| Dominance of literature on all art: |
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| (See Program Music and Art song)In general, all forms of art seemed to be inspired by stories/poetry (literature). |
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| Developments in Dynamics: |
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| Romantic music called for a large range of dynamics. It included sharp contrasts between faint whispers and sonorities of unprecedented power. traditional extremes, (ff pp) weren’t enough. Musicians called for ffff pppp. |
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| Composers reached for extremely high and low sounds. Instuments like the piccolo and the contabassoon were used, along with the expanded keyboard of the piano. |
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| To intesnsify the sepression of the music, romantic performers made use of rubato, which is a slight holding back or pressing forward of tempo. |
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| Seeking greater emotional intensity, composer emphasized rich, colorful, and complex harmonies. There was more prominent use of chromatic harmony, which uses chords containing tones not found in the prevailing major or minor scale. |
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| Development (changes in) Form: |
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On one hand there were pieces by Chopin and Schubert that lasted mere minutes, while there were pieces by Berloiz and Wagner that lasted for hours, called for a large number of performers and were designed for large opera houses and concert halls.
Individual movements tended to be longer.
Also, different movements or sections of a romantic work can also be linked through transitional passages…
(see thematic transformation) |
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| when a melody returns in a later movement or section of a romantic work, its character may be transformed by changes in dynamics, orchestration, or rhythm. |
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| Growth of the 19th Century Orchestra |
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| The brass, woodwind, and percussion took on a much larger role. Romantic composer increased the power of the brass section to something spectacular, calling of trombones, tubas, and more horns and trumpets. |
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| took on new tones and colors, contabassoon, bass clarinet, english horn, and piccolo. improvements in the construction of instruments allowed woodwind players to perform better. |
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| Floutists were required to play in the breathy low register, and vilonsists were asked to strike the strings of their violins with the wood part of their bow. this encouraged them to become more virtuous in their craft. |
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| Absolute and Program music |
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| Program music is based on a story while absolute music has no descriptive value. |
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| Poet, wrote ode to joy. Beethoven’s Symphony # 9. |
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