Power point 17. The Classic Era: Early Classic Instrumental Music

1. Early Classic Keyboard Music
Keyboard music ca. 1750

2. Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
• Italian, son of Alessandro
• harpsichordist in Lisbon for
Portugese princess Maria
Barbara
• 1729—followed Maria
Barbara to Spain (she
married crown prince
Ferdinand)
• wrote 550 1-movement
harpsichord sonatas
– wide range, hand-
crossings, technical tricks
– binary form
– Sonata in D, K. 119

3. J. C. Bach
•German, the “London” Bach; son of J.S.
Bach
•Style Galant
–light, graceful, elegant, witty, pleasant
–thin texture
–simple melodies, short phrases, simple
harmonies
–no figured bass
–bass supports melody
–inner voices filler
–slower harmonic rhythm. This is made
more interesting by:
•murky bass: broken octaves
•Alberti bass: low-high-middle-high
•dynamic contrast
•Concerto in E-flat
–combines ritornello and sonata form

4. C.P.E. Bach
•German, son of J.S. Bach
•Empfindsamer Stil
–German for “sensitive
style”
–continual change in
expression (compared
w/Baroque music which had
only one “affect” or
expression per composition)
–dynamic contrast
–avoids terraced dynamics
• Sonata in A, mvt. II

5. Early Classic Orchestra music
Orchestra music ca. 1750

6. Giovanni Battista Sammartini
•Symphony
–large work for orchestra
–developed from:
•Italian opera overture,
“sinfonia”
–I: fast, rounded binary
–II: slow
–III: fast, dance-like, in 3
•concerto grosso
•Symphony in F, mvt. I

7. Development of Sonata form
1. cadence rhyme
material @ end A transposed to tonic @ end of B
see Couperin La muse victorieuse
2. rounded binary
||:A:||:B A:||
see Sammartini symphony
3. sonata form
includes thematic development, movement to keys beyond dominant
tonality—statement, digression, return
see Mozart Sonata in F

8. Johann Stamitz
•conductor of Mannheim orchestra
(Germany)
–best orchestra in Europe
•Mannheim roll, Mannheim Rocket
•dynamic contrast
•4 movements—fast, slow,
minuet/trio, presto
•2ndtheme on dominant
•strings, 2 flutes or oboes, 2 horns,
continuo
•Sinfonia a 8 in E-flat, mvt. I