Music of the Classical Period

(1750-1820)
“Classical” Defined
 A “classic” is any supreme accomplishment of lasting
appeal (for example a movie classic or classic rock
song)
 “classical” music (lowercase “c”) usually refers to any
music that is NOT rock , jazz, folk, or popular
 “Classical” music (uppercase “C”) refers to music
written between 1750-1820, which exhibits some of the
artistic ideas found in “Neoclassic” visual art and
architecture
– In visual art and architecture, “Classical” Art refers to Greek
and Roman antiquity
Classicial Historical Highlights

 Age of Enlightenment; using reason to solve

social problems
 Age of violent upheavals - French & American
Revolutions, Napoleonic Wars
 Political power shifts from noble courts and
church to the newly empowered middle class
– Composers move from high-class servants to free-lance, self-
employed artists
Classical Artistic Highlights
 New emphasis on balance and clarity of
structure
– Neoclassic Architecture and Painting
• firm lines & clear structure
• balance & symmetry
• moralistic subject matter
• Greek & Roman references
 Arts meant to please and entertain rather than
instruct: new emphasis on naturalness &
pleasing variety
– Rococo artists: Watteau; Fragonard
Upper Belvedere, Vienna 1721-22
Temple of Love at Versailles, 1775
David,
Mars
disarmed
by Venus,
1824
Fragonard
–The
Reader
Classical Music Genres
 Vocal Music Genres  Instrumental Music
– Opera Genres
– Orchestral Music
• Symphony
• Concerto
– Chamber Music
• String Quartet
• Serenade
 Classical Musical Highlights
 New emphasis on pleasing variety
– Highly flexible rhythms (i.e. all different lengths of short and long notes)
– More difference between musical ideas within a single movement or
piece
– Introduction of crescendo and diminuendo into varied dynamic changes
 New emphasis on naturalness
– Demand for simplicity and clarity in melody and harmony
– Use of secular pop/folk “tunes” in art music
– More melody & accompaniment (homophonic) textures
– New emphasis on morality, common people, and everyday life in OPERA
 Example:
– W.A. Mozart’s Act 1, Scene 1 from Don Giovanni
Opera

 Sung theatrical work

 Staged with costumes and sets
 Example: WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Act 1,
excerpt from Opening Scene from Don Giovanni
 Classical Music Style Characteristics

Timbre End of basso continuo; evolution of standard orchestra with all four “choirs”;
strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion; transition from harpsichord to piano
Rhythm Emphasis on flexibiliy and naturalness; unexpected pauses; syncopations;
frequent changes from long to short note patterns
Melody Tuneful, easy to remember; folk-like, often “borrowed”; balanced and
symmetrical phrase lengths; tend to be rounded
Form New emphasis on symmetrical structures and clear formal designs; new
emphasis on rounding; new emphasis on multi-movement instrumental
works; widespread use of Sonata form
Dynamics Widespread use of gradual dynamic changes (I.e.crescendos &
diminuendos); transition from harpsichord to piano

Texture Basically HOMOPHONIC MELODY & ACCOMPANIMENT but flexible;

sudden appearances of small bits of imitative polyphony

Harmony Less dense; simpler and more stretched out harmonic progressions; gradual
abandonment of basso continuo
Mood Emphasis on variety and contrast
Karlskirche, Vienna 1716-33
Petite Trianon at Versailles, 1726-68
Wolfgang
Amadeus
Mozart
 Ludwig
Van
Beethoven