Romantic Era

1820-1900

Characteristics of Romantic Music

Individuality of style1. Self-expression important 2. People can distinguish composers

easily

Expressive aims and subjects3. Love glorified 4. Fascination with fantastic and

diabolical 5. Nature important influence

Characteristics of Romantic Music – Cont’d

Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century music

Nationalism and exoticism1. Nationalism: music created with

specific national identity 2. Used folk songs, dances, legends,

history of homeland 3. Exoticism: use of colorful materials

from foreign countries 4. Carmen, Madame Jeffery Li 5. Remote, picturesque, mysterious

Characteristics of Romantic Music – Cont’d

Program music1. Instrumental music associated

with story, poem, idea 2. Accompanied with an explanation

in a program 3. “Union of the arts”

Characteristics of Romantic Music – Cont’d

Expressive tone color1. Timbre really important 2. Orchestra could have 100 musicians 3. Brass, woodwind, percussion had more active

role 4. Mahler used 25 brass instruments in 2nd

symphony 5. Contrabassoon, bass clarinet, English horn,

piccolo added to woodwind section 6. New sounds drawn from old instruments • Low-range flutes • Pizzicato

7. Piano made better, so better tone; damper pedal added

Characteristics of Romantic Music – Cont’d

Colorful harmony1. New chords 2. Chromatic harmony 3. Dissonance more acceptable 4. Wide variety of keys, rapid

modulation 5. Tonic less clear

Characteristics of Romantic Music – Cont’d

Expanded range of dynamics, pitch, and tempo

1. ffff, pppp used 2. Frequent crescendos and

decrescendos 3. Range of pitch expanded with

piccolo, contrabassoon 4. Accelerando, ritardando, rubato  

Characteristics of Romantic Music – Cont’d

Form: miniature and monumental

1. Short piano pieces for the home by Schubert and Chopin

2. Several-hour Berlioz and Wagner pieces 3. Symphonies, sonatas, string quartets,

concertos, operas, choral works still produced 4. individual movements longer than in classical 5. Themes quoted in different movements to

unify 6. “Thematic transformation” 7. Transitional passages between movements

Classical (1750-1825) Romantic (1820-1900)Composers Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert Beethoven, Schubert, Mendelssohn,

Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Berlioz, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Wagner

Melody Symmetrical melody in balanced phrases and cadencesDiatonicNarrow leaps

Expansive, singing melodies; wide ranging; more varied, with chromatic inflections

Rhythm Clear rhythmically, with regularly recurring accentsDance rhythms favored

Rhythmic diversity and elasticityRubato

Harmony Diatonic harmonyTonic-dominant relationships

Increasing chromaticismExpanded concepts of tonality

Texture Homophonic textures Homophony, turning to increased polyphony in later years of era

Instrumental Genres Symphony, solo concerto, solo sonata, string quartet

SameAdding one-movement symphonic poem, solo piano works

Vocal Genres Opera, Mass, solo song SameAdding works for solo voice and piano/orchestra

Form Ternary form predominantSonata-allegro formAbsolute forms preferred

Expansion of formsContinuous formsProgrammatic forms

Audience Secular music predominantAristocratic audience

Secular music predominantMiddle-class audience

Dynamics Continuously changing dynamicsCrescendo and decrescendo

Widely ranging dynamics

Timbre Changing tone colors between sections of works

Continual change and blend of tone colorsExperiments with new instruments and unusual ranges

Performing Forces String orchestra with woodwinds and brass 30-40 member orchestraRise of piano to prominence

Introductions of new instruments (tuba, valved brass, harp, piccolo)Much larger orchestrasPiano predominant as solo instrument

Virtuosity Improvisation largely limited to cadenzas in concertos

Increased virtuosityComposers specified more in scores

Expression Emotional restraint and balance Emotions, mood emphasizedInterest in the bizarre and macabre

A Comparison of Classical and Romantic Styles

The Art SongThe Lied (Lieder = plural) is a German-texted solo vocal song with piano accompaniment.

Influenced by Romantic lyric poetry

Song CycleGroups of Lieder that were unified by a narrative thread or theme.

Strophic formThe same melody is repeated with every stanza

Through-composed formProceeds from beginning to end without repetitions of whole sections – the music follows the story line.

Modified strophic formThe same melody may be repeated for two or three stanzas, with new material introduce when the poem requires it

Schubert’s The Trout

LiedFisherman tries to catch a

trout from a stream

Me Me Ha Me Fo Sty

CoSchubert’s Trout Quintet

4th Movement

Franz SchubertErlking: Through-composed Lied

Robert Schumann“In the lovely month of May” from A Poet’s Love (Dichterliebe), No. 1: a Lied from a song cycle

The Piano –and the modern piano style

Frederic ChopinHis entire creative life revolved around the piano.His style was his own

Tempo rubato – borrowed time

Polonaise in A major, Op. 40, No. 1 (Military)Prelude in E minor, Op. 28, No. 4

Franz Liszt

Symphonic poem – a one movement orchestral work with a literary or pictorial program.

Thematic transformation - Based his music on the technique of thematic transformation by varying the melodic outline, harmony or rhythm of a theme.

The Little Bell (La campanella)

Clara Wieck Schumann

a German musician, one of the leading pianists of the Romantic era, as well as a composer, and wife of composer Robert Schumann.

Nocturne, from Music for an Evening Entertainment (Soirees musicales), Op. 6

Romantic Program Music

Program Music – instrumental music with a literary or pictorial association supplied by the composer

4 Types• concert overture • incidental music (to a play)• program symphony (a multi-movement work)• symphonic poem/tone poem (a one-movement work)

Absolute Music – musical patterns that have no literary or pictorial meanings

Berlioz and the Program Symphony

Symphonie fantastiqueProgram symphony – 5 movementsA lovesick musician in an opium trance is haunted by a vision of his beloved, which becomes an idée fixe.

The symphony’s recurrent theme, called an idée fixe (fixed idea), symbolizes the beloved.

Symphonie fantastique

I. Reveries, Passions – The musician remembers the yearning he knew before meeting his beloved. Then the volcanic love with which she inspired him.

II. A Ball – At a ball he glimpses the loved one again.

III. Scene in the Fields – In the country he hears two shepherds piping. She appears again.

IV. March to the Scaffold – He dreams he has killed his beloved, that he has been condemned to die and is being led to the scaffold

V. Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath – He is surrounded by spirits who have gathered for his funeral. She comes to the funeral.

Symphonie fantastique

4th movement – March to the ScaffoldAllegrettoDuple meterMinor Two themes0:00 – opening motive (rhythm of theme B)0:24 – theme A, downward minor scale1:31 – theme B – march tune1:56 – development

theme B in brasstheme A soft with pizz stringstheme B brasstheme A pizz strings, then brass

3:02 – Theme A full orch, then inverted4:05 – Idée fixe in clarinet (a last thought of love) followed by a loud chord (the fall of the blade)

Symphonie fantastique

5th movement – Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath0:00 – Larghetto, chromatic scales in strings1:27 – Allegro, fixed idea in clarinet w/ trills and grace notes1:35 – Orchestra fortissimo = howls of joy at beloved’s arrival1:46 – fixed idea continues in woodwinds2:53 – Bells toll for the dead3:19 – Chant tune Dies irae in bassoons and tubas, then twice as fast in brass3:49 – Altered Dies irae in strings5:08 – “Dance of the Witches” (Rounde du Sabbat”) beings in low strings, fugal setting7:56 – “The dance and the Dies irae combined”

Musical Nationalism

Political conditions encouraged nationalism The pride of the conquering nations

The struggle of the conquered nations.

In music, nationalism took many forms: Use of folklore Works written to celebrate heroes

Works written to celebrate events

Works written about places

A Czech Nationalist: Bedrich Smetana

(Czech Republic was called Bohemia)

The MoldauSymphonic poem, from cycle My CountryAllegroProgram: Scenes along the river Moldau in Bohemia

Other Nationalists

Czech – Dvorak, SmetanaEngland – Elgar, Ralph Vaughan WilliamsScandinavia – Grieg, SibeliusRussia – Borodin, Musorgsky, Korsakov, TchaikovskySpain – Albeniz, de Falla

The Romantic Symphony

• Took on new proportions• Number of movements and tempo scheme not religiously followed.• Beethoven Pastoral Symphony = 5 mvmts• Tchaikovsky Pathetique Symphony ended with slow mvmt.

A Typical Romantic SymphonyMovement Form Tempo

1st Mvmt Sonata-allegro form - home key slow intro (optional) Exposition - theme 1 (home key) rhythmic character - theme 2 (contrasting key) lyrical character - closing theme (still contrasting key)

Development (free modulation) more expansive

Recapitulation - theme 1 (home key) - theme 2 (home key) - closing theme (home key)

Allegro

2nd Mvmt Sonata-allegro form, orA-B-A form, orTheme and Variations (different key)

Slow, lyrical, varied moods

3rd Mvmt Scherzo and trio, A-B-A (home key) Scherzo, 2 sections Trio, 2 sections Scherzo returns

Triple meterFast pace

4th Mvmt Sonata-allegro form, rondo form, or something else (home key) Allegro or presto; shorter & lighter than 1st mvmt

Johannes BrahmsA traditionalistWrote romantic themes in the tradition of the Classical masters.Symphony #3 – romantic in tone with Classical form3rd Movement• form?• major or minor?• meter?• 0:00 which instr. has melody?• 0:27 which inst. has melody?• 0:52 what happens here?• 1:27 what happens here?• When does B section start?• When does A section return (A prime)

Johannes BrahmsSymphony #3 – romantic in tone with Classical form3rd Movement• form: Waltz in A-B-A form• minor (middle switches to major)• triple• 0:00 cello has melody• 0:27 violins have melody• 0:52 2nd theme played by violins• 1:27 return of opening theme in flutes and oboes• B section starts at 1:57• 3:46 A section returns (A prime)

Antonin Dvorak• Nationalist themes from Bohemia and the US• While in US he studied traditional music of African Americans• New World Symphony is his most popular work• 4 mvmt symphony• 1st movement• 0:00 what is the tempo?• 2:03 Theme 1• 3:02 Theme 2• 3:56 Theme 3• 4:22 Development• 5:48 Recapitulation

Felix Mendelssohn• His music kept classical forms• Violin Concerto in E Minor• 3 movements• To be played without pause• 1st Movement• How is the beginning different?• 0:00 Theme 1• 0:58 ?• 2:53 Theme 2• 3:08 ?• 5:24 Development• 7:07 ?• 8:54 Recapitulation• 12:18 Coda

Felix Mendelssohn• His music kept classical forms• Violin Concerto in E Minor• 3 movements• To be played without pause• 1st Movement• How is the beginning different?• 0:00 Theme 1• 0:58 Full Orch plays theme 1• 2:53 Theme 2• 3:08 Solo violin with theme 2• 5:24 Development• 7:07 Cadenza• 8:54 Recapitulation• 12:18 Coda