Jessica Mcdaniel 9/29/12

Classical Music

The American Heritage Dictionary defines classical music as a "traditional genre of music conforming to an established form and appealing to critical interest and developed musical taste. This music can be either instrumental or vocal, and is distinct from individual local folk music styles. The roots of classical music steam from early Christian liturgical music. The classical period started around the 11th century to present time. The term classical music was from attempts to change and evolve the period from Johan Bach to Beethoven. The classical era was the first in history in which concerts became an important part of the music scene. It reflected the occurring changes in society during the time the music was written and composed. The common practice period is when many of the ideas of western civilizations were shaped. The classical period established presentations and style even wind instruments became refined during this era. The most important styles can be seen in the instrumental forms symphony, sonata, and concerto. Important forms of choral music included Mass, Missa Brevis, Missa Solemnis, Oratorio, Requim, Vespers, Choral Symphony. Periods of classical music included Medieval, this music is from after the fall of Rome to about 1400. Monophonic chant, also called plainsong or Gregorian chant, was the dominant form until about 1100 which was during 500-1400, Renaissance 1400-1600, Baroque 1600-1760,this music is characterized by the use of complex tonal counterpoint and the use of a basso continuo, a continuous bass line Classical (1730-1820), this music established many of the norms of

composition, presentation, and style, and was also when the piano became the predominant keyboard instrument. Romantic (1815-1910), This music of the Romantic era, from roughly the first decade of the 19th century to the middle 20th century, was characterized by increased attention to an extended melodic line, as well as expressive and emotional elements, paralleling romanticism in other art forms Modern (1890-1930), this music period marked a period when many composers rejected certain values of the common practice period, such as traditional tonality, melody, instrumentation, and structure. 20th century (1920-2001), Contemporary 1975-present, 21st century 2000-present. Instruments used included harpsichords, organ, string, woodwind, brass and the percussion families. Performances demanded a high level of proficiency and performance practice. Classical music regularly features as background music for movies, television programs, advertisements and events. Classical music has often incorporated elements or material from popular music of the composer's time. Examples include occasional music such as Brahms' use of student drinking songs in his Academic Festival Overture, genres exemplified by Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera, and the influence of jazz on early- and mid-20th-century composers including Maurice, exemplified by the movement entitled "Blues" in his sonata for violin and piano. Certain postmodern, minimalist and postminimalist classical composers acknowledge a debt to popular music. During the 1990s, several research papers and popular books wrote on what came to be called the "Mozart effect": an observed temporary, small elevation of scores on certain tests as a result of listening to composer Mozart's works.