The Romantic Period

The term Romantic is “Term applied to music of the 19th century. Romantic music had looser and more extended forms, greater experimentation with harmony and texture, richly expressive and memorable melodies, improved musical instruments, an interest in musical nationalism, and a view of music as a moral force, in which there was a link between the artist’ inner lives and the world around them” (Burkholder, p. A16). With Romanticism, composers looked for ways to express intense emotions through their music. At this time, many people were proud of their countries and wanted to reflect their country in their music and art. During this time, there was war and the inflation caused the aristocracy to decrease and the middle class to increase.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2014. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. "Romanticism." Romanticism.

The beginning of the Romanticism movement changed the world to show more of an imaginative and creative side of the arts. It started in the 1900s, then it grew to enhance many arts such as music, philosophy, and literature. Many known artists began their realm of introduction with their new styles of romanticism. These artists were Beethoven, Rousseau, Hegel, Shelley, and Goethe. Their creativity influenced many people to try new things and feel comfortable to be themselves.

7 May 2014. . "Romanticism Definition." Google. N.p., n.d. Web.

Some youth began to wear their hair long, their beards scraggly and unkept, and their clothing was inspired by the outlandish and the flamboyant. Music morphed from a once tangible aural stimulant into music marked by its decent into the depths of human emotions most of which were not rational. Classical music became a stream of consciousness, a vehicle to convey their countless emotions. In the Romantic Period, music now voiced what, for centuries, people had been too afraid to express. The culture, the composers, and the music of the Romantic era changed classical music profoundly.

"Romanticism and Revolution." Romanticism and Revolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. .

Operas went more out of fashion during the Classical Period, as instrumental music became of central importance. Sonatas became very popular with their structural build up to larger works or solitary pieces in a performance such as overtures. Music isn’t the only thing that changed during this Period. The... ... middle of paper ... ...music with the last of these helping bring in the next Period in history, the Romantic Period. And with culture-influenced architecture, the world expressed its new style in all aspect.

Out of the ashes of aristocracy rose a new respect and appreciation for simplicity, native culture and nature. After years of domination, the general public was now ready to absorb themselves in expressive freedom. The influence of romanticism helped them to escape the harsh realities of life Musicians of this time took their cues from the world of literature that was leaning toward the fanciful and exotic. Poetry and literature of the early nineteen century was filled with strong emotion and this was hard to produce in a musical form. Improvement to musical instruments allowed composers to express these feelings with new techniques.

Summarizing these two periods, dramatic dancing became popular to go along with the music during the Early Baroque music and singing became popular to be performed along with the music during the Late Baroque. The Baroque period was also a time of numerous achievements. Driven by the influences of the Renaissance period, man began to realize what phenomenal things one could achieve. But what changes in music occurred at this time and what other achievements were made? The Baroque period was a phenomenal period still talked about today.

While Bach expressed his emotions in his writing, Brahms wrote to perform the music. The differences however both led to inspiring others. Also they had similarities that now have come together to further music even more. Inspiring people through their music may not have been their goal at first, but they truly have now.