The rising of the middle class had great influences on the arts of the classical era. The arts of this time were different than the era’s before because they were not focused on the Church or the wealthy as much. This was the beginning of a new stage in life for everyone as the arts had expanded their scope to the middle class as well. This change inspired composers to write music that satisfied not only the upper class but the middle class as well. This resulted in music that was “simpler and less intense” (Estrella). The rising of the middle class also influenced many new forms of music in this era such as sonata, symphony, and solo concerto.Themes that were once popular like ancient myths were replaced with music that people could relate to (Estrella). The rising of the middle class became a prominent theme of this era as many of them sought to become musicians and be taught by composers as well.
Ode to Joy by Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most well known composers of this time. He was born in Germany but he spent his career living in Vienna. He was not known to compose any music for the sake of religion or royalty. Rather simply because he had fallen in love with music and he wanted others to as well. Therefore, his music wasn’t directed towards any religion, political group, etc but rather to share for the good of music as well as for all people to enjoy. Beethoven was a unique addition to this era of music as he worked fairly independently and did things his own way. In the video above shows Beethoven’s last symphony Ode to Joy. A symphony is a musical form that consists of an instrumental performing group. This piece was presented on May 27, 1824 in front of the public. I find this musical piece to be beautiful in a variety of ways as it was Beethoven’s final piece, his final good bye, and is known to have been a piece that marked the end of the classical era.
Piano Sonata nº 59 by Franz Joseph Haydn
Piano Sonata nº 59 by Franz Joseph Haydn was written in 1789-1790. In this piece Haydn dances between use of staccato and legato. He incorporates three movements into his piece the Allegro which lasts 5-6 minutes, the Adagio e cantabile which lasts 7-9 minutes, and the Finale: Tempo di Menuet which lasts 4-5 minutes. Haydn’s use of the sonata form amplifies the impact that the middle class had on the classical era and the new musical forms that were created because of it. His use of a single instrument in this piece indicates the simplicity of the music from this time period. A sonata consists of an exposition, development, and recapitulation. Sonata’s are usually performed with the keyboard instrument or a solo instrument that is accompanied by the keyboard. Personally, I cannot say I had heard of Franz Joseph Haydn prior to this class. But as I explored his music and picked a song I wanted to use in this blog, I can safely say that I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his composition. I especially enjoy how upbeat and catchy some of his pieces are.
Requiem by Wolfgang Mozart
Reqium by Wolfgang Mozart was composed in Vienna in the year of 1791, however it was left unfinished when Mozart died on December of that year. The piece was split into several movements I. Introitus: Requiem aeternam, II. Kyrie, III. Sequentia, IV. Offertorium, V. Sanctus & Benedictus, VI. Agnus Dei VII. Communio. During the time of Mozart’s death only the vocal and orchestral parts of beginning (Requiem aeternam) of the piece was written completely. While in the Kyrie only the vocal and continuo parts had been completed. The Offertorium was only briefly done in the vocal parts and the continuo as well. However, in the sixth movement the piece broke off after eight bars and was left unfinished. This piece has seven movements that are fairly distinct. This piece is a prime example of the rise of the middle class as Mozart structured his work and broke up this piece into seven parts which was a direct influence of the middle class. This is yet another piece I had not heard until this class. There are some other more popular pieces done by Mozart that I could have chosen, but I decided that this would be the perfect time for me to immerse myself into some of his less common or known works. I find Mozart’s music to be soothing and quite pleasing to the ears. I was rather surprised by how long this piece was as I did not know that was common. I imagine in this time period this was a very big form of entertainment if people were willing to sit through hours of musical pieces.
In these three works it becomes apparent of the influences the middle class had on the music in the classical era. The rise of the middle class brought upon such musical forms through the creation of sonatas, symphonies, and solo concertos. This was done as a result of the desire people had for musical pieces they felt like they could relate to. This in turn led to simpler and more structured musical pieces.
Works Cited
Dobney, Jayson Kerr. “Nineteenth-Century Classical Music”. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/amcm/hd_amcm.htm (October 2004)
Estrella, Espie. “The Role of Music and Composers.” About Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 July 2015. <http://musiced.about.com/od/medievalto20thcentury/a/The-Role-Of-Music-And-Composers.htm>.
“Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Biography.” Ludwig Van Beethoven. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 July 2015. <http://www.lvbeethoven.com/Bio/BiographyLudwig.html>.
“Piano Sonata Hob. XVI/49.” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 July 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Sonata_Hob._XVI/49>.
“Requiem (Mozart).” Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 July 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_(Mozart)>.
I was happy to find this post because it wasn’t about the Revolutionary war, (I’ve already commented on another post about the war and my post was about war, so it’s nice to focus on an influence that is a little more positive). I was also happy because I love music and loved learning a little about the background of music during this era.
It was interesting that you pointed out that the rise of middle class influence caused music to take on a more personable level that people could relate to, and to also become more simple and less intense.
“Ode to Joy” is a classic that I feel will be with us for a long time. I thought it was interesting learning that Beethoven was so keen on spreading his love of music, rather than relying on politics or religion as his muse. It just shows how simply somone’s love of music can revolutionize the music of a time period. Beethoven is definitely one of my favorite composers, and I have monumental respect for him because he gradually lost his hearing, but continued to play and compose while completely deaf! If that’s not incredible talent and commitment, I don’t know what is.
Here’s a link to my all-time favorite song by him, and probably close to my favorite classical song, “Moonlight Sonata”. I once attempted to learn this on the piano a long time ago, it was a painful and frustrating piece but once I (sort of) got the hang of it, I felt like a professional pianist. Gorgeous, classic song!
I enjoyed the other pieces that you chose, especially the one by Haydn was interesting, I do like the solo piano because it allows you to here the talent and precision on the pianist. I enjoyed it because it was upbeat and truly incorporated what you were saying about the influence of the middle class during this era.
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I enjoy the music from the classical era too because it doesn’t sound very high brow or like cathedral music. I appreciate how easy it is to learn especially for someone like me who has a difficult time learning how to play musical instruments. Beethoven was one of my favorite subjects of study back in grade school I even learned how to play some of his work on the piano which was a feat in it’s self considering I am not exactly a musician. Beethoven, along with others such as Mozart, definitely were influenced by the rise of the middle class as their work was directed towards the average Joe and was interesting and easy for them to follow. What is truly amazing is the fact that Beethoven was practically deaf and had written and composed such beautiful music. The influence of the Classical era can be found in places you would never think to look even in a video game. I have left the link below of an example of the reach and power of the Classical era music. Enjoy!
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I really appreciated your Classical blog post on music! I enjoy classical music but, I do not know the technical logistics of it. I find Beethoven’s music beautiful and amazing! I did not know that “Ode to Joy” was his last piece! I hadn’t heard “Piano Sonata nº 59” by Franz Joseph Haydn prior to your post so thanks for sharing that! I agree with you in how lighthearted the piece is. It is very interesting how classical music was created for the pure joy of music and how it can relate to the middle class people so that they could enjoy it as well. In my research of classical music I discovered that two important elements involved in its composing include mood and style. Both can change in an instant but, the composer is always in firm control! With the middle class demanding music that was approachable I found it interesting that they wished for their children to be taught how to play classical music because it was deemed easier to learn. To me classical music pieces seem very complex so I was surprised to discover that they were easy to learn but, I am no pianist! Here is a link to the information that I found: http://webpages.shepherd.edu/BREICH01/
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