1830-1900

MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC ERA

Melody

Melody receives the greatest

emphasis and its style is chiefly "melody with

accompaniment".

Melodies are more disjunct and have

wider ranges, particularly in R. Strauss's music.

FormsNew Forms Symphonic

poemsSong cycle

Music drama

New Genres

Piano character piecesLieder

Song cycle

Programmatic overturesSymphonic poems

Many forms

Taken from the Classic period, but were

greatly expanded.

Sonata form became much longer with

emphasis given to an expanded

development section and coda (particularly

in Beethoven and Brahms).

Unity on a large scale: merging of separate movements into a single span (Liszt's Sonata in B minor)

RhythmsMore complex than

in Classic period and include use of compound meters, changing meters,

cross rhythms (especially in Chopin and

Schumann), greater syncopation, and use of rubato in

Chopin and Liszt.

Some composers (e.g. Chopin, Schumann,

Wagner) fixate on one rhythmic

pattern extensively

Tonality began to break down because of extreme chromaticism (especially

in Liszt and Wagner).

Minor keys became more frequent, and modulations occur frequently by third-relations and to remote

keys.

Composers include greater complexity in use of dissonant chords -

particularly diminished sevenths, half-diminished

sevenths, augmented triads, augmented sixth chords, and Neapolitan

chords

Harmony

Thematicism

Thematicism plays a more important role in a sonata movement than tonality.

Thematic metamorphosis: A programmatic approach

to composition often associated thematic

material with a character or idea

Changing circumstances or emotional states were

represented by the transformation of the

thematic material (as in Faust Symphony or Symphony Fantastique),

The Orchestra

Berlioz and Wagner greatly expanded the orchestra and

incorporated new instruments into it.

Program music became common in the music of

Berlioz, Liszt, and R. Strauss.

Older Elements Revisted!Ba

ch • The revival of polyphony and Baroque forms under the influence of JS Bach Greter intrest in mdal scales.

Med

ieva

l M

odes• Greater

interest in modal scales

Folk-HeritageStudy of the folk-heritage in music

and imitation of folk-like melodic simplicity.

Chopin's more than 50 mazurkas

represent one of the earliest examples of overt nationalistic

sentiments in music

Chopin, Tchaikovsky, the Russians

Dynamics

Extremes of dynamic

contrasts and levels occur from

pppp to ffff

Expression markings become

increasingly more numerous

and detailed