Download The Art of the Natural

Chapter 11
The Art of the Natural
Thursday, February 7, 13
Classical Era
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the label “Classical” applied after the period
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Various “classical” periods share aesthetic traits:
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historians viewed this period as a “golden age” of music
Classical also can refer to the period of ancient Greece and
Rome
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balance
proportion
clarity
naturalness
Classical Era
• classical era prefers:
- understatement to overstatement
- clarity to obscurity
• see Bonds p. 298-299
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Music and the Idea of Nature
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aesthetic of Classical era is rooted in:
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ideas about nature
difference between nature and art
natural and artificial
appeal of nature and the natural created a climate
in which the ornate gave way to the simple
preference for natural over excessively artful (or
artificial)
Music and the Idea of Nature
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emphasis shifted from musical expression of
affect inherent in a poetic, dramatic or religious
text to a more straightforward, natural
representation of passions
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In 1737, Scheibe (music critic) said J.S. Bach’s
music was “turgid” and “confused”
(Bonds p. 299)
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Johann Mattheson criticizes Bach for his text
setting “I, I, I, I had much grief, I had much grief, in
my heart, in my heart. ...” (see Bonds p. 299)
Bach’s cantata
Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis,
(BWV 21)
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Music and the Idea of Nature
• “By the time [ J. S.] Bach died, even his sons
viewed his music as old-fashion. It was too
ornate, too elaborate - in a word, too
artful.” (Bonds p. 299)
• For the Classical era, genius must be
combined with technique to make enduring
art (Bonds p. 300).
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Music and the Idea of Nature
NATURE (genius) • Inspiration
• Unconscious
• Effortlessness
• Divine
• Not teachable
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vs. ART (technique)
• Craft
• Conscious
• Hard work
• Human
• Teachable
Music and the Idea of Nature
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Boston composer William Billings said:
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Haydn distinguishes between the natural invention of a
tune and the artificial working out of the melody
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“It must be Nature, Nature must lay the Foundation,
Nature must inspire the Thought.” (Bonds p. 300)
“I ... began to fantasize, according to whether my
mood was sad or happy... Once I seized an idea, my
entire effort went toward elaborating ... it according
to the rules of art...” (Bonds p. 300)
When to begin the Classical
Period?
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some start as early as 1720 others start as late as 1780
Classical era: 1750-1800
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alternately 1750-1820 & 1750-1827
there is an overlap of style traits during the 1700s
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basso continuo continues through the Classical period in
sacred music and secco recitative (including opera)
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dense contrapuntal textures continue into the Classical
period
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strong tonal progressions underpin the music of the
Baroque and Classical periods
Harmony as a
structural principle.
To illustrate the importance of
harmony within even the most
contrapuntal structures, Kirnberger
reduces the B-minor fugue from Book
I of J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier
to a series of harmonic progressions.
(see Bonds p. 302)
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Music in the Classical Era
The Elements of Classical Style
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emergence of genuine homophony
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periodic phrase structure
obbligato accompaniment: secondary voices contribute
material essential to the musical fabric of a work
slowing of harmonic rhythm
move from paratactic forms to syntactic forms (forms
based on a small number of themes)
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moving from A B C D E type forms to ABA or A B A C A
type forms (persistent use and development of a single
idea)
Music in the Classical Era
The Elements of Classical Style
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homophony features a single melody line
supported by subordinate voices
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For example Haydn Piano Sonata in Cm, I
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the upper line is most important melodically
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the bass mostly provides harmonic support
and rhythmic propulsion
the melody is supported in parallel by a
second, but less important voice
Music in the Classical Era
The Elements of Classical Style
• obbligato accompaniment: secondary voices
contribute material essential to the musical
fabric of a work
• Haydn String Quartet in C, Op. 33, No. 3
- Violin 1 has primary melody
- Vln. 2,Vla, and Cello move from pure
accompaniment (mm. 1-3) to real
secondary lines (mm. 4-6)
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Music in the Classical Era
The Elements of Classical Style
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Periodic Phrase Structure
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J.C. Bach Sonata in D, Op. 5, No 2, I
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we’ve seen this type of phrase structure in
dance music from Renaissance and the Baroque
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mm. 19-42 divide up into 4-bar phrases that
group into a series of 2-phrase periods
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these periods have an antecedentconsequent type phrase structure
Music in the Classical Era
The Elements of Classical Style
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Tonic keys to provide formal stability in the Classical period
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Classic period pieces use keys in a more structural way. They use
a tight network of keys to help articulate the form at play.
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compare the Aria of the Goldberg Variations to Haydn String
Quartet in C, mvmt. IV
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Baroque period pieces use keys in a far more superficial way. They
tend to “wander” from key to key.
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Bach gives us only a relatively brief return to G major (even
includes a brief turn toward C)
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Haydn gives us multiple sections solidly in C Major
Haydn’s use of the tonic key provides formal clarity
Bach Goldberg Variations
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Comparing the Baroque Style
to Classical Style
• See Bonds p. 314 for a full table of
comparisons
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Music in the Classical Era
The Illusion of Order
• contrasting levels operate in music: surface
may seem orderly and straightforward, yet
below surface music is turbulent and
unpredictable
• music abounds with irregularity, humor,
irony
Thursday, February 7, 13
Music in the
Classical Era
The Illusion of Order
•Fragonard, The Pleasant Dangers of
the Swing (1766)
•Bonds says:
it appears show an orderly scene of
orderly playfulness but with an
undercurrent of sexual tension
(p. 304)
Thursday, February 7, 13
Music in the
Classical Era
The Illusion of Order
The original title page from
Mozart’s Musical Joke.
In this sextet, Mozart lampoons many of the
conventions of Classical style. The part
writing is intentionally faulty at times,
rhythms and harmonies are displaced and the
closing fugue never quite gets off the ground.
(see Bonds p. 304)
Thursday, February 7, 13
Form and Style in the
Mid-18th Century
• hallmarks of the Classical style emerged as
early as the 1720s becoming increasingly
evident around the middle of the 18th
century
• Preclassical, galant, rococo, and
Empfindsamkeit (sensibility) have been used
to describe the music of the early 1700s that
already show traits of the incoming Classical
style
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Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The emergence of Sonata Form
• most important formal innovation of
Classical era was sonata form
• applies to organization of individual
movements in a variety of genres including
sonatas, symphonies and quartets
• See Bonds p. 306 for general Sonata form
diagram
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Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The emergence of Sonata Form
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essentially expanded binary form that modulates
within first reprise and usually involves more than
one theme
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first reprise is called exposition
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exposition exposes thematic ideas that will be
manipulated in the second reprise
Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The emergence of Sonata Form
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Exposition begins with one or more themes in a
primary key area (P or Th-1), followed by a transitional
(T or Trans) modulation to one or more themes in a
secondary key area (S or Th-2)
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Development: first part of second reprise
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develops thematic ideas of the exposition
Recapitulation: second part of second reprise
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balances development with stability and predictability
some conclude with a Coda (from cauda, tail in Latin)
Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The emergence of Sonata Form
• Constant elements of Sonata Form:
- modulation from primary to secondary
key area in exposition
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departure from these harmonic areas in
development
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simultaneous return of opening idea and
the primary key area in recapitulation
Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The emergence of Sonata Form
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Early Sonata forms
mix of Baroque and Classical tendencies
Georg Matthias Monn Symphony in B (ca. 1740), first movement
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early sonata form
balanced 4-bar phrases
Exposition: two themes in contrasting keys
Development: Th-1a developed in closely related keys (F# and C#m)
Recapitulation: Th-1 and Th-2 back firmly in the Key of B
Baroque traits remain:
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sequence a great deal (mm. 9-15)
harpsichord with a continuo-like part
Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The emergence of Sonata Form
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Domenico Scarlatti Sonata in D (K. 492)
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one movement keyboard sonata that does not use sonata form (no recap)
typical of Scarlatti to use a binary form
mix of Baroque and Classical traits
Baroque traits:
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virtuosic runs (mm. 36-38; 40-42)
sequential passages (mm. 10-16, 36-42)
Classical traits:
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periodic phrase structure (mm. 1-8)
slow harmonic rhythm (mm. 1-4 are I ____ ii6 V7 I __ )
significant use of homophonic texture (mm. 20-25; 43-53)
Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The emergence of Sonata Form
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Johann Stamitz Symphony in D, Op. 3, No. 2, first movement (ca.
1752-55)
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use a blend of Ritornello form and Sonata form
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Recap: Th-2 returns first followed by Th-1 but in the tonic key
Expo: Th-1 in D ... trans. ... Th-2 in A
Dev: fragments of Th-1 plus a retrans. (mm. 82-86) to set up
Recap
Written for the orchestra at the court of Mannheim. They were
well know for their virtuosic ensemble playing.
(see Bonds p. 309)
Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The emergence of Sonata Form
• by 1760s, sonata form established as
structural framework for first movements
of most instrumental works and for some
slow movements and many finales
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Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The emergence of Sonata Form
• J.C. Bach Sonata in D, Op. 5, No. 2, first
movement
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shows a strong sonata form
note the Alberti bass mm. 3-4
homophonic texture
balanced 4-bar phrases
(antecedent-consequent phrase structure)
Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The Fantasia
• genre without formal conventions
• typically lacks a central theme around
which the work as a whole is organized
• often opening with rhapsodic, quasiimprovisatory flourishes on triad
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Form and Style in the Mid-18th Century
The Fantasia
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C.P.E. Bach Fantasia in Cm
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originally published as the finale a keyboard sonata
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part of the German literary movement called
Empfindsamkeit (sensibility or expressivity)
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Empfindsamkeit refers to an awareness and empathy
for the experience of others
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See Bonds p. 313
this fantasia has no fixed form and lacks a single
theme