The Classical Period | Music History Video Lesson

[Music]

in the second of our music history

videos here at liberty park music we're

going to take a look at the classical

period in western music history

following the baroque era of the 17th

and early 18th centuries

the classical period lasted

approximately from 1750 to 1820

many of the traditional practices of

western music as we know it were

codified during the classical period a

reflection of which can be found in the

name itself

synonyms for classical include

authoritative and traditional

fitting adjectives for the period that

establish many of the rules that

composers follow even today

before we get started discussing the

music let's clarify some terms

in everyday conversation classical music

is a catch-all term for any music that

is not pop

world or jazz music classical music is

associated with big concert halls

people wearing tuxedos or fancy dresses

and expensive ticket prices to concerts

of symphonies and operas

generally what people actually mean when

they say classical music is music of the

western art tradition

western art music includes music made

from the middle ages through the 21st

century

in western europe north america and

other continents with a history of

european colonization

this music tradition covers over a

thousand years of different styles

trends and sounds

what we're talking about in this video

is the specific time period of that

tradition that has been labeled by music

historians as the classical period

lasting from around 1750 to around 1820

composers musicians and audience members

during the classical period were

reacting to the musical trends of the

baroque period

baroque music was known for its highly

decorated melodies

complicated textures and structures and

emotional extremes

as a response composers in the classical

period used baroque genres but focused

on formal balance along with memorable

and singable melodies

establishing a standard of musical

expression whereby emotion

was subservient to form and function

many of the forms and genres invented

during the baroque period were adapted

to fit these new aesthetic sensibilities

examples of these include the baroque

french opera overture

which evolved into a standalone four

movement symphony

baroque trio sonata's with baso continuo

which evolved into classical string

quartets

and sonatas for solo instruments which

became more standardized in their

movement

and key relations these newly

standardized forms became the

authoritative versions that musicians

continue to use and expand upon

the genres of the orchestral symphony

and string quartet began during the

classical period

and became essential genres for many

composers

orchestral instrumentation likewise

became standardized during the classical

period

as opposed to earlier periods where

composers would simply write for

whatever instruments were available at

their church or court

classical period symphonies became

standardized as having a medium string

section in four voices

early string quartets were closely

related to early symphonies with many

compositions able to be performed

by a string section of the orchestra or

by a string quartet featuring a similar

organization of voices

most commonly early string quartets and

similar chamber music were performed in

parlors for the entertainment of the

players and close friends

many of which involved amateur players

who also happen to be emperors kings and

princes

for example haydn wrote many works in

which his patron

prince nicholas esterhazy the first

played the baritone

a large string instrument related to the

string bass

prussian king frederick the great was

also an avid performer and composer

who used music for courtly events as

well as personal entertainment

later string quartets became important

vehicles for virtuosic showmanship

requiring greater levels of skill to

successfully perform

virtuosic works for all instruments

would become important during the

virtuosic boom of the romantic period

during the baroque period solo

instrumental sonatas have become an

important vehicle for individual

instrumental expression

in the classical period sonatas became

standardized as a three-movement genre

and each movement had specific forms to

follow

a good example of a typical sonata from

this period is mozart sonata number 10

for piano k-330

this sonata takes place over three

movements with a fast allegro modorado

first movement

a slow andante cantabile second movement

and another fast allegretto third

movement

let's look at the movements from the

sonata in greater detail

the first movement of the sonata is in

the classical version of sonata allegro

form

which developed out of the rounded

binary form of the baroque period

the classical sonata oleg reform has an

aba outline

with the first a section called the

exposition consisting of a first theme

that's composed in the primary key of

the piece

a second theme written in the dominant

or relative major key

and then a conclusion back in the tonic

key

the entire exposition then repeats and

enters the b section

called the development where the themes

are manipulated and played with in

various ways and through various other

keys

finally we return to the a section

material in the last section

the recapitulation which is altered

harmonically to land on a final cadence

in the home key

in classical period sonata allegra form

the development and recapitulation are

repeated as shown in the diagram here

for more on sonata form check out the

article what is sonata form on the

liberty park music blog

the second movement from the sonata is

slow and song-like with the marking

cantabile or

singable as is expected from the second

movements of sonatas

[Music]

in addition this movement follows the

baroque ternary form

adapted from decapa arias in opera

the third movement from our mozart

example is another lively sonata allegro

form

however final movements of sonatas could

be either sonata allegro form or rondo

form

rondo form consists of repeating a

material separated throughout the

movement with areas of contrasting or

developmental material

the a material serves as a main

anchoring theme that comes back

throughout the movement

and is known as a retornello

the contrasting episodes between

richonnellos are shown here in the b

and c sections another common form used

during the classical period in

compositions with multiple movements is

the binary or rounded binary form

in four movement sonatas symphonies and

string quartets these binary forms could

be used for the second or third movement

it's important to note here that binary

form and rounded binary form get used in

almost every genre of classical period

music

as noted in the diagrams for these

movements each section moves through

specific key areas

while some baroque music use the same

key areas in their sonatas the system of

tonality that was codified during the

classical period was not written out

until jean-felipe promotes treatise on

harmony in 1722.

in his treatise ramo incorporated

mathematics to argue for a harmonic

gravity whereby a fundamental base

served as the musical ground from which

all harmonic movement originates and

must necessarily return to by the end of

the piece

remo coined the terms tonic dominant and

subdominant to represent the one

five and four chords of the key and the

goal of harmonic progressions to lead

back to

one much of baroque music while using

some of the tonal practices laid out in

ramos treatise would still be considered

modal rather than tonal and the core

principles of tonality as we know it

became much more prominent during the

classical era

homophonic textures with individual

melodies and chordal accompaniment

predominate in classical music

due in large part to the period's

emphasis on chordal harmonic progression

over contrapuntal line development this

emphasis on melody also leads to

instrumental melodies that move more in

stepwise motion

with fewer leaps than in the baroque

period the results of this were tuneful

melodies that audience members could

remember and sing long after a

performance had ended

these tuneful melodies and simpler

textures also appealed to a rising

population of new audiences

during the late baroque period public

concert houses were being established

for the first time

allowing more people to hear concert

music the number of public concert

houses with a ticket-buying audience

increased in the classical period

and became an important way for

composers and musicians to support

themselves

finally musicians no longer had to rely

solely on the church or court to perform

their music

and the practice of writing music for

public concerts a practice that serves

as the origins for today's concerts and

live performances

was born here is a list of some of the

major composers of the classical period

and here are some examples to help you

explore the sound of the classical style

we hope you enjoyed this overview of the

classical period for more music history

videos stay tuned to liberty park music

and keep an eye out for our composer

bios article series where we'll explore

the lives and music of your favorite

classical composers

you