Introduction
Classical music can be taken to refer to music that was produced in the western cultures, ecclesiasticals and concert music and all happened in a period of 9th to 21st century and this classical music is played by many of today’s musicians and it actually encompasses compositional techniques to entertaining operettas. Classical music has routes in the early Christian music and its influences date further to the Ancient Greeks.
This classical music is based in the development of various music tones. The romantic era, codified practice expanded the role of music in cultural life and created institutions for the teaching, performance and preservation of music. While the modern era began with impressionist music dominated by French composers who went against the traditional German ways of art and music. (Cassirer, 1951).
The age of enlightment in the 18th century changed the course of music and this enlightment actually brought the accepted reason and equality in to the public consciousness throughout Europe. In some parts like in France, intellectuals like Voltaire preached against aristocracy, class divisions and religious prejudice. He actually believed that other people’s cultures should be accepted and not looked down upon since people are different and have their different cultures and hence as a result, these people’s cultures should be accepted and not rejected and then absorbed in to the music of the day.
Since people have so many different cultures, then it would be of paramount importance if these different cultures would be absorbed in the today’s music and hence make people understand the music when presented in their own languages and then r4educing language barriers and the importance of music id depicted and opera offers an example of this. This enlightment also saw the advent of public concerts and those people from the middle class sought for these entertainments since they could afford it and hence this tells that music was not only for the high class or the privileged in the societies but also for the poor peasants since they could also sought for these entertainments if they wished.
Certain composers like Franz invented new ways to reach a larger audience with the music that demanded greater attention, he also narrated certain themes in order to make the music so enjoyable, and also left some of the audience in suspense and also contradicted himself in the singing so it was only the clever audience who could be in a position to understand the singing and hence made the singing quite attractive. He also had climaxes in his own singing and of course this is the most important part in singing since it’s usually the climax of the song and it should be made quite attractive. He also evoked democracy in his singing and explained the democratic principles of the string quartet, which is a form of open dialogue among equal participants. (Cassirer, 1951).
Opera in the eighteenth century
A brief history of Opera shows that Opera evolved from the musical shows and pageants that became more popular in European courts and the first Opera is considered to be Dafne composed by Peri in 1598.other still popular Opera today includes Dido and Aeneas composed in 1968.The 18th century sees the Baroque tradition continuing, with the Italians at the fore and the Operas tackled serious themes that is the Opera seria and comic ones.
Opera seria drew its tragic themes from history, legend and myth. In contrast, Opera buffa saw impersonation, confusion, disguises and misunderstandings. In Italy and Europe, the musical drama known as Opera was well established and it was undergoing many changes and alterations which would affect its standing in many ways and these changes had produced different forms of opera in Italy and one of them was the Opera seria and the other was the opera buffa.
The opera seria had actually taken an inflexible style by around 1720 and it was a product of the philosophical movement, the famous enlightment in Europe, which actually affected so many different aspects of life. One of the early transitional changes in opera came from scholars at the Arcadian Academy in Rome and wanted primarily to subject the Italian opera to Greek tragedy both musically and structurally and this actually led to the restrictions in the music role bin dramatic developments. (Albert, 2005).
The major problem in the opera seria was rather due to the structured forms of all ingredients of the music and it was difficult to achieve much contrast in the music. In the late 16th century music included attempts to return to Greek drama. The later resulted in the formulation of monody for declaiming music, which was at the core of early opera. Opera seria soon dominated the early baroque style of the 17th century, which extended to the composition of oratorios on sacred subjects.
Later in the years the classic style of the Mozart dominated the music of Western Europe with the sympony, sonata and string quartet predominating at the core of musical structure and eventually opera seria gave way to Mozart operas seria and opera buffa among others. The classical style may be seen to culminate in the music of Beethoven who is perceived to be the link between the classic and romantic style. (Albert, 2005).
Mozartean Opera seria
Living towards the end of the 18th century and dying after the French revolution, Mozart lived through a change in music production. In 1781, Mozart having had several court positions like his father before refused to return from Vienna to Salzburg and found literally kicked in to the role of music and until his death, he invented many public concerts for piano and orchestra and developing new kind of musical theatre out of the several different opera positions which were then available and he composed many symphonies including concerts for flute and oboe and harp, piano, quartets, sonatas for violin and piano.
Much of Mozart’s life and music were shaped by the enlightment where by he began his carrier as a servant to the Salzburg and he was a highly skilled composer servant of God in this church. Due to his many travels to the Europe and France, which made him exposed to his independence and equality and he eventually secured greater freedom in Vienna whereby he supported himself with public concerts and commissions and through teaching angagements. It was through his hard work in these concerts and commissions that Mozart was in a position to sustain himself and expand his carrier of music. Mozart is the last enlightment composer and a transitional figure to the romantic era and he spent most of his time thinking about philosophy. (Albert, 2005).
Mozart has been one of the most experts in music since two hundred years ago. He started his work of music from 1756 to 1791 and it is his talent in music, which has actually made him to be known for his extra-ordinary talents in music as a good composer since he could compose so many wonderful music during his period of time. One of his big surprises was his romantic artistic creations of his period immediately following the enlightment tormented, deaf composer who was in a position to only listen and hear music of his own imagination and eventually compose his own music at that time. (Albert, 2005).
Mozart was a genius and for him actually everything was so cheap for him in the line of music and music was a triumph of his mind. He could actually imagine and compose his own music, which actually made him to be well known for his capability to compose his own music despite the earlier era. It was quit enjoyable listening at Mozart music since it was quit well composed and could entertain many during that time.
The image of Mozart as the quintessential composer who could only imagine of a music and play his own, reasonable since he was such a genius in that he was very much talented in composing his own music, demonstrating a cool, mathematical perfection in everything he wrote in that he was personally cool and performed everything he did to his own perfection and this actually made the enlightment era to change from the opera Seria to his new enlightment era, a sort of musical Descartes and this depicts his own image that he was not a cool, tortured, reasonable servant of the enlightment of aristocracy but rather he actually belongs to a transitional period in the light of the enlightment when his other composers began to work for a single church as a sort of in house artisan of music, began to write and perform for a more bourgeois audience and eventually became independed contributors to intellectual life.
His movement in the direction of artistic and intellectual freedom was actually a central part for this enlightment.Mozart legend participated in the creation of the conditions that Beethon and other romantic era composers would actually find it essential to their artistic freedom. Mozart had appositive attitude towards the intellectual and social atmosphere of the enlightment of which he actually lived although he his seen to have a sincere belief in the enlightment which he defined that humanity progressed through the acquisitional and the organization of knowledge whereby that real knowledge had resulted from observation and logic rather than tradition, speculation or divine inspiration. (Menell, 2003).
Mozart contributed so much in the field of aesthetic and metaphysics. His contribution in the field of aesthetics and metaphysics led him to the development of idealistic school of philosophy and the romantic reassessment of music’s importance as an art. Listeners of the early enlightment era did not actually consider his music as a supreme expression of his genius like the listeners of the romantic era did. During the earlier enlightment, music actually had various functions, which actually included the following. Specifically in the music of Mozart and the drama of the Danish play write, Opera revolves around the central enlightment theme of the new enlightment vs. the old enlightment.
A New York time music columnist expressed the popularized version of the controversial theory succinctly and researchers have determined to listening to Mozart since Mozart actually looks smart. Promoters marketed CDs claimed to induce the effect and Florida passed a law to schools to listen classical music everyday and by6 1998, the government budgeted $ 105,000 in order to provide to each child a tape or Cd of classical music and hence as a result, this lead to the transitional change from the opera seria to the mozartean opera seria.
Much of Mozart mission was the change from the traditional line of music in to the modern life of music since people are becoming more civilized and hence needed to change from the traditional music to the modern music and that’s why the transitional change from Opera seria to the Mozartean Opera Seria music. (Menell, 2003).
Role of music in the early enlightment
Mozart had appositive attitude towards the intellectual and social atmosphere of the enlightment of which he actually lived although he his seen to have a sincere belief in the enlightment which he defined that humanity progressed through the acquisitional and the organization of knowledge whereby that real knowledge had resulted from observation and logic rather than tradition, speculation or divine inspiration. Mozart lived through a change in music production.
In 1781, Mozart having had several court positions like his father before refused to return from Vienna to Salzburg and found literally kicked in to the role of music and until his death, he invented many public concerts for piano and orchestra and developing new kind of musical theatre out of the several different opera positions which were then available and he composed many symphonies including concerts for flute and oboe and harp, piano, quartets, sonatas for violin and piano. Later in the years the classic style of the Mozart dominated the music of Western Europe with the symphony, sonata and string quartet predominating at the core of musical structure and eventually opera seria gave way to Mozart operas seria and opera buffa among others. (Menell, 2003).
Decorating the houses and the palaces of the wealthy people and the most powerful during that era, since music was used as art, it could be used to decorate this houses during various occasions in order for this art to make the houses and palaces look attractive, music was also used as a dance music and also as a type of entertainment as its through music that people would be assembled together and listen to the various types of music been played, music was also used to praise the glory of God since some of these music played were praise music and could be played in churches, crusades and other various occasions in praise of God the almighty.
It is in these churches that people could go and worship God through prayer and singing and hence as a result, music was very much vital during the times of worship. Music was also used to teach people about different meanings of various things since its through music then that it carried importance messages for the listeners hence people could listen at these music in order to get the massage it carried with it. Music was also used to warn people about various happening in the communities they lived in such as drought, or even a curse from God and hence it was through music then that people could be warned about these various happenings.
People could also use music as a way of earning their living in that it was the only source for some people since they could entertain people on order to get money in turn so music in this case could be used as a way of earning living for some people. Also those who decorated the houses for the powerful and the rich got money instead. (Harpur, and Hare, 1991).
The French revolution
The French revolution of 1789 stirred the imagination of all the Europeans and the French revolution covers all the men and women who made conscious choices in their minds that they were witnessing new enlightment that is the birth of a new age. Upon the collapse of Ancient regime which is the older enlightment or old order, a new era appeared which is the new enlightment which seemed to realize the lofty ideals of the enlightment and these ideals were optimistic in which man had entered in to a stage of human history which was characterized by emancipation from superstition, prejudice, cruelty and enthusiastic.
For the revolutionary generation it seemed that the rights of man had become a reality and the force of oppression needed to be overcome and this changes happened in the year 1789.Then the future would be one of moral and intellectual improvement and mans happiness would be depicted in the age of enlightment. The causes of the French revolution can be located in the rigid social structure of French society during the ancient regime and its divided in to three orders and the first order consisted of the clergy, the second order consisted of the nobility and the third order was made for everybody. The effect of enlightment in this revolution has created a problem, which cannot soon be resolved. (Harpur, and Hare, 1991).
Conclusion
Classical music can be taken to refer to music that was produced in the western cultures, ecclesiasticals and concert music and all happened in a period of 9th to 21st century and this classical music is played by many of today’s musicians and it actually encompasses compositional techniques to entertaining operettas. Classical music has routes in the early Christian music and its influences date further to the Ancient Greeks.
In Italy and Europe, the musical drama known as Opera was well established and it was undergoing many changes and alterations which would affect its standing in many ways and these changes had produced different forms of opera in Italy and one of them was the Opera seria and the other was the opera buffa. The opera seria had actually taken an inflexible style by around 1720 and it was a product of the philosophical movement. A New York time music columnist expressed the popularized version of the controversial theory succinctly and researchers have determined to listen to Mozart since Mozart actually looks smart.
Promoters marketed CDs claimed to induce the effect and Florida passed a law to schools to listen classical music everyday and by6 1998, the government budgeted $ 105,000 in order to provide to each child a tape or CD of classical music and hence as a result, this lead to the transitional change from the opera seria to the mozartean opera seria. The age of enlightment in the 18th century changed the course of music and this enlightment actually brought the accepted reason and equality in to the public consciousness throughout Europe.
In some parts like in France, intellectuals like Voltaire preached against aristocracy, class divisions and religious prejudice. He actually believed that other people’s cultures should be accepted and not looked down upon since people are different and have their different cultures and hence as a result, these people’s cultures should be accepted and not rejected and then absorbed in to the music of the day.
Reference
Albert, O (2005). Classical music. University of Michigan Press.
Cassirer, E (1951). Philosophy of the enlightment; P Hazard, The European mind.
Engell, J (1981). The Creative Imagination: enlightment to Romanticism.
Menell, P (2003). Enlightment. Ash gate publishing, Burlington.
Harpur, T and Hare, R (1991). Psychopathy and attention. The development of attention: Research and theory. New Holland, Amsterdam.