Classical Music

1750-1815

Background information

1750-1815 approx.Followed on from the

Baroque era.Famous composers

include Mozart (1756-1791), Haydn (1732-1809), and Beethoven’s (1770-1827) early works.

Key musical features:

Music has simple, ‘singable’ melodies

Music is usually made up of 4-8 bar phrases

Clear, homophonic texture (usually)Dynamics extended to include

crescendo and diminuendoTimpani are often the only

percussion used

Ornaments: an ornament decorates a melody by adding extra notes.Ornaments are often short and add melodic and rhythmic interest.

Trill: rapid and repeated movement between two adjacent notes.

Grace note: A type of ornament played as a quick note before the main note of a melody.

Concepts commonly found in the Classical

EraImitationRepetitionMajor/minor ChromaticSequence

Stepwise / leapingPhraseQuestion/AnswerModulationCadences

Click on each concept to learn its definition.

IMITATION

Where the melody is immediately copied higher or lower in another part.

REPETITION

A musical idea is heard more than once, or repeated several times.

MAJOR AND MINOR SCALES

Major:

Minor:

CHROMATIC

A stepwise series of notes built up entirely of semitones.

This is a chromatic scale beginning on C.

SEQUENCE

A melodic phrase which is immediately repeated at a higher or lower pitch.

STEPWISE OR LEAPING

Stepwise: moving to notes that are ‘next door’ to each other

Leaping: moving to notes that are far away from each other

PHRASE

A short musical idea, part of a melody.

QUESTION AND ANSWER

An opening phrase. Usually followed by an answer.

A reply to a musical question.

MODULATION

Changing key

Sound example:http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqmusic/

national5/concepts/modulation.asp

CADENCESPERFECT: A cadence consists of two

chords at the end of a phrase. A perfect cadence is the dominant to tonic chords (V-I). In the key of C major, chords G-C.

IMPERFECT: A cadence consists of two chords at the end of a phrase. In an imperfect cadence the second chord is the dominant V creating an unfinished effect. In the key of C the second chord of an imperfect cadence would be the chord of G.

1. There was a lighter texture than baroque with melody often above chordal accompaniment.

This means: Instead of composing very complicated contrapuntal pieces, composers began to write tunes with simpler accompaniments.

2. Emphasis on grace and beauty of Melody and FormThis means: Composers wrote beautiful tunes that weren’t interrupted by the accompaniment.

The composers began to compose in strict forms e.g.

•Binary form (AB)

•Ternary Form (ABA)

•Rondo Form

3. Variety and contrast within pieces of music e.g. Key, Mood, Dynamics

This means: The composers experimented with the

different keys available to them.

They wrote music in particular moods e.g. happy and sad.

The composers used a wider range of dynamics than the Baroque composers. They didn’t just use forte and piano; they used all the others in between too.

4. Baroque harpsichord continuo is replaced by the piano

The composers didn’t write a bass line with chords for the continuo anymore.

Most accompanying was done on the piano.

Bass instruments were given their own lines in orchestral music rather than having to improvise over the chords.

5. Alberti Bass accompaniment is often used

This is: a left hand broken chord accompaniment

6. Importance is given to instrumental music

Composers focused more on the sounds instruments could make and the music they could make for them rather than vocal music.

BUT!

They did still compose for voice!

The Baroque orchestra developed into the Classical symphony orchestra with the introduction of more instruments such as:

•Clarinet

•Trombone

•Timpani

•French Horn

Remember… the baroque basso continuo was no longer used after the introduction of

the pianoforte or piano.

Instrumental Forms of the Classical Era

THEME AND VARIATIONS

The theme is a melody, a tune which is the main idea for a composition.

In theme and variations, the theme may form a whole section of the composition.

The variations occur when the main theme or tune is altered perhaps by adding extra notes, changing from major to minor or vice versa, changing harmony, rhythm, time signature, or when the theme is played in the bass, etc.

RONDO

A B A C A. A form where the first section (A) comes back between contrasting sections.

ROUND/CANONEach part sings or plays the same

melody, entering one after the other. When they reach the end they start again, e.g. 'Three blind mice'.

The classical symphony was derived from

different forms from the Baroque era.

It normally has 4 movements.

It is a work for the whole orchestra.

1st movement- usually fairly fast and in sonata form

2nd movement – at a slower speed – usually in ternary or variation form3rd movement – either a minuet and trio or scherzo

4th movement – the finale, usually fast and often in rondo or sonata form

Coda - A passage at the end of a piece of music which rounds it off effectively.http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/nqmusic/national5/concepts/coda.asp

•Featuring a solo instrument and orchestra.

•It has three movements (fairly fast, slow, fast).

•Concludes with a cadenza where the player demonstrates their virtuosic playing ability.

Mozart – Oboe Concerto in C Major

I: Allegro II: Adagio non troppo III: Rondo: Allegretto

CADENZAA passage of music which

allows soloists to display their technical ability in singing or playing an instrument.

Performers used to improvise cadenzas themselves but eventually composers began to write them into the score.

The newly invented piano had more powers of expression than the harpsichord which offered exciting possibilities.

As well as the dynamic possibilities, the piano was able to able to shape a melody in the right hand and accompany the melody quietly in the left.

A favourite accompaniment style was alberti bass which consisted of broken chords repeated in the left hand keeping the music moving and outlining the harmonies.

OperaDuring the classical period opera was a form of entertainment.

There were lots of composers of opera in the classical period but the main ones were:

W.A. Mozart

Joseph Haydn

Giovanni Paisiello

Domenico Cimarosa

Antonio Salieri

Christoph Willibald Gluck

What is an Opera?An opera is a play (or drama) set to music, and then acted and sung by singers accompanied by an orchestraAn opera is performed on stage, with scenery and costumes, lighting and stage effects. The story might be funny or serious or sometimes a mixture of both. Operas written in the classical period are normally written in French, Italian or German.

The word of an opera are called a libretto. In some operas every word is sung while in others the musical items are linked together by spoken conversations between the characters.

How are the voices used in Opera?

Before starting to write the music of an opera the composer gets to know the libretto (story) well.

The composer then decides what type of voice would be best for each part.

The composer then begins to write the music – which must match the story, and fit the words.

Syllabic and Melismatic

SYLLABIC: Vocal music where each syllable is given one note only.

MELISMATIC: Several notes sung to one syllable.

Aria

A song in an opera, oratorio or cantata with orchestral accompaniment.

Chorus

Group of singers performing together.