1.2 Key characteristics of Classical music

The Classical period revolutionized music with its emphasis on clarity, balance, and simplicity. Composers like Mozart and Haydn crafted elegant melodies, embraced sonata form, and expanded the orchestra. These changes marked a departure from the complex Baroque style.

Classical music introduced new genres like the symphony and string quartet. It favored the piano over the harpsichord, allowing for greater expressiveness. The era's focus on structure and form laid the groundwork for future musical developments.

Classical Music Features

Musical Form and Structure

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• Classical music is characterized by a focus on clarity, balance, and symmetry in musical form and structure
• Composers often employed dynamic contrast, with a wider range of volume levels and sudden changes in dynamics for dramatic effect
• Classical music tends to have a more flexible and varied rhythmic approach, with frequent changes in tempo and meter
• Classical music favored simpler and more straightforward forms, such as sonata form and theme and variations

Melody, Harmony, and Texture

• Melodies in Classical music are often simple, elegant, and singable, with a clear sense of phrasing and cadence
• Harmonic progressions in Classical music are generally simpler and more predictable than those of the Baroque era, with a greater emphasis on tonic-dominant relationships and the use of alberti bass accompaniment
• Classical music tends to favor a simpler, more homophonic texture with a clear melody and accompaniment, in contrast to the complex polyphonic textures of Baroque music

Instrumentation and Keyboard Instruments

• The Classical period saw the rise of the piano as a dominant keyboard instrument, with its greater dynamic range and expressive capabilities compared to the harpsichord favored in the Baroque era
• The development of the modern symphony orchestra occurred during the Classical period, with a standardized instrumentation including strings (violins, violas, cellos, double basses), woodwinds (flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons), brass (horns, trumpets, trombones), and percussion (timpani)

Classical vs Baroque Music

Texture and Ornamentation

• While Baroque music is characterized by complex polyphonic textures and elaborate ornamentation, Classical music tends to favor a simpler, more homophonic texture with a clear melody and accompaniment
• Baroque composers often employed terraced dynamics, with sudden changes between loud and soft sections, while Classical composers used a wider range of dynamic levels and more gradual dynamic transitions

Rhythm and Tempo

• Baroque music often features a continuous rhythmic drive and a sense of forward motion, while Classical music tends to have a more flexible and varied rhythmic approach, with frequent changes in tempo and meter

Keyboard Instruments

• The Baroque era favored the harpsichord as the primary keyboard instrument, while the Classical period saw the rise of the piano, with its greater dynamic range and expressive capabilities

Musical Forms

• Baroque music often featured complex and elaborate forms, such as the fugue (a contrapuntal composition in which a short melody or phrase is introduced by one part and successively taken up by others) and the canon (a contrapuntal composition that employs a melody with one or more imitations played after a given duration)
• Classical music favored simpler and more straightforward forms, such as sonata form and theme and variations

Sonata Form Development

Structure and Sections

• Sonata form is a musical structure that consists of three main sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation, with an optional introduction and coda
• The exposition presents the main themes of the piece, typically in contrasting keys (tonic and dominant or relative major/minor)
• The development section explores and manipulates these themes through various compositional techniques such as modulation (change of key), fragmentation (breaking themes into smaller parts), and sequence (repeating a musical pattern at different pitches)
• The recapitulation restates the main themes from the exposition, typically in the home key, providing a sense of resolution and closure to the piece

Significance in Classical Compositions

• Sonata form became the dominant structure for first movements of symphonies, string quartets, and solo sonatas during the Classical period
• The development of sonata form reflects the Classical era's emphasis on clarity, balance, and dramatic contrast
• Sonata form allowed for a balance of unity and variety within a composition, with the exposition providing memorable themes, the development creating tension and exploration, and the recapitulation bringing a sense of resolution

Classical Music Genres

Orchestral and Chamber Music

• The symphony became a central genre of the Classical period, typically consisting of four movements (fast-slow-minuet-fast) and showcasing the expanded range and capabilities of the orchestra (e.g., Haydn's "London" Symphonies, Mozart's "Jupiter" Symphony)
• The string quartet emerged as a prominent genre of chamber music, featuring two violins, viola, and cello, and allowing for a more intimate and conversational musical dialogue among the instruments (e.g., Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131)
• The concerto, particularly the piano concerto, became a popular genre during the Classical period, showcasing the virtuosity of the soloist and the interplay between soloist and orchestra (e.g., Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467)

Opera and Vocal Music

• Opera continued to be an important genre during the Classical era, with a greater emphasis on realistic characters, believable plots, and a balance between recitative (speech-like singing) and aria (expressive solo singing)
• The opera buffa, or comic opera, gained popularity during this period, featuring lighthearted plots, everyday characters, and a more naturalistic singing style (e.g., Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro")
• The opera seria, or serious opera, also underwent reforms, with a greater focus on dramatic integrity and the elimination of excessive ornamentation and virtuosic display (e.g., Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice")

Other Significant Genres

• The solo sonata, featuring a single instrument (often piano or violin) with or without accompaniment, allowed for the display of technical skill and expressive range (e.g., Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, "Moonlight")
• The trio sonata, popular in the Baroque era, continued into the early Classical period, featuring two melodic instruments (often violins) and a basso continuo (harpsichord and cello) (e.g., Haydn's Trio Sonata in G major, Hob. XV:5)
• The serenade and the divertimento were lighter, more entertaining genres, often featuring multiple movements and various instrumental combinations, suitable for background music at social gatherings (e.g., Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik")