Download Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective

Arts Teaching Kit for Senior Secondary Curriculum
Music
Classical Music
and Architecture
— A Historical
Perspective
[Student notes]
Organized by
Funded by
Research Team
Contents
Preamble
Learning plan
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1.1 Baroque period (1600-1750)
01
1.2 Classical period (1750-1820)
04
1.3 Romantic period (1820-1900)
05
Lesson 2: Contemporary Music and Architecture
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Summary, Key words and further reading
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Appendix: Timeline of Development of Music and Architecture
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Cover: Parco Della Musica designed by Renzo Piano, Rome
Disclaimer
Create Hong Kong of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region provides funding support to the project only, and does not otherwise take part
in the project. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials/events (or by members of the project team) do not reflect the
views of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
© 2012 Hong Kong Institute of Architects
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
Lesson 1: Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
Topic 03
Classical Music and Architecture —
A Historical Perspective
Major teaching areas
Interdisciplinary teaching areas
Music
Design and Applied Technology
• Developing Creativity and Imagination
• Strand 1 Design and Innovation
• Cultivating Critical Responses in Music
• Strand 3 Value and Impact
•
Physics
Understanding Music in Context
• Chapter III Wave Motion
Appreciation and Criticism in context
• Formal knowledge
• Signs and symbols
• Types of image and image development strategies
• Knowledge of history and ways of seeing
• Knowledge in context
Learning objectives
• To appreciate music and architectural styles from different historical contexts
• To understand the influences of contemporary art movements on other disciplines of the arts
• To develop a broad perspective of appreciation across different disciplines of arts
Learning plan
Lesson
Lesson 1
Classical Music and
Architecture — A Historical
Perspective
Lesson 2
Contemporary Music and
Architecture
Appendix
Timeline of Development
of Music and Architecture
Contents
•
1.1 Musical and architectural characteristics of the Renaissance and Baroque periods
•
1.2 Musical and architectural characteristics of the Classical period
•
1.3 Musical and architectural characteristics of the Romantic period
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
Visual Arts
•
Overview of modern art movements’ influences on music and architecture
•
Historical and cultural events, musical and architectural development since 1300
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Lesson 1
Classical Music and Architecture —
A Historical Perspective
— Albert Einstein, scientist
Painting, sculpture, digital art, theatre, music, dance, architecture, film, and literature are all disciplines
of ‘the arts’, a phrase that summarises all the forms of human creativity. (Here we distinguish ‘arts’ from
‘art’, the word which normally denotes visual arts only.) Although these disciplines can vary greatly in
form — for example, music is an audible but intangible experience while a sculpture is usually a defined
object with volume, texture and colour — they are inter-related in the sense that they all reflect the
conceptual framework of their particular time and place of creation.
[Discussion]
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.
All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life,
lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading
the individual towards freedom.”
1
Can you think of any examples of how different forms of art relate to each other and to society?
Examples:
The emergence of media art with the invention of television in the 50s
Pop art and the consumer and media culture of America in the 60s
Religious music to be played in churches
Opera as a mix of drama, music and fashion design
Examples of relationships between different art forms:
Examples of art in relationship to society:
01
The overlapping terrain of the arts
What are the special properties of each discipline? Link them up to see the complex web of arts.
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
These different forms of art interweave in complex ways, but they do share certain limitations:
All art - indeed, all life - must exist in a particular space and within a particular time frame, because space
and time are the bases of our existence and our understanding of the world.
02
“I call architecture frozen music.”
— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, author
How would you interpret Goethe’s statement above? How is music similar to architecture?
Listen to excerpts of the following pieces of music and study the photographs below, each showing a
particular architectural space.
Gabriel Fauré: ‘Requiem in D minor’, op. 48, composed between 1887-90
Peret: ‘Saboreando’ or other songs from the album ‘La Salsa De La Rumba’, released in 2001
1. Which piece of music is more suitable for each space?
2. What makes you associate a certain type of music with a certain type of space?
p The Pantheon, Rome
p Park Güell by Antonio Gaudí, Barcelona
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
Activity: music to fill a space
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1.1 Baroque Period (1600-1750): Ornaments, theatricality &
formulation
You will listen to a piece of Renaissance music, followed by a Baroque piece.
The teacher will show you images of buildings from these two historical periods.
Baroque architecture
Characteristics
Renaissance music
Characteristics / development
Baroque music
Characteristics / development
Please give the name of one Renaissance musical
instrument and draw its appearance:
Please give the name of one Baroque composer and an
example of his work:
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
Renaissance architecture
Characteristics
How do Baroque architecture and music differ from those of the Renaissance, and in what ways do they
reflect the spirit or the major ideas of the time?
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p
Old Supreme Court building, Hong Kong
1.2 Classical Period (1750-1820): Balance and elegance
Neoclassical architecture (1700—1900 or 18th—late 19th century)
Characteristics
Classical music (1750—1820)
Characteristics
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
Please name the classical architectural elements of the
Old Supreme Court building.
How do neoclassical architecture and classical music reflect the spirit or the major ideas of the time?
Which of the two buildings shown on the left is a classical building?
Which one is Neoclassical? How do you tell?
p
Parthenon, Greece
p
White House, Washington D C
*Drawings not to scale
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1.3 Romantic Period (1820-1900): Passion and Diversity
What were the reasons for the resurgence of interest in Gothic and Medieval culture in the 19th century?
The teacher will play a piece of piano music from the Romantic period.
Please name the composer and the form of the piece (e.g. etude,
impromptu, sonata).
a spinet (a small harpsichord)
p
a modern piano
© Gryffindor - Wikipedia user
What is the difference between a modern piano and a harpsichord? How did
the improvement of the piano influence the development of musical styles?
Which of the above is/are in Neo-Gothic style? How can you tell?
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
p
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Lesson 2
Contemporary Music and Architecture—
Exploration and evolution
“There is no such thing as silence.”
— John Cage, composer
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
[Discussion]
The teacher will play a piece titled ‘4’33’’ (four minutes, thirtythree seconds)’, composed by John Cage in 1952. After listening to
the piece, please discuss the following:
1
What did you hear when the piece was played?
2
Recall what you heard in the classroom during the 4 minutes and 33 seconds.
3
What is your definition of ‘music’?
4
Do you consider what you just heard ‘music’?
The world is filled with all kinds of sounds,
including those made by the functioning of our own
bodies. Is absolute silence possible?
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Style matching:
Please match the names of the modern architectural styles with the correct images.
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
“Form follows function.”
—Louis Sullivan, architect
Art Nouveau (1890-1910)
• Nature-inspired, organic patterns, full of curves
High-tech (1970-present)
• xposed structure, emphasis on functional elements
• Prefabricated building parts
• Use of ‘high-tech materials’: steel, aluminium, and glass
Minimalism (1920s-present)
• Use of geometric shapes and stepped forms
• Use of ornaments in clean and modernised forms
• Symmetry and a sense of grandeur
• Strip down ornaments and retain only the essential elements
• Emphasis on the ‘void’, or the ‘space’, through careful composition of planes and structures
• Influenced by Japanese Zen aesthetics
Bauhaus/International Style (1920-70s)
Postmodernism (1980-present)
Art Deco (1930-70s)
•
•
•
•
Rectilinear forms
Asymmetry
‘Truth in materials’
Functionalism — ‘form follows function’
• A response to the rational and ‘boring’ International Style
• Return of ornaments and use of colours
• Reference to architectural styles from the past
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St Paul’s Cathedral, London in the
Baroque style
p
Barcelona Pavilion, Barcelona in minimalist style
[Discussion]
1
Of the major periods of classical music, which do you like best? Why?
Which style do you think is most relevant, or is the best representation, of our time?
2
Please share your own experience of enjoying music in a particular time and space.
Do you go to classical concerts in a concert hall?
Do you listen to your own mp3s while travelling on the MTR?
Do you like singing in the bathroom with the special acoustics?
Or, like modern composers, do you like listening to the sounds of the city?
3
How would you compare space and time in architecture and music in terms of the following aspects:
-Experience (how do we experience a building or a piece of music?)
-Composition (how are different building parts put together? How is a piece of music composed? Does music have a structure just like a building? Does composition affect our experience of architecture or music?)
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
p
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Summary
1.
All arts deal with space and time. Music and architecture have both passed through stages of tangible and intangible development in response to their time.
2.
Music and architecture from the Baroque period (1600-1750) feature elaborate ornamentations and strong emotions.
3.
Classical music and architecture (1750-1820) display a search for balance and elegance.
4.
Romantic music and architecture described by Passion and diversity (1850-1900).
5.
In the 20th century, new forms of music and architecture were tested. Many distinctive styles have evolved due to new technology and innovations.
Renaissance
Baroque
Classical
Romantic
Contemporary
Modernism
Neo-classical Architecture
Further reading
1.
TED Talk: David Byrne: how architecture helped music evolve
ht tp: / / www. te d. com/t alk s /david_byr ne_how _ ar c hit ec t ur e_ help ed _ mus ic _ e vo lve.ht ml
2.
律動的建築空間：世界音樂廳巡禮　李文枝著　台北 : 科技圖書股份有限公司　2009
3.
巴哈蓋房子：建築與音樂的對話　李清志、高晟著　台北 : 田園城市文化　2004
4.
Performing architecture: opera houses, theatres and concert halls for the twenty-first century. Hammond, Michael. London: Merrell, 2006.
5.
Where modern Hong Kong began: the City Hall and its 50-year story. Chow Fan Fu. Hong Kong: Hong Kong City Hall, 2012. 現代香港的起跑點：大會堂五十年的故事　周凡夫著　香港：香港大會堂　2012
Arts | Classical Music and Architecture — A Historical Perspective
Key words
This page: Parco Della Musica
Organizer
Sponsor
Reseach Team
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