Week 4

About the Classical Period (1750-1820)

The dates of the classical period in Western music are generally accepted as being between
about 1750 and 1820. However, the term classical music is used in a colloquial sense as a
synonym for Western art music, which describes a variety of Western musical styles from the
ninth century to the present.

The classical period falls between the baroque and the romantic periods. The best-known
composers from this period are Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van
Beethoven…

In the middle of the eighteenth century, Europe began to move toward a new style
in architecture, literature, and the arts, generally known as classicism. This style sought to
emulate the ideals of classical antiquity, especially those of classical Greece and Roman. While
still tightly linked to court culture and absolutism, with its formality and emphasis on order and
hierarchy, the new style was also “cleaner.” It favored clearer divisions between parts, brighter
contrasts and colors, and simplicity rather than complexity. In addition, the typical size of
orchestras began to increase.

* Opera vs. Oratorio (Baroque Period) still continues to the Classical Period
*Symphony
*Sonata (vs. Cantata)
*Concerto: contrast
Classical music has a lighter, clearer texture than baroque music and is less complex. Music in
the classical period which was drawn in opposition to the structures of the baroque style,
emphasizing light elegance in place of the baroque’s dignified seriousness and impressive
grandeur.

Concerto image
Violin concerto

Piano Concerto
Symphony image
The Classical period
 an emphasis on elegance and balance.
 short well-balanced melodies and clear-cut question and answer phrases.
 mainly simple diatonic harmony.
 mainly homophonic textures (melody plus accompaniment) but with some use of
counterpoint (where two or more melodic lines are combined)
 use of contrasting moods.
 contrasting dynamics (soft and loud)
 Objective Titles

Musical Example

Concerto: Typewriter Concerto

Symphony: Beethoven Symphony No. 9

Beethoven Moonlight Sonata

Movie: Immortal Beloved

Mozart: Requiem
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Movie: Amadeus

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

SYMPHONY No. 9 “ode to joy”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fQG4CcoRuM

By the time Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with its huge “Ode to Joy” climax, was
premiered on May 7, 1824, the composer was profoundly deaf.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s revolutionary Ninth Symphony is, without question, one of the greatest works
in classical repertoire.

“He uses solo voices in a symphony for the first time, setting the words of Schiller’s poem An die Freude.
It is the longest and most complex of all his symphonies, which we may regard it as the pinnacle of his
achievement, because it is his last symphony – but he was working on his Tenth Symphony when he
died.”

For almost 200 years, the famous hymnal theme to his symphony’s finale - the “Ode to Joy” – has
symbolized hope, unity and fellowship – across borders and through conflicts.

But there is a tragic story behind the work.

Beethoven’s ‘Choral’ is arguably the greatest symphony ever composed: the summit of his
achievements, a masterful musical celebration of the human race and a massive work that makes all
who hear it feel better about life. And yet, Beethoven himself never actually heard it.

The man who had done more than anyone before him to change the way we hear music had become
one for whom sounds could no longer exist – and the bitter irony of this was not lost on him.

But, when Beethoven conducted its premiere, he was famously unaware of the rapturous response his
ninth symphony received. It took one of the musicians to alert him to the cheering audience – and that
was only at the end of the second movement.
What are the lyrics to ‘Ode to Joy’?
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is famous for its setting of Friedrich Schiller’s poem ‘Ode to Joy’ – a text
the composer had been fascinated with for over twenty years. Here’s just a short passage below.

Freude, schöner Götterfunken,

Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligthum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

Which translates into English as:

Joy, bright spark of divinity,

Daughter of Elysium,
Fire-inspired we tread
Within thy sanctuary.
Thy magic power re-unites
All that custom has divided,
All men become brothers,
Under the sway of thy gentle wings.

Fur Elise

Therese Malfatti