Music in the Romantic Era

1820-1900

Romanticism (also known as the Romantic Era or

the "Romantic Period') was an artistic, literary
and intellectual movement that originated in the
second half of the 18th century in Europe, and
gained strength in reaction to the Industrial
Revolution.
In part, it was a revolt against aristocratic social
and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment
and a reaction against the scientific rationalization
of nature. Romanticism was embodied most
strongly in the visual arts, music and literature.

French Revolution
was an influential period of social and political
upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until
1799.
Inspired by liberal and radical ideas, the
Revolution profoundly altered the course of
modern history, triggering the global decline of
theocracies and absolute monarchies while
replacing them with republics and democracies
Historians widely regard the Revolution as
one of the most important events in human
history.

French Revolution
Abolition of the French monarchy
Establishment of a secular and democratic
republic that became increasingly authoritarian
and militaristic
Radical social change based on liberalism and
other Enlightenment principles
Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte
Armed conflicts with other European countries

Napoleon Bonaparte

After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the monarchy was

restored in France and the old aristocratic order
returned.
Revolutionary fervor and optimism gave way to disbelief
and dissatisfaction and romanticism to a more realistic
view of the world.
People yearned for reform and a new society.

 The slogan of the French Revolution Ideals:

Libert, Egalit, Fraternit
= Liberty,Equality, fraternity inspired
hopes and visions to which artists
responded with zeal.

Romantic times stressed: Individuality,

Emotion, Imagination

Nationalism and the Spread of

Democracy
One of the most meaningful and definitive forces
in the 19th century
Throughout Europe people began to promote
their own national identities and resist outside
authority. This push for national identity created
new countries (unification of Italy, formation of
German empire, United States).
The principles and practices of democracy were
on the rise.

Social and Political Influences

Industrialism
Occurred first in Britain
Power shifted from aristocratic landowners to middle
class city dwellers.
Populations moved from an agrarian center to an
urban center.

 Importance of nature. Romantics

idealized nature in both visual art and
music for its power, beauty and
unpredictability

Caspar David Friedrich

1774-1840

Inventions

The Arts in the

Romantic Period
Stressed Individualism and Emotion
Breaking away from rules and
convention
Glorification of Nature
Nostalgia
The Macabre and the supernatural
Exotic Influences
Realism

Romantic writers
The Romantic poets rebelled against the
conventional concerns of their Classical
predecessors;
One of the prime traits of all Romantic artist was
their emphasis on intensely emotional
expression. Another was their sense of
uniqueness, their heightened awareness of
themselves as individuals apart from all others.
I am different from all the men I have seen
If I am not better, at least I am different
- Jean Jacques Rousseau

Literature and Writing

Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805)

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

Romanticism was born towards the end of the 18th century with the
works of these two great German writers.
Goethe wrote poetry, novels and plays; Schiller was a playwright.
Both of their writings were used to express romantic fascination with
emotion, life and death, sin and redemption, guilt and selflessness.

 Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

French poet, playwright, novelist, essayist,

visual artist, statesman, human rights activist
Explored the Romantic theme of conflict
between the individual and society
Les Miserables, 1862
Dedicated to the unhappy
ones of the Earth

 Charles Dickens (1812-1870)

English novelist and social campaigner

Novels are works of social commentary
Fierce critic of poverty and social stratification

 Karl Marx (1818-1883)

German philosopher and economist

The ideas of Marx, while most influential in the 20th century , said
that the history of society is one of struggle between the ruling class
(capitalists) and the working class (proletariat) who are being
exploited.
He predicted a revolution.
He believed in a society in which all people give according to their
means and take according to their needs.

Art Song and Song Cycle

Lieder, chansons, art songs

Compositions for solo voice and piano
Poetry and music are intimately fused
Typical forms used: strophic and throughcomposed

Franz Schubert (1787-1828)

Austrian composer
Prolific and gifted composer who wrote
600 lieder, piano sonatas, character
pieces, 15 string quartets,
9 symphonies
Erlknig (1815)
poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Through-composed form

Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1896)

German composer and pianist
Married Robert Schumann and
premiered many of his piano
compositions
Composed a piano concerto,
piano trio, solo piano pieces and
songs
Romance

Painting
Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863)
Leader of the Romantic movement,
represented social concerns

Liberty Leading the People, 1831

 Camille Corot (1796-1875)

View Near Volerra, 1838

 Francisco Goya (1746-1828)

The Third of May, 1808

 Gustave Courbet (1819-1877)

Burial at Ornans, 1850

Romanticism in Music

Musical Milieu (r)

Public and Subscription Concerts

Founding of Conservatories

Improved musical
instruments
Strings
String sections increased in size
and were given more difficult
accompaniment parts (scales,
arpeggios)

Woodwinds
Development of new instruments
saxophone (baritone and tuba) were invented
by Adolf Sax
piccolo, bass clarinet and English horn were
added.

Important improvements in wind

instruments
Boehm system of fingering for flutes and
clarinets achieved better facility and intonation
for the performer and greater musical range
created by inventor and flautist Theobald
Boehm between 1831 and 1847

English Horn

Piccolo

Saxophone

Bass Clarinet

Percussion
Expanded to include bass drum, snare
drum, cymbals and other exotic
percussion instruments (gong, castanets)

 Nationalists
Following the many wars and conflicts of the
19th century country boundaries in Europe
became more defined. Nationalistic music
(music that highlighted folksongs, dances,
folklore) abounded. Most nationalistic music
followed a more traditional pattern of
composition and sound. Many composers
utilized nationalistic melodies, dances and
stories.
Composer Examples: Smetana, Mussorgsky,
Rimsky-Korsakov, Wagner, Chopin, Verdi,
Puccini, Liszt

Composer
Composers gradually left the patronage system and
became free agents of their own works.
This meant that the composer, their music and their
livelihood depended on the publics approval.
For the first time, a composers work might not be
publicly performed during his or her lifetime.
Romantics saw themselves as outsiders, isolated from
mainstream society, struggling to express their creative
ideas.
In general, composers held higher social status than in
the Classical period.

Composers
Traditionalists
Tended to compose in the style of their
teachers (classical era). While extending the
elements of music, they rarely went outside of
the norms.
Composer Examples: Brahms, Tchaikovsky
Schumann, Mendelssohn, Franck, Schubert,
Chopin, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov,
Puccini, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Clara
Schumann

Conductor
Resulted from the orchestras growth in numbers and complexity
Became necessary to have one person to lead and control the
orchestra

Performer
Rise of virtuosic performers
the public was captured by virtuosity and
showmanship

Niccolo Paganini

Franz Liszt

Frdric Chopin (1810-1849)

Polish composer and pianist

Lived in Paris for most of his life
Associated with George Sand (Aurore
Dudevant)
The only major composer to have
completely oriented his creative life
around the piano.
Piano compositions are generally
dances or free-form works (preludes,
etudes, nocturnes and impromptus).
Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 9, No. 2,
1830-1831
Night piece

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Hungarian composer and virtuosic pianist

Showman
Daughter married Wagner
Innovative composer both harmonically
and formally.
Used complex and unusual chords
Created the symphonic poem and utilized
thematic transformation (influenced
Wagner)
Composed two symphonies, symphonic
poems, piano music, orchestral and
operatic transcriptions
Transcendental Etude No. 10 in F Minor,
1851

General Musical
Characteristics
Individuality
Expressive Aims and Subjects
Nationalism and Exoticism
Rise and Importance of Program Music

Brass
Addition of valves and improvement to valves on brass instruments allowed
the playing of a full chromatic compass for the first time and to more easily
play quick runs of notes
Tubas and Trombones were added

Vocal Genres

Opera
Music Drama
Mass and Requiem
Art Song

Art song
An art song is a vocal music
composition, usually written for one
voice with piano accompaniment, and
usually in the classical tradition.
Art song can be traced back to the
Medieval period but became especially
popular during the Romantic era. Thus, it
is considered a genre of Romantic music.

Art song song structure

Strophic form in which the same
melody is repeated with every stanza,
or strophe, of the poem
hyms, carols, and most folk and
popular songs are strophic.

Art song song structure

Through composed form the
other song type, proceeds from
beginning to end, without repetitions of
whole sections.
Modified strophic form combines
features of the other two. Same
melody may be repeated for two or
three stanzas

The Lied or lieder when

referring to its plural form.
Is a German-texted solo vocal song with piano
accompaniment.
Some composers wrote groups of Lieder that
were unified by a narrative thread or a
descriptive theme
A song cycle is a group, or cycle, of individually
complete songs designed to be performed in a
sequence as a unit. The songs are either for
solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely a
combination of solo songs mingled with choral
pieces. Ex. The poets love

Instrumental Music

Absolute music tended to reflect the Classical heritage of Mozart and Haydn;
it tended to be more traditional in compositional style and instrumentation
Symphony, concerto, sonata, string quartet

Program music was compositionally guided by a story, poem, idea or scene;

it tended to be more progressive in compositional style and instrumentation
-music intended to convey an impression of a definite series of images,
scenes, or events.
Program symphony, Tone poem, Symphonic poem

Character Pieces
In contrast to the large instrumental genres, these were smaller pieces
typically for piano called character pieces

Musical Elements
Melody
Age of lyricism
Highly important
Expression of personal feeling is the goal
Phrases tended to be longer and irregular in
length
Themes were more complex and utilized
chromaticism
Strong tied to harmony

Texture
Essentially homophonic
Vocal solo with expressive
accompaniment
Very rich and expressive harmony
Feeling of heaviness and richness
Melody and harmony just like coming
deeply into your soul

Timbre
Hugely important compared to other elements.
Composers give a lot of details.
Orchestra expand, tone color and expressiveness are
considered equal with form. beauty of sound
Piano is the most important single instrument
Solo voice and piano are very popular combination
Opera remains very important (golden age of opera)
Music is much difficult to play

Instrumentation
This period saw a full exploration of the instrumental
families.
Instruments were used for both their individual and
collective color potential.
Instrumental timbre was used to convey mood and
atmosphere.
The orchestra became much larger from 70 players to
more than 100 (resulting in the necessity of a conductor).
Instruments could play louder and carry farther.
Instruments were capable of major changes in dynamics.

Harmony
Basically tonal (tonal center can be easily
sense)
There is a sense of scale
Major and minor are slowly eroded
because of extra notes that is thrown in.
By end of the 19th century chromaticism
(movement by half steps) stretched
tonality to the breaking point
Chromaticism imbued greater dissonance
and tension into the sound

Rhythm
Fairly straight forward rhythms
Rhythmic effects were used for color rubato
a fluctuation of tempo within a musical
phrase often against a rhythmically steady
accompaniment
Irregular rhythms, unusual rhythm, become
more complex.
A new vocabulary of music terms arose that
indicated how to achieve the composers desired
sound cantabile, dolce, con amore, allegro
agitato. These designations produced a more
emotional sound and response.

Rhythm
A new vocabulary of music terms arose that
indicated how to achieve the composers desired
sound cantabile, dolce, con amore, allegro
agitato. These designations produced a more
emotional sound and response.

Dynamics
Gradual and frequent changes
Much wider range extremes of dynamic
variation
Used extensively throughout the
compositions