Composers

Question 1

Antonio Vivaldi

Answer 1

1678-1741

• Italian Violinist, conductorm composer, and priest (il prete rosso)
• Baroque Era

Musical Contributions

• Development of 3 movement structure
• Ritornello Form
• Idiomatic elements for strings: rapid passagework, string crossings, arpeggio figurations, double stops

Style

• Programmatic writing, descriptive titles
• Frequent use of sequences

500 concertos
40 operas (ex: Orlando Furioso, Griselfa)
Oratorio (ex: Gloria)

Question 2

Bach

Answer 2

1685- 1750 (Baroque era ended)

Life:

• Born Eisenach, Germany
• Family of musicians
• Orphaned at 10, studied latin, greek, theology, sang choirs and became violinist and organist
• Trained in organ tuning, instrument building and repair

Arnstadt (1703-1708)

• Court violinist, chamber musician, organist
• Met Dietrich Buxtehude(inspiration) in Lubeck, walked 200 miles, stayed extra 3 months
• Married Maria Barbara Bach, cousin, two of kids are CPE and Wilhem Friedemann, composers of upcoming era

Weimar (1708-1717)

• Court organist and chamber musician to duke of Weimar, Wilhem Ernst
• Composed OrgelBuchlein, Little organ Book
• Composed cantatas and chorale setting for lutheran church
• Took position in cothen for princ, got arrested a month because duke is angry

Cothen (1717-1723)

• Kappelmeister (music director) to Prince Leopold of Cothen, music admirer
• No music in church because Calvinists
• Solo pieces: concertos, suites, sonatas, solo keyboard (Well tempered Clavier Book 1)
• Maria Barbara died (1720)
• Married Anna Magdalena Wilcke, two sons, Johann Christian and Johann Christoph famous in upcoming era

Leipzig (1723-1750)

• Cantor of st Thomas School
• Teaching, composing,, directing choirs, supervising musical performances in church
• Wrote 200 cantatas in a year
• Director of Collegium Musicum, performing force for uni students
• Wrote Goldber Variations, Art of Fugue
• Met Frederick the Great at Potsdam, CPE worked there, Wrote contrapuntal work based on theme by king, The musical Offering
• Died 28 July 1750, stroke

Musical Contributions
-High point for Baroque era

Musical Style:

• Super religious, all work dedicated to Glory of God
• Style influenced musical development in era
• Master of conterpoint, Well tempered Clavier
• Absorbed international styles without ever leaving: German (Lutheran Chorale traditions, counterpoint), Italian (Ritornello form, idiomatic writing), French (dance rhythms, ornamentation)
• Virtuoso organist
• use of polyphonic passages
• Perfected forms rather than create

Question 3

George Frideric Handel

Answer 3

1685-1759 (same year as bach)

Life:

• Born Halle, Germany
• Father was barber-surgeon, didnt want handel doing music but he did it anyways lol
• became organist and studied composition and keyboard with Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow
• Did law at Uni of Halle but did music after father died

Hamburg (1703- 1706)

• Violinist and harpsichordist
• early Operas: Almira and Nero

Italy (1706-1710) - crucial time to his life

• Absorbed italian style, language: shown in operas, oratorios, and concertos
• Visited: Florence, Naples, Venice, Rome - his work was performed there

Hanover (1710-1712)

• Kappelmeister to George Ludwig, Elector of Hanover
• Elector let him travel to london, where he visited twice and then decided to move

London(1712- 1759)

• Annual salary by Queen Anne
• Queen dead now, Elector of Hanover proclaimed King George 1
• influential Patrons include: Earl of Burlington, Duke of Chandos
• Co founded Royal Academy of Music to promote Italian Opera in London
• Composed, directed, produced: Giuolo Cezare, Tmerlano, Rodelinda, Alcina, and Serse
• Worked with singers: Faustina Bordoni, Francesca Cuzzoni, the castrato Senesino
• King George 1 dead, Handel wrote for George 2
• He became British Subject
• John Gay composed opera: The Beggars opera
• Super succesful in 1728 because it was english and people grew tired of italian opera
• Handel was stressed
• He continued writing operas but turned to oratorios, concertos and concerto grosso
• Messiah was great hit in Dublin, 1742
• Stopped writing operas to write english oratorios, less expensive to produce and more appealing to audiences
• Retired in 1753 because he became blind
• continued to compose
• Died april 14 1759, famous, burried at westminster abbey

Musical Style:

• International styles: German counterpoint, Italian opera, French overture, English Opera
• Alternation of homorythmic passsages and contrapuntal textures(polyphonic)
• Mostly wrote homophonic music
• Basic elements, chordal passages, scale figures, his style is accessible and appealing
• Use of full SATB
• Word Painting
• sequential Writing

40 operas (serse, giulio cezare, Rinaldo)
30 oratorios ( Israel in Egypt, Messiah, Judas Maccabeus)

Question 4

Franz Joseph Haydn

Answer 4

1732-1809

Life:

• Born Rohrau Austria countryside
• father was wheelwright, mother was cook, brother michael and johann musicians
• choirboy and st stephens cathedral
• somewhat taught there but not really, said he was self-taught and also Nicolo porpora was big inflence and maybe only teacher? (italian singer and composer)
• Voice changed because not castrata and them kicked out of choir school
• Freelancer in Vienna, very difficult
• Survived off of composing, performing, teaching and accompanying and eventually became famous
• full time kappelmeister for Count Ferdinand von Morzin: coducted, composed, performed, composed first symphony
• Married Anna Keller in 1760
• Hired in Eisenstadt with Esterhazy (super influential family/ very very importnat)
• First as assistant kappelmeister in 1761 and then full time kappelmeister in 1766
• Moved in esterhaza estate
• super strict contract controlling dress code, deportment, musical expectations yada yada yada
• Trained instrumentalists, conducted, performed chamber music, composed
• supplied music for court opera house, theater, and chapel
• Haydn was free to discover artistic voice, creative freedom
• Explored genres like opera, symphony and string quartet
• Got commissions from others like Paris Symphonies
• Great friendship with mozart despite age differences. Dedicated String Quartets to each other (e.g : Mozart wrote 6 Haydn string quartets)
• Moved to Viennaafter prince nikolai died and prince anton took his place because anton was not fondof music, he paid haydn a pension tho but haydn had no duties except composing annual mass
• First trip to london
• Johann Peter Salomon promoted a series of his concerts
• Composed and conducted first six “London Symphonies”. He electrified audiences but not for real, like expression aka he was good
• received honorary doctorate from Oxford uni
• met beethoven in 1792 and taught him a bit but beethoven hated him lol not really but they had a lot of creative differences. Beethoven was a transitionalist and a bold innovator
• second trip to London 1794 and wrote last 6 symphonies wchih were a hit and financially successul
• there were 12 london symphonies
• moved to vienna permananently in 1795
• later wrote oratoirios like The Creation and The Seasons, six masses for Prince Nicholas 2 (anton’s successor) and more string quartets
• retired in 1802 because of health
• last public appearance in 1808 at performance of The Creation
• Died May 31 1809, Mozart’s Requiem played at memorial

Musical Contributions

• Father of string quartet and symphony/ significant contributions to the genres
• Contributed to development of sonata form : Exposition (theme 1, bridge, theme 2, coda), development, and recapitulation ( theme 1, bridge, theme 2, codetta and/or coda)
• He contributed to form in terms of formal elements, melody and harmony. Included slow introductions featuring ambiguous tonality, suspensful atmosphere, and chromatic harmony

His style:

• His expositions are usually monothematic- first and second themes are identical or similar but different keys. Theme 1 and 2 contain 4 cut phrases
• Influenced by fold songs, traditional austrian music,and dances. simple diatonic melodies with narrow range
• incorporated interesting sound effects: pedal point (sustained tone, typically in the bass) suggesting bagpipes, pizzicato strings to suggest guitar
• musical playfulness demonstrated by dynamic changes or abrupt silences
• dramatic elements include sudden accents, bold changes of chords or keys
  ex: Us of loud C major chord in The Creation to depict the word light.

100 symphonies ( ex: London No. 104, Military No. 100, Farewell No. 45)
68 string quartets (ex: Quinten, Kaiser)
40 piano sonatas
14 operas (armida)
Oratorios (ex: The Creation, The Seasons, The Seven Last Words of Christ)