Romantic music is a term denoting an era of Western classical music that began in the late 18th or early 19th century. It was related to Romanticism, the European artistic and literary movement that arose in the second half of the 18th century, and Romantic music in particular dominated the Romantic movement in Germany. Romantic Period Characteristics A freedom in composing. With a strong importance on expressing an emotion. Also fantasy, imagination and a sence of adventure were explored. • Emphasis on lyrical melodies. Rich, often chromatic harmonies, with a use of discords. • Sense of vagueness: especially in tonailty or harmony, but also in rhythm and meter. • Denser textures with bold dramatic contrasts, exploring a wider range of pitches, dynamics and tone-colours. • Expansion of the orchestra. The development of the brass section, whose power often dominate the texture of the compositions. • Rich variety of types of piece, ranging from song, short piano pieces and musical canvasses with spectacular, dramatic, and dynamic climaxes. • Keen interest in programme music such as programme symphony, symphonic poem, concert overture. • Shape was brought to work through the use of recurring themes, such as, nature, reigion and nationalism (a reaction against German influence). • The pieces of the time also had great technical diffulcutly. This was due to the fact that many of the composers of the time were musicans themselves, main pianists. The main characteristics of the romantic period are: 1). a closeness to nature 2). a love of folk culture, notable songs and stories 3). making of romantic love a law unto itself, transcending conventional morality 4). a greater freedom of expression in the arts 5). the pursuit of emotional rapture ‘’BACKGROUND’’ The Romantic movement was an artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe and strengthened in reaction to the Industrial Revolution (Encyclopædia Britannica n.d.). In part, it was a revolt against social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalization of nature (Casey 2008). It was embodied most strongly in the visual arts, music, and literature, but had a major impact on historiography , education (Gutek 1995, 220–54), and natural history One of the first significant applications of the term to music was in 1789, in the Mémoires by the Frenchman André Grétry, but it was E.T.A. Hoffmann who really established the principles of musical romanticism, in a lengthy review of Ludwig van Beethovens Fifth Symphonypublished in 1810, and in an 1813 article on Beethovens instrumental music. In the first of these essays Hoffmann traced the beginnings of musical Romanticism to the later works of Haydn and Mozart. It was Hoffmanns fusion of ideas already associated with the term Romantic, used in opposition to the restraint and formality of Classical models, that elevated music, and especially instrumental music, to a position of pre-eminence in Romanticism as the art most suited to the expression of emotions. It was also through the writings of Hoffmann and other German authors that brought German music to the centre of musical Romanticism (Samson 2001) Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from about 1800 to 1910. Romantic music as a movement evolved from the formats, genres and musical ideas established in earlier periods, such as the classical period, and went further in the name of expression and syncretism of different art-forms with music. Romanticism does not necessarily refer to romantic love, though that theme was prevalent in many works composed during this time period, both in literature, painting or music. Romanticism followed a path that led to the expansion of formal structures for a composition set down or at least created in their general outlines in earlier periods, and the end-result is that the pieces are understood to be more passionate and expressive, both by 19th century and todays audiences. Because of the expansion of form (those elements pertaining to form, key, instrumentation and the like) within a typical composition, and the growing idiosyncrasies and expressivity of the new composers from the new century, it thus became easier to identify an artist based on his work or style. Romantic music attempted to increase emotional expression and power to describe deeper truths or human feelings, while preserving but in many cases extending the formal structures from the classical period, in others, creating new forms that were deemed better suited to the new subject matter. The subject matter in the new music was now not only purely abstract, but also frequently drawn from other art-form sources such as literature, or history (historical figures) or nature itself. 1. Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven[1] (baptized 17 December 1770[2]–26 March 1827) was a German[3] composer and pianist. The crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time. Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation in present-day Germany, Beethoven moved to Vienna in his early 20s, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist. His hearing began to deteriorate in the late 1790s, yet he continued to compose, conduct, and perform, even after becoming completely deaf. In the wake of the Romantic revolution in literature came a similar revolution in music. About 1820, Beethoven began to write passionate compositions which often threatened to burst asunder the classical forms in which he worked. His 1824 Symphony No. 9 is notable not only for its length and complexity, but for the fact that he introduced vocal soloists and a chorus into the final movement, as if the purely instrumental form of the classical symphony could not express all that he felt. After this radical departure from tradition, many composers felt free to experiment. Beethoven is also significant in the history of music for being the first composer to earn his living directly from his own work without being subsidized by a church or aristocrat. He benefited from the emergence of the new bourgeois audience which could not afford to retain a composer on salary as Haydn was retained by Prince Esterhazy, but who eagerly bought tickets for Beethovens concerts. With the money he received from lessons, from the sale of his compositions, and from his public performances, Beethoven was able to survive if not to prosper. This was a crucial factor in allowing him to express his extreme individualism, rejecting the role of artistic servant within which even giants like Haydn and Mozart had been confined. He could write as he pleased and challenge the public to follow him. 2. Franz SchubertSchuberts music neatly bridges the Classical and Romantic periods through its use of lovely melodies, inventive scoring, and nature imagery, wedded to the traditional classical forms while at the same time expanding them. In his tragically short life, Schubert composed operas, symphonies, sonatas, masses, chamber music, piano music, and over 600 songs. But regardless of the genre, his gift for creating beautiful melodies remains almost unsurpassed in music history. Schuberts music is also passionate, sometimes even dark, with an emphasis on major/minor key shifts and adventurous harmonic writing. Outstanding examples of his gift for melody can be found in the popular Piano Quintet in A major , which includes a set of variations on the tune of one of his popular songs, and from which it gets its nickname, The Trout. Although left unfinished for unknown reasons, Schuberts stirring and beautiful Symphony no. 8 in B minor remains one of his most often heard and best-loved works. But it is his songs, or German Lieder, for which Schubert is best known. Through his choice of beautiful poetry by some of the best writers of the day, his inspired melodies, and his sometimes elaborate treatment of the piano part, many of Schuberts songs are miniature masterpieces of poetic and dramatic beauty. His two song cycles (groups of poems by a single or various authors selected because of thematic content, and usually published together), yield some of the finest examples of Schuberts Lieder. Wohin? from the song cycle, Die schöne Müllerin (The Fair Maid of the Mill) is an outstanding example of the almost limitless artistry of this composer. Schuberts Lieder would come to influence the song-writing of many later composers, including Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Hugo Wolf (1860-1903). 3. Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (play /ˈvɑːɡnər/; German pronunciation: [ˈʁiçaʁt ˈvaːɡnɐ]; 22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas, as they were later called). Wagners compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs: musical themes associated with individual characters, places, ideas or plot elements. Unlike most other opera composers, Wagner wrote both the music and libretto for every one of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works such as The Flying Dutchman and Tannhäuser which were in the romantic traditions of Weber and Meyerbeer, Wagner transformed operatic thought through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). This would achieve the synthesis of all the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, and was announced in a series of essays between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised this concept most fully in the first half of the monumental four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. However, his thoughts on the relative importance of music and drama were to change again and he reintroduced some traditional operatic forms into his last few stage works including Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Wagner pioneered advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, which greatly influenced the development of European classical music. His Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music. Wagners influence spread beyond music into philosophy, literature, the visual arts and theatre. He had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which contained many novel design features. It was here that the Ring and Parsifal received their premieres and where his most important stage works continue to be performed today in an annual festival run by his descendants. Wagners views on conducting were also highly influential. His extensive writings on music, drama and politics have all attracted extensive comment; in recent decades, especially where they have antisemitic content. 4. Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (pronounced [joːˈhanəs ˈbʁaːms]; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene. In his lifetime, Brahms popularity and influence were considerable; following a comment by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow, he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the Three Bs. Brahms composed for piano, chamber ensembles, symphony orchestra, and for voice and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works; he also worked with some of the leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim. Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. Brahms, an uncompromising perfectionist, destroyed many of his works and left some of them unpublished. Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical masters. He was a master of counterpoint, the complex and highly disciplined method of composition for which Johann Sebastian Bach is famous, and also of development, a compositional ethos pioneered by Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Brahms aimed to honour the purity of these venerable German structures and advance them into a Romantic idiom, in the process creating bold new approaches to harmony and melody. While many contemporaries found his music too academic, his contribution and craftsmanship have been admired by subsequent figures as diverse as the progressive Arnold Schoenberg and the conservative Edward Elgar. The diligent, highly constructed nature of Brahmss works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers 5. Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (German pronunciation: [ˈɡʊstaf ˈmaːlɐ]; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was a late-Romantic Austrian-Bohemian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer, he acted as a bridge between the 19th century Austro-German tradition and the modernism of the early 20th century. While in his lifetime his status as a conductor was established beyond question, his own music gained wide popularity only after periods of relative neglect which included a ban on its performance in much of Europe during the Nazi era. After 1945 the music was discovered and championed by a new generation of listeners; Mahler then became one of the most frequently performed and recorded of all composers, a position he has sustained into the 21st century. Born in humble circumstances, Mahler showed his musical gifts at an early age. After graduating from the Vienna Conservatory in 1878, he held a succession of conducting posts of rising importance in the opera houses of Europe, culminating in his appointment in 1897 as director of the Vienna Court Opera (Hofoper). During his ten years in Vienna, Mahler—who had converted to Catholicism from Judaism to secure the post—experienced regular opposition and hostility from the anti-Semitic press. Nevertheless, his innovative productions and insistence on the highest performance standards ensured his reputation as one of the greatest of opera conductors, particularly as an interpreter of the stage works of Wagner and Mozart. Late in his life he was briefly director of New Yorks Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic. Mahlers œuvre is relatively small—for much of his life composing was a part-time activity, secondary to conducting—and is confined to the genres of symphony and song, except for one piano quartet. Most of his ten symphonies are very large-scale works, several of which employ soloists and choirs in addition to augmented orchestral forces. These works were often controversial when first performed, and were slow to receive critical and popular approval; an exception was the triumphant premiere of his Eighth Symphony in 1910. Mahlers immediate musical successors were the composers of the Second Viennese School, notably Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. Shostakovich and Benjamin Britten are among later 20th-century composers who admired and were influenced by Mahler. The International Gustav Mahler Institute was established in 1955, to honour the composers life and work. 6. Robert Schumann (begrudgingly) This article is about the composer. For the French statesman and founding father of the European Union, see Robert Schuman. Robert Schumann in an 1850 daguerreotype Robert Schumann,[1] sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann,[2] (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law to return to music, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher, Friedrich Wieck, that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury caused by a device he created with the false belief that it would help increase the size of his hands prevented that. One of the most promising careers as a pianist had thus come to an end. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing. Schumanns published compositions were written exclusively for the piano until 1840; he later composed works for piano and orchestra; many lieder (songs for voice and piano); four symphonies; an opera; and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. His writings about music appeared mostly in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal for Music), a Leipzig-based publication which he jointly founded. In 1840, Schumann married pianist Clara Wieck when she was of age, following a long and acrimonious legal battle with her father, his former teacher, to gain his approval of the match. Clara Wieck also composed music and had a considerable concert career. For the last two years of his life, after an attempted suicide, Schumann was confined to a mental institution, at his own request. Schumann had considerable influence in the nineteenth century and beyond, despite his adoption of more conservative modes of composition after his marriage. He left an array of acclaimed music in virtually all the forms then known. Partly through his protégé Brahms, Schumanns ideals and musical vocabulary became widely disseminated. Composer Sir Edward Elgar called Schumann my ideal. Music History - The Romantic Period (1825-1900) Romanticism was brought about by the social and political stresses following the French Revolution, and the resulting nationalistic trends. It was a period of dramatic thought and action, also involving contradictions between capitalism and socialism, freedom and oppression, logic and emotion, science and faith. This resulted in a change in the thinking of people, especially creative artists. There was a general impatience with the rules and restraints of Classicism, and music revolted against the practices of Mozart and Haydn. The goal was to be different and individualistic. The ideal for the Romantic composer was to reflect his own feelings and emotions in his compositions in order to instill in the listener certain preconceived moods. The expression of emotion and the sparking of the imagination were a primary goal. The center of musical activity shifted from Vienna to Paris, and musicians were no longer attached to patrons. However, while composers during this time did not write for the lower classes, their music was addressed to the masses to a far greater degree than before in the history of music. Music became more and more disassociated from real life, while expressing the splendor and pride of the human spirit. In the effort to capture audiences, a dynamic and colorful personality became an important asset. Such examples can be found in such individuals as Liszt, Berlioz and Wagner. The concert manager, or impresario as he was often called, was also an important figure in the business of music. Another important person behind the scenes of music was the music critic. Function of Music: Romanticism still served a sophisticated and aristocratic society, as had been the case with Classical music. Aristocratic patronage was smaller, but the intimacy of the exclusive salon was still the ideal setting for performances. Performance, however, was no longer by mere amateurs, for Romantic music was usually too technically demanding for unskilled performers. Standing outside the circle of the exclusive salon was a large, but unorganized and unsophisticated, concert-going public, which loved music. Romantic composers were constantly striving to gain recognition of this large audience and, in an effort to win acceptance, they were very sensitive to the likes and dislikes of these music-lovers. Performers, as well as composers, had the urge to be acceptable and to dazzle audiences. Composers were often fine performers as well, such as Liszt and Chopin, who wrote a large number of virtuoso pieces to thrill the public with technical display. The Romantic composer expressed his own feelings and convictions, writing music to express himself in personal documents of art. The church was no longer considered a patron of music, with very little music written for liturgical purposes. The teaching of music, however, became an established profession. Many fine conservatories and schools of music were founded for the education of the performing and creative musician. Research in music history and theory was introduced into programs of many universities by the end of the 1800s. Many prominent composers and performers such as Liszt, Mendelssohn, Brahms and Schumann achieved wide recognition as teachers. Thus, to meet pressing needs for pedagogical (instructional) material, such composers wrote etudes (studies) and other short pieces for teaching. Historical Events: Louisiana Purchase, Monroe Doctrine, McCormick invents the reaper, Morse telegraph, Daguerre takes first photographs, California gold rush, Darwin writes Origin of Species, Civil War in the United States, Germany united under Bismarck, Edison invents electric light and phonograph, Roentgen discovers the x-ray, Spanish-American war. Visual Arts: Goya, Gericault, Corot, Turner, Delacroix, Millet, Daumier. Literature: Buron, Austen, Shelley, Keats, Pushkin, Heine, Cooper, Balzac, Hugo, Stendhal, Sand Lytton, Dickens, Poe, Dumas, Thackeray, Longfellow, Hawthorne, Melville, Stowe, Whitman, Tennyson, Eliot, Tolstoy, Dostoevski, Browning, Twain, Ibsen, Stevenson, Wilde, H. James, Maeterlinck, Zola, Kipling. Philosophy: Hegel, Mill, Comte, Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Marx, Engels, Thoreau, Spencer, Huxley, Emerson, Haeckel, Hietzsche, Berson. Prominent Composers: Beethoven (late period), Paganini, von Weber, Rossini, Schubert, Donizetti, Bellini, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Verdi, Wagner, Gounod, Franck, Smetana, Bruckner, Borodin, Brahms, Bizet, Mussorgsky, Tchaikowsky, Dvorak, Grieg, Rimsky-Korsakov, Faure, Puccini, Wolf, Mahler, Strauss, Sibelius, Czerny, Field, Elgar, Offenbach, Saint-Saens, Massenet, Rubinstein, Rachmaninov, Scrabin (early), Albeniz, Gottschalk, MacDowell. Practice and Performance: Dynamics were more explicit than those of Classicism. Smaller changes of color and gradations of loudness were indicated by more definite terms. Tempi were more accurately designated by the use of metronome markings. Even the conductor became a performer whose instrument was gigantic and capable of every Romantic expression. This was an era of massive festival performances. The middle-class love for music making led to the establishment of the choral society. Improvisation was generally discarded in the practice of Romantic music, due largely to the complexity of its composition and the complete directions for performance. A few individuals like Chopin and Liszt, continued to make brilliant use of it however. Prominent Musical Characteristics: There were Romantic idealists and Romantic realists. The idealists insisted music must exist for its own sake without extramusical devices. The realists were the champions of program music, believing that music could (and should) tell a story, imitate sounds of nature or express a visual scene. Some Romantic composers excelled in spectacular virtuosity, which was expressed by brilliant technical performances. Other composers emphasized the intimacy of miniature forms and delicate textures to express their personal feelings. There were composers whose aim was to extol national characteristics and evoke patriotic feelings using folklore, folk songs and dances. There were also Romanticists who avoided nationalistic devices in the search for a universal musical language. But there was one concept that all Romanticists had in common, giving their music a sense of unity: their music was aimed at the evocation of emotion as its primary function. All Romantic music concerns itself with the problem of creating musical tension to achieve a corresponding intensification of emotional response. Forms are not as precise and clear as in Classicism, but are often overlapping, vague and often without strong cadences. Sections of larger works often melt into one another. It was also a common practice to use some of the same thematic material in each movement as a means of maintaining a constant expressive character (this is sometimes called cyclic form). Folk melodies were also used a great deal in Romantic music. Melodies are characterized by an intensity of personal feelings, sometimes extremely long with dramatic and dynamic climaxes. Rhythmically, music became more interesting. There are often changes in the number of beats in a measure, cross-rhythms, syncopations, etc. Tempo in Romantic music is not always constant, but may fluctuate in order to achieve emotional effect (rubato). The rich harmony makes great use of chromaticism, nonharmonic tones, altered chords and larger chords (such as ninths and thirteenths). Timbre, or texture, was heavy and thick. Basically, there are six chief musical characteristics in Romanticism: Subjectivity: Music was not objective (outside of human emotions) as in the Classical period, but had to be joined with extramusical ideas. In this respect, some of Beethovens later music was held to be the model to be emulated. Because music could not convey pictures or ideas, some composers resorted to objective devices which imitated natural sounds. Much of the music during the nineteenth century has a sentimental quality. Emotionalism: All music has some degree of emotionalism. However, the Romantic composer sought to intensify this aspect of his music. By the use of chromaticism (progression by half steps) in melodies and chords, and modulations (changing keys) and by exploiting tension in the music (by not resolving dissonances immediately), the composer was to keep the listener in a state of suspense for long periods of time. Nationalism: Composers were greatly influenced by the intense nationalistic feelings that developed after the Napoleonic wars. Some composers were political outcasts (Chopin and Wagner), while others promoted a love for their country (Russian Five). The main areas of nationalistic music during the nineteenth century were Germany, Italy, France, Central Europe and Russia. Programmatic Compositions: The development and use of descriptive music became an important part of the Romantic movement. The trend from the subjectivity of the composer to the emotionalism in the listener was natural. As mentioned previously, composers resorted to objective devices in their music. The devices included descriptive titles, melodic formulas, harmonic cliches and instrumental effects. Thick Timbre: The availability of improved musical instruments allowed composers to experiment with novel orchestral effects. The timbre and texture of the orchestral color became more evocative as the nineteenth century progressed. The use of chromaticism and dissonance led to a very complex orchestral timbre by the end of the century: At the beginning of the century, the woodwind parts often doubled those of the strings. Brass instruments were mainly used to fill in louder passages. About the middle of the century, the woodwinds were combined with the strings in all registers. The brass instruments were generally used to double other parts and to play for louder passages. In the second half of the century, complete instrumentation was employed in each section of the orchestra. Each section tended to be treated on a more equal footing. Chromaticism: The harmonic system established by Rameau in 1722 began breaking down during the Classical period. The Romantic composers exploited the use of altered chords and modulation to such a degree that the feeling for a central tonality often became obscure. This is especially true of music written after about 1850. The increased use of dissonance and half step movements in all the voices, and the avoidance of a too-well-defined tonality, paved the way for the Impressionistic and Expressionistic movements of the twentieth century. Instrumentation: During the Romantic period, the piano (pianoforte) became the most popular single instrument. It became a musical symbol of Romanticism, and was enlarged to give it a wider range and more tonal power. The piano reached such heights of popularity that it became the favorite household instrument with every family that could afford it. The orchestra grew to be the favorite large instrument of the century. Added were the English horn, the clarinet, more brass and percussion. Opera was also a major medium of expression. Vocal Compositions: Lied, choral music (sacred and secular), Te Deums, Requiems, Beatitudes, Opera (Italian, French, German Nationalistic), Oratorios. New Large Forms: Symphonic Poem, Sonata, Symphony, Concerto, Ballet, Ballade, Impromptu. New Small Forms: Waltz, Nocturne, Etude, Fantasy, Mazurka, Variations, Rhapsody. Nationalism During the Romantic Period The nationalistic spirit was awakened during the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. This became a vehicle for composers to express their sentiments about the political and economic climate during the Romantic period. Composers drew inspiration from the folk songs and dances of their country. This nationalist theme can be felt in the music of some Romantic composers whose works were influenced by the history, people and places of their native country. This is particularly evident in operas and program music of that period. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chromatic harmony – A characteristic of romantic music wherein the chords used in a music piece is derived from the chromatic scale. Rubato – A characteristic of Romantic music that helps add intensity to a music piece by means of moving forward or holding back tempo. Thematic transformation – A characteristic of romantic music wherein musical elements of a theme is altered when it is restated in a later movement.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 08:08:56 +0000
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