Classicism Characteristics

Classicism Characteristics

• Time period: 1750-1820, marking the transition from Baroque to Classical music.
• Instrumental music flourished, leading to fewer vocal pieces created during this era.
• Emphasis on beauty found in order, symmetry, balance, and control.
• Melody exhibits emotional restraint, characterized by a question/answer phrase structure and contrasting sections.
• Texture predominantly features homophony, with prominent melodies and less focus on bass.
• Dynamics display subtleness yet are impressive, often employing longer crescendos.
• Timbre: Greater importance placed on instrumental music, focusing on orchestral sounds; the piano emerged as the primary keyboard instrument.

Form

• Represents the organization and design of a composition or individual movement.
• In the absence of text, greater significance is given to musical form, paralleling literary structures with elements like repetition and contrast.

Cadenza

• An extended cadence performed by a soloist, typically improvised.
• Features an orchestra crescendoing before dropping out, concluding with a trill from the soloist, which prompts the orchestra's return.

Solo Concerto

• Emerged following the decline of the concert grosso, which featured large orchestras typical of the Baroque period.
• Composers began writing solo performances, integrating instruments within orchestral works.

String Quartet

• A prominent form of chamber music during the Classical era, typically comprising two violins, a viola, and a cello.

Sonata-Allegro

• A structural form used in first movements of symphonies, concertos, sonatas, or string quartets, characterized by its ABA structure.

Rondo

• A musical form denoted by ABACA, serving as the last movement in compositions, known for its lively and cheerful nature.

Coda

• Definition: Translates to "tail," referring to the concluding section of a musical piece.

Comic Opera

• Known as opera buffa in Italian, singspiele in German, and opera comique in French.
• This genre gained popularity, featuring comedic elements inserted between acts of serious operas.

Pants or Trouser Role

• A role in opera typically written for a female singer, portraying a young boy to express youth and innocence.