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Baroque Period (1600-1750)
During the Baroque period, music flourished in the regions that are now Italy, France, Germany and England. This era was marked by pomp and splendor, a dynamic and dramatic spirit, and artistic expressions full of color and movement. -
Social Event: Death of Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I was the long-ruling queen of England, governing with relative stability and prosperity for 44 years. The Elizabethan era is named for her. -
Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Henry Purcell was England's foremost native composer of the 17th century, in the middle of the Baroque Period. His success rested on numerous anthems and other religious works, trio sonatas, and his opera, Dido and Aeneas. He is also remembered for his incidental music to a version of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", called the "Fairy Queen." -
George Fredric Handel (1685-1759)
George Fredric Handel mastered the Italian music style, particularly in opera and achieved his most notable successes during the nearly fifty years he spent in England. He is well known for his instrumental music in almost all the usual Baroque forms. Handel composed for a wide audience and became a master in the grand style of the late Baroque. -
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach lived and worked in Germany. He was a court organist and chamber musician to the duke of Weimar. Bach was a master of Baroque forms and genres, and in his work, these forms realized their full potential. Among Bach's most impressive gifts was his phenominal grasp of the technique of composition. Today, his music is played in churches and concert halls throughout the world. -
"When I Am Laid In Earth"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhydJdYC714 Composer: Henry Purcell
Performer: Gillian Fisher and The King's Consort
Genre: Opera aria
Context: From Dido and Aeneas, comes the era's most famous aria. The opera centers on two people who fall in love, when Aeneas is called away on "government business," and Dido cannot cope. -
Social Event: Salem Witch Trials
An age filled with Puritanism, the Salem Witch Trials are definitely among the more commonly known events for the Baroque time period. -
Social Event: The Development of Modern Pianoforte
Bartolomeo Cristofori develops modern pianoforte in which hammer strike strings. The name refers to the piano’s ability to change loudness according to the amount of pressure on the keys, a quality foreign to the harpsichord. Cristofori achieved that effect by replacing the plucking mechanism of the harpsichord with a hammer action capable of striking the strings with greater or lesser force. -
Fugue in C Minor, no. 2, from The Well-Tempered Clavier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcFHuUJE0mU Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Genre: Fugue
Context: The Well-Tempered Clavier is a collection of two series of preludes and fugues in all major and minor keys composed for solo keyboard by Bach. -
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)
Franz Joseph Haydn worked successfully within the aristocratic patronage system. He was a court composer for thirty years to the prince of Esterhazy in Austria. His works were known throughout the German-speaking world and in France, Spain, Italy and England. All together, Haydn has composed 104 symphonies, 35 concertos, 82 string quartets and 60 sonatas. -
"Music for the Royal Fireworks"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmGTBThebtQ Composer: George Frederic Handel
Performer: Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra
Genre: Ceremonial Music
Context: Composed in 1749 to accompany a fireworks display celebrating the end of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748). -
Classical Era (1750-1820)
The Classical Era, also known as the Age of Enlightenment, is defined as a time period in the history of western music. The name classical is applied to the period because in art and literature, there was a keen interest in admiration for, and emulation of the classical artistic and literary heritage of Greece and Rome. It also reflected the emotional restraint, balance, clarity, symmetry, clean and precise formal structure, and the simplicity of the Age of Reason. -
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart received a great education from his father and also from travels in Italy, France, England, and Germany. Although he died when he was only 35 years old, he created more than 600 compositions, including, 25 piano concertos, 7 violin concertos, and concertos for bassoon, clarinet, horn, flute, flute and harp, and harp and oboe. Mozart's music provided emotional and dramatic support for the characters and the plot. -
Social Event: The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, which took place from the 18th to 19th centuries, was a period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies in Europe and America became industrial and urban. There were major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had an effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions of the time. -
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Ludwig van Beethoven was considered a classic and a Romantic composer. He began his career in the employment of the court at Bonn in his native Germany. He freed music from the restraints of classicism by creating works that are models of subjective feeling and personal expression. Beethoven's music can be beautiful and tender, or tempestuous and powerful, and his works have influenced composers of later generations. -
Social Event: Bolero
Sebastian Carezo invented the Spanish dance called "bolero" in 1780. -
Symphony no. 39 in E-flat Major
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0x_dCrKd4w Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Context: The fourth movement is in sonata form and includes an exposition, development and a recapitulation. -
Social Event: The Paris Conservatory of Music
Today, The Paris Conservatory of Music is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide the English speaking community of Paris with an educational environment that fosters the artistic, intellectual, and personal growth of its students. The American Conservatory of Paris is the best and most convenient way to take music lessons in Paris. -
String Quartet in C Major, op. 76, no. 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBmCcSz6HWw Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn
Context: This is one of Haydn's last quartets. It was composed in 1797, when Haydn was 65 years old. It later became the Austrian National Anthem. -
Piano Sonata no. 8 in C Minor, op. 13
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yR7CnmvBj4 Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Genre: Sonata in rondo form
Context: This is one of Beethoven's most respected and best know works. It maintains many of the traditional Classic-period ideals of clarity and balance. -
Romantic Period (19th Century)
The Romantic Period was a time when artistic expression became highly individual and person, and also highly emotional; it was not characterized by uniform music expression. The business aspect of music became an important factor in the Romantic Era as the aristocratic patronage system fell into decline. -
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Feliz Mendelssohn came from a wealthy, educated German family of high social and cultural status. He was surrounded by the finest opportunities for an aspiring musician. Mendelssohn's music had wide appeal, which was traditional and closely aligned to Classic ideals of form an structure. He is best known for is Scotch and Italian symphonies. -
Fredric Chopin (1810-1849)
Fredric Chopin was born and educated in Poland, but spent his entire professional life in Paris. He preferred private performances in the aristocratic salons and he is known for his études, preludes, waltzes, scherzos, polonaises, nocturnes and miniatures. Chopin's extended works include three solo piano sonatas and two piano concertos. He has elaborate, decorative melodies, and bold, colorful harmonies. -
Social Event: Invention of Saxophone
Adolphe Sax patented his first saxophone. Sax was the son of Charles Joseph Sax, a maker of wind and brass instruments, as well as of pianos, harps, and guitars. -
"An Sylvia" ("Who is Sylvia?")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmKKIJlLEwQ Composer: Franz Schubert
Context: Schubert had a remarkable gift for creating melodies that were expressive, emotional, dramatic, sad, or mysterious. His songs for solo voice and piano accompaniment ranged from short, and simple pieces, to extended, more dramatic works. -
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Johannes Brahms was born in Germany and moved to Vienna at age thirty. He worked mostly as a freelance composer and pianist. He music is known to be passionate and he is best known for his four symphonies; a violin concerto; two piano concertos; important trios, quartets, quintets, and sextets; two serenades; sonatas for piano, cello, violin, and clarinet; and numerous short piano pieces, songs, and choral works. -
Prelude, op. 28, no. 6 in B Minor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8eR19PuG0I Composer: Frederic Chopin
Context: Chopin's 24 preludes have no similarities in structure or style. The preludes may be short, miniature, pieces, or extended works having contrasting moods, and may range in emotion from quiet to loud. -
Social Event: Civil War (1861-1865)
During the Civil War, eleven southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate states of America. -
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Claude Debussy was an adventurous French composer who rejected many of the established musical styles, forms, and techniques. He sought to evoke moods to convey impressions of images and feelings rather than to produce literal descriptions. He personifies the transition from 19th century romanticism to the diverse and more complex practices of the 20th century. -
Social Event: Slavery Abolished
Slavery was abolished in America. On December 18, the 13th Amendment was officially adopted into the Constitution–246 years after the first shipload of captive Africans landed at Jamestown, Virginia, and were bought as slaves. -
"How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place," from German Requiem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZcxpl30NOw Composer: Johannes Brahms
Genre: Chorus from a requiem
Context: The word requiem traditionally refers to the Roman Catholic Mass for the Dead, but Brahms created his own text, selecting Bible passages not used in the traditional funeral liturgy. It is often sung as a choir anthem in church services. -
Amy Cheney Beach (1867-1944)
Amy Cheney beach had a successful career as a performer and composer. Her Gaelic Symphony was the first symphony by an American women. She was also the first women to have her music premiered by the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. -
Social Event: Racial Segregation
Racial segregation is upheld by the United States Supreme Court. -
Duke Ellington (1899-1974)
Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and band leader. He composed thousands of scores over a fifty year career. He used his band as a musical laboratory for new compositions and shaped his writing to showcase talents of his bandmates. Ellington wrote film score, and stage musicals, and several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. -
20th Century Music (1900-2000)
Music of the 20th century was characterized by complexity, experimentation, a multiplicity of styles and directions, new forms, new symbols for expressing musical language, and multicultural influences. Many twentieth century composers created music not for the general public but for highly trained professional musicians, scholar, and other composers. -
Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)
Louis Armstrong was the most successful and most famous of the New Orleans musicians. He was a trumpet player, singer, and entertainer on the 1960's. His primary influence was on jazz musicians through the recordings he made in Chicago in the 1920's with his combos, The Hot Five and The Hot Seven. -
Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981)
Mary Lou Williams was often called one of jazz's greatest female musicians. She managed to always sound modern during a half-century career without forgetting her roots or how to play in the older styles. She was an essential element for the Swing Era, as well as the be-bop years, and later she wrote a number of religious works. -
John Cage (1912-1992)
John Cage felt through his music and he accepted the sounds, whatever they were, as the piece of music. He is well known for a piece whose "instrumentation" was no more than multiple radios set at different places on the dial, including static. Cage became aware that there is no such thing as silence because we always hear some sounds-- the sound of our bodies, air circulating, and breathing or coughing. Silence has become a part of composition; Cage has helped us understand it better. -
Social Event: Jelly Roll Morton and Gennett
Jelly Roll Morton begins to record with Gennett, including a session with New Orleans Rhythm Kind, considered the first inter-racial jazz recording. -
"Preludes for Piano, no. 1"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyhGpgiqJxw Composer: George Gershwin
Genre: Pianominiature
Context: In 1926, Gershwin composed his preludes for piano to play at his own recital at the Hotel Roosevelt in New York City. The three pieces are usually performed as one three-movement composition in a fast-slow-fast order. They all are in contrasting keys. -
Social Event: First Talking Movie
The first talking movie is released: It is The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson in black face. -
Social Event: Stock Market Crash
Also known as Black Tuesday, the Wall Street Market crash at the end of the 1920's sunk the world into the Great Depression which dominated the 1930's. Jobs were few, which made life hard. The United States and many other countries learned how important economic health was. -
Jazz Music (20th century)
Jazz includes widely divergent styles ranging from entertainment music to art music. Today, jazz is performed and listened to nearly everywhere-- and it has a strong following, especially in Europe, Scandinavia, Japan, Africa, South America and Canada. The International Association of Jazz Educators was organized to further the study of performance of jazz in our educational system. -
"Mood Indigo"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GohBkHaHap8 Performer: Duke Ellington and his orchestra, featuring Shorty Baker, trumpet
Genre: Big hand jazz -
"Summertime" from Porgy and Bess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgmEY41baKM Composer: George Gershwin
Genre: Cool Jazz
Background: The music, arranged and conducted by Gil Evans, was written for 10 pieces, a large and unusual instrumentation: 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 3 French horns, 1 tuba, 1 alto sax, 2 flutes, 1 bass clarinet, 1 string bass, drums, and soloist Miles Davis on trumpet and flugelhorn. -
"Billy the Kid"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_mdvy2m13Q Composer: Aaron Copland
Genre: Ballet, orchestral version
Context: The music from the ballet derives from the Western European concert music tradition. It is American because the story and many of the tunes used are derived from the songs and traditions of the American people and from American folk traditions. -
Social Event: World War II Begins
The invasion of Poland by Germany begins the war, also accompanied by subsequent declaration of war on Germany by France and most countries of the British Empire and Commonwealth. -
"Ko-Ko"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okrNwE6GI70 Composer: Charlie Parker
Performers: Charlie Parker and his Re-Boppers
Genre: Bebop (combo jazz)
Background: This is one of the earliest Bebop recordings. It was Parker's first recording session as a leader and this piece features one of his most famous solos. -
"Jeux de Vagues"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S2k0omoWnA Composer: Claude Debussy
Genre: Multimovement orchestral work
Context: This impressionistic work for symphony orchestra has 3 movements. The orchestra includes piccolo, English horn, a third bassoon and contrabassoon, 2 additional horns, a third trombone, and a tuba. The percussion section includes 3 timbales, gong, cymbals, triangle, 2 harps and a glockenspiel. This symphony paints a tonal landscape, evoking Debussy's impression of the wind and sea. -
Social Event: Berlin Wall Collapses
The Berlin Wall tumbles, which kept East Germans from fleeing to the west for 28 years.
