A.D. 1750-1825

Musical Characteristics

	Codification of patent formal procedures (e.g. Sonata, Sonata Allegro)
	Modified use of contrapuntal techniques
	Sequence use continues and is expanded
	Polythematic compositions
	Homophonic/Choral style was used most often
	Symmetrical phrase structure
	Phrases are apt to be short and composed of melodic formulas of a few notes that reach frequent caesuras and cadences which are more defined melodically
	Emphasis on melody
	Ornamentation continues but it is not an integral part of the style
	basso continuo is virtually abandoned
	Major/minor tonalities continue with little change
	"Functional harmony" continues
	Tends to be simple with considerable emphasis on progressions of I-IV-V or I-ii-V
	Slow harmonic rhythm
	Piano becomes most important instrument
	Orchestra further developed and codified with standard scoring
	Use of Alberti Bass
	Variety of dynamics and greater indications in scores
	Rhythmic changes are limited (rarely tempo rubato )
	Repeated notes
	Reiteration of and emphasis on metric pulse is varied and somewhat lessened
	Occasional pauses and rhythmic rest-points are common
	Metric pulse is more likely to be lightly and quietly present (but not emphasized)

Classical Church Music

Decline in Italy

Preaching became more important

Viennese composers writing Catholic music

No true Lutheran composers - they had no uniform worship practices

Enlightenment affected it

Tends to be conservative

Certain Baroque style aspects were held over

	figured bass
	fugal endings
	stile antico

Aspects Affecting Classical Music

Cosmopolitan Age - sought one international style

Humanitarian Age

	social reforms
	longing for a universal brotherhood (e.g. Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Mozart's Magic Flute

Popularization Age

	rise of public concerts
	amateur works
	beginnings of music journalism and periodicals
	first music histories written

Prosaic Age

clarity

good taste

proportion and elegance

music was to be an image of reality

	easy to understand
	listener should not be forced to think

Genre and Forms

Service

Plain-chant Musical

Anthem

Prelude

Fugue

Symphony

Modern Concerto

Sonata Form

String Quartet

Chamber Music

Variation

Rondo

Oratorio

Lied

Modern Sonata

Mass

Aria

Passion

Opera

	Comic
	Reformed

Theorists, Treatises and Collections

	Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773) Essay on instruction for playing the transverse flute (1752)
	Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) Dictionaire de Musique (1767)
	Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) Preface to Alceste (1769)
	Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788) Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments (I. 1753, II. 1762)
	Leopald Mozart (1719-1787) Essay on grounding of Violin School (1756)
	Sir John Hawkins (1719-1789) General History of the Science and Practice of Music (1776)
	Charles Burney (1726-1814) General History of Music (1776)

Composers and Major Works

Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)

	Don Juan (1761( ballet
	Orfeo (1762) opera
	Alceste (1767) opera

Johann Stamitz (1714-1788)

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1715-1757) Württemberg sonatas

Franze Joseph Haydn (1733-1809)

	108 Symphonies
	68 string quartets
	47 piano sonatas
	26 operas
	London Symphonies (1791)
	Paukenmesse (1796)
	The Seven Last Words (1796)
	Lord Nelson Mass (1798)
	The Creation (1798) oratorio
	Creation Mass (1801)
	The Seasons (1801) secular oratorio
	Harmoniemesse (1802)

Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

	41 Symphonie
	Coronation Mass (1779)
	Piano Concertos No. 20, 21 (1785)
	The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro -1786) opera buffa
	Symphony No. 38 in D, The Prague Symphony (1787)
	Don Giovanni (1787) opera
	Symphony No. 40 (1788)
	Symphony No. 41 in C, Jupiter Symphony (1788)
	Die Zauberflöte (1791) German opera
	Clarinet concerto (1791)
	Requiem Mass (completed by Franz X. Sussmayr)

Muzio Clementi (1752-1832) Gradus ad Parnassum (1817)

Maria Luigi Cherubini (1760-1842)

Samuel Wesley (1766-1837) Eight Lessons for Harpsichord

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

	9 Symphonies
	32 piano sonatas
	21 sets of variations for piano
	Pathétique Piano Sonata (1798)
	Piano Concerto No. 5 Emperor (1809)
	Christ on the Mount of Olives (1803) oratorio
	Fidelio (1804-1805) opera
	Symphony No. 3, "Eröica" (1805) transition into romanticism
	Symphony No. 5 (1807) returns to a more classical style
	Symphony No. 6, "Pastoral" (1808) programmatic work
	Diabelli Variations (1819; 1823) 33 variations
	Symphony No. 9, "Choral" (1824)
	Missa solemnis in D (1824)

Hymnology

John Newton (1725-1807)

William Cowper (1731-1800) Olney Hymns (1799)

Martin Madan (1726-1790)

	A Collection of Psalms and Hymns (1760)
	A Collection of Psalms and Hymn Tunes (1769)

Augustus Toplady (1740-1778)

	Psalms and Hymns for Public and Private Worship (1776)
	"Rock of Ages"

William Billings (1746-1800)

	The New England Psalm Singer (1770) canonic fuging pieces
	The Singer Master's Assistant (1778)
	The Psalm Singer's Amusement (1781)
	The Suffolk Harmony (1786)
	The Continental Harmony (1794)

John Rippon (1751-1836)

	A Selection of Hymns (1787)
	Selection of Psalms and Hymn Tunes (1791)

1756 - Psalmondia Germanica (Lutheran)

Fuging Contributions

	Urania (James Lyon, 1761)
	American Harmony (Daniel Bayley, 1769)

Oliver Holden (1765-1844)

	CORONATION
	Union Harmony (1793)

Folk Hymnody

	Divine Hymns or Spiritual Songs (Joshua Smith, 1784)
	Christian Harmony (Jeremiah Ingalls, 1805) "I Love Thee, I Love Thee"

Bishop Reginald Heber (1783-1826)

1795 - A Hymn and Prayer Book (Kunze, American Lutheran in English)

Shaped Note Books

	The Easy Instructor (William Smith and William Little, 1802)
	Musical Primer (Law, 1803)
	Repository of Sacred Music (John Wyeth, 1813)

Southern Shaped-Note Collections

	Kentucky Harmony (Ananias Davisson, 1816)
	Missouri Harmony (Allen Carden, 1820)

1803 - Die Kleine Geistliche (American Mennonite)

1813 - The British Province Hymnal (American Moravian in English)

Last Updated: Thursday, August 04, 2005