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Music of The Romantic Period
Music of The Romantic Period
Frederic
Chopin
Camille
Saint-Saenz
Niccolo
Paganini
Peter Ilyich
Tchaikovsky
Hector
Berlioz
Franz Liszt
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Adherence to reason and
tradition
Sought to achieve unity,
order and balance
Drew inspiration from the
monuments of Greece and
Rome
Classical artists exalted
those of the masses
ROMANTIC MUSIC
Revolt against Classical
Period
Leaned toward selfexpression
Drew inspiration to human
imagination and the
wonders of NATURE
Romantic artists exalted
instinctive feelings
(individual and personal
ones).
I celebrate
myself , and
sing myself.
Pastoral Symphony
(SYMPHONY NO. 6)
the first important
Romantic Nature Piece
Melody
Melody is more flexible and irregular in shape than in the
Classical period; long, singable lines with powerful climaxes
and chromatic inflections for expressiveness.
Harmony
Greater use of chromaticism makes the harmony richer and
more colorful; sudden shifts to remote chords for expressive
purposes; prolonged dissonance conveys feelings of anxiety
and longing.
Rhythm
Rhythms are free and relaxed, occasionally obscuring the
meter; tempo can fluctuate greatly (tempo rubato) and
sometimes slows to a crawl to allow for the grand gesture.
Color
The orchestra becomes enormous, reaching upward of one
hundred performers; trombone, tuba, contrabassoon, piccolo
and English horn were added to the ensemble; experiments
with new playing techniques for special effects; dynamics
vary widely to create extreme levels of expression; piano
becomes larger and more powerful.
Texture
Predominantly homophonic but dense and rich because of
larger orchestras and orchestral scores; sustaining pedal on
the piano also adds to density.
Form
Composers wrote musical miniatures as well as monumental
pieces. Some genres are carried over from classicism, but
are more greatly exploited, such as sonatas and symphonies.
A few new forms are invented.
Art Song
It is standardly a composition for solo voice and piano.
Poetry and music are thus intimately fused.
The best Art Song composers of the Romantic era include
Schubert, Schumann and Brahms.
The Art Songs based on German texts tended to favour the
poets Heine and Goethe.
The song composers interpret the poems, translating t heir
mood and atmosphere into music.
Str
Through-composed
New music for each stanza. Allowing music to reflect
changing moods in the poem.
Song Cycles
contains several art songs, grouped into a set. Often
unified by a s ingle story line. i.e. : Schuberts The
Winter Journey
Works of Beethoven
Symphony no. 5
Beethoven unifies all contrasting movements. The first
four-note motif is used extensively in first movement and
third movements. The third movement theme reappears in
the finale. The last two movements are connected by a
bridge. This contrasting element that he retained by
employing the motif in all four movements of Symphony no. 5
is known as a CELL
The End