THE ROMANTIC ERA

(1820 - 1910)

ROMANTIC ≠ LOVE

Though it can sometimes …

ROMANTICISM: Term coined during the era to represent a return to Ancient Roman ideals; knowledge of self, individuality, emotions, subjectivity, irrationalism, spontaneity, imagination.

EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION

•Romantics believed people in previous generations were too inhibited and restrictive of emotions

•Existential Angst

• RUBATO or “robbed time” occurs when the speed/tempo of music slows and speeds to accompany a more emotional moment

•Melodies were sweeping with many leaps and wide ranges

INDIVIDUALITY

•Political and individual revolution

•Liberation from societal norms/constraints – “social revolution”

•Titles of musical works began to be more descriptive and not just called “Piano Concerto No. 4 in d minor,” but would give the audience an image to think about

•Composers sought to be innovative even as concert-goers became more conservative and expected familiarity in the concert hall

CONNECTION WITH NATURE

•Response/Rejection of Industrial Revolution

•Nature represented the unsuppressed spirit

•A longing for the beauty of pristine wilderness as a reaction to social structure

•DER WANDERER (The Wanderer) became a concept of feeling “not of this society;” the yearning to disappear and wander the wilderness

NATIONALISM & PATRIOTISM

•Composers began writing in “nationalistic styles”

•Music sounded “Russian”, or “Czech”, or “Norwegian”, or “English” due to use of scales, harmonies, or rhythmic motives

•Composers wrote classical music using national FOLK SONGS (popular songs passed down aurally in a culture)

•Composers used national folktales and myths to write programmatic music

CHROMATICISM

•Earlier eras of music relied on strict rules of sonority

Scales, notes, and chords had specific uses and roles (in harmony)

•Breakdown of these rules meant composers had more freedom of NOTES

•CHROMATICISM: composers’ choice to use notes from the CHROMATIC SCALE (all the black and white keys on the piano) rather than from more limited, simpler scales like Major and Minor

•Harmony was stretched and complexified which increased tension and drama

•Discomfort became an active goal of music for the first time

EXTENDED FORMS

•SYMPHONY: a large scale work for orchestra; usually in 4 related movements of specific styles

Romantic Era symphony longer than ever (45-60 min), more or less than 4 movements, did not adhere to previous structures of style

•OPERA: a dramatic work for voices + orchestra with scenery and costuming for the stage longer, more opulent, more dramatic, larger vocal ranges, more scenery

•ORCHESTRA: an ensemble of strings, brass, woodwind, and percussion more of every instrument and more types of instruments (reached 100 or MORE) which extended the timbre of classical music

OPERA

•Opera hit peak popularity in Romantic Era because of the interest in combining diverse art forms

•Opera considered the most serious medium through which to make a musical statement

•Opera plots were based on mythology, Shakespeare, fantasy, and ancient stories (not set in modern day), few were humorous, most were tragic

•ARIA: a short, complete “song” within an opera; these became well-loved and performed outside of opera settings

PARLOR MUSIC

•Rotary printing press invented: 1843 which made it easier to publish sheet music on large scale

•Amateur musicians began to make music at home in addition to attending performances

•Most parlor music for solo piano or voice/instrument accompanied by piano (and not very difficult)

•Music was performed in the parlor of the home as a concert of family/friends

GERMAN LIEDER (ART SONGS)

•Parlor music but more serious and challenging

•Often in SONG CYCLES – collections of songs that tell a story or are of similar themes (like a concept album)

•Almost exclusively for voice and piano

•Usually based on Romantic era poetry

•Songs usually 3-5 minutes

•TEXT PAINTING: music matches the lyrics in mood, rhythm; can symbolize objects or people

•Most popular in Germany

DER ERLKÖNIG

4 “Voices” - Narrator, Father, Boy, Elf King

A father and son ride home in the night. The “Elf King” taunts and coaxes the boy to join him in the elf kingdom. The boy is afraid but the father continually tells him it is just the wind. As they arrive home, the boy shrieks that the Elf King has grabbed him and he dies.

Narrator – Stoic
Father – Comforting but confused
Boy – Terrified
Elf King – Beautiful and creepy
Piano accompaniment – galloping horse, ominous

GERMAN TEXT

Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?
Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind:
Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,
Er fasst ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm.

“Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?”
“Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?
Den Erlenkönig mit Kron’ und Schweif?”
“Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif.”

“Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!
Gar schöne Spiele spiel’ ich mit dir;
Manch’ bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand,
Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand.”

“Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht,
Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?”
“Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind:
In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind.”

“Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?
Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön;
Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Rein
Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein.”

“Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dort
Erlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?”
“Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau:
Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau.”

“Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;
Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt.”
“Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt fasst er mich an!
Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!”

Dem Vater grausets, er reitet geschwind,
Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind,
Erreicht den Hof mit Mühe und Not:
In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.

ROMANTIC COMPOSERS

HECTOR BERLIOZ

JOHANNES BRAHMS

FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN

GUSTAV MAHLER

FRANZ SCHUBERT

CLARA WIECK SCHUMANN

Clara Schumann on composing as a woman …

“Composing gives me great pleasure... there is nothing that surpasses the joy of creation, if only because through it, one wins hours of self-forgetfulness, when one lives in a world of sound.”

"I once believed that I possessed creative talent, but I have given up this idea; a woman must not desire to compose—there has never yet been one able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?" 

Clara Schumann

“Clara has composed a series of small pieces, which show a musical and tender ingenuity such as she has never attained before. But to have children, and a husband who is always living in the realm of imagination, does not go together with composing. She cannot work at it regularly, and I am often disturbed to think how many profound ideas are lost because she cannot work them out.”

Robert Schumann

ROBERT SCHUMANN

PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

GIUSEPPE VERDI

RICHARD WAGNER