INSTRUMENTS IN THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

INSTRUMENTS IN THE CLASSICAL PERIOD

The instruments of the Classical Period were constantly changing and evolving.

There're two main developments that are to be pointed out:

The piano.

The piano replaced graduallythe harpsichord because of its ability to play much more softly and subtly.

Enlargement of the orchestra.

The second major development in sound was the expansion of the orchestra.

With huge numbers of symphonies now being composed, the orchestra started to resemble the orchestras we can see in concer halls today.

The French horn now takes on more importance.

Haydn, Mozart, Beeth oven,Rossini,Paganini and many more, all wrote stunning works for the orchestra.

But it was Beethoven who really stretched the Classsical mould and laid the groundwork for the following period- the Romantic.

His symphonies especially grew to mammoth proportions.

Have a listen to the "Fith Symphony",composed between 1804-1808.

For getting deeper into the theme,I suggest you to click on the following site:

http://www.classicfm.com/discover/periods/classical/classical-music-beginners-guide/#PajivlQ8OzP1oQ9t.97

SONATA

Sonata is a musical form in three parts.

It was used in chamber music and music composed for orchestras.

This permitted them to express their feelings and develop the new music techniques emerged in this period.

Piano sonata "Rondo alla turca",Mozart

From the film "Amadeus"

THE CLASSICAL PERIOD TIMELINE AND MAIN COMPOSERS

The Classical Period spanned from the middle of the 18th century to the beginning of 19th century.

Between the the Baroque and the Romantic period.

It is characterized for being a period of freedom.

The best-known composers are F. Joseph Haydn and W.A.Mozart.

JOSEPH HAYDN
 (1732-1809)

The Austrian composer F.J.Haydn wrote as many as 104 symphonies,which include :

"The Surprise" 2nd movement.Andante

"The Farewells"

"The Clock"

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

 (1756-1791)

W.A.Mozart was one of the most influential composers of the classical era.
Amongst the most well-known operas  we can name:

"The Marriage of Figaro" Overture.

"Don Giovanni" 

From the film "Amadeus"

"The Magic Flute".Singspiel

BBC Animation.

CONCERTO GROSSO

Concerto grosso is a form of  Baroque music.

The musical material is passed between a small group of soloist-the concertino- and a full orchestra-the ripieno or concerto grosso/big concert.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmCRCH-D5is

Listen to the opening of Bach's Bradenburg Corcert No4.

The solo group of violin and two flutes are prominent at the begining and are then joined by the ripieno strings.The harpsichord is playing the continuo.

.

This is in contrast to the solo concerto which features a single solo instrument with the melody line ,
accompanied by the orchestra.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/music/western_tradition/concerto1.shtml

VOYAGER GOLDEN RECORDINGS

They are phonograph records that were included aboard both "Voyager spacecrafts" launched in 1977.

Voyager 2 left the Solar System in 2004.

They contain sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.

Contents.

The musical selection is very varied.

Featuring artists such as Bach,Mozart,Beethoven,Stravinsky,Guan Pinghu,Blind Willie Johnson,

Chuck Berry,Kersarbai Kerkar and Valya Balkanska.

From Bach was selected "Bradenburg Concert no2, Allegro movement"

For further information click on this site:

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/music.html

HARPSICHORD

A harpsichord is a musical instrument  played by means of a keyboard.

It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.

"Harpsichord" designates the whole family or similar plucked keyboard instruments,including the smaller virginals,muselar and spinets.

Jackson 5 and Bach were funky way before Bruno Mars' Uptown Funk

Virginal

Virginals are smaller and simpler rectangular form of harpsichord with only one string per note.

Muselar

Muselar is a kind of virginal that was made only in northern Europe

They were popular in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Spinet

It's a smaller type of harpsichord.

Spinets were in common use during the sixteenth and seventeeth centuries.

BAROQUE PERIOD RECAP

Test your knowledge

Please, choose an option for the following questions.

1. Opera began in Italy in:

a. the XIX century.

b. the XVIII century.

c. the XVII century.

2. "Music for the Royal Fireworks" was composed by :

a.Beethoven.

b. Mozart.

c. Haendel.

3. The slowest Baroque dance is the :

a.giga.

b.minuet.

c. ballet.

4. In the Baroque Period you could listen to 

a.the saxophone.

b. a harpsichord.

c. a synthesizer.

5. A Grand Concert or Concerto Gross is where :

a. a group of soloists instruments play together.

b. a group of soloist instrument dialogue with the orchestra.

c. a group of soloist instruments dialogue together.

See some pics of beautiful moments spent together on the account of Baroque music.
Carmen and Rocio were hosting the contests.

 It was a rough battle between Vivali's team  versus Bach's team.

On the web you can find many other sites to wide your previous knowledge.
I suggest you the followings:
http://kidsmusiccorner.co.uk/types/classical/baroque/
I recomend this school children site to fill the composer's printout
https://quizlet.com/15032877/music-test-2-baroque-era-flash-cards/
https://quizlet.com/17078793/baroque-music-flash-cards/
https://quizlet.com/2968169/music-101-exam-2-baroque-era-flash-cards/

SIGNS TO LENGTHEN THE MUSICAL SIGNS

The most common signs we use to lengthen the musical signs are the following:

Dot(·)

 The sign we write after a note to make it longer by half its value.

Have a look at these examples on augmentation in notation.

Tie.

 The curved lines that join notes of the same sound that are one next to the other to make one continuous sound.

Pause or Fermata 

The sign we write over or under a note to show where we can lengthen a note or rest.

Let's start recapping some of the most frequent music signs,most of them you already know.

Now why don't we go on playing a joyful memory game in twos?

To end with, I'd like you to spend a challenging time with the "Dum Dum Song"
Don't forget to join them !