Wendy Page Music has been changed and impacted dramatically over the years. Four periods of music that have had major impacts Include the Baroque Period, the Classical Period, the Romantic Period and Early 20th century. Each of these four periods provided artists and compositions that had a direct Impact on the face of music and music’s future. During all of these periods different techniques were used, different instruments were created and different styles were presented.
All of these periods dad their stamp on the history of music and the future of the art. During the Baroque Period there were several well-known composers that made an impact on music as a whole along with adding their own personal flare. Johann Sebastian Bach was one of these composers and he is known for compositions such Toccata ; Fugue D Minor (Baroque, 2012). During the Baroque era Fugue became a very popular and celebrated style of music and Bach loved to create fugues. During the Baroque Era fugues became central to compositions and demonstrated the technical prowess of the composer (Baroque, 2012).
A fugal composition includes the fugue technique which includes two or more voices that sing about the same theme and imitate one another but in deferent pitches (Baroque, 2012). A fugal composition generally has three sections an exposition, development and then a return to the original subject that are normally connected by a main theme or subject. Johann Sebastian Bach actually competed in contests to improvise fugues with popular instruments of the times such as the clavichord and the harpsichord (Baroque, 2012).
During the Baroque Period the harpsichord Is a pretty Interesting Instrument of he time and was most popular during the Baroque Period (Shaken, 2012). The harpsichord looks similar to a modern day piano and is also played in a similar fashion, the exception Is the sound. When a harpsichord is being played It sounds as though the Instrument strings are being plucked Instead of struck (Shaken, 2012). In many compositions of the times, such as Antonio Vivaldi “Grave” the harpsichord was used as an accent piece to add texture to the music (Levi, 2011).
The harpsichord played a major role in the change of music during the Baroque period adding to the e polyphonic melodies of the compositions but It was replaced at the height of Its popularity by the piano (Levi, 2011). The Classical Period was the next great age in music and produced another crop of amazingly talented composers. One of these composers, Joseph Haydn, carried on the obsession with fugue but also focused on a musical technique known as the Sonata (Stuntman, 2011).
A Sonata Is a composition that Is created specifically for one or two instruments. A Sonata is usually played in three to four pieces that contrast in 1 OFF the piano as an instrument which is the major twist between the Baroque and lassie period (Stuntman, 2011). But the piano was not the only instrument of the Classical Period affected by sonatas. The stringed quartet also became very popular during the Classical Period (Stuntman, 2011). A string quartet is a musical ensemble that is traditionally comprised of a cello, a viola and two violins.
Haydn also played a role is setting the template for the string quartet (Stuntman, 2011). One of his most famous pieces involving a string quartet is known as Pop. 33 (Stuntman, 2011). Haydn is Just one example of a great composer during the Classical Period and the string retreat and piano are merely two innovations of the time that had and continuous to have an impact on music today. The third period of music to be discussed is the Romantic Era. Not only did this era have a huge effect on music but on all of the arts.
The Romantic Period was an art revolution to focus on the fantastic, superstitions and macabre, which led to the music being quite emotional (Schmidt, 2008). The musically was emotionally charged and written to create the illusion of those emotions, making the compositions almost tangible. This constant barrage of emotion was also seen in visual art, literature, and architecture of the time (Schmidt, 2008). One of the great composers of the times includes Charles Saint-Sans. Saint-Jeans wrote a composition named Danes Macabre which Just goes to prove the theme of the times (Saint, 2012).
This composition features a solo violin. During the Romantic Period solo instrumentation became the new trend. Many songs were written with a focus on the solo Instruments. Instruments used for solo pieces were generally a violin or a piano Saint, 2012). Danes Macabre included instruments such as the violin, flutes, piccolos, rumples, the timpani and cymbals but the organ, piano and harpsichord still dominated the musical works with their light, soft sounds (Saint, 2012). Finally, the last big period in music is known as the Early 20th century.
This period brought about many changes to music; contemporary modern and impressionistic ponds, 2003). This period served as a counterpoint for music to drift away from the traditional to something avian garden. Claude Debussy was a major composer of the time and believed that art should be a sensualist’s experience, once should be able to taste, feel, hear and see the music (Bonds, 2003). Debussy is closely linked to impressionism but did not enjoy the symbolism that impression represented (Bonds, 2003).
His style later became a huge impact on Jazz which grew out of the modern strives seen during the Early 20th century. Debussy is considered by some to be the bridge between the romantic period and modern music during his time and his music continuously influences Jazz and even pop music in today’s society (Bond, 2003). The Baroque Period, the Classical Period, the Romantic Period and the Early 20th Century all had major impacts on music. Each provided a new element to impositions along with fantastic and talented composers.
New innovations and new techniques were used during each of these eras that helped composers build on one another’s work to create something new and exciting. All of these periods made their stamp on the history of music and the future of the art which has changed music dramatically over the years. Arouse (2012). Music of the Baroque. Baroque. Retrieved from http:// NNW. Baroque. Org/baroque/ Bonds, Mark Even. A History of Music in Western Culture. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. Stuntman, P. (2010). Classical Notes. Losers Haydn.