Classical music
is a very general term which normally refers to the standard
music
of countries in the western world. It is music that has been composed by
musicians
who are trained in the art of writing music (
composing
) and written down in
music notation
so that other musicians can play it. Classical music may also be described as "
art music
" although that term also includes types of serious modern music which are not classical. Classical music differs from
pop music
because it is not made just in order to be popular for time or just to be a commercial success. It is different from
folk music
which is generally made up by ordinary members of society and learned by future
generations
by listening, dancing and copying.
The word “classic” tends to mean: an art which is so good that it will always be enjoyed by future generations. It is something that has become a model for future artists. The period of
Ancient Greece
and
Rome
is known as the Classical Period because, many centuries later, people looked back to those ancient civilizations and thought they were perfect. In recent European history the
18th century
was known as the
Classical Period
because
musicians
,
artists
,
writers
and
philosophers
were inspired by the art forms of the Classical Period of Ancient Greece and Rome. Something that is a “classic” is therefore something that will always be remembered as something great. Famous books such as the
novels
of
Charles Dickens
are called "classics". “Classical music” therefore tends to mean music that will not be forgotten soon after it is written, but is likely to be enjoyed by many future generations.
Contrast with pop music and jazz
[
change
|
change source
]
Although people sometimes think of classical music as the opposite of pop music, it can still be very popular. Like all kinds of music, classical music can be in many different moods: happy, sad, scary, peaceful, thoughtful, simple etc.
Mozart
wrote his
serenades
and
divertimentos
to entertain people at parties. Classical pieces of music can be quite short, but they can also be very long, like a big, musical story. A
symphony
by
Mahler
or
Shostakovich
can last for nearly an hour, and an
opera
is a whole evening’s entertainment also Classical music is nowadays fused with
Rock music
and
EDM music
and even some
Rap music
which also have subgenres related to pop music.
Classical music is also different from
jazz
because true jazz is
improvised
. However, the differences are not always obvious. Classical music has often been inspired by jazz, and jazz by classical music.
George Gershwin
wrote music which is both jazz and classical. Classical music, too, can be improvised. The great composers
Bach
,
Mozart
and
Beethoven
often improvised long pieces of music on the
organ
,
harpsichord
or
piano
. Sometimes they wrote these improvistions down. They were, in effect, compositions which were composed in one go.
Religious and non-Religious music
[
change
|
change source
]
Poznan Cathedral Choir
In Western countries a vast amount of music was written for
Christian
worship in
churches
and
cathedrals
. This is called “sacred” (religious) music. All other music is “secular” music. The word “secular” means things that are not sacred. Sacred and secular music have
influenced
one another in many ways during the course of music history. Secular music was largely influenced by
dance
, and this in turn changed the style of sacred music. For example: the church music of the
16th century
composer
Giovanni da Palestrina
has nothing to do with dance music, but both the sacred and secular music of
Johann Sebastian Bach
two centuries later is full of dance rhythms. At some times in music history there have been different styles of composing for sacred and for secular music.
Claudio Monteverdi
uses two different styles for his church and for his non-church music. When composers were experimenting with new ways of writing music they usually did this with secular music, and sacred music caught up later, Sacred classical music is used in a lot of different
video games
in order to show tonal themes and intensity as to whether something is good or bad is about to happen.
The Legend of Zelda
series relies heavily on Religious classical music to convey the various goddesses of Hyrule and Thier prominence and influence in the society.
Use of the term "classical music"
[
change
|
change source
]
The term "classical music" was not used until the early 19th century. People then started talking about classical music in order to praise the great composers such as Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. In the
20th century
many different ways of composing were used, including music played by
electronic
instruments or very modern music using strange sounds (experimental or "avant garde" music), for example the music of
John Cage
. Some people feel that this kind of music cannot really be described as "classical music".
Classical music can be for
instruments
or for the
voice
. The
symphony orchestra
is the most common group of instruments for the playing of classical music. It has four families of instruments: the
string instruments
which include the
violins
,
violas
,
cellos
and piano, the
woodwind instruments
which include
flutes
,
oboes
,
clarinets
and
bassoons
together with related instruments of different sizes, the
brass instruments
:
trumpet
,
trombone
,
tuba
and
French horn
, and
percussion
instruments which nearly always includes
timpani
as well as many other possible instruments which are hit or shaken. This is very different from a typical
rock band
which has a drummer, a
guitarist
, one or two singers and an electric bass and
keyboard
. Instruments that play classical music are not normally
amplified
electronically.
The same applies to the voice. Singers may be
sopranos
,
altos
,
tenors
or
basses
, depending on their vocal range. Their voices are not amplified.
Opera
singers, in particular, have to develop very powerful voices which will be heard over the orchestra and project right to the back of an
opera house
.
The instruments used in classical music developed at different times. Some of the earliest were known in Medieval music. The
trombone
and the
triangle
have hardly changed for hundreds of years, but the
violin
family developed from folk instruments such as
fiddles
and gradually replaced the
viols
to form the basis of the modern orchestra. This was happening by the beginning of the
17th century
, which was the time when opera was invented.
In general, musical instruments have become louder as
concert halls
have become bigger. Violins are louder than viols. Modern violins are louder than the early 17th century violins, largely because of they have
metal
strings instead of
gut
strings. The piano developed from the
clavichord
which was very quiet indeed. Woodwind instruments developed from
Renaissance
instruments, while the
clarinet
was invented in the middle of the 18th century, and the
saxophone
and
tuba
came even later. Modern trumpets sound much brighter than the straight trumpets of the 18th century.
Form (shape) of classical music pieces
[
change
|
change source
]
Most popular music is based on
song
form, but classical music has many different forms, some of which can be used over a long time span to make big compositions. Classical music can have many forms, including the
symphony
,
concerto
,
oratorio
,
opera
,
sonata
,
fugue
or any combination of dance movements such as
suites
. In many of the longer compositions, short tunes are developed and changed during the course of the piece. Beethoven’s
Fifth Symphony
is a good example of a piece which develops from just four notes into a large piece lasting about half an hour.
Musical training and general use of classical music
[
change
|
change source
]
People who want to be good at performing classical music have to practice hard for many years. They normally have formal training at a music college or
conservatoire
and have lessons from well-known music teachers.
Classical musicians often spend a lot of time thinking carefully about pieces of music, especially about pieces of music that they perform. They study such things as
harmony
and
counterpoint
to help them understand the way that the composers were thinking when they put the piece together. When they look at pieces of music in this way this is called “musical analysis”. People who specialize in thinking and writing about music may become
professors
or
lecturers
of music at
universities
.
Classical music is often heard in popular culture. It is used as background music for
movies
,
television
programs,
advertisements
and even for
mobile phone
ringing tones. Most people in the Western world recognize many classical tunes, possibly without even realizing it. Some classical pieces of music have become enormously popular, e.g. the song
Nessun dorma
from
Giacomo Puccini
's
opera
Turandot
which was sung by the three tenors
Luciano Pavarotti
,
Placido Domingo
and
Jose Carreras
, and used as the theme tune for the
1990 Soccer World Cup
. This made many people who had never been interested in opera start to become curious about it.
Outline of the history of classical music
[
change
|
change source
]
An early example of written music:
manuscript
of a piece by the medieval composer
Guillaume de Machaut
The history of classical music really started in the late
Middle Ages
. Music written for the church was almost always vocal (singing), because instruments were thought to be wicked. This is because the
devil
played them, and because they were used for
dancing
. There was a lot of dance music, but most of it is lost because it was never written down.
Medieval composers who are remembered today include
Leonin
,
Perotin
and
Guillaume de Machaut
The
Renaissance
was from the
15th century
until the
17th century
. This period saw a massive increase in the
composition of music
, both sacred and secular. Many great
cathedrals
had been built in
Europe
and composers wrote music for them, mostly vocal music. Secular music also became extremely popular, especially
songs
and
madrigals
, which would sometimes be accompanied by instruments.
The greatest composers of this period include:
Giovanni da Palestrina
,
Orlando di Lasso
,
Thomas Tallis
and
William Byrd
.
The
Baroque
period was from about the
17th century
until the mid-
18th century
. This was the time when the modern orchestra was formed, more or less as we know it. It was also the time when opera was invented. Most musicians worked either for the church or for rich people who had their own orchestras. Many of them also started to work for opera houses.
The greatest composers of this time include:
Claudio Monteverdi
,
Heinrich Schutz
,
Henry Purcell
,
Antonio Vivaldi
,
George Frideric Handel
,
Johann Sebastian Bach
,
Domenico Scarlatti
and
Georg Philipp Telemann
The years between 1760 - 1825 was known as the
Classical period
. Composers thought a lot about the forms of their pieces and were influenced by the classical art of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The
symphony
was invented and various forms of
chamber music
including the
string quartet
.
The greatest composers include:
Joseph Haydn
,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
,
Christoph Willibald Gluck
,
Antonio Salieri
,
Ludwig van Beethoven
and
Franz Schubert
.
From
1820
to
1910
was known as the
Romantic period
. Composers continued to use the forms that had been invented in the 18th century, but they also thought that personal feeling and emotion were very important. Music for orchestra sometimes told a story (
programme music
). Musicians who played their instruments brilliantly (such as
Paganini
) were worshipped like
heroes
. Beethoven and Schubert belong, in many ways, to this period as well as to the Classical period. It was a time when there were a lot of changes in
society
. After the wars that
Napoleon
had waged, there were not so many ruling aristocratic families. There was a lot of feeling of
nationalism
as countries united. 19th century music is often nationalistic: composers wrote music that was typical of their own country.
Some of the greatest composers include:
Ludwig van Beethoven
,
Franz Schubert
,
Hector Berlioz
,
Frederic Chopin
,
Robert Schumann
,
Felix Mendelssohn
,
Anton Bruckner
,
Johannes Brahms
,
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
,
Edward Elgar
,
Gustav Mahler
and
Richard Strauss
.
What is known as
20th century classical music
(or “modern music”) is music from about
1910
onwards. At this time many composers felt that everything had already been done by the composers of the past, so they wanted to find new ways of composing.
Claude Debussy
,
Arnold Schoenberg
and
Igor Stravinsky
, in particular, found new ways of writing music which was not necessarily
tonal
(in any particular
key
). Classical music was influenced by jazz, especially with
American
composers. Later in the century people such as
Pierre Boulez
and
Karlheinz Stockhausen
experimented in many other ways, including with
electronic music
(tape recorders etc.). Today’s composers have combined some of these ideas to develop their own styles.
Some of the most important composers are:
Claude Debussy
,
Jean Sibelius
,
Maurice Ravel
,
Arnold Schoenberg
,
Igor Stravinsky
,
Bela Bartok
,
Aaron Copland
,
Benjamin Britten
,
Dmitri Shostakovich
,
Leonard Bernstein
,
Philip Glass
,
Dmitri Kabalevsky
,
James MacMillan
,
Judith Weir
,
Peter Maxwell Davies
It has never been possible to say exactly what is meant by “classical music”. Many different kinds of music influence one another. Since 1970 it has been even harder to make clear dividing lines between rock, pop, classical, folk, jazz and world music. This shows that classical music, like other kinds of music, continues to develop and reflect the society from which it comes.
The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie; 1980;
ISBN
1-56159-174-2