{The History of Western Music [continued (22)]}[5th February 1991]

[Redbook8:225][19910205:1412x]{The History of Western Music [continued (22)]}[5th February 1991]

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[continued]

[Highlighted & annotated extract from ‘The History of Western Music’ ‘THE ROMANTIC PERIOD’ ‘Establishment of the Romantic idiom’ ‘Stylistic traits’]

‘The Romantic abhorrence of formalism has frequently been exaggerated for the purpose of distinguishing between Classical and Romantic attitudes.... Musical coherence demands a judicious balance of unity and variety, so most compositions of the 19^th century are still fairly clear-cut dectional, variational, or developmental forms.... Instrumental colour and variety, as another aspect of expressiveness, was made possible by a greatly enlarged orchestra and figured prominently in the new sound ideal.’

*

*[Encyclopaedia Britannica 24: 560]

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{The History of Western Music [continued (21)]}[5th February 1991]

[Redbook8:224-225][19910205:1412w]{The History of Western Music [continued (21)]}[5th February 1991]

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[continued]

[Highlighted & annotated extract reproduced from ‘The History of Western Music’ ‘THE ROMANTIC PERIOD’ ]

*

*[Encyclopaedia Britannica 24: 559-560]

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{The History of Western Music [continued (20)]}[5th February 1991]

[Redbook8:224-225][19910205:1412v]{The History of Western Music [continued (20)]}[5th February 1991]

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[continued]

{

In Vis[ual] (& Lit[erary] art, Classicism seems to have continued,* alongside Baroque (in Vis[ual] art) c[irca]1600ff, and (from c1770 in literature)** alongside Romanticism. In Music it is still a sequential process until c[irca] 1820, when Romantic music appears but Classical continues (but see [***] 221 re old & new styles c[irca] 1600).

This at least follows the Outer Circle sequence of the arts, although at diminishing intervals.

*[Sic – presumably referring to Renaissance classicism in visual art?]

**But there were earlier attempts in Lit[erature] to go non-classical, eg the Metaphysicals, & Corneille*** in France, after c[irca] 1600.

***[Possibly referring to the 2^nd part (from source p558) of the  extract [Redbook8:222-223][19910205:1412q]{The History of Western Music [continued (15)]}[5th February 1991]]

[ms page numbering was corrected subsequent to this ms note, to increase page numbers formerly 218-360 by 2]

****(Le Cid, 1637)

}

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{The History of Western Music [continued (19)]}[5th February 1991]

[Redbook8:224][19910205:1412u]{The History of Western Music [continued (19)]}[5th February 1991]

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[continued]

[Highlighted & annotated extract from ‘The History of Western Music’ ‘THE CLASSICAL PERIOD’ ‘Consolidation of the Classical style’ ‘Stylistic elements’ ‘Central role of instrumental music’]

‘As a result of Gluck’s reforms, opera moved towards a classical simplicity of style of which his and Mozart’s works were the culmination.’*

**

*{See XIII. [] 322}

**[Encyclopaedia Britannica 24: 559]

[Underlining per ms]

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{The History of Western Music [continued (18)]}[5th February 1991]

[Redbook8:222-223][19910205:1412t]{The History of Western Music [continued (18)]}[5th February 1991]

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[continued]

[Highlighted & annotated extracts from ‘The History of Western Music’ ‘THE CLASSICAL PERIOD’ ‘Consolidation of the Classical style’ ‘Stylistic elements’ ‘Central role of instrumental music’]

‘For the first time in the history of music, instrumental music became more important than vocal music. The orchestra and chamber groups, such as the string quartet, trio and quintet, and the piano trio, became standardised and replaced the heterogeneous trio sonata and other ensembles of the Baroque period. The basic duple and triple organisation of metre remained unchanged, but rhythmic patterns tending towards regularity and simplicity* became the rule, producing the “tyranny of the bar line” that was to prevail for more than a century.’

‘Melody was inclined to be more motivistic, tuneful and epigrammatic, as opposed to the extended figurative style of many Baroque melodies. Harmony** was second only to melody as a focal element. Harmonic patterns that clearly established the tonal centre were the rule of the day.

‘As a reaction against the intricate polophony of the late Baroque period, homophonic texture dominated by melody became the norm....’***

‘Formal structure, a definitive aspect of classical style, was characterised by simplicity and clarity.# Sectional forms (created by contrast and repetition of thematic materials, tonalities, and textures), variations, and the new principle of development (fragmentation, expansion, and modification#* of themes) were the established norms. Phrases of musical material became shorter and more clearly demarcated as well as more balanced and regular. A new concept of dynamic contrast also contributed to formal clarity.’

#**

*{

/		\
R~	__	S~

[The upward-sloping lines in the ts are upward-pointing arrows in the ms]

}

**{s~}

***{cf line drawing?}

****{2048s~|R~1792[ce]}

#{

/		\
R~	__	S~
/		\

[The higher upward-sloping lines in the ts are upward-pointing arrows in the ms]

}

#*{J~G~R~?}

#**[Encyclopaedia Britannica 24: 558]

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[Part of longer extract reproduced at [Redbook8:222][19910205:1412n]{The History of Western Music [continued (12)]}[5th February 1991] above]

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{The History of Western Music [continued (17)]}[5th February 1991]

[Redbook8:222-223][19910205:1412s]{The History of Western Music [continued (17)]}[5th February 1991]

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[continued]

[Highlighted & annotated extract from ‘The History of Western Music’ ‘THE CLASSICAL PERIOD’ ‘Precursors of the Classical style’ ‘The empfindsamer Stil’]

‘The German counterpart of the essentially French Rococo was the empfindsamer Stil, or “sentimental style”, which flourished in the 1750s and 1760s.... The distinguishing feature of this German reaction against Baroque profundity was its concern with emotional feeling in the music itself on the part of the performers and, hopefully, in the reaction of the audience. The French obsession with lightness and gracefulness was countered by the German determination to affect sensibilities that were often more attuned to tears than to laughter.* A late and less reserved manifestation of Empfindsamkeit was the Sturm und Drang (“storm and stress”) movement in the arts during the 1770s and 1780s.** The inclination toward the more intense personal expression of that movement was a harbinger of the coming Romantic period.

***

*{R~r~}

**{2048s~|R~1792}

***[Encyclopaedia Britannica 24: 557-558]

[Underlining per ms, italics per source]

[Part of longer extract reproduced at [Redbook8:222][19910205:1412n]{The History of Western Music [continued (12)]}[5th February 1991] above]

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{The History of Western Music [continued (16)]}[5th February 1991]

[Redbook8:222-223][19910205:1412r]{The History of Western Music [continued (16)]}[5th February 1991]

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[Highlighted & annotated extract from ‘The History of Western Music’ ‘THE CLASSICAL PERIOD’ ‘Precursors of the Classical style’ ‘The *Rococo style galant’**]

‘As the pendulum swung from the predominantly romantic Baroque period toward the classical period, there was an inevitable overlapping of the old and the new. While Bach was composing his intricate and erudite polyphony,*** his sons were reflecting a new ideal, the Rococo. Fostered by the court of the French king Louis XV, whose life-style was far less formal than that of his illustrious great-grandfather, the Rococo ideal was artistic expression dedicated to elegance, frivolity, and gracefulness; a work of art must be delicate, playful, entertaining, and immediately appealing. The result was often artificial and unrealistic, but it succeeded in capturing the sentimental and hedonistic attitudes of the times.’

****

*{Vis[ual]: Early 18^thC[entury]

**– (c[irca] 1770s)

***{(re Baroque)}

[See last 3 previous entries]

****[Encyclopaedia Britannica 24: 557]

[Underlining per ms]

[Part of longer extract reproduced at [Redbook8:222][19910205:1412n]{The History of Western Music [continued (12)]}[5th February 1991] above]

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