Let
Me Tell You About Classical Music
Concerts
A Piece of Classical, Musical
History
Classical
music has its roots in western
liturgical music and became
codified in the years between
1550 and 1900. This western
influence can be seen in the
system of staff notation dating
to about 16th Century Europe.
This system
prescribed the pitch, speed and
rhythms of a performer and how
the music set was to be executed.
As a result of this exact
execution, it left little room
for improvisation or
ornamentation. The term
‘classical music’
appeared in the 19th century, and
it attempted to describe the
period from Johann Bach to
Beethoven, periods of two great
composers. What characteristics
make classical music
distinguishable from other music
genres?
One of the
distinguishing characteristics is
the variety of instruments that
are used to produce varying tones
and pitches in order to produce
deep, rich sounds. Most composers
wrote pieces for orchestras and
various chamber music
combinations.
The human
voice has also invented itself
into the classical scene in what
is called the Opera. Most
classical music pieces use
instruments that were invented
before the 19th century. These
include the piano, organ and
harpsichord among many others.
Classical
music of the 20th and 21st
centuries has seen the addition
of the electric guitar, commonly
associated with popular music and
the use of digital techniques to
produce synthesized computer
generated sounds.
Another
distinguishing characteristic of
classical pieces is its technical
execution. Classics can take the
form of concertos, operas,
symphonies, dance music among
others. In addition, there is a
fusion of affective or
sentimental content and
intellectual content.
This is
usually achieved by use of a
musical motif that is repeated in
altered form or in different
contexts. This high technical
achievement can be attributed to
the high amount of schooling as
well as private study that most
successful classical musicians
have undergone compared to
‘popular’ musicians.
The only genre of music that
matches this technical aspect of
classical pieces is jazz
music.
A classical
music piece usually demands a
thorough understanding of tonal
and harmonic principles and
familiarity with musical idioms
inherent to a given period.
Classical
repertoires often exhibit high
artistic complexity because of
the varying use of phrasing
elements, harmonization, texture
and modulation. Even large-scale
compositions like operas and
symphonies have smaller units of
phrases and movements in
hierarchical order. Classical
music today is often used as
background music for movies, TV
programs and in advertisements.
As a
result, while actual recorded
sales may be low, its popularity
is well indicated by its
background use.
The
Concert
Musical
pieces can be traced back to
medieval Europe where classical
concerts were performed in
liturgy. Classical concerts can
be traced back to around the 16th
century when Venetian schools
included orchestration
development in addition to
ornamented instrumentation. This
is the period of the famous
composers like Andrea, Giovanni
and Gabriellis.
Musical
pieces continued to have
religious significance until the
development of the concerto,
sonata and the concerto grosso
opened up opportunities for
secular music.
Classical
concerts have evolved from their
early chants that were dominant
about 1100 to polyphonic music
pieces that started from the late
Middle Ages into the Renaissance.
During the Renaissance period
which ran from 1400 to 1600 saw a
lot of instrumentation being put
into greater use, multiple
interwoven melodic lines and the
use of bass instruments in these
programs.
Additionally,
social dancing became widespread
during this period and so did
other musical forms that would
accompany dancing. Eventually,
these developments became the
standard for centuries. During
this period, separation of the
composition and transmission
began to appear. This is where
the work of music could be
performed without the
composer’s presence.
The most
distinct classical concerts
however began during the Baroque
era when the pipe organ and the
keyboard music became popular. It
was also during this period that
the common violin as we see it
today took its form in musical
dramas.
Opera
classical concerts also began to
curve their niche in their
earlier forms and vocal forms
like the oratorio and cantata
became more common. As these
developments continued, they gave
rise to large ensembles that were
early orchestras and also led to
the rise of chamber music that
used smaller instruments rather
than the larger ones used in
orchestras.
The
concerto where a solo performer
was accompanied by an orchestra
also became widespread. During
the classical period (1750-1820),
orchestras were often led by the
lead violinist who today is
referred to as the concertmaster.
Wind
instruments became more refined
in their use in classical
concerts as well. Modern pieces
have seen the improvisation of
certain classical works where
performers exhibit their virtuoso
skills on instruments by playing
earlier works in their own ways.
Today’s music and concerts
thus have much in common to their
classical predecessors.
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