4. 工 作 完 成 情 况
As we move
forward in musical
time, we begin to
enter the Medieval
Period of
music which can
be generally
agreed to span the
period from
around 500AD up
until the mid-
fifteenth century.
By this time
music was a
dominant art
in taverns to
cathedrals,
practiced by
kings to
paupers alike.
It was during this
extended period of
music that the sound
of music becomes
increasingly familiar.
This is partly due to
the development of
musical notation,
much of which has
survived, that allows
us a window back into
this fascinating time.
5. 年 度 工 作 概 述
Alongside these important forms came the
madrigal that often reflects the moods and
feelings of the people of the time. Its
wonderfully polyphonic form is both
mesmerizing and delightful.
4
1
From the written music that survives from
the monasteries and other important
accounts of musical practices, it’s possible to
assemble an image of a vibrant culture that
ranges from the sacred to the secular.
3
Throughout the Medieval period, the music
slowly began to adopt ever more elaborate
structures and devices that produced works
of immense beauty and devotion.
2
Hildegard von Bingen and Perotin pioneered
many of the musical forms we still recognize
today including the motet and the sacred
Mass.
7. 工 作 完 成 情 况
Instruments developed in accordance
with the composer’s imaginations. A
full gamut of wind, brass and
percussion instruments accompanied
the Medieval music, although it is still
the human voice that dominates many
of the compositions. Towards the
close of the high medieval period, we
find the emergence of instrumental
pieces in their own right which in turn
paves the way for many musical forms
in the following period: The
Renaissance.
Before leaving this period of music it
is important to mention the
Troubadours and the Trouveres.
These travelling storytellers and
musicians covered vast distances on
their journeys across Europe and
further afield into Asia. They told
stories, sung ballads and perhaps
most importantly, brought with them
influences from far and wide that
seamlessly blended with the western
musical cultures.
The Renaissance (1450 – 1600)
was a golden period in music
history. Freed from the
constraints of Medieval musical
conventions the composers of the
Renaissance forged a new way
forward. Josquin des Prez is one
of the early Renaissance
composers to be a great master
of the polyphonic style, often
combining many voices to create
elaborate musical textures.
8. 年 度 工 作 概 述
Keyboard instruments also became increasingly
common and the advent of the sonata followed in due
course. Other popular forms for instrumental music
included the toccata, canzona and ricercar to name but a
few, emanating from the Courtly dance.
Towards the end of the Renaissance, what was
called the Church Modes began to dissolve in favor of
what is now considered to be functional harmony or
tonality based on a system of keys rather than modes.
4
1
Later Palestrina, Thomas Tallis and William Byrd
build on the ideas of des Pres composing some of
the most stunning motets, masses, chansons and
instrumental works. Modality was firmly
established as a basis for all harmony, and
although strict rules governing the use of
dissonance, the expressive qualities of
Renaissance music are virtually unparalleled.
3
This gave composers far more scope to explore
and express their creative ideas than before. The
viol family developed to provide a very particular,
haunted quality to much of the music of the time
alongside the establishment of each recognizable
family of instruments comprising, percussion,
strings, woodwind and brass.
2
As instrumental pieces became
accepted into the repertoire, we find
the development of instruments like
the bassoon and the trombone
giving rise to larger and more
elaborate instrumental groupings.
10. 年 度 工 作 概 述
T
I
C
A
The Baroque Period (1600-1760), houses some
of the most famous composers and pieces that
we have in Western Classical Music. It also sees
some of the most important musical and
instrumental developments. Italy, Germany,
England and France continue from the
Renaissance to dominate the musical
landscape, each influencing the other with
conventions and style.
Amongst the many celebrated composers
of the time, G F Handel, Bach, Vivaldi and
Purcell provide a substantial introduction to
the music of this era. It is during this
glittering span of time that Handel
composes his oratorio “The Messiah”,
Vivaldi the “Four Seasons”, Bach his six
“Brandenburg Concertos” and the “48
Preludes and Fugues”, together with
Purcell’s opera “Dido and Aeneas”.
Instrumental music was composed and
performed in tandem with vocal works,
each of equal importance in the Baroque.
The virtuosity that began amongst the elite
Renaissance performers flourished in the
Baroque. Consider the keyboard Sonatas of
Domenico Scarlatti or the Concertos that
Vivaldi composed for his student
performers. This, in turn, leads to
significant instrumental developments, and
thanks to the aristocratic support of
Catherine Medici, the birth of the Violin.
Common musical forms were established founded on
the Renaissance composers’ principles but extended
and developed in ways that they would have
probably found unimaginable. The Suite became a
Baroque favorite, comprising contrasting fast slow
movements like the Prelude; Allemande, Gigue,
Courante and the Sarabande. Concertos became ever
more popular, giving instrumentalists the
opportunity to display their technical and expressive
powers.
11. 年 度 工 作 概 述
This lifts the limitations of modes and
offers composers the chance to create
ever more complex and expressive
pieces that combine exciting
polyphonic textures and dynamics.
Vocal music continued to include the Mass
but now also the Oratorio and Cantata
alongside anthems and chorales.
Opera appears in earnest in the Baroque
period and becomes an established musical
form and vehicle for astonishing expression
and diversity. Increasingly, the preferred harmony is
tonal and the system of keys (major
and minor), is accepted in favor of
modality.
T
I
O
V
13. 年 度 工 作 概 述
One key development is that of the Piano. The
Baroque harpsichord is replaced by the early
piano which was a more reliable and
expressive instrument. Mozart and Haydn each
wrote a large number of works for the Piano
which allowed for this instrument to develop
significantly during this period.
The rise of the virtuoso performer continued
throughout this period of music as demonstrated
by the many of the concertos and sonatas
composed during this time. Opera flourished in
these decades and became a fully-fledged
musical form of entertainment that extended
way beyond the dreams of the Baroque
composers.
Chamber music alongside orchestral music was
a feature of the Classical Era with particular
attention drawn towards the String Quartet.
The orchestra itself was firmly established and
towards the latter end of the period began to
include clarinets, trombones, and timpani.
From the Baroque, we step into the Classical
Period (1730-1820). Here Haydn and Mozart
dominate the musical landscape and Germany
and Austria sit at the creative heart of the
period. From the ornate Baroque composers of
the Classical period moved away from the
polyphonic towards the homophonic, writing
music that was, on the surface of it at least,
simple, sleek and measured.
Classical
Period
15. 工 作 完 成 情 况
Enter your title here
Musical forms like the
Romantic orchestra
became expansive
landscapes where
composers gave full and
unbridled reign to their
deepest emotions and
dreams.
04
The Romantic era saw
huge developments in
the quality and range of
many instruments that
naturally encouraged
ever more expressive and
diverse music from the
composers.
03
Beethoven’s immense genius
shaped the next few decades with
his substantial redefining of many
of the established musical
conventions of the Classical era.
His work on Sonata form in his
concertos, symphonies, string
quartets and sonatas, goes almost
unmatched by any other
composer.
02
As the Classical era closed
Beethoven is the most
notable composer who
made such a huge
contribution to the
change into the Romantic
Era (1780 – 1880).
01
16. 成 功 项 目 展 示
Berlioz in his “Symphonie Fantastique” is a fine
example of this, or later Wagner in his immense
operas. The symphonies of Gustav Mahler
stand like stone pillars of achievement at the
end of the Romantic period alongside the tone
poems of Richard Strauss. The Romantic period
presents us with a vast array of rich music that
only towards the end of the 19th Century began
to fade.
17. 成 功 项 目 展 示
It is hard to conceive of what could follow such a
triumphant, heroic time in musical history but as
we push forward into the 20th Century the musical
landscape takes a dramatic turn. Echoes of the
Romantic Era still thread through the next century
in the works of Elgar, Shostakovich and Arthur
Bliss, but it is the music from France we have title
impressionism that sparks its way into our musical
consciences.
18. 成 功 项 目 展 示
Debussy and Ravel are key exponents of this
colorful movement that parallels the artwork of
Monet and Manet. What we hear in the music of
the impressionists harks back to many of the
popular forms of the Baroque but in ways that
Bach is unlikely to have foreseen. The tonal
system transforms to include a wider range of
scales and influences from the Orient allowing
composers to write some of the most stunning
works ever heard.
19. 成 功 项 目 展 示
Both Ravel and Debussy composed extensively
for the piano using poetry for inspiration. Their
orchestral works are amongst some of the most
beautiful and evocative pieces ever written.
20. 成 功 项 目 展 示
In parallel, the Teutonic world began to undergo
its own revolution in the form of the second
Viennese school, led by Arnold Schoenberg.
Disillusioned with the confines of tonality
Schoenberg threw out the tonal system in favor of
a new twelve-tone serial system giving each step
of the chromatic scale equal musical validity. The
result was serial music that was completely atonal
and transformed the musical landscape almost
beyond anything that had happened before.
21. 明 年 工 作 计 划
02
03
04
05
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01
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Medieval Period
Renaissance Period
Baroque Period
Classical Period
Romantic Period
Discuss briefly your understanding on the
following periods of Music. (2 pts. Each)
22. 年 度 工 作 概 述
What key development is evident during the
Classical Period?
A. Hapsichord
B. Piano
C. Timpani
5
2
What language where chants in?
A. Middle English
B. Old English
C. Latin
3
Which of the following word means rebirth?
A. Renaissance
B. Baroque
C. Romantic
4
The _____ was the center of musical life.
A. Church
B. King
C. Art
1
What does secular mean?
A. Religious
B. Non-Religious
C. Popular