Medieval Literature: Popular and Highbrow Traditions
During the eleventh and twelfth centuries, popular literature flourished as an anonymous, orally transmitted art form created by and for the people.
Popular Literature
- Narrative (in verse): Its purpose was to narrate events, awakening the interest of the people, entertaining, and informing.
- Lyric: The subject of popular poetry was varied, with compositions addressing the theme of love predominating.
Highbrow Literature
From the thirteenth century, a kind of scholarly literature written for nobles was
Read MoreRomantic Era Music: Characteristics, Composers, and Instruments
Romantic Era Music: Key Features
Romantic music features:
- Emotional expression and fantasy
- Rich modulations, harmonies, chromaticism, and dissonance
- Melody: Important, passionate, and lyrical
- Orchestra growth and complexity (especially wind instruments)
- New systems: leitmotif (obsession) or ring system (repetition and reappearance of an idea)
The Piano in the Romantic Era
The piano underwent significant technical changes, emphasizing fantasy, virtuosity, and loudness (scales, arpeggios, trills).
Piano music
Read MoreComposers and Musical Forms: Baroque, Classicism, and Romanticism
Leading Composers by Era
Baroque (1600-1750)
Notable Composers:
- Antonio Vivaldi (The Four Seasons)
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- George Frideric Handel
Classicism (1750-1820)
Notable Composers:
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Joseph Haydn
Romanticism (approx. 1830-1900)
Notable Composers:
- Frédéric Chopin (composed works for piano, including Op. 11 and Op. 21 concertos)
- Franz Schubert (took lessons with Salieri; composed over 600 lieder and 9 symphonies)
- Gioachino Rossini (operas: The Barber of Seville,
Spanish Opera and Zarzuela: A Historical Overview
Opera Romantica: A Historical Perspective
Antecedents (1800-1810)
Reborn after the 1799 law repeal, the activity operates mostly in the French operetta and then Italian styles. Pipes are made of pear. On the scene, about 35 works by Spanish operettas are highlighted, including works by M Garcia, Esteban Cristiani, and Narciso Paz. All in Castilian, these were comic operas following a structural model from the French romantic period. The second attempt to create a national opera and zarzuela coincided
Read MoreZarzuela: The Spanish Musical Theater Excellence
The Zarzuela: Spanish Musical Theater
The zarzuela is a unique form of Spanish musical theater. It was revived and refined by Barbieri in the 19th century but originated in the early 17th century as a court entertainment. It evolved into mass entertainment by the mid-19th century.
From 1850, with the premiere of Barbieri’s work, Playing with Fire, it became a major genre of the 19th century. In 1856, the Teatro de la Zarzuela was inaugurated, becoming the temple of this new genre to this day.
Throughout
Read MorePolyphony, Renaissance, and Baroque Music
Evolution of Polyphony
700-900, 900-1100, 1100, 1200
- Organum – Medieval music consisting of Gregorian chant and at least one additional line.
- Organal – Chant moves slowly, and the added line moves quickly above it.
- Discant – A chant is moving quickly in a similar fashion to the added line.
- Proper – Changes everyday.
- Ordinary – Stays the same.
The Renaissance (1450-1600)
Patrons: Church, Royalty, Governments
Professions: Singer, Choirmaster, Instrument builder, Organist, Copyist, Printer, Publisher, Teacher,
Read More