Western classic music from 1600-1899

This year you will study three set works each one drawn from one of the three principal musical periods of The Baroque era, The Classical era, and The Romantic era.

The Baroque era (c.1600-1750)

The word baroque comes from the Portuguese for pearl. The well known composers of the Baroque period were Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), George Frideric Handel (1685-1750), and Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) there were many others too, but let us briefly look at the life of George Frideric Handel who is the composer of our first set work Handel was born in Germany in 1685, he wrote the Water Music, and Messiah Characteristics of the baroque style of music The use of ornamented melodic parts The establishment of the major-minor key system. Different musical textures. The prevalence of one affection or mode. The contrasting of dynamics on two levels loud-soft.

The classical Era (c.1750-1830)

This period was dominated by three Viennese composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (17651791), Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart-was born in Salzburg, despite his relatively short life of 35 years his musical output was vast and included famous operas such as Le Nozze Di Figaro and 41 symphonies. The symphony was one of the most important and popular large scale genres invented during the classical era. Characteristics of the classical era: Ideas of contrast in terms of key, melodies, and more varied dynamics. New instrumental music genres immerged (concerto, symphony). Harmony was functional. Structures were defined by clear cut.

The romantic Era (c.1800-1900)

Romantic composers strove for freedom in order to write expressive music that responded to a wide range of emotions and also to nature. Writers such as lord Byron and Percy Shelly expressed human emotions such as love ,grieve,joy,death, and the beauty in the natural world. Chopin was born in Poland; his piano music reflects his love to his home land Poland. He composed the "rain drop" prelude and completed the set of 24 preludes. Characteristics of the romantic era: The development of the piano. An emphasis on expressing wide range of feelings and emotions in music. The rise of nationalism. Inclusion of varied and strong dynamic contrasts(pppp-ffff).