Programme Music example essay topic
365 words
The range of musical materials used by composers expanded enormously during the 19th century. This is described as the Romantic Period. It was during this time that composers tried to put more emotion and expression into their music, and looked for a greater freedom in the structure of their music. Melodies became more song like, with changes of key and harmonies became richer, using chromatic notes from outside the key. There was a wide variety of types of composition, ranging from music for just one or a few performers (piano pieces, songs, chamber music) to works which needed an enormous number of musicians. Composers were inspired by nature, myths, mystery and love. They tried to make their music more personal, by adding as much contrasting music as they possibly could. It was also in this era that descriptive music came about, where composers would also write poems to go with their music. Also, during this period, the piano became more developed, and the usual size of the orchestra increased, offering composers a much wider range in pitch and volume. The brass section, which was completed by the addition of the tuba, became more important. They sometimes included one or two harps to the orchestra, and the number of stringed musicians was increased. The piano was the most popular instrument of the Romantic Period.
During the first half of the 19th Century, the piano had several improvements made and the number of notes was increased, which gave the piano a richer sound and a wider range in pitch and volume. The romantic composer who showed the greatest understanding of the piano's capabilities was Fryderyk Chopin. This was known as Programme music. Programme music is music that attempts to 'tell a story' or is in some way descriptive. Three main types of programme music for orchestra are: .
The programme symphony. The concert overture. The symphonic poem (also called tone poem) There were many romantic composers, but a just few of them were: Schubert (1797-1828) Chopin (1810-1849) Schumann (1810-1856) Wagner (1813-1883) Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Puccini (1858-1924) R. Strauss (1864-1949).
