Romanticism

Romanticism
INDEX
1. Historical and social characteristics
2. Musical characteristics
3. Genres
3.1. Vocal Music:
3.1.1. Opera
3.1.2. Lied
3.2. Instrumental music
3.2.1. Orchestral Music
3.2.2. Programmatic music
3.2.3. Small instrumental forms
4. Post-Romanticism
5. Nationalism

1. Historical and social characteristics

As a consequence of the French revolution, we find a new society that
exalts the freedom of the human being above all things. The bourgeoisie
takes social power and its ideals of freedom will be evident in all areas of
society.
The Industrial revolution prevails in all places with
its enormous economic, social and cultural
consequences.
Great scientific development: medicine (Pasteur),
inventions (locomotive, photography, telephone,
lamp, phonograph, cinema, car, plane, etc.)
Wars of Independence in Spanish America.
Revolutions in Europe.
Napoleon proclaims himself emperor.
Nationalisms: search for identity in Europe arise in the last period of
Romanticism and with it reinforces the idea of individuality.

2. Musical characteristics
Romantic artists, tired of the formal perfection of Classicism, are looking for new
forms of expression that allow them to unleash from their impulsive creators. In
this time of yearning for freedom, artists become independent of the patrons
and will create works for the public, so that the composers will do works without

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commission and according to their own tastes. They will be considered

creative geniuses and are recognized as such by the rest of society. Romantic
musicians try, with their music, to seek the expression of emotions, to influence
the mood of the listener by implicating him emotionally. In order to express the
feelings, they created, they utilize:
Taste for virtuosity: demonstration of the great technical and expressive
qualities in the interpretation.
Melody: will no longer be as regular as in Classicism, with more jumps,
longer and changing.
Harmony: use of chromatisms (halftone notes) and faster harmonic rhythm
Modifications of the tempo (speed): accelerando, ritardando, rubato
Contrasts in the intensity: crescendo, diminuendo, fortissimo, pianissimo.
Constant shifts in pitch.
Great number and variety of the orchestra instruments.
3. Genres
3.1. Vocal Music:
3.1.1. OPERA
During Romanticism, the opera undergoes a great evolution that takes this
genre to its highest height and turns it into the favorite spectacle of the
bourgeoisie. Theaters are built all over Europe and the singers become true
divos thanks to the vocal display of their arias.
We will see the operatic development in the most important countries:
Italian opera: Bel canto y Verismo
French opera: Great opera and operetta
German Opera:
Spanish Opera: The Zarzuela.

ITALIAN OPERA:
We can highlight two streams of this genre that are going to
occur throughout Romanticism:
Bel Canto: Its aim is the exhibition of the singer through
melodic passages of great technical exigency that were
developed in the sharp register of the voice, and with a
great vocal virtuosity linked to a great expressiveness.
Within the opera belcantista we can highlight some composers
like: Donizetti or Bellini. We cannot forget Verdi, one of the
best Romanticists. Some of his outstanding works are
Verdi
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"Rigoletto", "La Traviata", or "Il Trovatore".

Mandatory Listening: Verdi, Brindisi - la Traviata opera:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX5lR9I3Vyo
Mandatory Listening: Bellini, Casta diva Norma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztPJdjR1W0c

Verismo: It emerged at the end of the nineteenth century closely linked to the
currents of realism and literary naturalism. The arguments of the opera will
focus on characters from everyday life, reflecting their emotions realistically
without romantic idealizations and a script whose end is usually tragic. The
highest representative of this type of opera was Puccini with operas like "La
Bohme" or "Madame Butterfly"

Mandatory Listening: Puccini: Nessun Dorma Turandot

opera: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiBr_clxn_Y

FRENCH OPERA:
In France, there are also two styles of opera:
The Grand Opera: Characterized by its great scenographic montages,
profusion of ballets, great choirs and multitudinous scenes. Among the most
outstanding authors of this genre we can name Bizet with "Carmen".

The Opereta: Opera style in which fragments are sung with others spoken
and normally their arguments are humorous. They emphasize composers
like Offenbach with "The tales of Hoffmann".

GERMAN OPERA
Opera inspired by legendary arguments. The great figure of the German opera is
Richard Wagner who initiates a great reform of the genre in
which he creates a "musical drama", a name that will be
known as the operatic creations of this author. Some of the
characteristics of his musical drama are:
It is "The total work of art", since it seeks the fusion of all the
arts (poetry, music, scenery, action, ...)

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Use of techniques such as leitmotiv, which is a recurring musical motif to

represent characters, facts, situations, etc.
Use the infinite melody, which is not interrupted, with clear cadences. Wagner
Music is at the will of dramatic expression.
The most important musical dramas of Wagner are "Tristan and Isolda" and "The
ring of the Nibelungs", the latter is a tetralogy, which is a cycle of four works.
Mandatory Listening: R. Wagner, The Ride of the Valkyries - Valkyrie
opera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aKAH_t0aXA

SPANISH OPERA: LA ZARZUELA

In Spain, until the nineteenth century there is a great influence of Italian opera,
many Italian composers and performers will present their works in the courts and
theaters of our country. However, we try to revitalize a genre of our own: La
Zarzuela.
Barbieri is one of the composers who initiates the recovery of the genre with the
so-called "Zarzuela Grande ", long plays in three acts with predominance of the
parts sung over the spoken ones. These works had a wide display of technical
and scenographic means. Among his works we can highlight "El Barberillo de
Lavapis".
From the middle of the century and largely due to economic reasons, the
zarzuela becomes simpler and more popular. This creates the so-called
"Gnero Chico" which is developed in a single act, reduces the number of
characters and media. In this genre, the spoken parts predominate over the
singing parts. It is therefore a more economic zarzuela that was made all the
rage among the most popular classes.
The main authors of this genre are Chueca with well-known zarzuelas, like
"La Gran Va" or Toms Bretn with "La verbena de la paloma".
Mandatory Listening: Toms Bretn, La verbena de la paloma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSg_zb_oDYQ&list=RDiSg_zb_oDYQ#t=7

3.1.2. LIED

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Lied (lieder in plural) is a German name meaning song. It is a brief form written
for vocals and piano on an already existing poetic text in German. Its main
characteristic is the fusion between text and music. The piano is at the service
of the singing melody. Among the most outstanding composers of lieder, it is
necessary to mention Schubert or Schumann. Other authors such as Mahler
will later cultivate this form. Schumann

Mandatory Listening: F. Schubert, Gretchen at the Spinning

Wheel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY0eeotSDi8

3.2. Instrumental music

Orchestral music: concert and symphony
Programmatic music: programmatic symphony and symphonic poem
Small instrumental forms
3.2.1. ORCHESTRAL MUSIC
The number of instruments in the orchestra is expanded. The technical
mechanisms of the wind instruments were perfected thus widening the
interpretive possibilities. New instruments such as trombone and tuba appear
and new percussion instruments are gradually incorporated.

The instrumental forms for an orchestra that will be given during Romanticism
were: Concierto and symphony.
Concerto

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Numerous concertos were written for soloists and an orchestra, in which the
soloist could be any instrument; Nevertheless the most prominent instruments
and for which the most music of this type was composed for were the violin and
the piano. In them the virtuosity of the soloist becomes evident. Among the
composers for the concerto, Chopin and Liszt.

Mandatory Listening:Tchaikovsky, Piano concerto No1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_W1_shm7vdE

Symphony
Little by little, the composers are going to be freed of the classic formal schemes,
exploiting with great effectiveness the technical wealth of
the instruments.

The symphonies will be increasingly long and complex,

aiming to get the most out of the timbral resources of the
great symphony orchestras of the time.
Among the most important composers of symphonies
we highlight Schubert, Mendelssohn, Bramhms and of
course, the leading figure, Beethoven, who created his last
Beethoven
symphonies in which he shows a great romantic spirit.
Mandatory Listening:Beethoven, Symphony No 7, 2nd
movement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J12zprD7V1k

3.2.2. PROGRAMMATIC MUSIC:

The programmatic or descriptive music is one that is constructed from
extramusical criteria (poems, programs, histories...) and not formal as in the
previous time. It is instrumental music, the text is used for the musical
composition of the instrumental piece, and is never sung. It is descriptive
music in which a musical idea is associated or represents characters, objects or
emotions. The programmatic forms are: Programmatic Symphony and
Symphonic Poem

Programmatic symphony
It is developed around the description of a program or argument.
The creator of this genre is the French composer H. Berlioz with
his work "Fantastic Symphony" and to represent characters,

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objects, etc employs a melody called Ide fixe (fixed idea). The programmatic
symphony is a work with a long duration (several movements) and usually the
author introduces the text at the beginning of the work that serves as a guide to
it.

Mandatory Listening: Berlioz, Fantastic symphony 5th movement:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cao6WyF-61s

Symphonic Poem
It is a composition in a single movement based on poetic or
descriptive elements. The creator of this genre is F. Liszt. This
new genre of music will be cultivated by romantic composers and
especially nationalists.
Mandatory Listening: Liszt, Dance macabre:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIrpp-inOpM
Liszt

3.3. SMALL INSTRUMENTAL FORMS

Also called character pieces. Compositions created for an
instrument, the piano. In these forms we can recognize the
characteristic elements of the romantic music such as
expressiveness by means of the use of contrasts in intensity and
tempo, or the virtuosity. They receive different denominations
according to what they try to represent: dances, use of the
imagination or the purpose for which they are composed. So these
pieces can be called: Waltz, Polka, Fantasy, Nocturno, Studio, etc.
The composers who emphasized this type of compositions were
Chopin and Liszt.
Chopin
Mandatory Listening: Chopin, Nocturno No2 Op.9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGRO05WcNDk

4. POST-ROMANTICISM
The nationalist stage coincides in an era with the last collections
of Romanticism, which occurred mainly in Germany. This
movement is known by the name of Post-Romanticism, in which
both the expressive and the technical field is an extension of the

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romantic language, which is achieved by very large orchestras and a rich and
varied use of instruments, and the use of infinite melody.
All post-Romantic artists will be greatly influenced by Wagner's work. Among the
most outstanding composers of post-Romanticism we can name Mahler or
Richard Strauss.
Mandatory Listening: R.Strauss: Thus Spoke Zarathustra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RdZ7rO_cr0

5. NATIONALISM
Throughout the nineteenth century, Europe experienced an
agitated nationalist period in which many peoples defended the right
to their autonomy, based on language or historical reasons.
This phenomenon had repercussion also in the field of music, where
a movement was triggered that turned its eyes towards tradition and
looked for musical materials in the folklore of each territory. Mussorgsky
Nationalism was important in countries that had been subject to
foreign musical tastes, such as Russia, Bohemia, Scandinavia, Hungary or Spain
among others. The composers of these nations claim the popular music of their
homelands and felt the desire to highlight their countrys music to the world. They
are new styles when adding to the musical language instruments or melodic,
rhythmic and structural elements characteristic of local traditions.
Russian nationalism: Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov.
Scandinavian nationalism: Grieg and Sibelius
Bohemian nationalism: Smetana and Dvorak
Hungarian nationalism: Bartk
Spanish nationalism: Albniz, Granados and Falla
Other nationalisms: USA - Gershwin, Brazil - Villalobos
Falla