The Classical Era

1. The Classical Era
The Classical Era
01/08/13 1

2. The Classical Period
 Vienna-hub of the music
world
 Former seat of Holy
Roman Empire
 Bustling cultural &
commercial center
 4th largest city in Europe
 Many aristocrats are
musicians/performers
 Class barriers broken
down by musical tastes
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

3. The Classical Era: Overview
Time Period: (1750 - 1800)
 Two leading composers: Haydn & Mozart
 Others include CPE Bach, JC Bach
 “classical”--refers to
 Greek and Roman antiquity
 Balance, clarity, naturalness (vs.
ornamentation, virtuosity, expressive
extremes of Baroque Era)
 1720-1790--Age of Enlightenment--critical
thinking and reasoned discussion important
 Gallant style, rococo
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

4. Cultural/Historical Context
of Classical Era
 1759--Voltaire’s Candide
 1762--Rousseau’s Social Contract
 1775-1776--American
Revolution/Declaration of Independence
 1789--French Revolution
 1789--U.S. Constitution
 1793-1794--Reign of Terror in France
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

5. Difference between Baroque &
Classical Styles
 More middle class
 Greater need for public entertainment
 Greater need for amateurs to play
instruments
 Musicians hired & paid for informal
gatherings other than church, etc.
 Beginning of profits from concert
attendance
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

6. “Classical” Music: Ideal Music
 Language should be universal
 Not limited by natural boundaries
 Noble & entertaining
 Expressive & natural
 Free of needless technical complications
 Please any normal sensitive listener
Classical thought focuses on the objective vs. the
subjective
Term borrowed from Art History-stress on balance and
clarity of structure
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

7. The Patronage System: From
Aristocracy to Public
 Composers worked during a period of violent political &
social upheaval
 Strongly affected by changes in society
 Economical improvements
 Middle class prospered & sought aristocratic luxuries
 Had great influence on music
• Townspeople organized concerts, flourished in 2nd half of 18th
century
• Children deserved music lessons
• Demand for printed music, instruments, etc. increased
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

8. The Patronage System: From
Aristocracy to Public
 More pieces written for amateurs
 Serious to comic operas-ridiculing
aristocracy
 Serious compositions flavored by folk &
popular music
 Music written for private parties &
events
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

9. Public Concerts in
Classical Period
 For first time subscription concerts (like season
tickets) were offered to public, outside of the courts
and homes of aristocracy.
 Composers had guaranteed audiences, and they
composed for their tastes.
 Composers were usually present when their music was
played. They were celebrities.
 Their orchestras rarely played music by other
composers because music printing wasn’t well
developed so the music wasn’t available.
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

10. The Classical Era: Changes
from Baroque Era
 General --restrained, balanced, and stable;
clear musical ideas; predictable
 Performance Media--symphony orchestra,
chamber orchestra and ensembles, soloists
opera companies
 Rhythm-- simple, regular rhythms with
steady beat; steady tempos
 Dynamic Expression--extremes of
dynamics not used
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

11. The Classical Era: Changes
from Baroque Era
 Melodies--less complex, more tuneful,
more balanced
 Phrasing--more symmetrical; based on
dance rhythms
 Texture--more often homophonic;
occasional polyphony
 Themes--multiple themes vs. single theme
 Instruments--equal importance with voice
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

12. The Classical Era: Changes
from the Baroque Era
 Contrast of mood: Wider emotional range,
not limited to one “mood” per piece
 The End of the Basso Continuo
 Abandoned, no need for improvised
accompaniment, More music written for
amateurs, Composers had more control,
could specify correct accompaniment
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

13. The Classical Era: Changes
from the Baroque Era
 Forms
 Detailed forms of single movements
 binary & ternary forms, sonata-
allegro, rondo, minuet & trio, theme &
variations
 Large forms in several movements
 Symphony, concerto, sonata, string
trio/quartet, opera, oratorios, Masses
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

14. Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809)
 Music Director for Prince Nicholas Esterhazy for almost 3
decades
 Composing--whatever Prince wanted
 Conducting--in charge of one of the best orchestras in Europe
 Keeping order among musicians
 Established the symphony and the string quartet as major
instrumental forms.
 After death of Prince, Haydn made 2 long trips to England
(1790).
 Composed symphonies, songs, and piano works
 Returned to Vienna in 1795--produced oratorios, Masses,
and more string quartets.
 Taught Beethoven
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

15. Joseph Haydn
(1732 - 1809)
 Born in Rohrau, Austria, and
studied in Vienna.
 Background consisted of folk
music
 Went to Vienna at age 8, served
as choirboy in Cathedral of St.
Stephen
 Turned out when voice changed
 Gave music lessons
 Played violin in street bands
 Died 1809, while Napoleon’s
army was occupying Vienna
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

16. Haydn’s Music
 Wrote every kind of music
 Optimistic, sense of humor
 “Papa Haydn”-very influential to other
musicians
 Master at developing themes
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

17. Other Important Symphonies
Composed by Haydn
 Symphony #8--G Major (“Evening”)
 One of a series (“Morning,” “Noon,” and
“Evening”)
 Symphony #45--F Minor (“Farewell”)
 Musicians left the stage one-by-one in protest for
having to be away from their families too long
 Symphony #94--G Major (“Surprise”)
 Loud chord near beginning of slow movement
 Symphony #101--D major (“Clock”)
 Tick-tock rhythm of slow movement
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

18. Chapter 19--Joseph
Haydn: The String Quartet
 Common Movements
 Sonata form--fast
 Sonata, theme and variations, or ABA--
slow (contrasting key)
 Minuet and Trio--ABA--triple meter
 Finale-sonata or rondo--very fast
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

19. The String Quartet
 Musical Instruments
 1st violin
 2nd violin
 viola
 cello
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

20. Joseph Haydn: String Quartet
in C Major--2nd Movement
 Theme: hymn-like, resembling 4-part
harmony (homophonic)
 Variation 1: violin 2 has melody with
violin 1 accompaniment (2-part
homophony)
 Variation 2: cello has theme with other 3
voices accompanying
 Variation 3: viola has melody; only 3
voices play most of variation
 Variation 4: 4-part polyphony throughout
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

21. Concerto for Trumpet in E-flat
Third Movement-Rondo(1796)
 Composed in 1796 for keyed trumpet
 Virtuoso-Anton Weidinger
 Contains difficult passages
 Exciting to listen to
 Brilliant trumpet sound
 Happy quality
 Rondo form
 Rondo contains both old and new
ideas
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

22. The Classical Orchestra
 Also called “chamber orchestra”
 Strings--8-10 first violins, 6-8 second violins,
4-6 violas, 3-4 cellos, 2 double basses
 Winds--2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2
trumpets, 2 French horns
 Trombones used-only in church music &
opera(Haydn, Mozart)
 Percussion--timpani (kettle drums)
 Each section played a more special role-
orchestra worked more as a whole
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

23. The Classical Symphony
 Symphony-extended composition typically
lasting between 20 & 40 minutes, exploiting
range of tone color and dynamics of
orchestra
 4 movements.
 Mozart and Haydn used minuet and trio form
for the 3rd movement.
 Beethoven introduced the faster scherzo and
trio as the dance movement.
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

24. The Classical Symphony
 Great contribution to orchestral music
 Haydn-104, mostly composed for employers
 Mozart over 40, may not have heard them
performed
 Beethoven-9, wrote only when inspired, longer
than previous composers, conceived for
performance in large concert halls
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

25. Movements
 I. Fast, vigorous movement, always in
sonata-form
 II. Lyrical slow movement-songlike melodies,
can be in sonata-form, ABA form, theme &
variations, NOT in tonic key
 III. Dancelike movement-minuet & trio,
moderate or quick tempo(Haydn, Mozart)
 IV. Heroic fast movement-lively, brilliant,
lighter in mood than opening movement, in
rondo, sonata-form, sonata-rondo
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

26. The Classical Symphony
 Key-important, provided with title of work,
may be only reference to piece, not
necessarily important to listener
 Each movement self-contained composition
with own set of themes, theme in one
movement rarely appears in another
 Unified by use of same key in 3 movements,
movements balance & complement each
other
 Importance of symphony lasted through 20th
century
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

27. Detailed Forms of the
Classical Period
 Sonata allegro
 Theme and Variations
 Minuet and Trio (song form and trio)
 Rondo
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

28. The Sonata-Allegro Form
 Sonata-Allegro Form
 Became expected form for first
movements of symphonies, concertos,
chamber works
 Still used today
 Also found in other movements of
multimovement works
 Sonata form different from sonata
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

29. The Sonata-Allegro Form
 More than just plan
or scheme
 Features
development of
themes
 Zucchini analogy(old
text)
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

30. The Zucchini Analogy
Several years ago people in small town in Ohio realized that
zucchini grew abundantly in their gardens and farms. In fact,
conditions one summer were so good that they could never use
all of it, and a lot of zucchini would rot unused on the vine.
What to do? They decided to hold a “Zucchini Festival,”
complete with crafts, dancing, music, and, of course, zucchini.
Sure enough, it was chopped, sliced, and ground up and
incorporated in all sorts of vegetable dishes, made into
preserves and pickles, and blended in bread and muffins. Even
the arts were included as many fine pieces of zucchini sculpture
were carved
It’s a bit like that with the development of themes in sonata-form.
Composers take a theme and work it in all sorts of ways. The
themes, or at least parts of them, are still there, but they have
been given a variety of treatments.
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

31. Sonata Form, Continued
 Exposition lays out at least 2 main
themes in contrasting, but related keys;
the themes are usually dissimilar in
character (e.g., one fast, one slower).
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

32. Sonata Form, Continued
 Development--moves through various
keys (modulates), rarely staying in one
key for long.
 Recapitulation--returns to tonic key and
stays in that key throughout; themes of
the exposition are heard again, but ALL
are in the tonic key.
 Coda or Codetta--an ending section in
the tonic key; not part of the actual sonata
form
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

33. Sonata Form Diagram
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
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34. Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, K.555
(1788)
 Unlikely heard them
performed
 Score calls for typical
orchestra: violins,
violas, cellos, flute, 2
each oboe, bassoon,
Fr. Horn; revised to
include clarinets
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

35. Difference between developing
a theme vs. varying a theme
 Development
 Involves fragmenting and remolding a theme
 Variation
 Places the entire theme in new settings or gives it
a new harmonic, rhythmic, or melodic costume
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

36. Theme and Variations
Form
 Very popular in Classical Era
 Theme presented and then altered in several
ways
 Examples of variation techniques:
 Change of key
 Change of mode (major to minor/minor to major)
 Change of tempo or meter
 Change of timbre (i.e., instrumentation)
 Change in texture (homophony/polyphony)
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

37. Theme & Variations
 Can be independent piece or movement of
symphony, sonata, or string quartet
 Outline of form: A A΄(A prime, variation 1),
A΄΄(variation 2), etc.; each prime mark
indicates variation of basic theme
 Connected or separated by pauses
 Composer may borrow melody or invent own
 Usually no more than 4 variations of a tune
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

38. Minuet and Trio: A Three-
Part Large Form
 Often used as third movement of symphony,
quartets, etc.
 Originated as dance-stately, dignified
 Triple meter(3/4), moderate tempo
 Each part also divided into 3 parts
 Minuet Section = A (a b a) repeated
 Trio Section = B (c d c) repeated
 Minuet Section = A (a b a) not repeated
 Trio section is often in another key and is more
lively in tempo.
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

39. Rondo
 Main theme lively, easy to remember,
stated in tonic key
 Used either as independent piece or
movement of larger piece, usually last
(happy ending syndrome)
 Combined with elements of sonata form-
sonata-rondo-with development section
like sonata form
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

40. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756 - 1791)
 Born in Salzburg, Austria, child prodigy on piano
 Composed 1st symphony by age 8, 1st opera at 12.
 Father was a composer--Leopold Mozart; recognized his
son’s musical genius early.
 Toured Europe to meet composers, perform, and learn about
styles of composition and performance.
 Went to Vienna in 1781 without steady employment, hoping to
support himself by performing on the piano, selling his
compositions, and giving piano lessons.
 Died at age 35.
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

41. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756-1791)
 Wrote every genre, mostly opera
 In London-performed concerti of J.C. Bach
 Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo-refused
him a more suitable position in court
orchestra
 Had no success acquiring decent job
 Reputation as brat
 All works catalogued by Ludwig von Kochel
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
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42. Mozart at the Keyboard with Sister,
Nannerl, as Father, Leopold, Looks On
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
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43. Mozart--Other Famous
Compositions
 Mass in C Minor
 Requiem--a Mass for the Dead--his last,
unfinished work
 Eine kleine Nachtmusik
 Symphonies—no. 25 (“Little”), no. 38 (“Prague”),
no. 41 (“Jupiter”)
 Operas--Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, The
Marriage of Figaro, Cosi fan Tutte
 Piano Concertos
 Piano Sonatas
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
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44. Important Composers of
the Classical Concerto
 C.P.E. Bach--50  Mozart
keyboard concertos  27 piano concertos
 Johann Christian
 5 violin concertos
Bach--dozens of  4 horn concertos
keyboard concertos  1 bassoon concerto
 1 concerto for flute
 Haydn and harp
 Cello Concerto in D  Concerto for 2
Major Pianos in E-flat
 Trumpet Concerto in Major
E-flat Major  Clarinet Concerto in
A Major
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

45. The Solo Concerto
 Soloist (typically piano or violin) and
orchestra
 3 movement format: fast, slow, fast
 1st and last movements usually had cadenza:
an improvisatory passage in which soloist
could show off virtuosity on instrument,
fermata
 Often this passage was not written by composer.
 Much of the musical improvisation was based on
themes of the movement.
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

46. Concerto--Movements
 Typically a 3-movement genre
 First movement--sonata form
 Second movement--sonata, theme and
variations, or ABA form
 Third movement--Finale--sonata or rondo
form
 Omits the dance movement (minuet and
trio)
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

47. Chapter 23: Mozart’s
Piano Concerto in A Major
 1781--Mozart left his  Concerto = soloist plus
native Salzburg and orchestra in various
moved to Vienna at configurations
age 25, hoping to get  Orchestra alone
a position in a royal  Soloist alone
court. There he  Orchestra supports
composed 17 piano soloist
concertos in the 10  Soloist supports
years before he died orchestra
(age 35).  Soloist and orchestra
of equal importance
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
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48. Double-Exposition
Concerto Form
 First movement--sonata form
 2 expositions
 1st--orchestra alone; all in tonic
 2nd--soloist and orchestra together; 2nd theme
modulates to related key (as in other sonata form
movements)
 Development--avoids tonic, like sonata form
 Recapitulation--all themes in tonic
 Contains cadenza--virtuostic, improvisatory section
based on themes and other material
 Coda--follows cadenza--orchestra plays alone;
tonic key
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
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49. Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
 Master of Opera-wrote in
both German & Italian
 Opera buffa-Italian, all
composed to librettos by
Lorenzo da Ponte
 The Marriage of Figaro-
extremely successful
 Cosi fan tutte(They’re All
Like That)
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
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50. Opera of the Classical
Period
 Enjoyed by middle class and aristocracy.
 Public opera houses were very popular.
 Both Haydn and Mozart composed many
operas, thought most of Haydn’s are lost.
 Although Haydn’s operas were in traditional
Italian, Mozart wrote some in German.
 Mozart produced some in folk theaters, called
singspiel, rather than in opera houses.
 Plots often attacked aristocracy or made fun of
current figures of the day.
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
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51. Don Giovanni
 Commissioned by
Prague opera company
 Not popular with
Viennese
 Blend of serious & comic
opera, violence & the
supernatural
 Based on tale of Don
Juan
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
©2009 Pearson Education, Inc.
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52. Requiem Mass in D Minor(1791)
 Commissioned by anonymous nobleman
through letter brought by a stranger
 Intended to pass off work as his own
 Composed 9 movements, part of 10th
 Tried to finish on deathbed
 Baroque touches(double fugue in Kyrie)
 Completed by student-Franz Suessmeyer, who
filled out orchestration, completed fragment,
added four movements
 Dies irae-Day of Wrath-based on 13th century
text, describing judgment day
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
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53.  Music- “must never offend the ear, but must
please the hearer, or in other words, must never
cease to be music.”
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By Mark Evan Bonds PRENTICE HALL
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