the classical period 1750-1800 copyright © 2006 jacksonville high school, christopher d. howard...

The Classical Period1750-1800

Copyright © 2006 Jacksonville High School, Christopher D. HowardThis information may be used and reproduced for educational purposes as long as proper credit is given.

Put the following quote in your own words and then answer the question:

What do you think Kant is encouraging?

• “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s own understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in a lack of understanding, but in a lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another.” Immanuel Kant, German Philospher (1724-1804), p.277

The Classical Period

• Dates debatable– Musical Trends– Period Designations

• We use 1750-1800• Age of The Enlightenment

– Free Thinking– “Dare to Know” (Kant)– Progressive ideas

• American and French Revolution• Composers: Billings, Stamitz, Haydn, Mozart

– mostly court musicians

• Philosophers and Writers: Kant, Paine, Goethe, Voltaire, Rousseau

• Leaders: Jefferson, Franklin

The Classical PeriodHistorical Period


Philosophy

• Enlightenment philosophy:– Humans were innately good and a society

could be perfected if reason was permitted to replace superstition and tradition.

Philosophers, Writers, and Revolutionaries• Immanuel Kant (Germany-Philosopher)

– “Dare to know.”• Francois-Marie Arouet de Voltaire (France-writer)

– “Liberty of thought is the life of the soul.”• (From Essay on Epic Poetry, 1727)

• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (French, Swiss-Born—writer)– “The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said, ‘This

is mine.’ and found people naïve enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society.”

• From (Speech on the Origin and the Base of the Inequality Among Men)

• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German poet, playwright, novelist)– “Noble be man, helpful and good! For that alone sets him apart

from every other creature on earth.”• From The Divine, 1783

Philosophers, Writers, and Revolutionaries• Thomas Paine (English-journalist and pamphleteer)

– Migrated to America in 1774, with help of Benjamin Franklin– Wrote The Crisis and Common Sense– “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

• From (The Crisis)

• Thomas Jefferson (American Lawyer, Revolutionist and 3rd US President)– Helped write the Declaration of Independence (Largest

contributor)– “I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against

every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”– Played Violin…collected instruments

Philosophers, Writers, and Revolutionaries• Benjamin Franklin (American-Inventor and

revolutionist)– Helped write the Declaration of Independence– Invented Bifocals, Harvested Electricity, Glass

Harmonica– “If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are

dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth writing.”

– “When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.”– “One good Husband is worth two good Wives; for the

scarcer things are, the more they’re valued.”– “Fish and visitors stink after three days.”– “Well done is better than well said.”

American Revolution

• Followed the Revolutionary War (b/t GB and US)

• Americans Declared independence from England….Signed Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

• US Constitution ratified in 1789 (completed in 1787), replacing the Articles of Confederation as the official Law of the Land.

French Revolution (1789ish)

• National bankruptcy caused by several global conflicts

• Lack of food• Resentment of absolutism

• French Nationals rioted the country and overthrew the Bastille (National Prison)

• Bastille Day-July 14, 1789

• In the time following, Louis XVI dethroned and convicted of treason and then executed and Marie Antoinette (Queen) decapitated

Industrial Revolution (1700-1900)

• Cotton Gin (Eli Whitney credited)

• Steam Engine (Robert Fulton)

• Harvested Electricity (Lightning Rod—Ben Franklin)

• Steel Refining (Henry Bessemer)

The Classical PeriodCompositional styles


The Symphony

• A multi-movement work for instrumental ensemble– Transformed from Opera Overture to Individual entity

• No standard format– Generally:– 3-4 Movements– contrasting– Sonata form used widely– Occasionally using dance movements

The Symphony

• 1st Movement– Usually sonata form w/ a (usually) slow introduction

• 2nd/3rd Movement– Slow– ABA (or variation)– Key other than tonal center

• 2nd/3rd Movement– Minuet– More Rhythmically varied (no dancing)

• 4th Movement– Finale– Sonata or rondo or rondo-sonata

Sonata Form

• Introduction • Exposition (Group I, Group II)

– Exposing main theme(s)• Development

– Themes are developed– Many suggested key centers-closely related keys*– Somewhat ‘free’

• Recapitulation– Main theme(s) restated

• Coda (Codetta)– Ending segment

*Closely related keys: parallel, relative, +/- sharp/flat and their resulting relative or parallels

Fantasia

• Free form

• Development of a sonata

String Quartet

• 4 Players– 2 Violins– 1 Viola– 1 Cello

• Began with Basso Continuo…expanded

• All parts equal (melody and accomp.)

Concerto and Opera

• Both still popular

• Concertos usually written in the form of a sonata– Cadenzas were expected

• (usually improvised…opportunity to show off instrumental or virtuosic abilities)

• Opera Buffa (not just in Italy) saw a great rise.

Opera Reform

• Led by Christoph Willibald Gluck– Austrian

• Opera became– More syllabic– More simple melodies– Thematically-based overture– Increasingly more choral (like the oratorio)

Sacred Music

• Still being written

• Much of the same

• Usually commissioned

The Classical PeriodComposers of Note


Franz Joseph Haydn

• 1732 Rohrau-1809 Vienna, Austria• Called Papa Haydn for father-like qualities (never

married)• Esterhazy family (Eisenstadt)

– Assistant Director under Prince Paul Anton– Director under Prince Nickolaus ($$)

• Programmatic works (musical portrayal of an idea or concept…Flight of the Bumblebee)

– “Morning,” “Noon,” “Night,” “Farewell,” “Surprise,” etc.

• Frequently used simple, Nationalistic melodies.• Composed melody used for Austrian National Anthem• Beethoven student of Haydn• Wrote 106 Symphonies

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• 1756 (Salzburg, Austria)-1791 (Vienna, Austria)

• Father (Leopold)—Violinist– Responsible for music teaching

• Dog and Pony show• Don Giovanni• The Marriage of Figaro• Requiem (mass for the dead)• Wrote 41 Symphonies

William Billings

• American Composer (1746-1800)

• Among (if not) the first American-Born Composer (Boston)

• Most output was sacred– The New England Psalm-Singer (1770)

Source

Bonds, Mark Evan. A History of Music in Western Culture. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2003.

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