Romanticism in Music
Romanticism was one of the strongest movements to ever have hit the music scene. Romanticism lasted a large portion of the nineteenth century and it=s music reflected that of the world that was rapidly changing during those years. One of these massive changes taking place was the Industrial Revolution. In Britain, science was being applied to already existing manufacturing processes. This meant that, with better systems in place rather than those of hard back breaking labour, more goods could be produced at a lower cost. A significant trend developed towards urbanization as opposed to farming. The average family could now afford those things which, in the past were considered a luxury. New processes also meant new ideas. During this period a number of advances in music were made. With new industrial processes, valves were added to the already existing trumpet, thus making it a more useful aid in musical composition. Also, the saxophone was invented and pianos could now be made better. A steel frame was added to them and their strings would become those of a better quality giving a better and more brilliant sound. In the musical world, new opportunities were being brought about. Most importantly, music was being brought from the
church into the concert hall. There were also more chances for instrumentalists to better themselves since new conservatories were being established in Europe. All of this meant that orchestras could now be larger and the quality of the musicians would be much improved. With larger orchestras and better musicians, composers tended to become more expressive in their works. Rather than being limited to the range of piano to forte the crescendo was becoming fashionable in compositional techniques. The crescendo allowed the composer to be more expressive in his piece by gradually increasing or decreasing the volume or starting from a pianissimo and ever so rapidly moving to a forte to give the effect of a real drama of sound. This sense of expression lent mood and atmosphere to the performance. New terms were used to explain what the composer was thinking when he wrote the piece. Terms such as ; dolce (sweetly), maestoso (majestic) and gioioso (joyful). Another form of expression used by composers was to create songs based on folklore and nationalism giving the piece a cultural flavour. Some of the exceptional composers who adapted this style of music are Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Wagner and Franz Liszt. In the height of his fame as a pianist, Liszt gave it up and devoted his days to composing. In the late 1840s he became the court composer to the grand duke of Weimar. This period in his life is known as the Weimar period. In this time he also was director of the ducal opera house and was in a position to influence public musical taste and did so without regret to promote the type of music that he an
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Approximate Word count = 1081
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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