Chapter 12
Prelude:
Music and the Enlightenment
Key Terms
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Classical Timeline
1700
1750
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Enlightenment
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Rococo
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Divertimento
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Opera buffa
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Classical style
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Classical orchestra
Classical
counterpoint
Repetition
Cadences
Sonata form
Minuet
Rondo
Theme and
variations
Late 18th Century
1800
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The Enlightenment
• Intellectual movement centered in
France
• Rooted in a faith in reason and science
• Applied rational methods to social
sphere
• Attacked social injustice and religion
• Major figures: Voltaire and Rousseau
Enlightenment flourished
New Classical style emerged
Vienna a center for music
Rise of Haydn, Mozart, and
Beethoven
Emperor Joseph II
• “Enlightened” ruler
– Emancipated peasants
– Furthered education
– Reduced power of clergy
– Supported music and literature
– Encouraged free press
• Reigned during Vienna’s golden years
(1780–1790)
Vienna as Musical Center
American Contribution
to the Enlightenment
• Declaration of Independence and
Federalist Papers
• A new state founded on rational
principles
• Emphasis on human rights
– “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness”
Art and Entertainment
• An age of good living
– Valued intelligence, wit, sensitivity
– Invented salon, coffee house, public concert
• Arts meant to entertain, to please
• Rococo style
• Similar style in music
– Light, charming, frivolous
– Divertimento—designed to divert and entertain
The Novel
• Genre took hold around 1750
• Literary equivalent of the new comic
opera
– Realistic observation of contemporary life
– Sensitive depiction of feeling
– Could be sexually explicit, sentimental, and
moralistic all at once
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• The first “alienated” intellectual
– Emphasized nature and the individual
– Blasted social institutions
– Wrote articles on politics and music
• Attacked Baroque opera
– Advocated simpler, more natural music
that focused on real life
– Encouraged development of comic opera
The Rise of Concerts
• Prompted by growing middle class
• Proliferated throughout Europe
– Lent new importance to orchestral
works
– Composers began to write for public
concerts (Haydn, Mozart)
– Church and court patronage, opera
houses still important
Two Central Concepts
• The “natural” and “pleasing variety”
• Can work hand in hand
• Can also oppose each other
– “Natural” can be too simple, boring
– “Pleasing variety” can invite “unnatural”
complexity
• Appear in all elements of Classical
technique
• Create a new expressive quality
Dynamics
• “Pleasing variety” dominates
• New precision in notating dynamics
• New emphasis on gradations of
volume
• Rise in popularity of the pianoforte
The Classical Orchestra
• Strings still at the heart
• Woodwinds and brass given clearly
defined roles
• Percussion used in new ways
• Offered enormous variety in
musical elements and overall effect
Rhythm
• “Pleasing variety” dominates
• New flexibility valued
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Gradual increase or decrease in energy
Sudden contrasts
Sudden stops
Smooth, continuous motion
Pressing forward by fits and starts
• Real contrasts become possible
Tone Color
• “Pleasing variety” dominates
• Increasing attention to tone color
• Orchestra developed into subtle,
versatile instrument
Development of
the Classical Orchestra
Melody: Tunes
• The “natural” dominates
• Baroque melody now “unnatural”
• New preference for clear, simple tunes
Texture: Homophony
• The “natural” dominates
• A single melody dominates the texture
• Simple but flexible accompaniment
– Continuo fell out of use
– More control over specific color and
spacing of chords
– Some works use tuneful phrases
– Others use entire tunes (theme and
variations)
Classical Counterpoint
• Homophony was dominant
• Polyphony still offered expressive
possibilities
– Creating tension and intensity
– Creating contrast with homophony
• Contrapuntal texture frequent in
sonata form development sections
Form in Classical Music
• The problem:
– How can you extend a musical work over a
long time span when music must be
“natural,” simple, and easy to understand?
• The Classical solution:
– Repetition and return
– Transitions between themes
– Clear cadences
Baroque vs. Classical Style
Baroque
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Repetitive, dance-influenced
rhythms
Only two dynamics (f, p)
Same colors throughout
Basic or festive Baroque
orchestra
Complex, ornate melodies
Unequal phrase lengths
Polyphonic texture
Constant continuo support
Homogeneous—single affect
expressed in each work
Classical
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Flexible, constantly changing
rhythms
Many dynamic gradations
Variety of colors in one piece
Larger orchestra, regular use of
brass and winds
Clear, memorable tunes
Regular phrase lengths
Homophonic texture
Constantly varied accompaniment
Heterogeneous—variety of
feelings express in each work
Repetition and Return
• First theme repeats immediately
• First theme often returns later
• Other main themes handled the
same way
• Makes themes easy to remember
• Return provides a “homecoming” feel
Transitions between Themes
• Themes connected with transitions
– Prominent; distinct from surrounding
themes
– Not very melodic—no clear tune, no
repetition
– Create urgency to get to next theme
• Transition lends emphasis to beginning
of next theme
Repetitions and Cadences
• Haydn, Symphony No. 95, II
• Mozart, Don Giovanni, “Ho capito”
Clear Cadences
• Themes often end with repeated
cadences
• The more important the theme, the
more emphatic the repetitions
• Clear cadences strengthen the
ending of a theme
Classical Forms
• A frame of reference for composers and
audiences
• Permit contrasts—“pleasing variety”
• Control, even tame contrasts
• Clarified by repetitions, transitions, and
cadences
• Sonata, minuet, rondo, theme and
variations