Orchestral Landmarks

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Orchestral Landmarks

• The Renaissance (1450 1600)
• The Baroque (1600 1750)
• The Classical (1750 1810)
• The Romantic(1810 1910)
• The Twentieth century

• Lesson 1
• The Classical Period
• To develop an understanding of the development of
  music and its influence on the music that
  followed.

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Purcell (1659 1695)
Vivaldi (1678 1741)
Pachelbel (1653 1706)
Bach (1685 1750)
What do we know already?
Handel (1685 1759)
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Classical Music

• The classical style was dominated by homophony,
  which consisted of a single melodic line and an
  accompaniment.
• New forms of composition were developed to adapt
  to this style. The most important of these forms
  was the sonata which was in instrumental music.
  This form continued to change and evolve
  throughout the classical period.
• http//library.thinkquest.org/

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Evolving once more!

• Changes in form were seen along with changes in
  phrase structure. Shorter phrases and well
  defined cadences were used more widely. During
  this time period, a favorite accompaniment
  pattern was the Alberti bass (name for Dominico
  Alberti), which featured a broken chord
  progression.
•      

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Composers of the Classical Period

• Some important composers that were making changes
  in the era were
• Joseph Haydn Father of the Symphony
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Gluck
• Franz Schubert
• Ludwig Van Beethoven
• Lets do some listening!

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Franz Schubert
Ave Maria
What things do you notice about the style of the
writing and the treatment of the melody?
Amadeus Mozart

Sonata No11
What things do you notice about the style of the
writing and the treatment of the melody?
7
And along came the piano!

• In the period lasting from about 1790 to 1860,
  the Mozart-era piano underwent tremendous
  changes, which led to the modern form of the
  instrument. This revolution was in response to a
  consistent preference by composers and pianists
  for a more powerful, sustained piano sound. It
  was also a response to the Industrial revolution,
  which made available technological resources like
  high-quality steel.

8
Orchestral developments

• A new orchestra evolved during the classical
  period. During the Classical period, it was a
  standard group of four sections strings,
  woodwinds, brass, and percussion. In the late
  instrumental works of Mozart and Haydn, an
  orchestra might consist of
• Strings 1st violins, 2nd violins, violas,
  cellos, double basses
• Woodwinds 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2
  bassoons
• Brass 2 french horns, 2 trumpets
• Percussion 2 timpani

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Joseph Haydn Father of the Symphony
Symphony No 107
A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent most
of his career as a court musician for the wealthy
Esterházy family on their remote estate. Isolated
from other composers and trends in music until
the later part of his long life, he was, as he
put it, "forced to become original".

What things do you notice about the style of the
writing and the treatment of the melody?