MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

(1820-1910)

ROMANTIC PERIOD
- A time of expansion
- Industrial Revolution broke down and capitalism and socialism grew
- There was already advancement in Science & Technology: Darwin for his “Origin of the Species”,
and the Morse’s Telegraph was invented
- The important names in literature were Byron, Keats, Longfellow, Allan Poe; in painting, Delacroix,
Friedrich, and Gericault; and in music, Chopin, Brahms, Bizet, Berlioz, Tchaikovsky, Schumann,
Verdi, Liszt, etc.
- The keynote of the romantic spirit was Freedom: political economic, religious, personal & artistic.
The common purpose is the expression of man’s feelings about himself, about humanity & about
the world in which relives

THE MUSIC OF CHOPIN

Chopin’s music is individualistic and easily understood. His methods are lyrical and he is fond of
using ornamentations. CHROMATICISM is also an important factor in his music.

 FREDERIC CHOPIN (1810-1849)

- One of the leading composers of the romantic period, and who is from Poland. His music is
among the greatest ever written for the piano such as his etudes, nocturnes, preludes,
concertos, ballades, polonaises, waltzes, and mazuhas (dance forms). All his compositions
includes the piano and most of his music is for the piano alone that’s why he was known as the
“POET OF THE PIANO”. The piano was the most important instrument in the period.

THE WORK OF CHOPIN

1. PRELUDE IN C MINOR
- You can hear this prelude to the “COULD IT BE MAGIC” by Barry Manilow. A
PRELUDE is a musical introduction to a musical play or composition: sometimes it appears
independently.
2. ETUDE NO. 3 IN E
- Another work of Chopin, which was known to many as “NO OTHER LOVE”. An
ETUDE is a study. It’s a piece that develops technical skill & sometimes composed for public
performance.
3. NOCTURNE IN E FLAT
- An example of Chopin’s Nocturne, the melody became popular because of the
song “TO LOVE AGAIN”. A NOCTURNE is a piece, which is supposed to suggest the
atmosphere of night. It’s a small piece without fixed form and dreamt and romantic in
character.
 4. THE MINUTE WALTZ
5. POLONAISE IN A MAJOR
6. FANTAISIE IMPROMPTU

THE MUSIC OF LISZT

 FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886)

- known as the piano VIRTOUSO of the romantic period. He explored the tonal and
technical resources of the piano, like using unconventional tones, chromaticism, report
modulation, assonances, repeated notes, fast arpeggios, scaled played in octaves & chords
simultaneously played by both hands. Extremes in tempo and dynamics were common.
Examples of his composition for the piano are his etudes rhapsodies & other piano pieces.
A RHAPSODY is a declamatory piece in free form using different melodies that vary in mood
& tempo.

THE WORK OF LISZT

1. HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY NO. 15
2. LA CAMPANELLA
3. LES PRELUDES

COMPARING LISZT AND CHOPIN

James Hummer said that the difference between the 2 composers is that the basis of
Liszt is UNIVERSALITY while Chopin’s is INDIVIDUALITY. According to CHARLES HOFFER, Liszt
is a SHOWMAN while Chopin is a SHYMAN.

ART SONG
- It is a composition for solo voices that combines melody, poetry, and accompaniment into an
integrated form in which all 3 play equally important roles. The German word for an art song is LIED
and the plural is LIEDER.

2 MAIN STRUCTURAL FORMS IN ART SONG

1. STROPIC
- Each stanza of the poem is set to the same music
2. THROUGH-COMPOSED
- comes from the German word DURCHKOMPONIERY; different music for each stanza of
the poem in order to follow the changing ideas or moods of the text.

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)

- One of the leading composers of art songs during the Romantic Period. He chose the song
as his way of experiencing his musical thoughts. Many of his songs are THROUGH-
COMPOSED.
 HIS WORK: SERENADE

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897)

- Another well-known composer of art song during the Romantic Period. Schubert
influenced him in composing songs. In his songs, you will hear the simple tunes of German
Folk Songs. His art songs are as intimate as personal message & very humor. Many of his
songs are in STROPIC form
HIS WORK: WILGENLIED (THE VERY FAMILIAR LULLABY)

OPERA
- A drama set to music. It includes poetry, scenery, costumes, acting and dancing in addition to
vocal & instrumental music.

COMPONENTS OF OPERA
1. LIBRETTO – the text of an opera
2. OVERTURE - instrumental composition which serves as an introduction to the opera
3. RECITATIVE – a sung dialogue; a vocal part that is declaimed following the pattern of
speech rather than melody
4. ARIA – a song without poetically & musically reflects dramatic feeling
5. DUO, TRIO, & OTHER SMALL ENSEMBLES
6. CHORUS
7. ORCHESTRA
8. BALLET – dance of a formal and stylized nature
9. ACTS AND SCENES – sections of an opera

GUISEPPE VERDI (1813-1901)

- The greatest composer of Italian opera who composed 27 operas. Some of his operas are
stilled performed in opera houses all over the world. Among there are LATRAVIA, II TROVATORE
AND RIGOLETTO.

“AIDA”
- Another popular opera of Verdi. It is called a GRAND OPERA because every bit of it is sung.
The famous marched played during graduation nights is the Grand March from the opera
“AIDA”.
HECTOR BERLIOZ (1803-1869)
- One of the great Romantic composers who expanded the orchestra. In the same way that Liszt
expanded the tonal resources of the piano, Berlioz exploited the CAMBRE that the full
symphony orchestra can make. He was recognized as the matted orchestration of his era.

PROGRAM MUSIC
- compositions with descriptive associations of this are called PROGRAM MUSIC, like the poem
or symphonic poem, an idea conceived by Liszt in the second half of the 19th century.

SYMPHONY FANTASTIQUE
- This is Berlioz example of program symphony. It is composed of 5 movements:
I. DREAMS; PASSIONS IV. March to the Scaffold
II. A Ball V. Dream of the Witch Sabbath
III. Scene in the fields

FAVORITE SUBJECTS DURING THE ROMANTIC PERIOD:

1. EMOTIONS 4. WEIRD
2. NATURE 5. MYSTIC
3. SUPERNATURAL

PETER ITYICH TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)

- The king of composers for ballet during Romantic Period. BALLET is an art form in which the
music & visual aspects of body movements, costumes & scenery are combined for the
psychological and artistic satisfaction they provide. Ballet music is in originally intended to
accompany ballet but rearranged for concert performance, usually in the form of suite. Some
single movements’ works are heard more frequently as concert pieces than as accompaniment
to the dances for which they were written.
- He wrote the THREE greatest ballet scores of all times:
1. “SWAN LAKE”
- A full length ballet with extent of a symphony. Within this vast score is a short piece
like the “DANCE OF THE LITTLE SWANS”. This shows his capacity of working within small forms
as well as large.
2. “THE SLEEPING BEAUTY”
- considered by many as probably the best for its finely structured main theme. The
music is light & perfectly matching the dreamy ambiance of the scene.
3. “THE NUTCRACKER”
- His final ballet with a charming light fairy tale story. It has enchanted young and old for
almost 100 years “PAS DE DEUX” is a part of the score from the “Nutcracker”.

THE WALTZES OF TCHAIKOVSKY

1. WALTZ FROM SLEEPING BEAUTY
2. WALTZ FROM SWAN LAKE
3. WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS FROM THE NUTCRACKER
EDVARD GRIEG (1843-1907)
- not only used the language and legends of Norway but even the musical dialect the curious
scales and intervals and folk traits give his music the NORWEGIAN FLAVOR.
HIS COMPOSITION: ‘SUNSHINE SONG” (Solvejgs Lied)