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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