Major Changes In Approaches To Music example essay topic

Music and the Poetic in the beginning of the 19th century When addressing major changes in approaches to music, noticeable movements in compositional technique and tangible shifts in ideals and expectations among audiences one must always look for references in history. What was the social and political milieu in Europe of mid 19th century? The common theme is quite obvious - the nineteenth century was the century of revolutions: in France, Italy, Hungary (this especially relevant for Liszt), many of the German states. Although most these revolutions failed to depose the ruling authority, the spirit of revolution, with common ideal of freedom and a special connotation of nationalism, overwhelmed the thinking aristocracy. Major repercussions of these concepts in the artistic world would once again call for a change in values and aesthetic ideals. The role of the romantic artist drastically reformed by Beethoven in the beginning of the century would undergo another major change - from the acquired acceptance and ascent from the servitude of the 18th century the artist would make another step and come to the forefront as intellectual and spiritual leader, one of superior place in society.

To realize the poetic aspect of music in the early 19th century it is best to draw comparison between compositions that were completed around the same time, but are vastly different in style. Five years dividing Beethoven's song cycle An die ferne gebiete (1816) and Weber's magic opera Der Freischutz (1821) seem to be a short period of time, but the musical environment and stylistic needs had changed so rapidly, that Beethoven's cycle seems to be more a transitional from the late Classicism to Romanticism, while Weber's creation is undoubtedly a quintessential romantic opera. The composers's types differ in many ways; one of the more illuminating differences manifests itself in Beethoven's and Weber's representation of Nature in their pieces and Nature's role both in the text and music. The central character of Beethoven's cycle is the essential part of Nature, all his feelings and mood changes are supported and even amicably doubled by birds, clouds and brooks (it seems that brooks played quite an important role in the metaphoric repertoire of early romantic poets, see Schubert's Die Sch " one M"ull erin on the text of the little known German poet Wilhelm M"u ller).

Nature does not contradict the hero - there is no hostility around him. If he is happy, Nature celebrates his happiness: Diese West werden spielen These west winds will play Scherzend dir um Wang' und Brust, Joking with you about your cheek and breast In den seinen Locked w"uhlan In the silky curls will dig Teil t ich mit euch diese Lust! I share with you this pleasure. If he is sad, everything around him laments his sorrow: Wird sie an den B"us chen stephen If she near the bushes stands, Die nun herbst lich fall und kahl. Now that autumn is faded and leafless Klagt ihr, wie mir ist geschehen Lament to her, what has happened to me, Klagt ihr, V"ogle in, meine Qual Lament to her, little birds, my suffering. Beethoven is quite conventional in expressing these feelings through musical means.

Music supports the slightest changes of mood - plus, the cycle is abundant with simplistic (not primitive) word painting. If the text depicts the murmuring of a brook, the musical texture is full of flowing sixteenth notes, imitating the running of water; bird songs get the usual trills in high registers. The music of the cycle evokes the safe feeling of human unification with amicable nature, and brings to mind the ideas of French philosophers of the Enlightenment such as Rousseau. It is obvious that Beethoven's cycle lacks nationalistic ideas: there is no association with any particular country in the text, and at the same time the general feelings of love, happiness and sorrow are universal. It becomes especially poignant in comparison with the libretto of Weber's Der Freischutz. The libretto by Friedrich Kind was written after an old German myth, taken from the book of ghost stories by Johann August Apel.

The story takes place in German forests and depicts traditional rituals and customs of patriarchal Germany. The main hero, the unsophisticated (simple, therefore good, what else could he be?) hunter Max, is supposed to win his right to marry his beloved Aga the in a shooting contest. As it is common for fairy-tales the main idea of the plot is the struggle between Good and Evil, between Heaven and Hell, and as we can see this conflict is depicted in a very picturesque manner. The two opposing elements are supplied with completely different musical colors.

The first element (Good) is a depiction of simple hunting life and traditions of "good old" Germany; the second is represented supernatural demonic powers. The musical colors used to depict simple uncomplicated life of a hunter are represented with a large number of brass in the orchestration, (especially horns). The second element (Evil) is in the realm of low strings, dark (and not necessarily in tune, especially in the Bolshoi productions) sound of violas, cellos and basses - this easily brings the listener to the proper condition of horror of the demonic powers. The climax of the opera is definitely the famous and horrifying (maybe less horrifying for modern audiences) scene in Wolfschlucht. Nature here plays a role completely opposite from that in the Beethoven: it shows its unpleasant grimace.

The main character is struggling with the hostile forces represented by the demonic spirit Samiel. Music in this scene follows the text obediently: orchestral interludes, inserted between Caspar's casting of spells, very vividly depict the horrors of the notorious Wolf's Glen (percussion imitates the sound of thunderstorm, the whole orchestra depicting the neck-breaking ride of the ghostly hunt). As we can see, here nature has showed its unpleasant side to the lonely man who now has to fight for his survival. This attitude towards Nature is characteristic of the Romantic period.

The idea of the hero, struggling and unappreciated by the cruel world (ironically, planted by Beethoven) was especially popular in the European poetry of the Romantic era (Lord Byron's and Goethe's output immediately come to one's mind). Personages of this type can be found in the output of any poet of the time period. The comparison between these two pieces shows how wide the range of the "poetic" in music was in the early 19th century. The new age of Romanticism brought up new ideas in all spheres of the artistic life.

Despite the fact that the new aesthetic standards were in many ways influenced by the ideas of the preceding Age of Enlightenment, the world had completely changed and good taste demanded a rejection of everything "old". New perceptions were targeted of the artists of the beginning of the 19th century. The Hero of the new Romantic era was proudly and poetically proclaiming his loneliness in front of the hostile world. I would assume that the modern views on the nature of concert music have changed quite a bit since the 19th century. Glen Gould insisted that the point in time when the performers stopped being composers was the great tragedy for music. He believed that the 19th century audience had a much more intimate understanding of the drama and, one could certainly say, the "poetic" in music than the modern concertgoer.

Changes in cultural values also contribute to the misunderstanding of the poetic and romantic expressions present in the music of the past. Many of the ideas presented by Romantic composers are looked upon as plain silly. Love, which contributes to much of the inspiration of the poetry and drama in all art forms has become an emotion of the past, or at best, has been so completely deformed that at times it is difficult for a modern audience to seriously comprehend and appreciate its importance in the Romantic era. In addition, modern society doesn't seem comprehend that music must be a part of the standard educational training. This results in only a small percentage of the population, mostly the very educated layers of society, to even attend classical concerts and expose themselves to these masterpieces. Music, in a sense, is the ultimate means of expression, but it doesn't seem as if the modern society has much respect for expression, especially expression of the utmost inner feelings.

As George Bernard Shaw once said, "It is feeling that sets a man thinking and not thought that sets him feeling". If only comparatively few members of a given society are able to appreciate the poetic and expressive aspects of art, one cannot but wonder about the direction in which that particular society is headed towards.