Romantic Period (1825-1900)

Historical Themes

• The increasing importance of science in defining a worldview

• The rise of European nationalism

• A growing autonomy for the arts

Musical Context

• Increased interest in nature and the supernatural

• The rise of program music

• Nationalism and exoticism

• Changing status of musicians

Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. In part a revolt against aristocratic, social, and political norms of the Enlightenment period and a reaction against the rationalization of nature, in art and literature it stressed strong emotion as a source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as trepidation, horror, and the awe experienced in confronting the sublimity of nature. It elevated folk art, nature and custom, as well as arguing for an epistemology based on usage and custom. It was influenced by ideas of the Enlightenment and elevated medievalism and elements of art and narrative perceived to be from the medieval period. The name "romantic" itself comes from the term "romance" which is a prose or poetic heroic narrative originating in medieval literature.

The ideologies and events of the French Revolution are thought to have influenced the movement. Romanticism elevated the achievements of what it perceived as misunderstood heroic individuals and artists that altered society. It also legitimized the individual imagination as a critical authority which permitted freedom from classical notions of form in art. There was a strong recourse to historical and natural inevitability in the representation of its ideas.

One of Romanticism's key ideas and most enduring legacies is the assertion of nationalism, which became a central theme of Romantic art and political philosophy. From the earliest parts of the movement, with their focus on development of national languages and folklore, and the importance of local customs and traditions, to the movements which would redraw the map of Europe and lead to calls for self-determination of nationalities, nationalism was one of the key vehicles of Romanticism, its role, expression and meaning.

Program Music

Program music is music intended to evoke extra-musical ideas, images in the mind of the listener by musically representing a scene, image or mood. By contrast, absolute music stands for itself and is intended to be appreciated without any particular reference to the outside world. The term is almost exclusively applied to works in the European classical music tradition, particularly those from the Romantic music period of the 19th century, during which the concept was popular, but pieces which fit the description have long been a part of music. The term is usually reserved for purely instrumental works (pieces without singers and lyrics), and not used, for example for Opera or Lieder.

Program music particularly flourished in Romantic era. As it can invoke in the listener a specific experience other than sitting in front of a musician or musicians, it is related to the purely Romantic idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk describing Wagner's Operas as a fusion of many arts (set design, choreography, poetry and so on), although it relies solely on musical aspects to illustrate a multi-faceted artistic concept such as a poem or a painting. Composers believed that the dynamics of sound that were newly possible in the Romantic orchestra of the era allowed them to focus on emotions and other intangible aspects of life much more than during the Baroque or Classical eras.

Music in the Romantic Era

"As the many socio-political revolutions of the late eighteenth-century established new social orders and new ways of life and thought, so composers of the period broke new musical ground by adding a new emotional depth to the prevailing classical forms. Throughout the remainder of the nineteenth-century (from ca. 1820 to 1900), artists of all kinds became intent in expressing their subjective, personal emotions. "Romanticism" derives its name from the romances of medieval times -- long poems telling stories of heroes and chivalry, of distant lands and far away places, and often of unattainable love. The romantic artists are the first in history to give to themselves the name by which they are identified."

Beethoven's Legacy

After Beethoven, composers turned their attention to the expression of intense feelings in their music. This expression of emotion was the focus of all the arts of the self-described "Romantic" movement. Whether in the nature imagery or passionate violence found in the paintings of Friederich, Delacroix, and Goya, the strange and fanciful literature of Edgar Allan Poe, or the adventure and myths of the great collections of fairy tales and folk poetry, the depiction in art of the beautiful, the strange, the sublime, and the morbid was the ruling credo of the period. In music, the nineteenth century saw the creation and evolution of new genres such as the program symphony, pioneered by Beethoven and now developed by Hector Berlioz; its off-shoot, the symphonic poem was developed by Franz Liszt; the concert overture, examples of which were composed by Felix Mendelssohn and virtually every composer thereafter; and short, expressive piano pieces written for the bourgeois salons of Europe by Robert Schuman and Frédéric Chopin. Italian operas were composed in the Bel canto traditions, and these led directly to the masterworks of Giuseppe Verdi, while the idea of the German music drama was established by Richard Wagner. For inspiration, many Romantic composers turned to the visual arts, to poetry, drama and literature, and to nature itself. Using the classical forms of sonata and symphony as a starting point, composers began focusing more on new melodic styles, richer harmonies, and ever more dissonance, in the pursuit of moving their audiences, rather than concerning themselves with the structural discipline of Classical forms. Later composers of the nineteenth century would further build on the forms and ideas developed by the Romantic composers." (From the Internet Public Library).

Romantic Music

• Music Theory Academy: Romantic Music - https://www.musictheoryacademy.com/periods-of-music/romantic-period-music/

• Dovesong Music through the Centuries - http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/archives/romantic/romantic.asp

Opera

• Giuseppe Verdi - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Verdi

  • Giacomo Puccini - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacomo_Puccini

• Richard Wagner - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner

• Gioacchino Rossini - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gioacchino_Rossini

Dance

• An American Ballroom Companion - http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dihtml/dihome.html

• Ballet Timeline - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballet_timeline

  • Romantic Ballet - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_ballet

Theatre

• Theatre History on the Web: The 19th Century - http://www.videoccasions-nw.com/history/jw19th.html

• The Rise of Romanticism - http://www.theatrehistory.com/french/romanticism001.html

• Glossary of Theatrical Technical Terms - http://www.theatrecrafts.com/glossary/glossary.shtml

• Drama in the 19th Century - http://www.theatredatabase.com/19th_century/

• History of American Theatre - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_theatre

• The Romantic Poets - http://www.poetseers.org/the_romantics/

• Introduction to Theatre: Romanticism (Online Course) - http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/spd130et/romanticism.htm

• Romanticism on the Net - http://www.ron.umontreal.ca/