia

Dates: 1873 - 1943 

Sergei Rachmaninoff was one of the most important composers in Russia in the early 20th century. He was a wonderful pianist, and some of his most important compositions were written for that instrument.

Let’s Listen!Piano Concerto in C Minor

Periods of Western Musical History

Impressionist (1875 to 1925)

Impressionism is a term transferred from painting to music. Instead of lifelike paintings with hard outlines, Impressionist artists used dots, or shades of color to create the "impression" of a scene on canvas. Musical Impressionists used different chord combinations and scales to try and capture the same kind of mood in their compositions.

Claude Monet, Haystacks, (sunset), 1890–1891

Starry Night, 1889Vincent Van Gogh

Self-Portrait 1889Vincent Van Gogh

Place d'Anvers, Paris, 1880Federico Zandomeneghi

The Dance Lesson, 1879Edgar Degas

Still Life With Pears, ca. 1885Paul Cezanne

The Cliff at Fecamp1, 1881Claude Monet

Bathing WomanPierre-Auguste Renoir 

The Kitchen GardensCamille Pissaro

Claude Debussy, France

Let’s Listen!Clair de Lune

Sunken Cathedral

Dates: 1862-1918As a child, Debussy was

fascinated by visual art, and as he grew up, he

loved the new style called "Impressionism." Instead of

painting realistic, lifelike paintings with hard

outlines, Impressionists used thousands of dots, or many different shades of

color to create the "impression" of what they wanted to depict. Debussy took that idea and applied

it to music, creating Impressionism in music.

Joseph-Maurice Ravel, France

Let’s Listen!Bolero

Mother Goose Suite

1875 - 1937 Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer best known for his piece Bolero (1928), which he considered a trivial piece of music. Bolero was used as the theme music in the 1979 move, 10.

Richard Strauss, Germany

Let’s Listen!Don Juan

1864 - 1949 Richard Strauss was a German composer born in Munich in 1864. He was taught music by his father and composed from the age of six until his death in 1949. Strauss had a fairly comfortable life and experienced a rare burst of creativity in his last decade.

Periods of Western Musical History

Modern (1900 to 1960)

The Modern Era of music evolved

from the late Romantic and

Impressionist periods as a result

of the experimental efforts of such

Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Richard Strauss.

This copy of the first page of the score of Richard Strauss’ famous orchestral tone poem Don Juan,

(1889) distorted by a printer malfunction, is regarded by some as a

kind of modern art.

Like many aspects of modern culture, modern music has evolved in many

different directions.

In general, the most common

element among the various types of

what can be called Modern Music

is the element of experimentation.

Igor Stravinsky

Dates: 1882-1971Igor Stravinsky was born in St.

Petersburg, which was the capital of Russia at the time. His

father was a famous opera singer, so as a kid, Igor got to hang out at the opera house, where he met all the famous

musicians of the day. Igor Stravinsky is considered to be

the most influential composer of the Modern period.

Rite of Spring

Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951, Austria)A Survivor from Warsaw

Paul Hindemith (1895 –1963, Germany) Symphony in Bb

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963, France)Clarinet Sonata

Periods of Western Musical History

Post-Modern (1960-present) (a.k.a. Contemporary)

Post- Modern (Contemporary)

Dates: 1960-present

Two of the notable composers: John Cage Steve Reich

Soup Cans, 1962Andy Warhol

John Cage

Let’s Listen!Sonata X for Prepared Piano

Dates: 1912-1992

John Cage is the pioneer of post-war avant-garde music. Avant-Garde are people or works that are experimental

or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture,

and politics. They are “ahead of their time.”

Steve Reich

Let’s Listen Music for 18 Musicians

Dates: 1936-present

Steve Reich is considered the

master of minimalism.

Minimalism is a style that uses pared-down design

elements.

Other Sounds

oElectronic - any music involving electronic processing; not merely just performed on electric instruments.

o Serialism – or 12 Tone Technique; putting the 12 notes of the scale (7 white notes, 5 black notes) in a particular order and then basing the whole composition on that order.

oAtonality –Music that has no key or tonal center; made up of rhythmic and melodic forces.

Resources

www.slideshare.comwww.classicsforkids.org

www.google.comwww.youtube.comwww.wikipedia.orgwww.brittanica.com