Remembering the Renaissance Era

The period of time from 1400 to 1600 was an important one for artists living in the West; it has been named the Renaissance era, not just for classical music, but also for many of the other creative fields. Renaissance means ‘rebirth’ or ‘reconstruction’, two words that perfectly reflect the feeling of this particular time. Artists of all types began to produce work that showed more creative innovation then anything else that came before, there was a sense of freedom and individual merit in all forms of music, painting, sculpture and the written word. This sudden sense of freedom was a relief after living through the previous long running medieval period, in which most music was created for the church; involving monophonic genres that tended to lack any feeling or self expression.

During the start of the Renaissance period improvements in printing and paper quality enabled the distribution of musical notation, this simple advancement now made it possible to share musical ideas with others and record compositions for future generations. This was actually quite a big step, seeing as in medieval times there was no musical notation, ideas were passed from person to person and developed that way.

The renaissance era saw people slowly moving away from composing classical music just for the church and creating secular pieces; one specific form of music that gained popularity was madrigals, sung in polyphony. In fact most renaissance compositions appear to have been written with only vocal parts, leaving out the instrumentals completely. Even though more composers were moving away from religious music they still felt a strong connection to the church and getting the public to change their listening habits would have to come gradually. There were 3 common forms of music created for the Catholic Church Liturgical music, Masses and Motets, all of these were usually preformed during mass or the Holy Communion. The first type of classical music was preformed as a polyphony vocal with no instruments to back up the singers, but the masses and motet styles were commonly accompanied by a lute or other small instrumental ensemble.

A few of the composers that were revered during the Renaissance period include, Pierre De La Rue, who wrote music made up entirely of vocal parts usually singing in a very low key (C’s and B Flats) He is known for writing ‘The Requiem’ which has survived through the ages.

Claudio Monteverdi inspired by his peers and the changes going on through out the Renaissance era, he went on to compose the first dramatic opera ‘Orfeo’. He also became strongly involved in the shift in styles during the early stages of the Baroque period that shortly followed the Renaissance.

Giovanni Gabrieli, a well known composer during both the Renaissance and Baroque periods. He is well known for his use of the traditional Venetian school style, which Gabrieli used to create mainly religious classical music. His personal creative touch can be seen in the way he uses the church space to give add depth and resonance to his songs.

A beginners guide to classical music

Are you interested in learning more about classical music and exploring the various sub genres that make up this breathtakingly satisfying art form that seems to be fading into the background of popular music styles today? If the answer is yes, then you’ll be happy to know that there are many websites available that cater to newbies and long time classical music enthusiasts alike. So whatever specific piece of information related to classical music you’re looking for, you’ll be able to find it with a click of your mouse button.

For those new to the classical music scene you may be interested to know that this art form is split into 5 main groups. The renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic, and contemporary periods; these are all eras between 1700 until now, that signify a shift in the style and sound of classical music being played.

Renaissance – This time period marks the start of popular forms of classical music in Europe and falls between 1400 and 1600. Choral music called Madrigals was popular during the renaissance period as was composing pieces of music, which focused on making the brass sections prominent. Well known composers from this time include, Thomas Tallis, Josquin Des Prez, Pierre De La Rue and Claudio Monteverdi.

Baroque – The Baroque era lasted from 1600 to 1750 and gave birth to two extremely well known composers, Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. These composers and others of this time became more experimental with their classical music creation, allowing for solo instrumental part and split section playing; something that wasn’t so common in the past. During this period a lot of music was written especially for the church. Famous composers of the Baroque time include, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi and Arcangelo Corelli.

Classical – The classical period goes from 1750 to 1820 a much shorter span then previous era. At this time classical music is becoming well known and symphonies are created on a larger scale to be preformed in concert halls. The style of the time borrowed many of the complicated polyphonies of earlier styles. The major players during this period came from Germany and Austria, including Ludwig Van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Joseph Hayden.

Romantic – From 1820 till 1900 the Romantic period saw a complete change in the old styles of classical music; composers became more expressive and experimented with many new groundbreaking techniques. The sound during this time became more powerful and emotive, composers aimed to affect some sort of emotional response from their audience. There were many well known artists from this period, including Peter llyich Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms, Giuseppe Verdi, Robert Shumann and Richard Wagner.

Contemporary – Better known as the neo – classical era and style, this period which runs through the 20^th century. It is harder to pigeon hole the exact time span for this period, as soon after the classical music genre saw a decline and other forms of music rose into the lime light to take over the lead. You could say that composers continued to experiment with new ideas and mix in the old techniques in an attempt to create something new. The introduction of electronic instruments, gave composers new platforms for creative experimentation. A few well known composers during this period include, Arnold Schoenberg, Milton Babbit and Vladimir Ussachevsky.

Beethoven's Pastoral Sonata

Ludwig van Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major in 1801, at a time when he was becoming increasingly alarmed at the steady loss of his hearing. Despite the traumatic time in which it was written, this particular piece of piano music conveys a sense of serenity. Like so much of Beethoven's piano music, the descriptive title "Pastoral" was given to the work by the publisher and not Beethoven. In fact, in many cases, the publisher never even sought Beethoven's opinion on the titles.

While the Pastoral Sonata is somewhat overshadowed by its predecessor, the Moonlight Sonata, it is one of Beethoven's most admired sonatas, mostly for the ease in which it displays its intricacies. The sonata is set in the four-movement outline:

1. Allegro
2. Andante
3. Scherzo e Trio: Allegro vivace
4. Rondo: Allegro non troppo

The first movement begins with a simple D major theme over a drone bass. It is perhaps the rustic feel of the opening that prompted the publisher to give it the title "Pastoral." The second theme modulates to the key of F-sharp minor, which at the time, was a rather unusual choice of key for the second thematic section of a sonata form.

The second movement, in the key of D minor, sounds something like a forlorn march with it's staccato sixteenth-note bass line and the dotted rhythms later on. The movement is introspective and was a personal favorite of the composer.

The third movement is one of Beethoven's humorous scherzos. The trio in B minor is simply built upon the repetition of a four-bar melody. Beethoven is perhaps one of the few composers with the ability of being repetitious without being monotonous. The Sixth Symphony is the perfect example of this quality.

The finale is a lively rondo and parts of it have been compared to the drones of a bagpipe and to the gigue, a Baroque dance. The sonata ends with a faster temp (Piu Allegro) and is the only "virtuosic" section in the entire sonata.

The Pastoral Sonata stands at an interesting time in Beethoven's career. It marks the end of Beethoven's "Classical" period. Shortly after it's composition, he pledged to take on a new path in music and the works that followed, for example the Eroica Symphony, mark the beginning of a new era not only in Beethoven's music, but in classical music in general.

The Diabelli Variations

In 1819, the composer and music publisher Anton Diabelli sent a waltz tune of his own creation to fifty of the most prominent composers in the Austrian empire asking them to each to compose a variation on the tune. Among those included were Franz Schubert, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Carl Czerny and Ludwig van Beethoven. He intended to publish the variations in a single volume titled Vaterländischer Künstlerverein and use the proceeds to help orphaned children and widows of the Napoleonic Wars. The story goes, although the accuracy is often questioned, that upon receiving the commission, Beethoven heartily proclaimed his dislike of Diabelli's tune and that he would refuse to write a variation. However, after learning that Diabelli would pay a significant price for the commission, Beethoven changed his mind. Furthermore, he decided to show how much could be done with such a banal tune. The result was a set of 33 variations now known as the Diabelli Variations.

The Diabelli Variations stand not only as one of Beethoven's greatest piano works, but also as one of the crowning achievements of piano music in general. Donald Tovey called it "the greatest set of variations ever written" and Alfred Brendel described it as "the greatest of all piano works." Only two other works of piano music command the same high respect as Beethoven's Diabelli Variations, J.S. Bach's colossal Goldberg Variations and Johannes Brahms' Handel Variations.

Diabelli published Beethoven's 33 variations as volume 1 of Vaterländischer Künstlerverein and the 50 variations by the 50 other composers were published as volume 2. Diabelli added the following introductory note to the publication of Beethoven's variations:

We present here to the world Variations of no ordinary type, but a great and important masterpiece worthy to be ranked with the imperishable creations of the old Classics—such a work as only Beethoven,, the greatest living representative of true art—only Beethoven, and no other, can produce. The most original structures and ideas, the boldest musical idioms and harmonies are here exhausted; every pianoforte effect based on a solid technique is employed, and this work is the more interesting from the fact that it is elicited from a theme which no one would otherwise have supposed capable of a working-out of that character in which our exalted Master stands alone among his contemporaries. The splendid Fugues, Nos. 24 and 32, will astonish all friends and connoisseurs of serious style, as will No2. 6, 16, 17, 23, &c. the brilliant pianists; indeed all these variations, through the novelty of their ideas, care in working-out, and beauty in the most artful of their transitions, will entitle the work to a place beside Sebastian Bach's famous masterpiece in the same form. We are proud to have given occasion for this composition, and have, moreover, taken all possible pains with regard to the printing to combine elegance with the utmost accuracy.

Beethoven's Tempest Sonata

Ludwig van Beethoven composed the Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor during 1801 and 1802. It remains one of his most enduring piano sonatas and one of the most difficult pieces, both for analysts and performers, of early Romantic piano music. The sonata is often referred to as "The Tempest" or "Der Sturm" in German. However, like much of Beethoven's piano music, this title was not given by the composer. Instead, the origin of this title comes from Beethoven's close associate and friend, Anton Schindler. Schindler, in his biography of the great composer, claimed that the sonata was inspired by the Shakespeare play of the same name. However, much of Schindler's information is widely regarded as inaccurate by classical music scholars. The prominent writer, Donald Tovey, even went so far as to call the story one of the many of Schindler's "inventions." Regardless of whether Schindler claim has any merit, the title has stuck and is a fair description of the stormy nature of the work.

The sonata is in the key of D minor, which it shares with one of Beethoven's greatest works. While Beethoven was particularly found of the key of C minor for the portrayal of epic struggle, it was the key of D minor that he choose for the Ninth Symphony and the greatest portrayal of man's struggle for joy.

As is expected of a late Classical/early Romantic piano sonata, the work is in three movements:

• Largo - Allegro
• Adagio
• Allegretto

The outer movement are in a the usual sonata form while the middle movement is sonatina (a sonata form without development). The first movement is rather unusual for its day. The Largo would lead one to believe there is a significant introduction before the main Allegro, however, it is in reality, only one bar long and consists of the first inversion of the dominant chord. The first movement alternates between an apparent "storm" and brief moments of peacefulness. Throughout the movement, the pianist is required to show great variety in his playing. Beethoven even includes a sort of recitative, a strictly vocal technique before Beethoven, at the beginning of the recapitulation.

The second movement is in the key of B flat major, also a foreshadowing of the key of the slow movement of the Ninth Symphony, and it borrows several ideas from the first movement. Finally, the last movement is one of Beethoven's dramatic and emotion filled finales.

Puccini

The great opera "La Bohème” (La Boheme) will be imposed after January 1900, however, after a performance at the theater in Palermo, then on the scenes of the main opera houses in Italy. The great day is January 14, 1900 when for the first time at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome the public could enjoy the opera "Tosca", with the Romanian soprano Hariclea Darclée on the main role. The success is assured, after the soprano aria, Vissi d'arte, the public was standing to applaud. Great success for the few creations of piano music he composed at that time.

In 1904, he married Elvira Puccini Bonturi, which will have a son, Tonio. On February 17, he presents the opera "Madame Butterfly" in Milan that was a real disaster. Only after a recovery of the libretto and music, the work becomes public after a presentation, a few months later, at the Teatro Grande in Brescia. Piano music was also a great help for the composer during this period.

In 1910, a successful debut in New York at the Metropolitan Opera in "La fanciulla del West" with the conductor Arturo Toscanini, and the famous tenor Enrico Caruso. Also at the Metropolitan Opera, will take place on December 14, 1918 premiere of the triptych of operas in one act, "Il Tabarro", "Suor Angelica" and "Gianni Schicchi".

Turandot – the première of the opera was at the Teatro della Scala in Milan, April 25 1926. In 1921, Puccini goes to Viareggio and moves to this wonderful town, where he began to work on the composition of the opera "Turandot". But his work remains unfinished. Puccini died on November 29, 1924, in a clinic in Brussels, several days after a neck operation, following a cancer of the larynx. This opera, "Turandot", the unfinished version, will be presented on April 25, 1926 at the Teatro della Scala in Milan, led by Arturo Toscanini. In subsequent performances, the opera will be presented with the additions made after the sketches left by Puccini by Franco Alfano.

Giacomo Puccini's artistic creativity spans a period of 40 years, from 1884 to 1924, during which he composed 12 operas. This small number proves once more the composer's particular artistic requirement. The enormous success enjoyed by Puccini's works during his lifetime, lasts until today and is growing.

Puccini - early years

Puccini (December 22, 1858, Lucca / Italy - d. November 29, 1924, Brussels / Belgium) was an Italian composer of opera, representing the current of realistic art in Italy called verismo.

Puccini was born into a family with musical traditions. His father, Michele, drove the orchestra city of Lucca, was the organist of the Duomo in town and had composed several works of modest quality, a Miserere, and several cantatas on religious subjects. He died young, when Giacomo was only 5 years old.

He received the first music lessons from his uncle, Fortunato Maggi, which they consider too fitted. He is continuing his studies with Carlo Angelonia, helping him to meet the future fellow composer Alfredo Catalani. With Angelonia, Puccini progress in a visible manner. He also liked piano music. In March 1876 the city of Pisa will attend a performance of the opera Aida by Giuseppe Verdi and in this moment Puccini dreams to become an opera composer. In the same year he composed a symphonic prelude, two years later a Motet and a "Credo", with whose performance he achieved some success. In the fall of 1880 he went to Milan, where - with a financial support from Queen Margherita of Italy - is part of the Conservatory, having as a teacher the great Amilcare Ponchielli. He also improved his knowledge about piano music.

On May 31 1884 takes place in Milan's Teatro Dal Verma premiere his first opera, "Le Villi", which successfully impressed the public and critics. After several years of hard work he presents at the Teatro della Scala in Milan his opera "Edgar", this time without a great success. Six years later, on February 1, 1895, he obtained a triumphant success with the opera "Manon Lescaut", performed for the first time in on the scene of the theater Regio in Turin.

Tosca had the première January 14, 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi in Roma. Also this theater, on February 1st 1896, is home for the opening of the opera "La Boheme", under the baton of Arturo Toscanini. In conclusion Bersezio Carlo, a music critic writes: "La Bohème (La Boheme) probably will not leave traces in our theater in particular”. No need to tell more about the brilliant success of this opera.