The Classical Music Book

A feature of the Baroque, Classical,

and Romantic periods was the

system of major-minor tonality in

which a key note, called the tonic,

is the gravitational center around

which a composition revolves—

moving away from the tonic to

create tension and toward the

tonic to resolve it.

Musical forms

Different styles of music emphasize

particular aspects of its structure.

Some focus on melody, perhaps

with a harmonic accompaniment,

as was common during the Early

Baroque period; others employ

counterpoint, the interweaving

of two or more melodies in a

complex form of polyphony that is

one of the defining characteristics

of Western classical music.

Also important is the musical

form, or shape, of a piece of music:

it may comprise recognizably

different sections, perhaps in

contrasting keys. For example,

in a simple “ABA” form, a musical

idea is presented, followed by a

second idea, and then the opening

idea is repeated. Musical forms

range from simple songs, such

as the Lieder, made popular

by Franz Schubert and Robert

Schumann, to the complexity

of a multimovement symphony.

For listeners, the most noticeable

difference between a Renaissance

song and a full-blown 19th-century

symphony is the sound of the voice

and/or instruments. Throughout

history, new musical instruments

have been invented and existing

ones refined, giving composers

and musicians new sounds with

which to work.

Each of these instrument has

its own distinctive timbre, or

tone, and different combinations

of instruments and voices have

evolved over time. These range

from a cappella (the unaccompanied

voice), through solo instruments,

like the piano, and small chamber

groups, such as the string quartet,

to the full concert orchestra of more

than 70 players of stringed,

woodwind, brass, and percussion

instruments, and—since the

1950s—electronic technology.

This book

How composers put these musical

elements together to develop

different genres of classical music,

and the factors that influenced

them, is explained in this book.

It presents significant milestones

in the history of Western classical

music: not only the great composers

and their works but also some

lesser-known figures whose music

exemplifies a style or period. They

are arranged in chronological order,

placing them in a wider historical

context to show how they reflect

society and culture.

Each article focuses on a piece

of music that illustrates a particular

development in music, discussing

its salient features and its

significance in relation to other

works by the same composer, or

in the same style. An “In Context”

sidebar and a “See also” section

refer to other pieces of music that

are relevant to the one under

discussion. As not every major

composer, let alone all the great

pieces of music, could be featured,

a Directory section at the end of

the book details other significant

composers and their work. ■

INTRODUCTION

The time is past when

music was written for a

handful of aesthetes.

Sergei Prokofiev

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