History of the Classical Period of Music

 introduction
 composers
 see also:
o History of Music
o History of Medieval Era of Music
o History of Renaissance Era of Music
o History of Baroque Era of Music
o History of the Romantic Era of Music

Introduction:
 the term "classical period" is generally used to refer to the post-baroque
& pre-romantic era of music composed between 1750 and 1830, which
covers the development of the classical symphony and concerto
 music of this period was generally of an orderly nature, with qualities
of clarity & balance, and emphasising formal beauty rather than
emotional expression
 new instruments:
o pianoforte:
 earliest keyboard with loud & soft - Cristofori's gravicem-
balo col piano e forte (c1698-1700)
 Silbermann 1st made Cristofori-styled instruments in 1726
and improved them
 upright piano 1st made in 1800 and perfected in 1829 and
the iron frame introduced
 neopolitan opera style (Italian style eg Handel)
o featuring bel canto often sung by eunuchs until Napoleon banned
castration of singers
o opera seria (serious opera)
o opera buffa (comic opera eg. Mozart "Don Giovanni")
 serious comedy opera (Mozart "The Marriage of Figaro"
1786)
 music styles:
o dance:
 French rococo or style galant (courtly style using short trills
usually on harpsichord)
 English country dance popular in Elizabethan courts but
displaced by waltz & quadrille
  quadrille:
 type of square dance in France becomes fashionable
1745
 popular in court of Napoleon I in early 19thC
 music selected from popular tunes, operatic arias &
sometimes sacred works
 minuet in France becomes fashionable 1751
 waltz in Vienna becomes fashionable 1773
 bolero in Spain 1780
o symphony:
 in 17th-18thC, a sinfonia was initially a short instrumental
piece which we would now regard as an overture to an opera
 in 18thC it became a large scale orchestral composition,
usually in 4 movements, usually containing an opening
allegro, followed by a slow movement, then a minuet or
scherzo, and finally another allegro or rondo
 early composers were Sammartini. Wagenseil, Gossec, J.C
& C.P.E. Bach, Boyce & especially the composers of the
Mannheim School, Stamitz, Cannabich, Richter and others
 successively improved by Hadyn, Mozart and then
Beethoven
 then embellished by the Romantic era composers
o sonata:
 originated in 16thC, when it meant anything not sung but
played
 in baroque times, had developed into instrumental piece of
3-6 movements, like a suite, and had 2 forms:
 sonata da camera (chamber sonata)
 sonata da chiesa (church sonata)
 keyboard solo sonatas developed in 18thC by Salvatore,
Kuhnau, D. Scarlatti & C.P.E. Bach
 further developed by the Viennese Classical composers
(usually in 3 movements as allegro-andante-allegro),
Hadyn, Mozart and then Beethoven introduced the minuet
& scherzo as the 3rd movement, replacing the allegro
o concerto:

o string quartet:
 1st developed in early 18thC with A.Scarlatti, Tartini
 flowered with compositions by Hadyn, Mozart and then
Beethoven & Schubert
 o Viennese classical school: Haydn (1732–1809), Mozart (1756-91),
and Beethoven (1770-1827)

Composers:
 Haydn (1732–1809):
o often regarded as the 'father' of the symphony (erroneously) and
of the string quartet, but also wrote some treasurable vocal music
o 1st to write string trios for violin, viola & cello (baroque trios were
2 violins and a cello)
o including oratorios, masses, operas as well as 450 arrangements
of British folk songs
o some of his works are part of the German music era "Sturm und
Drang" (Storm and Stress) in 1760-80 which was characterised by
peak of emotionalism, marked by new & audacious formal and
harmonic features
 symphonies nos 40-59 & string quartets
 also C.P.E. Bach's compositions
 Mozart (1756-91):
o the natural superiority of the music he wrote changed the course
of the symphony, piano concerto, string quartet, sonata and much
more.
o the brilliance and gaiety on the surface of his music contrasts with
the underlying vein of melancholy, giving it an ambivalence which
is fascinating & provocative (eg. Cosi fan tutte)
o compositions include:
 operas:
 Don Giovanni (1787)
 Cosi fan tutte (1789)
 symphonies:
 misc:
 Eine Klein Nachtmusik (1787)
 concertos:
 church music:
 Requiem Mass (1791)
 quartets, quintets:
 solo piano:
 minuets, rondos, gigue
 songs
 Beethoven (1770-1827):
 o a virtuoso pianist/composer who radically transformed every
music form he worked on:
 he emancipated & democratized music
 his mastery of structure & of key relationships was the basis
on the revolution in the handling of the sonata form
 developed the symphony to its fullest as a repository for a
composer's most important ideas
 expanded the coda from a formal conclusion to a climactic
splendour
 transformed the minuet into the tempestuous, exultant
scherzo
 1st to use 'motto themes' as a consistent formal device
 in his slow movements, expressed a mystical exaltation
which even Mozart had never approached
 extended string quartets and piano sonatas to a vastly
increased technical & expressive degree
o discovered he was going deaf in 1798, which gradually worsened,
and by 1819 he could no longer understand spoken voice
o music composed includes:
 symphonies:
 No.2 Eroica (1805) -initially dedicated to Napoleon,
but detracted when found Napoleon became Emperor
 No.5 (1808)
 No.6 Pastoral (1808)
 No.9 Choral (1824)
 concertos
 orchestrals
 piano sonatas
 Moonlight sonata
 other piano incl. bagatelles, Rondo a capriccio
 chamber music
 choral
 Schubert (1797-1828):
o wrote over 600 songs as well as operas, stage music, symphonies,
church music, chamber music, and piano sonatas, all of which,
even the happiest, had a tinge of sadness, especially his later
works when he was increasingly ill.
o Unfinished Symphony
o torchbearer at Beethoven's funeral
o
The early Classical Period: Opera, Sonata, Symphony

The Enlightenment
Reading Assignment:

1. Descartes (on reserves)

2. Voltaire (on reserves)
3. Critically and carefully read the opening discussion on
the Enlightenment by Palisca and Grout (1996:439-
451)

 Cosmopolitan age
 "International" (European) culture
 Vienna, Austria, as the new center of European culture in the 18th
century
 Humanitarianism
 Expanding middle class
 Public concerts as the new media of music patronage
 Music publishing: new musical magazines, reviews, criticism
 First "general" (meaning, European) histories of music with systematic
approach
 New Musical Taste

The Early Classical Period

 Explanation of the term "classical":
o well-balanced
o ymmetrical
o formally perfected
o structurally in equilibrium
o simple
o serious
o free from excesses and exuberent ornamentations
 o referring to ancient Greek (and sometimes even ancient Roman!)
culture, civilization, and the arts
 The Classical Period is sometimes also called:
o the Rococo
o Classicism
o the Galant Style, in France
o the Empfindsam Style, in Germany (see below)
 In its traditional understanding, the term usually refers to the period in
which Haydn and Mozart, and even early Beethoven, made their music
 New harmonic language -- tonality and functional harmony
 New melodic periodicity
 Emotionaal contrasts

o New and much bigger sound owing to the development of
orchestra and big musical forms, especially the symphony

I. Opera
1. Opera buffa -- Early Italian Comic Opera

o The term opera buffa stands for the 18th century comic opera in
Italy, also known as the:
 dramma giocoso, the 'jocular, comic opera'
 drama comico
 commedia in musica
o six or more characters, often speaking/singing in a dialect
o rapid recitatives, accompanied on the keyboard only
o arias, often in da capo form, were short and tuneful
o Composers:
 Leonardo Vinci (ca. 1696-1730)
 Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710-1736)

 Music Example -- Opera buffa (NRAWM II, CD7:1-

6 [CD3:1-6])
 a) recitative Ah, quanto mi sta male, "Ah, it
doesn't feel right,"
 b) da capo aria Son imbrogliato io, "I am all
mixed up," from the opera La serva padrona,
 "The Maid (as) Mistress" (1733), by Giovanni
Battista Pergolesi

2. Opera seria -- 'Serious' Opera in Italy and Austria-Germany

o a type of the 18th century Italian opera based on serious subjects

and librettos, without any comic situations
 libretto, It. "little book"
o cultivated all over Europe in a manner that was not much
distinguishable from a country to a country
o new emphasis on the aria:
 famous opera singers, divas and castratos, wanted
composers to write for them highly embellished arias with
coloraturas and ornaments
 this led to abuses in the 18th century opera, to be later on
answered by the reform of opera (see below)

Librettis: Pietro Metastasio (1698-1782)

o the librettos of the opera seria were usually those of the Italian
poet Pietro Metastasio
 1729: Metastasio appointed the court poet in Vienna, where
he stayed until his death
 Metastasio's librettos promoted morality through
entertainment
 heroism
 two pairs of lovers (conventional cast of the main four opera
roles)
o three-act operas
o alternating recitatives and arias
 recitative -- dialogues, action
 aria -- dramatic soliloquy, lyric expressions and feelings, in
the da capo form
o occasional duets
o the orchestra assumed more important role especially
in recitativo obligato, and as carrier of dramatic development,
not just an accompaniment

Composer: Johann Adolph Hasse (1699-1783)

o Although German, who lived in Dresden, Hasse spent many years
in Italy, married the celebrated Italian soprano Faustina Bordoni,
and composed operas widely accepted as Italian

 Music Example -- Opera seria (NRAWM II, CD7:7-11)

 da capo aria Digli ch'io son fedele, "Tell him
that I am faithful," from the
opera Cleofide (1731), by Johann Adolf Hasse

3. Comic Opera: Italy, France, England

o 1760-1800: roughly a period of the emergence and flurishing of

comic opera
o contrary to the 'international style' of opera seria, comic opera
carried more culture specific features of the local country in
which it was practiced
 comic opera helped in creating the emergence of national
styles in 19th century Europe
o the older term, opera buffa was replaced by the new and more
acceptable one:
 dramma giocoso, in Italy
 opéra comique, in France
 ballad opera, in England
o Librettist:
 Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793)
o Composers in Italy:
 Nicolò Piccinni (1728-1800)
 Domenico Cimarosa (1749-1789)
o Composers in France:
 Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)
 Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)
 François André Danican Philidor (1726-1795)
 Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny (1729-1817)
 André Ernest Modeste Grétry (1741-1813)

 Music Example -- Opéra comique (NRAWM II,

CD7:12-15)
  Air, aria, J'ai perdu tout mon bonheur, "I
have lost all my happiness," and recitative
from the opera Le devin du village, "The
village soothsayer" (1752), by Jean-
Jacques Rousseau
o Composers in England:
 John Gay (1685-1732), The Beggar's Opera

 Music Example -- Ballad Opera (NRAWM II,

CD7:16-20)
 Scenes 11-13 from The Beggar's
Opera by John Gay

The Reform of Opera

o 1750s: abuses in opera seria and the ever increasing demands of
opera singer for more coloraturas (see above) were cut short by
the reform of opera
o A new attempt was made to bring opera into harmony, in which
the drama and music would be in equilibrium, like in
French tragédie lyrique
 This was understood as more 'natural'
 New emphasis on recitativo obbligato, accompanied by the
whole orchestra
 New function of the orchestra as carrier of dramatic action
 Reintroduction of choruses in opera
o This reformist movement in opera was led by:
1. Nicolò Jommelli (1714-1774), worked in Stuttgart,
Germany
2. Tommaso Traetta (1727-1779), worked in Parma, Italy

Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)

o Synthesized French and Italian operatic genres

o Reformer of opera
 made overture an integral part of opera
 used the opera orchestra for dramataic purposes
 aimed at 'beautiful simplicity'
 emphasis on the chorus
  monumental proportions
 amalgamation of :
1. Italian melodic lightness
2. German 'seriousness'
3. French grandeur
o Operas:
 Orfeo ed Euridice, Vienna, 1762
 Alceste, Vienna, 1767
 Iphigénie en Aulide, 'Iphigenia in Aulis', Paris, 1774
 Iphigénie en Tauride, 'Iphigenia in Taris', Paris, 1779

 Music Example -- Reformed Opera (NRAWM II,

CD7:21-25)
 Excerpt from Act II, Scene 1, from the
opera Orfeo ed Euridice (1762) by Christoph
Willibald Gluck
 Raniero de Calzabigi (1714-1795), libretto

Querelle des bouffons

o 1752: the Querelle des bouffons, 'the quarrel of the bouffons,

the comic actors'
 the quarrel raged in Paris and it involved two groups:
0. supporters of the Italian opera who oppsed the old-
fashioned, stately and pompous French opera
1. supporter of tradition and French opera
 Jean-Jacques Rousseau supported Italian opera, and
because of him and others, French opera
of Lully and Rameau lost favor
 Gluck succeeded in swaying the pendulum the other way by
reforming opera and showing that, contrary to what
Rousseau thought, French opera can be written and
performed in French language
 Gluck's rival in Paris was Niccolò Piccinni, the Italian
composer of Neapolitan operas (see above)

II. Sonata and Symphony

 Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)

 son of Alessandro Scarlatti

 left italy in the early 1720s and lived in Portugal and then in Madrid,
Spain, for the rest of his life
 Scarlatti published his sonatas for harpsichord in a collection
called Essercizi, 'Excercizes'
 Scarlatti's sonata:
o binary pattern -- two movements or sections, each repeated
o the first section ends on the dominant or relative major key
o the second section modulates and finally returns to the tonic
o the closing part of the first section is repeated as the closing part
of the second section, but in the tonic key
o Scarlatti's sonata form became the model for the eighteenth
century sonatas

 Music Example -- Scarlatti's Sonata (NRAWM II, CD7:26-

27 [CD3:7-8])
 Sonata in D Major, K. 119 for
harpsichord by Domenico Scarlatti

1. The Classical Sonata Form

 The form of the first movement either of the sonata form itself, or of
the symphony, or the trio, or of the string quartet, from the late
18th and the early 19th century
 The Sonata Form consists of three sections:
1. Exposition
 Two themes
 The first theme is understood as 'dramatic' and is
stated in the tonic key
 The second theme is understood as 'lyric', in the
dominant key, or in the relative key if the movement
is in a minor key
 The Bridge, conneting to the Development section, and
usually ending on the dominant
2. Development
 further motivic work on thematic material from the
exposition, with modulations to related or remote keys
3. Recapitulation
  The restatement of Exposition, but with all material in the
tonic key
 Recapitulation may end with a coda

2. Early Classical Symphony Form

 1700: The Italian opera overture, often called sinfonia, as well as

the intermezzos, have become independent pieces and performed as
concerts
 in their structure, they resembled the late Baroque concertos and trio
sonatas
 The standard three movements of the symphony, like in Torelli's
concerto grossos:
1. Presto or Allegro -- fast
2. Andante -- slow
3. Allegro assai -- fast

 Music Example -- Symphony (NRAWM II, CD7:28-30)


 Presto, first movement,
from Symphony in F Major,
No. 32 by Giovanni Battista
Sammartini

The Empfindsam Style

 Empfindsamer Stil, the 'sentimental style', a

style among the German composers in the mid
18th century, usually expressed in their
keyboard pieces
 This style may be likened to its French pendant,
the galant style
 Features:
 contrasts in mood
 dramatic accents
 romantic feelings
 freedom in ornamentation, somewhat
similar in their capriciousness to François
Couperin's agréments (see above)
 Outstanding protagonists of this style were the
two of sons-musicians of J.S. Bach:
 Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784)
  Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
 The third son-musicians of J.S. Bach is Johann
Christian Bach (1735-1782, see below)

Sturm und Drang

 The empfindsam style will reach its

climax in the 1760-1770s and join a
similar literary movement Sturm und
Drang, 'Storm and Stress', expoused by
Göthe, among others

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)

 unlike his father, Johann Sebastian, Carl Philipp

Emanuel Bach composed musical forms that will
mark the history of European music in the
second half of the 18th century:
 symphonies
 concertos
 keyboard sonatas
 Two sets of keyboard sonatas:
 Six Prussian Sonatas, 1742
 Six Württemberg Sonatas, 1744
 These sonatas were written for clavichord, not
harpsichord, because of the necessity to
create dynamic contrasts as the
new empfindsam style required
 By the mid-18th century, a new keyboard
instrument, pianoforte -- a forrunner of the
19th century grand piano -- replaced the
clavichord and harpsichord, so C.P.E. Bach's
keyabord sonatas may be understood as being
intended for this new medium of musical
expresion, the piano

Music Example -- Keyboard Sonata (NRAWM II, CD7:31-32 [CD3:9-1Poco

adagio, second movement, from Sonata in A Major by Carl Philipp Emanuel
Bach

The Mannheim
Symphony and Johann
Stamitz (1717-1757)
 The main centers of
German symphonic
music were:

 Mannheim
 Vienna
 Berlin

 All three cities had

outstanding and widely
known symphonic
orchestras, among
which the Mannheim
symphonic
orchestra was deemed
the best

 The Mannheim
orchestra was
known for its
dymanic ranges,
from a very
soft pianissimo to
a very
loud fortissimo
 This was an
influnece
of Italian opera
overture

 Johann Wenzel Anton

Stamitz (1717-1757)
was the conductor of
the Mannheim orchestr
a and himself a
composer of
symphonies

o Music
Example --
Mannheim
 Symphony
(NRAWM II,
CD7:33-37)
 Allegr
o
assai,
first
move
ment
,
from
Sinfo
nia a
8 in
E-flat
Major
, La
melo
dia, b
y Joh
ann
Wenz
el
Anton
Stami
tz

Johann Christian Bach (1735-

1782)

 The youngest of the

three known sons-
musicians of J.S. Bach
 As a young man, J.C.
Bach moved to Milan,
where he was the
organist of the Milanese
Cathedral
 Later, he moved
to London
 Wrote symphonies, pia
no
concertos and sonatas,
and other keyboard
music, as well
as operas
 His Opus 7 of keyboard
concertos bear the
title, Sei concerti per
il cembalo o piano e
forte, 'Six concertos for
harpsichord or
pianoforte' [i.e. piano]

 this title points to

the new keyboard
instrument, pian
oforte,
i.e. piano

 First movements in
C.P.E. Bach's concertos
follow the standard late
18th century sonata
form , which will be
boserved by all classical
composers, including
Mozart and Haydn

o Music
Example --
Piano
Concerto (
NRAWM II,
CD7:38-50)
 Allegr
o di
molto
, first
move
ment
 ,
from
Conc
erto
for
Harps
ichor
d or
Piano
and
String
s in E-
flat
Major
, Op.
7, No.
5, by
Johan
n
Christ
ian
Bach

o Music
Example --
Piano
Concerto (
NRAWM II,
CD8:14-29)
 Allegr
o,
first
move
ment
,
from
Piano
Conc
erto
in A
Major
, K.
488,
by W
olfga
ng
Amad
eus
Mozar
t