MUSIC FORMS OF THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

THE TERM “CLASSICAL” REFERS TO THE PERIOD THAT EXTENDS ROUGHLY FROM THE DEATH OF JOHANN
BACH IN 1750 TO THE DEATH OF LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN IN 1827.

CLASSICAL PERIOD MUSIC FORMS ARE SIMPLER AND LESS INTENSE THAN THOSE OF THE PREVIOUS
BAROQUE PERIOD

BUT THE CLASSICAL PERIOD TOOK PLACE DURING THE "AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT" WHEN THE POWER
SHIFTED TO THE MIDDLE CLASS AND SCIENCE AND REASON OVERTURNED THE PHILOSOPHICAL POWER
OF THE CHURCH.

SONATA
THE SONATA FORM IS OFTEN THE FIRST PART OF A MULTI-MOVEMENT WORK. IT HAS THREE MAIN
SECTIONS: THE EXPOSITION, DEVELOPMENT, AND RECAPITULATION.

FORMAT OF THE CLASSICAL SYMPHONY

-ALLEGRO IN SONATA-ALLEGRO FORM, SOMETIMES PRECEDED BY A SLOW INTRODUCTION

-A SLOW MOVEMENT IN A-B-A OR THEME AND VARIATIONS FORM

-MINUET AND TRIO IN TRIPLE METER

-FINALE, A VIVACIOUS ALLEGRO MOLTO OR PRESTO IN RONDO OR SONATA-ALLEGRO FORM

CHAMBER MUSIC

THE TRADITION OF CHAMBER MUSIC WAS FIRST ESTABLISHED IN THE LATE 1700S AND EARLY 1800S BY
HAYDN, MOZART AND BEETHOVEN DURING THE SO-CALLED VIENNESE CLASSIC ERA, AND USUALLY HAS
THE FOLLOWING TRAITS:

-USUALLY CALLED TRIOS, QUARTETS, QUINTETS, SEXTETS, ETC. DEPENDING ON THE NUMBER OF
PLAYERS.

- COMMONLY WRITTEN FOR STRINGS, BUT CAN ALSO INCLUDE PIANO, WINDS AND STRINGS, WINDS
ALONE OR A VARIETY OF OTHER COMBINATIONS.

- FOUR-MOVEMENT OVERALL DESIGN, WITH EACH THE INTERNAL DESIGN OF EACH MOVEMENT BASED
ON ONE OF THE STANDARD "CLASSICAL FORMS"
 MAIN CHARACTERISTICS

CLASSICAL MUSIC HAS A LIGHTER, CLEARER TEXTURE THAN BAROQUE MUSIC AND IS LESS COMPLEX. IT
IS MAINLY HOMOPHONIC—MELODY ABOVE CHORDAL ACCOMPANIMENT (BUT COUNTERPOINT BY NO
MEANS IS FORGOTTEN, ESPECIALLY LATER IN THE PERIOD).

ARIETY AND CONTRAST WITHIN A PIECE BECAME MORE PRONOUNCED THAN BEFORE. VARIETY OF KEYS,
MELODIES, RHYTHMS AND DYNAMICS (USING CRESCENDO,DIMINUENDO AND SFORZANDO), ALONG
WITH FREQUENT CHANGES OF MOOD AND TIMBRE WERE MORE COMMONPLACE IN THE CLASSICAL
PERIOD THAN THEY HAD BEEN IN THE BAROQUE. MELODIES TENDED TO BE SHORTER THAN THOSE OF
BAROQUE MUSIC, WITH CLEAR-CUT PHRASES AND CLEARLY MARKED CADENCES. THE ORCHESTRA
INCREASED IN SIZE AND RANGE; THE HARPSICHORD CONTINUE FELL OUT OF USE, AND THE WOODWIND
BECAME A SELF-CONTAINED SECTION.