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ROMANTIC PERIOD

1820-1900

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"Calm is all Nature as a Resting Wheel."  

Calm is all nature as a resting wheel. The kine are couched upon the dewy grass; The horse alone, seen dimly as I pass, Is cropping audibly his later meal: Dark is the ground; a slumber seems to steal O'er vale, and mountain, and the starless sky. Now, in this blank of things, a harmony, Home-felt, and home-created, comes to heal That grief for which the senses still supply Fresh food; for only then, when memory Is hushed, am I at rest. My Friends! restrain Those busy cares that would allay my pain; Oh! leave me to myself, nor let me feel The officious touch that makes me droop again. William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth (1770-1850 )

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Walt Whitman (1819-1892 )

 

I Am He That Aches With Love I AM he that aches with amorous love;Does the earth gravitate? Does not all matter, aching, attract allmatter?So the Body of me, to all I meet, or know.

Walt Whitman

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Francisco Goya

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Claude Monet

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Claude Monet

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Characteristics of Romantic Music

Individuality of Style– Puts unprecedented emphasis on self-

expression and individuality of style

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Characteristics of Romantic Music

Expressive Aims and Subjects– The romantics explored a universe of feelings that

included flamboyance and intimacy, unpredictability and melancholy, rapture and longing

– Many songs glorify romantic love– Often the lovers are unhappy and face

overwhelming obstacles– All aspects of nature attracted romantic musicians

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Characteristics of Romantic Music

Nationalism and Exoticism– Romantic composers deliberately created music

with specific national identity using folk songs, dances, legends, and history of their homelands

– This national flavor of romantic music, (Polish, Russian, Czech, or German), contrasts with the more universal character of classical music

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Characteristics of Romantic Music

Nationalism and Exoticism – Some composers also wrote in the style of other

countries, for example wrote melodies in an Asian style or used rhythms and instruments associated with other countries

– Writing in the style of other countries was known as musical exoticism

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Characteristics of Romantic Music

Program Music Instrumental music that is associated with a story,

poem, idea, or scene is known a program music– Program music can represent emotions, characters, and

events of a particular story, or it can evoke the sounds and motion of nature

– Program music has existed for centuries, but became prominent in the 19th century, when music was closely associated with literature

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Characteristics of Romantic Music

Expressive Tone Color– Romantic composers were very interested in rich and

sensuous sound

– They used tone color to obtain variety of mood and atmosphere

– The orchestra of the romantic period was larger and more varied in tone color than the classical orchestra

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Characteristics of Romantic Music

Colorful Harmony– Romantics not only used new tone colors; they

explored new chords and novel ways of using familiar chords

– Romantic composers used chromatic harmony (chord tones taken from the chromatic scale) and also used more dissonant or unstable chords than were used in previous eras

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Characteristics of Romantic Music

Expanded Range of Dynamics, Pitch, and Tempo– Romantic music also calls for a wide variety of

dynamics– They used extreme changes in dynamics and lots of

crescendos and decrescendos to make their music more expressive

– They also exploited the range of instruments, having them go from extreme high notes to extreme low notes

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Characteristics of Romantic Music

Form: Miniature and Monumental– Some romantic music was short and meant to be played

in the intimate setting of the home on a piano, some works were monumental and written for a huge orchestra to be played in gigantic concert hall

– Romantic composers wrote symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, operas, and choral works, but they were much longer than those of Haydn or Mozart

– A typical 19th century symphony might last 45 minutes compared to 25 minutes for an 18th century composition

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Romantic Composers and Their Public

The role of the composer changed radically during Beethoven’s life– Early on, a musician’s role was to write music for

specific occasions

Romantic composers wanted to not only please their contemporaries, but also be remembered by posterity

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Romantic Composers and Their Public

Romantic composers wrote mainly for the middle-class audience that had increased in size and prosperity due to the industrial revolution

The needs of this urban middle class led to the formation of many orchestras and opera groups during the classical era, and during the romantic period this need for public performance developed into regular subscription concerts

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Romantic Composers and Their Public

The piano became a fixture in every middle class home, and there was a great demand for songs and solo piano pieces

Orchestra works and operas were transcribed so that they could be played on the piano at home

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The Art Song This is one of the most distinctive forms of

romantic music They were composed for solo voice and piano

– The accompaniment is an integral part of the composer’s concept, and it serves as an interpretive partner to the voice

Although these songs are now performed in concert halls, they were originally composed to be sung and enjoyed at home

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Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Melodies poured from him

After one piece was finished, he began another

His melodies are extremely hummable

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Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

In addition to the 600 songs that Schubert left us, he also wrote symphonies, string quartets, chamber music for piano and strings, piano sonatas, piano pieces for two or four hands, masses and operas

His biggest accomplishment was in the category of art song, which we already discussed

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Erlkonig (The Erlking; 1815)

Is one of the earliest and finest examples of musical romanticism

It is a musical setting of a narrative ballad of the supernatural by Goethe– A friend of Schubert’s tells how he saw the 18 year old

composer reading Goethe’s poem. “He paced up and down several times with the book; suddenly he sat down, and in no time at all (just as quickly as he could write) there was a glorious ballad finished on the paper.”

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Erlkonig (The Erlking; 1815)

Is one of the earliest and finest examples of musical romanticism

It is a musical setting of a narrative ballad of the supernatural by Goethe– A friend of Schubert’s tells how he saw the 18 year old

composer reading Goethe’s poem. “He paced up and down several times with the book; suddenly he sat down, and in no time at all (just as quickly as he could write) there was a glorious ballad finished on the paper.”

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Die Forelle (The Trout; 1817)

Listening Guide on page 290 One of Schubert’s most famous songs It reflects the romantics’ attraction to nature

and to folk-like simplicity The text tells of a trout that swims merrily

in a brook but is then caught by a clever fisherman

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Die Forelle (The Trout; 1817)

Listening Guide on page 290 One of Schubert’s most famous songs It reflects the romantics’ attraction to nature

and to folk-like simplicity The text tells of a trout that swims merrily

in a brook but is then caught by a clever fisherman

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Piano Quintet in A Major (Trout; 1819)

Fourth Movement

Listening Guide Page 291

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Piano Quintet in A Major (Trout; 1819)

Fourth Movement

Listening Guide Page 291

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Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

He wrote a lot of piano pieces, plus 4 really good symphonies and a great piano concerto

He was a true romantic He believed that expressing

emotion in music was more important than form, reason, or logic, and he had a lot of emotion to express

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Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Chiarina (Little Clara) Listening Guide page 295 Refers to the young girl that would

eventually become his wife, Clara Wieck

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Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Chiarina (Little Clara) Listening Guide page 295 Refers to the young girl that would

eventually become his wife, Clara Wieck

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Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Chopin Is in the style of a nocturne or “night piece.”

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Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Chopin Is in the style of a nocturne or “night piece.”

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Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Estrella Is a sketch of one of Schumann’s fiancees, Ernestine von Fricken