Classical Music

1100 Words3 Pages

Classical Music

n : traditional genre of music conforming to an established form and appealing to critical interest and developed musical taste [syn: serious music]

Classical music, as the name suggests, is a well-established kind of music, at least in the West. Classical music concerts take place in every cultural center, and they take many forms, from a solo to large symphonic orchestras, from a sonata to an opera. This kind of music has many fans, especially among circles of intellectuals. But how did this great kind of music start? What made the great composers compose? And how was this all used before the time of recorded music and portable mp3 players? These are the questions we are going to examine today.

Music historians place the beginnings of classical music in Europe during the 1730s, though there is not a clear cut-point, since it gradually evolved from the Baroque style that was dominant before. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and Christoph Willibald Gluck are considered to be the founders of classical music. But what triggered this new kind of music?

Ask a physicist, and the answer is quite clear: The new ideas of "natural philosophy", proposed in the late 17 th century by Sir Isaac Newton, suggested that the universe has a clear structure, well founded in axioms, articulated and orderly. These ideas were reflected in the music of the 18 th century, but also in architecture, literature, and the arts in general. This new style in the arts is referred to as "Classicism".

Back in those days, music was not as common as it is now. One could not carry thousands of songs in one's pocket. Music was rather a privilege of the royalty and their court.

For example, one of the most impor...

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... it can be heard in parks, parking lots, train and underground stations. It can be found even in the pockets of people carrying mp3 players around.

Young people listen to it, old people listen to it, babies listen to it.

Classical music is not only a kind of music; it's a way to concentrate, to relax, to worship. Classical music is a way of life.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_music_era

http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Newton.html

http://www.classical.net/music/links/musiclnk.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/422644.stm

http://www.freenewmexican.com/artsfeatures/10701.html

http://www.healingproducts.com/sound_health_series.htm#concentration

http://www.freenewmexican.com/artsfeatures/10701.html

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B000001GDR001001/0/104-1287315-5901551

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