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Period: 500 to 1450
Medieval Period
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1030
Guido of Arezzo's Micrologus
Guido's treatise created a new sight singing system called solmization. This involved a 6 note, hexachord system. He also created the 4-line staff, relative pitch, sight singing syllables and new accidentals: round b (flat) and square b (natural). -
Period: 1098 to 1179
Hildegard of Bingen
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1323
Ars Nova Treatise
This was the new style of music in France. Ars Nova means new art. Ars nova replaces Ars antiqua, or old art. The older generation did not like this new progressive sound of music. Ars Nova laid the groundwork for modern notation making it the most influential treatise in all of history. -
Period: 1450 to
Renaissance Period
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1485
Josquin’s Ave Maria ... virgo serena Motet
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1529
Martin Luther Chorale Ein feste burg
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1538
Arcadelt Madrigal Il bianco e dolce cigno
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1567
Palestrina Pope Marcellus Mass
This piece demonstrated that sacred words could be intelligible in polyphonic music with 6 voices. -
Victoria Missa O magnum mysterium
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Gabrieli Sonata pian’e forte
This was one of the first pieces in history that specified which instruments played which part. It was also the first piece to specify dynamics. This song was written in Venice. -
Period: to
Baroque Period
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Monteverdi's L’Orfeo
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First Public Concerts in England
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Period: to
Johann Sebastian Bach
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Rameau's Traité de l’harmonie
Traité de l’harmonie is the most influential of all Theoretical Works. It also became the basis for teaching functional harmony that is still used today. -
Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier volume 1
Both volume 1 and 2 contains 24 preludes and fugues in each major and minor key. They demonstrate the possibilities for playing in all keys using an instrument tuned in near-equal temperament. Before equal temperament, you would have to tune the instrument to the key you were about to play rather than simply modulating. Octaves and fifths are slightly out of tune because this new system would allow you to play all scales without having to retune. -
Period: to
PreClassical Period
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Period: to
Franz Joseph Haydn
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Handel's Messiah
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Period: to
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Period: to
Viennese Classical Period
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Antonio Vivaldi's L’Estro Armonico
L’Estro Armonico was published by Etienne Roger in Amsterdam, the most prestigious publisher in Europe. It was the most influential publication of any music in the early 18th century. It launched the immense popularity of the Italian concerto throughout Europe. -
Period: to
Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges as director of Concerts des Amateurs
Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges was a significant musical force in the Paris music scene in the late 18th century. US President John Adams called him “the most accomplished man in Europe”. He was also called the "Black Mozart" and experienced some racism in his career. He was also the director of one of the finest orchestras in Europe, Concert des Amateurs. -
Mozart's Don Giovanni
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Haydn's Symphony No. 94 "Surprise" (premiere date in London)
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Beethoven Symphony No. 5 in C minor
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Schubert Erlkönig
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Rossini Il Barbiere di Siviglia
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Nicolo Paganini 24 Caprices for Violin, op.1
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Berlioz Symphonie fantastique
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Period: to
Frederic Chopin Mazurkas Op.7
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Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel Das Jahr
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Period: to
Louis Moreau Gottschalk Souvenir de Porto Rico
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Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition
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Bizet Carmen
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Wagner Der Ring des Nibelungen
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Brahms' Symphony No.4
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Mahler Symphony No.1
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Claude Debussy “Voiles” from Préludes Book 1
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Arnold Schönberg Pierrot Lunaire
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Igor Stravinsky The Rite of Spring (premiere)
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Manuel de Falla Homenaje (Homage)
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Margaret Bonds “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”
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George and Ira Gershwin “I Got Rhythm”
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Dimitri Shostakovich Symphony No.5 premiere
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Duke Ellington Cottontail
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Aaron Copland Appalachian Spring
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Period: to
John Cage Sonatas and Interludes for Prepared Piano
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Miles Davis Kind of Blue
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George Crumb Ancient Voices of Children
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John Adams Short Ride in a Fast Machine