This historical period was not what I expected. I have never heard of the Baroque period but learning about it was interesting. The level of violence present throughout this historical era is what makes it most interesting. The Thirty-year war occurred because protestants were forced into Catholicism, and half of their population died because of it. There were beheadings such as Mary Queen of Scots, because she was planning the murder of Queen Elizabeth I. Citizens were being heavily taxed because Louis XIV was living at a palace in Versailles, which he built, and he decided that he wanted citizens to support him. Essentially, there was a lot of drama, and many people were harmed because of this. Baroque music is described as vibrant in the textbook. In this time period, art has changed from being reserved for the aristocracy to becoming accessible to all. There were paintings, sculptures, and operas. In all these art forms, they were all described as “romantic expressions” meaning that there was intense emotion, rich color, and specific details to really demonstrate all the dramatic but powerful art being created.  

I chose Arcangelo Corelli as the major figure in music. I think his music does fit with what I expected from this era. There are shifts in the music tone and it kind of tells a story with its sound, ranging from quiet and low tones (sadder) to high and loud tones (happier), which the Baroque period is all for expressing our emotions.  

In my opinion, the most interesting thing about the romanticism period is that music and art started getting emotionally intense and dramatic. I know that the period started using more dynamics in music in order to be more expressive. As well as the use of symphonies and harmonies had begun to become more common. According to the textbook, it says that the romantic period began in the 19^th century, and artists had started perceiving the world in a “romantic aesthetic”. The composers used “poetic lyricism, dramatic contrasts and harmonic complexity”.  Which, eventually led to an increase in orchestra size. Although once the 20^th century had begun many artists had tried to step away from the aesthetic of the romanticism period. I decided to look up Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and one of his most popular and well known pieces is a ballet called Swan Lake, which he wrote in the mid-late 19^th century. In this particular piece he frequently uses a range of dynamics, going from a pianissimo directly into a fortissimo or fortississimo. Once the piece gets towards the climax of the story, the symphony in the background helps with engaging the listener and putting them on edge for dramatic effect as the music begins to sound deeper, slower and goes into a crescendo. While listening to this certain piece, I was able to visualize the story Tchaikovsky had put together through his music and I was able to hear the emotional intensity, the use of dynamics and articulations, as well as the use of harmonies. 

The Middle Ages, a period of history of western Europe, began around 450 AD and ended around 1450.  I know that the Middle Ages are also referred to as the “Dark ages” and Europe was run by kings and queens. During this era, Christianity spread. I find the spread of religion most interesting about this era because I am Christian myself and the great cathedrals built during this era really spark interest in me. These cathedrals were built for a place of public worship. Monasteries were established as self-sufficient religious communities. Monasteries were centers of learning and have a special significance in the history of European music. The Europeans borrowed sacred texts and they were an important part of their liturgy. They had chants sung in church services. These chants were passed through oral tradition. They practiced the chants with melodies added to them. The monks ultimately developed the notation of two or more stimulus melodies and created early rules for creating new music. I listened to Francesco Landini-Ecco la primavera. This piece was beautifully sung by women. They sounded like angels which I expected from this era of very faithful people. I also listened to Leonin. This music has beautiful instruments that complement the voices. It sounds similar to hymns that would be sung in a catholic church today.

Ellie Cerullo

The most interesting thing about this historical period is the large number of changes it brought to the field of music. Within the 20th-century historical period, major shifts occurred such as American composers straying away from the widely used Romantic European conventions to creating their own distinctive styles. Charles Ives for example was one composer who sought to develop his own by employing dissonance, atonality, complex rhythms, and nonlinear structures. It states how, “Charles Ives, writing in the first two decades of the century, was the first American to move away from the Romantic European conventions of form and style by employing dissonance, atonality, complex rhythms, and nonlinear structures”(Page 33). Within this period the biggest change could be considered to be the changes artist were willing to make to develop music. As time went on more artists sought their own music and as a result, began making music with their own take or beliefs. Like Charles Ives, John Cage was another composer who experimented with developing music. It states how “John Cage would challenge listeners to completely rethink what constituted music and art through his radically experimental works…Cage paved the way for the so-called “downtown” New York experimental scene that broke down barriers between music, visual art, performance, and so forth”(page 34). It is clear that the 20th century period of music was different from what people were used to and sought to incorporate more of the composer’s personality. 

Although I do not know much about the music from this period based on the textbook I can see that it was a very experimental and changing time for music. From the way it was described in the textbook, we can see how musicians and composers sought to create a different type of music that did not exist, and as a result, more composers put their own unique personalities into their pieces. The “Major Figures in Music” I decided to choose was Michael Jackson. Based on listening to several of his songs I noticed how some of his songs contained synthesized or digitally altered sounds as the reading stated. It states in the article how, “Synthesized, sampled, and digitally altered sounds are commonly used for special effects in popular music, movie scores, and works for the concert hall”(page 34). It was common practice for musicians to use these newly developed sounds in their music and Michael Jackson can be seen using them. It made his songs seem fresher and more uplifting to listen to, it was different from other songs that were more calm and smooth.

What I find the most interesting in the Renaissance time period of music is that the composers of this time were focused a lot on creating pieces that dealt with “serenity” and “spirituality.” It goes along with the ideas of this time period, where there was a desire to understand the way in which the world works. This time period is also referred to as “The Age of Humanism.” What I already knew about this time period was that between these years, (1400-1600) is when colonization started to happen, when we could see there was a great diversity in the human race now. The music during this time period is described as an “emphasis on harmonias sonorities” and the use of “soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices,” (Natvig & Cornellius). I chose to look up Giovanni Gabrieli and listened to his song “O Magnum Mysterium” from 1587. The music sounds very angelic and churchlike. This is what I was expecting to hear since the textbook was talking a lot about religion during the Renaissance. It sounded like a very well composed harmony with a lot of focus on the sounds of the instruments and sounds of voices, not actual words which was also mentioned in this textbook.

Questions: What about this historical period is most interesting to you? What do you already know about the period? How does the textbook describe the music from that period?

Pick one of the “Major Figures in Music” listed under your period on pages 19-40 of Reading Packet 1. Look up and listen to some of their music. Does the music sound like what you expected from the textbook or your own knowledge? Why or why not?

Classical (Enlightenment Period) (ca. 1750–ca. 1820)

Something about this historical period that I found interesting was how this period of time was also reflected as the Enlightenment period. The ideas of reasons and science from the past, for example, sparked a knowledgeable evolution that impacted Europe and the New World. The American and French Revolutions were built and progressed through the Enlightenment Principles. Thats how the concept of  “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness” came about in the United States. 

Something that I already know about this period is that in the New World, the colonies that were under British Rule were rebelling against the throne. The colonists did not see eye to eye with the British rules, tax principles, and laws. This sparked conflict between the colonist and the British, like the Boston Tea Party or the Boston Massacre, which eventually led to the American Revolution. 

The way the textbook described the music from that period is that composers during the early period kept away from “complex textures, learned compositional techniques such as fugal imitation, and grandeur in favor of transparent textures”, (European Art Music Classical, Page 26, Paragraph 4). Other styles like Haydn, Mozart, and early Beethoven, on the other hand, had complexity written all over them, from ideals to expressions, everything had a purpose. Improvements to instruments like the piano were also occurring at that time. 

I have listened to a series of symphonies by Franz Josef Haydn. I had no previous knowledge of who this composer was. As described in the textbook, it seemed that his work of music composition was very intricate. From listening to his symphonies, you can identify the instruments that people generally know. What was complex to me, was when all the instruments would come together, and in that way, the music complimented each other. That was “complex” to me because it is difficult at times to get many instruments in sync to make music that sounds good to the ears. So the textbook did justice to that thought. 

Before reading about music during the Baroque period, I was more familiar with some of the art that was made. I knew of the Girl with a Pearl Earring, as well as, Girl Interrupted at Her Music which were both created by Johannes Vermeer. I was aware that the colors were darker and that it used dramatic lighting; I feel that was reflected in the music as well.

The Baroque period is interesting to me because I like how musicians could express emotion differently from previous times. It was also interesting to find out that Opera was introduced during this time period. Since Opera is a way to show off a person’s vocal skills and entertain, it plays into the characteristics of this time period being dramatic, flamboyant, and eccentric. The textbook itself describes music from this period as “features that are characteristic of romantic expression- intense emotion, flamboyance, and dynamic movement”.

I listened to Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Dies Irae and I could see why he did very well in the court of Louis XIV of France. The music was how I expected it to sound. It feels heavy and intense, however, some parts feel light and freeing. It reflected the contrast of this time period, the intensity of their emotions, yet the freedom to express it. Afterwards, I searched up the meaning of Dies Irae and found that it means “Day of Wrath” in Latin. It is no wonder that the music makes you feel such contrasting emotion while listening to it.