Classical Music and Opera Buffa

• The philosophes of the Enlightenment included Voltair, Diderot, Smith, Rousseau and Wollstonecraft
• Classical-period music expressed emotion more naturally and with greater contrast compared to the Baroque period
• Classical-period music shifted to lighter textures and clearer structures than the complex Baroque style

Galant Style

• Qualities include an elegant, courtly style

• Simple, song-like melodies

• Light accompaniment

• Short, balanced phrases

• Emphasis on charm and accessibility

• Periodicity is a musical structure that divides melodies into balanced, interrelated segments which are separated by resting points

• An opera buffa is a dramatic performance at a public theater in the early 1700s that:

  • Is sung throughout
  • Has at least six singing characters
  • Centers around ordinary people
  • Example: La serva padrona by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

• La serva padrona is a famous and successful intermezzi

• Recitative is the term for sung parts where action progresses in an opera seria

• Some writers argued that vocal music was superior to instrumental music because it could convey words and emotions directly through language

• Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the pianoforte

• Early Classic period instrumental music aimed to entertain and express emotion clearly and naturally through structured and balanced forms

Empfindsam Style

• Characteristics include expressiveness and sensitivity

• Sudden contrasts

• Intimate tone

• C.P.E. Bach

• The Italian opera overture and orchestral suite were the most obvious ancestors of the symphony

• The string quartet was invented in the early Classic period

• Fortepiano refers to eighteenth-century pianos, distinguishing them from later versions

• Sonata was considered music for private entertainment

• Vocal phrasing greatly influenced instrumental melody structure

• Keyboard sonatas were common in the eighteenth century because amateur musicians, especially women, played them at home

• Joseph Haydn spent much of his career at the Esterházy court in Austria

• The Esterházy family provided Haydn with resources, musicians, and creative freedom

• Lorenzo Da Ponte was the librettist Mozart wrote three operas with

• Scherzo refers to a lively, fast triple meter movement that often replaced the minuet in symphonies

• Haydn standardized the four-movement form composing over 100 symphonies, leading to him being called "the father of the symphony"

• The string quartet is often compared to a conversation among friends

• Mozart supported himself in Vienna through teaching, performing, publishing, and commissions

• Public concerts in the 1700s were shorter than today's concerts, allowed audience members to walk and talk, and often did not list composers' names

• The middle movements of Mozart’s piano concertos resembled lyrical arias and were typically slow

• Haydn's musical style includes:

  • Wit and humor
  • Artful manipulation of listener’s expectations
  • Combination of simplicity and sophistication
    • But DOES NOT include operatic style melodies or concentration of thematic development

• Eighteenth-century philosophers argued that the sublime in music produced awe, inspiration, and emotional intensity

• Beethoven studied composition with Joseph Haydn from 1792–94

• Beethoven initially attracted public attention through his virtuosic piano performances and improvisations

• Beethoven received financial security from patrons and noble families, including a lifelong stipend from Viennese aristocrats

• The first movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 has extensive development of themes and unexpected key modulations

• In the slow movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, the timpani imitates the upbeats of the strings

• Characteristics of Beethoven’s late style include:

  • Concentration of thematic development
  • Combination of simplicity and sophistication
  • Artful manipulation of expectations

• In Beethoven’s Third Symphony thematic material is continuously evolving for extended development

• Published music for keyboard, chamber ensemble, or voice and keyboard was often performed by amateur musicians in private settings

• Shared humanity and culture mattered more than national differences in eighteenth-century Europe

• Italian comic opera strongly influenced the galant style and musical forms of the eighteenth-century

• Opera seria plots often focus on human conflicts resolved by magnanimous deeds

• Opera buffa both entertained and served a moral purpose by poking fun at human foibles

• Composers in the early 1700s created music that aimed to express specific emotions and affect the listener’s feelings

• Writers believed that music should appeal to both the intellect and the emotions

• Performers themselves, often improvising, wrote the cadenzas in eighteenth century concertos

• The pianoforte replaced the harpsichord as the primary keyboard instrument by the mid-1700s

• J.C. Bach was a big influence on Mozart, particularly on his concertos

• Haydn and Mozart admired each other’s work and had a friendly, mutually respectful relationship

• Contrasts of stability and instability help listeners follow the form in Classic-era music

• The Requiem Mass was unfinished by Mozart at his death

• Maria Anna (Nannerl) was also musically talented in Mozart’s family

• Mozart’s travels as a youth exposed him to diverse styles and traditions, enriching his musical language

• Beethoven was disillusioned with Napoleon Bonaparte, and removed his name from the title of his third symphony

• Beethoven used old-fashioned Baroque contrapuntal techniques in his later works

• Audiences often found much of Beethoven's music difficult and challenging during his life

• People in the 19th century revered and considered Beethoven’s music deeply expressive and revolutionary

• The Enlightenment was based on themes of reason, nature, and progress

• Galant is a French term used to describe the new modern, sophisticated, chic, style of music in the eighteenth century

• Spoken dialogue replaced recitative in Opéra comique and ballad opera

• The expressive advantage of the pianoforte over the harpsichord was that it could vary volume with touch (dynamics)

• The keyboard sonata was the most common keyboard genre in the early Classic period

• Instruments in a string quartet include two violins, one viola, and one cello

• The technique known as Alberti bass is defined as x

• The tempo and character for each movement of a symphony from the late 1700s is as follows: 1. Fast, 2. Slow, 3. Minuet & Trio, 4. Fast Finale

• Sections of sonata form are: Exposition, Development, Recapitulation, with optional Introduction and Coda

• Vienna became a cultural center because it was the Habsburg capital and cultural hub, attracting top musicians

• Symphonies in the 1700s were typically performed by professionals for an audience, while string quartets and keyboard sonatas were for amateurs to play at home

• Classic era composers balanced sophistication with accessibility

• Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 was titled the Eroica Symphony

• The use of pathétique in the title of the Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13 suggests feelings of noble suffering

• The third movement in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is a scherzo instead of a minuet and trio

• An intermezzo is a short comic piece between opera acts

• A ballad opera is an English comic opera with spoken dialogue and songs on popular tunes

• Sturm und Drang refers to an emotional, dramatic movement in late 18th-century German art

• A cadenza is a soloistic, often improvised passage in a concerto

• J.C. Bach worked in England

• Frederick the Great was a major European leader who was a flautist and composer

• The Mannheim crescendo was a famous gradual increase in volume developed by the Mannheim orchestra

• The following diagrams match the formal structure:

  • A B A C A B A = rondo
  • AA’A’’A’’’A’’’’ = theme and variations
  • ABA overall = minuet and trio
  • ||: A :||: B :|| = simple binary