Page 17 - (DK) The Classical Music Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained

INTRODUCTION 15

movement, the Renaissance. As continued to act as patrons to symphony, the solo concerto,
the taboo surrounding secular composers and performers, but and the string quartet. Music
music disappeared, composers there was also an increasing public also became popular in the home
expressed themselves more freely, demand for opera and music in as the swelling middle class
and their music spread through general, prompting investment in acquired leisure time and musical
Europe, especially after the opera houses, concert halls, and instruments, including the piano,
invention of a method for printing public theaters. became more affordable.
and therefore distributing music. As the Baroque period
No longer controlled by the Church, progressed, composers such as The Romantic period
musicians sought employment J.S. Bach and George Frideric Despite its enduring influence, the
in the aristocratic courts of Italy, Handel created works of increasing Classical period gave way to a new
France, Britain, and the Netherlands, complexity, taking advantage of cultural movement almost as soon
where they made a comfortable the orchestras provided by their as it had begun. As Romanticism,
living providing entertainment. aristocratic patrons. The music with its emphasis on the individual,
The Church still wielded some of the “High Baroque” era was swept through Europe, expression
power, however, and after the particularly expressive, often took precedence over clarity.
Reformation, a more austere musical ornamented with trills and other Composers stretched the Classical
style was imposed on the Protestant embellishments, and sometimes forms to their limits in the quest
churches in northern Europe, and dazzlingly virtuosic. for new sounds. They looked to
even the Catholic authorities looked For a while, the concertgoing extramusical sources of inspiration,
to curb the complexity of polyphony. public flocked to hear the latest such as art, literature, landscapes,
Composers thus developed a simpler orchestral showpieces, operas, and human experience. ❯❯
yet more expressive harmonic and choral works, but then the
style. Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 Enlightenment, the Age of Reason,
broke new ground for sacred music dawned, and fashions changed.
by incorporating elements of this There was suddenly a demand for
exciting new style. more elegant music emphasizing
balance and clarity, leading to
Musical explosion the Classical period from which What passion cannot
Around the same time, in Florence, “classical music” gets its name. music raise and quell.
a group of intellectuals called the In a short time, Classical John Dryden
Camerata de’ Bardi came up with composers, such as Mozart, Haydn,
a new form of entertainment, and Beethoven, established the
combining music and drama to musical forms that are the staple
create opera. This was a success of modern concert repertoires,
in the aristocratic courts, which including the four-movement

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