Lecture Six

The Enlightenment and an Introduction to the Classical Era

This second half of the semester focuses on the Classical era. The Enlightenment and its incredible impact on Western music is discussed. The rise of the middle class, public concerts, amateurism, and naturalism are all considered in light of how they affected the role and style of music in the “Enlightened” age. The development of the Viennese classical style with its seemingly perfect marriage of northern and southern European musical traditions is examined. Special attention is given to the development of the so-called “homophonic” forms: theme and variations form, minuet and trio form, rondo form, and sonata-allegro form.

This lecture introduces the Age of Enlightenment and its impact on musical style. By means of directed musical comparisons, the dramatic difference between the music of the late Baroque era and the Classical era is brought into high relief. As music is indeed a mirror, these dramatic musical differences are a function of societal change during the seventeenth century, changes that are observed and discussed at length. This lecture discusses such Enlightenment-inspired/Classical era trends as cosmopolitanism, the doctrine of accessibility and naturalness, and the rise of musical amateurism.

 Outline

We begin by comparing typical keyboard works of the Baroque and Classical eras. What are the technical differences between these two pieces? Which seems to be the more expressive of something beyond its purely musical content?

 Featured Music:

Bach, Fugue in C Minor, Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (c. 1720)

Beethoven, Piano Sonata op. 13, second movement (1796) 

A.  The Bach is performed on a harpsichord, the Beethoven on a piano.

B.  The Bach is polyphonic, the Beethoven homophonic and rhetorical.

C.  The Bach is more intellectual and “constructed”; the Beethoven is more emotional and natural-sounding.

D.  The Bach is instrumental in conception; the Beethoven is vocal in conception. 

II.   In musical terms, the Classical Era spans the years between 1750 and 1827.

A.  During the Enlightenment (c. 1730-1780), the middle class and its needs and wants rose to the forefront of European society.

B.  Unlike the previously-dominant landed aristocracy, the new middle class based its ascendancy upon capital accumulation.

C.  From the early eighteenth century onward, middle-class needs and wants came increasingly to the forefront. These included:

1.  Universal education

2.  Political power/self-determination

3.  An end to social and religious injustice

4.  Application of reason and rationality to the social sphere as well as to science.

S.  A new concern for the quality of life on earth, seen as equally

important as the afterlife.

6.  Cosmopolitanism, which downplayed national differences in favor the shared humanity of all peoples. Musical composers adopted a common style by which they hoped to make their music accessible pleasing to as many people as possible.

7.  The pursuit of happiness and entertainment. Music became a 1eisu~ time consumable for the new middle class.

D.  The new middle class sought a new style of music.

1.  It rejected the complex polyphony of the Baroque era as elitist and contrived.

2.  Homophonic music, “natural” and melodically direct, became the ideal music for the spirit of the time.

Musical Comparison:

J.S.  Bach, Brandenburg Concerto No. 2, third movement fugue (c. 1721)

W.A. Mozart, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, second movement (1786)

3.  The Classical era became the great age of musical amateurism. Which of the following pieces would an amateur prefer to play? 

Musical Comparison:

J.s. Bach, Fugue in C Minor (c. 1722)

W.A. Mozart, Piano Sonata in C Major, K 545 (1788)

4.  During the Classical era, music became essentially a decorative art.