Classicism Characteristics

Study Notes

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.