Classical Music - from Choir-Stalls to Concert Halls
Classical music has enchanted listeners for many hundreds of
years and to this day has a significant music following. Its
highpoint was in the 18th century in Vienna when famous composers
such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven und Joseph
Haydn accomplished masterful symphonies, piano concertos and
orchestral works. However, the classical repertoire encompasses much
more than that. Moving Italian operas from Verdi and Puccini played
with the hearts of classical lovers.
Where did it all come from?
Believe it or not, music from the medieval
Era (500-1400), including religious gregorian
music, is the early ancestor of classical music as it is known it
today. The early church controlled this music style by introducing
particular rules regarding melody and rhythm. Ancient FM
captures the simple, ordered and pleasant sound of this formation period.
Moving swiftly on we reach the baroque era
(1600-1760), witnessing the development of several musical genres,
which inspired composers for centuries to come. This period saw the
birth of the orchestra, opera,
the concerto, sonata and more! Weird (some more than others) and
wonderful instruments were developed and used, including the
hurdy-gurdy, harpsichord, bass violin and baroque guitar. The
intricate sound of a whole host of composers, including
Arcangelo Corelli,
Claudio Monteverdi,
Henry Purcell,
Jean-Philippe Rameau,
François Couperin,
Alessandro Scarlatti,
Alessandro Scarlatti,
and Domenico Scarlatti,
(the list goes on!), played a larger role in public and
private life as music was not only played within church circles but
also featured at dinner parties or at wealthy households where the
style Tafelmusik, meaning table music, grew in popularity -
Georg Philipp Telemann is
most associated with this style. Music for the individual was
becoming music for the masses. Get a real feel for it all with
RadioTunes - Baroque Period.
Who are the most famous composers from this time period?
The main culprits behind the outburst mentioned above are household
names
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Georg Frideric Handel and
Antonio Vivaldi.
These artists spearheaded the shift from the baroque era to the
classical era
(1730-1820), pushing the established boundries with new hamonies and
complex melodic lines. Classical composers
Joseph Haydn, largely responsible
for developing the string quartet into its current form, and
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who
developed and popularised the piano concerto, in particular were, and
continue to be highly regarded due to their popular style typically
based around symmetry and their use of the sonata form compositional
structure, influencing Western art music for years to come.
Which classical stations can we recommend?
From preludes to the postmodern, sonatas to symphonies, classical
radio stations Linn Classical,
WQXR 105.9 FM and
Classic FM can take over from
here to give life to the written history and eras above and to
celebrate this genre in all its variations, recognising and giving
thanks to those who helped make it what it is to this day.
