Romanticism in music

We now turn to the Romantic period proper, after the transitional music of Beethoven.

1. Compare the following classical period and romantic period pieces - list differences by the 6 concepts of music. (divide yourselves by concept)

Mozart - Rondo from Piano Concerto no 16
vs
Liszt Piano Concerto no 1

Mozart                                            Liszt

 

Duration
Lower strings quavers                    Lots of dotted rhythms
Strict tempo                                     Rubato
Straight (regular) rhythm                 Tempo is variable/flexible
Rhythmic motif dotted rhythm         Vast contrasts of rhythm within phrases
Rhythmically consistent                   Shorter subdivisions of note values, faster passages                                         Fermatas used

 

Pitch
Small range                                      Enormous range in piano and orchestra
Consonant harmony                        Lots of dissonance - diminished chords, lots of            extended, complex chromatic chords
Bassline following root of chords   Much more complex voiceleading
Modulated to dominant                   Modulation to C major (using circle of thirds) - tertiary modulation to distant key
Simple repetitive melody                Complex, long, hard to grasp, based around a motif

 

Tone Colour
Strings, flute, horns, bassoon         Bigger orchestra including piccolo, more brass, more            timpanis
Warm dainty round sound               Forceful, heavy, sharp, bright

 

Texture
Homophonic                                      Unison at beginning, homophonic but expanded
Soloist is melody over accompanying chords                                   Piano takes much bigger role contrasting with orchestra
Chords spread over a smaller range     Chords spread very densely over a very wide range
Little pedal used - dryer, clearer, more defined
                                                            Lots of pedal, stormy, turbulent, thick textures with lots of pedal on piano
Simpler texture                                    Much more complex

 

Structure
Macro
Rondo - built around a repeating refrain       Through composed
Clear contrasts between sections of regular length Blurred, unpredictable movement from one idea to the next
Micro
2 or 4 bar phrases organised in antecedent consequent structure (question-answer)
                                                                 Organically developing phrases built around a central motif - unpredictable phrase lengths - sometimes very short, sometimes very long phrases
Mozart based around repetition of melodies Liszt based around motivic development and embellishment of harmonies

 

Dynamics
Softer                                                     Much much louder
Clear contrasts, mainly steady mf              Huge contrasts, also a lot more flexilibility within phrases
Cleaner                                                 More emotional

 

Expressive Techs
Articulation
Much less pedal                                      Much more pedal
Lighter, more detached                             Legato, smooth, sustained, heavier
Ornaments used - trills, (turns)                 Extended trills used,no ornaments added  
Occasional accents                                Much greater range of different accents, used all the time   

 

Mozart "Der Vogelfanger bin ich ja" from The Magic Flute
vs
Wagner - Wotan's farewell

2. Read your textbook "The Spirit of Romanticism" 264-270
and answer questions 1, 2 & 3 on p270.

3. Read this summary of Romantic Musical Characteristics and summarise them in your book under the 6 concepts of music.

4. What new instruments became included in the orchestra during the nineteenth century? What new possibilities were available due to advances in instrument-making technology? Refer to your textbook, p268.

5. Choose a piece from the Romantic era, find a score for it (try imslp) and a recording, and write two paragraphs discussing its use of the Romantic characteristics summarised above.