Classical Music Forms
Classical Forms/Genres 101
“In the age of Haydn and Mozart, there were five main genres of art music: the instrumental genres of symphony, string quartet, sonata, and concerto, and the vocal genre of opera. Whereas the sonata, concerto, and opera emerged during the Baroque era, the symphony and string quartet were entirely new to the classical period.”
Craig Wright
During the Classical era of music, many forms of music introduced during previous periods were affirmed as standard forms of music. These musical forms are like templates for musical themes, giving the listener certain expectations of how a song might unfold. Such forms include ternary, rondo, sonata-allegro, binary, strophic, theme and variations, and more (Wright). Said forms were standards that could be heard in the classical genres of symphony, string quartet, sonatas, and concertos. These forms made it possible for concertgoers to engage with music on a deeper level, listening and focusing on the music in order to recognize the different themes, thematic transitions, variations, and triumphant ending cadences that one would expect from a movement of sonata-allegro form, for example. The three most famous composers from the era, Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven, all had a part in creating and utilizing these classical genres to deliver to their audience’s a spectacular concert experience.
Click here to watch a helpful video that explains classical forms.
Solely Symphony
Genres of newer music like pop, country, rap, etc. are classified as their own style of music. Each style has a certain sound they create, lasts different lengths, or is listened to differently. Various genres attract a variety of groups and people to listen and experience the music. In the classical era, there were five popular genres of music. The string quartet, sonata, concerto, opera, and finally the symphony. There were many uses of the word symphony in the Baroque era, but they did not represent the well-known genre today. The common symphony started as the beginning of an opera with only three sections in Italy around 1700. These works usually only lasted 10-15 minutes, but the more complex they became the longer they would be. The classical era saw symphonies 25 minutes, but some romantic era works lasted nearly an hour. Over the next 40 years a fourth section was added, which created the familiar fast, slow, minuet, fast form. Johann Stamitz was the first composer to consistently use a minuet movement in his symphonies around this time. The genre became very popular among the high and middle class music enthusiasts because of how colorful the music was with so many instruments. The development of immense concert halls allowed for grand audiences and more instruments within the symphony. Typically, the groups contained around 30-40 players with string and wind instruments, resulting in more color and flexibility. In the early 18th century, there were only 20-25 players, but as the years went on ensembles as large as 80 people were formed on special occasions. Haydn and Mozart became the staple composers of these classical style symphonies, and their works are still performed today. The genre of symphony is widely respected and still enjoyed to this day.
Music in Chamber
“String quartet [is] a conversation among four rational people,” (Wright 139). As the end of the 1800’s came near, a new form of musical performance sprang from the fertile pen of many different composers of the time. As you read above, the symphony was for the masses, people rushed to see the large ensembles of many different instruments play wonderful pieces that left many speechless. Yet many musicians craved something more intimate. Thus the string quartet sprang forth, captivating many of the times greatest players, composers and listeners. String quartet is made up of 4 players, violinist 1, violinist 2, violist, and cellist. One player for each part and they follow the same four movements of a piece, just like a symphony orchestra. This genre and ensemble was not for a large crowd, even though it could be done in modern time, but for small chambers of listeners and even sometimes just for the enjoyment of the musicians playing. Haydn began to write his own pieces for string quartet in 1760’s and 1770’s and he removed from the old styles of music basso continuo and added a more nimble cello. Haydn, deemed the father of string quartets, evened out the texture for these ensembles to play and enjoy. String quartets brought forth a friendship between Haydn and Mozart and between many different musicians as well increasing likability between artists. “As developed by Haydn, the quartet became the preferred vehicle through which composers ever since, from Mozart to John Adams, have honed and displayed their compositional craft.” (Stanford). In conclusion the birth of the string quartet ushered in a new genre of music that brought musicians together to create even more advanced musical pieces.
Introducing- Sonata Form!
(And Concertos)
“The origins of the symphony go back to the late-seventeenth-century Italian opera house, where an opera began with an instrumental sinfonia(...) Soon, Italian musicians and foreigners alike took the sinfonia out of the opera house and expanded it into three separate and distinct movements”
(Wright, pp. 134).
This quote from the textbook sets up the transition between the earliest Sonata form and the three-movement Sonata form we know today. The defining quality of the Sonata form is its three unique sections: Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation. After the Introduction, the Exposition is what introduces the Primary and Secondary themes. The Primary theme is always in the home key (the tonic key), whereas the Secondary theme usually introduces a new key, meter or sequence to highlight the transition into the Development. The Development is where lots of composers switch modes, modulate to different keys (parallel or relative or neither!), and introduce even more new melodies and/or rhythms. Finally we come to the Recapitulation, where the Primary theme is once again back in the home key, and the Secondary theme continues in the home key as well, because at this point we are done modulating and the piece is coming to a close. Composers will usually stick a Coda on the tail-end of the Recapitulation to once again reiterate the Exposition, and wrap up the movement. A great example of Sonata form is suggested for listening in the textbook, Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 in G minor (It is also numbered as his 550th composition!). To briefly summarize the Concerto, it is a musical composition written to highlight a soloist and their fine-tuned skills backed by a large orchestra for the purpose of an audience. It has often been described as a “friendly competition” of sorts between the orchestra and the soloist. What the Concerto has in common with the Sonata is both types of music have different and contrasting movements that are in an alternative cycle. Where the Concerto differs is that the orchestra plays through the Exposition one time through without the soloist, and then the soloist plays with the rest through the movement again, usually ending with a small cadenza before transitioning into the Development.
Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor
Credits
Intro paragraph and blog posting - Aidan Hille
Solely Symphony - Jake Kesling
Music in Chamber - Ryan Lelli
Introducing, Sonata Form! (And Concertos) - Hannah McVay
Works Cited
“Defining the String Quartet: Haydn | Stanford Online.” Online.stanford.edu, online.stanford.edu/courses/sohs-ymusicstrnqrtet-defining-string-quartet-haydn.
Libin, Laurence Elliot. “Symphony | Description, History, & Facts.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/art/symphony-music.
New World Encyclopedia. “Symphony - New World Encyclopedia.” Newworldencyclopedia.org, 2019, www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Symphony.
Newman, William S. “Concerto | Definition, History, & Examples.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 9 Mar. 2017, www.britannica.com/art/concerto-music.
Wright, Craig M. The Essential Listening to Music. Australia, Wadsworth, 2016.
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