Differences between Classical and Romantic era Music
The Differences between Classical and Romantic Music
What most of the public calls "classical music" covers a large amount of works, from the Medieval or Renaissance, or Baroque period all the way to modern experimental art music. The exact starting point of "classical music" would be contested depending on who one asks, but it is definitely several centuries in the past. The differences between Classical and Romantic-era music relate to the emotions evoked, modulation, chromaticism, historical and philosophical background, the place of music in society, and some economic factors.
Classical period music typically has a light and pure, and from some more modern perspectives, emotionally simplistic emotional impact. There are many exceptions, like Mozart's Dissonant String Quartet, the Queen of the Night Aria, and some early Sturm Und Drang works, but the prevailing mood was the light perceived simplicity of musique galant.
Harmony and modulation during the Classical Period were simpler and less developed. The tonic/dominant relationship was paramount during this time, and although it's true that Bach wrote extremely complex harmonic music before the Classical era, and to some extent Scarlatti and other Baroque composers, modern harmony per se did not fully exist. During the Romantic era, the diatonic tonal system of 7 notes began to break down and music became increasingly complex and turbulent. Wagner is a good example of a constantly-modulating Romantic composer. A simpler example of modulation in the Classical Period would be bars 18-21 of Mozart's sonata K545. In that, is goes mostly through the Circle of Fifths, a more predictable method than the more varied types of modulation in the Romantic era.
Chromaticism also reached a height in this era. Romantic music, for example Chopin, uses many notes outside of the current key. This adds sweeping mood changes to the music. Mozart did the same, however, in the Classical era, but his use of chromaticism was often more for an extension of the scale than for complex harmonic and mood-based shifts.
The historical and cultural backdrop of these two styles of music contrasted as well. Classical music is primarily from a period when monarchy was going strong. After the French Revolution, varied ideas and forms of governance affected the zeitgeist and Nietsche, Dostoyevsky, and Herzen, among many others, developed vastly varied, deep, and at times more pessimistic views of the world. Hegel straddled both periods but his idealistic views were more befitting of Classical rationality. This cultural shift, of course, had an effect on musical style to some extent. French music post-Revolution never really returned to strident, royal air it had during the Baroque and Classical periods.
Royal court-related economics changed into more of a free market during the latter era. Baroque music was considered a trade, just like any other trade, although it was admired more in some ways. Romantic music had a different cultural and economic aspect, and positions in the courts dwindled as small principalities merged into nation-states.
All these changes hit a boiling point after Debussy, the notion of classical music in general shifting greatly with the arrival of Shoenberg and Stravinsky and the other musical modernists. Although Classical-era music was not widely liked in the immediately-preceding eras, now it has made a comeback, and I believe that part of the reason is because some people have tired of the pessimistic, self-aware, and self-referencing atmosphere they see in more modern culture. Classical music for them represents a way to return to a more wholesome and solid view of the world. Romantic music now, on the other hand, is a way for people to experience strong emotion and tightly-constructed music with a more dramatic scope than many other eras.
What most of the public calls "classical music" covers a large amount of works, from the Medieval or Renaissance, or Baroque period all the way to modern experimental art music. The exact starting point of "classical music" would be contested depending on who one asks, but it is definitely several centuries in the past. The differences between Classical and Romantic-era music relate to the emotions evoked, modulation, chromaticism, historical and philosophical background, the place of music in society, and some economic factors.
Classical period music typically has a light and pure, and from some more modern perspectives, emotionally simplistic emotional impact. There are many exceptions, like Mozart's Dissonant String Quartet, the Queen of the Night Aria, and some early Sturm Und Drang works, but the prevailing mood was the light perceived simplicity of musique galant.
Harmony and modulation during the Classical Period were simpler and less developed. The tonic/dominant relationship was paramount during this time, and although it's true that Bach wrote extremely complex harmonic music before the Classical era, and to some extent Scarlatti and other Baroque composers, modern harmony per se did not fully exist. During the Romantic era, the diatonic tonal system of 7 notes began to break down and music became increasingly complex and turbulent. Wagner is a good example of a constantly-modulating Romantic composer. A simpler example of modulation in the Classical Period would be bars 18-21 of Mozart's sonata K545. In that, is goes mostly through the Circle of Fifths, a more predictable method than the more varied types of modulation in the Romantic era.
Chromaticism also reached a height in this era. Romantic music, for example Chopin, uses many notes outside of the current key. This adds sweeping mood changes to the music. Mozart did the same, however, in the Classical era, but his use of chromaticism was often more for an extension of the scale than for complex harmonic and mood-based shifts.
The historical and cultural backdrop of these two styles of music contrasted as well. Classical music is primarily from a period when monarchy was going strong. After the French Revolution, varied ideas and forms of governance affected the zeitgeist and Nietsche, Dostoyevsky, and Herzen, among many others, developed vastly varied, deep, and at times more pessimistic views of the world. Hegel straddled both periods but his idealistic views were more befitting of Classical rationality. This cultural shift, of course, had an effect on musical style to some extent. French music post-Revolution never really returned to strident, royal air it had during the Baroque and Classical periods.
Royal court-related economics changed into more of a free market during the latter era. Baroque music was considered a trade, just like any other trade, although it was admired more in some ways. Romantic music had a different cultural and economic aspect, and positions in the courts dwindled as small principalities merged into nation-states.
All these changes hit a boiling point after Debussy, the notion of classical music in general shifting greatly with the arrival of Shoenberg and Stravinsky and the other musical modernists. Although Classical-era music was not widely liked in the immediately-preceding eras, now it has made a comeback, and I believe that part of the reason is because some people have tired of the pessimistic, self-aware, and self-referencing atmosphere they see in more modern culture. Classical music for them represents a way to return to a more wholesome and solid view of the world. Romantic music now, on the other hand, is a way for people to experience strong emotion and tightly-constructed music with a more dramatic scope than many other eras.
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