Romantic Era Flashcards
romantic main themes
individuality, originality, fantasy, expression of pure emotion, transcending conventional limits to pursue deeper truths
napoleonic wars cultural affect on music
changed old boundaries and spread ideas of national identity across Europe, interest in national culture grew, becomes more important and reflective in music
napoleonic wars economic/political affect on music
war and inflation destroyed aristochracy, less states meant less courts supporting the arts, more freelance artists and freedom, so they became specialized in niches
middle class reasons for instruments (5)
- had time and money
- released from social pressures
- expressed aspirations wo risk of censorship
- gave escape from wars, economies, repression
- music more personal, not confined to churches and courts
music as social control (4)
- state sponsered opera
- church choirs
- kept woman occupied and attracted a spouse
- factory bands for better conditions and keep from drinking and orginizing strikes
instrument improvements ->
more options for composers, music more expansive
how did composers make music appealing to amateurs (9)
pieces songlike, uniform in rhythm and difficulty, 4 bar phrases, dynamic contrasts, imagery, dramatic and colourful, harmonies, evocative titles, national or exotic associations
absolute music
refers to nothing but itself
programmatic work
recounts narrative or series of events
character piece
depicts or suggests mood, personality, scene
romantic as a term
focussed on indl, expression of self, search for original, interesting, evocative, expressive, extreme, derieved from medievel romance (heroic tales), connotates something legendary and fantastic from a far off everyday life
classical and romantic periods divided when
1820s, some other theories differ
romanticism as a rxn (4)
- as society changed rapidly, romanticism sought refuge in past, myth, dreams, irrational, supernatural
- regarded common people as true embodiment of nation
- pursued enlightenment instead of $
- instrumental music permier mode of artistic expression, freee of concreteness of words, explored new relams of sound
organic form
like how all parts of a plant are adaptations of same basic shape, all parts of a musical piece should have a common source (relationship of themes, movements, etc)
the Lied
fusion of music and poetry, often about greater forces or nature as a metaphor for the human experience