Jake Dell
H-Band
Romanticism in Music:
Culture Shock leads to Expression
What do jazz, rap, pop and rock all have in common? Music is an expression
of the artist’s feelings as well as our own, a concept first articulated
during the Romantic period. At this time, science played a significant role
in changing people’s attitudes. The skepticism resulting from a clearer
understanding of the world and humanity’s place in it changed the way people
thought of themselves and society. One such example is Charles Darwin’s
The Origin of the Species. Another important aspect of the time is the rise
in European nationalism. Many areas of Europe (especially Italy and Central
Europe) struggled to free themselves from foreign control. The years around
1850 saw many revolutions and attempts at revolutions, one of which was Vienna
and its struggle to create a national identity. One final characteristic of
the Romantic period is a growing autonomy for the arts. More and more, art was
removed from functional roles and came to be appreciated for its aesthetic worth.
The art of the past became increasingly revered, and our modern notions of the
“artist” and of the “fine arts” were born. As such, Romanticism
in music can be explained as an expression of desire and beliefs resulting from
a change in the culture’s attitude.
Romantic music first showed an interest in nature and the supernatural. Whereas
the Classical period idealized the natural world, Romantic artists saw it in
a more realistic sense. It was considered less a model of perfection and more
a source of mysterious powers. Composers of the time gravitated toward supernatural
texts and stories. Schubert’s Erlking and Berlioz’ Symphonie fantastique
are two good examples because of the inexplicably intriguing mood they set,
and the mystical stories they tell. The time began to see a rise in program
music. It was used to tell stories, or to imply meaning beyond the purely musical.
Composers found ways to make their musical ideas represent people, things, and
dramatic situations as well as emotional states and even philosophical ideas.
Nationalism and Exoticism became significant factors in Romantic music. Composers
used their talents as a tool for highlighting national identity. Instrumental
composers such as Bedrich Smetana made reference to folk music and national
images (as in The Moldau), while operatic composers such as Giuseppe Verdi set
stories with strong patriotic undercurrents. They took a strong interest in
the music of various ethnic groups, incorporating it into their own music. They
wrote pieces based on stories of exotic lands and people, idealizing a foreign
land and culture.
The social status of musicians in Romantic Vienna began to change drastically.
A composer was no longer dependent for income on the steady employment by nobility
but relied instead on the support of the public and the patronage of individuals.
Music was seen less as an occupation and more as a calling. Specialized training
institutions, known as conservatories, replaced the apprentice system of the
church and the court. Women found more opportunities for musical expression,
especially as performers, but social and cultural barriers still limited their
participation as composers.
The nineteenth century saw the development of many different musical styles,
in which certain elements stand out. The dynamic range became wider, and there
was a larger range of sound. This created more emotion in the pieces, especially
in the drastic changes from huge crescendos to minute pianos. There was a greater
variety of instruments, including improved or newly-invented wind instruments.
This produced richer harmonies, and more varied sounds in one piece. The melodies
tended to be longer, more dramatic and emotional. Tempos were often more extreme,
with tempo rubato (literally borrowed time, ie. loose and interpretively) frequently
called for. The fuller harmonies contained much more dissonance, creating a
more sensuous experience. The formal structures of the Classical period were
expanded, often determined by the programmatic content of the piece.
Two of the most influential and representative Romantic composers are Franz
Schubert and Franz Liszt. Schubert is most clearly identified with his more
than 600 quality songs. Some are simple strophic pieces, almost like folk songs,
while others are complex, with composed settings that create miniature dramas.
They are all, however, aimed toward the Romantic ideal of poetic expression.
Along with this, Schubert often allowed the accompaniment to take an equal role
with the singer in setting a mood or evoking an image. His “Erlkönig”
is a perfect example of this, with the thundering of the piano imitating the
galloping of a horse. Schubert perfected these techniques and put them to use
in more ambitious works, his song cycles. Here each song possesses its own identity,
and yet they are dramatically and musically linked.
Liszt stands out most for his new approach to large-scale form. Many of his
symphonic works abandoned the four-movement structure of the symphony. Instead,
these symphonic poems (as he called them) were huge single-movement works that
relied on extra musical programs and the progressive transformation of a musical
theme for their structural coherence. In these works, the themes are modified
by changes in harmony, rhythm, or even melodic outline. These transformations
are used to create a sense of narrative or psychological progression. Liszt
also used the technique of thematic transformation in his non-programmatic works,
such as his concertos. As a virtuoso pianist, Liszt filled his piano music with
technical demanding and nearly impossible fingerings, and many represent the
ultimate in nineteenth century virtuosity. He also expanded the repertory and
possibilities of the piano with his many transcriptions and arrangements of
symphonic and operatic works.
Romanticism is a radical kind of expression, seeking out the new, the curious,
and the adventurous. It is characterized by restless exploration and impulsive
reaction whereas classicism is conservatism in creativity. Its emphasis is on
balance, control, proportion, symmetry and restraint as opposed to Romanticism’s
fundamental trait: freedom. Because its goal can never be attained, romantic
art is haunted by a spirit of longing. The creations of the romantic artist
were emotional in character rather than guided by structural rules. In the Romantic
era, music acquired poetic or philosophical meaning. Antiquity, folklore, history
and exotic cultures were examined as possible sources of inspiration. The source
of this new movement can be directly traced to an increased interest in nature
and the supernatural, the rise of program music, Nationalism and Exoticism and
the new status of musicians, all of which was a new cultural phenomenon. These
radical changes in both society and art are significant because they revolutionized
not only the time period in which it took part in, but also our world today.
All the music we know and love has a history and an evolution, both of which
stem from Romanticism and the composers who dared to modernize.