PIANO MUSIC IN THE ROMANTIC ERA
This piano piece is from the romantic era, demonstrating breathtakingly lyrical and expressive melody, chromatic harmony, and use of dissonance to convey emotion (Wright 232-233). The dark beauty, haunting quality, melodic structure, and lyrical nature reminded me of Frederic Chopin, the master of the nocturne (Wright 232, 270). After comparing it to several pieces by the composer, I determined that it was Nocturne in C Sharp Minor (Op 27 No 1)1.
As with other romantic composers, Chopin made use of chromatic harmony to add richness, depth, and sensuosity to his works (Wright 232). Piano music of the romantic period was enhanced by advancements in the instrument, such as felt covered hammers and sustaining and soft pedals (Wright
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These ragas, along with the rhythms played by the percussionist, convey the particular “tranquility, natural beauty, and spirituality” of Indian music and are the very backbone of its expression (Wright 432-433). Raga has a much richer meaning beyond its melody. Bailey (115) notes that the music theory behind raga stipulates specific emotions, “the deities with which they are associated,” and even the appropriate times they should be performed.3 Tala is cyclic in nature and may be linked to the spiritual importance of reincarnation within Hinduism (Wright 433). The sitar is a “North Indian stringed instrument related to the lute, consisting of two gourds connected by a teakwood neck with 20 movable frets, six or seven main playing strings, and 11-13 sympathetic strings on separate bridges” (Rain 116). The tabla are two drums played in accompaniment to the sitar, one of which will produce one sound, while the sound of the other is influenced by the amount of force with which it is struck (Wright
In Africa, music helps define its culture by expressing emotions through each song. Drums play a very important significance in African culture; they are always present in ceremonies such as births, deaths, and marriages along with a ritual dance. Ompeh is an organized system with many rules and is performed by recreational amateur ensemble of singers and percussionists. Maru-Bihag is loosely structured, performed only by experts, and is used more for entertainment. In India, the sitar instrument is taken very seriously; a student must apprentice with a master for 15-20 years before being allowed to play this
For almost half a century, the musical world was defined by order and esteemed the form of music more highly than the emotion that lay behind it. However, at the turn of the 19th century, romantic music began to rise in popularity. Lasting nearly a century, romantic music rejected the ideas of the classical era and instead encouraged composers to embrace the idea of emotionally driven music. Music was centered around extreme emotions and fantastical stories that rejected the idea of reason. This was the world that Clara Wieck (who would later marry the famous composer, Robert Schumann) was born into. Most well known for being a famous concert pianist, and secondly for being a romantic composer, Clara intimately knew the workings of romantic music which would not only influence Clara but would later become influenced by her progressive compositions and performances, as asserted by Bertita Harding, author of Concerto: The Glowing Story of Clara Schumann (Harding, 14). Clara’s musical career is an excellent example of how romantic music changed from virtuosic pieces composed to inspire awe at a performer’s talent, to more serious and nuanced pieces of music that valued the emotion of the listener above all else.
(3) In the Romantic era the compositions were very expressive and inventive. The Romantic composers experimented with already existing forms, and dramatic expressiveness. This grew out of the improvement of instruments and the newly invented genres (Britannica). The limits in music composing were pushed with great contrast in the music. There were tempo changes in the music, difference in dynamics that ranged from pppp to ffff, either gradual or sudden, for a great emotional effect. Chromatic harmony was a popular, new way of making dissonance and unstable chords, prolonging the resolution of dissonance, using tones from the chromatic scale to create tension and unpredictability in the music (“OnMusic”). Other traits of the Romantic style of music were individualism and self-expression. Therefore it is possible to hear who the composer of the piece is (An Appreciation 257, 259). Compositions could be either absolute, which meant that the music was not based on a story or a text, or it could be program, which meant that the music was based on a story or a text. During the Romantic era, the composers mostly preferred program music. Nationalism and exoticism in the music was also common. The composers used dances and rhythms that were common...
Chopin’s mother played a key role in developing his love for music by introducing him to music at an early age. In addition to his mother introducing him to music, his father’s career which involved him tutoring Warsaw’s aristocratic families helped to spark Chopin’s love for music. Music was an integral part of most aristocratic families’ lives. So, it is not surprising that music had a great influence on Chopin, who was exposed to aristocratic families. The influence of Music on Chopin’s life had a lasting impact on himself and eventually the rest of
The sitar is a fascinating instrument. It can produce complex sounds that other fretted strings instruments could not. Twelve wire strings that vibrate sympathetically with the gut strings cause these unique sounds. The number of gut strings varies between three to seven. The strings are attached to a long necked, gourd like body, which could be compared to a lute. There are several ways in which it is played; however, it is unusually performed in a small ensemble or alone. The sitar is indigenous to the country of India and is best known from the performances of the Indian virtuoso Ravi Shankar. However, it wasn’t only used in Indian styles of music, but also in Rock music.
This piece is called Mazurkas, Op. 17 which is a set of four mazurkas for piano written by Frederic Chopin. This piece was composed and published between 1832 and 1833. Frederic Chopin was a romantic-era polish composer. He lived in Warsaw when he was younger and by the age of 20 had already completed his education and composed various pieces of music. Chopin only gave about 30 performances in public because he preferred salons, which are small recitals, and growing up supported himself by selling his composition while also giving private piano lessons. Chopin died at age 39 from tuberculosis. Most of the pieces that Chopin composed were meant for solo piano performances but he also wrote two piano concertos. Chopin is renown for inventing the concept of instrumental ballade. This certain piece takes about fourteen minutes to play the whole piece. Chopin opens up the piece with four mysterious bars almost as if the chords are not aware of their future course.
Seyersted, Per, and Emily Toth, eds. A Kate Chopin Miscellany. Natchitoches: Northwestern State University Press, 1979.
With exquisite mingling in sound of quiet and agitation, fluidity and interruption, with a gorgeous melody of cautious, tightly contracting circles and sudden leaps into space, Chopin, the subtle-souled psychologist, opens his waltz. How does Chopin speak through his waltz? How does the music play the listener? Minds think through forms. Form follows content. Music’s structure matters. In Chopin’s Opus 69 No.1, the AA’BA’BA’CCDCDA’ structure of reoccurring themes uncomfortably prolongs the inevitable return of the tragic first theme which the audience does not want to hear but expects to hear anyway.
...use of imagery in her writing gives it a more natural feel, blending the emotions of the story as a chameleon does itself in the trees. Many authors do not use such techniques in their writing, leading to a lack of substance in some cases. Without the images of nature that Chopin incorporates into her stories, they would not be as enjoyable to read as they are.
Fredric Chopin was a 19th century composer of piano music, he wrote twenty-four preludes which are a set of short pieces made for the piano, and each one was wrote for each key on the piano and they were originally published in 1839. The piano is described as an instrument of great beauty. Originally known as the pianoforte, which is Italian for “soft-loud.” This means that the piano has a wide dynamic range and the capacity for nuance. The piano is unable to keep tone like string and woodwind instruments. The piano has the capability to have brilliant scales, arpeggios, trills, rapid passages and octaves. The pianos range spans more than seven octaves. In the hands of a good
The piano—originally known as the fortepiano or pianoforte—is one of the most globally recognized instruments in history. Its unique timbre distinguishes it from preceding keyboard instruments and even from modern keyboard instruments that attempt to imitate it. The pianoforte has made many changes and contributions to music, which can be seen through how it came to be, what composers first thought of the instrument, and how it affected orchestral music.
Green, Aaron. "Moonlight Sonata: Notes on Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C Sharp Minor." About.com Classical Music. About.com, 19 Sept. 2009. Web. 05 May 2014. .
The term romantic first appeared at sometime during the latter half of the 18th Century, meaning in quite literal English, "romance-like", usually referring to the character of mythical medieval romances. The first significant jump was in literature, where writing became far more reliant on imagination and the freedom of thought and expression, in around 1750. Subsequent movements then began to follow in Music and Art, where the same kind of imagination and expression began to appear. In this essay I shall be discussing the effect that this movement had on music, the way it developed, and the impact that it had on the future development of western music.
The important piano works of Chopin include sonatas, preludes, etudes, polonaises, mazurkas, waltzes, nocturnes, scherzi, and ballades.
There are many differences between romantic and classical music. Romantic works tend to have greater ranges of tone color, dynamics, and pitch. The emotional intensity associated with romanticism was already present in the work of Mozart and particularly in that of Beethoven, who greatly influenced composers after him (Kamien, 211). The composers in the Romantic period were Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Verdi, Wagner, Bizet, Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky, Musorgsky, Mahler, Puccini. Their genres were ensemble, program orchestra, sensational suggestion, show suggestion, tone sonnet, musical show, workmanship tune, symphonic melody, solo concerto, character piece for piano, artful dance music. Melody: more adaptable and unpredictable fit as a fiddle than in the Classical period; long, singable lines with intense peaks and chromatic affectations for expressiveness. Harmony: Greater utilization of chromaticism makes the amicability wealthier and more vivid; sudden movements to remote harmonies for expressive purposes; delayed cacophony passes on sentiments of tension and aching. Rhythm: free and loose, sporadically darkening the meter; beat can change extraordinarily (rubato) and some of the time eases back to a slither to take into consideration "the fantastic signal". Color: symphony gets to be tremendous, coming to upward of 100 entertainers: trombone, tuba, contra-bassoon, piccolo, and English horn included; explores different avenues regarding new playing procedures for embellishments; progress shift broadly to make compelling levels of expression; piano gets to be bigger and all the more intense. Texture: prevalently homophonic however thick and rich on account of bigger ensembles and instrumental scores ; managing pedal on the piano additionally adds to thickness. Form: no new structures made; rather, conventional structures (strophic,