The Classical Era

Mozart was a composer during the Classical Era, which generally falls between the years 1750 and 1830, following the Baroque Era and before the Romantic Era.  In all art form, including architecture, the Classical era focused more on symmetry and beauty in simplicity, in comparision with the ornate features of the Baroque era.     

Stylistic features of music composed in the Classical Era include:

Lighter, clearer texture

Classical music has a lighter, more simple texture and tends to be clear, focused and pure in tone, as contrasted with the ornate, elaborate and dense music of the Baroque era.

·       Generally homophonic

Classical music is homophonic in most cases.  This simply means that there is a clear melody above a chordal accompaniment, rather than than a series of interwoven melodies, which is termed polyphony.

·        Variety and contrast within the piece

Pieces tended to become more varied and contrasted in terms of dynamics, keys, melodies and rhythms.  Pieces changed mood, texture and feel much more than it had previously in Baroque music.

·        Short melodies and clear cadences

Music of the Classical era tended to have relatively short melodies and clearly marked phrases with defined cadences.  Cadenses are simply the commas and full-stops in music – in Classical music these points are clear and distict.

·        The piano replaces the harpsichord

Before this time, the piano did not exist and keyboard music was performed on a harpsichord.  Harpsichords were not as versatile or easily manipulated as the piano and had very little dynamic range at all.  The pianoforte was a much more expressive instrument, and as the name suggests, both piano and forte could be achieved simply by pressing the keys softer or harder.

·        More emphasis on instrumental music

During the Classical era instrumental music became a genre in its own right.  New forms of instrumental music were developed including the concerto, symphony, string quartet, and sonata.

 Questions:

 

Note:  You may not refer back to the information on this page to answer these questions.

 

  1.  True/False:  Classical music was more elaborate and ornate than Baroque music had been?
  2. What instrument did the piano replace? 
  3. True/False:  The concerto was a form of instrumental music that was developed during the Classical era?  
  4. Finish the sentence:  Full-stops and commas are to literature what ---- are to music. 

 

 

 CONGRATULATIONS!

By answering those 4 questions, you have just collected:

2 Horns

for your orchestra!

 Now it's your turn to see all this history and these musical concepts put into practice in real music actually composed by Mozart!  Press Next to put Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 9 under the microscope.