Elements of Music During 2.
Development of new harmonies,
the Romantic Period
MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
1820-1910
Romantic Period described by some
musicians, composers and researchers
around the world as a cultural movement
that stressed emotion, imagination,
individualism and
freedom of expression. It was
characterized by expanding the formal
structure within a composition and making
the pieces more passionate and
expressive. Nationalism is one of the main
features of this era. This is evidently
shown in some compositions made by
Romantic composers. One of which is the
Polonaise of Frederic Chopin, a dance
composition for piano which is famous in
Poland until today. Piano continued to be
the most important musical instrument
during the Romantic Era whereas the
Program music has a great demand in
most of instrumental composition
which includes the concert overture, the
Program symphony, symphonic poem and
incidental music. Orchestra grows in
number and became limitless, composers
explored instrumentation and many
compositions were inspired by emotions in
addition to a musical Theme. Most of the
composers were proud of their country’s
music and often use folk songs
in their works. The music during this
period used forms borrowed from
Classical music and made them bigger
longer songs and more instruments. The
themes they wrote in their
composition are mainly about nature,
literature, history and feelings.
CHARACTERISTICS AND ELEMENTS
MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD
1. Individuality of musical style with
emphasis on self-expression.
including chromatic harmonies -
harmonies that use all the keys of
the piano keyboard - the black
keys and the white keys together.
3. Development of "program music" –
music that depicts a story or scene
4. Development of "nationalism" in
music, such as French music,
Spanish music, Hungarian music,
Czech music, etc., incorporating
native folk music.
5. Greater variety of mood,
atmosphere and tone color.
6. Expanded orchestra size for many
new compositions, including large
brass sections, expanded
woodwind sections and the
addition of new instruments, such
as English horn, bass clarinet,
contrabassoon and added
percussion.
7. Development of a wider range of
musical dynamics - (volume) - from
very soft
8. ("pianissimo") to very loud
("fortissimo") often encompassing
soaring musical high points
9. Greater flexibility of tempo,
(musical speed) incorporating the
increased use of accelerandos
(speeding up) and ritardandos
(slowing down), as well as
extensive use of rubato (the
bending and stretching of
tempo/rhythm).