Classical Era Flashcards
Years of classical era
1750-1820
Enlightenment
The age of reason
Pursuit of truth, natural law
Comic opera
Everyday people and situations
Satire of pompous and incompetent aristocrats
Antecedent phrases
The beginning of a piece that sounds incomplete alone
Consequent phrases
Ending of a piece that completes entire song
Brings closure
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Born in Salzburg, Austria
Most famous musical prodigy when kid
Viennese School
School created by Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn
Ternary form
(ABA)
Principle of presentation, contrast, and return
Esterházy Family
The family Haydn worked for 30 years
Considered as a musical servant
Frank Joseph Haydn
Spent life in Austria
Choirboy
Musical instructor and church musician
London symphonies
Symphonies Haydn composed when he traveled to London twice
Minuet and trio
A genre of music
3 sections: minuet - trio (triple meter) - minuet
Serenade
Light, multiple movement compositions
For strings/small orchestra
Sonata-allegro form
Within each movement there is drama and conflict
- exposition
- development
- recapitulation
Exposition
Presents main thematic material
Development
Where music goes off
“Crazy notes” if desired
Recapitulation
Thematic idea returns to original order
Coda
Piece at the end of a movement to show that song almost over
Length and content varies
Theme and variation
Theme altered continually making each variation different
It progressively gets more complicated
Rondo
Refrain (repeated line) continually returns
5-pattern: ABACA
7-pattern: ABACABA/ABACADA
Genre
General type of music
-symphony
-string quartet
Etc.
Symphony
Recurred of a large ensemble because of a big audience
Köchel number
The one who identified Mozart’s 600+ compositions
By Ludwig Von Köchel
String quartet
2 violins
1 viola
1 cello
Created by Haydn
“Heroic” period
Middle period 1803-1813
Common symp. No.5 in C minor 1st mvmt.
Opera buffa
Same as comic opera but for Italians
The use of everyday characters and situations
Finale
Italian for “end”
Of a sonata, symphony or quartet
Sinfonia
A harmonious sounding together
Vocal ensemble
Multiple characters sing simultaneously
Sonata
Soloist + piano
3 movements: fast - slow - fast
Done for public entertainment
Cadenza
Usually improvised extremely fancy notes played possibly by soloist
Alberti bass
The spreading of notes to provide a stream of notes
Salzburg
Mountainous town in Austria where Mozart was born
Freemasons
Some type of group that played music?
Solo concerto
A single soloist (pianist, violinist, cellist, etc) commanded all the audiences attention
Classical symphony orchestra
Symphony orchestras went from private courts to large public auditoriums
Singspiel
Spoken dialogue replaces recitative
Pianoforte
“Soft-loud” essence
Gradual dynamic change
Scherzo
Mvmt. Of light, playful character
“Pathétique” sonata
Most virtuosic than any other sonata by Beethoven
Extreme dynamics, range and tempo
Don Giovanni
An opera buffa (comic opera) by Mozart
“Eroica” (“Heroic”) symphony
1803
Grandiose, heroic style
Heiligenstadt testament
1802
Song by Beethoven that shows anger
Well know symphony
Ludwig van Beethoven
Born 1770, died 1827
By 1817 he was completely deaf
Ode to joy
Symp. No.9 4th mvmt. 1824
First symphony to include chorus
