Baroque and Romantic Music

European music: Baroque vs. Romantic and Classical music

Any non-contemporary orchestral music is often called 'classical' in a colloquial fashion. However, there are many varieties of music between the eras of the 15th century and our own besides what is technically associated with the classical period. Perhaps the most notable movement which laid the foundation for our own contemporary era of music is that of the Baroque period. Rather than naturalness, the Baroque stressed ornamentation, artificiality, and technique, including its use of the human voice. "Generally, the qualities most valued in the Baroque voice were agility, purity and clarity, even at the expense of the power which characterizes today's operatic voice" (Thornburgh 1). The predominant instruments besides the human voice were the harpsichord, violins, recorders, and trumpets, which gave Baroque music its unique sound.

Stylistically, Baroque music is notable for its use of the basso continuo and its intense, ornamental style. "The continuo, typically consisting of a harpsichord and a cello, provided the rhythmic and harmonic foundation of Baroque ensemble" (Thornburgh 1). Considerable leeway was given to musicians in terms of ornamentation or the "embellishment of the musical line, with devices such as trills, mordants and grace notes. Ornaments were rarely written out, and often were not even indicated, but simply left to the taste of the performer. Vibrato was considered an ornamental enhancement of a given note or musical moment, not the ubiquitous element of tone production which it has become today" (Thornburgh 1). The fact that these elements were not written out and the fact that the piano rather than the harpsichord is the dominant percussion instrument in modern orchestras is why there may be a very notable contrast between how Baroque music sounded to its contemporaries vs. how it sounds in modernity when reproduced by a 21st century orchestra.

The way in which the artist was conceptualized at the heart of Baroque music was also quite unique. Rather than an individual, expressive artist unpacking his or her emotions, the Baroque era stressed the need to give voice to 'pure' ideas and emotions. "Baroque musicians were not concerned with expressing their own feelings and emotions, rather they sought to describe with objectivity, feelings and emotions which were distinct from what they actually felt" (Thornburgh 1). The idea of complexity of thought and emotion was not lionized as a goal of the Baroque music -- instead, music took the form of singular movements designed to express a single emotion. Often, there would be significant pauses during movements to allow audience members to 'take in' the expressed emotions. "A distinctive feature of Baroque music is that each piece (or single movement within a multi-movement piece) limits itself to only one of the emotions. Baroque thematic development is thus quite different from the later Classical thematic development which juxtaposed themes of contrasting emotional content in the same piece" (Thornburgh 2).

The greatest composer of the Baroque period is widely considered to be Johann Sebastian Bach. The majority of Bach's music took the form of church cantatas. Cantatas manifested another notable feature of the Baroque era, namely the fusing of the sacred and secular themes and also styles of music. "One could perceive the cantata as a mini-unstaged opera" (Thornburgh 2). Handel, another notable composer of the period, was particularly noted for his oratorios, such as the Messiah, which were often performed in concert halls but had sacred themes. "The oratorios were the most operatic of all the sacred works, complete with narrative plots, several acts, real characters and implied action. Another major difference between sacred vocal works and Italian operas was the use of the chorus to heighten the drama and speak for the religious community" (Thornburgh 2). Bach did compose some secular works, such as his Brandenburg Concertos, which were also notable for their orchestration of individual instruments in a manner which many thought paved the way for the Classical and Romantic styles in their use of solo instrumentation (Schmidt-Jones 399). Classical music, in contrast, tended to use a much wider array of musical formats. Classical forms included that of the symphony, sonata, concerto, and were characterized by far greater unity and cohesion of tone rather than simply 'painting' a picture of a single emotion (Swann 2).

The Classical and Romantic eras, in contrast, were highly influenced by the individualistic political and nationalist movements of the 19th century and themes beyond that of the sacred began to permeate serious music. "The form in which the spirit of Romantic music first clearly manifested itself was the song for voice and piano, usually referred to by the name, Lied….Mozart and Beethoven, among others, wrote many such Lieder (plural of Lied) which were often lovely but in no way represented major works of their composers" (Swann 1). The lied's emphasis on melody reflects the focus on individualistic voices and following an idea over the course of a work of music, versus merely creating an impression of a single and specific emotion.

There was an explosion in popularity of the piano, thanks to the corresponding rise of members of the middle class who could afford to have the instrument within the confines of their own homes. "The piano, indeed, was to become the instrument of the Romantic era. Its size was perfect for the elegant Middle Class salons that now had replaced the larger, formal 18th century courts" (Swann 2).

Romantic composers infused their works with their own personalities, most notably in the stormy symphonies of Ludwig van Beethoven. Virtuoso performances that whipped up emotions in the crowd were an important component of Romantic music. For example, in his works, Franz Liszt "expressed the Romantic longing for faraway places, dramatic natural phenomena and travel as a source of spiritual growth in his Annees de Pelerinage (Years of Pilgrimage), three extensive volumes of piano works written throughout his life, dedicated to Switzerland and Italy, countries to which Liszt was particularly attracted" (Swann 3). Composers explicitly evoked emotions for particular lands and people in their works rather than tried to create homages to abstractions like Beauty and Truth as in the Baroque era.