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1.The term “Classical Music” is still used today to refer to music that is not classified as either popular music (Rock, R&B, Hip Hop, Country) or Folk Music. In your own words why do you think this periodic term is still used to refer to music other than that mentioned above?
Of all the musical periods, the Classical period is the shortest, spanning less
than a century. Its music is dominated by three composers whose works are still
some of the best known of all Western art music: Joseph Haydn (1732-1809),
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), and Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).
Although born in different European regions, all three spent a substantial amount
of time in Vienna, Austria, which might be considered the European musical capital of the time.
Music scholars have referred to this time as the Classical period in music for
several reasons. For one, the music of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven has served
as the model for most composers after their time and is still played today; in this
way, the music is “classic” in that it has provided an exemplar and has stood the
test of time. As we will also see, this music has often been perceived as emulating
the balance and portion of ancient Greek and Roman art, the time period to which
the word “classical” is affixed within literature and art history, as well as the wider
field of history.
Our use of the Classical period to refer to music of roughly 1750 to 1815, however, should not be confused with our broader use of the term “classical music” to
refer to art music (music that does not otherwise fall within the spheres of popular
music or folk music).
Beginning towards the end of the 16th century, citizens in Europe became skeptical of traditional politics, governance, wealth distribution, and the aristocracy.
Philosophers and theorists across Europe began to questioning these norms and
issues and began suggesting instead that humanity could benefit from change.
Publications and scientific discoveries of these thinkers proving and understanding many of nature’s laws spurred the paradigm shift of logic referred to as the Age
of Reason, or the Enlightenment.
The seeds for the Enlightenment can be found in England in approximately the
1680s. In that decade, Newton published Principia Mathematica and John Locke
published his “Essay Concerning Human Understanding.” These two works provided the philosophical, mathematical, and scientific foundation for the Enlightenment’s great developments. Locke stressed that knowledge is gained through
accumulated life experience rather than by acquired outside truth. Newton’s mathematics and optical theory showed that humans can observe, study, define, and
test the world around them and can also mathematically measure and prove natural occurrences.
Besides Locke and Newton, Enlightenment thinkers included Voltaire, Montesquieu, Jean-Jacque Rousseau, Benjamin Franklin, and Immanuel Kant. Their
works especially stressed improving humanity’s condition through the use of rea (page 117) son and common sense in order to provide liberty and justice for all. Many Enlightenment thinkers challenged blind and unconditional following of the authority of
religious traditions and institutions and emphasized what they saw as “universal
human goods and rights.” They believed that if humankind would simply act with
common sense—found in ideas such as “the golden rule”—then societies might advance with greater universal justice and liberty.
Being able to solve and understand many of the
mysteries of the universe in a quantifiable manner using math and reason, was empowering. Much of the
educated middle class applied these learned principles
to improve society. Enlightenment ideals lead to political revolutions throughout the Western world. Governmental changes such as Britain’s embrace of constitutional democratic form of government and later the
United States of America’s establishment of democratic
republic completely changed the outlook of the function
of a nation/state. The overall well-being and prosperity
of all in society became the mission of governance.
Up until the mid-1700s art, including music, was
under the direct control or patronage of the monarchy/aristocracy, the class whose
unquestioned rule was founded on divine hereditary right. The arts were their (and
the church’s) privilege, luxury, and adornment for generations to come. In its infancy, the Enlightenment’s power shift toward the middle class was neither perceived nor anticipated by those in power. America’s successful revolution against
England landed a devastating blow to the doctrine of the divine ruling rights of
kings. Shortly afterward, the ensuing French Revolution had an unintentional impact on the arts and is one of the greatest influences on Western classical music.
Artists and architects of the second half of the eighteenth century looked to
classical antiquity as its model; their work is referred to as neoclassical. You can
see this interest when one compares the Parthenon in Athens to the columns of
the White House. While in power, aristocrats and their wealthy peers exalted the
Hellenism that protected them from getting too involved in the current issues of
life. The aristocrats saw the ancient Roman gods, heroes, and kings as semblances
of themselves. They viewed themselves in the same light as super humans entitled
to rule, possess great wealth, and be powerful. This detachment shaped their relationship with the arts in architecture and the visual arts. The rising middle class,
on the contrary, viewed and interpreted neoclassical arts as representations of Roman and Greek city-states. This view assisted their resolve to rebel against the tyrants and abolish despotism. Here musical terminology diverges from that used by
art historians (Neoclassicism in music would have to wait for the 20th century). As
we have few musical exemplars from classical antiquity and as the music of Haydn,
Mozart, and Beethoven would become the model for nineteenth century music,
music historians have referred to this period as a time of Musical Classicism. (page 118)
The mid and second half of the 18th century saw a revolutionary political and
economic shift in Europe. Here the dramatic paramount shift of power from the
aristocracy to the middle class began and strengthened. The wealth of the middle
class had been expanding due the growing capitalism from the Industrial Revolution. This revolution resulted from a series of momentous inventions of the mid1700s, including the Watt Steam Engine, James Hargreaves’s spinning jenny, Edmund Cartwright’s power loom, and Eli Whitney’s cotton gin.
The following decades witnessed great scientific achievements and discoveries
including: electricity by Benjamin Franklin, medical smallpox vaccination by Edward Jenner, the discovery of oxygen by Joseph Priestly, the advancement of the
mechanistic view of the universe by Pierre-Simon Laplace, and the invention of
the voltaic pile (battery) by Alessandro Volta Pierre Laplace (b. 1749-1827) a gifted
and talented scientist and mathematician, felt that due to scientific explanation
for the planets, their motion, and possibly how they began, humans no longer had
any need for God. This mindset even further reduces the influence of the church
on society and music.
During the enlightenment, the burgeoning middle class became a major market for art superseding the aristocracy as the principal consumer of music and art.
This market shift facilitated a great demand for new innovations in the humanities.
While the increased literacy of the middle class led to the proliferation of newspapers, periodicals, and novels throughout Western Europe. These sources provide
us with reviews of concerts and published music and capture eighteenth-century impressions of and responses to music.
5.3.1 The Visual Arts and Architecture
The visual arts developed two major styles in the Enlightenment. Both are representative of the dualism found in the arts during the classical era. As the aristocracy tried to adhere to the Greek and Roman mythological antiquity, artists
such as the painter Jacques-Louis David (b.1748-1835), of the French Revolution adorned his canvases with themes of Roman and Athenian democracy. David’s
paintings were admired by Thomas Jefferson, but David’s painting The Death of
Marat (1793) received particular praise. Marat, to whom the painting refers, is the
murdered Jean-Paul Marat, an influential French revolutionary leader. Marat’s
previous influence paired with his murder and David’s painting instantly transformed him into a political martyr. David’s painting thus became a symbol of sacrifice in the name of the republic.1
Architecture in the late eighteenth century leaned toward the clean lines of ancient buildings such as the Athenian Parthenon and away from the highly ornate
decorative accents of Baroque and Rococo design. One might also argue that the
music of Haydn, Mozart, and early Beethoven aspires toward a certain simplicity
and calmness stemming from ancient Greek art. (page 119)
2. Although there are many Classical Period composers, the textbook only discusses three. In your own words which composer’s work do you think has withstood the test of time? In other words, of the three, which composer’s music is still played more than the other two, today? Explain your choice. (you can use the pages above.)