MUSIC 9 – 2ND QUARTER, 1ST LONG QUIZ

THE MUSIC OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

• THE ROMANTIC PERIOD: In this period musicians placed unpresedented emphasis

of self expression and individuality of style
• ROMANTICISM: is a cultural movement that stressed emotion, imagination, and
individualism of emphasized freedom of expression of all the inspirations for Romantic
Arts. During this Period, home was more important than nature
• CHARACTERISTICS OF ROMANTIC MUSIC:
1. Romantic Music tend to have greater range of tone color, dynamics and pitch and
is held more closely to other arts particularly literature.
2. Emotional Expression, personal feeling and sentimentality are everywhere present
in romantic music. Musical naturalism was expressed in folk songs, dances,
legends, legends and history of their homeland.
3. Individualism is manifested in the great diversity of styles in romantic music.
4. Romantic Subjects are considered in the songs and operas of the period.
5. Nationalism in music becomes one of its marked characteristics when countries
foster their own styles centered on folk music.
6. Subjectivity due to individualism replaced objectivity in music. Instrumental music
for the orchestra and for the piano is greatly expanded.
Virtuosity became marked characteristics and the composer performer of violin
and piano became a phenomena typical of the century.
7. The 19th Century or Romantic Period is dominated by 4 principal media:
✔ piano
✔ orchestra
✔ solo song with piano accompaniment and
✔ opera
• INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC:
✔ PIANO: Piano came into general use during the romantic period. It is one of the
most important developments in the 9th century. Keyboard technique reached new
heights and this resulted in the promenade, excesses, and extreme of virtuosity.
✔ INSTRUMENTAL ENSEMBLE: The instrumental ensemble music of the 19th
century, maybe categorized as Symphonic Music and Chamber Music. The 19th
century was the great age of program music, an instrumental music associate with
a story poem idea or scene. A program music instrumental piece could represent
the emotion, character or events of a particular story.
• SYMPHONIC MUSIC: Romantic composers replaced classical style with romantic
style and treatment of material. Symphonic music includes symphonic poem and,
 symphonic suite.
1. CONCERT OVERTURE: a modified sonata allegro form and is not connected with
the opera
2. CHAMBER MUSIC: is one of the least popular media during the 19th century. The
limitations of chamber music point toward the objective rather than the subjective
classical rather than romantic spirit.
3. MUSIC DRAMA: Is a work in which music poetry and stage craft are fused to form
s new dramatic whole. RICHARD WAGNER conceived the music drama.
• SONATA: The Sonata was retained as the basic form of the symphony.
• GREAT COMPOSERS OF THE ROMANTIC PERIOD:
1. FRANZ SCHUBERT - a German Composer and one of the originators of the
romantic style. He was a prolific composer and considered as "Greatest among
the Post Classicists". At age 7 he was also part of the Vienna boys choir and
preparatory school, He Died at age 31
2. FELIX MENDELSSOHN - Was German composer, pianist and conductor. When
he was 9, he already written many compositions. He became a music director in
Dusseldorf, Germany and later appointed conductor of GEWANDHAUS, Leipzig,
Germany. He founded the LEIPZIG CONSERVATORY, where he and Robert
Schumann taught composition, died at 39
3. ROBERT SCHUMANN - He was a German composer and right there and
considered as well the greatest leaders of their Romantic movement. He
composed many piano pieces, opera, symphonies for piano, violin and cello
concerto, chamber music, and about 250 songs. He is outstanding but as a
composer the critic.
4. RICHARD WAGNER - was born in Leipzig, and was considered as the most
influential and controversial composer in the history of classical music.
5. JOHANNES BRAHMS - was acknowledged as one of the greatest composer in
the history of the romantic period for greatly enriching the literature of the piano
and music history
6. FREDERIC FRANCOIS CHOPIN - He was a Polish composer considered as the
greatest pianist in Europe, the poet of the piano, a fantastic and a genius in the
history of music. He was a sensitive person but temporal, subject to gaiety and
sometimes childishness. As a pianist, Chopin's Playing was considered graceful,
elegant, brilliant and refined. He was considered as the real creator of romantic
harmony and a master of small musical forms. His works were sonatas, ballads,
scherzo, mazurkas, polonaises, waltzes and etudes.
7. FRANZ LISZT - was a Hungarian composer with great originality. His father was
his first piano teacher. Liszt introduced the symphonic poem or tone poem which is
a large scale one-movement work that describes a non-musical subjects such as
people and events in mythology and history or literature. He was a brilliant pianist
and composer of Hungarian Rhapsodies.
8. GIACOMO PUCCINI - An Italian composer who has been called "the greatest
 composer of Italian opera after Verdi".
9. GIUSEPPE VERDI - One of the leading Italian opera Composers before Puccini in
the 19th Century(1800's). Verdi's Music shaped and advanced the dramatic action.
He often links musical themes and motifs with specific character and eventd
especially in such late masterpieces as OTELLO(1893) and Falstaff(1893
10. PETER ILYCH TCHAIKOVSKY - Was a Great Russian composer of the 9th
century. Tchaikovsky finished law and became a clerk in the Ministry of Justice in
St. Petersburg. In 1861 he began to study music , and then later became a
teacher in Moscow Conservatory.
11. CARL MARIA VON WEBER - Known as the Father of the German Opera, based
an old German Stories such as DER FREISCHUTES, and the invitation, a well-
known piano piece.
• GREAT FEMALE OPERA SINGERS
1. JENNY LIND(1820-87)
2. PAULINE VIARDOT(1821-1910)
3. GUIDITTA PASTA(1797-1865)
4. ADELINA PATTI(1843-1919)
• MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: AS MUSIC DEVELOPED, NEW KINDS OF MUSICAL
INSTRUMENT WAS INVENTED TO SUIT THE TYPE, STYLE OR FORM OF MUSIC.
• PICCOLO, CLARINET, XYLOPHONE, ENGLISH HORN, BASSOON, TUBA, BUGLE,
ORGAN, AND SAXOPHONE.
• THE ORCHESTRA: The word Orchestra was derived from the Greek Term meaning,
" a space for the chorus" located in front of the stage. In the late 16th century, the
position of notating scores and calling for specific instrument to play certain music
started by the orchestra
• The first orchestras were organized at the royal court of France and in Italian
churches and palaces during the 1500's and 1600's. Orchestra work were called
symphonic first appeared as overture or small instrumental interludes in an opera.
The orchestra of King Louis XIII of France was the first standardized orchestra with 24
instruments in the violin family, divided into 5 sections and 12 wind instruments.
• The Musicians are Divided into 4 Groups called sections which are pitched different
ranges.
1. STRING SECTION - consists of Violin, violas, and string basses
2. WOODEN SECTION - consists of flutes, clarinets and bassoon
3. BRASS SECTION - consists of 2-5 trumpets, French horn, trombones and tuba
4. PERCUSSION SECTION - consists of xylophone, kettle drums, bells cymbals,
tambourine, wood blocks, bass drum