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Baroque Era
Start of very complicated and "bizarre" music. The baroque starts around the 1600's with big musical changes, and end around Bach's death in 1750. -
Monteverdi's L’Orfeo
Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, also known as "Orpheous," was a commissioned piece for the Duke of Mantua's daughter's wedding. This is the first opera to enter standard opera repertoire. -
First Public Concerts in England
Public concerts started around the 1670's in England. This was a mark for "consumer culture" and the rise of capitalism. With the innovation of these public concerts, the middle class now had access to music. -
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J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach, also know as J.S. Bach, was born in 1685 and died in 1750, marking the end of the Baroque Era. He is known as one of the most influential composers of all times. -
Antonio Vivaldi's L’Estro Armonico
Antonio Vivaldi's L’Estro Armonico was published with a collection of works in his own "album" called "Harmonic Inspiration." Etienne Roger first published this in 1711 in Amsterdam. Bach transposed and learned the Italian concerto style from these works. -
Rameau's Traité de l’harmonie
Rameau's Traité de l’harmonie, or Treatise on Harmony, was published in 1722. It quickly became the most influential out of all of his theoretical works, setting the foundations and ideas for teaching functional harmony. -
Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier Volume 1
Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier Volume 1 returned the piano back to equal temperament! It was a collection of 24 preludes and fuges each in a different key. They were and still are used to teach students. -
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Franz Joseph Haydn
Haydn was largely self-taught and worked at the Eszterháza palace for a majority of his career. Here he wrote 2 pieces a week for the palace. In that time, Haydn was known as the "Father of the Symphony," with a staggering 106 to his name. His greatest works were his London Symphonies; they were made in his 60's. Haydn helped develop the modern orchestra and has gone down in history as a true original. -
Handel's Messiah
Handel's Messiah was completed in 1741, but premiered in 1742 in Dublin during Lent. This was church music to be played outside of the church. It gathered controversy as it used an orchestra instead of a strict choir. -
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WA Mozart
Mozart and his sister were both child prodigies. They were both taken on world tours by their father. Here, Mozart learned many different international styles and techniques from this touring. Mozart wrote his first symphony at age 9 and had more than 600 compositions. Mozart is arguably the peak of the classical era. -
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Viennese Classical Period
The Viennese Classical Period started in 1770 and went to 1800, coming after the earlier classical period. Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven all lived and composed during this time. The Viennese Classical style was all about clarity and balance, very much opposite to the music of the Baroque Era's. -
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Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges as director of Concerts des Amateurs
Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, also known as the Joseph Boulogne or "le Mozart noir" (the Black Mozart), led the finest orchestra in Europe known as the Concerts des Amateurs. Boulogne lived from 1745-1799 and was regarded as the "most-accomplished man in Europe" by U.S. president John Adams. The Concerts des Amateurs refers to musical lovers and was financed by private funds. -
Mozart's Don Giovanni
Mozart's Don Giovanni was a comic opera about a man searching for pleasure. It was a comedy with serious elements attached. The opera was set in Seville, Spain, but was sung in Italian. And is was by a German... Furthermore, this is the first opera to feature trombones which represent the themes of heaven and hell portrayed throughout the opera. -
Haydn's Symphony No. 94 "Surprise"
Haydn's "Surprise" symphony, like most of his, try to appeal and please audience. Haydn's "Surprise" symphony was made later on in his life, around his 60's. This is considered one of his greatest works, compared to the other 11 great symphonies from his later life. These works, Symphonies 93 - 104, were composed from 1791-1795. The "Surprise" symphony premiered in 1792.