Romantic Era

Romantic Music

The end of the Classical era was the beginning of something big in music - a big middle finger to the rules, and a chance to use sound and music as a vehicle for human expression.

Instead of Architecture, the main driving influences behind the music of the Romantic era came from the other expressive arts; literature - poetry, books, short stories. Philosophical themes and works of fine art. The desire to express human emotion and nature in music drove the developments of the Romantic era and stimulated the composers to push and break free of the traditions and rules from the Classical era before.

If you are super keen, and want to know more, specific influences include the work of Friedrich Nietzsche
 

or Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:




The emotions that composers bothered themselves with in the Romantic Era were complex and heavy - love, horror, conflict, trauma, mystery. Intense and powerful, dramatic stuff. So the music had to reflect this.

Here is a breakdown of some of the differences between Classical and Romantic music:

	Classical	Romantic
Influences:	Classical architecture; straight lines and graceful structures. Reflected in simple homophonic melodies and definitive balanced forms	Emotions and stories; descriptions, love, war, turmoil, dreams… Reflected in more colourful chromaticism, larger palette (orchestra), expressive music
Instrumentation (Piano):	Solo piano – sonata	Solo piano – developed to include preludes, nocturnes, waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises … use of Rubato to add expression and drama

Instrumentation (Orchestra):	Concerto – balanced solo and orchestra.  Symphony – Orchestra of 30-40 players, 4 movements max, first movement in sonata form.	Concerto – became a competition between soloist and orchestra – cadenzas written out by composers, massively more dramatic solo parts.  Symphony – up to 120 players, anything from 1-6 movements, no rules about form.
Programme Music:	Non existant!	Orchestral music that tells a story; Symphonic/Tone poems- Using Leitmotiv*; Symphonie Fantastique (5 movement symphony)
Opera:	Aria, Recitative, Chorus… Recitative accompanied by a segment of the orchestra, dryly. Not much of an accompaniment	Aria, Recitative, Chorus… More luscious accompaniment and chromaticism. Recitatives were accompanied by more of the orchestra and so flowed more easily into other songs in the opera.

Sacred Choral:	Oratorios, Masses, Anthems*, Motets*	Oratorios, Masses Anthems*, Motets*... more dramatic harmonies; chromaticism
Solo Song:	Arias; Solo songs within an opera or an oratorio.	Lied - Solo song with piano. Song Cycle* - A set of Lieds (Lieder) Arias still going!

When you are identifying concepts, the way you can get clues if it is Romantic music is by really focusing on the following features:

Size of Orchestra; Presence of more percussion, brass, woodwind and harps

Chromaticism - straying outside of the "Classical" Tonic-Dominant-Relative Minor modulations

DRAMATIC and CONTRASTING dynamics - anything from super quiet (pianissimo) to super loud (fortissimo) and everything in between.

Less graceful, more turbulent music.

Specific concepts used a lot in the music of the Romantic period are:

Tremolando (the "shaking" of the bow on stringed instruments)

Con Sordino (muting of strings and brass)

Sforzando (accented)

Pizzicato strings

Rubato

There are so many - see if you can pick up on any others as you listen to the music from the Romantic period contained in the following playlist: