The Art of Music, Vol. 02 (of 14), A Narrative History of Music. Book 2, Classicism and Romanticism

The Art of Music, Vol. 02 (of 14), A Narrative History of Music. Book 2, Classicism and Romanticism - A Comprehensive Library of Information for Music Lovers and Musicians

In the first volume of The Art of Music the history of the art has been carried in as straight a line as possible down to the death of Bach and Handel. These two great composers, while they still serve as the foundation of much present-day music, nevertheless stand as the culmination of an epoch in the development and style of music which is distinctly of the past. Many of the greatest of their conceptions are expressed in a language, so to speak, which rings old-fashioned in our ears. Something has been lost of their art. In the second volume, on the other hand, we have to do with the growth of what we may call our own musical language, with the language of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Wagner and Brahms, men with whose ideals and with whose modes of expression we are still closely in touch. In closing the first volume the reader bids farewell to the time of music when polyphony still was supreme. In opening this he greets the era of melody and harmony, of the singing allegro, the scherzo, the rondo, of the romantic song, of salon music, of national opera and national life in music. We have now to do with the symphony and the sonata, which even to the uninitiated spell music, no longer with the toccata and the fugue, words of more or less hostile alarm to those who dread attention. We shall deal with forms based upon melody, shall trace[Pg iv] their growth from their seeds in Italy, the land of melody, through the works of Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. We shall watch the perfecting of the orchestra, its enrichment in sonority and in color. We shall see the Lied spring from the forehead of Schubert. We shall mark the development of the pianoforte and the growth of a noble literature of pianoforte music, rivalling that of the orchestra in proportion and in meaning. A new opera will come into being, discarding old traditions, alien myths, allying itself to the life of the peoples of Europe. Lastly we shall note the touch of two great forces upon music, two forces mysteriously intertwined, the French Revolution and the Romantic Movement. Music will break from the control of rich nobles and make itself dear to the hearts of the common people who inherit the earth. It will learn to speak of intimate mysteries and intensely personal emotion. Composers will rebel from dependence upon a patronizing class and seek judgment and reward from a free public. In short, music will be no longer only the handmaiden of the church, or the servant of a socially exalted class, but the voice of the great human race, expressing its passions, its emotions, its common sadness and joy, its everyday dreams and even its realities. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 65865
Author: Hall, Leland
Release Date: Jul 18, 2021
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Hall, Leland, 1883-1957 , Saerchinger, César, 1889-1971