The violin is one of the most recognizable musical sounds heard around the world today. They are used in pop concerts, classical symphonies, small ensembles, chamber ensembles, and much more. Although the violin is a vital part of today’s music, it was also a vital part to the beginning of music. The Renaissance period, which is roughly from 1400 AD to 1700 AD, saw the rise of the violin as a professional instrument, “Throughout the second half of the sixteenth century the violin was an exclusively professional instrument.” This period saw the rise of the violin to a prominent status among musical composers. The Classical Period, which is from around 1750 AD to 1820 AD, gave way to artists like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. …show more content…
This period saw the workings of the violin and it was experimented on and changed throughput the period, “One can observe that the Classical period was a time to search, develop and experiment in terms of instrument and bow making.” The violin became one of the most utilized instruments throughout the Classical era of music. As the violin transitioned into Modern period, which is from 1850 to the current age, the violin changed shape and it expanded into other countries. I argue that the violin is one of the most influential musical instruments to transcend through the musical eras. The Renaissance period saw the rise of the violin and how it changed music forever. Although the origins of the violin are very unclear many historians believe that the violin found its home during the Renaissance. David Munrow states in his book, Instruments of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, that the violin was established during the Renaissance era, “Today we must be content with placing the emergence of the violin as c. 1500 in Italy, after some twenty or thirty years of experimental designs.” The shape of the violin did take many different avenues during the Renaissance era. Since the violin was a new instrument during the Renaissance period it had to take designs from other instruments that had come before it. The violin began to gain its shape and other characteristics from other stringed instruments, “The earliest violins incorporated features of existing bowed instruments: the rebec, the Renaissance fiddle, and the lira da braccio. The pear-shaped rebec had strings that were tuned in fifths, and this system was adopted for the violin. However, the shape of the violin was taken from the fiddle and the lira da braccio, as these larger instruments produced a bigger sound and the hourglass shape made bowing easier.” As one can see the violin had to take its shape from many different instruments that came before it.
Now, the viol and the violin are very similar in shape, sound, and overall quality, but they did have a distinct difference during the Renaissance age. As one can see in Figure A the viol looks similar to that of standard modern violin, but the viol is much larger in comparison with the violin. Also, the viol consisted of having six strings strung across its body, where as the violin only had four during the Renaissance era. As seen in Figure B the violin had only four strings and was much smaller than that of the viol. Also, the violin seemed to be used for many different purposes throughout the Renaissance.
Although the viol and the violin looked very similar during the Renaissance they served different purposes for the music world. David Munrow points one of these major differences out,
“We call viols those which gentleman merchants and other virtuous people pass their time. The other type is called violin; it is commonly used for dancing, and with good reason, for it is music easier to tune…It is also easier to carry, a very necessary thing while leading wedding processions or mummeries.”
The violin may have taken its shape and form from other instruments and may have even looked like other instruments, but one thing is clear, the violin will become one of the most utilized instruments after the Renaissance era is
over. Though the violin may have looked and sounded like other instruments, it became clear that the violin would later stand out in music. The Renaissance violin can be heard in the CD Tielman Susato Dansereye 1551 New London Consort. This compact disc includes many songs that bring the Renaissance violin to life. One of the first musical excerpts that exudes with violin playing is, “Passe E Medio; Reprise ‘Le Pingue’.” As soon as the song starts the listener can hear the violin above all other stringed instruments in the consort. The violin is leading the way with its powerful play and melodic contour. As the song continues the violin seems to be leading the rest of the instruments in the piece. The listener can hear how the interweaving of the violins adds to the overall piece of music, and how the violin adds another layer to the polyphonic excerpt. Another musical excerpt, from the same CD, that points out the importance of the violin is “Allemaigne #8.” The song starts out slowly by bringing the violin into the listener’s ear. This song has a more settle intro into the music than the last musical excerpt, but the violin is still leading all other instruments in its attempts to capture the listener’s attention. The violin is setting the tempo of the piece by being the leading instrument, and it is also setting the rhythm of the piece with its slow and thought out rhythm. As stated earlier most violins during the Renaissance era were used for dance and rhythmic music, and these musical excerpts are no different in the fact that they too are meant for dance. The Renaissance was the first era in which the violin started to be seen in the music world, but it would not be until later that the violin would rise to prominence. David Munrow states, “The instrument which emerged in the middle of the sixteenth century had an outstanding potential for expressiveness, agility, and sonority… it had laid the foundation of the string section of the modern orchestra.” The Classical period saw the emergence of the violin in all aspects of music, and composers such as Mozart and Beethoven included it into their symphonies. The Renaissance brought a shape to the violin, but it was further defined and shaped during the Classical period. Although these changes were subtle they added to the overall structure of the violin. According to Grove Music the changes were based on the size of the neck and fingerboard, “The key features of violins that were used in the second half of the 18th century and the early years of the 19th were the size of the sound post and bass-bar and the length of the neck and fingerboard.” Although these changes may be subtle they added to the overall quality of the violin during the Classical period. During the Renaissance, and previous periods before the Classical era, the violin had a thicker and shorter neck, but as the violin entered into the Classical era it began to take shape into what we, modern peoples, recognize as the violin today. The necks on the violin gave it a shape that one can see in today’s modern ensembles and orchestras, but yet another thing changed about the neck on the Classical violin. Classical period violins changed the way in which the neck was tilted; “The practice of neck inclination was introduced in the countries of the Northern Europe, France and Germany in the end of the 18th century.” One can see the subtle changes in the violin from the Renaissance era through to the Classical era in figure C. The Classical period violin still comprised of having four strings strung across its body, but the shape of the body and the necks have changed a considerable amount. Looking back onto Figure B one can tell that the body style of the Renaissance violin had a much more block like shape than that of the Classical violin. Although the instrument has changed in looks between the two periods, the violin instrument changed most in how it was played and utilized in musical pieces.
In terms of the technical differences between the art music of early times and that of the modern period (i.e., after 1600) we can identify five specific features that make post-1600 styles in music sound more or less "familiar."
To this day, many of Stradivarius violins remain in the human world, but only one can resound with the beauty of Stradivari's soul; this one Hermes keeps for himself. But to honor Stradivari's life and to share his gift with the world, Hermes joins with Apollo every night and plays the symphonies of nature; these can be heard in the winds, in the oceans, indeed, in the fabric of everyday life.
TitleAuthor/ EditorPublisherDate James Galways’ Music in TimeWilliam MannMichael Beazley Publishers1982 The Concise Oxford History of MusicGerald AbrahamOxford University Press1979 Music in Western CivilizationPaul Henry LangW. W. Norton and Company1941 The Ultimate Encyclopaedia of Classical MusicRobert AinsleyCarlton Books Limited1995 The Cambridge Music GuideStanley SadieCambridge University Press1985 School text: Western European Orchestral MusicMary AllenHamilton Girls’ High School1999 History of MusicRoy BennettCambridge University Press1982 Classical Music for DummiesDavid PogueIDG Books Worldwide,Inc1997
As the late Baroque period morphed into the new period known as the classical period, technological advances and new compositional techniques and ideas created new opportunities for the musicians of the period. The changes allowed for new performance techniques, forms, performance venues, and newly available compositional orchestrations to be improved and evolved into something new and improved for the new period.
Smith, Douglas Alton. A History of the Lute from Antiquity to the Renaissance. Massechusetts: The Lute Society of America, Inc., 2002.
Antonio Stradivari, a man known by many as on of the greatest luthiers of all time. The question at hand is why? From as early as the early 1700’s Stradivari was well known in the music world and still is. His instruments are reproduced in order to fool consumers into buying an instrument that has the same design as a Strad. There are also luthiers that try to replicate Stradivari’s beautiful design for their own satisfaction. Antonio Stradivari’s instruments have become socially and technically popular over time due to his superior craftsmanship, and for others, its large price tag. Stradivari’s life, affecting how his instruments were made, changed the perception of his instruments technically and socially.
Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E Minor is a staple in professional violin literature. The music starts out with the solo violin playing the main theme. It is noted that before Mendelssohn officia...
Before the pianoforte was brought into existence, the keyboard instrument of the orchestra was the harpsichord. The timbre of the harpsichord was much different than that of the pianoforte, this being primarily because of the harpsichord’s strings being plucked, whereas the piano’s strings
John Warrack, author of 6 Great Composers, stated, “Any study of a composer, however brief, must have as its only purpose encouragement of the reader to greater enjoyment of the music” (Warrack, p.2). The composers and musicians of the Renaissance period need to be discussed and studied so that listeners, performers, and readers can appreciate and understand the beginnings of music theory and form. The reader can also understand the driving force of the composer, whether sacred or secular, popularity or religious growth. To begin understanding music composition one must begin at the birth, or rebirth of music and the composers who created the great change.
When Mlle de Montpensier was exiled from Paris, Lully was released from her service and gained the attention of King Louis XIV. In February 1653 he danced in “Ballet de la nuit” with the King and less than a month later was appointed the King’s “composituer de la musique instrumentale de Roi.” Over the next ten years Lully gained control over all the royal family’s court music. This is when he began experimenting with performance practices and changing the basic stylistic features of orchestral music. Lully’s “petits violons” brought him international fame.
Music has shaped the lives of people throughout history. Even in its earliest forms, music has included use of instruments. One of the oldest musical instruments known is a variation of the flute; the original flute is thought to date back nearly 67,000 years ago. Tonight we are going to move throughout the eras with a history of instrumental music. This concert will begin with the Renaissance Era and continue through time until we have reached modern instrumental music.
From the Early Renaissance to the High Renaissance, there was a movement from vocal music to a combination of vocal and instrumental music (Brown, 1976). There are seven categories of instrumental music: 1) vocal music played by instruments, 2) settings of pre-existing melodies, 3) variation sets, 4) ricercars, fantasias, and canzonas, 5) preludes, preambles, and toccatas for solo instruments, 6) dance music, and 7) songs composed specifically for lute and solo voice (Brown, 1976). Italy dominated the stage for instrumental music at this time, and it was not until the last decades of the sixteenth century that English instrumental music became popular (Brow...
The Renaissance means the rebirth of ancient learning. The renaissance can be divided into two parts Early Renaissance (1420-1500) and High Renaissance (1500-1520). The Renaissance era was one of the most productive time periods in history as far as the advancement of music goes. At first it was rigid, structu...
Mozart, Beethoven and Joseph Haydn are considered the three main composers of this time. The Classical Period took place from 1750-1820. During this time, scientific advances changed the world view. People gained faith in the power of reason and began undermining traditional authority. Music and visual arts stress balance and structure. String, woodwind and some keyboard and brass instruments were used in this era. Classical music shows a contrast in mood, both between and within movements. It also shows flexibility in rhythm, by using multiple rhythmic patterns in a piece. Classical music is mostly homophonic, but with frequent shifts. Classical music also has a tuneful, easy to sing melody. Emotions were expressed in shades of dynamics, which was related to the development of piano. In the Classical era, orchestras grew in size (though they’re still smaller than today’s). Instruments worked in four movements: fast (first), slow (second), dance-related (third), and fast (fourth). Public, ticket buying concerts became common and the rise of the music instrument manufacturing industry began. Vienna became a place where musicians came to study and seek recognition. The most common compositional forms during this time were sonatas, concerti, and
When approaching a performance, accomplished musicians often consider the historical context from which a piece originates. They most often think of such considerations in the application of that context as it pertains to early music that is, the Baroque era or earlier. For any era, such historical considerations are called performance practice, and may include the use of vibrato, ornamentation, dynamic levels, tempi, instrumental timbres, performance setting, and balance. Vibrato and ornamentation are two important areas of consideration that vocalists must explore when aiming to give an authentically Baroque performance.