A.D. 1825-1900

Musical Characteristics

bulletSimultaneous development of musical extremes
bulletBasso continuo is not used
bulletExpansion of texture and increasing chromaticism
bulletFurther development in performers virtuosity
bulletTwo camps of compositional style
bulletConservative
bulletMendelssohn
bulletBrahms
bulletRadical
bulletBerlioz
bulletWagner
bulletLiszt
bulletGradual alteration of patent musical forms
bulletMore complex harmonies, but same principles as in Classical style
bulletMore subjective/emotional than Classical style
bulletHomophonic style still favored to a considerable degree
bulletPolythematic composition continues
bulletDominated by a lyric melody
bulletWide, angular leaps become more common than before
bulletKnown as the age of sentimentality
bulletMelodic ornamentation of specific pitches decreases and appears in the larger context of florid melodic lines, sometimes including cadenza-like passages notated in smaller grace notes
bulletIncreased use of unprepared dissonances
bulletSequence use is still common (tendency toward modulating or chromatic sequences)
bullet"Functional" harmony continues but becomes richer, more complex, dissonant and chromatic ("coloristic" chords)
bulletTonal progressions by thirds became common
bulletWide usage of extended tertian chords
bulletHarmonic color assumes a greater importance
bulletMuch emphasis on tempo rubato (used more often by solo performers than by ensembles)
bulletTempos within a composition are typically more radically varied than in previous style periods
bulletOrchestras are expanded in all choirs
bulletIncreased use of dynamic contrast within the phrase rather than between (more use of crescendo and decrescendo)
bulletGreater emphasis on text
bullet through-composed
bulletportrayed harmonically
bulletemphasis on lyricism-solo song
bulletNo more patronage system
bulletIncluded both nationalistic and individualistic musical styles
bulletThe slave trade in the mid-19th century introduced West African rhythms, work songs, chants and spirituals to America, which strongly influenced blues and jazz

Principal Influences on Romantic Music

bulletMusic of Beethoven
bulletLiterature which dealt with the individual and nature and its grandeur
bulletExtreme emotions (especially of an altruistic or diabolical type)
bulletThe visual arts (particularly the early French Romantic composers and the Spanish painter Goya with emphasis on Chiaroscuro

Romantic Church Music

bulletReturn to subjectivity
bulletRediscovered the music of Bach
bulletInfluence of St. Cecilia's Society

Modern Orchestras/Opera Companies/Performance Halls

bullet1839 - The New York Philharmonic is established
bullet1881 - Boston Symphony Orchestra is established
bullet1882 - The Berlin Philharmonic is established
bullet1883 - The Metropolitan Opera House is established
bullet1891 - Carnegie Hall opens in New York
bullet1904 - The London Symphony Orchestra is established

Genre and Forms

bulletService
bulletPlain-chant Musical
bulletAnthem
bulletPrelude
bulletFugue
bulletSymphony
bulletModern Concerto
bulletSonata Form
bulletSong Cycle
bulletChamber Music
bulletVariation
bulletSymphonic (or tone) poem
bulletOratorio
bulletLied
bulletRomantic Sonata
bulletMass
bulletArt Songs
bulletEtudes and Character Pieces
bulletOpera
bulletVerismo
bulletGesamtkunstwerk

Theorists, Treatises and Collections

bulletE.T.A. Hoffman (1776-1822)
bulletFrançois Fetis (1748-1871) Biographie universelle (8 volumes, 1833-1844)
bulletHector Berlioz (1803-1869) Traite d' instrumentation et orchestration modernes (1844)
bulletWalter Coussemaker (1805-1876) Scriptorium de musica medii (1864-1876)
bulletRobert Schumann (1810-1856) Neue Zeitschrift für Musick (Magazine)
bulletRichard Wagner (1813-1883) Oper und Drama (1851)
bulletAugust Wilhelm Ambros (1816-1876) Geschichte der Musik (1862)
bulletSir George Grove (1820-1900) Dictionary of Music and Musicians (4 volumes, 1879-1889)
bulletHerman von Helmholz (1821-1894) Lebre von den Tonempfindungen (1863)
bullet Eduard Hanslick (1825-1904) Vom Musikalischen Schönen (1854)
bulletKarl Franz Chrysander (1826-1901) Denkmäler der Tonkunst (5 volumes, 1869-1871) founded the Deutsche Handelgesellschaft (German Handel Society)
bulletHugo Riemann (1849-1919) Musiklexikon (1882)

Composers and Major Works

bulletLudwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
bullet9 Symphonies
bullet32 piano sonatas
bullet21 sets of variations for piano
bulletPathétique Piano Sonata (1798)
bulletPiano Concerto No. 5 Emperor (1809)
bulletChrist on the Mount of Olives (1803) oratorio
bulletFidelio (1804-1805) opera
bulletSymphony No. 3, "Eröica" (1805) transition into romanticism
bulletSymphony No. 5 (1807) returns to a more classical style
bulletSymphony No. 6, "Pastoral" (1808) programmatic work
bulletDiabelli Variations (1819; 1823) 33 variations
bulletSymphony No. 9, "Choral" (1824)
bulletMissa solemnis in D (1824)
bulletNiccolo Paganini (1782-1840)
bulletCarl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) Der Freischutz (1821) opera
bulletGiacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864) Les Huguenots (1836) opera
bulletGioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)
bulletIl Barbiere di Siviglia (1816) opera
bulletOtello (1816) opera
bulletWilliam Tell (1828-1829) opera
bullet Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
bullet"Der Erlkönig" (1815)
bulletWinterreise (1828) song cycle
bulletMoments Musicaux - character pieces
bulletSymphony No. 8, Unfinished (1822)
bullet Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) Anna Bolena (1830) opera
bulletVincenzo Bellini (1801-1835) Norma (1831) opera
bullet Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
bulletL'Enfance du Christ (1854) oratorio
bulletLa Damnation de Faust (1846) oratorio
bulletGrand messe des morts (1837) requiem
bulletSymphonie Fantastique (1830) uses idee fixe
bulletMikhail Glinka (1804-1857)
bulletA Life for the Tsar (1836) opera
bulletRuslan and Ludmila (1842) opera
bulletFelix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847)
bulletA Midsummer Night's Dream (1826) overture
bulletElijah (1846) oratorio
bulletViolin Concerto in E minor (1846)
bulletLieder ohné Worte (8 books, 1829-1830)
bulletOtto Nicolai (1810-1849)
bulletRobert Schumann (1810-1856)
bulletKinderscenen (1838) piano
bulletDichterliebe (1840) song cycle
bulletPiano Concerto in A minor (1840)
bulletFrédéric Chopin (1810-1849) Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 (1830)
bulletFranz Liszt (1811-1886)
bulletLes préludes (1848)
bulletTodentanz (1849) etude
bulletEpisode from Lanau's Faust (1860-1861) character piece
bulletOrpheus (1854) symphonic poem
bulletChristus (1873) oratorio
bullet Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
bulletTannhäuser (1845)
bulletLohengrin (1850) opera
bulletTristan und Isolde (1865) music drama
bulletDer Ring des Nibelunger (1854-1876)
bulletAlexander Dargomitzhsky (1813-1869) Rusalka (1937) folk opera
bulletGiuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
bulletAïda (1871) opera
bulletRequiem (1874)
bulletOtello (1887) opera
bulletRigoletto (1851) opera
bulletCharles Gounod (1818-1893)
bulletFaust (1859) lyric opera
bulletLa Rédemption (1882)
bulletSt. Cecilia Mass
bulletJacques Offenbach (1819-1880)
bulletCésar Franck (1822-1890) Le Béatitudes (1879)
bullet Anton Bruckner (1824-1896)
bulletBedrich Smetana (1824-1884) Má Vlast (1874) symphonic poem
bulletJohann Strauss Jr. (1825-1899) The Blue Danube (1867)
bulletAlexander Borodin (1833-1887)
bulletIn the Steppes of Central Asia (1880) tone poem
bulletPrince Igor (1869) opera
bullet Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
bulletSymphony No. 1 (1876) took him 20 years to complete
bulletEin deutsches Requiem (1868)
bulletVariations on a Theme by Paganini (1862-1863) for piano
bulletSymphony No. 3 (1883)
bulletCharles Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
bulletChristmas Oratorio (1858)
bulletDanse macabre (1875) tone poem
bulletSamson et Dalila (1877) lyric opera
bulletCésar Cui (1835-1918) Little Red Ridinghood - children's opera
bulletTheodore Dubois (1837-1934) Seven Last Words of Christ (1867)
bulletMily Balakirev (1837-1910) Islamey: Fantasie Orientale (1869) piano fantasy
bulletGeorges Bizet (1838-1875) Carmen (1875) opera
bulletJohn Knowles Paine (1839-1906)
bulletMass in D (1867)
bulletIn Spring (1880) first American symphony published in the United States
bulletModest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)
bulletNight on Bald Mountain (1866) tone poem
bulletPictures at an Exhibition (1874) for piano
bulletSongs and Dances of Death (1875) song cycle
bullet Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
bulletSwan Lake (1876) ballet
bulletOverture Solemnelle: 1812 (1880)
bulletSleeping Beauty (1890) ballet
bulletNutcracker (1892) ballet
bullet Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
bulletRequiem (1890)
bulletSymphony No. 9, From the New World (1893)
bulletRusalka (1900) opera
bulletEmmanuel Chabrier (1841-1894)
bulletEspaña (1833) rhapsody for piano
bulletMarche française (1888)
bullet Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)
bulletThe Pirates of Penzance (opera)
bulletH.M.S. Pinafore (opera)
bulletThe Mikado (1885) opera
bulletEdvard Grieg (1843-1907) Peer Gynt Suites (1876)
bullet Charles Widor (1844-1937)
bulletNicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908)
bulletCapriccio Espagnol (1887) extended tone poem
bulletScheherazade (1888) symphonic suite
bulletTsar Sultan Suite (1903)
bulletGabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
bulletRequiem (1887)
bulletPelléas et Mélisande (1898)
bulletCharles Hubert Parry (1848-1918) Judith (1888) oratorio
bulletVincent d'Indy (1851-1931) Symphony on a French Mountain Air (1887) orchestra and piano
bulletCharles Villiers Stanford (1852-1924)
bulletJohn Philip Sousa (1854-1932)
bulletEl Capitan (186) operetta
bullet"The Stars and Stripes Forever"
bullet"The Washington Post"
bulletLeos Janácek (1854-1928) Jenufa (1904)
bulletEdward Elgar (1857-1934)
bullet"Enigma" Variations (1896)
bulletThe Dream of Gerontius (1900) oratorio
bulletGiacomo Puccini (1858-1924)
bulletLa Bohème (1896)
bulletMadama Butterfly (1907)
bulletIsaac Albéniz (1860-1909) Iberia (4 volumes, 1906-1909) keyboard
bulletHugo Wolf (1860-1903) Italienisches Liederbuch (1891)
bulletGustav Mahler (1860-1911)
bullet"Des Knaben Wunderhorn" (1892-1901) song cycle
bullet"Kindertotenlieder" (1901-1904) song cycle
bulletThe Song of the Earth (1908)
bulletSymphony No. 4 (1901)
bulletSymphony No. 9 (1910)
bulletEdward MacDowell (1861-1908)
bulletClaude Debussy (1862-1918)
bulletPelléas et Mélisande (1892-1902) opera using impressionistic techniques
bulletPrelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (1894) tone poem
bulletLa Mer (1905)
bulletRichard Strauss (1864-1949)
bulletDon Juan (1888) symphonic poem
bulletTill Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks (1895)
bulletAlso Sprach Zarathustra (1896) tone poem
bulletSalome (1905)
bulletDer Rosenkavalier (1911)
bulletCarl Nielsen (1865-1931)
bulletPaul Dukas (1865-1935) Sorcerer's Apprentice (1897)
bullet Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
bulletFinlandia (1900)
bulletViolin Concerto in D Minor (1903)
bulletBelshazzar's Feast (1906) incidental and suite
bulletErik Satie (1866-1925) Gymnopédies (1888)
bulletEnrique Granados (1867-1916) Goyescus (2 volumes, 1911-1916) piano suite and opera

Hymnology

bulletThomas Hasting (1784-1872)
bulletFranz Gruber (1787-1863) STILLE NACHT
bulletLowell Mason (1792-1863)
bulletJuvenile Psalmist (1892)
bulletOLIVET
bulletMISSIONARY HYMN
bulletarranged
bulletANTIOCH
bulletAZMON
bulletHAMBURG
bullet Joseph Mohr (1792-1849) "Silent Night, Holy Night" (1818)
bulletBenjamin F. White (1800-1879)
bulletWilliam Walker (1809-1875)
bulletSouthern Harmony (1835)
bulletChristian Harmony (1866)
bulletWilliam Bradbury (1816-1868)
bulletCHINA
bulletSWEET HOUR
bulletJohn Mason Neale (1818-1915)
bulletFanny Crosby (1820-1915)
bullet"All the Way My Savior Leads Me"
bullet"To God Be the Glory"
bullet1827 - Episcopal Collection (American)
bullet1827 - Christian Year (John Keble)
bullet1832 - Methodist Collection (American)
bulletCaroline Vilhelmina Berg (1832-1903) "Day by Day"
bullet1836 - Collection of Sacred Hymns (Smith, Mormon)
bulletDwight L. Moody (1837-1899)
bulletPhilip Bliss (1838-1876)
bulletGospel Songs (1874)
bullet"Sing Them Over Again to Me"
bulletIra Sankey (1840-1908)
bulletSacred Songs and Solos (1873)
bulletGospel Hymns and Sacred Songs (1875)
bullet1844 - Sacred Harp (White and King)
bullet1846 - A Book of Hymns (Johnson and Longfellow, Unitarian)
bullet1847 - The Baptist Hymnal (Buck, American)
bullet1849 - Seventh-day Adventist Collection (White, America)
bullet1849 - Lyra Catholica (Edward Caswell)
bulletCarl Boberg (1850-1940) "How Great Thou Art"
bullet1855 - Plymouth Collection (Beecher, American Congregationalist)
bullet1855 - Lyra Germanica (Catherine Winkworth)
bullet1866 - Our Own Hymnbook (Spurgeo, English Baptist)
bullet1868 - Hymns Ancient and Modern
bullet1868 - Church Book (American Evangelical Lutherans)
bullet1872 - The Hymnary (Sullivan, Victorian)
bullet1872 - European Psalmist (Samuel S. Wesley, Victorian)
bullet1890 - Moody Bible Institute opens in Chicago
bullet1892 - Dictionary of Hymnology (John Julian)
bullet1898 - The Church Hymnary (Stainer, Victorian)

Last Updated: Thursday, August 04, 2005

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