Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
3. short- lived optimism, doubt, disenchantment
D. Romantic mood
1. eternal longing
2. regret for lost happiness of childhood
3. discontent, pessimism
E. Romantic themes
1. conflict between individual and society
2. glamorization of the past
3. strangeness and won der
4. longing of far- off lands
5. super natural
6. profound meditations on life and death
III. Romanticism in Music
A. Industrial Revolution
1. technical improvements to instruments
2. more affordable, responsive
B. Public concert halls
1. orchestras increased in size
2. instruments added to orchestra, varied timbres,
extended range
3. extremes in dynamics, sweeping contrasts
4. new levels of orchestration
5. conductor: central figure
C. New drama to music
1. developed musical vocabulary; highly expressive
terms (e.g., dolce, cantabile, dolente, maestoso,
giocoso, con amore)
2. expanded dynamic range
3. rising tide of nationalism
a. diversity of nationalistic expressions
b. increased use of folk songs, dances
c. enriched melodic, harmonic, rhythmic
language
4. exoticism: faraway lands as inspiration
D. Romantic style traits
OUTLINE
I. Romanticism: An Age of Revolutions
A. Self- conscious break from Enlightenment ideals
1. passionate, individual expression; began with
Beethoven
2. Romantic tenets still with us:
a. artist struggling against society, convention
b. need for art to unsettle
c. work displays creator’s distinctive originality
B. Outgrowth of French Revolution upheavals
1. transfer of power: hereditary landholding aris-
tocracy to the middle class
2. Industrial Revolution: urban commerce and
industry
a. brought people to cities
b. new society based on free enterprise
3. increasingly demo cratic character
a. sympathy for the oppressed, interest in peas-
ants, children
b. faith in humankind, human destiny
4. “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” inspired artists
II. Romantic Writers and Artists
A. Rebelled against conventional concerns
1. drawn to fanciful, picturesque, passionate
2. intense, individual, emotional expression
emphasized
B. Revolt against Classical formalism
1. Germany: Heinrich Heine, new lyric poetry
2. France: Victor Hugo: greatest French prose writer
3. England: Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley,
John Keats: emotional lyric poetry
C. Bohemian: artist cut off from society
1. indifferent public, rejected dreams
2. hopes of French Revolution not realized
PRELUDE 5 Music as Passion and Individualism
4. To understand melodic lyricism, expressive use of har-
mony, the expansion of forms, and the exploration of
Romantic themes as general style traits of Romantic era
music
5. To understand the role of professional musicians and
paying public audiences in the new economics of the
middle class
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
1. Introduce your class to the work of the artist Caspar
David Friedrich (1774–1840), whose paintings are often
described as capturing the essence of Romanticism.
Some notable examples include Wanderer above the Sea
of Fog, The Abbey in the Oakwood, and Two Men Con-
templating the Moon. Ask your class to detect the
Romantic traits of these paintings. Students should iden-
tify the theme of isolation (resonating with the individ-
ualism of the Romantic age), the eeriness of night, the
mystery of the unknown, and the overarching theme of
human wonderment in the midst of the natu ral world.
2. Play the minute theme of the third movement from
Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, then play the love
theme from Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet Fantasy
Overture. Ask the class to compare the melodies of these
two pieces. Point out that the love theme is characteristic
of the Romantic lyrical melody (lengthy, expressive,
chromatic).
3. Introduce your class to Franz Liszt, a composer and the
premier virtuoso of the nineteenth century. Although
relatively short (c. 1835–47), Liszt’s performing career
encapsulated the achievements of the nineteenth- century
virtuoso. He successfully managed the career opportu-
nities open to musicians in Eu rope’s new middle- class
economy. For a fascinating account of Liszt’s performing
career and the strong impact he made on his paying
audiences, see Richard Leppert, “Cultural Contradic-
tion, Idolatry, and the Piano Virtuoso: Franz Liszt,” in
Piano Roles, ed. James Parakilas (New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1999), pp.252–81.
ASSIGNMENT SUGGESTIONS
1. As the textbook notes, Beethoven is often portrayed as
the first great Romantic figure. After doing some research
on Beethoven and his Symphony No.3 (Eroica), address
the extent to which this landmark in Beethoven’s com-
1. instruments “sing”: melodies, immediate appeal,
marked lyricism
2. highly expressive harmony: more chromatic,
dissonant
3. expanded Classical- era instrumental forms
4. new orchestral forms: symphonic poem, choral
symphony, works for solo voice and orchestra
5. music drew closer to the other arts
IV. Per for mance Matters
A. The musician in society
1. demo cratic society: music reached general
populace
2. venues: public concert halls, aristocratic salons
3. musicians supported by new middle class
4. solo performers: stars idolized by the public
(e.g., Franz Liszt, Niccolò Paganini)
B. Women in music
1. a few overcame social ste reo types
2. successful composers: Clara Schumann, Fanny
Mendelssohn Hensel
3. patrons, friendships
a. George Sand: Chopin
b. Princess Carolyne Sayn- Wittgenstein: Liszt
c. Nadezhda von Meck: Tchaikovsky
4. or ga nized salon concerts: Fanny Mendelssohn
C. “Popu lar” vs. “classical”
1. later 1800s: distinction between “highbrow” and
“lowbrow”
OVERVIEW
This prelude introduces the nineteenth century as the age of
Romanticism, an era marked by a spirit of revolution and
individualism. Romantic art cultivated the emerging figure
of the bohemian artist and an interest in the exotic, the meta-
physical, and the mysteries of history and dreams. The
Industrial Revolution allowed the Romantic spirit to flourish
by way of innovative instrument technology. Nineteenth-
century music played a fundamental role in the economic
life of the middle class.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the Romantic era as an age that inspired
demo cratic revolutions and the cele bration of individualism
2. To understand Romantic art, the emerging figure of
thebohemian artist, and interest in the sublime and
out- of- the- ordinary
ing of the Romantic, it may help to take some time to discuss
with students the meanings we associate with Romanticism
today and compare them with those of the nineteenth century.
SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY
SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Norton, 2012.
Plantinga, Leon. Romantic Music: A History of Musical Style in
Nineteenth- Century Music. New York: Norton, 1984.
Romantic spirit? How do Beethoven and his Eroica
Symphony reflect the Romantic mood of many future
nineteenth- century artists? How does his other music
reflect this?
2. “ Music, of all the liberal arts, has the greatest influence
over the passions.”— Napoleon Bonaparte (p.218)
the Romantic era?
3. Why do you think the modern figure of the conductor
TEACHING CHALLENGES
