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Notes on video lecture:
The Classical Era (1750-1815)
Notes taken by Edward Tanguay on June 24, 2017 (go to class or lectures)
Choose from these words to fill the blanks below:
16, Napoleonic, affect, pedagogue, orchestra, cadences, bassline, Romantic, wealthy, fugues, Mannheim, Paris, negative, sudden, Sammartini, Bach, 1815, Italy, Parnassum, piano, serious, 26, countries, minor, tonic, 1780s, audience, Quantz, lows, diverse, Haydn, melody, declining, Fux
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in every generation, we tend to think that music and other facets of society have declined to new         
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Johann Joseph        (1660–1741)
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an Austrian composer, music theorist and                    of the late Baroque era
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most famous as the author of Gradus ad                    (1725), a treatise on counterpoint
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a common but not very accurate meaning of classical music is used to refer to any music that is               
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includes anything from an opera to anything written for an                   
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meant to include all music from the 17th century through today which is distinct from pop music, rock, country, etc.
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a more specific meaning of classical music
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1750-        
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from 1750 when          died
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to Beethoven's late period
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1827, when Beethoven died, gave way to the next period in music history, the                  period
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politically during this time the world was changing
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middle class growing
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aristocracy was                   
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Enlightenment
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French Revolution
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                     Wars
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new ideas about freedom, equality, morality, human rights
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desire to expand education and help the lower classes
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all of these ideas affected music
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the new classical style
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simpler in many ways than the music of the Baroque
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more enjoyable to listeners upon first hearing
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more easily and readily accessible to wide audiences of                backgrounds
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no longer just for the               
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public instrumental concerts
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complex counterpoint of the baroque gave way to simpler, more singable melodies
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shorter phrases
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simple accompaniment
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comparing a piece by Bach to a piece by Mozart
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Bach
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represented the height of the older Baroque style
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busy with lots of counterpoint
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musical imitation (repetition of a melody in a polyphonic texture shortly after its first appearance in a different voice)
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long and winding melodies
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no longer in style at the time of Bach's death in 1750
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this was when the word Baroque came into use, a                  term which described this overwrought and complicated music of the recent past
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Handel's music
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was more focused on             , fitting more into the new, classical style to come
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classical
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began to blend styles from all                    throughout Europe
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German composers were active in Italy, Paris, London, and even Spain and Russia
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Johann              (1697-1773)
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"the ideal music blended ideas from all nations, one music for all of Europe"
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contrast is what makes music interesting
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contrast
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Baroque
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            , mode, or tempo changes movement to movement
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e.g. each movement presents a different dance character
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in Bach's             , the musical motive would be played at the beginning which presenting the affect for that movement
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the motive was then developed throughout the piece
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                 were infrequent
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drove their longer phrases forward using harmonies and progressions which built up to a cadence
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Classical
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more              changes, sometimes every few bars
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moves from slow to fast, from soft to suddenly loud within a single movement
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cadences were more frequent since there are more phrases
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a phrase was like a sentence and a whole composition like a speech
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simpler harmonies, accompanying singable melodies
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           chord (I) moved to dominant chord (V), which led back to the tonic (I)
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this I-V-I pattern became the basis of harmonic motion
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a composer could build up expectation, then surprise the listener (Haydn)
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or built toward a cadence, then avoided it
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a new preference for the major mode instead of the minor
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have of Bach's concertos are minor
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Haydn and Mozart, less than 10% are in the            mode
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only 2 of Mozart's 41 numbered symphonies are in minor keys
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classical instruments and ensembles
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the            replaced the harpsichord and clavichord as the main keyboard instrument
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the clarinet joined the orchestra in the           
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Mozart's first symphony was the            Symphony #31 in 1778
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Haydn's first use of the clarinet was his Symphony #99 in 1793
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the symphony was the major orchestral genre in the Classical period
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first appeared in 1730s in           
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three contrasting movements: fast, slow, fast
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Giovanni                      (1700-1775)
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1730s-1740s: one of the earliest symphony composers in Italy
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Johann Stamitz (1717-1757)
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1750 director of the                  orchestra
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added the minuet movement to the symphony
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developed a second musical theme in a new key within sonata form
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incorporated a number of                 -pleasing techniques, such as dynamic changes
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had an impact on Haydn and Mozart
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string quartet
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popular ensemble in the early classical period
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first violin: main themes
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cello:                 
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second violin: harmony
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viola: harmony
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provided the chance for friends to play music together
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           popularized the string quartet, writing 68 of them
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Mozart wrote      string quartets
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Beethoven wrote      string quartets

People:

Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773)
A German flutist, flute maker and Baroque music composer in Frederick the Great's court who produced hundreds of flute sonatas and concertos, and wrote On Playing the Flute, a treatise on flute performance
  • born in Oberscheden, near Göttingen
  • father was a blacksmith who died when Hans was not yet 11 and on his deathbed, he begged his son to follow in his footsteps
  • began his musical studies as a child with his uncle
  • from 1714 on, Quantz studied composition extensively and pored over scores of the masters to adopt their style
  • in 1716 he joined the town orchestra in Dresden and studied Baroque counterpoint
  • between 1724 and 1727 Quantz completed his education by doing a tour of Europe as a flutist
  • he studied counterpoint with Francesco Gasparini in Rome, met Alessandro Scarlatti in Naples, befriended the flutist Michel Blavet in Paris, and in London was encouraged by Handel to remain there
  • in 1728 Quantz accompanied August II on a state visit to Berlin where he impressed the court
  • the Crown Prince, Frederick the Great, decided to study the flute and Quantz became his teacher
  • Frederick II became King of Prussia in 1740, Quantz finally accepted a position as flute teacher, flute maker and composer at the court in Berlin
  • Quantz is best known today as the author of Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen (1752)
  • Quantz remained at Frederick's court at Potsdam until his death in 1773
Ancient Musical Notation
Medieval Chant Notation
Polyphony
Ars Nova, New Rhythm in the 14th Century
Musical Terms and Notation
The Baroque Era (1600-1750)
18th Century Baroque Improvisation
The Bach Family and the International Style of Baroque
Bach's Monumental Chaconne
The Classical Era (1750-1815)