Classical Period Flashcards
2 Historical Events during this period
The Revolutionary War (1775-1783), The French Revolution (1789-1799), the sewing machine was invented (1790), Allesandro Volta created the first battery
features of Classical Architecture
The capitol was made to look like Greek or Roman architecture. Large stairs (stylobate), Doric and Corinthian columns line the exterior of the building. The Capitol has a pediment like ancient Greek Temples. Classical Architecture also included columns, triangular pediments, and central rotunda.
the Enlightenment or Age of Reason
gave free rein to the pursuit of truth and the discovery of natural laws, based on Isaac Newton’s Discoveries (1642–1727 Baroque) Science began to be the main way in which the mysteries of life are explained
Enlightenment Ideas which are enshrined in the US Constitution
French Philosopher - Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) espoused the principles of social justice, equality, religious tolerance, and freedom of speech
Why were concerts able to move out of the churches and courts and into the general public?
The middle-class continued to grow larger allowing for bookkeepers,physicians, cloth merchants, stock traders, etc. to attend concerts with their families
Characteristics of classical music
Balance, symmetry, simplicity, light and airy- these are a few of the terms usually associated with classical style. Music can change mood or direction with lightning speed. For the first time, composers began to specify crescendos and diminuendos, gradual increases or decreases of the dynamic level
All of the roles Figaro played in Rossini’s Barber of Seville
Barber, matchmaker, disguiser, handyman
the Advent of the Piano-Forte
Invented in Italy about 1700, the piano gradually replaced the harpsichord as the keyboard instrument of choice—and with good reason, for the piano could play at more than one dynamic level. This is why it was originally called the Forte Piano (Loud-Soft).
Haydn
Grew up poor, music and his voice was his “Golden Ticket”, He was picked by a scout and left his parents to sing in a church in Vienna at age 8, he studied keyboard, violin, and composition at the church
W.A. Mozart
As a child he could identify the notes played in any chord, he has absolute pitch (1 in 10,000), can play any piece of music after hearing it once, At the age of fourteen, Mozart heard a polyphonic motet sung in the Sistine Chapel in Rome and wrote it down by memory, note for note, his first musical composition was written at the age of 5
Nannerl Mozart
Mozart’s sister, his older sister, she toured Europe with her father and brother, she was considered the more talented younger sister, In our modern era, she would have had a life of music making with considerable compensation
symphonic form
a musical composition for an orchestra that is made up of multiple movements. Largely attributed to Joseph Haydn
First Movement - Fast
Second Movement - Slow
Third Movement - Moderate
Fourth Movement - Fast
instrumentation established in the classical era
Winds – 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets 2 Bassoons
Brass – 2 Trumpets, 2 Horns
Strings – Various Numbers Consisting of 1st, 2nd Violins,
Violas, Cellos, Basses
Percussion – 2 Timpani
Freemasonry
Mozart joined Freemasonry in 1784 at 28 years old. He completed his third degree and was a regular attendee at his lodge. Freemasonry has its origins in Medieval Europe. Freemasonry is now a worldwide organization with a long and complex history. Its members have included politicians, engineers, scientists, writers, inventors and philosophers. Many of these members have played prominent roles in world events, such as revolutions, wars and intellectual movements.
Magic Flute
Emanuel Schikaneder’s Zauberflote, was planned as a been planned as a lightly disguised defense or glorification of freemasonry. (Schikaneder was a mason)
